CHAPTER NINE
Sparky the Clown was furious when he noticed his ruined boots. He found out that the coin had disappeared. It meant that he had lost his luck, too. That was stressful for him. The clown got used to it and couldn’t imagine his life without luck.
“Lucky was here. I feel it,” the clown whispered. “But I don’t think that he took the coin. It was someone else.” Sparky the Clown looked around and noticed the jugglers bean bag.
“I knew it! Amita!” Sparky gnashed his teeth in anger. “I should have made more gulab jamuns to get rid of her! Where is my sandalwood portion?”
The clown took a yellow flask out of his pocket. The sizzling oil inside sparkled with hundreds of bright confetti.
“This sandalwood magic never let me down. Thanks to Keimi.” Sparky smirked as he remembered the creature from the Mizoram forest. He thought that Keimi the Tigress had warned him not to visit Agra. That was weighing on his mind, but it couldn’t make him delay the trip.
“That’s just nonsense! I doubt Keimi could predict the future,” the clown whispered. “My sibling is taking part in the festival of magicians! How could I miss the chance to compete with him? I’ll take on the challenge and win!”
Lucky the Ostrich
All his life Sparky had been racing with his sibling; but he would never admit he was just envious of Lucky. He’d fight his sibling at the contest. Sparky felt the joy of anticipation.
“Our suspect is going to the festival of magicians in Agra!”
“How did you know that?” Krish asked Amita.
“I overheard the talk. Lucky tried to dissuade his sibling from going to Agra. He mentioned something about the prediction that might come true. They had a nasty quarrel.”
“Let me go to Agra! I’ll check the information,” Raja pleaded. “If Sparky is there, we will catch him.”
“It could be dangerous to go alone to Agra. Take Amita and Oliver with you. By the way, where is the lucky coin that was found in the shoe of Sparky? We must put it in the bank safe.”
“I hid it in the circus,” the juggler whispered.
“You mean the coin is still … You’d better go and bring it here. It’s rather unwise and risky to keep the coin in the circus. Too close to Sparky the Clown.”
Raja and Amita dashed to his rickshaw and drove to the circus. They bumped into Lucky the Snake Charmer at the entrance. Lucky blocked Raja’s way, his face gleeful.