A Rainy NIght Mystery Involving Gary and Cookies
I wrapped my trench coat more snugly around me as I huddled under the eaves that rainy night in Australia last September. Rain sheeted off the roof, splashing my legs and those of my companion Kris. He turned up his collar in a valiant effort to exclude the cold drafts that were swirling around us.
"Wow, listen to the rain roar!" I commented, glancing across the glittering pavement as its puddles were pocked by hurtling raindrops. A car whooshed by, disappearing to the left, but not before spraying both our legs with frigid water from the ever-growing torrent in the gutter.
"Ah, yes," he replied. "We often get these frog stranglers here in Melbourne. And you know how big our cane toads are!"
Kris's cell phone gave its sonar ping, slicing through the thrum of the heavy rain. He answered it and I listened with growing concern.
"When did this happen?
"Why was he there?
"You mean nobody knows where he is?!"
"What? Who?" I practically leaped on him to find out who he was talking about.
"Gary's missing!" he replied. "He was out having hot cocoa with a few Idolers yesterday evening when he got a phone call. He said he had to take care of something right away. He left and nobody is at all sure where he ended up!
"That was gratefuladdict, by the way. You know, Stacey. She said his last words were, 'I'll have to deliver a check to alexpgp'. But they've called Alex and he said clauderainsrm never turned up.
"Where is this pub where he was having cocoa?" I interjected.
"At the Green Goat," offered Kris. "I know the place. It's just three blocks from here. I go there all the time. And by the way, it was cocoa with Bailey's in it, just so you know. He also had eaten an embarrassingly large number of cookies, so no one is quite sure how he was feeling."
"Well, then, I think there's nothing for it but to go there and evaluate the situation," I suggested. "C'mon, let's make a run for the car. I think the rain has slacked off a little for the moment, anyway." We quickly looked to our right to check for oncoming traffic before dashing across the glistening red and blue puddles in the street. "As a Californian, it's tricky enough crossing these Australian streets in the daytime. But at night with a storm, you really have to double check yourself!"
*****
Upon entering the massive, rough-hewn doors of the Green Goat, we reluctantly passed on settling down near the bear-sized fireplace with its roaring fire. We sidled up to the bar to see if the bartender knew anything. He had his hands full handing out plates of sizzling sausages, stacks of bacon, cheese muffins, and cookies. Cocoa was streaming into one pint mug after another. We quizzed him as he handed us our own plate of sausages.
"Lovely snags, aren't they?" he said. "It's the Green Goat's secret recipe. We make them here after hours, when the crowds go home."
We saw our chance. "Have you heard about the missing man, Gary? He was here last night. He seems to have gone missing since he left here."
"Ah, yes, as it happens. I did receive a frantic call or two from a few hysterical women. I wish females were as concerned about me as they were about that fellow. I hadn't paid it much mind at the time, but on reflection, I did recall that a somewhat delirious gentleman was muttering some unintelligible words behind the kitchen last night as I mixed up my sausage recipe. All I heard was 'Must find Alex's house...near the beach, I believe.'"
"Was he walking or headed to a car?"
"Actually, he was struggling to get a bicycle underway. There was some cursing about the kickstand not working. He was also tinkering with a flickering headlamp. It was dark, but it wasn't raining like it is now."
"Interesting," I commented. "Kris, do you know where the bike trails go from here?"
"I do!" he exclaimed. "Remember that clunker bike I had before I got my elegant twenty-year-old car? I used to get here by bike every Tuesday evening for Trivia night. I'll show you the trail in the back."
I quickly thought about the driving rain outside. "Well, can you tell me where the trail goes? Does it go to the shore? Does it pass any spots that Gary might find too fascinating to pass up?"
"Well, let's see. It goes off through the eucalypt forest for about a mile, then it goes over a wooden bridge. I always stop and look down, hoping to see a platypus, I never do, but once I saw an echidna..."
"Wait, stick to the topic!" I could see Kris might be an excellent guide, as he seemed to be as distractable as I was suspecting Gary was.
"After the bridge, you go through an open area. There are always a lot of shady looking people camping out there. You know, the kind of folks you might call hippies. They like to have campfires and burn other illegal substances late at night there. Always some interesting odors in the air..."
