It was Bella Feinfinger’s first day working part time at her father’s kitchenware shop, so Encyclopedia and Sally dropped by to wish her good luck. The store was empty except for Hermes Jones, who was taking his sweet-ass time looking through the store’s oven mitt selection for the perfect anniversary gift for his mother.
Right off the bat, I have a problem with Mr. Feinfinger’s lackadaisical approach to both parenting and business ownership where he thought it would be totally fine to leave his tweenaged daughter alone in the store on her first day.
The two detectives didn’t want to distract Hermes, who was clearly having a difficult time picking a gift, so they decided to leave. On his way out, Encyclopedia told Hermes that they would see him at his birthday party the following Saturday.
Let’s jump to the party. Encyclopedia and Sally showed up late. When they got there, all of the party’s guests – Nancy, Pablo, Chips, Charlie and Magnolia – were already there except for Bella. Encyclopedia asked Hermes, “Did you get your mother’s gift?” Hermes replied that he did and that it was beautiful.
Magnolia asked what it was, but Hermes resisted, saying it was a secret. Nancy asked, “Yes, what did you get her?” The rest of the guests badgered him until he relented and explained that he got her an oven mitt. He offered everyone a peek.
What kids wouldn’t be jazzed about getting a sneak peek at an oven mitt? The same kids who get invited to a party thrown by someone who refers to an oven mitt as “beautiful.”
Actually, I shouldn’t be so harsh. It seemed that only Magnolia was interested in seeing it. She got Nancy to follow her for some reason. Encyclopedia, the one who started this conversation, didn’t seem interested at all, so he stayed behind.
Before Hermes could show off this terribly exciting oven mitt, Bella arrived. It was obvious that she had been crying. She requested that she meet with Encyclopedia and Sally, so Hermes allowed the three into a separate room where they could meet privately.
It had turned out that on the day that Hermes was in the store, two electric mixers had been taken. Bella had accidentally left a back door open after she had taken the trash out, and that’s how the thief got in.
Encyclopedia reasoned that the thief was a child, because a grown-up would have been able to pack a car or truck with more merchandise, whereas a child would have grabbed only what could have been carried.
Meh, I don’t know about that. An adult could have accidentally noticed that the door was open and gone in to grab what he could when he had the chance. Returning enough times to fill a car would increase a thief’s chance of getting caught which each trip. So no, just because only two mixers were stolen, that didn’t mean that only a child perpetrated the crime.
If the lack of absolute proof which led Encyclopedia to his theory doesn’t sit right with you, you definitely won’t like the fact that he posited that the thief was actually a party guest. He pulled that theory out thin air.
When Encyclopedia asked Hermes if he had gotten his mother’s gift, one could have assumed that he had been asking about his mother’s birthday gift to him and not his anniversary gift to her. However, Nancy was the one who asked what he got her, which meant that she must have been hiding in the store to hear the conversation that took place in the store.
No, not really. When Encyclopedia asked Hermes had gotten the gift, he replied that he did and that it was beautiful. You know what would be weirder than a 10-year-old boy referring to an oven mitt as “beautiful”? A 10-year-old boy receiving a gift and referring to it as “beautiful.”
Was Hermes’ parents’ anniversary Idaville’s such a well-kept secret that no one knew when it was? Maybe Nancy knew it for whatever reason. For all Encyclopedia knew, they were talking about the upcoming anniversary before he and Sally even showed up to the party.
For some reason, Encyclopedia was right and Nancy stole two electric mixers, because she’s clearly a dick. And I’m saying she’s a dick because what the hell good would be an electric mixer to a 10-year-old girl? I can’t imagine there would be much of one. Well, she stole two.
From her friend’s father’s business.
Also, I hope Mr. Feinfinger learned a valuable lesson about leaving his young daughter alone in the store.
