REDEALLA : The Redheaded Detective

                      REDEALLA

               The Redheaded Detective

                The big light over the garage was casting a shadow on the side of the house. This image can be, to some with a sharp imagination, a shadow of a person with a long cape.

        Redealla, a seven year old with bright red hair and better known by all as Red, loves finding clues and using her very vivid imagination to solve them. She moves from her upstairs window and puts on her Detective hat and disguise glasses. She yells to her sidekick and companion, Luther, as she moves back to the window. Luther is Reds’ imaginary friend, and crime fighting partner. “Hey Luther, see the man next to the garage, I bet he’s a spy waiting for his special spy meeting.” Red signals for Luther to come over and see the image on the side of the house.  To Red, Luther is a giant crime fighting unicorn, not too bright, but fun to be with. To the untrained eyes, though, Luther is just a stuffed animal with a taped horn on its head.

         Luther makes his way to the window and looks out carefully. “Yeah, he’s a spy all right; you can tell by the way he’s smoking that pipe." "I wonder what he’s waiting for.” Red goes over and picks up a small pad marked secret stuff nobody touches. “I bet my hero Calvin and his pal Hobbs, would just go down there and catch that guy. They could make him talk alright”. “Yeah”, says Luther, but they’re not real, but WE ARE, he yells. Red now opens the pad and begins to write stuff about the guy they see. Red writing, “How tall would you say that guy is?” Luther sticks his whole head out the window, and yells back, “I’d say about five foot ten inches.” Red tells him to talk lower, "This guy might have a tool to hear everything." Luther whispers back, “Ten four.” Red writing, “I thought you said he was five ten?” Luther confused, “He is.” “Then how did he get to be ten four?” Exclaims Red. "No, he is five, ten, Ten Four means OK, OK?” Red smiles, “Gotcha, good job.”

         The wind begins to pick up and branches begin to rustle against the house. Luther tells Red that he thinks the man is signaling his contact. The two grab their stuff and quietly move through the hallway and make it downstairs. Luther is now riding on Red’s back. Luther asks Red if she has the noise maker. Red reaches in her pocket and almost dropping Luther, pulls out a small cap gun. “I got it Red, and I am ready, oh and sorry for almost dropping you." Luther shakes about and gets comfortable on Red’s back, “Well then just be a lot more much better with me on your back.... Got it.” 

          They open the door and wander out of the house and make their way into the zone of the dark backyard. Normal sounds during the day are easy to listen to. Sounds that are made during the night can be frightening. Red with her cap gun out, “I wonder if we should have stayed in the house until something happened.” You’re not getting scared now, are you,” “No, I am just being very, very, very, very, very smart.” Whispers Red. “Oh, I see, Miss, very, very, very, very,.” Red jumps in, “I’m just being cautious.” Just as they are rounding the house the lid flies off the trash cans. The sounds move through the air like fingers on a chalk board. Luther jumps up and hides. “And what do you think you’re doing, Mr. I am the Bravest Unicorn on earth.” Luther looks about, “I bet that was a blast from a powerful laser or something.”

         Red walks over to the trash can lid. “I bet your right, that lid flew a long way from the can. I think someone knows we’re here.” Luther moves away from Red, “let’s just be very, very, very, smart.” Red smiles, “That is a great idea, now come on, if we go behind the garage, we can see them and they won’t see us.” Luther tells Red that if they go on top of the roof they can see it all and would be in a great spot to take some pictures. Red takes out a small camera and looks it over, “That’s a great idea, then we can show the world what we did. Mom and Dad would have to give me a bigger, bigger, allowance. “Yeah, and I will get something very special too.... Maybe more stuffing I think my butt is sagging, and better tape to hold my horn in place much better “, laughs Luther.

         The two make it around the garage and look up at the roof.

 “Boy that looks really high from here,” says Red. I think you better go first. With that Red takes Luther and tries to toss him on the roof. With each toss Luther yells out like he is going to show everybody what he had for dinner. Red now tired, “Luther you’re one fat hog. You need to go on a diet.” Luther holds his stomach with one hand and the horn with the other, “Me...... you need to work out more, Missy mighty girl. You know, I think you bent my horn.” Red looks Luther over and turns the horn back the way it should be, “There now when you blow your nose it will go up instead of down and get all over your fur.” Luther rubs the horn and breaths in, AHHHHHH, much better. ”

         Red gets up and looks about, “I don’t see that spy, I wonder where he went.” Just then they hear the door to the house, blow open and then close. Luther jumps up on Red’s back, “Did you hear that, the spy is now in the house, and you know what that means.” Yeah, gasped Red, He’s gonna steal all the milk and cookies, and then he’ll go over to the counter and eat all that great Carrot cake.” Luther begins to get upset, “I love your Mom’s carrot cake, especially the frosting. Hey, wait a minute, he says very loudly, your mom made carrot cake and you didn’t tell me; when were you gonna tell me? I know when it was all gone right.”

          Red walks to the door with Luther hanging on, “I didn’t tell you because....... Mom dropped the cake and..... I didn’t want you to get sick from it..... Yeah, that’s why.” “Oh, so you were just thinking about my safety, says Luther..... Well, I could have brushed it off, and remember I’m a special horned horse , I can eat off the floor, I am allowed.

         Ok, you want the truth? Luther nods yes. “OK, here it is, I thought you were getting a little fat and”...I know how you like that little Zebra next door, and well. Luther jumps in, “And you wanted me to look good, what a pal, you are my best bud you know that. I love you Red.”

         Red just smiles and shakes his head, “Now what are we gonna do about the cookie spy. I bet he wanted to get us to come out so he could steal them.” Luther bounces on Red’s back, “Take smaller steps please your rocking the boat. You know. I bet this spy was out to steal all the cookies and milk from the whole town. He was gonna move in and leave up milk less, so if somebody would have said ...Hey, Got Milk, we would have to say no because it all got stolen.” Red laughs,  “And you thought this up all by yourself did Ya? Well, you have got to stop watching all the commercials, but I will agree, he and his band of thieves came to our small little town to leave us cookie less...” But he never thought that two bright, and witty, brave and I might say good looking, young detectives would find them out, “snarls Luther.

         They now make it to the door and slowly go inside.  Red turns and locks the door, “This way he can’t escape.” Yeah says Luther, neither can we.” The two walk through the house and stand near the kitchen doorway. Suddenly they run in and begin to wrestle with the spy. “I got his head”, say Luther. Yeah, and I got his arms “, says Red... The two begin to wrestle about and win over the spy......

         The next morning we see Red and Luther at the table. Red is drinking milk and eating cookies, and Luther has milk and cookies in front of him. Red’s mom and dad come down the steps and walk into the kitchen. They see the table all set up with milk and cookies. The dad walks over and pulls his hat out of the sink, it’s all wet. The mother looking about, takes the father’s coat out of the trash can all covered with yesterday’s dinner. They both look at Red very curiously.

         Red and Luther just smile and eat their cookies, “Mom, Dad no need to thank me and Luther, or give us something special, we were just doing our jobs as detectives. Us two brave detectives saved this town from going without milk and cookies. We ran off the spies.”

    The Dad looks at his coat all full of trash and his hat soaking wet, “ Oh, I think you got something special coming your way for sure.” Red shakes her head and pours herself more milk, “Yeah we can’t wait. Isn’t that right Luther.” She then takes her glass of milk and taps Luther’s glass and says cheers.    

THE END.

Damian M. Lagennusa Jr.

shruner50@gmail.com