Read Cora Flash and the Diamond of Madagascar (A Cora Flash Children's Mystery, Book 1) for Free Online Page A

him .
    "Thank you , Cora."
    Ted and Sheila were next, but Sheila was only carrying her wallet at the time, probably not realizing breakfast was included in the price of the train ticket.
    "I can empty it out if you like," she said.
    "No, that will not be necessary," said Dabruzzi .
    Ted took his wallet out and placed it on the table, along with a comb and some loose money he had stuffed in his jeans. "Our bags are both back at our seats . "
    "Very well," said Dabruzzi . "Mr. Sloane? Would you oblige?"
    Mr. Sloane looked like someone had just asked him to put socks on a pig. "Are you joking? It is my diamond, why on E arth would I have it?"
    "You did say the diamond is insured," said Abigail.
    Mr. Sloane, admitting defeat, stepped up to the nearest table. "Fine," he huffed, emptying his belongings onto the table. Like the others, he was carrying a variety of normally useful objects that proved useless to the investigation.
    "What about him?" asked Mr. Sloane, pointing to Willy.
    "I don't carry anything on me at all," he said. "Even my wallet is in the engine room with the conductor, in a safe."
    "There's a safe on this train?" cried Mr. Sloane. "Why didn't anyone tell me? "
    "You didn't ask, sir," replied Willy.
    "Very well," said the i nspector . " I will continue the investigation by interviewing, one at a time, each of you in order to determine who had the opportunity to take the jewel . "
    I leaned back into my seat. " By the sounds of it , a ll of us had the opportunity. "
    " But who had a motive? " asked Mr. MacEvoy.
    " All of you had a motive! " whined a n emotional Mr. Sloane. " It was a priceless gem . Anyone who has that diamond will be a millionaire. "
    " Imagine, " said Mrs. Bronwyn wistfully . " I wouldn ' t know what to do with that much money! "
    Just as Mrs. Bronwyn finished talking, my cell phone made a slight noise. It was a text message from my mother . " Good morning! How r u? "
    I knew how much my mother hated using short-form words when sending a text message, so I appreciated the effort she had made. For a brief moment, I considered telling her about the missing diamond, but the thought that I was on a train with a criminal might have been enough to send her over the edge . Instead, I decided not to say anything. At least not yet . Instead, I typed , " I ' m fine. XO , " and clicked “ send ” .
    " For the sake of the investigation, " said Dabruzzi , " I ask that you please confine your sel ves to this, the l ounge , and the sleeper and the passenger car s . The other porters on the train have been asked to not let any of the passengers from the cars ahead of us to come back, so we will all remain together until we reach Topaz Mountain . "
    " Just the eight of us? " asked Abby.
    " Nine , including myself and Willy, " he said.
    " Ten including Calvin, " I added.
    The others laughed a little as Calvin let out a bird-like trill, a welcome break in the mounting tension filling the room.
    The i nspector continued , " I would like to begin the one-on-one interviews now, and I think I will do so in the l ounge . I will call each person back, one at a time. While you are waiting, please remain here . Once you have finished your meeting with me, you are free to go to your compartment or seat. "
    I was beginning to feel anxious . I knew the interrogations were about to commence, and I was dying to know what each of the passengers had to say. I was fairly certain Inspector Dabruzzi would not let me listen in on the interrogations, so there was no point in even asking. I had to figure out another way to overhear the conversations.
    I briefly considered sitting by the door of the car, hoping he and each of the passengers would speak loudly enough for me to eavesdrop , but there were two doors that separated the cars and the space between them . O verhearing the discussions would be difficult . Somehow, I concluded, I had to get into the room.
    " Willy, " said Dabruzzi , " w ould you mind giving me a little bit of