Moonstruck Half Moon Investigations

It's hard to put Quinn in a good mood, but the runner's up trophy

in the district netball competition did the trick.

You girls should be proud of yourselves.

This trophy heralds a new beginning for St Jerome's,

and with a little financial help from tomorrow's fun run,

the boys' cricket team might even surpass your netballing achievements.

With you at the helm, anything is possible, Mrs Quinn.

Thank you. But, as my second in command,

you'll have your share of responsibility as well.

Your role is vital for the smooth running of the race.

And with any luck, we'll soon have another trophy for the cabinet.

CLATTERING What is that?

So much for the new start for St Jerome's.

It looked like old habits were hard to break.

Where is it? Where's the trophy?!

Second place. Good work.

Might as well be last.

Do you know what that means?

-Free period.

-Cool.

I need a chance to catch up with my chemistry.

Free periods are for loafing, not for working.

I bet you Daz wouldn't go for it.

Try stopping him. He tried to get me to join in.

-What have you got to lose?

-My lunch.

Top marks. Well done.

Thanks.

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

Swot!

OVER TANNOY: 'This is an urgent announcement. At 8.20 this morning,

'a very valuable cup was stolen from the trophy cabinet.

'Being runners-up in the under-14s tournament was a proud moment

'for this school and I will leave no stone unturned

'until the thief is found.'

What's all the fuss about this trophy?

They didn't even win, did they?

-Hi.

-'Was she talking to me?

'Girls like this never talk to me.'

-Half Moon?

-Yes.

-I'm Chelsea. You're the detective, aren't you?

-Er...

I need your help.

You've got the key, and a list of suitable race stewards.

All under control. I was just thinking about the stolen trophy.

-You will be conducting a locker search?

-Naturally.

I think we both know I'm not going to take this lying down.

Report back to me later.

So? Did you nick it?

-Why would I want to nick it?

-Yes, why would she want to nick it?

I don't know. Maybe you've got something against netball?

I'm brilliant at netball.

-I was their star player before I quit.

-Why did you quit?

Didn't leave me enough time for my friends.

I've got a lot of friends.

Where were you at 8.20 this morning?

Walking to school.

-Do you think someone planted the cup on you?

-Obviously.

I looked in my locker this morning and there it was.

-But why would someone frame you?

-I don't know.

I say we hand the business over to Quinn. Let her sort it out.

No, she's already got it in for me.

Reckons I let the team down.

They probably would have come first if I hadn't quit.

You've got to help me.

I thought that's what you did.

'I don't know why, but I just felt I had to protect her.'

Of course we'll help you.

KNOCKING Come in!

I think it's six months' detention for impersonating a headmistress.

Hazel. Ms Quinn's a bit busy so she's asked me to see to you.

What's going on?

I've been put in charge of the inter-sport fundraising.

As you know, the school's having a fun run

to raise money for the cricket team.

Why would Mrs Quinn put a kid in charge?

As captain of the netball team, I displayed natural leadership

qualities way above my age

which is how I come to recognise I need you on my team.

-Me?

-You're scrupulous, you're trustworthy,

but above all, you can't be bought.

Well, I suppose that's true.

But I don't take orders from a rug rat.

Mrs Quinn will be disappointed.

She thought you'd be mature enough to handle the responsibility.

What responsibility?

Sponsorship.

There's the safe.

You'd get the only key.

Guard it with your life.

It is a big responsibility.

Maybe too big for some, I suppose.

I'll try not to let it wear me down.

Quinn was on a mission to find the missing trophy

and she wasn't taking any prisoners.

So it was lucky we had the cup with us in my rucksack.

Although "lucky" wasn't the word Red would use.

Stupid! I don't understand you.

-Taking charge of this trophy's just stupid.

-I couldn't leave it with her.

-She's too scared.

-If we get caught with it, we're dead.

I need to examine it. It's evidence.

You've got to hand it to them. Busy corridor, broad daylight.

-It's pretty gutsy stuff.

-Pretty stupid, unless you've got a lookout.

Could we be looking for more than one thief?

As Bernstein says, criminals are low lives, so sometimes you need to get down to their level.

-What's this?

-Slivers of metal.

What are they doing here?

Can I help you, gentlemen?

We thought we might examine the crime scene in case we could help.

Thank you, but I won't be needing your help.

I've got a feeling I'm already getting very, very warm.

'Suddenly the trophy felt like a ten-ton weight in my rucksack.

Now, I'm sure there's somewhere else you need to be.

Quinn was getting close, but now we had a lead.

The sliver of metal could hold the key.

We headed to Mia's office to do more tests.

-You think the thief dropped them?

-Maybe. Can't get any prints off it.

-So we're going to have to see the metallers, to see if they can tell us anything.

-What about Chelsea?

-Have you ruled her out?

-Definitely.

