Marmalade caper marmalade caper Thanos Kalamidas a ci percival Whimsy mysTery Thanos Kalamidas Ovi ebooks are available in Ovi/Ovi eBookshelves pages and they are for free. If somebody tries to sell you an Ovi book please contact us immediately. For details, contact: ovimagazine@yahoo.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the writer or the above publisher of this book An Ovi eBooks Publication 2025 Ovi eBookPublications - All material is copyright of the Ovi eBooks Publications & the writer C Marmalade caper Marmalade caper Thanos Kalamidas A CI Percival Whimsy Mystery Thanos Kalamidas An Ovi eBooks Publication 2025 Ovi eBookPublications - All material is copyright of the Ovi eBooks Publications & the writer C Marmalade caper T here was chaos at Butterbean Bakery that Tuesday morning, and not the usual crois- sant-crumbling, latte-spilling, gluten-induced panic. No, this was marmalade-related Chief Inspector Percival Whimsy of Her Majesty’s Extremely Puzzling Peculiarities Division (E.P.P.D.) burst onto the scene, literally by falling through the bakery’s open front window while attempting a for- ward somersault out of his sidecar. “Fear not, citizens!” he proclaimed, rising with an elegant wobble and brushing a croissant from his lapel. “Inspector Whimsy is on the jam... — ahem , I mean on the job! ” Thanos Kalamidas A rotund man with flour in his eyebrows and pure trauma in his eyes came running. “Inspector! It’s gone! My prize-winning marmalade! It was going to debut at the National Toast Topping Tournament to- morrow!” “Gone? As in vanished ? As in no longer jiggling in its jar like a sunny citrus dream?” Whimsy gasped, holding the baker by both shoulders, then dramat- ically checking under a nearby muffin. “Hmm. Not here.” “It was in a locked safe behind my sourdough start- er!” the baker wailed. “Sabotage!” Whimsy bellowed, startling a scone off the counter. “Take me to the scene of the slime!” “You mean crime , sir.” “Yes, that too. Very sticky business.” * * * * * * The safe was, in fact, wide open. A citrusy aroma clung to the air like gossip at a tea party. On the floor lay a single clue: a long, orange-tufted hair. Whimsy bent low, magnifying monocle in place. Marmalade caper “Aha! This is no human follicle. It’s... squirrelly .” The baker gasped. “But... but a squirrel couldn’t open a safe!” “Then you, dear sir, underestimate the rodents of this district.” He stood suddenly, knocking over a tray of profiteroles and giving an involuntary, “Zut alors!” “But who would train a squirrel to steal marma- lade?” the baker cried. Whimsy stroked his chin thoughtfully, catching his moustache in a button. “Only a twisted mind. Or a rodent with ambitions beyond acorns. Hmm... fol- low me.” * * * * * * Following a trail of miniature paw prints (and a single discarded walnut with suspicious bite marks), Whimsy led the charge—through the bakery kitch- en, over the bins, and up into the attic. He stopped only once to dramatically shout, “To the rooftop! The air is ripe with citrus and treachery!” And there, on the peak of the bakery roof, out- lined by the morning sun like a bushy-tailed villain Thanos Kalamidas in a noir film, stood a squirrel. A very round squir- rel. With marmalade smeared across its mouth and remarkably, a miniature chef ’s hat cocked jauntily to one side. “There!” cried Whimsy, pointing with a baguette. “The fiend returns to the scene for a taste of his own pulpy plunder!” The squirrel squeaked, sniffed disdainfully, and bolted. * * * * * * Whimsy leapt onto a passing child’s bicycle with rainbow tassels and gave chase, feet pedalling madly and coat flapping like a bat with poor fashion sense. “Surrender, you culinary criminal!” he cried. The squirrel leapt from rooftop to awning, making a squeaky chittering noise that sounded suspiciously like a raspberry. Whimsy attempted to do the same. He soared. He flailed. He immediately crashed into a display of gar- den gnomes. * * * * * * Marmalade caper The squirrel, clearly overconfident and possibly sugar-high, took refuge atop the town’s ornamental clocktower, where Whimsy, now wearing a traffic cone as a helmet and one shoe on the wrong foot, cornered it. “I’ve got you now, you fluffy felon!” he cried. “Con- fess and return the marmalade!” The squirrel held up a tiny silver spoon and squeaked twice. “...He says he was framed,” Whimsy translated. The baker, who had arrived panting, looked bewil- dered. “How do you...” “Shhh. I speak fluent rodent.” Whimsy sniffed the air. “Wait... the citrus note... it’s mingled with... truffle oil?” The baker blinked. “Yes... my assistant! Horace! He’s always had a strange fondness for gourmet spreads and expensive hats!” Whimsy spun, dramatically pointing just as Horace tried to back away through a hedge wearing a very guilty face and a marmalade-stained cravat. Thanos Kalamidas * * * * * * Horace confessed, naturally. He’d trained the squir- rel to distract, not steal. He simply hadn’t accounted for the squirrel’s growing addiction to orange pre- serves. The marmalade was recovered (half-eaten), and the squirrel was pardoned on account of his new position as the official mascot of the bakery. Whimsy stood triumphant on a crate outside the bakery, holding up a toast slice like a trophy. “Justice is a dish best served... spread evenly! ” He then stepped backward into a fruit tart display and vanished beneath a tower of whipped cream. THE END. Marmalade caper marmalade caper A CI Percival Whimsy Mystery Thanos Kalamidas Ovi eBook Publishing 2025 ovi magazine Design: Thanos Ovi ebooks are available in Ovi/Ovi eBookshelves pages and they are for free. If somebody tries to sell you an Ovi book please contact us immediately. For details, contact: ovimagazine@yahoo.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the writer or the above publisher of this book An Ovi eBooks Publication 2025 Ovi eBookPublications - All material is copyright of the Ovi eBooks Publications & the writer C Thanos Kalamidas marmalade caper Thanos Kalamidas a ci percival Whimsy mysTery Thanos Kalamidas , a multipublished writer, cartoonist and illustrator; born and grew up in a picturesque neighbourhood on the moun- tainside of Hymettus in Athens, Greece. Then his life took him to Berlin, Germany and to London, UK for studies. After a brief stay in Yorkshire he moved his life to Paris, France while working in Tokyo, Japan and in Cape Town, South Africa. In the last 25 years he became a permanent Scandinavian resident and recently, in his glorious sixth de- cade, he moved to a scenic village in the Växjö area.