"Mel Gilden - Zoot Marlow 2 - Hawaiian UFO Aliens" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gilden Mel)

He got very haughty all of a sudden and said, 'I ain't no dude. I am the Great Hookini.'
Will and I glanced at each other. Will shrugged and did not look hopeful. I said, 'How do you feel,
Hookini?'
'With my hands, of course.'
The bottom dropped out of any optimism I might have been feeling. If I was going to get old jokes
instead of straight answers, things were even worse than Bingo suspected. Even worse than I suspected,
and what I suspected was plenty bad enough.
Then Captain HookтАФthe Great HookiniтАФlaughed and clapped his hand on my shoulder and said,
'Pretty good, huh?'
Will and I smiled at him like idiots. Bill actually laughed.
Going by what had happened to Captain Hook, that force wall was not just a barrier, it was a
sophisticated weapon. It not only put your enemies on ice, it also demoralized them by making them look
silly. Darn clever. People that clever didn't just wash up here in Malibu by accident. I didn't, and I'm not
half that clever.
'I feel great,' said the captain, 'Really fine.' Suddenly he didn't sound sure. He looked at his
half-finished list.
'You'd rather do magic than surf?' I said.
'Sure. Who wouldn't?'
'Cowabunga,' Whipper Will commented. He looked at me accusingly and said, 'What do you know
about all this?'
'Just what's out there on the sand.'
'Fer sher. No top hats in Bay City.'
Will was in a tough spot. One of his people was hurting bad, and from his point of view, another one
of his people wasn't helping very much. I said, 'Look, Will. Think what you want to about my coming
from Bay City, but believe this: If I could help the Captain, I would.'
Will looked at the table and made patterns with his finger. 'I know. Sorry.'
I went on, 'But just because I don't know, doesn't mean I can't find out, I'm a detective, remember.'
Will looked me square in the face and said, 'I was wondering when we'd get around to that.' He
smiled as if what he said was funny.
'I cracked the Heavenly Daise case. Got that motorcycle gang off the beach too.'
'Hang easy, dude. Don't get dissed. I was just waiting for you to offer.'
'Consider it done.'
'Then consider yourself hired.'
We shook hands, a thing that still didn't make any sense to me, but seemed to inspire a lot of
confidence in Earth-people.
'I like being a magician,' said Captain Hook. 'I really do.'
Whipper Will nodded and said. 'While you're out detecting, I'll try a little of the home
remedyтАФgenuinely gnarly amounts of yoyogurt.' He leaned back, opened the refrigerator and pulled out
a bowl full of creamy light brown stuff. 'Oat bran flavour.' He set the oat bran flavour yoyogurt and a
spoon down next to Captain Hook's list. 'Try some of this.' Will said.
'What is it?' said Captain Hook.
'It's yoyogurt. It'll make you feel bitchen.'
'Bitchen? I already feel good.'
'Bitchen is better.'
What Whipper Will was telling the captain might even have been true. Yoyogurt was Will's own
special yogurt made only in Malibu by hard-working bacteria like none other anywhere. The couple of
times I'd tried it, the world got tied up in pretty rainbows that made everything fine. I liked the feeling for
a while, but soon my brain got homesick for some thoughts.
As Captain Hook took his first spoon of yoyogurt, I gestured to Bill and he toddled after me into the
living room. 'Well?' Bingo said.