A tickle in my brain reminded me that Gary had often mentioned hippies. Could this be part of the mystery? Had Gary been waylaid by an unfortunate interaction with hippies?
"Okay, once you leave that area, where do you end up next?" I probed.
"Well, the trail continues past a thicket of Prickly Moses bushes. Very prickly. You don't want to wander off, that's for sure. Though, when I rode that way, I usually got thirsty for a Prickly Moses Brewery beer. Their Otway Stout is very tasty. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
"Oh, excuse me. I was distracted there for a moment. Down the trail you eventually emerge into a small seaside town. Quaint, very quaint. Lots of Victorian buildings."
"Seaside? That sounds promising. I was heartened by this thought. Perhaps Gary knew where he was going after all.
"So what sort of places do you pass in this town, cruising along the bike trail?"
"Well, I don't know about Gary, but I always make a stop at the Olde Pet Shoppe just one block into town. They always have a store window full of baby chicks or kittens. Once they even had an echidna!"
"That's gotta be it! I suggest Gary had a run-in with the hippies and then was so distraught that he had to revive his lagging spirits by admiring some fluffy cuteness. Why don't we drive down there and see if we can learn anything?"
"Rightie-O, Mate."
*****
After some cautious trial and error navigation, we finally picked up the bike trail where it emerged from the parkland and entered the village. Sure enough, one block later, there was the pet shop, with double doors facing the corner. And though by now it was nearly midnight, wonder of wonders, there was a feeble light burning in some interior room. We rolled right up to the front door and got out to peer in the windows.
With our faces crammed up against the glass, though we couldn't see much, we both thought we could hear some faint mumbling from inside. At that point, and since the light was on, we decided to gently knock.
"I don't know if anybody is really in there," Kris remarked, "But the rain is soaking into my back. Maybe we should call this off until morning."
Just then, a figure loomed up inside the door. "We're looking for information about a missing person!" we shouted through the dark glass.
There was a fumbling with latches and locks and the door was cracked open, still obviously on a chain. A gray-haired man peered at us over his glasses. "Eh? Pardon?"
"We're searching for a friend. Have you had anyone come around here last night or this morning? Kris and I tripped over each other's words.
"Well, funny you should mention that. What does your friend look like? Is he a fellow?"
With our hearty agreement, the gentleman swung the door open wide enough for us to slip in. He led us to a back room. There, sitting in delirium, was Gary. Kittens were curled up and snoozing all over him, except for those that were climbing his shirt. A silly smile was plastered across his face, even though it appeared that he was half-sleeping.
"Gary, Gary, is that you? Are you all right?
"What? Huh?" Gary roused himself to shake off the stupor that had encased him like a fog. He turned his bleary eyes upon us. "Gary, it's us, emo_snal and furzicle. Everyone is worried about you. alexpgpis wondering why you didn't show up. And you wouldn't believe the women! Everyone is beside themselves with worry. What happened?"
"Huh? How did you find me? I thought I had hidden pretty well."
"What are you hiding from? Hippies?" I demanded, possibly a little too forcefully.
"Hippies? Well, how do you know about that? As you can see, I'm not scratched or bruised. They're pretty peaceful-minded folks. Though I did have to set them straight about a few things, believe me. I was fairly upset after that encounter, so I had to stop here to admire an echidna Mr. Irwin had here in the window. "Oh, what a sweetie! The echidna, that is, not Mr. Irwin." Gary looked quickly over at the proprietor to see if he had embarrassed him.
Mr. Irwin emphatically shook his head. "Ah yes, a sweetheart she is, indeed. As long as you don't startle her, she keeps her quills to herself. Usually."
Gary searched our faces further. "And why here? How did you find me here?"
"Well, Gary," I answered. "We learned you were on a bike. We knew you were in search of alexpgp near the beach. Kris knew the bike trails went in that direction, as well as about the hippie encampment. We both figured you would need comfort after that kind of unsavory encounter, so we figured the next stop along the bike trail had to be this pet store. And with the overindulgence of cookies, we understood it might take you a while to recover from your binge. Voila! Bingo! Here you are!"
"So, it was a direct path: cocoa, cookies, bike, hippies, kittens...It was pretty obvious. I gloated that my deduction skillz had won out again.
