Warp Pipes to Nowhere - A Detective Shy Guy Mystery

Chapter 4

Bulging eyes followed us as we swam. I could feel them tracking me. And when I turned my head over my shoulder, not a Cheep Cheep in the joint shied away. They just kept glaring, calm but ready to explode. The purple brute knocked twice on the door, whispered something into the little rectangular slot that appeared at eye level, and then the door opened. I followed the brute and Kappy into the darkness, only noticing the bubble barrier as I crossed through it.

Kappy and I slid on the floor while the brute caught himself and glided gracefully onto his hind fins. Kappy motioned to me to remove my helmet, and so I did. I took a hefty helping of air deep into my lungs and exhaled slowly.

"There we are!" Said the brute in a rather jovial voice that rested a couple octaves higher than I expected. "You all right, Kappy? Master Guy? A bit soggy in the bottom I see but you'll warm up in a jiff. It's quite toasty in here. But don't worry! Not hot enough to fry a calamari!" He slapped his belly and laughed. I looked around at Kappy; he was giggling along. I mimed the same to fit in and then looked around the room.

Like the restaurant before it, the room we stood in now was dark, illuminated only by lamps with green coverings. On the wall were racing posters. One such poster said, "The Spiny Six," which showcased a cart racing group made up of spinies, their emerald-colored shells glistening in the sun. They were hoisting up a trophy. The remaining showed the same group in various locales, crossing the finish line or drifting around turns. My own hero, Shay Guy, was even featured in one, coming in just a hair behind Santiago Spiny, the reigning kart cup champ.

Dead center in the room crouched three desks in a horizontal line, bisecting the room. Each desk had a green lamp of its own, and behind each lamp, shaded in a jeweled green, was a dry bone wearing a green visor, diligently counting stacks of coins and taking notes on a typewriter. In the light, their usual gray bones looked sickly, yellow. Their eyes matched. They didn't seem to notice us. But as I looked up at them, I noticed the pocket of shadow that loomed behind them.

From deep within that shadow, a throat was cleared. I watched as the biggest Cheep Cheep I had ever seen shuffled his way into the lamplight. He was green, with a darker green mohawk and fins, and a pale green belly.

"Kappy!" he said, throwing his arms wide. "And what do I owe the pleasure?" His voice was deep. In a sense, it was warm, but warm like a fire piranha plant. And right now, he was only smiling his sharp teeth and puffing out embers.

Kappy laughed heartily, a little too heartily. The big Cheep Cheep snapped his fins when it went on a fraction of a second longer than was comfortable. Kappy stopped laughing, and the three dry bones got up, their bones rattling, and removed their hats. They then wandered behind the Cheep Cheep, and opened a door which flooded the dark oasis in blue, yellow light from the outside world.

I supposed that as skeletons, they didn't need air. They closed the door behind them and threw us, once again, into a deep darkness. Kappy walked behind me and pushed me ahead. I nearly bumped into the table.

"This here, fella, is a f-f-friend of mine. He's looking for something. Go on, tell 'em, Guy. Tell 'em."

I glared over my shoulder at Kappy and then faced Tartare.

The jovial look of the brute vanished. As did the welcoming grin of Mr. Tartare. Now that my eyes had adjusted, and in the excess glow of the lamps, I noticed the same coin tattoo on his dark green fin. Just perfect. Trust Kappy for a lead, and I'm suddenly caught between a Bob-omb and a fireflower. I'd give it five before the fuse goes off.

After we waited a minute in silence, a devilish grin rippled across the face of Tartare. "Wait a minute. You're another detective, aren't you?"

I cocked my head to the side. Another? This day keeps getting better and better.