-Some of us are keeping an open mind.

We could have caught her red-handed but he would have still found an excuse.

Been taken in by her big blue eyes, have you?

No, and anyway, her eyes are brown.

No joy.

There's only one set of prints, and they're Chelsea's.

Which is what you'd expect.

Quinn probably polished it before she put it in the trophy cabinet.

The thief was probably wearing gloves and Chelsea was the only

-person to touch it when she took it out her locker.

-Fine. Can we get rid of it now, please?

Dumping a trophy in a busy school is easier said than done.

We needed somewhere deserted.

We knew no-one had been to Mr Ellis's poetry appreciation lunch club in years. Except Mr Ellis.

Half an hour I had to listen to him

droning on about romantic English poetry.

Never mind that, where's the trophy?

-Under a large pile of Renaissance poetry.

-Good. No-one will look there.

Hold on. See that kid with the cap? It's Ethan Miller.

He was dumped by Chelsea a couple of weeks ago.

Do you not read my gossip column?

She was harsh. Walked right up to him in the middle of the yard

in front of everyone, loud as you like, total humiliation.

Nice. Now I get what you see in her.

I don't... Can we just get on with this?

-Ethan Miller?

-Who wants to know?

-Fletcher Moon. I'm a detective.

-Do one, geek, I'm busy.

-Where were you at 8.20 this morning?

Playing cops and robbers, pretending to be a real big policeman.

What are you doing?

You used to go out with Chelsea. Is that right?

-What's that got to do with you?

-It would be in your best interests to co-operate.

-It would be in your best interests to turn round and keep walking.

-Slow down, children. Play nice.

My friends here are going to ask you a few questions and you're going to answer them, aren't you?

-So, where were you?

-In here.

We come in early on Tuesdays to work on our pieces.

-Didn't leave until registration.

-Is that right?

What about Chelsea? Sounds like she did quite a number on you.

So? It's none of your business.

Chucking you in front of the whole school. Must have been gutted.

Yeah. What do you think?

-Gutted enough to get your own back?

-No. She didn't mean to do it.

-She hasn't been herself since...

-Since what?

Since nothing. Look, come on.

You know what girls are like.

They don't know what they mean half the time. I really don't want to talk about it. Are we done here?

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

-I don't trust him.

-What was that all about her not being herself?

"Just what girls are like, isn't it?"

So she's unpredictable. It's not a crime.

Anyway, what were those scraps of metal on the bench?

Very similar to those found at the crime scene.

You're right, but until we have got proof, we're keeping an open mind, aren't we, Moon?

-Mm. Smells good. I'm starving.

-That's the grouting done.

I thought I was supposed to be doing the bathroom?

Yes, dear, but you've been saying that for the last six months.

Is that young Fletcher?

The first time I met him, he'd just broken into my house.

That was a misunderstanding.

Take after his dad, does he?

It's water under the bridge. The boy's been a good influence on Red. Anybody can see that.

Will the pair of you be taking part in the fun run tomorrow?

You and Fletcher doing it?

Try and stop me.

I haven't been running since I was in short trousers.

-I don't mind giving you a few tips.

-Really?

That's very kind of you.

Deal.

'I still believed Chelsea was innocent,

'but not everyone was convinced.'

I've done some thinking about what Ethan said about Chelsea.

Did some digging. Turns out she lied to us.

Don't be silly. Chelsea's not a liar.

She didn't quit the netball team like she said she did.

She got a boot the week before the finals.

-I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason.

-She reckons she was better

than everyone else and didn't need to turn up to training.

When they win the runner's up trophy, she gets jealous

because they did so well without her. So she steals the cup.

Chelsea brought the trophy to us, remember?

Why would she give it to us

-if she'd stolen it?

-You know what your pal Bernstein said?

"Emotion is the enemy of truth."

You've gone all goo goo-eyed over Chelsea.

-You're not treating her like a proper client.

-I'm not goo goo-eyed.

That's just rubbish.

'Despite what I said, I knew Red was right.

'We had a crime to solve and my feelings were clouding my judgment.'

Ethan was dumped by Chelsea a couple of weeks ago in front of everyone, total humiliation.

You've got to hand it to him,

busy corridor, broad daylight, it's pretty gutsy stuff.

Your role is vital for the smooth running of the race.

You've got to help me.

'I should have been looking at motive and opportunity, but all I could see was her pretty smile.'

Ah, Fletcher's in love.

No, I'm not, it's just for a case, a very important case.

Well, let me guess. When you're near her, your mouth goes dry,

you lose the power of speech and you start to sweat more than usual.

-I don't sweat!

-Relax, you're normal. It happens to all of us.

Well, except the sweaty bit.

It's pheromones. You'll learn!

At least I had a word for it now, so I could start to deal with it in a scientific manner.