"And, don't forget..." Kris added
"ECHIDNAS!" Gary and Kris shouted in unison, celebrating their agreement with an exuberant high five.
A smallish example of a cane toad
A youngish echidna
"Wow, listen to the rain roar!" I commented, glancing across the glittering pavement as its puddles were pocked by hurtling raindrops. A car whooshed by, disappearing to the left, but not before spraying both our legs with frigid water from the ever-growing torrent in the gutter.
"Ah, yes," he replied. "We often get these frog stranglers here in Melbourne. And you know how big our cane toads are!"
Kris's cell phone gave its sonar ping, slicing through the thrum of the heavy rain. He answered it and I listened with growing concern.
"When did this happen?
"Why was he there?
"You mean nobody knows where he is?!"
"What? Who?" I practically leaped on him to find out who he was talking about.
"Gary's missing!" he replied. "He was out having hot cocoa with a few Idolers yesterday evening when he got a phone call. He said he had to take care of something right away. He left and nobody is at all sure where he ended up!
"That was gratefuladdict, by the way. You know, Stacey. She said his last words were, 'I'll have to deliver a check to alexpgp'. But they've called Alex and he said clauderainsrm never turned up.
"Where is this pub where he was having cocoa?" I interjected.
"At the Green Goat," offered Kris. "I know the place. It's just three blocks from here. I go there all the time. And by the way, it was cocoa with Bailey's in it, just so you know. He also had eaten an embarrassingly large number of cookies, so no one is quite sure how he was feeling."
"Well, then, I think there's nothing for it but to go there and evaluate the situation," I suggested. "C'mon, let's make a run for the car. I think the rain has slacked off a little for the moment, anyway." We quickly looked to our right to check for oncoming traffic before dashing across the glistening red and blue puddles in the street. "As a Californian, it's tricky enough crossing these Australian streets in the daytime. But at night with a storm, you really have to double check yourself!"
*****
Upon entering the massive, rough-hewn doors of the Green Goat, we reluctantly passed on settling down near the bear-sized fireplace with its roaring fire. We sidled up to the bar to see if the bartender knew anything. He had his hands full handing out plates of sizzling sausages, stacks of bacon, cheese muffins, and cookies. Cocoa was streaming into one pint mug after another. We quizzed him as he handed us our own plate of sausages.
"Lovely snags, aren't they?" he said. "It's the Green Goat's secret recipe. We make them here after hours, when the crowds go home."
We saw our chance. "Have you heard about the missing man, Gary? He was here last night. He seems to have gone missing since he left here."
"Ah, yes, as it happens. I did receive a frantic call or two from a few hysterical women. I wish females were as concerned about me as they were about that fellow. I hadn't paid it much mind at the time, but on reflection, I did recall that a somewhat delirious gentleman was muttering some unintelligible words behind the kitchen last night as I mixed up my sausage recipe. All I heard was 'Must find Alex's house...near the beach, I believe.'"
"Was he walking or headed to a car?"
"Actually, he was struggling to get a bicycle underway. There was some cursing about the kickstand not working. He was also tinkering with a flickering headlamp. It was dark, but it wasn't raining like it is now."
"Interesting," I commented. "Kris, do you know where the bike trails go from here?"
"I do!" he exclaimed. "Remember that clunker bike I had before I got my elegant twenty-year-old car? I used to get here by bike every Tuesday evening for Trivia night. I'll show you the trail in the back."
I quickly thought about the driving rain outside. "Well, can you tell me where the trail goes? Does it go to the shore? Does it pass any spots that Gary might find too fascinating to pass up?"
"Well, let's see. It goes off through the eucalypt forest for about a mile, then it goes over a wooden bridge. I always stop and look down, hoping to see a platypus, I never do, but once I saw an echidna..."
"Wait, stick to the topic!" I could see Kris might be an excellent guide, as he seemed to be as distractable as I was suspecting Gary was.
"After the bridge, you go through an open area. There are always a lot of shady looking people camping out there. You know, the kind of folks you might call hippies. They like to have campfires and burn other illegal substances late at night there. Always some interesting odors in the air..."
A tickle in my brain reminded me that Gary had often mentioned hippies. Could this be part of the mystery? Had Gary been waylaid by an unfortunate interaction with hippies?
