The Mystery of the Disappearing Dignitary

Part 1

Ah, Barbados. Every person’s holiday dream. Detective Max Flummox had earned a well-deserved trip to the lush tropical island, having strained his already ADD-scattered brain over a year’s worth of cases.

The island, with uncorrupted sandy white beaches and fresh green palm trees still dotting its shores, did not disappoint. Max was too eager to open his suitcase, change into a fresh shirt, and soak his tired feet. A local concierge attended to their luggage.

The only catch? He had to bring with him his befuddled, bumbling assistant, Benny Bloop, whom he had promised three weeks’ leave. He had taken some pity on the young man, who had no one to spend his vacation with since everyone in his family had spent some time abroad.

The surroundings also impressed Max’s helpful but helpful sidekick, who was looking with boyish enthusiasm out of the Hotel Grande Barbados’ windows. So excited was he that he lost his grip on their hand carry, causing it to slide downstairs and land below the staircase they were climbing.

The flummoxed Max sighed.

Part 2

Max was hyper-focused, lost in a daydream about his well-deserved vacation, and trying to choose a destination in Barbados when the manager of the Hotel Grande, Fred Flustered, approached him, his brows furrowed.

“Yes, Mr. Flustered,” Max, with some difficulty, cast his holiday train of thought aside and took on his typical professional demeanour. “How may Flummoxed Investigative Services be of service?” he greeted Fred, unaware of the slight comic relief his unintentional assonance created.

“Thank you, Mr. Flummox. We discovered you are an esteemed investigator, so we now approach you about a rather delicate matter.”

“It is this,” Fred began, pacing the corridor. “We are about to host an important diplomatic event here at the Hotel Grande.”

“Well, good for you.” Max nodded with disinterest, drumming his fingers on the table. When was he going to get to the point? Fred’s anxious manifestations were becoming a distraction. Benny dropping his trusty voice recorder while trying to set it up was not helping.

“Sure, but one dignitary, Ambassador Lorenzo de Verdi, has vanished without a trace,” he continued, pacing, making Max dizzy.

“Did you try his cell phone? He could just be exploring the ship,” he tried to be reassuring despite it all.

“Yes, for the past 12 hours. There has, up till now, been no answer.” Fred, well, was frantic, and Benny, picking up on his vibe, dropped his recorder again.

“Alright,” Max drew himself out of his chair, looking a little hassled himself. “Stop pacing now; you’re giving me a headache, which is not going to help. Let’s go, Benny.”

The young sidekick, carrying the fixed-up recorder, promptly bumped against the doorframe.

Part 3

Back in their cabin, the befuddled investigator tried to break down their new problem. After pacing around himself for a few hours, he fired off a few theories.

“Perhaps they’ve been abducted by aliens. Or he may have been involved in some heist!"

He threw up his hands in despair. He knew the notions were beyond ridiculous.

Benny, who knew better than to question his boss about his wild ideas, had stumbled out of the room and made his way to a nearby vending machine. He kicked it after it didn’t dispense his purchase, stubbing his toe.

“Ow,” he groaned, his jumps around the corridor making far-off kangaroos blush with embarrassment.

He didn’t realise that he had hopped over to Ambassador De Verdi’s room. There was a half-eaten tray of food outside it.

Benny jimmied the door handle, shaking himself and the door. He didn’t need to; it was unlocked.

On the unmade bed were a pair of mismatched socks and an abandoned Sudoku puzzle.

Benny went back to their room, hoping that his boss would make some sense of the confusion.

Part 4

In the room, Max tried to unravel that knot. As was typical, he sat at his desk. Benny knew that he wouldn’t get up for one or two hours in his hyperfocused state, so he left the room.

Max was pacing around the room when he returned with a milkshake spilt on his good brown coat.

“Look at you!” The impulsive detective almost growled. “Let’s try interviewing the dignitaries who came with Mr. De Verdi,” he said, knocking on the door of one Sally Straightlaced as Max tried to toggle with the recorder while trying to hold on to a cup of coffee.

The door opened, hitting Benny, who spilt the coffee over the unfortunate recipient.

“Sorry, so sorry!” Benny fumbled for a handkerchief and tried to wipe the coat belonging to the woman who answered the door.

“Don’t do that, you fool. You’ll deepen the stain! I will handle it later.” Her son, Sam, was running about the room with a water pistol.

“Miss Straightlaced?” Max, his eyes darting around the room as his sidekick tried, after failing a few times, to start his recorder. “Can we ask a few questions?”

“Well, I’ve already opened the door. Shoot,” Benny, who had wrestled her son’s water pistol from him, did the honours.

“Eww!” Sally tried to wipe the water off her austere, double-breasted coat. “Please ask your questions before I really lose my temper. You’re already treading on our privacy.”

“Have you seen Mr. De Verdi from Italy? He has gone missing.” Max raised his eyebrows, waiting for her response. He noted the open wardrobe. It was a young lady’s rather seductive black dress.

“Not since we arrived yesterday. I’ve been too busy with the little one here.” She ruffled her son’s hair. “But I heard Mr. De Verdi speaking to his mother. Something about meeting her family. He seemed a little upset after that.

The furrows on Max’s flummoxed brows eased a little as an idea dawned. He grinned.

