Chapter 17:

The Imperial Detective Examination (1)

The Charming Detective Agency


Lilly opened her eyes to reveal a chocolate frosted homemade cake, from Betty Franklin's kitchen, adorned with ten colorful candles and sugar roses. "Make a wish!" Riley said.

I wish to pass the licensing exam, Lilly thought as she took a deep breath and blew out all ten candles in one breath. Everyone at the table applauded.

It was November 2nd, Lilly's tenth birthday, and Riley and Lilly had been invited over for a special birthday dinner at the Franklin household. After feasting on Lilly's favorite dish—herring and pumpkin pot pie—it was time for the cake. Lilly carefully removed the ten candles and started to cut out a piece for herself.

A light snow was falling outside. It was still too warm to stick to the ground, but it coated the trees and made them look as if they were adorned with lacy garlands. Winter had always been Lilly's favorite time of year—it meant curling up in front of the fireplace with a good book, going outside to sled in the park, and, most importantly, her birthday and Christmas. It would be a very bittersweet holiday season this year.

"Here, Kayla," Lilly said as she put another slice of cake on a plate and slid it down to Kayla. Lilly had insisted that Riley invite Kayla along, and Kayla was all too happy to come over for dinner. It had been a pretty busy couple of weeks for her. After the arrest of the man that had been stalking her and leaving disturbing messages in her apartment, Kayla had announced to her landlady that she was moving out immediately. Luckily, through the connections of a friend at work, she had found another apartment that was not only closer to work, but also affordable. It was a basement apartment in an old house, which meant that it was a lot smaller and didn't have all the amenities her old home had, but Kayla said that she'd make it work.

"We have to open presents once everyone's had their cake," Lilly said as she finished her piece and daintily wiped her mouth.

"Wait, I had to get you a present?" Riley said jokingly. Lilly rolled her eyes at him as everyone else chuckled in laughter.

Lilly's birthday presents were a combination of function and fun. Thomas and his wife Becky had given her a new winter coat, bright cherry red wool with a black collar and cuffs, and a cute black bow on the back. From Thomas's younger brother, Oliver, came a toy microscope with slides. "If you're going to become a detective maybe this will be useful," he said as Lilly opened it up and gave him a huge smile. Thomas and Oliver's parents, Joseph and Betty Franklin, gave her a new board game, and Kayla had presented her with a cute teddy bear with a bright red bow around its neck. Riley's present was her very own fingerprint kit—made to the exact same specifications as the one his father once owned, in a handsome wooden box that had Lilly's name engraved in the lid.

"Thank you so much, everybody!" Lilly was completely enthralled.

After the partygoers shared a cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace, it was time to part. Riley gathered up all the presents Lilly had gotten, and Lilly decided to wear her new coat home. "We just need to drop these off at home, and then we'll walk you back to your apartment, Kayla," Riley said.

"I'll be all right. It's not too dark out," Kayla protested.

"I insist." Riley had become fiercely protective of Kayla as of late. While he wouldn't admit it himself, Lilly knew that the two of them shared feelings for each other.

The three of them said their goodbyes and left the Franklin house. "Lilly, that coat is perfect on you," Kayla said. "Becky and Thomas have very good taste."

"We've been family friends for practically forever," Riley said. "My father and Thomas's father used to work together, and then once Thomas entered the magistrate himself my dad mentored him..." He gazed up at the moon, through the tiny veil of snowflakes.

"Thinking about your father, aren't you?" Kayla asked, quietly. Riley nodded.

"I don't know how things will be this year without him," he said.

Kayla patted his shoulder reassuringly. "You'll get through it. Things might not be the same, but that just means you have to make your own traditions."

Lilly was running ahead of them. She tilted her head back, and opened her mouth to try and catch a snowflake on her tongue. She was underneath a street light, and the snow glittered around her as she dashed around among the falling snow.

"Hurry up, Bro!" she shouted when she noticed that Kayla and Riley had fallen behind. "We're almost home!" She stood under the streetlight to wait for them.

"It's for her sake that I've got to carry on," Riley said softly to Kayla as they caught up to her. "Honestly...I don't know where she gets her energy from. It's like...nothing fazes her."

Kayla nodded. "It's the energy of childhood," she said. "And I hope she can hold onto it for as long as she can."

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After seeing Kayla safely home, Lilly curled up in her bed. Next to her was a paperback book, which was a practice study book for the imperial detective licensing exam. On her wall was the cat calendar that had a different cat for each month. It had just been turned to November yesterday, and Lilly was crossing off each day as it passed. November 19th was circled in red—that day was the day that she would sit the exam.

She had spent weeks studying. Every morning, at breakfast, Riley would quiz her on some aspect of the law, and Lilly had to answer back fast.

"Lilly. Tell me the punishment for a person that has stolen more than $1,000."

"Complete restitution and a month of hard labor!"

"What is the supplemental punishment for someone who uses a knife to threaten their robbery victim?"

"Six months prison!"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything that hasn't been cooked by you!"

