RISING TIGER | YOUNG WRITERS’ MYSTERY STORIES

Stories at the Huonville Library…

Up to Year 2

MONKEY MYSTERY

 OLIVIA KRISTENSEN

Hobart, Tasmania

2022 WINNER

UP TO YEAR 2 CATEGORY

AGATHA CHRISTIE IN TASMANIA 

Once upon a time there lived a girl and a monkey. They lived in a beautiful cottage just outside Hobart city. They both liked solving mysteries.

One day the girl woke up and Monkey was gone. She looked around the room and she thought he might be having breakfast. He was not there so she looked outside instead and he was not there either.

It was her birthday and she wanted to celebrate it with Monkey.

Which made her sad. So she went back inside.

Then she thought we like solving mysteries maybe he has left me a clue. She looked around and saw a note in the pantry when she went she to have breakfast.

The note said... you have to figure out the letters to find were I am. The first letter comes after O and just before Q. The next letter is always at the beginning. The next letter is at the beginning of rabbit and the end of car. The final letter is at the beginning of Kate and the end of crock.

The girl looked up and thought P-A-R-K park! and she rushed to the park. There was a giant party just for her and she got to celebrate her birthday with Monkey after all. They had so much fun at the party.

THE END!

THE MYSTERY OF THE DINO MODEL 

AUGUST WALTER

Huonville, Huon Valley

2022

UP TO YEAR 2 CATEGORY

AGATHA CHRISTIE IN TASMANIA 

Once, in Huonville, three kids were playing cops and robbers after hearing that a dinosaur model had been stolen from the Hobart museum.

Dan said, ‘I wonder how it is for real life?’

‘I think it’d be the same as our game!’ said Jenny. ‘But harder.’ The next day Dan’s mum said, ‘Why not go for a picnic?’

While spreading the rug, Jenny spotted something on the ground. ‘It’s an old map,’ said John.

‘Yes, but...’ said Dan excitedly. ‘It’s a map of our house! How strange, it seems to say there’s a secret trapdoor!’

The kids searched all over Dan’s house for the trapdoor, when suddenly Dan disappeared! They spotted a hole.

‘Quick get a ladder!’ said Jenny. They climbed down into an underground room. Suddenly, John spotted something. ‘The dino model!’ he yelled, then the others saw a footprint and a glove. They copied the print, and took the glove.

Dan hid the model, and they went to Jackman & McRoss for cake. There, right outside, they saw a man with only one glove and it matched the one they’d found! ‘Quick! Call the police!’ said Dan. The kids shadowed the robber and heard that his name was also John.

‘Good John bad John little John big John!’ giggled John. The police arrived, handcuffed the man, and thanked the children.

‘Well, it wasn’t quite like our game!’ said Jenny.

‘No,’ said John. ‘But I think we need to change the rules a bit!’

THE MYSTERY OF THE SILVER LLAMA 

STEPHANIE SHANNON

Taroona, Tasmania

2020 WINNER

UP TO YEAR 2 CATEGORY

FEMALE DETECTIVES 

Gloria was awakened by her sister rolling on top of her. It was a lovely morning in the Llama pen. Gloria the llama overheard two humans talking about a stolen Incan Silver Llama. Gloria loved to solve mysteries and was quite the detective around the farm.

The next day she snuck out of the llama pen and started on a journey to find the thieves. She travelled through the Andes Mountains and finally reached Quito in Ecuador. She went into the city and started looking around. A sparkle from an open window caught her eye, a cat sat next to a pouch, Gloria was sure it had the missing Incan Llama in it! The cat started to run and Gloria tried to catch the cat but she was too quick.

Night came and Gloria fell asleep, tired from her long journey.

The next day she woke with the sun shining through the open window. She remembered she needed to find that cat. She went back to see if the cat was still there. She was! Gloria caught her, she hissed and scratched. The bag she was carrying fell and the missing Llama rolled out. Gloria let her go and picked up the silver Llama. The cat came and introduced herself, her name was Sabina and she was trying to return the silver Llama to the museum where it had been stolen from. The next day they returned the silver Llama. They became very good friends and told each other all their stories. Sabina told Gloria how she had seen the bad guys who had stolen the silver Llama and knew she had to get it back.

When they arrived back at the Llama pen all the other Llama’s welcomed Gloria and her new friend. The next morning was different, Gloria woke to a fussy fur ball on her back, all curled up in her warm fur. They were ready to start a new adventure together… 

Years 3 and 4

DETECTIVE APPLE-HAT AND THE CHERRY TREE MANOR MYSTERY

 ARTHUR DENDLE CRERAR

Gardeners Bay, Huon Valley

2022 WINNER

YEARS 3-4 CATEGORY

AGATHA CHRISTIE IN TASMANIA

Just after midnight, in a private study at Cherry Tree Manor on Bruny Island, Lord Cherrington was reading over his speeches for the next day’s anti-logging event. Suddenly the door creaked. He looked around and saw a tall, looming black silhouette approaching. He screamed.

The following day was gloomily wet. Detective Apple-Hat was driving along in his Rolls-Royce when a man jumped out in front of him. The detective pulled over, checked his secret knife was well hidden, and stepped from his car.

‘I am a messenger from the Cherrington family,’ the man said. ‘Lord Cherrington is dead.’

Later, at Cherry Tree Manor, Detective Apple-Hat gathered a group to investigate Cherrington’s murder. Seated around the table was a man named George, a tall young girl, a woman with blazingly red hair, and two wrinklies, who clearly wanted to be elsewhere.

‘I am the brother of the late Lord,’ said George. ‘I consider it my duty to discover his murderer. I believe the suspect is seated at this table. You were the only ones in the Manor last night.’

The first suspect was a tall, ten year old named Josephine, daughter of a local logger. She had black hair, glasses, and a friendly smile.

The next was Rose, a blind young woman with wild red hair, who had been looking after Lord Cherrington for many years.

Then 95-year-olds Sal and Pip, twins with deeply wrinkled skin – and matching scowls. They were the cooks, though they should have been kept out the kitchen.

The detective watched them carefully. All wore poker faces. 

That evening over dinner, Detective Apple-Hat and George were discussing the suspects.

‘Who do you think did it?’ asked George.

‘Not sure, but my guess is Rose,’ replied the detective. ‘Why? She’s blind!’ exclaimed George.

‘Or so she says,’ replied the detective. ‘Trust no one.’

‘I think it’s Josephine,’ said George, tucking into his fish.

‘She’s just so young…’ said the detective, but at that moment George fell to the ground.

‘The fish,’ he said, clutching his throat ‘the fish…’ 

Next morning, the detective woke up early at Cherry Tree Manor.

Walking downstairs for breakfast, he heard footsteps behind him. He jumped behind a suit of armour as a pole came down hard. He bolted away as the suit of armour smashed.

Suddenly the attacker dropped the pole and pulled out a sword and revolver, one in each hand.

The detective ran for his life.

Four things happened in quick succession. The sword slammed into a column.

The detective darted out the way.

The revolver fired, a stray bullet hit the hilt of the sword.

The column fell, crushing the sword and revolver with a deafening crack.

The figure stood unarmed. The detective pulled out his secret knife. As the figure ran away, her glasses fell to the ground.

The detective cried, ‘We won’t catch her now!’