Part 5

Max and Benny left their room and started to knock on doors along the corridor. They tried to question the other dignitaries, each more eccentric than the other.

All of them mentioned a phone call between the lost ambassador and his mother.

Max frowned after hearing what they had to say. He sat at his desk for a hyper-focus session, which started with him trying to solve the Sudoku puzzle they had found. That left Bumbling Benny with some time to explore the ship.

“Here, boss,” he said, handing Max a moustache, and an abandoned tuxedo after returning to the room. Max, as usual, was pacing around it. “I found this in the ship’s laundry room.”

Max looked resolute. “Follow me, Benny. I think I know where Mr. De Verdi is.”

As they walked out of the room and into the corridor, they spotted a figure tip-toeing at its end.

“That’s Mr. De Verdi, Benny. What are you waiting for? Go after him!”

Benny started on a chase with the elusive ambassador. He ran along corridors, knocking on room doors that irate passengers answered.

“How would I know where some De Verdi is?” screamed one dignitary. “I heard something about an arranged marriage.”

“Ok, a deranged marriage,” Benny noted in his diary.

He returned to their hotel room, feeling despondent. His boss would give him a tough time for not finding the disappearing dignitary.

Max, however, surprised him with a warm smile. “Don’t worry, Benny, he’ll have to surface somewhere. He is wearing a disguise. Let’s catch him before he tries to leave the hotel.”

Part 6

They found themselves in the hotel’s casino. “Here,” Max grabbed dealers’ uniforms for himself and Benny. “You know how to play poker, right?”

“No, I don’t.” Benny protested.

“Then learn. Get yourself behind a table.”

Benny obediently positioned himself at a poker table and tried to distribute chips.

“Hey, you forgot my share,” one player waved at him. As Benny approached the stranger, Max realised that something about him was familiar.

The moustache.

Max quickly walked over to the moustached player and took the seat next to him. “Dealer,” he motioned to Benny, “Chips here, please.”

As Benny tried to hand him a pile of plastic chips, his hand brushed against the stranger’s moustache, knocking it slightly out of place.

“Hello, Ambassador De Verdi,” Max intoned in a whisper.

“How’d you know?” The ambassador fumbled as he tried to replace his moustache.

“We found a similar getup in the laundry, so we knew you were in disguise.”

De Verdi turned to Max. “I give up,” he replied in an equally low tone. You must be Max Flummox. I heard you were after me,” he sighed, worry lines covering his brow. “You don’t understand my situation.”

The dignitary’s pleas for empathy did not go unheeded.

“But I do, sir. Like you, I enjoy my freedom. Tell you what,” he said, leaning forward. “I will keep your dalliance a secret for now, but you must be accountable for what you should. Assume your responsibilities at the diplomatic dinner tonight.”

De Verdi nodded. Just as he turned to leave for his room, however, he turned with a smirk threw a can of tear gas on the floor and vanished in a cloud of smoke. The smoke detector, now triggered, sent hotel patrons out into the corridors.

The cat-and-mouse game continued.

Part 7

Max and Benny, now more flummoxed than ever, started searching the casino for the vanishing ambassador.

Just as they were about to begin individual room searches, Benny tripped and fell over a wire, accidentally bumping into a door.

It opened. Max had never seen it before and was now more befuddled than ever. Hadn’t he solved the case?

Cautiously opening it, the detectives travelled along a passage that led to another room.

A young man, fiddling about with a moustache, looked up at them in surprise. Ambassador De Verdi sat beside him.

“You must be Antonio De Verdi, the ambassador’s son,” Max faced him with a sarcastic flourish. “You’ve disappointed daddy, I’m afraid.”

“How did you...” Antonio stammered.

“You had to be in cahoots with your father.” Max replied, confidence overtaking his normally scatterbrained impulses. He held up the moustache. “There is a family resemblance, making it easy for you to disguise yourself whenever you needed to replace him.” He faced Ambassador De Verdi, who looked nonplussed and in shock.

He paused before continuing. “Your father wanted you to continue his good work, which meant having to develop ties with other dignitaries or families of the wealthy.

He had arranged a marriage between you and the daughter of Ms. Sally Straightlaced here,” he nodded at the female diplomat,who appeared surprised. He looked squarely at her. “ The Little Black dress in your wardrobe told a little tale of your arrangements with the older Mr. De Verdi. You’re old-fashioned and austere. And because you value your privacy, Ambassador De Verdi and his family agreed to your request to keep the arrangement as private as possible. Sadly, they ended up masking matters as much as possible and resorting to a little subterfuge.”

Sally sighed. It was all in the open now.

Max patted her shoulder. “We can still keep things discreet. Attend the diplomat’s event this evening and assume your responsibilities.”

The three nodded.

Part 8

Max and Benny turned to leave the casino, their job done. The bumblefooted assistant knocked into a jackpot machine while leaving the casino, causing an unintended payout.

The hotel’s manager trod over to Max. “It’s alright.” He reached for a portion of it to give to Max. “This is to add to your payment for your brilliant services. And take this too.” He handed Max an envelope.

Max quickly opened it. In it was a cheque for his services and something more - an invitation to solve the Mystery of the Teacup Poodle.