Special Sneak Peek

of

The Attack of the Violet Vampire

The MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes

Book #2

Chapter 1: Sherlock Holmes’s Special Guests

“This is so exciting,” said Mrs. MacDougall. “I’ve never ridden in a landau[1] carriage before.” The MacDougall family was riding in a luxury carriage to go to the theatre. Tonight was the first performance of a play based on a Sherlock Holmes case.

“I just hope the play isn’t boring,” said Mr. MacDougall. “Dressing in a suit! Riding in a gold plated coach! This ain’t to my liking,” he complained. Mr. MacDougall was a chimney sweep. He preferred wearing dirty jeans to dressing in a fancy suit.

“No need to worry, Father,” said Emma MacDougall. “This is a play about Sherlock Holmes, the world’s greatest detective.”

“And,” Jimmy, Emma’s twin brother added, “it deals with a giant, killer snake!”

“Aww, that sounds good,” Mr. MacDougall chuckled, “but does it have a Violet Vampire?!?”

“Oh Dad, not that again!” said the twins together. Jimmy and Emma MacDougall were ten year old twin detectives. They had solved the case of the Mysterious Airship. Now, all the children of London came to them for help. Since the airship mystery, Jimmy and Emma had been working nonstop. They helped their friend, Nolan the Newsboy, find his stolen stack of papers. They helped the pet store solve the case of the kidnapped kitten. They even helped Scotland Yard track down a missing little boy, who was really a foreign prince.

“Dad, everyone knows that there is no such thing as a vampire,” Emma scolded.

Mr. MacDougall smiled at his fiery, red haired daughter. “How do you know? It’s in all the papers.”

Emma shook her head. There had been strange reports in East London of a bat winged monster attacking people. At first, it was one or two reports. Now, it seemed like every other day, people were reporting seeing a strange, violet colored creature with sharp teeth, and glowing red eyes.

“We’ll see if someone brings us the case,” laughed Jimmy. “Tonight, let’s just enjoy the show.”

With all of the excitement in their lives, Jimmy and Emma were looking forward to a night at the theatre. Sherlock Holmes had invited the MacDougall family as his special guests. He knew the family, especially Mrs. MacDougall, would love a grand night out.

Mrs. MacDougall jumped for joy when they received the invitation. She wore her best dress that evening, a blue silk dress. She also wore the MacDougall diamond ring. This ring had been in the MacDougall family for over 1,000 years. At one time, it was worn by the Queen of Scotland! Mrs. MacDougall rarely wore the ring. She was afraid it might get lost or stolen.

The landau carriage pulled up in front of the Adelphi theatre. The four horses whinnied, and the driver got down to open the door. Mrs. MacDougall and Emma were the first ones out of the carriage, followed by Mr. MacDougall, and then Jimmy.

“Oww,” yelped Jimmy. He had bonked his head on the top of the carriage door. Jimmy was very tall for his age. He often went in disguise as an adult.

“Are you all right?” asked Mrs. MacDougall.

“Of course,” answered Jimmy, rubbing the back of his head. “Now, let’s go see Sherlock Holmes. I’m looking forward to a fun night.”

Little did Jimmy know that far above him, on the theatre roof, a dark form, with glowing red eyes, watched the MacDougall family. The shadowy figure smiled, revealing its sharp fangs. It chuckled in a deep, scary tone. The creature unfolded its massive wings, and prepared to attack.

1 Fun Fact: A landau is a type of carriage that was convertible, which means that the top could be removed, just like a convertible car today. The landau was driven by four horses. It was very expensive to own a landau, or even to ride in one. That is why it is such a treat for the Macdougall family.