‘No need,’said George, stepping from the shadows with Josephine’s fallen glasses in his hand.

ELISABETH AND THE MISSING WALLET

LAVINIA PEARCE

Hobart, Tasmania

2022

YEARS 3-4 CATEGORY,

AGATHA CHRISTIE IN TASMANIA

One afternoon at the Richmond gaol, Elisabeth was cleaning Edward’s quarters. This is her story.

Elisabeth was sent to Richmond gaol when she was 18. She stole a loaf of bread and she was deported from England and travelled for 4 months before reaching Van Diemen’s land. Now she must clean the top guard, Edward’s quarters every day.

Elisabeth shares a cell with Fanny and Mary. They used to cook together but Edward liked Elisabeth and now she cleans his quarters. Edward is very kind to Elisabeth so Fanny and Mary are jealous of Elisabeth.

One day after cleaning Edward’s quarters she saw Fanny and Mary walking together complaining. Elisabeth thought it was normal because they usually come to the cell looking disappointed. They all sat down in the cell waiting for dinner when Elisabeth heard Fanny say ‘the same?’ but it was hard to hear because Fanny and Mary always sit away from Elisabeth and whisper. When they finished dinner, they went to sleep as they all had a very busy day so they were very sleepy. 4 minutes later the guard John woke the three up and said ‘don’t worry girls you’re not in trouble Elisabeth here is’.

Elisabeth just stayed quiet as she didn’t want to get in any more trouble. As John was leading her to Edward’s quarters she thought to herself whatever John thought I did Edward thought I did it too. But he couldn’t have as he was so kind to me. Then she realised she was at Edward’s door. She was one step closer to finding out what she had done and if Edward thought she did it? She stepped into the room and saw Edward sitting in a chair. John said ‘sit down’. She sat down. John sat down and said ‘You know why you are here’?

‘No’, she replied.

‘Well, let me explain. You cleaned the room and Edward’s wallet is missing. You did it’?

‘No, no, I would never’.

‘Don’t play dirty on us, we will find out. You’re in solitary confinement for 2 day and you will get whipped starting tomorrow. Remember clean the quarters then solitary confinement. Have a good night’.

She walked back to her cell. The girls were asleep. She lay down. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. It kept her up all night. In the morning, she woke up, cleaned Edward’s quarters and was coming out when John took her arm and brought her to solitary confinement. He gave her some food and then said ‘don’t waste it because you are getting less dinner’.

John was walking to Edward’s quarters and at the door he saw a strand of blonde hair. He picked it up and ran to the women’s cells. The hair was long so he thought it was a girl’s. He asked every girl with blonde hair if it was theirs. None of them looked guilty. As he was about to walk out of the room he saw Fanny and asked Fanny. Fanny gulped and then said ‘No, of course not’. John thought it might be her hair. Maybe it just got caught on Elisabeth’s dress and fell of when she got to the door.

The next morning he went to give Elisabeth breakfast and on his way back he thought that he might talk to Edward and see what he thought about the wallet mystery. They talked but Edwards said he didn’t know who it was so John left the room went to the kitchen. When John gave Elisabeth her dinner he said ‘you are getting whipped tomorrow’ then he left the room. Elisabeth heard him chuckling to himself as he left the room.

The next day he was ready to solve this mystery. All he had to do was make Elisabeth tell the truth and then she would get whipped as a punishment. He had 20 minutes until Elisabeth was going to get whipped. He thought that maybe Edward would have left his wallet in his drawer but when John looked in the drawer, he saw finger prints made with flour from someone’s hands. He went into the kitchen and saw a photo fall out of Fanny’s pocket of Edward’s sister. He took Fanny by the hand and explained it all the Edward. Then he put Fanny in solitary confinement and took Elisabeth out. He said to Elisabeth she would not get whipped and Fanny would get whipped every day for 20 days. They found the wallet in one of the air holes in the cell and they all lived horribly ever after except for one, named Elisabeth.

GREAT GRANDPA’S SECRET

 LILY CLARK

Geeveston, Huon Valley

2020 WINNER

YEARS 3-4 CATEGORY

FEMALE DETECTIVES

Katie and Sophia were upstairs in their attic reading on their great grandfather’s old bed. Sophia had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly, as she rolled over she knocked Katie out of bed. As she was getting up off the floor she could see something carved into the wood of the bed, below an old metal key.

National Archives Hobart Library 1782 Page 3 Pearl Necklace

‘What does that mean?’ asked Sophia.

‘I remember Grandma telling me that her Mum had a valuable pearl necklace stolen’ said Katie.

As the library was open they hopped into their silvery blue car, Katie was driving and her 14-year-old sister Sophia was the passenger.

The drive took two hours to Hobart from Southport. When they arrived Katie asked Sophia if she had written down the words carved under the bed. ‘Of course, did you think I would leave that knowledge at home?’ said Sophia.

Both girls decided to look in the old newspaper section hoping to come across something.

After about half an hour searching they found the microfilm newspaper reel for 1782, ‘Let’s put it on’ said Sophia. Page 3 showed an article of a suspected jewellery thief with a picture of an ugly man with what appeared to be a pearl necklace tucked into his swag bag. The article said that he may have hid his treasures in a cave around Hastings, but none were ever found.

‘I wonder if we could find the cave and Great Grandmas pearl necklace?’ asked Sophia.

‘I’m pretty sure there is a cave at Hastings that collapsed years ago and isn’t open to the public because it’s dangerous’ said Katie.

‘Do you think we can go?’ Asked Sophia.

‘Yes, so long as we got some gear to keep us safe.’

The girls needed to go through Dad’s shed.

‘Wait in the car while I grab some stuff,’ said Katie.

‘Fine, but be quick,’ warned Sophia knowing her Dad wouldn’t be happy.

When Sophia was sitting in the car all the things that could go wrong were racing through her mind.

‘What about getting lost?’ yelled Sophia.

‘I’m bringing white chalk,’ said Katie

The girls looked around the bush for two hours before they found the overgrown, long forgotten cave. They cautiously entered the cold, dark cave.

‘I hope there are no bats,’ whispered Katie. Wide eyed she could make out something ahead. As they got closer they realised it was an arrow carved into the stone. Pushing where the arrow pointed made an entrance to a room carved out of rock open. Inside was an old rusty locked trunk.

‘Wait,’ Sophia cried, ‘this is what the key is for!’ The lock squeaked but opened with the key.

Inside was a beautifully preserved letter. It read:

Congratulations, you have followed the clues and shall be rewarded.

This letter gives the finder all the treasure I have taking for this cave, and stored at the Old Bank Geeveston.

Signed Stanley Alfred Petersen.

‘Our Great Grandfather!’

Years 5 and 6

THE CLUE OF THE ASCENDING LETTER

 SEBASTIAN HARVEY

Auckland, New Zealand

2022 WINNER

YEARS 5-6 CATEGORY

AGATHA CHRISTIE IN TASMANIA

It was New Year’s Eve in Coles Bay. All the townspeople were gathering for the annual celebratory picnic.

Every year the venue changed. Last year it was in the town centre and the year before that it was near the Swan River. This year the picnic was in a paddock behind Mayor Emmanuel Lomax’s newly acquired property, an old church converted into a house he had called Lomax Hall.

