The Deadly Dare Mysteries

by Malorie Blackman

  Should I go to the police …? Theo wondered.

  No. Not until he had some concrete proof. The police would never believe him otherwise. So first Theo had to find out what was going on. He’d get proof – and then he’d talk to the police. That made more sense.

  The minutes dragged by until the buzzer sounded for the start of the afternoon break. Theo turned to face the door. He breathed deeply, trying to smooth out the knots in his stomach. He’d have to follow the person he suspected out of the school building and wait for a suitable moment before confronting them. It wouldn’t be easy, but the more Theo thought about it, the more convinced he became that he was on the right track.

  Mrs Daltry was the sixth or seventh out of the classroom. Theo peered past her, wondering where the person he was waiting for had got to.

  ‘Theo, follow me,’ Mrs Daltry commanded.

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘You’ll be sitting outside the staffroom this breaktime,’ said Mrs Daltry.

  ‘Oh, but … but I’ve got things to do,’ Theo protested.

  ‘Too bad. You waste my time, I waste yours – that’s the way it works,’ said Mrs Daltry.

  ‘But …’

  ‘Keep arguing and you’ll be outside the staffroom during all the breaks for the rest of the week,’ Mrs Daltry warned.

  Theo’s mouth snapped shut.

  ‘That’s better,’ said Mrs Daltry. ‘Now follow me.’

  And Theo had no choice but to trail along beside his teacher as she strode down the corridor, surreptitiously popping a liquorice allsort into her mouth as she did so.

  So much for his wonderful plan! It’d just have to wait until after school. He sighed impatiently, then again with total frustration. But there was nothing he could do except wait.

  When they both reached the staffroom, Mrs Daltry turned to Theo.

  ‘I realize you’re worried about Ricky, but that’s no excuse for your behaviour today. You’re usually so quiet and now I’ve seen the alternative, I want the old Theo back. Do I make myself clear?’ asked the teacher.

  Theo nodded.

  ‘We’re all worried about Ricky.’ Mrs Daltry rested a hand on Theo’s shoulder. ‘You’re Ricky’s closest friend and I know how you must be feeling – that’s why I’m not sending you to the headmistress.’ Mrs Daltry’s arm dropped to her side. ‘But no more unruly behaviour – OK?’

  ‘OK,’ Theo agreed. He didn’t need to play about any more – he had what he wanted. ‘Can I go for my break now?’

  ‘No. Cause and effect, Theo. Cause and effect.’

  Theo sighed. Cause and effect! Mrs Daltry’s second favourite saying!

  ‘You misbehaved, Theo and the effect is?’ the teacher prompted.

  ‘No breaktime,’ said Theo glumly.

  Mrs Daltry shrugged. ‘You have to learn that life is not a bowl of cherries.’

  And there it was again – Mrs Daltry’s favourite saying! Theo watched his teacher enter the staffroom, popping yet another liquorice allsort into her mouth.

  Theo sat miserably watching as the others in his class made their way past him on their way out into the sunshine. Colin frowned at him. Emily glowered. Some others grinned. And then Angela came out of the classroom, her head bent as she tried to fasten her bag. She stumbled along the corridor, still fiddling with her bag. Her head snapped up as she suddenly became aware that she was being watched. Theo took a quick glance around, then leaped to his feet. Angela walked towards Theo, her head held high as she went to swan past him.

  ‘I want to talk to you,’ Theo said.

  ‘What makes you think it’s mutual?’ Angela sniffed.

  She marched past Theo as if a particularly obnoxious smell had just developed under her nose.

  Furious, Theo called after her, ‘Where’s Ricky?’

  Angela froze. Neither of them spoke. Theo didn’t dare blink in case he missed something vital. Every word, every gesture, every move Angela made from now on would be important. Theo’s heart thump-thumped slowly in his chest. This was it. What if he was wrong …?

  Angela turned slowly. ‘What d’you mean?’ she frowned. ‘How should I know where Ricky is?’

