Raven's Wordzzle Challenge #63

For the rules of the game, go to Raven's Nest


Ten Word Challenge: Green goddess, shampoo, filibuster, please and thank you, Operation Marigold, throw pillows, up the creek without a paddle, spandex, ubiquitous, wedding ring

Mini Challenge: Skittles, lamb chops, stingray, chagrin, clever devil


The Slumber Party Mystery
Chapter 10 - Lieutenant Skittles arrives on the scene

(You will find links to the previous chapters in the margin further down the page.)

When the fire engine, the ambulance and the police arrived on the scene, some of them felt a slight sting of chagrin to find that the fire had already been put out and the brigadier general revived, without their help. There was also no obvious evidence of any crime being committed at all. Still, Lieutenant Skittles felt suspicious.

According to Dr Adam Challenge, the brigadier general had most likely had some sort of sun stroke. But being pushed into the pool (chair and all) by his faithful butler Bumblebee had cooled him off, and as Adam arrived he was just beginning to come round. He still seemed a bit confused, though – muttering something incomprehensible about filibusters and clever devils - so the ambulance staff had taken him to the hospital for a more thorough check-up; wrapping him up in a blanket in spite of the heat, since he was still dressed only in his spandex swimming trunks.

The fire on the lawn had been quenched by the sprinklers turned on by William, the delivery boy. "I thought of it at once," he said. "I knew how to do it, because before I started working at the grocery store, I used to help the gardener here in the summers. With Operation Marigold, and whatever," he added, pointing vaguely towards the flowerbeds, where hundreds of marigolds were glowing like little suns.

Diana had also done her bit, by running back into the house for the fire extinguisher. She had sprayed a thick layer of "shampoo" (as she called it) all over the grill.

Lieutenant Skittles poked around suspiciously in the lather and wet ashes.

"What were you cooking anyway?" he asked. "Sausages?"

"When I first got here…" said Adam.
"Well," interrupted Diana, "it was more of an experiment, really…"
"We were going to have a barbeque this evening, sir," said the ubiquitous butler who had just appeared beside them. "Lamb chops and stingray were on the menu, but the groceries had not arrived yet."
"But I got here just in time, didn't I!" exclaimed William, who could not take his eyes off Diana. In her lime-coloured summer dress, she looked like a green goddess to him. He would love to be the one to put a wedding ring on her finger, he thought. She could throw pillows at him every night, as she had done sometimes when they were kids, he would not mind.

Skittles felt a bit like he was going up the creek without a paddle. It was no good having everyone talk at the same time. He would have to question each of them individually to try and grasp what had happened.

Reading his mind, Bumblebee said: "Maybe you would like to use the library as an interview room, sir? Let me show you the way."

"Please," said Skittles. "And thank you for the suggestion."