Before, it had been painted white, but had recently changed to black by Jack O’Brien, the original owner. It was a small nineteenth century colonial building. There was an enclosed porch and triangular gables and the steeple with a bronze and gold cross on top. There were stained glass windows depicting forgotten saints and biblical prophets from the past. Along the left-hand side of the house was a gravel path with multi-coloured flower beds with rose bushes behind and there was a polished marble statue centred in the middle of a ring of buxus.

We walked or rode our bikes along the old dusty stretch called Flacks Road. Once people got there, they walked along the path for about two minutes before they came to the paddock. There was not a cloud in the sky and it was incredibly hot. There was a light zephyr tickling at peoples’ legs.

On the grass, ten trestle tables covered with yellow and green gingham cloths were set up. Each table had two vases of banksia on them and there were containers of cutlery next to them and individual beer glasses engraved with the guests’ names to indicate where they should sit. The tables were scattered around the paddock with a barbeque next to each one. There were bowls of nibbles laid out and also people were carrying extra provisions. The townspeople circled around their tables making friendly conversations forgetting the quarrels of the previous year.

At our table sat Mayor Emmanuel Lomax, a tall skinny man of fifty- three years old, salt and pepper hair, a sallow complexion, a silly button nose and thin lipped. He wore a casual suit which was grubby and creased. Emmanuel’s new girlfriend Rae Brown was with him. As well as being his girlfriend she happens to be my mother. She had long, naturally dark blonde hair, soft skin tanned by the sun, with little make-up. She was wearing a straw Panama hat, dark sunglasses, a sleeveless top and varied coloured and patterned silk trousers.

The previous owner of the church, Jack O’Brien, was forty-six years old, still handsome but weary looking. He was an outdoor type with a ruddy complexion, wearing a white singlet and beach shorts. The brother of Emmanuel Lomax was called Vic and was three years younger than him and was tall with light brown hair, a pleasant face and wearing a blue polo shirt and white beach shorts.

Emmanuel’s ex-wife Suzy Gage was a similar age to the Mayor. Her hair was an unnatural black produced by a bottle. She wore too much make-up and a loud lime green and orange floral patterned dress.

The Mayor was sitting at the top end of the table. On his left was his brother, and on his right, his girlfriend. At the other end sat his ex-wife and beside her, to the left, Jack O’Brien, and I was sitting on her right.

On the barbeques sizzled a mixture of pork, beef and vegetarian sausages and patties. The tables had baskets of buns, white bread and sourdough, butter and relishes lined up along the centre in military precision. Surrounding the picnic area were Tasmanian blue gums with glossy dark green leaves and white flowers. People mixed, talking to each other as they found where to sit. Beer was poured and people started on the nibbles.

Suddenly, an eerie sound came from above the treetops, and then emerged like a comet came a large flock of yellow tailed black cockatoo calling out in their dreadful wail. They descended into the blue gums to feed on their seeds. Everyone left the tables gathered in groups surrounding the tree line to watch this amazing spectacle. Dumbfounded that such a breath-taking event had occurred on such a stunning day.

When everyone returned to their tables they sat down and started eating again. First up were the sausages and patties which everyone happily devoured. The Mayor made a toast ‘We are all gathered today to celebrate the promise of a good year ahead, good farming, good economy, and a year that delivers better sausages than today’s’. 

Emmanuel took a gulp of his beer and started to choke. He clutched his heart before falling down, face first, into his meal. Everyone began making noises of panic. It wasn’t only the wailing screams of the yellow tailed black cockatoo but also that of everyone gathered there. People ran screaming for someone to phone the ambulance. Soon you could hear the sirens screaming, slowly approaching. The noise was unbearable. Children shrieked and ran off into the blue gum bush, while others stood still shocked by what had just happened. I stood up and went to find my mother. Searching through the sea of people…

I was shocked by what had just happened and the effects still hadn’t kicked in. I felt like a boat in the middle of a raging storm, until I found land, my mother. I found her around the back of Lomax Hall, slumped in a flower bush crying inconsolably. Her dress was stained with dirt and her make-up had become rivers of muddy water running down her face. The mascara around her eyes had also run giving her the appearance of a Tasmanian devil. I said to her ‘Let’s go home’. She silently nodded her head and I helped her up and we slowly walked back to our bikes and slowly, mournfully pedalled home.

After the autopsy it had been discovered that it was not heart failure. It was poison, one that must mimic a heart attack. Someone had poisoned the Mayor Emmanuel Lomax. I overheard this information at night when my mum had thought I was asleep and had received a phone call from the coroner telling her the news. They were still trying to figure out which type of poison it was. They couldn’t identify it. So, as my mind drifted off to sleep, I made a plan the next day to visit the picnic site to find out who had poisoned Emmanuel. My favourite writer was Agatha Christie and her detective, Hercule Poirot. His cleverness using psychology and extensive knowledge of human nature weeded out the criminals. Of course, he does take physical evidence into account but more often than not it is his combination of order, method and his ‘little grey cells’, that does the trick. I was going to follow the master.

I pedalled through town and saw a notice on the community notice board saying that Emmanuel’s funeral had been planned for the following Sunday. This meant I might not have long to solve the mystery. I continued pedalling and turned onto Flacks Road and rode for two hundred metres before turning onto the gravel driveway of Lomax Hall.

I parked my bike outside the door and walked along the gravel path. All of the roses had mysteriously wilted, perhaps in sadness at the sudden and unexplained death of their new owner. I continued until I arrived at the picnic field.

Emmanuel’s body had been removed but nothing else had been touched. I went over to the table I had been sitting at and began to search for a few clues. I first checked the food but by now it was riddled with maggots and flies and starting to decay. Those maggots must have arrived overnight so that meant that it was impossible to find out if the food had been poisoned but anyway, everybody had eaten the same. Then I remembered that the glass Emmanuel had been drinking from after he returned to the table had a short name on it. So, that gave me 4 four suspects…

First, Emmanuel’s ex-wife Suzy – she hated him because he was physically and emotionally abusive.

The second, his brother, because when Emmanuel and Vic were young they both had a crush on the same girl and Vic felt that Emmanuel stole her from him.

Third, the girlfriend…my mother…who did not really love him and was just there for the money.

The fourth, the previous landowner, Jack O’Brien. Emmanuel had bought his property from him cheaply when Jack got into financial difficulties and taken unfair advantage so he had reason to be angry.

I sat at the table, nearly overcome with the stench of rotten food, bewildered. I had to recreate a picture of the table before Emmanuel collapsed. I made a mental picture trying to see if there was anything that did not seem right. Everyone was sharing the same food and drinking beer.

Surely, if there had been poison in the food or beer, others would have collapsed as well.

Could something have been switched? By whom? So many at that table had a motive to do Emmanuel harm. I needed to look at my mental picture closer. Something worried me. But nothing was clear. What had happened? Then it became blindingly clear.

When the Mayor stood up to make his toast, the glass he raised had a short set of letters, much shorter than his own name. I peered closer to the picture in my mind. Was it three or four letters? Four. That means it could not have been the people sitting on either side of him. Their names had only three. It could only be Suzy or Jack. Which one?

Both had very good reasons to do away with the Mayor. Which one?

