Twenty minutes later, the group were called to line up at the side of stage. The twins saw the interior of the vast Concert Hall for the first time with its soaring geometrical ceiling, odd-looking acoustic treatments that resembled transparent donuts hanging on thin wires, and rows of red seats that seemed to rise into the heavens.
‘Wow!’ Max gasped, garnering himself a glare from Ms Skidmore.
The audience was in raptures for the choir that had just performed and the woman out the front was taking an awful lot of bows.
‘Thank you, Miss Stephenson and the remarkable Stonehurst Singers!’ The emcee grinned widely, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth, as the group filed off to the right and the Wentworth Grammar Choristers entered from stage left.
Thaddeus Thacker assumed his position at the podium while Mrs Strump took her place at the piano. The children quickly filed onto the risers and Kensy scanned the audience for Song. Curtis nudged her when he spotted the man next to his parents. The Chalmers were in the same row a little further along.
Mr Thacker raised his hand in the air and the music began. Eight and a half minutes later, with Dugald and Lucienne’s voices stealing the show, they were enveloped by resounding applause. Mr Thacker’s grin couldn’t have been any wider.
‘We have come to the end of the program,’ the emcee declared. ‘You may have noticed that all of the choirs are now seated in the boxes either side of the stage. Wentworth Grammar Choristers, please take the seats directly behind you and, while we await the adjudication, we will be treated to an organ solo of JS Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” from the talented Miss Kitty Warburton.’
There was a small groan from the audience as several people were obviously aware of the rather lengthy nature of the piece. The children sat in silence, watching and waiting. Kensy noticed that, despite her stylish appearance in a very pretty floral dress, Tinsley Chalmers looked as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. When Dash reached across for his wife’s hand, the woman visibly flinched before taking it. Finally, the emcee walked to the podium to announce the winner. Thaddeus Thacker sat at the end of the row, poised to leap up and accept the prize. His archnemesis, Simone Stephenson, flashed him a strange smile.
‘Well, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, what a stunning competition we have had.’ The emcee exhaled dramatically. ‘I can barely believe the result. The stronghold, it seems, has been broken.’ Thaddeus Thacker took in a sharp breath as Simone Stephenson’s smug expression melted from her face. ‘This year’s equal runners-up are the Wentworth Grammar Choristers and the Stonehurst Singers.’ The man’s voice reached a crescendo, which was met with rousing applause.
‘We came second – that’s pretty good,’ Max said to Van.
‘And now it gives me the greatest of pleasure to announce the winner of the Sydney Choral Competition, on their first attempt, is the Dingley Academy Choir.’ The emcee clapped enthusiastically. The small group that had performed early on in the program were seated in the furthest corner from the stage. The significance of the win was not lost on them or their young choir master. The man was fist-pumping the air while the children were squealing and hugging each other.
Thaddeus Thacker’s baton snapped in his hand. ‘I demand a recount!’ he yelled.
‘Me too!’ Simone Stephenson said, shooting out of her seat.
There was a gasp from the audience.
‘That’s not exactly the sort of behaviour I’d expected to see here,’ Max whispered to Van, who was doing his best not to laugh.
The emcee chortled nervously and looked into the wings for some indication as to what to do. ‘Mr Thacker, Miss Stephenson, please take your seats,’ he said uncertainly.
Thaddeus stamped his foot like a petulant child. ‘She stole my best singers by offering them scholarships to Stonehurst,’ he accused, pointing a finger at Simone Stephenson.
The woman rolled her eyes. ‘Thaddeus, I didn’t steal them – I saw an opportunity, that’s all, darling.’
‘Darling?’ The word was loudly repeated by half the audience.
To the side of the stage, Divorah Skidmore looked as if she’d swallowed a toad. Had that woman, Thaddeus’s sworn enemy, just called him ‘darling’?
Curtis Pepper couldn’t contain himself any longer. He leapt to his feet. ‘Mr Thacker paid Dugald McCrae and Lucienne Russo to sing in our choir,’ he said loudly.