  ‘Because you’re the one who made up his dare in the first place,’ Theo replied softly. ‘I saw the dare and I saw your handwriting in your workbook. They were both exactly the same.’

  ‘I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.’

  ‘You were watching that night. Just like you said you would in the dare. You know what happened to Ricky,’ Theo insisted.

  ‘You’re off your head …’

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘That’s your lookout.’

  They both spoke faster and faster, rushing out their accusations and denials. Everyone else in the school had ceased to exist as Angela and Theo verbally battled with each other.

  ‘I said, where’s Ricky?’ Theo demanded.

  ‘And I said I don’t know. I don’t know anything about it,’ Angela replied harshly.

  ‘Oh, no? You wrote Ricky’s dare, I know you did.’

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  ‘You’re a liar. We both know you’re lying. Ricky’s dare …’

  ‘Shut up! Shut up about that stupid dare,’ Angela interrupted, her hands over her ears. ‘And it wasn’t even Ricky’s dare. It was yours and you …’ Angela’s mouth snapped shut.

  Silence.

  Theo stared at her. ‘So it was you,’ he breathed. ‘And you wanted me to disappear instead of Ricky.’

  ‘It wasn’t like that.’

  ‘Why don’t you tell Mrs Daltry and the police what it was like, then?’ Theo replied furiously. ‘And if you don’t, I will.’

  ‘No one will believe you.’ Desperation crept into Angela’s voice.

  ‘Yes, they will. I can prove you know where Ricky is.’

  ‘You’re lying.’

  ‘You wanna bet?’

  ‘I’ll deny it.’

  ‘You can’t. I … I …’ Then Theo had a brainwave. ‘I’ve still got the original dare. The police can compare the handwriting. They’ll know I’m telling the truth.’

  Angela stared at him, horror-stricken.

  ‘Where’s Ricky?’ Theo’s low voice rumbled like thunder.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘WHERE’S RICKY?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘I’ve had enough of this. If you won’t tell me, you can tell the police.’ Theo marched over to the staffroom door.

  ‘Don’t tell on me. You … you can’t tell on me …’ Angela whispered.

  ‘Watch me.’ Theo raised his arm to knock on the door.

  Angela moved like lightning to stop Theo’s arm in mid flight.

  ‘Don’t,’ she pleaded. ‘If you tell Mrs Daltry or the police, they’ll kill Ricky. They promised they would.’

  Chapter Ten

  The Next Step

  STUNNED, THEO STARED at Angela. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her mouth quivered, she had trouble catching her breath. In that moment, Theo knew that she was telling the truth. She’d lied about other things – so many other things and he didn’t understand everything that was going on, but in this, she was telling the truth.

  ‘Who’s going to kill Ricky?’ Theo whispered.

  ‘I … I can’t tell you.’

  ‘It’s me or the police,’ Theo warned.

  ‘Ricky heard and saw some things that he shouldn’t have,’ Angela said miserably.

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I can’t say …’ Angela began. ‘I really can’t,’ she added desperately as Theo’s hand once again reached out towards the staffroom.

  ‘D’you know where Ricky is?’ Theo asked coldly.

  Angela shook her head, brushing the back of one hand across her eyes.

  ‘D’you at least know if he’s all right?’

  ‘Yes he is, I promise,’ Angela said eagerly.


  ‘So what’s going on?’

  ‘I …’

  Theo shook his head quickly. ‘And don’t bother telling me that you can’t tell me!’

  Angela sighed but didn’t speak.

  ‘All right, then, answer this. Is Ricky being held against his will?’ asked Theo.

  Angela didn’t reply.

  ‘He must be – or he’d go home.’ Theo answered his own question. ‘We’d all have seen him by now.’

  Still Angela said nothing.

  ‘Look, I’m sorry but I don’t have any choice in this.’ Theo shook his head. ‘Ricky’s being held somewhere against his will. I have to tell the police. If something bad were to happen to him, I’d never forgive myself.’

  ‘Nothing else will happen to Ricky, I promise. He’ll be released soon, I’m sure of it.’

