BLOOMSBURY CHILDREN’S BOOKS Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP, UK BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY CHILDREN’S BOOKS and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Text copyright © Laura James, 2019 Illustrations copyright © Emily Fox, 2019 Laura James and Emily Fox have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author and Illustrator of this work All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: PB: 978-1-4088-8934-3; eBook: 978-1-4088-8935-0 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 Typeset by Janene Spencer Printed in China by Leo Paper Products, Heshan, Guangdong
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I
n
a
small
town
on the banks of
Lake
Laloozee
lives
the world’s greatest flamingo detective. His name is Fabio. He’s not tall or strong, but slight and pink. And he’s very, very clever.
At his side for every case is his friend and associate, Gilbert, a giraffe terrible at the art of disguise but good at asking questions – sometimes even the right ones.
Chapter 1
T
he bell rang as Fabio and Gilbert stepped into Alfonso’s, the small
and exclusive jeweller’s shop. Alfonso’s was as much part of the history of Laloozee as the Hotel Royale or Plume Street, where Fabio’s detective agency was based. ‘I’ll
be
with
you
in
one moment, gentlemen,’ said Alfonso, who was an ageing tortoise
1
with an unhurried way of speaking. Fabio tipped his hat and he and Gilbert browsed the expensive jewellery as Alfonso dealt with his customer, a stylish desert fox. ‘Good he
said,
package.
luck,
carefully ‘If
my handing
your
dear,’ her
a
mother
could see you now …’ The fox smiled. ‘Thank you, Mr Alfonso. It’s a pleasure doing business with you.’ Fabio tipped his hat again as the fox sashayed out of the shop.
2
Alfonso
turned
his
attention
Fabio and Gilbert. ‘How
may
to I
be of service, gentlemen?’ he asked.
‘It’s my pocket watch, Alfonso,’ said Gilbert, lolloping towards him. ‘It seems to be on the blink.’ He gave the watch a shake and then rested it on the counter. Alfonso delicately picked it up and examined it through his eyeglass. ‘I don’t see these much any
more,’
nothing fix
it
he
too
now,
said.
‘It’s
serious. if
you
I’ll
don’t
mind waiting a minute.’ ‘Not at all,’ said Gilbert, trying his best not to be impatient. He felt sure,
4
at Alfonso’s pace, it was going to take more than a minute.
5