"Okay, once you leave that area, where do you end up next?" I probed.
"Well, the trail continues past a thicket of Prickly Moses bushes. Very prickly. You don't want to wander off, that's for sure. Though, when I rode that way, I usually got thirsty for a Prickly Moses Brewery beer. Their Otway Stout is very tasty. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
"Oh, excuse me. I was distracted there for a moment. Down the trail you eventually emerge into a small seaside town. Quaint, very quaint. Lots of Victorian buildings."
"Seaside? That sounds promising. I was heartened by this thought. Perhaps Gary knew where he was going after all.
"So what sort of places do you pass in this town, cruising along the bike trail?"
"Well, I don't know about Gary, but I always make a stop at the Olde Pet Shoppe just one block into town. They always have a store window full of baby chicks or kittens. Once they even had an echidna!"
"That's gotta be it! I suggest Gary had a run-in with the hippies and then was so distraught that he had to revive his lagging spirits by admiring some fluffy cuteness. Why don't we drive down there and see if we can learn anything?"
"Rightie-O, Mate."
*****
After some cautious trial and error navigation, we finally picked up the bike trail where it emerged from the parkland and entered the village. Sure enough, one block later, there was the pet shop, with double doors facing the corner. And though by now it was nearly midnight, wonder of wonders, there was a feeble light burning in some interior room. We rolled right up to the front door and got out to peer in the windows.
With our faces crammed up against the glass, though we couldn't see much, we both thought we could hear some faint mumbling from inside. At that point, and since the light was on, we decided to gently knock.
"I don't know if anybody is really in there," Kris remarked, "But the rain is soaking into my back. Maybe we should call this off until morning."
Just then, a figure loomed up inside the door. "We're looking for information about a missing person!" we shouted through the dark glass.
There was a fumbling with latches and locks and the door was cracked open, still obviously on a chain. A gray-haired man peered at us over his glasses. "Eh? Pardon?"
"We're searching for a friend. Have you had anyone come around here last night or this morning? Kris and I tripped over each other's words.
"Well, funny you should mention that. What does your friend look like? Is he a fellow?"
With our hearty agreement, the gentleman swung the door open wide enough for us to slip in. He led us to a back room. There, sitting in delirium, was Gary. Kittens were curled up and snoozing all over him, except for those that were climbing his shirt. A silly smile was plastered across his face, even though it appeared that he was half-sleeping.
"Gary, Gary, is that you? Are you all right?
"What? Huh?" Gary roused himself to shake off the stupor that had encased him like a fog. He turned his bleary eyes upon us. "Gary, it's us, emo_snal and furzicle. Everyone is worried about you. alexpgpis wondering why you didn't show up. And you wouldn't believe the women! Everyone is beside themselves with worry. What happened?"
"Huh? How did you find me? I thought I had hidden pretty well."
"What are you hiding from? Hippies?" I demanded, possibly a little too forcefully.
"Hippies? Well, how do you know about that? As you can see, I'm not scratched or bruised. They're pretty peaceful-minded folks. Though I did have to set them straight about a few things, believe me. I was fairly upset after that encounter, so I had to stop here to admire an echidna Mr. Irwin had here in the window. "Oh, what a sweetie! The echidna, that is, not Mr. Irwin." Gary looked quickly over at the proprietor to see if he had embarrassed him.
Mr. Irwin emphatically shook his head. "Ah yes, a sweetheart she is, indeed. As long as you don't startle her, she keeps her quills to herself. Usually."
Gary searched our faces further. "And why here? How did you find me here?"
"Well, Gary," I answered. "We learned you were on a bike. We knew you were in search of alexpgp near the beach. Kris knew the bike trails went in that direction, as well as about the hippie encampment. We both figured you would need comfort after that kind of unsavory encounter, so we figured the next stop along the bike trail had to be this pet store. And with the overindulgence of cookies, we understood it might take you a while to recover from your binge. Voila! Bingo! Here you are!"
"So, it was a direct path: cocoa, cookies, bike, hippies, kittens...It was pretty obvious. I gloated that my deduction skillz had won out again.
"And, don't forget..." Kris added
"ECHIDNAS!" Gary and Kris shouted in unison, celebrating their agreement with an exuberant high five.
A smallish example of a cane toad
A youngish echidna