  ‘How can you be sure? You don’t even know where he is,’ Theo said, exasperated. ‘I’m sorry, but I’m telling someone.’

  ‘Please. You don’t understand. Ricky’s safe for now.’ Angela looked down at the floor, unable to meet Theo’s gaze. ‘Tom’s looking out for him.’

  ‘Who’s Tom?’

  ‘My brother,’ Angela admitted. ‘That’s why you can’t tell the police. Tom will get into trouble if you do.’

  Theo and Angela watched each other silently. A few others in the corridor passed by, directing curious looks at them but neither Theo nor Angela saw them.

  ‘What did I ever do to you?’ Theo asked bitterly.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Angela frowned.

  ‘You gave your dare to me – deliberately passed it to me,’ Theo said with ice-cold fury. ‘I should be where Ricky is now. I should be the one being held against my will.’

  ‘I gave my dare to you because I thought you could help me. I th-thought you could tell me what Tom and the others are up to. It wasn’t to set you up, I swear it wasn’t. Why would I do that?’ Angela asked, aghast.

  ‘What made you think I could help you?’

  ‘Because …’ A slow blush crept up Angela’s neck and across her cheeks. ‘Because you … you’re quiet and quite small and I didn’t think you’d get caught if you sneaked into the ventilator shaft at the warehouse. And … and I thought I could persuade you not to tell anyone but me what you found out.’

  ‘Oh, I see …’ And Theo did see. He was the classroom mouse – scared of his own shadow. That was what everyone thought. Angela had only just joined the class and already she thought so too.

  ‘You looked the most likely to help me. That was all there was to it,’ Angela said.

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Theo said resentfully.

  ‘It’s the truth.’

  Theo didn’t reply. He turned his thoughts back to Ricky and this girl before him. He still wasn’t sure of Angela and he certainly didn’t trust her, but at that moment she was his only lead to his best friend. Theo leaned against the wall, still watching Angela. After a brief moment, she walked over to him and leaned against the wall beside him.

  ‘Can you help me get to Ricky?’ Theo asked softly. ‘I must see him. I want to make sure he’s OK.’

  ‘I can try. I’ll have to ask my brother where he is.’

  ‘Will he tell you?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Angela said miserably. ‘I don’t know anything any more. I don’t know who to talk to or trust.’

  ‘You can talk to me. You can trust me,’ Theo said.

  Angela regarded him, then turned away.

  Tell me what’s going on. Tell me. Theo willed Angela to talk to him. He didn’t want to push her. He sensed that she would clam up altogether if he did that.

  ‘M-My brother Tom and three of his friends are going to do a job on Wednesday.’ Angela’s voice was so low Theo had to strain to hear it.

  ‘A job?’

  ‘They’re up to something … dodgy. I don’t know what. They were still planning it last week. Tom doesn’t like to leave me alone when he’s not at home unless he doesn’t have any choice so he … he took me to his last meeting …’

  ‘Meeting?’ Theo prompted.

  ‘The meeting where Tom, Scott, Robbie and Dylan made all their plans. I had to stay in the office up on the first floor. It’s glass fronted so they could see me from the ground floor but with the door shut I couldn’t hear what they were saying. That’s why I wanted you to go into the ventilator shaft and listen to them for me. I thought you could be my ears.’

  ‘And Ricky went instead of me …’

  ‘And got caught,’ Angela said. ‘He’s exactly the last person I would’ve asked to do something like this. He’s not exactly quiet, is he? They probably heard him making a noise within the first five seconds that he arrived.’

  ‘Don’t you dare make it sound like it’s Ricky’s fault,’ Theo exploded. ‘If anything happens to him, I’ll never forgive myself – or you.’

  ‘I didn’t want him to get caught. I didn’t want anyone to get into trouble. I just needed to know what was going on, what Tom was getting himself into,’ Angela insisted.

  Theo bit back the harsh words ready to explode from his mouth. He counted to ten quickly, then added another fifteen for good measure.

  ‘So how much do you know about what your brother and his friends are up to?’ he asked at last.

