Chapter Five
"But it looks quite old," said Richard, thinking hard. "Last time I came here I gave away two of my discarded ones to Jenna. She might have given them away," said Richard.
"Do you think the one she gave the jacket to is our culprit?" Asked Jasper.
"Could be but how would he know about where granny keeps her chest," said Richard puzzled.
"Granny did anyone come here in the last five years apart from me?" Asked Richard.
Granny thought for a long time. "Grant had come for two days to help me sell off a piece of your grandpa's land in suburban Richmond," she said. Edward Blair, Richard's great grandfather were three brothers. Grant was the grandson of the youngest brother. His work wasn't going well so granny gave him some money as a gift for helping her out.
"Do you think Grant Blair could be involved?" Asked Daryll.
"I don't think so. He was hardly at home and then once the sale was through, he left. I haven't heard from him since then, " said granny.
"Uncle Grant had come to meet mom two years ago. His company was sinking and he needed the money. Mom didn't have much to give him, so he went away," informed Richard.
"Then he could have done it for money," said Nicholas.
"I don't think so, children. He's a very honest man. He never asked me for any financial help. I gave him what I wanted, " said granny.
The doorbell rang and Richard went to open the door. Officer Bentley who was investigating the case came into the living room followed by Richard.
"Sorry to bother you Mrs Blair. I forgot my mobile phone here, " he said with an apologetic smile.
"Oh that's no trouble at all," said granny as he picked his mobile phone up from the coffee table where he had left it.
"You have a lot of guests, it seems," said officer Bentley with a smile.
"Yes. Meet my little neighbours, Jasper, Daryll, Skylar, Nicholas and little Diana, " she introduced them one by one. "Children this is officer Bentley from the Richmond Police Department."
"Hello kids, " said the officer with a broad smile.
"Hi," the kids chorused.
"These kids are my little investigators. They've found a lot of evidence on the case," said granny.
"Interesting, tell me what you've found children, " said officer Bentley, dragging a chair and sitting down beside them. They told him everything that had happened since the day that they had bumped into the burglar. They showed him the evidence that they had collected. He inspected the crumpled piece of paper that they found earlier.
"We decoded the first three numbers 248 is the date of burglary. But we're stuck with the remaining alphanumeric value, VBK1323. What could that possibly mean?" Asked Jasper.
"It looks like the number of a car," said officer Bentley. "Give me the paper, I'll find the owner of the car."
"This car should be associated with the crime," said Skylar.
"Yes, maybe the thief handed the chest over to someone in this car for money," said Daryll.
"Could be children. Let's first get to the car and it's owner," said officer Bentley. He left after having a cup of coffee.
The children left after a little more chatting with granny and Richard. They were too hungry since they had an early lunch. Daryll and Diana's mom was making chocolate hazelnut pudding and they excitedly helped her. While it was placed in the refrigerator, they helped make the zucchini, ham and potato patties.
After twenty minutes, their mouthwatering food was ready to be devoured. "Best food ever!" Said Skylar, adding dollops of ketchup.
It was late in the afternoon and they sat down to play a game of scrabble. Later they watched a movie together.
Just before dinnertime, Richard called Jasper on his mobile phone. They had exchanged numbers before leaving granny's house.
"The police have traced the car to a dilapidated farm on the outskirts of Richmond. It had neem stolen eight days ago and the owner had already lodged a complaint with the police," he informed them.
"That's a dead end then," said Jasper.
"Yes," said Richard.
"Could we go and investigate the place where the car was abandoned?" asked Jasper.
"Sure, be ready at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. We'll go there," promised Richard, disconnecting the call.
The children excitedly went down for dinner. Granny Blair and Jenna had sent a casserole full of chicken breasts in parmesan sauce along with a giant slab of buttermilk slab pie. Daryll and Diana's mom had cooked pan roasted asparagus, creamy corn risotto to go with the dishes. It was a heavenly meal and the children went upstairs to the rooftop for some fresh air.
"Do you think we will find anything at the site?" Asked Skylar.
"I don't know. The police should be scanning the fingerprints found on the car. We can speak to officer Bentley when we meet him," said Jasper.
"I think Grant Blair is the culprit," said Diana.
"Could be. I somehow feel that Jenna knows more than she shows," said Daryll.
"Maybe Grant and Jenna together did the job or got the job done with the help of a local guy whom Jenna gave Richard's old jacket to," said Nicholas.
"Hmm, could be. Let's stalk Jenna for a few days," suggested Jasper. "Maybe she'll lead us to the man who stole the chest. If the police arrests him, he'll tell us who he was working for."
"Good idea. Let's sleep now. Tomorrow, we need to think of an excuse to tell aunt Nora," said Skylar.
"Yes, we can tell her that Richard's taking us sightseeing since we're bored, " said Daryll.
"Done, we'll say that," agreed Jasper.
They went up to their rooms to sleep. "Skylar, when will uncle Stanley come?" Asked Diana as they prepared for bed.
"He'll be here in another five days," informed Skylar.
"Great. I like Richard. He didn't do anything unlike what we were thinking," said Diana. Skylar too agreed.
