Wherever We Are Needed

"Don't fire me, master! I have done nothing!" 

                   "Done nothing?! This pesky brat stole my secret formula, great detective Asher, oh, oh what should I dooo!

Asher wrinkled his eyebrows, clearly annoyed with this unexpected brawl. 

 " Listen, Baker," he clamored, basking in absolute anger, "I am a sophisticated detective solving the highest crimes, and a petty bakery accusation saga, is  NOT my cup of tea."

                    Asher Sabertooth, who (unmistakably) has no relation to the saber-toothed tigers of the past, (which he defiantly echoes every particular time), is a world-renowned investigator, who begged for a holiday.

And he did get a well-deserved one!

               A quite modest village with rolling smoke out of hospitable houses, and many pretty children running around their robust mothers, skipping schools and eating pastries.

              This very settlement was once home to the famous mine that discovered the taciturn cornish pastry, an exceptional meal loaded in the excessive luxury of crunchy bread and crux. Quite a charm...

This pâtissier was no ordinary baker, Nay he wasn't! He was, in fact, the great-grandson of the very personality who devised the ingenious cornish dainty.

                 Sarah, Asher's private secretary, nudged him and said, "Sabertooth, this man's timeline created cornish pastry."

            It was like butter softened Asher's face, it was radiating and golden, still surreal about his most beloved course.

    Like an agile tiger, he vaulted toward the baker and shook his hand violently, " I'll, I'll do anything! Just bake me an elementary cornish pastry!

"Sure, I would have", the baker nonchalantly, "If, I had the recipe, which he stole!

            "I haven't stolen anything, I told you!"

                 "Sluggard! You lethargic turkey! Think you can make a flourishing shop now don't you! Beyond my dead body, you will!

  "Let us be tranquil for a while, shall we? Asher announced waving his arms widely, 

                "Baker, sir, honored man, please tell me what your name is."

           "Sir Gregory the 5th!", cried the baker proudly.

        "Well, Sir Gregory",

                         "The 5th!"

            "The 5th, this is not the way we solve crimes. I need data, data, data. You cannot make bricks without clay! Sarah! Tell everyone to clear out and leave me to my brain cells."

     "Will do sir", said Sarah, pushing the zesty spectators and gossipers out. 

          Asher, now the prosecutor of this crime, was flexing his knuckles and rapped out his most valued possession, the rare Willbhorough Magnifying Glass.

                   He then started dishing around, tasting the dough, screening the floor for tracks and trails. Evidence is certainly tough to come by!

        The kitchen was spotless, things pearly white, quite uncanny for a busy kitchen.

        "Sarah! I need the baker!"

               And the interrogations began!

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"What was your name again?"

             "Gregory the fifth"

"Son of?"

           "Gregory the fourth"

"What were you doing before this happened?"

             " Why, cleaning the kitchen of course!"

"Think again, confectioner.....Think again. If you were cleaning, why do you have such an evident outpour of black pudding at the side of your smock! Forego the pride and reveal the truth!"

             "Fine, fine gentleman. ", said Gregory the fifth, "I just accidentally spilled the black pudding on the floor, and that is why I was cleaning. Please don't tell to my Ma!"

"Of course, I won't. 

       Did you see any suspicious people around at the time when this took place?" asked Asher.

         " My servant! Other than that fool, I think there was the milkmaid, the weird goozer who comes every morning to talk, a child, come to collect her early school meal, and that nice gentleman uptown. Oh, and your secretary bird, Steffie or something..."

       What was Sarah doing there?

              Hmmm...seems suspicious.

"I shall compile a list of the suspects, and get your recipe back by this night!" Asher said enthusiastically.

So Asher then went on to take the information of every suspect, and wrote it in his shorthand notebook-

------------------Verdächtige Und Mehr-----------------------

1. The Baker- Gregory V

      Appearance - Short, stout, typical baker sort.

      Reason - I have no idea. Just wanted to keep him on the list.

2.Milkmaid - Gertrude Gillislie Manhattan

  Appearance- Meh. Red hair, red freckles, slim and tiny with a squeaky voice. Comes every morning to deliver milk. Has an enormous soft spot for the baker and even dared to ask him out once!