Apparently pheromones are little chemicals that Chelsea gives off that make me like her a lot.

So tomorrow, when we ask Chelsea why she lied, I'll be able to take

the pheromones into account and treat her like any normal client.

Red'll never believe his eyes.

Me raising money for charity, man.

He'll blow a gasket! It's not easy, is it?

-Sorry, I'll slow down a bit.

-No, I mean...

-being a dad.

-No, no.

To tell you the truth, I don't understand my lot.

Fletcher'd rather sit in his room working out who put the boot polish

in the math teacher's lunch than out here in the fresh air.

-He's a good kid, though.

-The very best. I just don't know where he gets it all from.

As long as they're happy, healthy, on the right side of the law, what more can we want?

That's true, you can't ask for more than that.

Right. Are you ready, then?

Do your worst.

'Preparations for the fun run were full steam ahead

'but the investigation was in danger of grinding to a halt.

'Chelsea was our only lead.'

I can't believe you're calling me a liar.

Admit it. You were hacked off because you got kicked off the team.

Then you stole the trophy to get your own back, and then you made up

that story about walking off the team to put us off the scent.

If you realised how good I was at netball, you'd realise how stupid you sound.

See? Told you there'd be a reasonable explanation.

You're not serious?

-So you weren't kicked off the netball team?

-I was their star player.

It's not my fault Quinn couldn't see that and made her captain instead.

I told her I'm not going to be treated the same as those talentless girls,

so I said "If you can't see that, I'm walking."

-So they kicked you out?

-I told you, they didn't kick me out.

I was the one brave enough to make a stand against the team captain.

-After she kicked you out?

-Sorry, who's the captain?

I wouldn't play for captain April's team if she paid me.

April Deverill.

'It could be a crucial clue, so why couldn't I focus?'

Mrs Quinn. I thought you should know.

We've almost hit the 600 mark.

Is that supposed to mean anything to me?

In sponsorship, and I also wanted to thank you for your faith in me.

I really appreciate it, and you can rest assured I won't let you down.

I'm glad to hear it, Miss Moon.

BOTH: "We love you, Mrs Quinn."

Get lost. You wouldn't understand what it's like to be put in a position of authority.

It's obvious it had a big impact on Quinn.

She didn't seem to have a clue what you were on about.

What of April, then? You reckon it's just a coincidence?

It doesn't make sense. April's the one who got Chelsea kicked off the team. So why frame her as well?

It's not just that, though. April's the only person in this whole school who's got a cast iron alibi.

She was with Quinn when the trophy was stolen.

-So you're saying she's not a suspect?

-No, I'm just saying we need to find out more.

According to Bernstein, a lack of evidence doesn't mean

that your suspect is innocent, and that certainly applied to April.

We needed her side of the story.

Not the usual hideout for a pink.

Interesting, Mr Bond.

The plot thickens.

-What was all that about with Ethan and his metal mates?

-We both know I'm not going to answer that.

-How come they're on the payroll?

-Moi? Paying Ethan, I don't know what you mean.

-Don't act so innocent. We're not stupid.

-You're quite sure about that?

If you must know, they're my racing stewards.

They play a key role in the fun run security arrangements.

We know you're up to something.

-We're watching you.

-Tres interessant.

But I must dash. The fun... I mean, the run's about to start.

This case had just been blown wide open.

April was definitely up to something and I had a hunch

it would make the trophy theft look like chicken feed.

Now all I had to do was figure out what it was.

Would all the fun runners make their way to the starting line, please?

CHEERING AND CLAPPING

There's no shame in walking part of the way you know?

-You don't want to overdo it.

-You haven't seen Red anywhere, have you?

-I wanted to surprise him.

-I suppose they've got their own stuff to do.

Let's keep an eye on Ethan.

What were you doing cosying up with April? You can't stand her.

I have to speak to the monkey to find out what the organ grinder wants me to do.

It means April's just passing on Quinn's orders.

Earlier, when you thanked Quinn for selecting you, she didn't seem to know what you were talking about.

Maybe she forget she selected you personally.

-Don't be silly.

-She'd hardly trust me with the only key to the safe and then forget about it.

-What safe?

-Where the fundraising money's kept.

-Take your positions!

Ethan plays a key role in the security.

That's what April said. How do you know it's the only key?

-On your marks.

-Because April told me it was.

You get the only key.

April gave you that key, not Quinn. She could have got Ethan to copy earlier.

I suppose so.

-Get set...

-The money, they're going to steal the sponsorship money!

-Go!

-GUNSHOT

Ethan's leaving.

We're too late. They've already taken it.

But there was over 600 quid in there. Quinn will think it's me. I'm supposed to have the only key.

That's why April chose you.

Great, not only does April get away with the cash, but by framing Hazel, she buys your silence.

We need to find the cash and put it back before Quinn notices.

When the fun run is over, she's taking the money to the bank.

