Labra-cadabra-dor's Revenge Page 2
“Thanks, anyway,” Rora said. “It looks like we’ll need to hit the bricks to find Labra ourselves.”
“And thanks for the costumes,” said Ziggy.
As they were leaving Rita’s den, a special news report sounded on the TV. “This just in!” the reporter said. “There has been a bank robbery at Pawston First National Bank—and the criminal is the famous detective Rider Woofson! We’ve just been given the following video of the crime.”
The video showed the inside of an empty bank vault. Without warning, a cloud erupted in the vault, and Rider appeared out of thin air! He looked right at the camera and waved. Then the detective started grabbing everything in sight and shoving the money into a bag. Once he was done, he vanished into another cloud.
The screen switched back to the reporter. “However, Detective Woofson is not the strangest part of this robbery. It appears that the video is dated . . . well, in the future! The time stamp on the video is for tomorrow night!”
“So what does that mean?” asked Ziggy.
Rora turned off the TV. “It means the entire city just watched a crime that hasn’t been committed yet. And we’re going to stop it!”
No Magic, No How?!
The P.I. Pack arrived at Pawston First National Bank. There were police everywhere, including their old pal, Frenchie. “Oh, good. P.I. Pack, is Rider with you?”
“No,” Rora said. “Labra-cadabra-dor has him trapped under a magic spell.”
“Wow! That explains why Rider robbed the bank,” said the police dog. “It doesn’t explain why nothing is missing.”
“The crime hasn’t happened yet,” said Rora. “Labra is warning us that it’s going to happen tomorrow night.”
“Labra would need a time machine for that,” Westie argued. “Even I can’t build a time machine, and I can build anything!”
Frenchie shrugged. “Well, we can’t figure out how Rider got into the vault to film the theft. It’s like magic, but the video doesn’t lie. Maybe you can help?”
The crew inspected the bank, but they couldn’t find any signs of a break-in. Westie’s No-Presto Detector even said there was no sign of magic or illusions.
The bank was busy with customers demanding their money back before Rider could steal it. The bankers tried to calm the crowd, but everyone was angry and scared. They all wanted to take their money to another bank, where it would be safe.
“Well, that makes sense,” Westie said. “If they withdraw their money today, then Rider can’t steal it tomorrow.”
“Hmm, there has to be a logical explanation,” Rora said. “Labra wants to ruin Rider’s good name. But why didn’t he actually steal the money? And why would he show how he was going to rob the bank?”
“True. A real magician would never show you how a trick was done,” Ziggy said. “Not unless they were using it to perform another trick.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Rora asked.
“It’s called misdirection,” Ziggy said. “When a magician gets someone to look in one direction, it’s usually because they are doing something secret in another direction.”
“That’s it!” Rora’s eyes lit up. She grabbed Frenchie. “Where are the customers taking their money?”
“Well, there’s only one other bank in town,” he said. “Pawston Second National Bank.”
Rora thanked Frenchie and shuffled the P.I. Pack back to the van. “Let’s go, team. I think Labra’s magic show is about to start its final act.”
Bunnies, Bunnies, Everywhere!
Rora, Westie, and Ziggy zoomed across town to the Pawston Second National Bank.
“I don’t get it,” Westie said. “Why are we here if the video shows Rider robbing the First National Bank? All we need to do is wait for him to show up there tomorrow. Then we undo Labra’s spell.”
Rora shook her head. “Rider and Labra were never at First National Bank. The target was always Second National.”
“Misdirection!” Ziggy said. “I get it now.”
“I don’t.” Westie was confused.
“Can I borrow your X-Ray Binoculars, Westie?” Rora said. He handed over his invention, which could see through walls. Rora stepped out of the van with the others. She used the X-Ray Binoculars to search the area until she found what she was looking for. “There they are!”
Rora handed the binoculars back to Westie. At first he only saw an empty warehouse behind the bank. Then he pressed the X-ray button. Inside the building he could see a room that looked exactly like the First National Bank vault. It was filled with henchbunnies.
“Okay,” said Westie. “I still don’t get it.”
Rora pointed toward the fake vault. “Rider was never in the actual bank vault, Westie. The video was filmed here and made to look like it was in First National Bank. That way, all the customers would move their money to Second National Bank. Then once all the money was here, Labra was going to rob this bank.”
