Basil stood outside smoking his pipe while waiting for his niece to arrive with Toby, Mr. Holmes's basset hound. Dawson tiptoes to him, for he now knows when he requires a moment to think.

“Basil?”

“I know why they took Mr. Mussen as well,” Basil answers.

“As well? Do you mean the same ones who took Dawnmouse’s son?”

“I recognized the cap immediately. It belongs to Ben, the kidnapper. He was here.”

"First Downmouse's son and now Mr. Mussen… Is this because of the Diammonium club's selection?"

"It was unexpected to all the members. No doubt someone was displeased with the results and tried to eliminate candidates. Naturally, if Dawnmouse resigns as Chairman, Mr. Mussen would be the next option for losing by two votes. But since he is taken too…"

"That leaves Mr. Switchboly. Could he also be in danger?" Dawson asked.

Basil didn't have time to answer when they heard barking from a distance. Soon, the familiar Basset Hound appears from the distance and stops right in front of them. On its head appears Elizabeth.

“I luckily found him outside,” Elizabeth said.

“Good. There’s no time to waste.” Basil said and took the cap from his pocket. “Now Toby, I need you to find this fiend.”

Toby immediately recognizes the smell and starts growling.

“Yes, you recognize him. You tracked him once.” Elizbeth says over his head. “Bit tall, mean looking face, ring in his ear…”

“Not a word, Dawson,” Basil said to him, for he was about to say something. As soon as Toby got the scent, Basil and Dawson got on Toby’s back before Basil looked at Lieutenant Black. “I’ll inform you as soon as we get something,” he said before Toby took off.

*****

Toby rushed through the streets following the scent. It was getting late, for street lights started to light up. They must hurry now. If they can’t find Dawnmouse’s son before the afternoon, Mr. Dawnmouse has to resign his title as chairman of the Diammonium club.  

It didn’t take long before Toby arrived at the docks.

“Oh no… he lost the trail,” Elizabeth said when Toby stopped in the middle of the streets.

“What do we do now, Basil?” Dawson asked.

“We walk,” Basil said before getting down from Toby. “Can’t you see where we are exactly?”

Dawson and Elizabeth look around. Elizabeth doesn’t recognize anything, but suddenly Dawson does. “You mean… this is…?”

“What is?” Elizabeth asks.

“Ratigan’s old lair,” Basil answers and points to the familiar sewer drain grate. “When Toby entered the docks area, I was already suspecting that our culprit is using Ratigan’s old lair.”

“He did work for him before,” Elizabeth mentioned. “But then again, what could be a better place to hide than the former boss’s old lair.”

“Dawson, go with Toby to inform the police here,” Basil said.

“Me?”

“Believe me, I would rather send Elizabeth, but last time I did that, I was this close to becoming cat food,” Basil said and showed a tiny winy space between his fingers.

“Inspector Lawless refused to listen to me, so it took me longer to find Lieutenant Black and any other officer to help,” Elizabeth said.

Dawson didn’t need any more explanations. Luckily, Toby wasn’t growling at him like when they first met. So, he went to inform the Mouse yard immediately.

“Now… what do we do?”

“You mean what will I do.” Basil corrects. “You stay here, and I go look down there.”

“Wouldn’t that be difficult to get down?” Elizabeth asked.

“We used the sewer system to get there.” Basil reminds.

“Yeah, which was hidden under a shady pub that’s now closed because of some bar fight.”

Both looked up to see who said that. In front of them appeared a white mouse lady with a blue bow on the back of her head, lavender eye-shadow makeup over her blue eyes, maroon nose, and red lipstick on her mouth. She wore a fuchsia shawl on her shoulders, a cobalt blue skirt, and blue high heels.

“Miss Kitty!” Elizabeth recognizes her and goes to hug her. Basil stands still and looks a bit unhappy. Yes, he recognizes her, not only from the stage back then in Rat Trap pub but also from before…

“Where have you been, sweety?”

“My uncle sent me to my grandparents after the ‘Tower Bridge’ case,” Elizabeth explained. “How do you know about the sewer system?”

“I got work in that exact pub which leads there.” Miss Kitty said. “All I learned was that every goon who wanted to work for that rat was drugged and taken through that hidden door behind the bar. I learned afterward that there was a sewer system.”

“Before or after the bar fight?” Basil asked annoyingly.

“Before.” Miss Kitty confirms. “I hid behind the rocks and saw some of them went through it. I would have informed you, little one, but I heard you weren’t in town.”

Basil looks a bit annoyingly at Elizabeth. Turns out, Miss Kitty has been Elizabeth's informant since winter. In Elizabeth's defense, Basil has his Baker Street Irregulars, so she has Miss Kitty.

“Have you seen anything suspicious these past couple of days?” Elizabeth asks.

“As in used old Wine sheller as a hideout? In fact, I have.” Miss Kitty said.

“Why haven't you reported it to the police?” Basil asked.

“Because cops don’t take a lady like me seriously.”

“Goo-goo eyes or Masochism?” Elizabeth asked.

“Both.”

Basil rolls his eyes. He should have known.

“We need to get down there,” Elizabeth said.

“Luckily, I found another way in.” Miss Kitty said and led them to another sewer drain. “I discovered this two days after the Queen's Jubilee.”

Basil walks to inspect it. There were no fresh footprints, which shows no one hasn’t gone through it recently. So, the culprit doesn’t know about it either. Basil enters through the drain, but before he could’ve said anything, Elizabeth has followed him into the sewer, Miss Kitty behind her.

Well, it wasn’t new to him, that his niece followed him to the dangerous places, and it’s not like they are really facing Professor Ratigan, but he still doesn’t know who Ben's accomplice is. Besides, who is truly behind the kidnapping? There are still some missing pieces of this case, but hopefully, it won’t affect much to save young Dawnmouse and Mr. Mussen.

Soon, they arrive in a wide space room with things gathered all over the floor,
which Basil recognizes well.

“What happened here?” Elizabeth asks.

“Ratigan tried to kill me and Doctor Dawson,” Basil answers casually.

“Couldn’t decide how to do it?” Miss Kitty asks while looking at a used gun and hanging arrow.

“Pretty much, so he decided to use them all,” Basil said while inspecting one piece that belonged to the mouse trap he and Dawson were tied.

“What an idiot,” Elizabeth said.

“And what was the camera for?” Miss Kitty asks.

“We came a bit later than he expected, and he needed to be in Buckingham Palace in time, so he set the camera to see my demise…”

“Again, what an idiot,” Elizabeth repeats. “If I were an evil master criminal, I'd make sure everything will go as they should.”

“Even with a tight schedule?” Miss Kitty teases.

“Sssh. Listen…” Basil hushes. All three remained quiet to listen. There was noise coming from further on in the cellar, which they followed. As they walked, there were lots of serpentine pieces on the floor and a huge red banner with big black letters saying: WELCOME BASIL.

"He sure was expecting you," Elizabeth mumbles.

Basil hushes her as he follows the sounds. They came close to a huge barrel, which had an R print on it and an entry inside it. The voices were coming from there.

Basil signals both Elizabeth and Kitty to move closer but quietly. It's hard to tell how many people are there and if they could take them down. But one thing first: Find out who is inside. And for that, there's one who could do it, but that's what Basil is afraid of.