Dugald’s plump face turned the colour of beetroot while Lucienne slunk down as far as she could in her seat.
The gasps grew louder.
‘You can’t say that, we don’t have any proof,’ Kensy said. She tugged on Curtis’s trousers to get him to sit down.
‘I have evidence,’ he declared, pulling out a wad of papers from his pants pocket. He held them aloft.
‘What’s that?’ Kensy asked.
‘I broke into Mr Thacker’s office and it was all there,’ the boy replied in hushed tones.
Kensy grinned at the lad. ‘So, you finally got to use those skeleton keys.’
Curtis didn’t have the heart to tell her that the cleaner let him in because he said he’d left something he needed for the concert inside.
It wasn’t long before the parents began calling foul and demanding that Wentworth Grammar and Stonehurst be disqualified.
‘The lad’s delirious,’ Thaddeus declared. He looked over at Simone Stephenson. ‘Sit down, my love. We’ll talk about it at home.’
That came as an even bigger shock.
‘Are you married or something?’ one of the children called out.
‘Something like that,’ Thaddeus said.
‘We thought you hated each other,’ another child yelled.
‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ Simone Stephenson replied with a wry grin. ‘A bit of healthy com petition does wonders for a relationship.’
That was the final straw for Divorah. She strode out of the wings and onto the stage. ‘Curtis Pepper is telling the truth,’ she said, casting the headmaster a look that would have shrivelled grapes. ‘Mr Thacker paid those two children, both of whom are professional singers and have been working overseas for the past couple of years. Thaddeus cheated and, I am ashamed to say, I helped him.’ Divorah then turned and fled from the stage as the Dingley Academy Choir reached the emcee.
The man tugged at his bow tie and ran a hand through his shiny black hair. ‘Well, what an interesting … um, interesting, um … yes, let’s move on, shall we? I believe the judges are going to make another announcement about the runners-up. In the meantime, let’s not allow what’s just happened to overshadow this glorious moment for the Dingley Academy Choir.’
‘Wow, Curtis, I can’t believe you did that,’ Max whispered, leaning forward to squeeze the lad’s shoulder.
Kensy followed up with a jab to Curtis’s arm. ‘That was so brave,’ she said proudly. ‘You’re amazing.’
Van gazed adoringly at the girl. ‘Not as amazing as you are, Kensington Grey,’ he said. Fortunately for him, the first bars of the Dingley Academy encore drowned out his words and Kensy was none the wiser.
The children burst into the foyer and spotted Song standing with the Chalmers and Peppers.
‘That concert was far more exciting than anyone expected,’ Song said. ‘Your father will be disappointed to have missed it – poor man is full of the flu.’ Everyone had been glad to hear he’d stayed away as flu in the height of a Sydney summer was not what anyone wanted.
Curtis’s father ruffled the boy’s sandy hair and beamed with pride. ‘I didn’t know we had a secret agent in the family. Well done, mate – nothing better than seeing corruption dealt with in a swift and timely manner. I’m intrigued as to how you came by that evidence.’
‘I hope you all said goodbye to Mr Thacker because you won’t be seeing him anytime soon,’ Dash said. He’d just heard via one of his contacts on the school council that the removalists would have the man’s office packed up before he left the Opera House.
Kensy couldn’t help noticing that Tinsley Chalmers was still looking anxious. The woman had glanced at her phone at least a half-dozen times, as if she were waiting for an important call. But it was her husband’s phone that rang again. This time he took himself out of the group to answer it.
‘Are you serious?’ Dash said, much louder than he’d intended. Max took a backwards step to better hear the conversation. ‘What do you mean the transporter hasn’t arrived? Have you tried Lucy? She always picks up.’
At the mention of the woman’s name, Tinsley Chalmers stiffened. She looked at her phone again and seemed to be reading a message on the screen.
‘Those vaccines need to get out tonight or we’ll miss the connections. Right, make sure everything is up from the lab and have the Dalefield gate opened so I can drive straight in.’
