*part one* *part two* *part three*
Detective Hobbes mind was carefully processing all the information he had gathered so far. 'If the sneaky Long Tail's tip off is to be believed, I'll be killing two birds with one stone', Detective Hobbes pondered.
'I'll take this risk and hopefully I won't be given an early retirement by the Chief!', he continued.
And with that, Detective Hobbes begin to device an elaborate scheme to trap the culprit.
Night falls and the Detective is ready with his plot. With other law enforcing officials stationed at various points, vigilance was extremely important. An hour, two, three, five hours passed without anything in sight. Some of the law enforcers began fidgeting and grumbling at the long wait.
'Darn! Long Tail will surely get his reward this time... he surely will', Detective Hobbes said with a grim face, blacker than a charcoal.
Then all of a sudden, a flutter of wings was heard. Everyone was tensed, watching. Against the moonlight, an outline shadow of a very huge bird can be seen sitting on a rooftop. With a quick beat of the wings, the bird swooped down to grab at the pile of fishes.
'NOW!', shouted Detective Hobbes.
And 10 burly law enforcing officers quickly dropped a heavy net on the bird. The bird let out a loud squawking noise which resonated through the quiet night. As much as he had guessed, it was the Blue Kingpin-fisher – the notorious mafia leader with an insatiable appetite for fishes and all things that glitter.
Since he was caught in the act, Kingpin was arrested for further questioning. However, he stubbornly refused to divulge anything. Detective Hobbes decided to use force on him. With 2 burly officers each holding Kingpin down, Detective Hobbes started plucking the blue feathers out, one by one.
'Oww.. yeoww!!! How dare you?? Don't you dare to pull anymore off my plumes of pride! I'll sue you ... I'll SUE you!', cried the Kingpin indignantly.
'Fat chance at suing me Kingpin. You'll be serving a heavier sentence if you don't cooperate with us. It's your own fate... choose', the Detective said grimly.
Finally, Kingpin admitted to blackmailing Long Tail to place fur and paw prints all over the aquarium, the first crime scene to divert the police attention. Then Kingpin also forced Long Tail to frame rascal Robby Rat, his nemesis. Long Tail decided to spill the beans after Kingpin threatened to kidnap his missus if he refused to lie to the police after the second fish theft. Long Tail may be an ex-goon but he loves his missus more than anything else in the world.
With the confession, the Blue Kingpin-fisher was put behind bars.
Once again, Detective Hobbes saved the day! The thief has been caught and the sapphire stone returned to Mr. Mole. Although nothing could be done with the fishes, the pretty lady was compensated with an undisclosed sum. Calm is restored in the city again.
The Detective was very much relieved with the case solved. He kept his word and rewarded Long Tail for his valuable information. 'Here you go Long Tail... your reward and uh.. thanks', mumbled Detective Hobbes.
'Ah yoo see?? Ah wasn't tellin' yoo no lies, ah wasn't! Ah was as honest as da day is honest to da nitez. And zhanks fer keepin' yer end of promize Detective. Mah missus wud be pleazed wif yer generoseety. Heh heh... now mah missus wil hav a pretty dress to weare tonite...', said Long Tail. 'S'long Detc... ah wil be watchin' mah back from now on', Long Tail disappeared down the road whistling.
'Well, that's that! And there's just one more thing to do', said the Detective while reaching out to pay for a bunch of white roses.
ring... ring... ring...
'Are you coming home for dinner tonight, my love', purred a gentle voice.
'I'll be there, sweetums', Detective Hobbes said lovingly.
'Don't be late then, my love. The champagne and caviar will be ready when you come home', purred Mrs. Hobbes.