Reason - After millions of questionings, and wiping of tears, she admitted that she loved him terribly and the only thing that kept him bound to the bakery was the blasted recipe and confessed that she was very pleased that the baker lost his recipe. Now their trip to Switzerland could finally work! 

3.Wierd Goozer(Walter Lupin Fredericko)

Appearance- Sunken red eyes, a seafarer who drinks too much, has an evident sailor tattoo and always says- "Nasci no mar e vou ficar por ela!" which is Portuguese for, "I was born in the sea and I will stay for her!"

Reason - He has traveled a lot! There may be some dark history behind our backs that makes him invariably responsible for the baker's loss. Sweet Rache!

4.Child(Estella Maria)

Appearance - Slight, with graying blond hair and a dimpled chin. Blue eyes and comes every morning like the milkmaid to collect her daily school fare.

Reason - Absolutely not! What am I even thinking!

5.Nice Gentleman(Wan Sorin Seterhin)

Appearance- Dark, raven locks of shady hair, piercing gray eyes, and a handsome Grecian nose.

Reason - After a long investigation, he says that he came to collect a pie. But according to the baker, he came to collect some salted pringles. This is getting quite salty...

6.Sarah Winchester Emhossen( My Secretary )

Appearance - Quite normal brown hair, olive skin, dove grey eyes, and an unmistakable knack for finding mysteries when I am bored.

Reason - I am not genuinely convinced...

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Asher looked over his petty list again. It was unusual to have this abrupt amount of suspects, but each of them puzzling, one after the other...(not the poor kid, of course, She is the pastor's daughter.)

He decided to use his best method, to reincarnate the scene of crime. 

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"The kid was here, the milkmaid was emptying her carton into that box, Walter was gossiping to me through that window, and Sir Wan was collecting his pringles next to that crate of eggs.", Said the baker.

"Where was Sarah?"

"Your bird? She was ordering a Cornish Pastry"

"Oh, so that is why she came...Sweet Sarah, she knows I love Cornish Pastry second to the deduction."

So Sarah is cut from the list, so is the child.

"Where exactly is the position of the recipe and how do you keep it?", asked Asher.

"Here, at this corner of the cupboard. Next to my fresh fish. I kept it in the mouth of a special artichoke shaped fish. A good place isn't it?"

"Yes, yes...does this ventilator open here?"

"Certainly, But it doesn't work anymore. Why?"

"Nothing, where is the artichoke fish?"

The baker handed the fish to Asher, who examined the mouth. "I know who stole it! I know exactly why! Meet me at Stermouth hall at 9 sharp!"

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Stermouth was named after her owner, Lara Ludwig Stermouth, a bright lady artist. The entire hall of Stermouth was filled with paintings of every single person who influenced Lara's life, including Gregory the 4th, the baker's father, and his kids.

Every one of the suspects had come, including the local police-officers, because stealing wasn't allowed.

"Welcome. One and all. You are all gathered here, to retrieve the recipe for the Cornish Pastry. At first, I was genuinely puzzled, because it all missed one key piece- Lara.

Yes. Lara Stermouth, great artist, and love of Gregory the 4th, the patriarch of this baker.

They married, and what came as an offspring was a son. Made in the likeness of Lara, with black locks as you can see in the picture. But Gregory the 4th was forced to divorce the love of his life, and marry Mary, a village woman, his mother's friend.

And as an offspring came our baker, who was handed the magical recipe that proved prosperity.

Then who can this mysterious son of Gregory and Stermouth be? Who else, but Wan Sorin, or should I say Somersett Stermouth, firstborn of Gregory, a con-man, a wanted scammer and thief, the one who stole the recipe, using a sucker from the unused ventilator! Your own bloodline went against you baker!"

          The Baker was surprised, and in anger, he shouted, "Give me my recipe back, you black sheep!"

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It was the morning, a new day, and time for Asher to go back to the London Suburb.

         "Howdy Asher! Here is what you wanted all along!", said the baker, opening up a freshly baked Cornish Pastry. "Also, I and Gertrude have scheduled our marriage and honeymoon in Switzerland, all thanks to you", said Baker.

"No calumny would make me happier than I am now", exclaimed Asher, chuckling as he ate what he came for.

"Sir! Your cab has arrived!", said Sarah," Where should we go now, Asher?"

Wherever we are needed Sarah, Wherever we are needed...