I made mental eyes into microscopes. The glasses must have been switched when people left the table to see the amazing flock of cockatoos. Then I knew.

The last letter of the glass containing the poison went above the line not below like y. It was the k of the name Jack.

SOPHIE AND THE LOST KEY

 JOANNA WU

Hobart, Tasmania

2022

YEARS 5-6 CATEGORY

AGATHA CHRISTIE IN TASMANIA

Sophie always longed for an adventure.

As a six-year-old girl, she might surprise people with her insatiable curiosity about life. Even her parents sometimes needed to find good reasons if they wanted her to obey, not to mention her elder sister Meg, whom Sophie often called a ‘goodie-goodie’.

On a Friday, Sophie and her family went to the State Library of Tasmania after school. Sophie was keen on the visit, though Meg didn’t seem so. As they entered the main room, Sophie grabbed her favourite book, The Holidays. She loved the adventurous dramas and heart- warming moments in the story. Meanwhile, Meg took her favourite book, Camille and Madeline. This novel was a bit similar to The Holidays. But it also distinguished itself by those fancy French words in it.

The family had gone back downstairs when Sophie spotted an entrance featuring an old-fashioned door framed with luxuriously carved wood and adorned by erstwhile black-and-white photos. Even more photos and paintings decorated the walls leading to the entrance door.

As I mentioned earlier in the story, an adventurous child like Sophie wouldn’t just shrug their arms and walk past such a peculiar place. They would either keep pestering their guardians until they allowed them or sneak there before anyone noticed. Sophie decided to try the former first, for she knew that if she begged her dad with that spoiled but convincing tone, he would let her. Anyway, let’s proceed to the interesting part of the story—hopefully, I didn’t bore you readers with too much voice-over. 

‘Look,’ said Sophie promptly, pointing to the vintage door, ‘Can we go there?’

Most of the time, Sophie’s parents were not averse to a harmless, novel experience. So Dad said with an interested tone, ‘We certainly can.’

Above the door frame was a sign: The Alport Family Exhibition. Next to the door, there was a desk with a computer on it. On the computer screen, you could see live surveillance footage. A man was working at the desk. He looked somewhat nervous.

Too kind to ignore him, Meg said, ‘Are you alright, sir?’ The man didn’t seem very keen to answer a thirteen-year-old girl’s question. However, the sparkles in her soft blue eyes made it impossible for him to say, ‘Mind your own business.’

‘I’m looking for a key. An antique key,’ the man said. Meg looked puzzled.

‘For heaven’s sake, Meg,’ said Sophie, ‘You don’t even know what he is talking about!’

Apparently, the little girl was impatient at her sister’s goodie- goodness.

Meg ignored Sophie and wished the man luck in the search. ‘Sophie, don’t talk to your sister in that manner,’ said Mum, ‘It is not very nice.’

‘This place looks fun,’ said Dad, ‘Let’s go and explore.’

Sophie went ahead of her parents, desperate to see the exhibition.

The first room, where the man was sitting at the desk, had a marble floor with a frosty sheen. A table with a glass top was also in the room. Peeking through the glass top, Sophie saw books that looked very old, and one of them lay open. It was a manuscript full of words made up of strange alphabets. Meg explained to Sophie that this was how people wrote in the past. Then, near the table, Sophie saw a shelf containing even more old books and an exquisite fan appealing to her the most.

In the next room, Sophie saw paintings of men and women elegantly dressed, Chippendale chairs, and cupboards full of delicate porcelain cups with patterns of flowers, birds, and some unique shapes.

Then, they moved to the adjacent bedroom furnished with a Chippendale bed draped with fine linen fabric, beside which a classic wooden dressing table was positioned.

In the dining room that adjoined the bedroom, Sophie saw a huge portrait of a graceful woman in a turquoise silk gown. Neat ringlets defined her ruddy face, while a large bun secured them at the back of her crown. Suddenly, something caught Sophie’s eyes—with an odd symbol on it, a rusty lock hung to the left of the painting. But just before she could reach the lock, Sophie heard Meg’s voice—’Sophie, time to go’.

‘I’m coming,’ Sophie answered, gazing at the mysterious lock on the wall.

As Meg was dragging her to the exit, Sophie asked, more or less with a tone of disappointment, ‘Can we come back tomorrow?’

‘Of course,’ Dad said without hesitation.

‘I’d like to check the reading room upstairs, too,’ Mum added.

The next day passed quickly. By the time Sophie finished the reading class, Meg had already been standing outside her classroom waiting for her.

‘Sophie, your sister is here to pick you up’, said Miss Murphy, Sophie’s form teacher, with a cheerful smile. Sophie leapt out of her chair and said goodbye to Miss Murphy. Meg also said goodbye to the teacher, and the two girls headed straight to the library.

‘Mummy and Daddy can’t come with us today’, said Meg.

‘We’ll be fine on our own,’ answered Sophie.

When the girls arrived at the library, they went upstairs into the reading room. Meg quickly walked off to the shelves and started searching for books. Sophie was roaming about until she spotted a thick book entitled The Alport Family Album lying on the bottom of the shelf. She picked it up immediately. The book was full of photos and paintings of the things she had seen in the exhibition the day before. After swiftly turning the pages, Sophie put the book back. As soon as she left the aisle, Sophie caught sight of a stranger figure out of the corner of her eye. It was an elderly woman—actually, the oldest one she had ever seen. From her pocket, the woman withdrew an old, rusty key; it bore the same symbol as the lock. She then hid the key in the book Sophie had just finished reading.

‘Meg,’ cried Sophie as she hurried towards her big sister.

‘Shh!’ Meg whispered angrily to Sophie, feeling embarrassed when several people turned and looked at them. ‘This is a library; we’re supposed to be quiet!’

Sophie paused and waited until everybody returned their attention to their reading. Then, she dashed to the bookshelf, took the key out of the book, and hurried back to Meg.

‘Let’s go to the Alport Family Exhibition,’ Sophie suggested, in a hushed voice this time.

Meg was still feeling so embarrassed that she wanted to leave, too. So the two girls exited the room and headed downstairs.

Upon reaching the ground floor, Sophie rushed into the exhibition despite Meg’s lecture on proper behaviour in the library. She stopped by the painting of the beautiful woman and climbed onto the dining table once the coast was clear.

With the guilt of doing something inappropriate, Sophie inserted the key into the lock beside the painting and turned it.

All of a sudden, the painting opened like a door. Inside, Sophie saw nothing but a blazing light. She removed the key and promptly climbed in without giving it much thought. Immediately, she found herself in a daze.

‘Why is it cold and wet?’—this was her first thought when she regained her senses. It only took her seconds to find the answer to her confusion: she was in the middle of a creek, and the cold water was rushing past her feet.

‘Are you alright?’ Sophie heard a voice out of nowhere.

‘I’m fine,’ Sophie replied instinctively. She looked around and saw a young woman standing on the bank.

Sophie made her way out of the water and approached the woman, closing the distance between them. To her surprise, the woman before her looked exactly like the one in the painting. In her hand, she held a fan that also looked familiar to Sophie.

‘Who are you?’ asked the little adventurer.

‘I am Lily Alport,’ answered the woman, ‘And I know you are Sophie.’

‘How do you know ...’ Sophie was so stunned that she couldn’t even finish her question but stood there in disbelief, mouth agape.

