63 A Puzzle

63 A Puzzle 'So Stanley gave you the Post-it note?' said Little-Bit. 'But where did Stanley get it from?' 'OK. Strap in, because this is where it gets even stranger,' said Leo. Apparently, a rat turned up in the gallery. Stanley said it appeared from behind a bust of Queen Victoria, and it was holding the note in its mouth.' 'A RAT?' shrieked Rockwell, flinging the note into the air as if it were suddenly on fire. 'I'm scared of rats! Filthy creatures!' 'You're scared of everything,' said Little-Bit dismissively, before turning back to her brother. ' So why did you then hide the note in Peanut's lunchbox?' 'Because, according to Stanley, that's what the rat said I had to do.'

'Whoa!' said Rockwell. 'Rewind! This rat can talk now?' 'I told you it got strange,' said Leo. 'So, the rat told Stanley to tell you to hide the note in Peanut's lunchbox,' said Little-Bit. 'Why not just give it straight to her?' 'Cos of the whole placing-everyone-in-mortal-danger thing, I guess,' replied Leo. ' It had to remain a secret. Apparently, the rat said that, eventually, Peanut would know what do with the notes.' 'So, at this point, you knew there was going to be more of them arriving?' asked Peanut. ' Yes,' said Leo. 'Stanley said that I needed to come back every day to fetch a new one. In fact, some days there were two, or even three. So that's what I did. Every day, after school, I'd get on the tube and go the National Portrait Gallery. And every morning I'd get up early and hide the new Post-it note between your sandwich and your cereal bar. Thank goodness Mum makes your lunch the night before!'

Peanut picked up the note that Rockwell had thrown across the room and walked over to her wardrobe door. She stuck it back up with the others. ' But... Dad was wrong. I don't know what to do,' she said. 'What on earth does it all mean? What am I not seeing? Dad, what are you trying to tell me?' Little-Bit got up and stood next to her sister. She folded her arms and stared at the notes. ' Hmmm. I wonder...' she said. 'Here we go...' said Rockwell. Little-Bit started to move the notes around on the door. She spent about five minutes peeling them off and sticking them back on in different locations, occasionally punctuating proceedings with a 'No, that's not right,' or a 'YES! It fits!' Gradually, her pace picked up until her arms were a frantic blur of activity. A few minutes later, she stepped away from the door. ' There,' she said triumphantly 'I've finished.'