Which is why we don't have much time to waste.

We only had minutes to stop them,

and Hazel's future at St Jerome's depended on it.

There he is!

-We'll never find him now.

-Yes, we will. Follow me.

They keep passing the bag.

Ethan's got it!

He's getting away!

Someone's in a hurry.

-HE GASPS FOR AIR

-Does...does Dad know you can run like that?

No, and don't go telling him or he'll be on at me to go running with him.

The sponsorship money.

I've never seen that before.

You're kidding me? You're going to need a better excuse than that.

You've got a choice.

Either you persist in your defence of ignorance

or you admit your participation in the theft and inform on your associates.

Tell us who you're working for or you're going to Quinn.

-April Deverill.

-Shock, horror(!)

I don't get it. What's all this got to do with the trophy?

I stole the trophy while April was with Quinn.

It's all part of the deal to make sure she has an alibi.

You did all that just to get back at Chelsea for dumping you?

No. That was an added bonus. April paid me.

OK. I still don't get it.

April won that trophy.

So why is she paying you to nick it?

Second place, good work.

Might as well be the last.

Might as well be last?

April can't bear coming second.

She saw the trophy as a reminder of defeat,

not achievement, didn't she?

I don't know. I don't ask questions. We just do what we're paid for.

-"We"?

-There's a few of us on the payroll.

Of course, that's what the money is for.

So April can pay you to do her dirty work.

So what's to stop you taking the money and doing a runner?

She's thought of that. We're all on these insurance policies...

minus the trophy. If anyone of us steps out of line, she just dishes the dirt to Quinn.

So where's the drop taking place?

Hello, April. Fancy seeing us here.

If it isn't the headmistress's favourite, Hazel Moon and Mini Moon.

-Meeting someone?

-That's none of your business.

Only...Ethan couldn't make it.

We know you've been paying boys to do your dirty work

and we know your plans to steal the sponsorship money.

-Do I know what you're talking about?

-Drop the act, Barbie.

We should have known you were up to something.

April Deverill, fundraising for a boys' cricket team.

Don't remind me. Shame the poor boys won't see a penny of it.

Yes, they will, and when my brother dusts all the cash,

whose fingerprints do you think they're going to find?

Yours? Ethan's? Certainly, not mine.

Why would I need to touch anything as filthy as money when I have you

-to do that for me.

-Game's up, April.

We've got the money, we've got the trophy.

And we've got your number.

But you know what you haven't got?

Anything to link them to me.

I'm too smart for you, Moon. Au revoir, losers.

-We're not going to let her get away with that, are we?

-No. I've got a plan.

-Can I help you?

-Sorry, I was hoping for a quick word. It's about April.

You'll have to be quick. I've got to get to the bank before it shuts.

She's not one to blow her own trumpet, but she's done such

a brilliant job of looking after the sponsorship money.

I'd expect nothing less.

If she ever decides to go into fundraising,

her success is guaranteed.

Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about.

She's really proud she's helped the boys' cricket team.

-I'm sure she'd love to fundraise for the boys' football team.

-Why doesn't she ask me herself?

She has a certain reputation to keep, so she pretends she hates football, but really she loves it.

Hm. Leave it with me.

Where did that come from?

Don't know. It was here when I came in.

Well done, Dad. Sorry I couldn't cross the line with you.

Don't be daft. There's more to life than sport, isn't there?

Are you feeling all right? Are you sure you haven't come down with something?

I'll catch you guys later.

You may want to hang on for a bit, Red.

Papa, what are you doing!

Out running. I thought you'd be pleased.

Thought you nearly killed yourself. No!

-I suppose I'm kind of proud, though.

-HE PANTS

Well, that's good.

Because your old dad's going to need carrying home.

Come on. I'll give you a lift.

Mia, you'll want one of me.

This is my best side, although there's not much in it.

You can have my exclusive, "My framed hell by school pin-up."

That'll teach Ethan to mess with me.

So, now you've cleared my name, I suppose you're going to want

to take me out for a burger or something later.

'A date? A proper date!

'Just say yes!'

No, you're all right.

Fine. Your loss.

Laters.

Hallelujah, the spell's been broken.

Haul me back. I may still cave.

Her pheromones are so strong.

It's simple. Forget the pheromones, you just fancy her. Don't worry.

-Her heart will break, but broken, will live on.

-Red!

Lord Byron, actually.

That half an hour I spent with Mr Ellis wasn't totally wasted.

Red was right, I was soon over Chelsea, and Ethan and April soon got their comeuppance.

Ethan was so worried by the fact we'd stopped his and April's scam, it didn't take much to persuade him

to donate the money he earned off April to the cricket team fund.

As for April, Quinn made her head of fundraising

for the boys' football team.

Not only that, she got to be reminded every day

that she was second best, and not just at netball.

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