‘The key has already told me everything,’ Lily smiled, ‘It has chosen you over my great-great-granddaughter.’

‘Do you mean the old lady I saw in the reading room?’ asked Sophie.

‘Yes,’ answered Lily, ‘You are a clever girl. She failed to open the portal, though she knows how to read our family manuscript about the magic key.’

The images of those books filled with bizarre words floated into Sophie’s mind again. ‘Why did the key choose me?’ Sophie asked. She has never been so curious before.

‘I don’t know yet,’ Lily shook her head, ‘But there must be a reason. We will probably find out in the future. Now that you are here, let me show you around.’

Lily led the way as her little guest followed her into a mansion near the creek. During the tour of the mansion rooms, Sophie saw all kinds of Chippendale furniture and exquisite porcelain. Elegantly dressed men and women ambled about, beaming warm smiles and nodding welcomes to Sophie as if they had already known her.

‘This is amazing,’ Sophie exclaimed, ‘It’s just like the exhibition.’

‘C’est du déjà vu, n’est-ce pas?’ Lily smiled, ‘It is good to know that everything is well-maintained.’

Suddenly, it occurred to Sophie that Meg must be looking for her in the exhibition room.

‘Lilly, I’m sorry, but I really have to go now,’ said Sophie. Meanwhile, something sprang to her mind.

‘Shall I give the key back to you?’ She asked Lily, extending her hand that held the key.

‘No,’ the kind hostess replied, gently waving her hand. ‘The key itself knows where to go. Don’t worry.’

Lily led Sophie back to the creek.

‘Step in, and you will return to your time,’ Lily told Sophie, ‘You might want to close your eyes.’

Sophie followed Lily’s instructions after they bid each other farewell. The next thing Sophie knew was finding herself in the Alport Family exhibition again. She scanned the room and then dashed off to search for Meg and found her at the ‘Silver collection’.

‘Don’t run. There is no need,’ Meg frowned at Sophie. Sophie stopped, feeling a little puzzled.

‘How long have we been here?’ she asked seconds later. ‘About fifteen minutes,’ Meg answered calmly.

‘I’ve got some good news for you,’ Meg continued, ‘The librarian found the key he had been looking for in that reading room’.

Astonished, Sophie opened her hand that had held the key tightly— yes, it had gone!

‘It does know where to go,’ Sophie murmured to herself. 

‘Somebody hid it in the book called The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,’ Meg added, ignoring Sophie’s self-talk, ‘Anyway, I don’t think it’s something appropriate for young kids like you ... Hey, what are you doing?’

Unexpectedly, Sophie hugged Meg fiercely, who then nervously looked around to see if anyone had noticed the scene.

‘We are in a library, Sophie. How many times must I tell you…’

‘Yeah, I know we’re in a library,’ the little sister chirped, ‘so I want to find out more about the Alport family.’

Resignedly sighing, Meg said, ‘That’s okay. But no matter what you are imagining, you need to be quiet here.’

Together, the two girls carefully observed and read everything as they continued their visit in the exhibition. At the same time, it is about time that we turned our heads away and read another story about mysteries in Tasmania.

Open Category

THE GREAT JUPITER!?

 SAILA PERERA

Huonville, Huon Valley

2020 WINNER

OPEN CATEGORY

FEMALE DETECTIVES

WAITING…

PLACE: RED HOUSE… TIME: 10:00…

‘By any chance do you know why the President wants to see me?’ asked Sanaya.

‘I don’t know anything ma’am, so please take a seat and I will inform you when you are allowed to go in,’ said the Secretary.

As Sanaya sat down, more concerning thoughts filled her head. What happens if she embarrassed herself in front of the President? What happens if she failed the job she was entrusted with?

AWKWARD SILENCE

PLACE: HEXAGON OFFICE… TIME: 10:25…

It was too late to turn back, the Secretary asked her to come into the President’s office. As the doors opened Sanaya noticed how amazing the office was. It had a beautifully patterned floor and paintings on each side behind the President’s desk. Sanaya loved art, it was something that always stood out to her. Sanaya couldn’t look for any more artistic details in the room because she was distracted looking around the room for the President himself.

A smartly dressed man entered the room and asked Sanaya to take a seat. This wasn’t the President, it was his advisor, Mr Longford.

Once Sanaya took a seat next to Mr Longford there was an awkward silence. No one said a word for a minute or two. Mr Longford was busy fiddling with a file. Suddenly the door on the left side of the President’s desk opened. Mr Longford immediately stood up and Sanaya joined him.

MEETING THE PRESIDENT… PLACE: HEXAGON OFFICE… TIME: 10:30…

The President was wearing a smart suit. It was perfectly tailored. It was navy blue and had a slight spiral pattern.

‘Sorry for being late,’ said the President.

‘What should I say?’ thought Sanaya.

President Krummph broke the silence saying, ‘Thank you for coming Detective Sanaya, I have heard that you are one of the best detectives’.

Sanaya’s heart skipped a beat when the President said this. ‘Thank you for inviting me Mr President’ replied Sanaya.

Mr Longford then explained that everything they discussed at the meeting had to be highly confidential.

THE CASE

LOCATION: RED OFFICE… TIME: 10:40…

Your case is to find a HACKER! said President Krummph. ’A hacker? You chose ME to find a hacker?’ said Sanaya.

‘Sanaya our country is in danger. This hacker, you are assigned to find, has hacked into one of my most important files to…uh….launch deadly missiles to start a nuclear war, and we want to arrest him before he does any more damage’ explained President Krummph while staring at Mr Longford.

‘You are putting a lot of trust in me!’ said Sanaya excited.

‘Yes, now move on, you will need to choose an undercover name. Normally we choose the name, but you can choose yours, Sanaya’ said the President.

Sanaya thought for a while and remembered that when she read a book about The Planets organisation (her favourite group of detectives) the only planet that didn’t have a detective yet was Jupiter so with that she made her decision.

‘Can I be, Detective Jupiter?’ Asked Sanaya

‘Of course, Detective Jupiter. This hacker may be very dangerous so you will have access to our weapons room. My secretary will show you everything. I would like you to start immediately,’ said the President.

‘Yes, Mr President. Sir, may I ask one more question?’ asked Sanaya. ‘Yes you may,’ said Mr President anxiously.

‘Why are you putting only me on this important case?’ asked Sanaya curiously.

‘Well…’ Said the President pausing to look at Mr Longford ‘Because the more people that get involved, the more chaos there will be. Anyway, here is the file they hacked. The only thing I ask is that you don’t go into the chapter named ‘LET GO’, this is where the codes are. Don’t worry, this is in the last part of the file. We couldn’t take it out, so we put in a sensor. If you go into it, you will alert my agents’ continued the President while handing over a hard drive.

‘Thank you, Mr President,’ said Sanaya.

‘My secretary will show you to your room/office and everything else,’ said the President.

Before she could say another word, Mr Longford hurried her out of the office and shut the door. When the doors closed, she couldn’t hear a thing because it was a soundproof room.

Sanaya had mixed feelings, excited, nervous but mostly scared, this was only on the inside.

The first rule of being a good detective, ‘Never show fear’.