Westie’s eyes grew wide as he realized what Rora was saying. “That’s like robbing two banks at once! Worst of all, Rider will be blamed for it!”
“I think the robbery is already in progress,” Ziggy said, looking through the X-Ray Binoculars. “The henchbunnies have created a door between the warehouse and the Second National Bank vault. As soon as the money goes into the vault, the henchbunnies steal it!”
“What are we going to do?” Westie asked.
“We are going to rescue Rider and stop this heist,” Rora said. “Hey, Ziggy. Do you still have those rabbit costumes? If we want to get close to Labra, we’ll need to look like somebunny else.”
No one noticed the three oversize rabbits that snuck into the warehouse and joined the furry crowd.
Rora scanned the room. Rider was helping Labra-cadabra-dor open a garage door. A giant getaway truck was waiting outside with a familiar dog standing next to it.
“Look! It’s that rotten rottweiler—Rotten Ruffhouse!” Ziggy whispered.
Rotten waved to Labra and shouted at the henchbunnies. “Get those lucky rabbit feet hopping and fill up the truck!”
The henchbunnies tossed bags of cash into the truck while Labra and Rotten walked into the warehouse.
Rora grabbed a bag and held it in front of her face so no one could see her. She walked to the truck, put the money in the back, and ran to the side. Then Rora quietly let the air out of the truck’s tires. Her plan was working until someone shouted, “Hey, stop that bunny!”
She’d heard that voice before. It was Rider Woofson!
Stage Showdown!
“Rider, it’s me, Rora!” She was still dressed in the bunny costume. “I’m one of the good guys. So are you.”
Rider looked confused for a moment. Then he snapped back under Labra’s spell.
“Labra!” Rider shouted as he dragged Rora back inside. “Look who I found snooping around. She let the air out of the tires on the getaway truck.”
“Good catch,” Labra said with a smile.
“Wow, Rider really has turned into one of the bad guys,” Rotten said. He seemed impressed. “Wait until my boss hears.”
“Who’s your boss?” Rora asked the rottweiler.
“Nokitty, er, nobody you know,” he said quickly. “Hold on. I’m supposed to ask you the questions. Where’s the rest of the P.I. Pack?”
“Right in front of you!” shouted Westie as he and Ziggy tossed bags of money on Labra and Rotten. Labra fell to the ground, but Rotten ran away with his tail between his legs.
Then Rora, Westie, and Ziggy pulled Rider with them, but they didn’t get very far. Henchbunnies surrounded the detectives.
“What do we do now?!” Ziggy asked.
“We give these crooks what they want,” Rora said. “Bunny money!”
She ripped open a bank bag and tossed it into the air. Cash flew everywhere. As the henchbunnies tried to nab the money, the P.I. Pack yanked Rider toward another exit. They had almost escaped when Rider grabbed a mirror that was by the door.
“I�
�m not going anywhere with you,” he said coldly.
“Come on, Boss. Snap out of it!” Rora demanded. “And why are you holding that mirror?”
“So I can do this,” Labra said from behind them. The magician zapped a beam that bounced off the mirror. Rora turned away just in time, but the spell captured Westie and Ziggy. They were hypnotized just like Rider!
Rora was all alone. She looked around the room. Labra and his henchbunnies were in front of her. Rider and her spellbound friends were behind her. On her left and right sides were boxes of items used in magic shows, like lights, curtains, and a silver disco ball. Rora smiled. She had an idea.
“Please, make this easy on yourself,” Labra said. “Surrender now and become one of my assistants.”
“No way, you crook! I would rather disappear!” Rora shouted.
“We can make that happen,” Labra said as he raised the magic wand and fired another spell.
But Rora was too fast. She grabbed the disco ball from its box and held it up like a shield. The magic beam struck the disco ball and reflected all around the room. The spell dazzled, shined, and hypnotized everyone in its path, including Labra-cadabra-dor.
Rora put down the ball and walked up to the evil magician. “Labra, as my personal assistant, I command you to free my friends from your spell.”
The Magic Word
Rider felt like he was just waking up from a dog nap. His friends were leaning over him. “What . . . what happened? And why are you all dressed like bunnies?”
“Rora saved the day,” Westie said.
“And gave Labra a taste of his own medicine!” Ziggy added.
Rider stood up and studied the crooked yet blank-faced magician. “Good job, Rora. What should we do with him now? It’s wrong to keep him under the spell forever.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Rora said with a smile. She whispered something in Labra’s ear. Then she snapped her fingers, and he woke up.
