Hello, and welcome to bedtime stories with me. ARAT well, last time we finished with Mr. Lang telling April and Finn that they had to go in the cockroach races. So now we're gonna pick up with them having to find their cockroach. Here we go. Chapter nine, the first hurdle, When they got home, April and fin set to work, looking for cockroaches, it was a lot harder than they imagined. They searched down the back of the kitchen. Cabinets, pulled out the Kickboard and even dragged out the refrigerator from the walls that they could look behind it. Nothing. They did find a spider, but it didn't last long because pumpkin ate it. I thought there were supposed to be thousands of cockroaches in every home said April. They're just good at hiding said, fin they're Figma Tropic. What does that mean? Asked April. They like to be touching as many surfaces as possible said fin. So they squeezed themselves into tiny spaces. I read somewhere that they particularly like to live inside microwaves, but they'd be cooked said April only in the oven. Parts said fin, inside the panel in it's nice and warm. There's lots of delicious cooking grease nearby. And there are loads of KVAs to hide in all looked at their father's microwave. She had an evil gleam in her eye. Let's open it up. Do you think dad will mind us fin, only if he notices said April, he's been shut up in his office. Since we got home from school, we could be testing Thermo nuclear devices in here and he wouldn't know about it. Of course he wouldn't set fin. If we were testing a, a nuclear device, he'd be dead from the radiation poisoning. April was already riling through the cutlery drawers, looking for something she could use to prize open the microwave. Fortunately, their father was not good at cooking, so he kept a lot of mechanical tools in them. April soon found a variety of screwdrivers, spanners and PLIs, but the implements hook up were a chisel and heavy mallet. Are you sure that's a good idea. Asked Finn as he watched his sister start attacking the microwave, no said April pounding between heavy blows of the mallet. The metal began to buckle under the point of the chisel and the plastic front in soon, tore away and cracked April grabbed hold of this and pulled completely separating the digital pat from the backing. They both peered at the electronics within. Can you see anything asked fin just the inside of the microwave said, April, what are you doing? Hasad burst into the kitchen and startling, April and fin. Did you find a listening device in the microwave or a hidden on camera? He dropped his voice to a whisper. Someone watching us. Um, I'm tempted to say yes at April. We're looking for cockroaches at Finn. We need one to enter in the cockroach races. Their father looked horrified. He staggered back a step cockroaches. He explained there are none in this house. I have it thoroughly sprayed four times a year by pest controllers. Isn't that a bit excessive last April. I don't think mom ever had our house sprayed. They're horrible disease. Carrying creatures said, dad, I won't have them here, but you are a gardener said April, aren't you supposed to like bugs? I hate them all. So dad, a Finns eat my roses centered destroy. My strawberries and butterflies are a nightmare. Butterflies are pretty set. April who wasn't usually a Conis syrup, beauty, but even she could appreciate that. They were nice. Butterflies are the worst exploded dad. They destroyed new growth on my citrus last autumn. Okay. Said fin, patting his dad. Comfortingly on the arm. Why don't you go back to your office? We'll reconstruct the microwave. Then bring you a nice cup of tea. You just relax. Have a nap. You didn't find any cockroaches. Did you worry, dad? I can't sleep. If there's one in the house. No, not one said Finn. You must have an excellent pest controller. Oh yes. She's very thorough. Greek dad. I have to wear a respirator for a week after she's been because the house smells so bad. They watch dad leave. I told you we wouldn't notice if we took apart, the microwave said April only cuz he is bonkers. What are we gonna do? Ask Finn. Once we find a cockroach, we'll bring it back here. He'll freak out. We'll worry about that. Later said April 1st we need to find a cockroach. Let's go meet the neighbors. Maybe one of them will have lower hygiene standards than dad. Finn, April and pumpkin went over to their next door. Neighbor's house. The property had a long tree line driveway just like their own, but that where the similarity ended when they got to the top and the trees opened out a magnificent imagine came into view. It was nothing like their own humble home. This house was new and clean and shiny. It looked like a home from an interior decorating magazine. It was almost too good to live in of the three of them. Only pumpkin was an intimidating. He did a poop in the middle of the perfectly manicure lawn. Finn and April had known rich people in the city, but no one rich enough to own a house like this, asking a normal person. If they had cockroaches was hard, but asking a super rich person who lived in a beautiful mansion. If their home was pest, infested might sound rude. You knocked said Finn nervously. No you do. It said April stuff in her hands in her pockets to make them inaccesible. She didn't like following orders. You do. It said Finn, you are closer. We're exactly the same distance away said April, just knock on the door said fin, stepping back, you are taller. So it's easier for you. You are older. You should take the leadership role set April people like girls better said Finn, you should do it. Don't you start your gender bias on me. Exclaimed, April turning on her brother. Pumpkin ran over barking since in a fight was about to break out in the end. Neither of them knocked when the door opened a minute later, April had fin in a headlock and was trying to give him a wedge. While fin tried to fight April off by whacking her with her own shoe. Pumpkin was hanging off the back of Fin's jumper by his teeth. Hello? They glanced up. It was Loretta. She looked even more beautiful