After settling into her room/office and getting to know the building and the staff, she studied her case but found nothing important and so she called her foster mother, Lisa

CALL WITH LISA

LOCATION: HER ROOM… TIME: 15:45…

Sanaya knew that the case was confidential, but she called Lisa on a secure phone line. Sanaya trusted Lisa with her life.

‘It has been three hours and I still haven’t found anything Lisa!’ said Sanaya ‘I have read everything that I’m allowed to read, and all the hacker left me was a little picture of a red planet. Why can’t I just read THAT chapter? I’m hopeless!’ Continued Sanaya gloomily

‘You are not hopeless Sanaya! I feel like all you need is a little break. Since you were 9 years old, you wanted to go to the Red House and visit the bowling alley, sleep in one of the bedrooms and eat at the restaurant!

But now that you are there, I don’t see you doing anything but stress!’ said Lisa.

‘So, are you telling me to relax while there is a dangerous hacker on the loose?’ asked Sanaya.

‘Only for an hour, it will give you a clean start and it might be an eye-opener for the case!’ explained Lisa.

‘Ok, you are right. I will go for a swim in the pool. It looked huge from the glimpse I got!’ said Sanaya smiling ‘Thanks Lisa’.

‘No problemo Miss Detective, you should go now and swim. Love you!’ shouted Lisa.

‘Love you too Lisa’ laughed Sanaya as she cut the line.

THE HACK

LOCATION: RED HOUSE POOL… TIME: 17:00…

Sanaya swam for an hour and she loved it. Her mind was free of the case. She got out of the pool and went to her room. After she had a shower, she felt refreshed and couldn’t wait to get back on the case. After a few minutes, there were loud knocks at the door. Sanaya rushed to open the door as it seemed urgent.

Five agents came crashing through and grabbed Sanaya by her wrists.

Mr Longford walked in.

‘I knew I couldn’t trust you,’ Mr Longford said with a frown on his face. ‘What are you talking about?’ asked Sanaya scared and confused. ‘We got an alert that you opened that forbidden chapter half an

hour ago. We were busy and only saw the notification now,’ said Mr Longford angrily.

‘I HAVEN’T GONE INTO THAT CHAPTER AND I WASN’T PLANNING TO! HALF AN HOUR AGO I WAS SWIMMING,’

screamed Sanaya in pain.

‘DON’T LIE TO ME!’ Shouted Mr Longford.

‘I AM NOT! I WAS IN THE POOL,’ said Sanaya.

‘We have security cameras there. You two go check them’ ordered Mr Longford to two of the agents.

Mr Longford kept on staring at Sanaya with his angry green eyes.

5 minutes later the agents came back and confirmed that she was at the pool.

‘Oh. I’m very sorry. I take things too dramatically sometimes. I’ll just leave you to work’ said Mr Longford with an awkward laugh.

Someone had hacked Sanaya’s laptop!

When she turned it on there was a message displayed… It said:

Come count and the Find words Me for passage time: UNDER SECOND

If you understand, you will find the two passages of life and M.M of it!

It had a red planet! This meant that it was a message from the same person that hacked the Presidents file!

CRACKING THE CODE TIME: 18:45…

LOCATION: SANAYA’S ROOM…

It was a hard code which meant it was going to take time to decode. Luckily her dad (Ethan) had taught Sanaya methods of decoding as he was an expert in the decoding field. As Sanaya started decoding the mysterious message, memories of Ethan and her practising decoding came flooding back. Tears started building up, but she had to control her emotions as Ethan would have expected her to, now that he was gone.

She worked on decoding through the night.

Sanaya looked at the clock and it read 23:30. She decided to pour herself a cup of coffee and while sipping it she started studying the message again and suddenly everything made sense.

The decoded message was ‘Come and find me in passage M.M. Count the words for time’ Since there were 12 words in the important message it meant that Sanaya had to meet someone in M.M passage at midnight, but what did M.M mean?

Sanaya searched up what M.M could stand for and the first thing that showed up was the name of a famous singer called Marlin Macroe. Sanaya thought that it was a funny coincidence until she read an article about how Marlin Macroe was found escaping through a passage under the Red house. This passage was found under President Krummph’s bedroom which meant only one thing.

GETTING INTO THE PRESIDENT’S ROOM TIME:23:32…

LOCATION: DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN THE RED HOUSE…

Sanaya didn’t have to sneak around the Red House because the Red House was always awake. Sanaya used her weapon advantages to borrow a dart gun, smoke shooter and an alarm muter. Sanaya planned to use the dart gun on the guards outside the President’s room, the smoke shooter was just in case someone walked in on Sanaya breaking in and the alarm muter was for the alarm that alerts agents when there is unauthorised movement inside the President’s room.

PERFECTLY, UNPERFECT PLAN TIME:23:45…

LOCATION: OUTSIDE THE PRESIDENT’S SUITE…

Sanaya’s ‘perfect plan’ didn’t go as perfectly as Sanaya would have liked it too, but that didn’t hold her back.

The second rule of being a good detective, ‘adapt quickly to change’. The guards spotted Sanaya and approached her before she could shoot them with her dart gun, so she had to improvise. Sanaya used her smoke gun to distract them. She then shot them with her darts. The darts had a formula which would make them unconscious for half an hour and forget everything that had happened 10 minutes before they got shot. Sanaya was nervous about what would happen if someone walked in on her since she had used the smoke gun, but it was too late to turn back.

FINDING THE HATCH TIME:23:50…

LOCATION: IN THE PRESIDENT’S SUITE…

When Sanaya got into the apartment she covered the alarm. This part was easy. Now it was time for the hard part, finding the hatch to get into the secret passage.

When Sanaya got into the Presidents room, she checked under his desk, near his bed and on the roof and everywhere else but there was nothing. The last spot Sanaya had to check was the walk-in closet. The closet was HUGE! It even had a painting…..a painting? Sanaya found that suspicious. When she went up to it, she noticed that Marlin Macroe’s signature was on it! Sanaya used all her strength to lift it but it was too heavy. There was only three minutes left until she had to meet the mystery person. Sanaya felt hopeless. ‘Finally, I get a huge case and they are going to find me in the President’s closet! Not only did I trespass into his room, but I shot two agents’ thought Sanaya. She leaned on the wall in exhaustion… and it moved! That’s impossible, right? No, it wasn’t. When Sanaya turned around the painting made a cracking noise. Sanaya pulled the painting aside and there it was, the secret passage!

Sanaya ran down the steps and hit flat ground….

THE MYSTERY MAN TIME: 23:59…

LOCATION: IN THE SECRET PASSAGE…

Sanaya checked her phone for the time and saw that it was 11:59 pm. She started walking but she was still on guard. Sanaya suddenly noticed a strange figure behind her. The stranger grabbed her but since she was on guard, she was able to pin him down to the ground.

The third rule of being a good detective, ‘always be on guard’. ‘Who are you?’ exclaimed Sanaya. There was no reply.

‘I asked, who are you?’ repeated Sanaya.

‘I see you worked on your moves since the last time we met’ laughed the mysterious man.

Sanaya was confused at how calm the stranger was. It was also strange at how familiar the voice sounded.

‘Sanaya, help me up,’ said the voice.

Sanaya was amazed at how the stranger knew her name. Her body had a mind of its own and started standing up. Once they were both standing up again, she asked….