“You are under arrest,” Rora said. She snatched his wand and broke it in half.
“No! My precious wand!” Labra cried.
“Don’t worry,” Rider said. “You can keep doing magic—in your prison cell.”
As soon as Rider said the word “magic,” Labra started to act like a chicken. He flapped his arms like wings, kicked his legs, and said, “Bawk! Bawk! BAWK!”
“What did you do to him?” Rider asked.
Rora smiled. “I used his own spell against him. Now anytime he hears the word ‘magic,’ he’ll act like a chicken.”
Sure enough, when Rora said the word “magic,” Labra started to act like a chicken again. Everyone laughed.
“Thank you, Rora,” Rider said. “You didn’t just save my career— you saved me from a life of crime.”
“Just doing my job, Boss,” she said.
The P.I. Pack walked Labra outside and put him in the back of a police officer’s car. “Take this chicken to jail!” Rora said.
“Yes, ma’am!” the driver said as he drove away.
A few blocks later, the police car turned off the road into a private driveway.
“Where are we going?” Labra asked. “This isn’t the way to The Cage.”
“That’s right,” the police officer said, taking off his hat and sunglasses. It was Rotten Ruffhouse. “I’m taking you to meet the boss.”
Labra stepped out of the car to find Mr. Meow waiting for him. “I have an offer for you, my criminal friend.”
“I work alone,” Labra told the cat. “I’m more of a solo act.”
“Of course. Though, perhaps we could share the evil stage as partnerssss,” Mr. Meow suggested.
“Maybe,” Labra said. “What did you have in mind?”
Mr. Meow clicked his claws together. “I want to get rid of that infernal Rider Woofsssson and his dog detectivessss forever.”
“Sounds like magic . . . ,” Labra said, though as soon as he spoke the “magic” word, he instantly regretted it.
Check out Rider Woofson’s next case!
“Welcome to the Catskills History Museum. My name is Tina, and I’ll be your tour guide. If you have any questions, just ask!”
Tina led the tourists through the museum. The first exhibit was dinosaur skeletons. “This prehistoric moment shows dino-dogs and cat-osaurs. Though they may look like cats and dogs, they were actually more closely related to birds!”
The next exhibit showed proud animals in togas. “This is the Roaming Period,” Tina explained. “The Dog-Run Maximus, Julihiss Caesar, and Salamander the Great are just a few classic heroes of their time. They roamed and ruled over many different lands. Now, if you’ll follow me to the next exhibit, I can tell you the story of King Arthur and the swordfish in the stone.”
“Oooh, what’s that?” a tourist asked. They pointed at a WANTED CRIMINAL poster.
“That is the international art thief known as the Big Bad Woof,” said Tina. “Not much is known about the dangerous crook except that he steals valuable works of art. But this poster is not part of the tour—”
WALKER STYLES grew up reading kids’ books, so it makes sense that he’s writing them now. And when he isn’t writing books, he’s out solving mysteries around the city of Manhattan, where he lives. Just the other day, he lost the book he was reading. Following all the clues, Walker deduced the couch ate it! (Well, the book was under the couch cushions. Still, mystery solved!)
BEN WHITEHOUSE is an illustrator based in Birmingham, UK. He has previously worked in the animation industry as a character designer, animator, and stop-motion puppet maker before finding his feet within the world of illustration. You can visit him at stopmotionben.com.
RiderWoofson.com
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Little Simon hardcover edition February 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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Designed by Laura Roode. The text of this book was set in ITC American Typewriter.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Styles, Walker, author. | Whitehouse, Ben, illustrator.
Title: Labra-Cadabra-Dor’s revenge / by Walker Styles ; illustrated by Ben Whitehouse.
Description: First Little Simon paperback edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2016. | Series: Rider Woofson ; 7 | Summary: After breaking out of prison, tricky magician Labra-Cadabra-Dor puts canine detective Rider Woofson under an evil spell.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016024846 | ISBN 9781481485920 (pbk) | ISBN 9781481485937 (hc) | ISBN 9781481485944 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Mystery and detective stories. | Detectives—Fiction. | Dogs—Fiction. | Magicians—Fiction. | Magic tricks—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION /
Readers / Chapter Books. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / General. Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S82 Sm 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016024846