As the weather got colder, school recess was usually spent inside. Lilly would often read difficult books brought from home while her classmates drew pictures or played with blocks and educational toys. Every so often, she would ask Miss Miller about the meaning of a difficult word, until Miss Miller finally suggested that she ask her brother instead.

One week passed. Riley ordered Lilly to stop studying for the day on Saturday, and that they'd go downtown to get some more warm clothes for winter. They did stop in the bookstore, where Lilly used some of her birthday money to purchase a dictionary. Then, the two of them walked by the secondhand charity store that was operated by the church. The two of them glanced into the window, and Lilly's eyes widened as she saw a white-painted rolltop desk, with plenty of drawers and cubbies for storing papers and other supplies. "I want to get that," she said.

"What would you use it for?"

"I would set it up in Papa's office, across from yours! It's where I'll store all my books and do all my detective work," Lilly said, puffing out her chest proudly.

"We should probably wait until you take the test," Riley said. But he made a note of the desk's price. If she did pass the examination...

The crossed off days on the calender increased. Now there were only eight days left before the examination.

Lilly was beginning to feel a little burned out from all her studying, and her school work was beginning to suffer. Miss Miller called Riley to discuss things, and Riley decided to put his foot down and told Lilly that she would only be allowed to take the exam if she got a good grade on her school exams. With that new motivation, Lilly switched gears, and concentrated more on being an elementary school student instead. She played with her dolls instead of hitting the law books when she got home, did her homework and listened to Riley's favorite radio shows with him. She ended up getting the highest grade in her class, and proudly presented her A- graded exam to Riley, who gave her an approving nod and smile.

Three days to go. Lilly decided to hit the books one more time, just to go over what she had originally learned. The morning drills continued, and Riley found himself learning things he hadn't been taught back when he took the licensing examination. At night, when he was in bed, gazing up at the ceiling before falling asleep, he thought about his father, and what he might've thought about his adopted daughter deciding to assume the mantle of detective at such a young age. Am I doing the right thing, letting her do this? Riley thought. I wish you were here, Father...I just don't know if you'd be proud of her, or worried about her.

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It was Friday, November 18th. Lilly's classmates and Miss Miller held a small good luck party for Lilly during the last hour of school. Each member of the class had written Lilly a short note of encouragement, and there was a "Good Luck Lilly" cake and punch for everyone.

"So what will you do for the test?" Morgan asked.

"Well, the test has a written part first, and then I have to get interviewed," Lilly said. "Even if you pass the test they have to interview you so they think you're suitable for detective work."

"So what kind of questions do they ask you?" asked Bobby.

"Well, my bro said they asked him why he wanted to become a detective, and what his family was like, and hobbies and such. So they'll probably ask me the same ones."

"It sounds really hard," Meredith said. "What will happen if you don't pass it?"

"Well, that just means I'll need to retake it next time it happens, and that's not until February of next year. But if I fail that just means I have more time to study." Lilly was trying not to be too overconfident. Secretly, she was afraid of what might happen in the event she did fail. Would she need to get another letter of recommendation from someone? What if they told her to wait until she was of legal age?

When Lilly got home that afternoon, she was sick with nervousness. Riley saw the expression on her face as she dashed past him and went up to her bedroom. She sat on her bed and hugged the teddy bear that Kayla had given her, and she started crying.

Riley quietly came into the room and sat down beside Lilly. "Hey, Lil," he said, looking down and gently stroking her hair.

"I don't want to take the test anymore," Lilly wailed. "I'm gonna fail. I'm way too young. I can't do it."

Riley put his arm around his younger sister and hugged her close to him. "Lilly...you know, I felt the same way as you did the day before I took my test," he said. "And you know what Father said to me? He said that it was okay for me to fail the first time. I won't be angry or hate you if you fail, Lilly. And besides, you've put in all this hard work for the past few months. Do you want to let it go to waste until next year?"

Lilly shook her head no as Riley reached down and pulled the letters of encouragement from Lilly's school bag. "Are these all letters from your classmates?" He opened one up and began reading aloud. "'Lilly, you can do it! I'm really proud of you and I hope you pass. From Deborah.' You see? You can either give up now, or you can take the test, and see what happens. Hey, you never know. You might just pass it the first time, or you'll pass it after two or three times. It's all up to you."

He pressed the bundle of letters into Lilly's arms. "You haven't read all these yet, have you?" he asked. "Maybe if you read them, you'll feel better. At least you have friends that are rooting for you."

Lilly nodded, and she accepted the bundle and began to unfold the simple notebook paper that the letters had been written on. "Bedtime at eight-thirty. You've got to get up early tomorrow so we can take the train into Central District."

"Okay, Bro," Lilly said. "Sorry..."

"It's fine, Lilly. Don't worry about passing or failing. Just do your best." Riley patted Lilly on the head. "Good night."

As he closed the door to her bedroom, he saw Lilly reading more of her classmates' letters. Six years after taking the exam himself, he never thought he'd be guiding his younger sister along the same path he went down.