‘I demand you to tell me, WHO ARE YOU?’

The stranger took off his hood and mask. Sanaya recognised this face immediately.

‘I thought you were dead?’ said Sanaya weakly. ‘You had a funeral!’

‘Was the coffin open?’ asked the man.

‘No. I just assumed that, that was how a funeral was done,’ replied Sanaya. 

‘Well, it was staged. Anyway, why haven’t I got a hug yet?’ asked the man.

Sanaya hugged him tight and said, ‘Why have you been hiding dad? I’ve missed you so much’.

‘I had no choice. I have been under the radar because the organisation I work with, suspected that the President was leaking private information about the country,’ said Ethan tearing up.

‘What private information?’ asked Sanaya

‘I can’t discuss it. All you need to know is, if he sells anymore, this country will be in a lot of danger!’ explained Ethan.

‘The President gave me a job to find a hacker. Do you know what that is about?’ asked Sanaya.

‘What did he tell you?’ Asked Ethan.

‘That there was a hacker who hacked a file that had nuclear launch codes and I had to find the hacker before it got too dangerous so the President could arrest them. I was also given a hard drive, but I couldn’t go into a file called ‘LET GO’ because that was where the actual codes were,’ replied Sanaya.

‘I knew from the day you were hired that you would be put on this case and that’s why I sent the coded message’ said Ethan, ‘ I knew you would decode it!

‘I was the one who opened ‘LET GO’ but it doesn’t include nuclear launch codes. That chapter has information and agreements the President has with the groups, but we need more evidence to arrest him’ said Ethan while looking at his watch. ‘It’s 00:15 Sanaya, you should go because the President normally settles in his room at 00:30. I love you’ said Ethan while tearing up again.

‘No don’t leave-’ but before Sayana could finish her sentence a cloud of thick smoke covered him and by the time the cloud was gone, Ethan was gone too. Sanaya found a note on the ground. It had a phone number on it. Sanaya put it in her pocket and looked at the time to see that it was 00:19 which meant she didn’t have much time. Sanaya ran back the way she came.

THE EVIDENCE TIME: 00:21…

LOCATION:PRESIDENTS CLOSET…

When Sanaya got back to the closet, President Krummph was already in the room but he wasn’t alone, he was with Mr Longford! Sanaya felt sweaty and didn’t know what to do. She then heard them talking and decided to listen. While listening in she realised that they were talking about what her dad had just told her, selling information! At that point, Sanaya felt that recording the conversation would be great evidence for her Dad’s organisation.

Mr Longford left the room after the conversation and the President went for a shower.

Sanaya then ran down to the secret passage and called the number her Dad had left her. Her Dad answered and told her to send the recording to that number immediately and to wait where she was until he showed up.

After a while, she heard a lot of footsteps coming towards her. It was her Dad and his team.

‘You have been a great service to us and I’m so proud to be able to call you my daughter. We finally have enough evidence to arrest Ronald Krummph and Nathan Longford and it’s all thanks to you,’ said Ethan.

‘Who do you work for Ethan?’ asked Sanaya as she heard helicopters and other vehicles.

‘Have you heard of The Planets?’ asked Ethan.

‘Of course I have! They are my favourite detectives!’ replied Sanaya.

‘Well let me introduce you to them,’ said Ethan.

One by one Ethan introduced the detectives who were there and explained that he was apart of it. Sanaya looked at her dads’ jacket and spotted the logo of the organisation and saw it was the same logo from the hacked files, a red planet. This confirmed that it was her Dad who had hacked everything.

While all of this was happening The Planet’s security team rushed into the Presidents Suite and arrested Ronald Krummph while a second- team arrested Nathan Longford.

Sanaya finally sat down and noticed a female figure walking towards her. The lady then said, ‘How come I haven’t been introduced to the hero?’

Ethan said, ‘Sorry Marlisa. Sanaya, let me introduce you to Detective Mars. I know she is your favourite detective’.

Marlisa hugged Sanaya and cheerfully said, ‘Thank you so much for helping us! You know what, why don’t you join the organisation? We have an opening for one person or as we say one more planet’. 

Sanaya froze. Her dream was finally coming true. ‘so…?’ asked Marlisa

‘I would love to! Thank you, Marlisa!!!!’ replied Sanaya excitedly ‘I am extremely happy! What will your name be?’ asked Marlisa Sanaya replied, ‘Can I be, Detective Jupiter?’

MURDER ON THE OREO EXPRESS

 GRACE FU

Hobart, Tasmania

2022 JOINT WINNER

OPEN CATEGORY

AGATHA CHRISTIE IN TASMANIA 

A puff of smoke from a blue funnel disappeared into the foggy Tasmanian morning and several boxes were rocked back and forth when the train came to an abrupt stop. A small wooden sign read, the Oreo Express. The train let off one last blow of smoke and the train conductor stepped off the platform, a small tomato in a puffy blue suit, carrying a scanner with a red light flickering. Oranges, apples, cheese and assorted deli meats began piling into compartments. From tiny tottering tomatoes wailing in their prams, to old withering cucumbers that walked with a stick, they all found a place to be amongst the others.

I, Hercule Pineapple, prided myself as a gourmet pineapple, being grown carefully in the sunny days of Queensland. While Queensland was hot and sunny, perfect for growing up fast, Tasmania was the perfect place to keep fruits and vegetables fresh as it was next to the Antarctic-fridge.

I stepped cautiously to the platform, and held my ticket out to the conductor who eyed me, sternly and sent me off on my way. I wrapped my coat tightly around my skin and tottered to compartment four. I twisted the doorknob and steadied myself as the train gave a little jolt. A weary asparagus and heavily-pampered ham holding a parasol, a bowl of stroganoff wearing a crown (I suspected that she was a princess) and a plate of ratatouille with pince-nez glasses perched on its nose, all glanced at me briefly and turned back to their jobs. I made myself comfortable on the leather cushions when a family of onions came in. Before they finished taking out their hats and many layers, everyone looked at each other and burst into tears. I pulled out a silk handkerchief and dabbed it in the corner of my eyes. ‘Excuse us,’ the embarrassed onion family mumbled as they quickly pulled themselves to another compartment with their belongings.

The others started to talk about if President Pickle was going to retire and other political subjects. Pulling out a small red notebook and a pen, I scanned the room carefully. Attention to detail was crucial. Even on a trip, I needed to keep my eyes open.

A loud horn blew and the train started to pull out of the station. Thick thickets of trees rushed past and I gazed dreamily into the fields of wheat. And slowly, I drifted off to sleep…

The train came to a sudden halt and jostled me awake. Potatoes and onions rolled off the seats and amid the shouts and calls in the cool early morning air, was an asparagus, lying on the floor with its green insides exposed and a sharp fork stabbed in its middle.

The ham next to me gasped and covered her mouth while waving her parasol around in the air. The ratatouille looked up from his book and his mouth hung open. Suddenly, the train conductor barged into our compartment. He too gasped loudly and the leek behind him collapsed, sending the line of vegetables behind her to fall like dominoes.

The line of vegetables stood up and all started to murmur, whispering to each other.

‘Murder!’

‘Colonel Asparagus is dead.’