Max felt as though he’d been punched in the stomach by the heavyweight champion of the world. The words ‘Dalefield’ and ‘lab’ in the same sentence just took on a whole new significance.
‘I’ll leave in ten minutes, but don’t expect to see me for a couple of hours,’ the man said.
From the expression on her brother’s face, Kensy immediately knew that something was up and it was serious.
Dash Chalmers walked back to the group. ‘Sorry, darling, I’ve got to go to the farm – there’s been a break-in and the police need me to see if there’s anything missing.’
‘I’ll come with you, Dad,’ Van offered.
‘No,’ Tinsley snapped, startling everyone. ‘I have a surprise for the children this afternoon. What a pity you have to go. I was looking forward to all of us doing something together.’
‘What is it?’ Ellery asked.
‘If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, sweetheart,’ Tinsley said, and looked at her watch. She needed to get the children home and changed quick smart. ‘Can you drop us off on your way?’ she asked Dash.
‘What? Just get a taxi,’ the man said. ‘See you later, kids, and well done – although you are a bunch of losers.’ Dash chuckled and hurried away.
‘We can take you,’ Song offered.
But Max had other ideas.
He walked over and spoke to the butler quietly. ‘Can Kensy and I have a look around the shops? We want to get something special for Granny and Mum and Dad.’ He mouthed the last part of the sentence so no one else could hear.
Song grinned. ‘I will take Mrs Chalmers and the children home and you can call me if you want a lift. Although perhaps you are both a bit overdressed for a shopping expedition.’
Max shook his head. ‘That’s all right. We might get some extra-special attention.’
‘What are we doing?’ Kensy whispered.
‘I’ll tell you on the way,’ her brother said.
‘Can’t we go home and get changed?’ she asked, feeling horribly self-conscious.
Max shook his head. ‘There’s no time.’
The Peppers were staying to have lunch at one of the restaurants along the concourse. Curtis gave a reluctant wave as the rest of the group walked to the entrance of the car park, which, like the Opera House it serviced, was something of an engineering masterpiece, spiralling into the earth in two directions like a double helix beneath the botanic gardens.
‘We’ll see you later,’ Kensy said.
‘Why don’t you come over for a swim after Mum’s surprise?’ Van suggested.
‘That would be great, thanks,’ Max said.
But there was no way Kensy was going around there unless it was absolutely necessary. She was stunned when Tinsley Chalmers rushed over and gave her then Max a huge hug.
‘Great job, kids – you were all wonderful today,’ the woman said, glassy-eyed. ‘Come on, Van, Ellery, we need to get home.’
And with that she hurried down the tunnel into the car park with Song leading the way.
As the train pulled into the platform, Kensy glanced at the information board.
‘I don’t see why we couldn’t just steal a car,’ she whispered. ‘It’d be much faster than this.’
The children hopped on and found a seat at the back of the carriage, away from the other commuters.
‘Are you sure that’s what he said?’ Kensy asked.
Max nodded. ‘We have to go – what if Mum and Dad have got it wrong and they’re right here? Even if we’re wrong, at least we’ll know for sure. You did say that Nick was unloading boxes of chemicals last weekend – there very well could be a lab in that shed.’
‘Why didn’t you tell Song? He could have driven us,’ Kensy said.
Max was beginning to wonder the same thing, but it was too late now.
The twins sat side by side, deep in thought. The enormity of the situation was almost overwhelming. The train rolled in and out of stations, the clack of the wheels on the tracks a welcome distraction.
‘I’m starving, Max,’ Kensy complained. She could hear her stomach grumbling and wished they’d thought to get something to eat before they’d hopped on the train.
‘I’ll go and see if there’s anything further back,’ Max said, hoping for a dining car. But when he returned, he brought more than a bag of chips and bottle of water with him.
‘Curtis, what are you doing here?’ Kensy gasped.
The boy smiled and shrugged.
‘You can’t be here – you have to get off at the next station and go back to your parents. They’ll be worried sick about you,’ Kensy said.
