No Strings Attached
By Joy Bassetti Kruger
No strings Attached
By Joy Bassetti Kruger
Copyright © August 2014 by Joy Bassetti Kruger
No Strings Attached
By Joy Bassetti Kruger
Joe walked through late one Sunday night and asked his grandfather if he’d seen his geography book, but Gramps simply shook his head and said, “Remember Joe, when you’re looking for something, you always need to look in the least likely places, as well as the obvious ones.”
Becoming sulky, Joe said, “Sure Gramps, but I need my book for the test tomorrow.”
Ruffling his hair, Gramps said, “Well, what did you do when you arrived home on Friday? If you can remember that, then you’ll discover where your book is.”
“I know that Gramps, but I don’t think I even took it out of my school bag,” Joe said.
“Okay then, so perhaps you should pretend to be a detective and look for some clues. If you turn it into a game, then you’ll have some fun while you’re looking for the book. Maybe you just need to look inside something, or even under it. On the other hand, you might even have left it at school. But Joe, if you succeed in finding your school book, while I’m away next week perhaps you could also look around for my lost ball of string. Remember that a good detective always tries to unravel the clues by using deduction and logic,” Gramps said.
Looking up at his grandfather, Joe asked, “Are you a good detective, Gramps?”
“Well, that’s debatable, Joe. You see I’m fine when it comes to investigating cases, but finding my own things sometimes gets the better of me. This is why I want you to have a really good look around for me. Remember that in each case that comes up, you always need to take the problem apart strand by strand to find what you are looking for, Joe.”
As predicted, Joe found his book at school on the Monday morning, but as he still couldn’t understand why his grandfather had repeatedly told him to take the problem apart strand by strand, he decided to ask his mom about this.
“That’s what detectives do when they’re looking for clues, Joe. They gather all the information together and then they sift through it carefully before coming to any conclusions, my boy.”
“Yea, I guess you’re right. But mom, Gramps also said that if I can find his ball of string it could lead me to something that I’ll enjoy, as well as teach me some-useful detective skills along the way.”
With a big smile on her face, she said, “Did he really say that Joe?” Well, in that case, I think you should listen to him, as it could be important for you to discover whatever it is that he thinks you need to find.”
“Oh mom, I don’t know about that, because Gramps also kept on telling me to search for hidden clues and missing pieces? I mean if things are hidden or missing, how can I ever be expected to find them?”
“Then why don’t you ask him what he means, Joe? Perhaps he’ll give you a hint or a clue,” she said as she wondered whether Gramps was possibly playing a game with Joe by getting him to search for a hidden birthday present, as his birthday was coming up in a few days.
Later, when Joe went into his grandfather’s room, he said, “Gramps, what did you mean when you said that sometimes appearances from the outside could often be deceptive and that I should always look on the inside as well, to discover something that’s hidden away?”
Realizing that Joe had become interested in solving the puzzle, Gramps replied, “Well, sometimes the outer wrapping of a package or parcel, could be hiding something unexpected inside. You also need to know the size of a hidden or lost object, as the size can give you a clue as to where it could possibly be hidden. But more importantly, you should never be fooled by external appearances. So tell me Joe, where would you hide a ball of string that you didn’t want someone else to find?”
“Gosh, I don’t know Gramps, but why would I even want to hide a ball of string, anyway?”
“Well, I can assure you that I had a very good reason for hiding it. You see, the ball of string is an important tightly bound up little package, so I simply had to keep Martha from finding it,” he told Joe as he gave him a big wink.
“Oh Gramps, I don’t think a ball of string could ever be that important. Also, it would be so stupid to hide it. I mean you might need a piece of string to tie up a parcel or something. But who is Martha, Gramps?”
“Well, she’s an old girlfriend of mine, who managed to delete some important case files on my laptop. I bet you’d never do anything as silly as that, hey Joe? Look, my main problem is that since I locked up my laptop in a cupboard to hide it from her, I’ve forgotten where I put the key,” Gramps explained.
Realizing that his grandfather was hinting that he needed to be careful when using his laptop, he said, “Don’t worry Gramps, I do know how to use a laptop as well as a computer, so I’d never delete any of your files. But your lost key and that missing ball of string really puzzles me and I don’t quite understanding what the string has to do with the laptop, Martha or the key.”
“I guess something like this would puzzle you Joe, but as you and I think very much alike, I’m confident you’ll be able to work it all out. My main problem is that it was difficult to hide something from Martha, -as she’s a detective too. This is why I chose a place where I thought she’d never look and now I can’t remember where I put it. So where would you hide a ball of string about this size, Joe?” he asked as he cupped his hands together.
“Well, I guess I might have tossed it into a box or drawer along with a whole lot of other junk and stuff of mine, that nobody else but me wants to keep,” Joe replied.
“Yes, those would be good places to start looking, Joe. So after I’ve left to catch my plane tomorrow, please go and look in all the boxes and drawers for me. Gosh, I wish I didn’t have to go away, as all I really want to do is to find that ball of string,” he said impatiently.
Joe didn’t say anything further to his grandfather, but after Gramps had left for the airport, he told his mom all about what he’d said and as Joe seemed genuinely puzzled, she said, “I don’t know why the ball of string is so important to him, Joe. I also don’t see any connection between Martha, the laptop, the key and the ball of string. Gosh, it beats me, Joe. But you’re a bright boy, so I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.”
