Although he was half an hour late, Robbie still managed to meet up with Henry and the others at Fairytale Land.
When Jamie and Ellie saw him, they greeted him from a distance. “Robbie, are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay,” replied Robbie calmly. “What do you mean?”
“I heard Mr. Spencer say that you had diarrhea. Maybe the food didn’t agree with you.”
Jamie’s response was quick, and he even found a way to make up a more believable excuse.
“Did you eat too much ice cream?” asked Ellie, maintaining the charade. “The mini-bar in your room has too much of it. You should be more careful next time!”
“Got it.” Robbie rubbed his belly gingerly. “My tummy still feels off. However, I was delayed because Fifi flew out of the car and I had to go look for it.”
“So you went to find Fifi?”
Henry sighed inwardly as he heard this. He knew that Robbie was intellectually more capable than Jamie or Ellie. Robbie had an IQ that resembled that of an adult.
You said it was diarrhea the last time and you slipped away. Using the same excuse twice? I’ve got my doubts.
But since Robbie explained that the delay was caused by Fifi’s attempted escape, it sounded much more credible.
Fifi had been raised by the three children and was a little spoiled. He often flew around the home, uncaged. However, it was not unlikely that Fifi flew out of the car. After all, if the windows are not closed properly; accidents can happen.
Kyle nodded enthusiastically. “Mr. Robinson was indeed looking for his pet. It gave me such a fright!”
“That settles it then.” Henry nodded and looked at Robbie. “Are you hungry? Let’s eat.”
“I need to use the bathroom first.” Robbie raised his dirty hands at Henry. “Need to wash them.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Jamie hurriedly.
“Alright, off you go.” Henry gestured at the two boys.
“Why don’t I hold onto Fifi?”
Robbie handed Fifi over to Ellie’s outstretched arm, and off the pair went to the restroom.
The restroom was deserted. Jamie took Robbie inside urgently, and in a low voice, asked, “Have you seen Mommy?”
Robbie shook his head. “But I have already talked to the owner of the house, and I can be sure that they did have Mommy’s ring.”
“Then they should know where Mommy is, right? What did they say?” asked Jamie anxiously.
“Nothing at all.” Robbie furrowed his brows. “The adults are usually a bit more complicated. It could be that there were other complications, but that doesn’t matter for now. I left my number with them. If they find out anything, they’ll contact me.”
“Okay.” Jamie sighed. “I hope they can tell us where Mommy is. I’ll even give them all of my pocket money.”
“Don’t be silly. They live in a villa at Northridge. Money is the last thing they need right now.” Robbie was exasperated and even wondered if Jamie was particularly dumb.
“Then what do we do?” Jamie looked helplessly at his brother.
“We’ll just act according to whatever comes our way. First, we have to figure out exactly who’s living there.”
I remember Great-grandpa saying that they are the Lindbergs,” said Jamie. “The Lindbergs are supposedly arch-enemies of the Nachts. Do you remember the car ride with Great-grandpa? He also warned about them then. They’re dangerous, and we should stay away from them.”
“The enemy?” wondered Robbie aloud. “So, that means that the Lindbergs equal the Nachts in power?”
“I would assume so.” Jamie nodded tersely and continued. “At the time, Ellie thought that Daddy was the most powerful person in the world but didn’t expect that there would be other people to rival him. Great-grandpa always said that there are stronger people out there in the world.”
“Alright, here’s what we’ll do then. When the opportunity arises, maybe you should ask around about the Lindbergs. I think Great-grandpa wouldn’t suspect it if it came from you. But if I asked him, that would definitely raise alarm-bells.”
“Okay!”
