The Unbelievable Oliver and the Sawed-in-Half Dads by Pseudonymous Bosch

Author:Pseudonymous Bosch [Bosch, Pseudonymous]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2020-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

“What about people leaving?” asked Teenie. “Have you seen any runaway grooms?”

Spencer laughed. “Why? Are your dads getting cold feet?”

“Why did you say that?” asked Bea sharply. “Did you see a pair of feet?”

“No. It’s just an expression.”

“And what about suspicious-looking objects?” pressed Teenie. “Something human-size maybe, like a mummy? Or anything with arms and legs sticking out?”

“No, nothing like that,” said Spencer. “Nobody has come or gone for an hour. Not since the baker left and the caterers arrived.”

“Really? Nobody at all?” The kids looked at one another in surprise. “Is there another way out?”

“Nope. This place is like a walled fortress.” Spencer eyed the phone in Teenie’s hand. “I like this video you’re making. It’s kind of Simon and Miguel’s Wedding: American Crime Story.”

“Excuse me, can you tell us where to find the corpse flower?”

A pair of tourists were walking up, cameras and guidebooks in hand.

“Sorry, the gardens are closed for a special event,” said Spencer. “But I’m sure—”

Before Spencer could finish, a tall, frowning man in dirty gardener’s overalls and a fraying straw hat stepped in front of the tourists.

“The corpse flower does not like visitors,” he said in such an unfriendly voice that the tourists backed away without another word.

The grim-faced gardener nodded curtly, then disappeared as silently as he’d come.

Bea pulled the video crew away from Spencer.

“Nobody has left the premises,” she said, tapping her notebook. “That means Dad didn’t run away AND the kidnapper didn’t take him away.”

“So then he’s here,” said Oliver. “Which is good news, right?”

Teenie nodded. “I mean, so what if he’s a prisoner? What could happen to him at good old Hauntington Gardens?”

They all turned to take in the view. From where they stood in the shadow of the old stone mansion, they could see the cobwebby conservatory in which the famously foul-smelling corpse flower bloomed. It was not a reassuring sight.

The gardener was standing in front of the conservatory and appeared to be communicating with the flower inside.

“I wonder why they call them corpse flowers,” said Teenie.

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