Land of Misfit Toys

Salutations, sleuth-fans! 

Last week we left Super Secret Jack Spinner the Specialized Sleuth and his peerless partner, Zachery the Kosmic Kid dripping on the banks of the Lake of Unfrozen Waters. Damp, but undeterred.

Zac held a soggy index card: “Under pink box - FUHX IZ GCMZCN NISM. PS. A=G”.  Using the key A=G, our two heroes soon translated this to: “Under pink box - LAND OF MISFIT TOYS”.

Zac reminded Jack of the card’s other message: “Location: See W”.

“I know what you’re thinking,” said Jack. “But as far as I’m concerned, W does not stand for Waldo. That W is for ‘Wait, what? We work well when we whizz!’ ”

And so they whizzed. 

The Sleuth-Sleigh came careering into the Land of Misfit Toys with all the grace of a rhinoceros playing ice hockey. It came to a sudden stop after bumping into a nearby lamppost, bending it completely in half.

“Phew! Well at least that lamppost won’t be bothering us any more!” exclaimed Jack.

The Land of Misfit Toys was a wonderful place, filled with one-in-a-million toys with unique qualities. A yoyo with no string. A polka-dot penguin. A bicycle with square wheels.

The Mighty Duo took a moment to take it all in. 

“This place is amazing! I’ll get a better view…” exclaimed Jack, leaping onto a nearby pink box. “ From up heaaaaaaaaaaaaargh…!!”

KER-POW! 

The lid of the box sprung open, sending Secret Spinner spinning not so secretly several feet in the air. For the second time in the space of a few minutes, a lamppost broke his trajectory. 

“Another one!” cried Jack. “What is it about this place? Even the street furniture’s out to get me!”

The pink box was marked with an X and - now that it was open - it was clear it housed a character made out of a wonky spring.

“I’m Bob-In-A-Box,” the character said. “Friend of Charlie’s. Springing into action!”

“Now look here, Mr So-Called ‘Bob-In-A-Box’,” shouted Jack “Which, by the way, is clearly an alias and doesn’t fool me in the slightest. What’s with all the codes? Why sabotage Christmas? What’s with the violent lampposts? And how did you learn such lovely handwriting?”

“The box! It’s…” Zac tried to speak.

“It’s clear as day!” Jack continued. “Only a criminal genius would hide himself in a bright pink box, waiting patiently for exactly the right moment to attack!”

“I really think it’s time to see Waldo,” said Zac. 

“Not now, Kosmic…” replied Jack. “So far I’ve been smothered by a snowdrift, launched into a lake, lanced by several lampposts, bashed by a box and Christmas is still under threat. Who knows what else this villain is capable of...”

“By the way,” he continued. “Have you noticed how you always escape the bad stuff, Kid? It’s always me the villains try to get. One day it’d be nice to have a break from being the fall guy…”

Zac tried to lift his friend’s spirits.

“That’s because you’re so much smarter than the villains are!” he explained. “The more bad stuff happens, the closer you must be to cracking the case!”

“Of course!” Jack cheered up immediately. “We’re getting close!”

“You’re such an inspiration,” continued Zac. “Look at you - discovering a pink box with an X painted on the side and a piece of paper sticking out from underneath… Such a bright pink colour, isn’t it? PINK…”

“WAIT!” shrieked Jack. “I just spotted… Bob’s box is pink! They don’t teach you these types of observational skills in Sleuth School…”

Jack bent down and pulled out the piece of paper. Written in the same handwriting was the code: CVLMZ JML PS. A=S.

Zac smiled, “I just hope that one day I might be half the sleuth you are, Super Secret.”

“With a bit of hard work, Kid,” replied Jack. “You might even make three-quarters…”

Can you help the Mighty Duo to crack their latest code? 

Does Waldo really hold the key to the mystery?

And is the Land of Misfit Lampposts a better name now Jack has paid a visit?

Stop back next week to find out.

Same Super Secret Time. Same Super Secret Place!