The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves 1: Egypt's Fire
TOM PHILLIPS in question is that you haven't read this book But I am sure after you do you'll agree with me And who am I Just a humble observer who feels compelled compelled to set the record straight Throughout my lifetime I have witnessed collected and recorded mysterious events all over the world but the strange happenings I am about to recount are by far the most inter esting I have ever laid witness to I've changed some of the names to protect the not so innocent but every other detail is exactly as it occurred It all began with a lonely boy a priceless ruby and an inspector named Toadius McGee VIII
CHAPTER ONE The time when an orphan almost caught a master criminal In In a crawl space above the bathroom on the fourth floor of the New York Museum of Natural History lived an orphan named John Randel Boarhog He had been living in the museum for about six months At eleven and a half John had decided that he would be better off on his own He was done with orphanages foster homes and grown-ups grown-ups He was tired of other people deciding what was best for him John knew what was best for himself living with his mother Unfortunately that was now impossible If you’ve ever tried to live in the ceiling of a museum
you know how difficult it can be Living in the ceiling of any building is tricky but museums are perhaps the most challenging challenging even for expert ceiling dwellers John had discovered discovered that if he followed the same routine every day he could reduce the chance he’d be caught so he’d learned the schedules schedules of every janitor scientist and security guard involved in the running of the institution On the day in question John rushed up the museum steps He was late The sun was already setting and its golden rays bounced off the skyscrapers casting a maze of shadows around him He arrived at the top of the stairs and stopped to catch his breath pausing to rest beneath the giant stone words truth knowledge vision which were engraved high above the entrance of the building Watch your head a voice called from above him John looked up to see a man on a scaffolding John had been so busy being late he hadn’t realized they were changing the banners on the outside of the museum Look out below the man yelled as he let the banner fall John’s breath left his body as it unfurled The crimson seemed to glow in the golden light egypt’s fire and the secrets of an egyptian tomb it proclaimed in bold white letters Wow John said 2 TOM PHILLIPS
Are you coming in or what a security guard called to the boy Sup Al John smiled at the stocky guard Good evening John Al replied winking and tipping his hat I’m afraid the museum is about to close though I know but I have to give Ms Wingfield her book back How was school today Good John lied What did you learn Al had asked an innocent question but John didn’t have an answer The truth was John hadn’t been at school that day He hadn’t been to school in a very long time Looks like they’re finally about to open the new exhibit John said quickly changing the subject Yeah and in the nick of time if you ask me The security security guard laughed Rumor is they mixed up the exhibit pieces with props for that new show on Broadway Oh no That’s terrible Not as terrible as the play It’s called Asp Me Why I Love Her and it’s about a museum curator falling in love with a mummy Al shook his head I guess the big dance sequence was pretty interesting and Ms Wingfield enjoyed the production’s production’s dedication to historical accuracy It sounds awesome John liked musicals He’d thought about living in a theater but as everyone knows the only 3 EGYPT’S FIRE
