Mickey and Minnie were at their detective agency office. The telephone rang. Mickey picked up the phone. “Good day, Mr Blotink. What? Someone has threatened you...? What is a good time for you...? Good, then I’ll see you in a while.”

Soon after, Mickey sat opposite a very excited Mr Blotink. Mr Blotink gave Mickey a sheet of paper to read, on which was written: Another word about me, and you can close down your newspaper, Morning Post, forever.

Mickey reassured him. “Don’t worry. First of all, you would have to employ me and a few of my friends as new employees, so that we can begin our investigations directly.”

Mr Blotink was game but had to request the editorial staff to be patient and reminded them that their new colleagues were actually detectives and were there to protect them. The next morning, the newspaper sold like hot cakes. It was a successful beginning for Minnie and Mickey, who had taken over the chief editorship.

The next day, Mickey was busy working when a man came in.

“Are you looking for someone?” asked Mickey. “Can I help you?” he asked again.

“You will presumably need my help. I am from the ‘Safety and Security with Schmitz & Schleicher Pvt. Ltd.’! Just 1,000 bucks as a fee for the services.”

“Out!” bellowed Mickey.

When the man had gone, Mickey ran into Mr Blotink’s office. “Do you know this company?”

“Certainly. I wrote an article about them some time ago. The boss of the company was not happy about it. At that time, he had offered his security services to some business people in Duckburg. When one of them did not accept his offer, something unpleasant happened to him shortly thereafter.”

“That’s extortion,” said Mickey.

As Mickey and Minnie entered the editorial office the following day, they found the back door forced open. They switched the computers on and soon from all the rooms they heard VRRR! and then PLING!

“I will call the repair service,” said Mickey.

Meanwhile, the back door of his office opened. “Ah! The people from the computer service are finally here.”

“Black Pete!” exclaimed Mickey, taken aback. “My old arch-enemy. I thought you were still behind bars!”

Laughed Black Pete. “You see how wrong you can be. I am the General President of the ‘Safety and Security with Schmitz & Schleicher Pvt. Ltd.’! I have read your article. I will forgive you if you pay my company a small fee.”

“Should I call the police?” Mickey threatened. At the police-station, Mickey tried explaining to the policeman why he thought Black Pete was an extortionist. “Well,” answered the policeman, “you must first prove it. Otherwise, we cannot arrest the man.”

Mickey was furious. “I will show you the shattered window panes, the threat letters and the sabotaged computers!”

“Good. Then we will first of all detain Mr Pete and start an investigation.”

Lost in thought, Mickey ambled in the direction of his office. He opened the door to his office and there was Black Pete!

“You were at the police-station,” exclaimed Mickey.

“I came here to warn you. Stay out of my affairs,” said Black Pete.

Mickey wondered, how was Black Pete not in jail? What kind of a man was the new Commissioner Norwig? He decided to follow Black Pete. Unsuspecting, Black Pete sat at a street café. Mickey darted behind a big bush next to the tables. Suddenly Chief Norwig appeared and whispered, “At 8 o’clock in Elduckado. Give the packet to the bearer. I am expecting a reward.”

“Of course, Chief!”

Back at the editorial office, Mickey had hardly been in his room, when there was a knock on the door. “I am Max Mingler, the sports correspondent. There’s somebody called Scott Scoop who could be of help. He works for the Duckburg Courier.” Half an hour later, Mr Scoop came in.

“Duckburg Courier has a lot of information about the ‘Safety and Security with Schmitz & Schleicher Pvt. Ltd.’ There is also the company Kirst & Sons. It was set up at exactly the same time as this ‘Safety and Security with Schmitz & Schleicher Pvt. Ltd.’ and was given the contract to clear the garbage in the city. As you have noticed, the garbage dumps are not being cleared for the last three weeks. It stinks to high heavens.”

On the following morning, Mickey showed up early at the office of the garbage clearing company R. Reinner & Co. While the owner, Robert Reinner, looked up, Mickey hesitated, “I merely would like to know why another company has been appointed to clear away the garbage.”

“Because they terminated our contract!” bellowed Mr Reinner. “We have slaved away for years for the City of Duckburg and that too for an unbelievably reasonable amount. Sometime later, I learnt that a City Councillor made sure that the contract went to Kirst & Sons.”

“You are right,” said Mickey. “I have one more question. Who is the City Councillor.”

“Hmm, Ken Kufflink, a close friend of this Black Pete.”

After Mickey had found out the address of ‘Kirst & Sons”, he went to take a close look at the office. It lay in a dark lane and was in a wretched state. The man at the reception was unfriendly.

“Would like to talk to your boss,” said Mickey.

“Not possible!”

As Mickey was leaving, he heard the telephone ringing. He crept back cautiously.

“But of course Mr Kufflink,” he just purred. “I will inform Mr Pete naturally.”

“Hallo Pete? Kufflink wants to see you urgently!”

It was clear. As boss of ‘Safety and Security with Smith and Skuller Pvt. Ltd.’ he had bribed the new Police Chief, so that he could collect the protection money without any hindrance and as boss of ‘Kirst and Sons’, he had bribed Kufflink, in order to be able to pocket the money of the City calmly, without having to clear even one garbage dump.
Goofy and Mickey decided to wait in front of Black Pete’s house. A man walked towards the house.

“He’s the pizza delivery man. Black Pete orders the same pizza everyday,” said Goofy.
The next day, Mickey waited at the street corner in front of Pete’s house with a pizza. Mickey bumped into the pizza delivery man purposely, while the pizza box went flying through the air.

“I am terribly sorry. Fortunately, the box is still intact.”

How could the man have known that now the pizza had a generous sprinkling of sleeping powder? A little later, Mickey and Goofy climbed into Black Pete’s house.
He was snoring. Mickey searched feverishly and found the envelope with the documents he was looking for.

When Black Pete woke up and noticed the chaos in the room, he ran into the bathroom and rummaged through his dirty clothes basket.

There lay the envelope! “Oof!” sighed Black Pete relieved. He opened the envelope. But, oh god, it was a copy of the Morning Post!” Mickey was bound to expose everything. Black Pete exclaimed, “I will burn down the establishment.”

It was rather late when Mickey and Minnie left the editorial office. Both of them were about 50 metres away from their editorial office, when the Morning Post office stood in flames. Mickey pulled out a floppy from his pocket. He had saved the whole article on the floppy!

The next day, the sale of the supplement broke all records. Shortly thereafter, the Mayor stood in Mickey’s office. “I would like to congratulate you,” he said. From then on, everything happened really fast! Arrests were made in quick succession. However, Black Pete was yet to be arrested!

Then one day, the Mayor personally visited Mickey and at last gave him the long awaited news. “Chief O’Hara nabbed Black Pete just as he was going to board a flight to Timbuktu.”

“By the way, my City Councillors and I have a little “consolation” gift for you. With it, you will be able to re-build the editorial office which Black Pete burnt down,” declared the Mayor ceremoniously.

“Let us drink to Mickey’s health!” shouted Minnie happily. “Today is his special day!” And turning to Mickey, she said, “I am soooo proud of you!”

“Cheers! Cheers!” they all joined in.

This is an abridged version of the
original story
Scandal in Duckburg
Courtesy: The Walt Disney Company India Private Limited