Curtis’s eyes dropped to the floor. ‘Sorry, I just thought maybe I could help with whatever you’re doing because you’re clearly not shopping for a present for your grandmother and I thought your mother was dead.’
‘Your ears really are like radars,’ Max said.
‘No, we’re not,’ Kensy admitted, ‘and that’s why you have to go back.’
Curtis sat down opposite them and pulled a sandwich from his backpack, breaking the half in two and passing it to Kensy.
‘How did you even get away from your parents? You were all going to have lunch, weren’t you?’ Kensy asked with her mouth full.
‘Yes, but then I saw you two walking ahead of us. I told Mum and Dad you’d invited me to go with you and they said it was fine,’ Curtis said. ‘They’re so happy we’re friends. It’s just that, you know, Wentworth Grammar hasn’t always been the easiest place to find my tribe and you guys are awesome.’
Now Kensy felt mean. Max looked at his sister and tugged at his left ear.
‘Okay,’ Kensy relented, ‘you can come with us, but you have to do everything we say without question.’
The lad crossed his heart with his right hand. ‘I promise I’ll be helpful.’
‘And if the situation turns dangerous, I want you to get out of the way, okay?’ Max said.
Curtis bit his lip and nodded. He had no idea what was going on, but this was fast turning out to be the most exhilarating day of his life.
‘What on earth are you doing here?’ Rupert Spencer called through the open driver’s window.
Song spun around, startled, from where he was picking up the newspaper from the driveway. ‘Good after noon, sir. Perhaps I could ask you the same thing.’
‘I asked first,’ Rupert said.
Song sighed. He was in no way inclined to play games with the man. ‘I think we should speak inside,’ he said, gesturing towards the house. ‘I will make some tea.’
‘I don’t have time for your dratted tea!’ Rupert thundered. When he paused to take a breath, Song noticed how dishevelled the man appeared. ‘Sorry, I just need to find out where Dash Chalmers’ farm is. I don’t suppose you have any idea?’
Song frowned and wondered if he should tell the man. ‘May I ask, sir, why you are enquiring?’
‘His housekeeper told me that’s where he is and I need to speak to him – urgently. He has some serious explaining to do.’ Rupert flexed his fingers, gripping and releasing the steering wheel.
‘It is in the Southern Highlands,’ Song said after a lengthy pause.
>
‘Right, hop in,’ Rupert said. ‘I have a feeling this might take two of us.’
‘But I must wait for the children,’ Song protested. ‘They are shopping in the city.’
‘Call them,’ Rupert ordered.
Song dialled Max’s phone, but the boy didn’t pick up. Neither did Kensy. He then activated the GPS and was stunned to find the twins were somewhere near Mittagong and moving quickly along the railway line. ‘Mr Rupert, sir, they are not where I expected them to be,’ Song said, his mouth set in a grim line. He hurried around to the other side of the car and jumped into the passenger seat. ‘And I suspect that, for reasons unbeknown to me, they are heading to the same place as you.’
Rupert planted his foot on the accelerator. ‘You’d better hope we get to Dash before the children, old man, or heaven knows what we might find.’
‘How far is it from the station to the farm?’ Kensy asked. There was a storm coming. She could smell it in the air and there was a bank of dark clouds rolling in from the south.
‘A couple of miles,’ Max said.
Kensy sighed and scrunched up her empty chip packet. ‘It’ll take ages to get there,’ she griped.
Max looked at the map on his phone. Even though he’d committed it to memory, this time he wanted to be doubly sure. ‘I have an idea,’ he said as the train pulled out of Moss Vale Station. By now they were the only ones left in the carriage. ‘Curtis, let’s see what equipment you have in that backpack of yours.’
There was a Swiss Army knife, his skeleton keys, a length of rope, a water bottle, something that may have been a brownie at some point but was now a squashed lump in clingwrap, a compass, binoculars and a magnifying glass. Max took the knife and, using the longest blade, prised open the carriage door.
‘What are you doing?’ Curtis whispered. He looked around to make sure no one was watching.
‘We’re getting off,’ Max replied.
Undercover Page 17
