| “ | Pablo Picamouse: This rude rodent pushed me! Dimitri: I asked your pardon. Pablo Picamouse: Oh, now you apologize? That's not what you said before. It was more like "Get out of my way, shortytail!" |
„ |
| ~ Dimitri arguing with Pablo Picamouse. |
Dimitri is one of the two main antagonists (alongside the Cat Burglar) of the book Thea Stilton and the Mystery on the Orient Express. He is the assistant of the famous ballerina Zelda Mitoff and the twin brother and accomplice of the Cat Burglar.
History[]
Dimitri assisted his brother Leon, the Cat Burglar, in his many robberies. Because they were never distinguished as two individuals, no one had been able to catch them. After Zelda Mitoff's original assistant mysteriously quit a few days before the train departed, Dimitri became the substitute as a cover for his scheme to aid the Cat Burglar in stealing the Veil of Light gown from the Orient Express. He snuck Leon into one of Zelda's six trunks and left it out when counting them, which nobody but Paulina noticed. Dimitri hid the trunk in his cabin. After dinner, Dimitri ordered a hot cup of tea for Madame Mitoff. As Colette scurried up to the bar to ask permission for Violet's meeting with Zelda, they collided into each other. The tea spilled onto Dimitri's shirt and burned the back of his right paw, which became red and swollen. Colette apologized and offered to find a doctor, but Dimitri hastily said "it's nothing" and hurried from the room.
The next night, Dimitri and Leon prepared to commit the theft. A little past midnight, Dimitri started an argument with the painter Pablo Picamouse to distract the passengers while the Cat Burglar made his attempt to steal the Veil of Light. He pushed Pablo in the corridor and made a show of apologizing as Pablo yelled at him. The theft was unsuccessful as the Cat Burglar was scared away. The next day, Dimitri stayed with Zelda in her cabin while Leon gathered with the passengers as his substitute. He visited, dined and spent the night at Peleș Castle with the other passengers while his twin stayed behind. At dinner, Dimitri turned down Chef Charles Fromage's dessert, saying he was allergic to chocolate. Dimitri danced with the others during the rest of the night. Although no one knew he had a twin, Colette noticed the differences between Dimitri and Leon's paws.
The next morning, Dimitri exchanged suits with his twin and went to the café. When Dimitri was transcribing Zelda's autobiography, the Cat Burglar stole Pablo's painting. After hearing contradicting reports as to where Dimitri was during the theft and observing Dimitri and Leon's different behaviors, the Thea Sisters deduced that Dimitri had an identical twin. As Paulina was looking for Chief Inspector Malik Ratt III, she ran into Dimitri. Dimitri offered to help her to the safe and accompanied her there as she had asked him. Paulina pushed him into the compartment where they found the inspector and train conductor and told the officials to arrest Dimitri, revealing he was conspiring with the Cat Burglar.