The Case of the Stolen Film by Gareth P. Jones Page B

to a number of charities for lesser-spotted species.’
    â€˜Oh, Brant,’ sighed Big Hair, ‘the world is a better place for philanthropists such as yourself.’
    â€˜What’s a philanthropist?’ asked Archie.
    â€˜Someone who uses their money to do good,’ said Mr Bigsby.
    Brant Buchanan led them down the steps towards the mansion, past an ornate fountain.
    â€˜It’s a wonderful building,’ said Big Hair. ‘Who designed it?’
    â€˜A very famous architect whose name completely eludes me,’ said Mr Buchanan. ‘I do recall that it was built in 1924.’
    They turned a corner, finding themselves in front of a large cylindrical building surrounded by scaffolding.
    â€˜Of course the disadvantage of an old building is that we often need repairs such as this,’ said Buchanan. He looked at Holly and said, ‘Actually, this is an interesting part of the building. Come and have a look.’
    Mr Buchanan pulled a sheet of tarpaulin to one side and motioned them into the room.
    â€˜Cool room,’ said Archie as they stepped inside.
    The curved walls were filled with rows and rows ofbooks from the wooden floors right up to the glass ceiling.
    â€˜What a beautiful space,’ said Big Hair.
    â€˜It was built as a place to store coal apparently, which is why it has no windows. So I put in the glass roof and converted it into a library,’ said Mr Buchanan.
    â€˜It’s an impressive collection,’ said Holly’s dad.
    â€˜Thank you,’ replied Mr Buchanan. ‘There are some very valuable books here. I’m afraid you won’t find any novels or poetry though. I have to admit I don’t have much time for fiction. I always say, there’s so much remarkable fact, why make things up? In fact, look.’ He grabbed a book from the shelf and handed it to Big Hair. ‘You were asking about the building. This gives you its history. Please borrow it.’
    â€˜Thank you very much,’ said Big Hair.
    â€˜I tell you what,’ continued Mr Buchanan, ‘why don’t you dine here tomorrow night? I can show you around properly, you can tell me what you’ve learnt about my home, and Malcolm and I can discuss boring business matters then instead.’
    â€˜Will the work wait until tomorrow?’ asked Holly’s dad.
    â€˜Of course,’ replied Mr Buchanan, leading them out of the library and back towards the car. ‘I’ll see allof you at seven o’clock tomorrow.’
    Back in the car, on the way to the restaurant, Big Hair said, ‘How kind of Brant. He is a remarkable man.’
    â€˜I don’t understand it,’ said Mr Bigsby. ‘He flew me five thousand miles urgently and I haven’t had one thing to do since being here.’
    â€˜Don’t complain, Malcolm,’ scolded Big Hair. ‘When you work for a man like Brant, this is the kind of treatment you can expect.’

Chapter 16

    Dirk, Kitelsky and Putz spent the night on the hill overlooking Los Angeles, taking turns to stay awake and keep watch for humans. Dirk took the first shift then settled down by Kitelsky, leaving Putz on look-out duty.
    It had been a long day and Dirk fell asleep instantly. He dreamt that he was in a film version of
St George and the Dragon
, in which he was playing the knight opposite Brant Buchanan as the dragon. In the dream an unseen director kept shouting at Dirk for forgetting his one line, which was ‘Die, dragon, die!’
    When he woke up, the sky had turned a hazy yellow and the vast city was half hidden by heavy smog.
    Both Kitelsky and Putz were sleeping, curled up with their spikes on the outside, looking like two dense patches of cactuses.
    Dirk stretched, and his back made an alarming clicking noise. He yawned and picked up the piece of newspaper with the phone number for Sorrentino Solutions, then tiptoed away.
    He made his way down the hill and then across the roofs to the