As we were heading across the playground, I noticed a group of girls (a giggle of girls?) over by the gym. I looked closer. Shirley was with them.
"Hang on a minute," I said to Natalie. "Before we check out the dump, I've got to do a little shadowing."
"Shadowing?" said Natalie. "Oh, goody. I love to make shadow animals. Did I ever show you my bunny rabbit?"
I gave her my deadpan stare. "Enough with the wisecracks."
"Polly wanna wisecracker?" Natalie's bright birdy eyes twinkled. "Sorry. So who are we shadowing?"
"Shirley Chameleon."
"You're following your client around?" said Natalie. "Why? Are you in love with her?"
I grabbed Natalie by her tail feathers and twisted. "Take that back," I said. "Private eyes don't go for mushy stuff."
"Ow!" Natalie hopped from foot to foot. "Okay, okay, I take it back."
I let her go. Natalie rubbed her tail feathers. "So you're not in love with Shirley," she said. "But how come you're following your client instead of the suspects?"
"She's holding out on me. I can feel it. She knows about some link between Herman and Billy, and she won't tell me."
Natalie and I looked over at the girls. Two football players joined the group, and the girls giggled even louder. Why is it that jocks make girls twitter? They never twitter for private eyes.
Not that I would want them to. Yuck.
"So what's the plan, Stan?" said Natalie.
"Time to play a little I Spy," I said. "Come on."
We strolled past the swings, then ducked behind some bushes and sneaked toward the gym. As we edged along the wall, just around the corner from the group, I raised a hand.
"Up," I whispered, and pointed to the gymnasium roof.
Natalie napped to the rooftop, and I climbed the wall. I figured Shirley and the girls might not notice us if we came in from above. As I crawled closer to the corner, the voices and laughter grew louder below me.
"Oh, Brick, you're just the funniest thing," a girl said.
"Not half as funny as that goofy gecko in your class," he said. Brick snorted and giggled, a sound like two owls in a blender.
"Who does he think he is?" he said. "With the detective getup and everything? He couldn't detect a football if it hit him on the head."
I stifled a snarl. Brick should talk. He couldn't detect his nose with two fingers up his nostrils. I peeked carefully around the corner.
"Oh, he's not that bad," said Shirley quietly.
Hoots and laughter greeted her remark. "Ooo, Shir-ley's in lo-ove, Shir-ley's in lo-ove," chanted a couple of mynah birds.
Natalie looked down at me and smirked.
"Am not!" said Shirley.
"And I thought you liked Herman!" said a sassy mouse, Frenchy LaTrme.
"I don't, either!" said Shirley. "You guys are so thick!" She turned brick red and flounced off with her tail in a tangle.
I glanced at Natalie. I mouthed, "She likes Herman?"
Natalie shrugged. I turned back to the conversation.
"So are you cheerleaders doing something special at the pep rally today?" said the other football player, an armadillo with a cauliflower nose.
"You bet!" said Frenchy. Her tail swung in a circle. "Just wait until you see our routine with the Big Baboo—it'll knock your pads off!"
The Big Baboo! Sometimes a private eye gets lucky. I looked down at Shirley, who was wriggling across the playground. I looked back at the cheerleaders.
Stay, or follow Shirley? I decided to stay.
"Don't forget, Frenchy," said one of the mynahs. "We've got cheer practice next period in the gym."
"Okey-dokey!" said Frenchy the mouse. I had the feeling she always talked in exclamation points. Cheerleaders.
"Don't you love the part when we—" she started to say.
"Hey, Chet!" shouted a loud voice. "What are you doing up there?"
It was my sister, Pinky. The littlest first grader, with the biggest mouth.
"Shhh!" I said. She didn't take the hint.
"You know Mom told you never to climb on school buildings."
I shushed her again, but Pinky planted her fists on her skinny green hips. "I'm telling! I'm telling so bad," she said.
The other kids looked up at me and laughed. My cover was blown.
"Hey, look!" said Brick. "It's Super Gecko! Able to climb tall buildings with a single slither! Able to munch huge bugs with a single slurp!"
The armadillo joined in, "Yeah, and the only thing that can stop him is his archenemy, Baby-Sister Girl!"
They laughed until they snorted. This made the cheerleaders giggle even harder. I clammed up. A private eye has his dignity, after all.
I scrambled to the roof and stood beside Natalie. Pinky stuck out her tongue. "I'm telling Mom!" she shouted again.
"You do and you die, cockroach breath!" I said. Even a private eye's patience has limits. "Come on, Natalie."
I led the way over the back wall of the gym. Natalie floated lazily down beside me.
"To the dumps?" she asked.
"My reputation's gone there already. But before we join it, I've got some questions for the Big Baboo."
Natalie chuckled. "Anything you say, Super Gecko."
"Ah, shut up, Wonder Bird," I said.