“Of course I’ll be able to work it out, mom. Gramps has taught me some cool detective stuff, since we’ve been living here with him,” Joe replied confidently.
The phone rang shortly after Joe had gone to bed, so as his mother walked by his room a little later, he called out, “Was that Gramps on the phone?”
“Yes, he wants me to pick him up from the airport tomorrow. He also asked me to tell you that the key to solving the puzzle is something small. Now go to sleep Joe. Your father will hopefully phone you from Australia early tomorrow morning, to wish you for your birthday,” she said.
The next day Joe’s father didn’t phone, so Joe felt disappointed, especially since his mother only gave him two shirts for his birthday. He’d hoped for a bicycle or a new computer game, but then he wasn’t even sure if Gramps would allow him to use his laptop, seeing as Martha had already messed it up.
However, instead of moping around and making wishes for things that he knew his mother couldn’t afford since she’d divorced his dad, Joe decided to look for the illusive ball of string.
He began by opening every single drawer in the house, but it wasn’t there. Then later, he walked into the garage to search for it there as well. The garage contained a lot of interesting stuff, so Joe soon became distracted as he rummaged through boxes holding old cameras, old crime scene photos and an enormous magni
fying glass.
After a while, when he remembered about the ball of string again, he searched for it inside a couple of cupboards in the garage. “-Remember Joe, the key is something small,” he repeated to himself as he climbed over a box to reach for a small leather bag that was hanging from a hook.
This was when he spotted the bicycle all wrapped up in shiny red paper. He was certain it was his birthday gift, but he first looked at the tag, which said: - To dear Joe, with best wishes for your birthday from Mom and Gramps. Now promise me that you’ll first take another look for my ball of string, before you go riding off on your bicycle.
Although Joe badly wanted to ride his new bicycle, he decided that he’d better first search through all the drawers in the workbench. Amongst other things he found some tools, a couple of broken clocks and a really ancient radio, but no ball of string. Then as he reached into the very back of the bottom drawer, he discovered an old cocoa tin that was labelled, -‘Large Nails.’
For some reason he shook the tin and as it didn’t rattle, he decided that it couldn’t possibly hold any nails, as it would have made a din when he shook it. But as there was definitely something inside the tin, he decided to take a look.
When he tried to open the tin the lid was stuck, so he bashed it against the workbench. This didn’t help much, so he pushed a screwdriver into the small hole in the lid, to try and force it open. All of a sudden the lid popped off and much to Joe’s amazement there was a ball of string inside. He looked at it curiously for a moment and the words ‘unravel it’ seemed to pop into his head. So as his grandfather had mentioned unravelling things at least seven times during the past week, he searched for a loose end and began to roll the string into a second ball.
As Joe unwound more and more string off the original ball, he could see that there was a piece of crumpled paper stuffed into the centre of the ball. So excitedly he began to quickly pull off the strands, which fell into a tangled heap on the workbench.
Finally, when he reached the end of the string, he quickly opened up the crumpled piece of paper. It was difficult to read the writing between all the creases in the paper, so he pushed the paper aside, as he was really more interested in a small key that he’d discovered at the very centre of the ball of string. Turning the key over and over in his hand, he said out aloud, “Crumbs, I wonder what this key opens up and also why Gramps hid it away in such a strange place.”
Going back to the piece of paper, Joe struggled to make out the words. But in the end he worked out that it said: -Good detective work Joe, now go and find the locked drawer that the key fits into.
When Joe’s mom arrived back home after fetching Gramps from the airport, Joe met her at the front door and said excitedly, “Mom guess what, I’ve solved the mystery of Gramp’s missing ball of string. The key that was right in the centre of the ball, fitted into the lock of the desk drawer in his study where he keeps his laptop. And inside the drawer he’d hidden a whole lot of really super computer games for me. Gosh mom thanks a lot for the bike and the games,” Joe said as he hugged her.
“I’m glad you like your presents Joe, but trust your grandfather to turn a birthday surprise into a detective game,” she said.
When Gramps walked in, Joe said, “Thanks for the bicycle and the cool computer games, Gramps. I promise to be really careful with your laptop when I’m playing them. I also had a lot of fun while searching for the ball of string and as I don’t imagine even Spiderman or Batman would have thought of hiding a key inside a ball of string, it makes you a really cool kind of guy. I also think your friend Martha didn’t stand a chance of finding anything.”
Laughing now, Gramps said, “No, you’re right Joe, she really didn’t stand a chance. Especially since I made her up just to get you going and make certain that you’d look for the string and also find the bike and the computer games.”
“Oh Gramps, that was really mean of you to do that, but I guess solving the puzzle makes me a kind of cool detective, -just like you,” Joe said as he hugged his grandfather.
“Yes Joe, I think I’m going to have to make you a partner in the firm now and also pay you a retainer of some sort,” Gramps said.
“Cool Gramps. That will be really great. I can’t wait to tell Jimmy at school about this, as he is always boasting about his dad’s business that he says he’ll be a partner in one day.” Joe replied before adding, “Gramps, so how much are you going to pay me and when?”
“End of the month son, all my men get paid on the last Tuesday of the month and you will too. Then along with them you’ll have to sing for your supper at the steak house karaoke sing along that night,” he said with a wink.
“But dad, you can’t take Joe to the sing along, he’s far too young for something like that,” his mom chipped in.
“Nonsense, he’s twelve now and all grown up and as a partner in the firm he deserves to have a night out with the lads once in a while,” Gramps said with a smile.