than she had that morning. She was dressed for riding now where in long, shiny but tight Japer and a flowery blouse. We didn't knock said April confused. I know agreed Loretta, but you set off the intruder alarm. The security firm that monitors, the hidden cameras rang, advised me to put the house in lockdown, but I was ever so curious to see who the intruders were. So I opened the door. We didn't mean to bother. You said Finn. I can see that said Loretta, clearly you're busy. April let Finn out of the headlock. And he straightened his shorts while returning April's shoe pumpkin, let go of fins jumper and dropped onto the gravel driveway. So he could run over to Loretta for a pat. The reason we are here said Finn is we're looking for a cockroach. You're going to go. And the races explained, Loretta clapping a hands into light. How marvelous you're going in them? Two ask April. Oh yes. Said Loretta. I enter every year. I got daddy to ship over a Madagascan hissing. Cockroach. It arrived two days ago. She's huge. I think she's gonna be a good racer. We need to get one said Finn. Oh, the race is five days away said, Loretta, you don't have time to order one online. You'll have to find a normal cockroach. That's what most kids do anyway. We don't mean to be rude, but do you think you might have any here asked Finn dad is over zealous with pest control. So there's none at our place. I'm sure there must be Citta waving them into the house. Let's have a look Finn, April and Andretta spent over an hour searching for a cockroach. Loretta. Very kindly let them rifle through the whole house. She didn't even make them take off their shoes. Before walking on the expensive Persian carpets, the pristine polished marble floors or the impeccably ironed line and bedding. They spent quite a lot of time standing on the master bed because it was the only way they could pull down the cut glass light fitting to see if there were cockroaches inside. Eventually after dismantling the state of the art stainless steel microwave in the designer, gourmet kitchen, then putting it back together with sticky tape, April and Finn had their Roach. She looked like a normal ordinary cockroach, but it had taken a long time to catch her. She scurried about the kitchen floor desperately to escape. So they had hopes she would make a top racer. Well Don said, Loretta, what are you gonna call her? You name? Your cockroaches asked April of course said, Loretta, the commentator has to yell out something when they take the lead. There's a commentator asked Finn. So people take these races pretty seriously then. Oh my word. Yes. At Loretta, there's a commentator, a referee, an official weigh in and a camera crew. What's the camera crew for us April. The race is a televised said, Loretta, no way said fin. Yes way said, Loretta, it's very popular. People watch them all around the world. They love it. In Japan. We had a Japanese team enter a couple of years ago, but they misunderstood the rules apparently in their country. There's a game show where people put cockroaches down their path. Several contestants were lost before we could get hold of a translator to explain. That's not the way we played the game here in Kara won your kid in said Finn. Oh no said Loretta. It's televised across India as well. But then most things you can gamble on are televised in India. People gamble on cockroach traces, exclaimed, April incredulously of course said, Loretta, I don't see how that's any harder to believe than betting on horses. Greyhounds. In fact, it makes much more sense. Cockroaches are far cheaper to keep and it's easier to televise because the race takes place in a two meter wide circle. So you only need one camera when you think about it, it's amazing. It hasn't taken off in more places. Well thank you for letting us look for a cockroach in your house at April begrudgingly. She didn't like being grateful to anyone, especially someone so beautiful and charming, but it had been kind to let them search the splendidly decorated home. Yeah. And if you have any problems with the microwave, let me know, said fin, I'm good at fixing things. Oh, this isn't my house or my microwave settle Etta. Of course it's your parents' house said fin, but you anyway. No, it's not their house either said Loretta, but you live here said Finn. No, I live in the house on the other side of your TTA, the big blue one with the more modern architecture then whose house is this asked April Mrs. Sherman said, Loretta, she works in the city during the week. She's a terribly important lawyer or judge or, or something to do with sending people to jail. Actually I think technically she's just as Sherman. She does keep asking me to call her that then why are you in her house? Asked Finn, do you come over to water? The plants? Oh no laugh, Loretta. I break in for fun. Your yanking art. Shane said April in Craig jealously. It's true. Said Loretta, these people who buy weekenders are never here, not even on weekends because they're always too busy. It's fun breaking in and looking at their stuff. Mrs. Sherman has a lovely grand piano. It's a lot of fun to play. Ms. Smith across the road. Always has chocolate in her pantry. And Mr. Sal down the road loves vacationy and in Europe, which gives me lots of time to go over and swim in his pool. April squinted at Loretta, she wasn't sure if she was joking. She didn't look at all like the sort of person who would break into houses. She was much too neat and pretty for a start. If April broke into a house, she would look like she'd been pulled through a hedge backwards. Don't you have a pool last Finn of course said Loretta, but Sal has a better jacuzzi. What about the security system Finn Loretta laughed. That's the funny part, Mrs. Sherman is forever overseeing murder trials. So she should know all about how devious criminals are. And yet in her own house, the security code is 1, 2, 3, 4. Can you believe it? 1, 2, 3, 4. I was all prepared to hack the security company's mainframe, but there was no need at all. And that is the end of the chat. So until next time.