rolled her eyes. “None of that matters. What does matter is here comes my dad and he looks frantic, like he wants us to finish giving the ghost tour or something. So, Mr. King, I think we both would like to know exactly how you think we can help?”
King seemed pensive as Dani spoke and then began to wring his hands. “If only I knew. As prime minister, if I asked a minister for help, it was with the understanding that he had a large and capable staff behind him. I’ll tell you what I know when next I get the chance, but for now read your neighbourhood newspaper, particularly that fellow Dustin Fairburn, and keep your wits about you. A murder has been committed, and I fear another may soon transpire if it hasn’t already. The very future of the nation may be at stake.”
3
Cappuccino Frappuccino Candy Floss
On this late October Saturday afternoon, after returning from their expedition to Kingsmere, Caitlin and Dani were the only customers at Morala’s Cup of Java interested in tubs of gelato. Most adults preferred the hot drink that came from a thousand places around the world and seemed to have about a hundred million varieties to order. Chas, the proprietor, peered at the girls oddly when Caitlin asked for a cappuccino frappuccino gelato latte grand petit, while Dani rolled her eyes and ordered “the usual, straight up.”
Chas rarely smiled, but now her lips curled when she asked, “You girls know why I keep the gelato counter full, don’t you?”
The girls nodded as they both replied, “Thanks.”
“Not that I mind keeping an entire counter full of gelato in the fall and winter.”
“I keep telling you that gelato in the fall and winter will catch on, Chas,” Dani said.
“Really?”
“Just call it flavoured Italian snow.”
“You could try introducing some new flavours like bubblegum,” Caitlin said, “or maybe candy cane, sort of a Christmas special.”
“Uh-huh,” Chas said, nodding with amusement. “I bet candy floss would be a good bet, too.”
“Hey, I should have thought of that,” Caitlin said, genuinely disappointed. “Then you could make all coffees with the same flavours so you wouldn’t have to worry about getting so many different kinds of beans.”
“Why stop there? I could put up a notice that says ‘No one over the age of twelve will be admitted.’” Chas pushed the girls’ carefully counted change back across the counter. “I don’t need your money. Your business advice is payment enough.”
“But ... but ...” both girls stammered.
“Now move along. Someone over twelve would like their bubblegum caffeine. Come back tomorrow. I’ll have some more grape gelato then, just in time for winter.”
“Cool,” Dani said, not noticing Chas’s smirk.
The girls wandered down Ottawa’s Bank Street, the main thoroughfare in the Glebe. As they strolled, they watched people hurry along to shop. Couples paused outside stores, lingering a little longer than usual in the sunshine to savour the last warmth of an Indian summer. Winter in Ottawa usually came quickly and settled deeply long before the official winter solstice.
“So this strange little Mackenzie King guy,” Caitlin said between mouthfuls of gelato, “says we should read Dustin Fairburn’s column in the Glebe Examiner.”
“Right,” Dani said, pleased with her friend’s grasp of the facts.
“‘Cause if we do, we’ll get some clues about what Mr. King thinks is so important for us to help him with — you know, murder and stuff like that.”
“Right,” Dani said, impressed again.
“And then,” Caitlin continued, “he’ll appear and tell us why all this stuff could change everything in Canada — like our history and our future.”
“Right. Makes perfect sense,” Dani said, fully satisfied.
“Hello! Dani, this is crazy!” Caitlin was so excited that she spat out gelato, the drippings clinging indelicately from her chin.
Dani grinned. “Of course, it seems strange, ’cause this is a mystery and we’re detectives again. But this time maybe we get to save Canada. By the way, you’ve got gelato on your chin.”
Caitlin swiped at her face. “And you’ve got gelato on your overalls.”
Dani glanced down but didn’t attempt to remove the gelato stains. “Kind of blends in.”
“I know you love doing detective stuff, Dani, but we really don’t have a clue and Mr. King seems sort of nutty to me.”
Dani picked up a copy of the Glebe Examiner from a newsstand. “We will, though, and once we gather our clues we’ll have a case. And there’s no better place to start than Fairburn’s column.
Caitlin continued to clean her chin and inspect her clothes as Dani read, re-read, and again read Dustin Fairburn’s column. “Wow ... amazing ... hard to believe.”
“Come on, Dani, what the heck does it say?”
“I have no idea.”
“Dani!”
Dani continued to scan the article. “Well, there are lots of words, most of ’em pretty big, but I don’t know what this stuff has to do with Mr. King. I mean, he was the prime minister of Canada, and Fairburn’s article just talks about parks and selling land in Ottawa, which Dustin doesn’t seem too happy about. Hey, it even mentions Windsor Park right behind where you live, Caitlin.”
“Sell my park? How can anyone sell a park?”
“We could ask Mr. Fairburn,” Dani suggested.
“And we’ll get a long answer with long words.”
“Or we could ask Sadie Squires.”
“For an answer that makes sense — to a kid, that is,” Caitlin said as Dani began marching off. “Hey! Where are you going?”
“To Abbotsford Home for Senior Citizens just like you said.”
Caitlin followed her friend, always a stride behind. “Did you know that when you get wind of a mystery you’re as stubborn as Nikki is?”
“Yeah, well, I know someone more stubborn than Nikki and me put together when it comes to winning loonies at cribbage.”
“Good point.”
Dani put her head down, buried her hands in her overalls, and stretched her lead to two strides. “Mission impossible, but I’ve got two loonies left and I feel lucky today.”
Caitlin sighed heavily. “Poor girl. Poor foolish girl.”
Sadie stared down the length of her nose, fixing her gaze through the spectacles perched precariously at the tip. “Now, mind, I could say how it pains
