Albert reports in

Did I dream it? A recorded message from a snail? When I tried to play it again it had gone. Had I deleted it? Was it ever there in the first place? I can only write down here what I thought I heard

This is a message from Albert the Snail Detective.

You may think it has been a long time since you last caught sight of me

Perhaps you think I have been wasting time

Oh no.

Snails don’t waste time.

It just seems that way.

On no. We use time. We relish it. Our slow progress means we take full advantage of time.

Now, where was I? No humanrushing about from us. That’s what makes us good detectives. We digest the facts. We detect causes and culprits.

That’s how I work. Quietly. Carefully. The foot of snail is a fearsome weapon against bad people. Oh yes. And a snail trail often beats a beeline.

Now, where was I?

Oh yes.

Pertaining to the case of The Reluctant Twitterer.

This is a very tricky case indeed. There are dark forces at play. You are right about that. You are worried that if you speak up and warn people you will be in danger from your enemies. But you also fear what will happen if you do nothing. If you say nothing.

I am following several promising lines on enquiry.

Oh yes.

But following and not being followed if you take my meaning.

I will not be leaving any more messages like this.

But I know how to contact you

Safely

It’s an old Snailcraft trick

You won’t find me

But I know how to find you

The message ended. I replayed it. Nothing. Another bit of snailtrickery?

And as I looked out of the window
I saw the faintest of silvery snail trails there.

Following and not being followed

Wasn’t that what Albert had said?

I looked again.
And as I looked
the rain came down
And washed the trail away.