I haven't been back at the Bluestocking for long, but I just snuck up the back stairs, past the library (the flying squirrel librarians are already awake and looking busy with some books- I don't think they were busy, they just like to look busy). Then down the steps behind the 14th bookcase on the left, past Marie's books.
At the bottom of the 14th bookcase steps, there is a large rectangular shape where hatch used to be, now clad from underneath with the ceiling boards from the downstairs ceiling.
There's nothing there now except
- dust, slightly disturbed by the shape of something that had been there for a long time, but which has been removed, recently;
- a slip of an old library check out card, stamped "Bodleian Library: private collection";
- and in the dust, the shape of a tiny key.
I went back downstairs, into the kitchen. I made a banana sandwich without telling the gerbils what I was making. Camels will sell their own mothers for a banana sandwich, and I needed information.
Outside the camels were gathered together, some playing cards , some hanging around behind the card players, trying to see the hands being played. (How they managed, I don't know because, as we all know, camels don't have hands).
Carmela was one of the watchers. I pulled her aside. I kept the sandwich in reserve.
I need to talk to you about the other night, and your little... escapade.
Carmela looked...bullish, but somehow still looked like a female camel. She said, I have nothing to say. There's nothing to say about what happened that night.
I said, I found the place where it was kept. I saw where the key used to be.
I held out the banana sandwich.
Start talking, or you'll be explaining yourself to Gosie when she gets back, I said.
TLDR: Carmela says that all she did was carry it. The gerbils wrapped something in loads of cloths, tied carefully with string. Mousie took the key (being an ex-jailbird, I guess they thought that was the best job for her), and Carmela and Mousie carried it down to the marina (there's a marina somewhere), and put it onto one of the yachts. There were other "forrin" gerbils there, on the yacht, and they took the key from Mousie and sailed away with the "package" at speed.
I asked Carmela what she meant by "forrin." Apparently the gerbils were speaking French.
And Italian, with a little bit of medieval Latin.
How did Carmela know what languages they were? Apparently she can imitate pretty well, and the flying squirrel librarians are very... knowledgeable.
That's all I got from her.
So, now I'm back, and boy do I need a drink! Gerbils, Tallisker, double, neat please!