- by Owen Morton
“Pandas,” said Kevin, slowly.
His sister Jenny looked up with mild interest. “Pandas what?” she inquired.
But Kevin wasn’t listening. He was too busy striking himself across the head. “Pandas!” he snorted. “How silly of me! Why didn’t I think of it before?”
“Think of what?” Jenny demanded.
Kevin looked at her, excitement in his eyes. “Gordon’s alibi was that he was feeding his pandas,” he exclaimed.
Jenny sighed, and put her book to one side. She stood up and walked over to her older brother, draping an arm round his shoulders. “Kev, we’ve been through all this before,” she said, gently. “It wasn’t Gordon who stole the jam. He proved it. It was definitely Gerald. And now he’s in jail where he belongs.”
“No!” Kevin said, shaking her arm off. “Gerald was innocent. Gordon framed him. What would Gerald want with a pot of jam?”
“They went into all this at the trial,” Jenny reminded him. “You were there, remember? The counsel for the prosecution posited that Gerald would put the jam on toast, and eat it.”
“Oh, and how likely is that?” Kevin sneered. “At any rate, Gerald never admitted it. The whole case was based on circumstantial evidence and theorising.”
“Kev, it won’t help you to get all wound up about,” Jenny said. “What makes you think Gerald didn’t steal the jam?”
“It was Gordon’s defence,” Kevin said. “He claimed he couldn’t have stolen the jam because he was feeding his pandas at the time.”
Jenny couldn’t see the problem. “So?”
“Gordon doesn’t have any pandas,” Kevin reminded her.
Jenny clapped her hand over her mouth. Kevin was right! How could this vital information have escaped attention for so long? Had Gerald been in prison for twenty years serving the sentence for a crime he had not committed?
“Come on,” said Kevin, struggling into his suit of armour and pork pie hat. “We’ve got to see the Chief Inspector without delay!”
He and Jenny ran out of the door as fast as they could.