“Didn’t you call the police?” asked Micky.
“The police! We don’t want them involved now! Black would only take further precautions to hide the book. Then we might never find it. Besides, we were trespassing. It was four in the morning, when the casino had closed. He could probably prove that we were attempting some sort of robbery. And don’t forget, he’s a hypnotist. Who knows what sort of witnesses he could drum up. He could hypnotize them to say whatever he wanted! We might find ourselves in prison!”
“You could always hypnotize your way out,” Micky tested her.
“True, but Black would always be a step behind. And get us put back in prison. We might end up there forever.”
“Indeed, it’s not worth the risk,” Miss Teriyaki agreed.
“So,” Miss Hunroe continued, “the long, the tall, and the short of it is that now Black is well aware of us. He knows that he needs to protect himself. Even if all five of us went in using our hypnotic skills, we wouldn’t stand a chance. He has taken precautions.” A picture on the screen focused on one of the casino guard’s pockets and zoomed in close-up. Poking half out of it were some dark glasses with a swirling pattern on them. “Anti-hypnotism glasses,” Miss Hunroe explained. Molly nodded.
“Seen them before,” she said. “I saw a version that were like normal glasses with white swirls, not so dark as those ones. They work.”
“Yes, and when the guards put them on, they look simply like dark glasses,” said Miss Hunroe. “So when anyone suspicious approaches, they wear the glasses.”
“If you don’t mind me adding, Miss Hunroe,” Miss Teriyaki said, “we also think that Black has given the guards voice-scrambling devices to put in their ears. Because we think that if Black has worked out how to counteract hypnotic eye glare, it’s highly likely he will also have thought of voice hypnosis and how to block that.”
“Yes, correct, Miss Teriyaki,” Miss Hunroe said, visibly irritated by Miss Teriyaki’s interruption.
“So
“I expect,” said Molly, “it’s got something to do with the daughter.”
“Yas, you are right!” cried Miss Oakkton, slapping her knees.
“Yes,” Miss Hunroe agreed. “You see, the thing is this. The
“Of course,” Miss Suzette explained, “we could have hypnotized one of dese children to go in to fetch de book, but we felt that to use an innocent child would be unfair….”
“Yes, most unfair,” Miss Oakkton agreed. “Poor leetle things.”
“Our great hope,” Miss Teriyaki interjected, “is that you two could go to the casino with the excuse that you have to see Lily, your school friend.”
Miss Hunroe unfolded a sheet of paper with an architectural diagram of the casino on it.
“Once inside the building,” Miss Hunroe said, “you could access the private parts of the premises. With this map, you can see the vents and conduits that carry the pipes and cables from room to room, and you can access Theobald Black’s office. You could use your special crystals and freeze time and get the office keys.”
“I haven’t got my crystals,” Molly replied.
“But aren’t you wearing your crystals now?” Miss Hunroe asked, eyeing her neck. “You have some sort of pendant on.” Molly pulled out the chain with the black pug, the silver elephant, and the two blackbirds on it.
“Oh, no. These are just our pets.”
Gasps of disbelief and disappointment erupted from the ladies opposite.
“That’s a pity,” declared Miss Teriyaki. “We ought to fetch the crystals.”
“No time!” squeaked Miss Speal. “Oh, lord. We’re already risking it. What on earth are we going to do?” She began wringing her little hands as though she was trying to squeeze water out of wet socks. “Maybe your parents could send them up on a motorcyc—”
“NO!” interrupted Miss Suzette. “They might ban Molly and Micky from helping us.”
“Even though it’s for the bigger cause?” asked Miss Teriyaki.
“They wouldn’t be happy about letting us help,” said Micky. “They think Molly needs a bit of time being normal.”
“Which is why they advertised for a tutor,” added Miss Hunroe. Then she pursed her lips. “Oh, dear. Molly, Micky—I’m really not comfortable about this anymore. If your parents wouldn’t approve, then I don’t feel we should go against their wishes.”
Molly considered the assembled assortment of women. She could see why they were worried. The idea of a maniac learning how to morph into another person was scary.
“How do you know he’s not a morpher already?” Molly quizzed.
“We don’t.” Miss Hunroe flipped her coin as though the coin’s action of turning like a tossed pancake in the air was a comfort to her. “We know the book came into his possession a month ago. Since he’s only had it for a short time, the chances are he can’t morph ye—”
“How—” Micky asked.
Miss Hunroe cut him short. “An anonymous person called us.”
Molly studied the ladies in front of her. “If you don’t mind me asking,” she said, “how come you lot know each other? How come you are involved in all of this?”