‘No one to leave the Oreo Express until the murderer is found!’ the conductor declared. He tapped on his walkie-talkie twice and signalled to the crew. ‘This is Code Black, I repeat, Code Black! Do you read?’ The response was a weak ‘roger that’ and in a flash, the crew were assembled in a row.

Being a detective, I could not resist the temptation to solve the murder. ‘Everyone, assure you that I, Hercule Pineapple, will solve this mystery and I promise you will be let get off the train soon.’

A huge sigh of relief escaped the grief and anxiety that circled around the carriage. ‘All shall be well wherever Hercule is!’

No time to be wasted. I scanned around the compartment and saw a fruit huddled in the corner trying to make himself unnoticeable and all the vegetables wrinkled their noses in disgust.

‘Look at him. Un-brushed hair, smells like sweaty socks long forgotten after a football match and looks a bit foreign.’ A nearby eggplant hissed. 

‘He also carries weapons on his coat.’ A corn cob whispered. ‘No one can sit next to him. He looks like a criminal.’

The weird fruit raised a hand and began to speak. ‘Uh, exqueese me. If I can say somethings, I not really know English. I am foreigner from South-East Asia. Though I have spikes and smell a bit funny, I come here to see if there is any business opportunity.’

He whipped out a business card for a fruit import company and he was the manager. ‘Okay,’ I nodded. ‘You can sit down now, Mr. Dabbah Durian.’

Onto the next one.

‘Please, Mrs. Ham, where were you last night?’ I questioned.

‘Well,’ she replied primly, ‘I was napping quietly in my seat when I heard someone come into the compartment but I was so tired that I didn’t see who it was but I know that he had some glasses on…’

‘Thank you,’ I cut her off and asked the ratatouille who had put his book down and was nervously fiddling with his glasses.

‘Mr. Ratatouille, do you have anything to say?’

‘Actually,’ he answered, in a heavy British accent. ‘I do. I noticed that the princess messing with something in her pocket the whole train ride and when I woke up at night to get a cup of water from the dining train, I saw she was sneaking out of the compartment.’

A gasp rose from the crowd which had formed around us but the princess rebutted his bias. ‘I was fiddling with a piece of chewing gum stuck to the inside of the pocket and I woke up last night to go to the bathroom.’

I scratched my head, scanning the room for evidence. A small piece of blue fabric stuck between the doors and I noticed that the artichoke was wearing a blue tie with a chunk missing.

‘Artichoke… did you choke the asparagus with your tie?’ I asked, half-humorous, half-serious, trying to lighten up the mood.

‘No... We artichokes are honest species and we would never choke anybody. In fact, we are signing a petition for the Anti-Choke law. Also, my stupid husky chewed the chunk off. It has bite-marks and fur around it.’

‘Then who killed the Colonel?’

All the vegetables I had asked seemed to have good alibis and I decided to look for more evidence. The crew took the asparagus body out and prepared it to be sent to a forensic department when the Express arrives the next stop. I took out the fork with my gloves and examined every inch of it. I used a wipe to extract the green blood that was left from the body and collected it in a glass bottle. I noticed that there was a small print on the fork, ‘If found, return for a reward.’

The fork was tinted gold and the spokes where surprisingly sharper than a normal fork. I stroked my moustache and thought for a moment. I checked the Colonel suitcase and found his money and valuables all gone.

‘Aha,’ I exclaimed. ‘Exactly what I expected!’

I, satisfied with the evidence and made my way to the dining carriage. ‘Who was Colonel having supper with last night?’ I interrogated once I got there.

‘The Colonel talked with some passengers before supper and if I can remember their names correctly, they were: Cairn Corn, Benita Bean, Olly Onion and his family. Supper was served at eight. He ate the meal with three other passengers but I couldn’t see who because the light was dim after 7:30.’ A nearby pear answered.

‘Did you say the light was very dim?’ I asked.

‘Search the carrot!’ I demanded. The heap of foods pinned him down until I called my police officer friend. The carrot was found with colonel’s money and valuables all in his top hat.

‘How did you know it’s the carrot?’ asked my police friend, Bill. ‘Carrots are full of vitamin A and he is the only one that see clearly

in the dark. He must have seen the small prints on the fork and set his minds to steal it.’

‘The fork is limited edition,’ a fettuccine pasta interrupted. ‘They are only 12 of these forks in zee world. It’s made partly from 24 Carrot gold.’

‘I only know this because I once served a banquet for the Lieutenant and Colonels with those forks.’ He added as if to justify himself.

‘He must have been fighting over it with the Colonel when he stole the fork and somehow stabbed the Colonel.’ I thought to myself.

The carrot was arrested on the spot and confessed that he indeed had stolen the Colonel’s fork because he was in lots of debt with the bank and he knew the fork was worth a lot money.

(After he was taken away, he was later sentenced to 12 years of cutting up carrot sticks for a factory that made pre-packaged children’s lunchboxes.)

The train tooted three times when it stopped and the carrot was carried and there were cheers all around. One onion was so excited that he bumped into his brother off the train. He hung by the cuff of his skins and hurriedly covered his body with his hands when he realized all his layers were missing.

Another mystery solved. I rubbed my hands together with glee as I stepped off the train and into the country air. Now, all I need is a nice refreshing apple cider from the Huon!

Walk and Read TAF2023  | RISING TIGER Exhibition Launch, 10.15 am Saturday 7 October 2023, Huonville Library

Meet at the Huonville Library at 10.15 am Saturday 7 October 2023 for an informal launch of the exhibition including a tour and silent reading party. 

Over two hours, attendees will be invited to tour the exhibition in the library, followed by the ARTBOX and the Hub.

The tour will conclude with a Silent Reading Party, with spaces at both the library and the Hub to read the full stories on your device.

All are welcome. 

Please email Felicity.Lemon.TARWF@gmail.com to let us know if you're coming. 

Please do not attend if you are unwell on the day. Due to severe allergies of some participants, please do not bring any food or drink to the event. Light refreshments will be provided.

The RISING TIGER exhibition features stories from these young writers

With thanks to Huonville Library, Pilipala Literary, the Huon Valley Council, Regional Arts Australia, RANT Arts, the Regional Arts Fund and the Tasmanian Government.

RISING TIGER | THE BOOK

The RISING TIGER Exhibition is based on an accompanying book.

Rising Tiger (Clan Destine Press, 2023) is a collection of 65 mystery stories from young writers living in the Huon Valley, Tasmania, and beyond.

Each year, the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival in the Huon Valley offers a Mystery Short Story Competition for all young writers to age 16. Entries arrive from across Tasmania, every state in Australia and from as far afield as New Zealand and Georgia (the country).

The young writers’ stories are entertaining, twisty and fun. They make life rather difficult for the judges.

This book contains the winning stories from 2019 to 2022, along with a range of other entries selected by the competition’s convenor, Dr L J M Owen.

The themes of the stories from these years were:

• 2019 – Female Bushrangers

• 2020 – Female Detectives

• 2021 – Scene of the Crime

• 2022 – Agatha Christie in Tasmania

We hope you enjoy this marvellous collection.

This book was created jointly by Pilipala Literary, Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival and Clan Destine Press. It is sold at cost, and not to be used for profit. All rights to the stories remain with the young writers.

Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our festival is held, the Melukerdee People of the South East Nation, and pay our respects to Elders past and present.