Wilhemina, the goat, had snack-attacks. âTwo hours to wait on the ground. Can we have a look around Cairns Airport?â The flight attendant looked worried. âWeâre supposed to keep an eye on you. Wouldnât you like to sit in the Unaccompanied Minorsâ Lounge? Or in our office?â âTwo more hours of sitting? No way,â muttered Christopher. Theyâd been in the plane all night. âSometimes we take Y.P.T.A s into the control room,â suggested the attendant. âIt depends whoâs looking after you.â The twins werenât old enough to be Young Passengers Travelling Alone yet. Until twelve, you had to be an UM and the airline people looked after you ALL the time. âWeâve been in there before,â said Amy politely. Mrs Gold and Mrs Silver were listening eagerly. Amy hoped they wouldnât offer because the twins liked to be on their own. Mysteries found them then. âWeâll just walk around. Weâll check in with you every half hour. Christopher likes to draw. We need to walk after all that sitting. Weâll stay in sight.â The flight attendant looked relieved. âOne of our people will stay near you. Are youâre sure you wonât get into trouble?â She didnât know that the twins were always in trouble. They were always solving mysteries or getting involved when things went wrong. Especially at airports. Just then the flight attendant tripped over the outstretched leg of Mr Muscles. He was sitting across the aisle from Amy. âSorry, sir.â âMy fault. Hard to fit my legs in this small space.â Mr Muscles looked like a balloon man. His arms were double balloons. So were his thighs. Even his head was round. The seat was too small for him. A great shape to draw. Christopher took out his sketchbook again. Since Singapore, heâd sketched several passengers. As the crew collected the meal trays and got ready for landing, Amy chatted to Mr Muscles. Heâd been asleep most of the flight. His snores were proof of that. His snores had kept her awake. And he was a mega snorer. But now he wanted to talk. She didnât realise then, how important that chat might be, later.
Chapter 2 Muscle Bound âIs this your first visit to Cairns?â asked Amy politely. He was so big that both his legs stuck out into the aisle. His track pants were tight across his legs. âYes. A working holiday. Mixing business and pleasure. Iâm a body builder.â Mr Muscles moved his legs restlessly. âWhat sort of bodies?â Amy pictured a panel beating shop where they fixed car bodies. Perhaps he was a mechanic? âCar bodies?â âHuman,â laughed Mr Muscles. Amy fiddled in her bum-bag for her stickers. Amy collected stickers, coins and clues. She found the BODYWORKS sticker.â The Mouth gave it to me on the flight to Singapore.â Mr Muscles looked at the sticker. âHeâs the pop singer, isnât he?â Amy nodded. âIf youâre a body builder, are you a doctor? Or a designer?â Mr Muscles shook his head. His thin hair was going bald from the front. But his skull was tight underneath. âJust build my own body. And the bodies of the people who come into my gym.â Amy noticed he had eaten everything during the flight meals. Bread roll. Chicken Mysterious, as Christopher called it. Broccoli. Mashed potatoes. And especially the creme caramel. Mrs Silver and Gold offered their sweets and he ate them, too! He woke up for every meal. He also had a bottle of vitamins on the flight table which was still folded down. Perhaps it was a brand name, thought Amy. It was wrongly spelled as VITTAMINS. âHow do you build your body?â she asked. âWith exercise?â âPlenty of good food. I run and lift weights and ...â Mr Muscles paused. âGet a little bit of help.â âWhat sort of help?â Amy was firing