"Let's go!", Janet tells the driver as they speed off. The maintenance

man watches from the front entrance of McArthur High School.

The driver turns down at the next block and pulls over.

"Monsieur Poirot, may I make a suggestion. I will drop you off here and

park the car a block or so away. You need to get back into that building

right away before they move the ruby! Be careful. They know you

are up to something!"

"Good mind! I knew I hired you for a reason! Very good. Let us out

here and we make out way back to the high school. Hopefully

we can get another chance to find the ruby before its moved yet again!

Janet and Poirot get out of the car as Janet points to a familiar path

that she often takes to school. Tall grass and wildflowers along

the way make Poirot sneeze and he gets out his handkerchief.

"Flowers! I sneeze when I am around them. We must hurry before

I sneeze any more! He says into his handkerchief.

"Just follow me, Monsieur Poirot. I will get you there, like you say,

toute de suite!"

About a block away from the high school, Janet hears a familiar

voice.

"What do you think you're doing Janet! Think you are better

than the rest of us winning first prize at the Science Fair. I almost

got first place. Why didn't you let me get the prize Janet? Did your

famous Hercule Poirot talk to the judges first? Was the contest

fixed?"

"You just shut your mouth, Jimmy! Or you'll be sorry. "

Poirot steps in, trying to separate the two.

"What a low class young man you are! And now I think I know

why you are so mean to young Janet. You are jealous of her

brilliant mind! Poirot has a feeling Jimmy knows more than

he says. How about it, Jimmy, tell us what you know about that night."

Jimmy folds his arms in front of him and takes a defiant stance

to Poirot's question.

"Make me."

"Oh, Hercule Poirot can "make" you talk. I have ways."

Janet steps in.

"Let me how you how its "done", Monseiur Poirot.

Janet twists Jimmy's arm behind him, kicks his legs out from

under him and put her shoe to his throat.

Now talk, Jimmy before I make you really cry!"

Jimmy's eyes bulged out, and he tried to get Janet's foot

off his throat.

"Okay, I 'll talk, I'll talk!"

Poirot watches in amazement and claps.

"Bravo, Young Janet. I bow to you!"

"Okay, Jimmy, start talking. My foot is close by."

Jimmy took a few breaths but did not look up.

"Monseiur Poirot, I know you think I am lower than pond scum

right now and probably I am. You see, Janet is so smart and

she even won the contest to get you to come to our small town

here. I found out about the contest and I wanted to steal

her thunder so to speak."

Poirot interrupts.

"That is all well and good, but what do you know about

the robbery at the museum. That is my main concern now, not

who won the Science Fair!"

"I am getting to that. I know who took the Ruby of the Spanish

Princess! "

"Who took it Jimmy?", Janet asks.

"Well, I will tell you for fifty dollars!"

Janet steps on his throat again even harder.

"Wrong answer. Start talking Jimmy before you can't

talk at all!!"

"Okay, okay. Just joking around. You see, my Dad is involved

so I can't exactly be very talkative. He has the ruby right now

but only for a short time. We have to get to his office safe

very soon or else the real thieves will transport the ruby out

of the country!"

"Do you know the combination?", Poirot asks.

Jimmy just shrugs his shoulders. "Only my Dad knows it.

Poirot smiles. "No problem. I can open safes. I may be a world

famous detective but I am also a safe cracker. There is no

safe Poirot cannot crack open! The ruby is as good as found!

And we must hurry!

"Wait a minute, Monsieur Poirot. Jimmy, who are the thieves?"

"Well, they were closer to Poirot than you thought. They were

the reception desk clerks at the Whitemanor Hotel.!!! They knew

Poirot was coming to our town and they were trying

to cook up some plot to frame Poirot for the robbery. We have

to get the ruby firstt

"Okay, Jimmy. Now you get us into the high school without anyone

seeing us. . Can you do that Jimmy. And bring us to your

Dad's office.

"I will but if he catches me, I'll be grounded for life."

Well, that's better than going to prison, isn't it Jimmy?", Poirot

says.

"Oh your a riot Poirot. Not!!!....

Janet slaps the back of Jimmy's head.

"Ouch! Why did you do that for? I'm just joking around!", Jimmy

says as he rubs his head.

"Have a little respect. We are in charge now. Your jokes

aren't even funny Jimmy. Now lets get a move on to your Dad's

office.!", Janet says as she pushes him on ahead

Janet, Poirot and Jimmy hurry to the back of the high school. Jimmy

points to the service entrance.

"I know they keep it unlocked. The maintence men are here for a while

longer. I have an idea. Just follow me.

Jimmy opens the service entrance door and walks into the dark hallway.

The air is musty and dim. There are several doors on either side

of the hallway. He stops at the second one and checks to see if

it is unlocked. He then opens the door and motions for

Poirot and Janet to go inside, he soon follows.

"Okay there is a closet where the uniforms are kept. Hurry up

and put on one and don't forget the hat. I will put one on too!".

Poirot stuggles to get into the uniform and it almost rips but he

manages to get it on. Then he puts on the hat.

"So, how do I look, Young Janet?", Poirot asks.

Janet and Jimmy start to laugh.

"Too funny! You will never make it as a janitor! Lucky you are

a detective!"

Poirot waves his hand. "I am sure I look perfect! I am, after

all, Hercule Poirot! Let's see the two of you! Oh, you look

funny, as well!"

"I don't care how I look as long as we get into that office. Now lets

go!", Janet whispers.

Janet, Jimmy and Poirot continue down the dim hallway and up the stairs to the first floor.

"My Dad's office is over here at the end of the hallway. I will stand guard

and you two go in. The safe is in a strange place. It is not a big safe

so it can be hidden well. It is in the back of the cloak room in a big

box full of Christmas ribbons! Don't laugh. My Dad is odd but he

figures any thief won't go looking there. But he didn't count

on his son being a rat either! "

"Jimmy, your not a rat, maybe a skunk, but never a rat!", Janet

teases him.

"Very funny!"

"This will save lots of time since we know where it is. Now stand guard.

Jimmy. I have to put my little grey cells to work on cracking the safe!",

Poirot whispers as he heads toward the cloak room.

Poirot and Janet soon find the box full of Christmas ribbons inside

the cloak room and Poirot pulls out the safe from the box.

"This safe is very heavy. Let me examine it closely.", he says

as he puts his ear to the combination lock. A few turns to the left,

to the right and he hears a click, turns and it opens like clockwork.

Poirot stands up proudly and announces, "I told you I could

crack any safe! Poirot the genius !!"

"Just get the ruby and let's get out of here!", Janet whispers.

Poirot reaches inside and finds the Ruby of the Spanish Princess inside

It sparkles as he put it up to the light.

"Ah, this is a rare beauty!! I must have been blind to think the

"fake" was the genuine ruby!!  "

Jimmy comes in the cloak room. "We have to hurry, I hear

footsteps coming down the hall.....

to be continued....