\u201cWell, if this phone works, I’m moving in with Gembi!\u201d Tuli snarled when she saw the rickety, smelly old booth that was covered in graffiti.
\n\u201cJust wait for it!\u201d
\nAnne took some change from her pocket, dropped it in and waited for the line. Lo and behold: a second later, an ear-piercing buzz signalled that she could dial.
\n\u201cNine, nine, nine\u201d said Anne loudly as she pressed the keys.
\n\u201cPolice, what\u2019s your emergency?\u201d said a friendly female voice on the other end of the line.
\n\u201cGood morning, I would like to make an anonymous report!\u201d
\n\u201cHello, little girl. What do you want to report?\u201d
\n\u201cThe forest that caught fire yesterday here at the end of Lavender Street. I know who dumped and burned the garbage there!\u201d
\n\u201cWell, that’s interesting. What do you know?\u201d
\n\u201cI have seen… I mean, a friend of mine saw a resident at the end of a street, living in a house with a green fence, drive away in a big black car. And before that, my friend saw him unload the tires and the garbage and set it on fire\u201d.
\n\u201cAnd how do we know you’re telling the truth, girl?\u201d” “Anne hesitated.
\n\u201cCheck the tires, and you will see I am. This man has at least five cars in his garage on Crescent Street. Go there and check it out! If the tyres match, it was definitely him!\u201d Anne muttered, and hung up the phone with lightning speed.
\n\u201cThat’s done\u201d. She turned to Tuli. \u201cNow we just wait. But let’s have breakfast first!\u201d
\nTuli was slipping into Anne’s pocket as routinely as if she had always lived there. As soon as they got back to the house, one could smell something delicious for breakfast from the doorway already.
\n\u201cFrench toast!\u201d Anne whispered to her pocket before going inside. \u201cNow be a little patient, I’m going to eat downstairs with Mum and Dad, then we’ll go up to my room and you can eat too!\u201d
\nAnne really enjoyed breakfast.
\n\u201cIt was worth the wait!\u201d Tuli said later, upstairs in Anne’s room. \u201cThis one is even better than the pancakes! You know what I like best about humans? Of course, only now that I know you. That you eat such mind-blowingly delicious food!\u201d Tuli said with her mouth full.
\nThen suddenly the sound of a siren cut through the delicious munching.” “\u201cHere they are already! Come to the window!\u201d
\nAnne ran to the skylight, from where she could see almost the whole street. Sure enough, a police car was parked in front of the huge, green-fenced house at the end of the street.
\n\u201cWe will not hear what they say\u201d.
\n\u201cOf course, we will!\u201d Tuli snapped, and flew out of the open window. \u201cI’ll interrogate him! You wait here\u201d.
\n\u201cCareful, don’t get noticed!\u201d
\n\u201cBut Anne. We have lived here for centuries and not a single person has noticed us. Do you think I’m going to blow my cover now?\u201d And with a whoosh, Tuli had already burst out of the window.
\nFrom here it seemed as if some colourful little bug was circling over the rooftops, and soon Anne couldn’t see where she was flying. All she could see out of the window was two policemen getting out of the car, ringing the bell, and then nothing happened for a long time. Finally, the police got back into the car and put the man with the pigtail in the back seat. They drove off towards Crescent Street.
\nTuli returned through the window with a happy smile on her face.” “\u201cThey will catch him! They told him he had to show them his garage! The guy with the pigtails was very angry, saying all sorts of things, that this was going to be a big lawsuit, and that the Secretary of State was his friend. That reminds me, what is the Secretary of State? Anyhow, he got really upset, but he had to get into the police car. The policeman told him, and I quote: This is no joke!\u201d
\n\u201cGreat!\u201d Anne said with enthusiasm.
\n\u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d
\n\u201cNow we wait\u201d.
\nThey didn’t have to wait long. An hour later, Mum knocked on the door of the room: Tuli hid quickly.
\n\u201cAnnie, guess what? The police came out to that guy\u2019s house. He is allegedly suspected of the arson! Maria, his neighbour, says that he has thrown the old, worn tires of one of his rare sports cars in the woods. Someone made an anonymous phone call this morning. From that booth on Crescent Street. Maria told us that the police asked her who the informant could be, but she could not answer. A child’s voice is said to have called\u201d. Mum looked at Anne a little sternly.” “\u201cOK, I admit it was me. This morning… because you didn’t want to help me!\u201d
\n\u201cBut how did you know it was him?\u201d
\n\u201cI can’t tell you that, Mum. I’m sorry\u201d.
\nMum didn’t like that answer, but decided to leave it at that for now. They would find out sooner or later anyway.
\n\u201cMum, what’s going to happen to the pigtail guy now?\u201d
\n\u201cNothing. It’s not that big a crime, he’ll probably get some kind of fine, which he will pay off with ease. He was questioned, but he is already at home. He was released on bail, that\u2019s the term for it\u201d.
\n\u201cBut this is terrible! That forest, Mum… It was home to so many animals! And it was full of rubbish, and the stream dried up a long time ago because people are so stupid! And now it’s burnt down and nobody’s doing anything\u201d.
\n\u201cWell, maybe we can do something, but there’s no guarantee for that\u201d thought Mum. \u201cRemember that forest where we used to go mushrooming? Next to the neighbouring town. There’s a big mall and a parking garage there now, but at the time we tried to stop it from being built. Unfortunately, that didn’t work, but we might be able to have this forest declared a reservation. It may not be too late\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1226,"template":"","class_list":["post-1228","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n