peephole. Aunt Thessalonika ushered me inside and led me along a narrow corridor to a further door at the end. This door was locked, and she fiddled with several keys for a moment or two before it opened.
Inside, I found myself in a large room with no windows at all, but it had a high skylight that let in the daylight. The room was linedwith shelves and cupboards, and at the far end there were two desks. A tall man was sitting at one of the desks, and he looked up sharply when we came in. Aunt Thessalonika jerked her head in the direction of this man and told me to go and say hello to him.
“How do you do?” said the man, rising to his feet as I approached his desk. “So you’re Harriet.”
I was astonished to hear that he knew my name, and I assumed that Aunt Thessalonika must have called to say that we were coming.
We shook hands and he asked me to sit down. I did so and studied the man before me. He had a large mustache, gray hair, and a pair of heavy glasses. He was the sort of man you could walk past in the street without ever noticing. Looking at his mustache, which was rather bushy, I wondered how he cut it. Did he use…
“Scissors,” said the man. “Most people with mustaches use scissors.”
I gasped. Here was another mind reader!Were all private detectives mind readers, or was it just my two aunts and their friends?
“However,” the man went on, rising to his feet, “this mustache never needs to be cut at all. And why is that?” He paused, his eyes glinting through the thick lenses of his heavy glasses. “It’s because it is utterly and completely … false!”
And with that he ripped the mustache off his face with a quick flick of his wrist.
“Nor,” he continued, “do I have to spend too much time combing this hair, because it, you see, is … a wig!”
And with another flourish he ripped off the wig and I saw his real hair tumble out from beneath. And then I realized—he was a woman. In fact, he was my aunt. It was Aunt Japonica in disguise.
As I stared in astonishment, Aunt Japonica took off the rest of her disguise with a few deft movements. Off came the suit, to reveal a shiny green dress underneath. Off came the glasses and, with a wipe of a handkerchief, off came the makeup.
“Now you see me as I really am,” said Aunt Japonica with a sigh. “But I love disguises, and I’m so glad that our job requires us to dress up so much.”
“She’s very good at it,” chipped in Aunt Thessalonika. “You should see her disguised as a nun.”
“Or as a bus driver,” added Aunt Japonica.
“And what about the time you were a dog?” said Aunt Thessalonika. “Tell her about that.”
“Oh yes!” said Aunt Japonica, her face creased with pleasure. “That was a case where we had to try and trap somebody in a park. I managed to get hold of a dog’s outfit and I dressed up in it. Everybody thought I was a large dog, even the other dogs.”
“Yes,” said Aunt Thessalonika, “and everything would have gone very well if the dogcatcher hadn’t come and spoiled it all.”
“I’ll never forgive him,” said Aunt Japonica. “I felt so ashamed being dragged away like that in his awful dogcatcher’s van. But I got my own back in the end.”
“How did you do that?” I asked.
“I asked him the time when he opened the back of the van to get me out at the other end,” said Aunt Japonica, with a smile. “He got such a fright that he dropped his keys and ran. I drove his van back to the park, but by that time the person we were planning to trap had gone. It was a great shame.”
After Aunt Japonica had finished her story, I glanced at the room around me. It was full of very intriguing things, and I was on the point of asking to be shown around when Aunt Thessalonika suggested that we do just that.
“I can tell you’d like to see some of our things,” she said, mind reading again. “Is that all right with you, Japonica?”
“Of course,” said Aunt Japonica. “Let’s
Inside, I found myself in a large room with no windows at all, but it had a high skylight that let in the daylight. The room was linedwith shelves and cupboards, and at the far end there were two desks. A tall man was sitting at one of the desks, and he looked up sharply when we came in. Aunt Thessalonika jerked her head in the direction of this man and told me to go and say hello to him.
“How do you do?” said the man, rising to his feet as I approached his desk. “So you’re Harriet.”
I was astonished to hear that he knew my name, and I assumed that Aunt Thessalonika must have called to say that we were coming.
We shook hands and he asked me to sit down. I did so and studied the man before me. He had a large mustache, gray hair, and a pair of heavy glasses. He was the sort of man you could walk past in the street without ever noticing. Looking at his mustache, which was rather bushy, I wondered how he cut it. Did he use…
“Scissors,” said the man. “Most people with mustaches use scissors.”
I gasped. Here was another mind reader!Were all private detectives mind readers, or was it just my two aunts and their friends?
“However,” the man went on, rising to his feet, “this mustache never needs to be cut at all. And why is that?” He paused, his eyes glinting through the thick lenses of his heavy glasses. “It’s because it is utterly and completely … false!”
And with that he ripped the mustache off his face with a quick flick of his wrist.
“Nor,” he continued, “do I have to spend too much time combing this hair, because it, you see, is … a wig!”
And with another flourish he ripped off the wig and I saw his real hair tumble out from beneath. And then I realized—he was a woman. In fact, he was my aunt. It was Aunt Japonica in disguise.
As I stared in astonishment, Aunt Japonica took off the rest of her disguise with a few deft movements. Off came the suit, to reveal a shiny green dress underneath. Off came the glasses and, with a wipe of a handkerchief, off came the makeup.
“Now you see me as I really am,” said Aunt Japonica with a sigh. “But I love disguises, and I’m so glad that our job requires us to dress up so much.”
“She’s very good at it,” chipped in Aunt Thessalonika. “You should see her disguised as a nun.”
“Or as a bus driver,” added Aunt Japonica.
“And what about the time you were a dog?” said Aunt Thessalonika. “Tell her about that.”
“Oh yes!” said Aunt Japonica, her face creased with pleasure. “That was a case where we had to try and trap somebody in a park. I managed to get hold of a dog’s outfit and I dressed up in it. Everybody thought I was a large dog, even the other dogs.”
“Yes,” said Aunt Thessalonika, “and everything would have gone very well if the dogcatcher hadn’t come and spoiled it all.”
“I’ll never forgive him,” said Aunt Japonica. “I felt so ashamed being dragged away like that in his awful dogcatcher’s van. But I got my own back in the end.”
“How did you do that?” I asked.
“I asked him the time when he opened the back of the van to get me out at the other end,” said Aunt Japonica, with a smile. “He got such a fright that he dropped his keys and ran. I drove his van back to the park, but by that time the person we were planning to trap had gone. It was a great shame.”
After Aunt Japonica had finished her story, I glanced at the room around me. It was full of very intriguing things, and I was on the point of asking to be shown around when Aunt Thessalonika suggested that we do just that.
“I can tell you’d like to see some of our things,” she said, mind reading again. “Is that all right with you, Japonica?”
“Of course,” said Aunt Japonica. “Let’s
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