Free The Ideas Pirates by Hazel Edwards Page B

the loan of the player.’ Amy returned the portable to Fifi who was fiddling with her gnome’s bow tie. Now the bandaid was across the plug.
    The attendants had collected all the steaming washers on a tray.
    â€˜Excuse me Fifi, we love your gnome. What do you keep inside him?’ interrupted Winston.
    Fifi turned. For a moment, the twins thought she was going to be cross. Then she winked and explained with a laugh. ‘Special cleansing salts in my gnome. Whenever I travel my gnome comes with me. Especially when I’m chasing Fifi shirt thieves.’
    â€˜Thanks,’ said Winston.
    â€˜She’s round the twist,’ he confided to the twins. ‘Carrying bath salts in a gnome.’
    But Fifi didn’t tell Winston that her cleansing salts were also used for another reason.

    Christopher had been thinking about the photographs for his next term’s school project. If Amy could say she was doing ‘Orchids’, that would be a good excuse to ask Dr Chung about the ‘orchid’ message he had received in the airport lounge.
    â€˜Amy, got a topic for your project yet?
    She hadn’t. And she agreed that it would be a good excuse.
    â€˜Singapore’s national flower is the orchid.’ said Christopher. ‘ And so many are sold in the airport.We wondered why you received a message about orchids, when we were in the gateway lounge. ‘Amy’s doing her school project on “orchids,”’ he added quickly.
    â€˜That’s why we’re interested,’ Amy said quickly.
    â€˜I hope you never decide to spy for our opposition company.’ Dr Chung said half-seriously. ‘The rate at which you gather information is alarming.’
    Dr Chung explained about his orchid formula. It contained the ingredients for making a special balm. This would help athletes with sore muscles, especially those with strained ankle or leg muscles. Amy asked whether there were orchids in the formula.
    â€˜Just a few. But not the endangered species. ‘
    Dr Chung explained why a message had been left for him at the airport.
    â€˜I had to leave the conference in a hurry so I wouldn’t miss my plane. My assistant had computer problems and couldn’t print out a copy in time. So he said he’d send it to my address in Sydney. But since the formula is secret, I had to know exactly the local time at which he would be sending it. Then I could be there to accept it. Otherwise someone else might read the formula before we were ready to release it.’
    â€˜If it is a balm , does it have tiger bone in the formula?’ Winston asked.
    â€˜A secret formula.’ smiled Dr Chung. ‘That means others are prepared to pay a lot of money to make our balm.’
    â€˜Like KFC Chicken...?’ laughed Winston. ‘Forty three spices....Everyone knows what it tastes like but nobody else can make it.’
    â€˜Our balm’s not quite the same. But your Dad’s company is interested in paying for the formula. And we MIGHT be interested in selling.’

Chapter 10
Are Gnomes Just Hand Luggage?
    â€˜You’ve travelled a lot young lady. Your glasses look different from the passport photo,’ said the official checking passport pages.
    â€˜That’s because I wear clip-on colours.’ Amy showed him how she could change her frames by clipping different colours. She kept spares in her bag.
    â€˜Latest fashion is it? Rose coloured glasses. Must tell my daughter,’ The official passed her form.
    â€˜Collecting gnomes is a new hobby too, I see.’ He nodded towards Fifi who was struggling behind.
    Amy picked up her backpack. She was ready for stage one. It was her job to check Jason’s backpack as soon as it came out. If it was exactly same, she was to signal Gloria. At the carousel, the baggage went round and round. Often bags looked similar. Easy to mix them up.
    She was sure now that the mystery man had mistaken her bag for