Wandering Icon

Penelope (not Penny!) and Benny from “The Three-Pronged Dagger” have another crime to solve. This time there are hints of Satanic goings-on in the cemetery, and the much-loved icon of Saint Dionysus (Saint Denis) has disappeared from the local Greek church. Penelope’s great-grandmother is grief-stricken and outraged. Benny doesn’t know too much about icons – they don’t kiss them in the Uniting Church – but he loves Penelope’s great-grandmother and promises to help recover the holy image. It could have been sold for its gold frame… Or has someone stolen it for its miracle-working power? After a huge row with the priest, old Mrs Papandreou has vowed never to set foot in the church again, but now she is sick and believes the holy icon will help her get better.

The kids in Penelope and Benny’s class are a diverse bunch; the class survey reveals seven people who don’t go to church, five Buddhists, three Protestants, one Catholic, two Greek Orthodox, one Russian Orthodox and four Muslims, and there’s a spirited and philosophical discussion about religion in Miss Evans’s Society class.

Of course, Penelope and Ben find out that the icon has been ‘borrowed’, then lost, then stolen, and it’s finally recovered with a bit of ecumenical effort!