An Incredible Case of Dinosaurs by Kenneth Oppel Read Free Book Online

Chapter 1
Splish Splash
    Giles Barnes settled back in the bathtub with a contented sigh.
    He’d just managed to work up a thick bubbly foam on the water’s surface, when the bathroom door suddenly flew open and Tina and Kevin Quark walked straight in and stood at the edge of the tub, looking down at him expectantly. Giles could only stare back at them, speech-less.
    “Knocking,” he managed to say. “Ever heard of it?”
    “We have secured another commission,” said Tina grandly.
    “We’ve got a job,” added Kevin.
    “Kevin,” said Tina with a weary sigh, “that’s what I just said.”
    “Could have fooled me.”
    Giles slid lower down in the tub, the water lapping against his chin. Life had seemed so simple before he’d met Tina and Kevin. Now that he’d been fully promoted to their genius business, it seemed he never had a moment’s peace. Just last week, they’d been hired to deal with the Walshes’ missing garden gnomes, and the Angelinis’s creaking hinges. Then there’d been a particularly nasty case involving a radio that only picked up country and western music. It didn’t matter what station it was on, or whether the radio was on or off; the same mournful voice and guitar-strumming blared from the speakers.
    Giles supposed he should feel grateful that business was going full blast. After all, he’d almost saved up enough for the remote-controlled airplane he’d had his eye on for months. But he couldn’t help wishing things would slow down just a little.
    “Here I am, just trying to enjoy a simple bath,” he said to Tina and Kevin, “and in you come like the ‘Ride of the Valkyries’!”
    “Ride of the what? ” said Kevin.
    “Barnes is saying we just barged in,” Tina explained.
    “Well, I suppose we did,” said Kevin good-naturedly. “Sorry about that, Barnes.”
    “Oh no, not at all!” he said. “Look, just climb right in, both of you!”
    “Thank you, Barnes,” said Tina, “but we’re rather pressed for time. Maybe at some later date.”
    “It was a joke,” said Giles, rolling his eyes. “So, what’s this new job?”
    “A Miss Frost telephoned,” said Tina, taking a small notebook from her pocket. “She says there’s a problem with her swimming pool.”
    “What kind of problem?”
    “How much do you know about underwater life forms, Barnes?”
    “You know,” said Kevin helpfully, “squiggly things with tentacles and suckers the size of—”
    “In her swimming pool?” said Giles, glancing nervously at the bath water. “You must be joking!”
    “All I know,” said Tina calmly, “is that Miss Frost seems to think she has something strange living in her pool. Ipersonally doubt very much that this is the case, but we’ll need to make a full investigation tomorrow morning.”
    “Fine,” said Giles. “Now if you’ll both excuse me, I’m going to pull the plug.”

Chapter 2
Prehistoric Glurp
    The big door swung slowly open.
    “Mr Frost?” said Giles uncertainly.
    “No,” replied the man in the three-piece suit, “I’m Swift, Miss Frost’s personal assistant. You must be the Quark geniuses. Miss Frost has been expecting you. Please come in.”
    It was like a museum inside. Giles looked around the grand hallway in amazement. There were Roman busts on columns, ancient tapestries and paintings hanging from the walls, ornate rugs covering the floor.
    “An exquisite collection of Dutch Old Masters,” Tina commented, nodding at a row of paintings. “Miss Frost must be a woman of some distinction.”
    “Wow!” Kevin exclaimed. “Look at all this stuff! It must be worth a fortune!”
    “It is,” said the assistant, giving Kevin a disdainful look. “So please don’t touch anything. Follow me.”
    As they passed the living room, Giles thought there was an oddly empty feel to the place. He could see now that there was a fine, dusty silt over all the antique furniture and beautiful ornaments. Old cobwebs trailed from the picture frames.
    Swift led