The Thief Lord

"Do send me a copy of your article, as soon as it is published," the dottore said, already striding past Victor and out of the office.

There was a deathly silence, now that he had left the room. Scipio stood next to the open drawer and watched Victor like a mouse would watch a cat. Then he suddenly made a dash for the door.

"Hold it!" Victor called, standing in the boy's way. "Where are you going? To warn your friends? That won't be necessary. I don't intend to hand them over to the police, even though you did steal my wallet. I'm not even interested in the fact that you're obviously keeping a little gang in your father's dilapidated movie theater. I don't care! I'm only interested in the two brothers -- the ones you have taken in. Prosper and Bo."

Scipio stared at him wordlessly. Then he whispered contemptuously, "You rotten snoop!" before leaning forward and giving the carpet on which Victor was standing such a sharp tug that the detective lost his balance and landed with a crash on his backside. He still managed to hold on to the box with the tortoise. Quick as a flash, Scipio shot past him and ran toward the door. Victor threw himself to the side to grab hold of the boy's legs, but Scipio just jumped over him and vanished before Victor could get back on his feet.

Fuming with frustration, Victor charged after him as quickly as his short legs would carry him. But when he reached the top of the stairs, panting heavily, Scipio was already leaping down the last steps.

"Stop, you little rat!" Victor bellowed after him. His voice boomed through the huge house so loudly that two maids came running across the courtyard. "Stop!" Victor bent over the balustrade and suddenly felt distinctly nauseous when he saw the drop below. "I WILL FIND YOU, do you hear!"

But Scipio just made a face and ran out of the house.

18 Alarm!

"Well, let's go through it once more," Mosca muttered, pouring over the floor plan the Conte had given them. "We've seen three people entering and leaving the place so far: the fat housekeeper, her husband, and the lady with the dyed-blonde hair."

"Signora Ida Spavento," Riccio explained. "At first we thought the fat one was the signora and the blonde her daughter. But the man who runs the newsstand on the Campo Santa Margherita likes to talk a lot. He told me that the younger one is Ida Spavento and the fat one only looks after the house. Signora Spavento lives alone and she travels a lot. The newspaper man said she's a photographer. He showed me a magazine with pictures of Venice that she had taken. She comes and goes at different times. But the housekeeper goes home between six and seven every evening like clockwork and her husband usually arrives around midday but he never stays for long. Just as well -- he looks as if he eats children for breakfast."

"Yeah, he does!" Mosca said, grinning.

Riccio continued, "So there's always someone in the house during the day. And the evenings," he sighed, "are the same. Signora Spavento obviously only likes going out during the day. But at least she goes to bed early. The light in her bedroom is out by ten o'clock at the latest."

"If that really is her bedroom," Hornet said. She didn't sound very convinced. "If, if, if! If the wing is on the first floor. If Signora Spavento sleeps on the second floor. If there really is no alarm system. There are too many 'ifs' for my liking. And what about the dogs?"

"Silly little yappers." Riccio picked a piece of gum from the gap in his teeth. "And they probably belong to the housekeeper. She usually takes them home with her in the evenings."

"Usually!" Hornet rolled her eyes.

"Well, even if she doesn't," Mosca waved his hand dismissively, "then we'll just give them some sausages."

"Well, aren't you the expert!" Hornet muttered. She was fiddling nervously with her braid. She had already stolen lots of things from shops, in vaporetto stations, in crowded alleys, but sneaking into a strange house was a completely different kettle of fish. Even if Riccio and Mosca were acting as if it was all just one big adventure for them, Hornet knew they were just as scared as she was. "I wonder where the Conte got that floor plan," Mosca wondered.

Riccio lifted his head. "Wasn't that the bell?"

They all listened. Someone was ringing the bell at the emergency exit.

"That can't be Scipio -- he isn't coming until tomorrow!" Hornet said. "And he usually comes in through his secret entrance anyway."

"I'll ask for the password," said Prosper, jumping up. "Bo, you stay here." The bell kept ringing again and again as Prosper ran down the dark corridor toward the exit. After the incident with the detective, Mosca had drilled a spy-hole into the door, but it was already dark outside, so when Prosper pressed his eye against the hole he could hardly see anything. Rain was pelting against the entrance and someone was hammering against the metal.

"Can't you hear me? Let me in!" a voice pleaded outside. "Won't anybody let me in, darn it!" Prosper thought he heard a sob.

"Scipio?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, darn it!" Prosper hastily pushed the bolt aside.

A soaked Scipio stumbled past him. "Lock the door," he panted, "quick!"

Prosper, bewildered, obeyed him. "We thought you wanted to come tomorrow," he said. "Why didn't you creep in your usual way?"

Scipio leaned against the wall, still panting heavily. "You have to leave," he gasped. "Right away. Is everybody here?"

Prosper nodded. "What do you mean?" he asked hoarsely. "What do you mean, we have to leave?"

But Scipio was already running down the dark corridor. Prosper followed him, his heart beating wildly. When Scipio stumbled into the auditorium, the others stared at him as if he were a stranger.

"What happened to you?" Mosca asked, astonished. "Did you fall into a canal? And what's with the fancy clothes?"

"I haven't got time to explain everything to you!" Scipio yelled. His voice cracked with excitement. "The snoop knows you're here. Grab what you need and let's get out of here."

The others looked at him in horror.

"Don't just stare at me!" Scipio screamed. They had never seen him like this before. "He's going to walk through the front door at any minute. We might be able to come back here later, but please, you have to leave now."

Nobody moved. Riccio was staring openmouthed at Scipio. Mosca was frowning and Hornet had put her arm around Bo, who looked very frightened.

Prosper was the first to react. "Get your cats, Bo," he said. "And put your raincoat on. It's pouring outside." Moving fast, he was now stuffing their few belongings into a bag. The spell broken, the others started to hurry as well.

"But where are we going to go?" Riccio called out in despair. "It's raining outside. And it's really cold. I don't understand. How did the snoop find us?"

"Shut up, Riccio!" Hornet barked at him. "I have to think." She took her arm off Bo's shoulders and turned to Mosca. "You go and sit out front in the ticket booth and let us know as soon as you hear anything suspicious. He'll get held up by the garbage we've piled up by the entrance, but not for long."