Soul Searching: Chapter 11
Back at the ice-cream truck, the squirrel built a fire and made Hot Tom and Jerry with a bottle of Jamaican rum he’d salvaged from the cottage’s detached potato cellar. This contributed considerably to calming them all down.
“It was arson, you know,” Tulip said and poured them each another mug of Hot Tom and Jerry.
“How can you be so sure?” Cedric asked.
“Why don’t you show Cedric what you found on the ground outside the cottage?” the cat said to the squirrel.
The squirrel produced a small, shiny object. It was a brass button.
“Crick-crick, crick-crick,” the squirrel said, meaning “At first glance I thought it was an acorn, so I picked it up. Then I saw what it was. Look closely at the embossed symbol, Cedric.”
“That’s Allerton’s emblem,” Cedric exclaimed. “And the letters W.H.I.P.”
“It’s the initials of a very exclusive student association,” Tulip said. “It stands for Wealthy and Highly Influential Parents.”
“That description fits Marvin Ridgeway like a glove,” Cedric said. “He’s the archetypal W.H.I.P-boy! This is all my fault. I drove Marvin to do it. It’s retribution for borrowing the souls. I never should have done it. I must return the souls to their owners at once!”
He sprung to his feet, clutching the baby-food jar.
“Crick-crick, crick-crick,” the squirrel said, meaning “You must wait until tomorrow, Cedric. It’s getting dark, and you’ve had too much Hot Tom and Jerry to drink.”
“I must do it now,” Cedric insisted. “I must return the souls before something else terrible happens.”
“He’s right,” Tulip said. “I will go with him. I can see perfectly well in the dark, and Hot Tom and Jerry bothers me none. Hick! Hick!”
The two took off into the twilight. Tulip was leading the way, and Cedric followed closely behind, clutching the baby-food jar tightly.