  ‘Not much. I know that whatever it is, it’s going to happen on Wednesday. Wednesday night,’ Angela said. ‘Tom said that Ricky would be released on Thursday morning if everything went according to plan.’

  ‘Thursday? What about Ricky’s mum? She’s going through hell and you’re going to make her wait until Thursday before letting her know that Ricky’s all right?’ Theo couldn’t believe it.

  ‘I’ve got no choice. Robbie and Scott already think I’m involved. Theo, you don’t know them. If the police or anyone else for that matter tries to move in on them, Ricky will get hurt – or worse.’

  ‘Your brother’s got some really charming friends!’ Theo wasn’t impressed.

  ‘Don’t you judge him.’ Angela rounded on Theo like a rabid dog. ‘Tom’s had to look after me all by himself since I was seven. He even stood up to our social workers when they wanted to put me in a foster home. So don’t you say a thing against him.’

  ‘I’m not going to argue with you,’ Theo replied frostily. ‘All I want to do is rescue Ricky.’

  ‘Rescue? I thought you just wanted to make sure he was safe …’

  ‘I want to get him away from your brother and his friends.’

  Silence.

  ‘Are you going to help me do that or not?’ Theo urged.

  ‘I’ll … I’ll try.’

  ‘Not good enough,’ said Theo immediately. ‘Either you’re with me on this or you’re not. And if you’re not, I’ll go to the police.’

  ‘That’s blackmail,’ Angela protested.

  ‘Angela, wake up! Your brother and his friends aren’t up to something dodgy or cagey or shady or any other stupid word like that. They’ve kidnapped Ricky. And God knows what they’re going to do on Wednesday night. But whatever it is, it’s obviously illegal. Not dodgy, cagey or shady. Illegal! When are you going to open your eyes and see that?’

  ‘I’m not listening.’ Angela put her hands over her ears.

  Theo tried to pull Angela’s arms down by her sides. She battled to keep her hands where they were.

  ‘All right! All right! We’ll play it your way. There’s nothing illegal going on at all! Your brother and his friends are angels!’ Theo said with biting sarcasm. ‘So what’s the next step?’

  Slowly, Angela’s arms dropped back down to her sides.

  ‘I’ll talk to Tom when I get home, then I’ll meet you afterwards and tell you what I know,’ she sniffed.

  ‘When?’

  ‘Six thirty?’

  ‘Fine. Where?’

  ‘The park. The swings in the playground.’

  ‘I’ll be there,’ Theo said.

  Angela walked away down the corridor. Theo watched her go for a
few moments before calling out to her.

  ‘Angela?’

  Angela turned her head.

  ‘If you don’t turn up …’ Theo left the rest unsaid.

  Angela’s eyes blazed at him with a hatred that would have knocked Theo backwards if he hadn’t already been up against the wall. Without a word she turned her head and carried on walking. Theo’s frown deepened as he watched her turn the corner. He didn’t like blackmailing her, it left a nasty taste in his mouth and a horrible churning feeling in his stomach, but what else could he do? There was no way Angela was going to help him unless he cajoled and bullied and coaxed her every step of the way.

  So what would she do? Suppose she didn’t turn up? Theo sighed. In a way that would make things a lot easier. Theo could then just go to the police and let them find Ricky. If Angela did turn up, then Theo would be letting himself in for goodness only knew what.

  But, hang on – suppose Angela didn’t turn up but sent someone else instead? What if she told her brother or his friends what Theo was trying to do? They’d be waiting for him in the park and then he might end up in exactly the same place and predicament as Ricky. A fat lot of good he’d be to his friend then. Theo didn’t trust Angela, not one bit. She could easily tell her brother about him and then what?

  ‘So what’re you going to do?’ Theo asked himself.

  But he already knew the answer. He was going to take a chance and turn up at the park at six thirty. And he was going to be very, very careful.

  Chapter Eleven

  Theo Knows

  17:30 hrs Monday, 19th May

  THEO KNOWS …

  I have no choice now. I’ve got to tell Tom about Theo. I have to. Tom’s my brother and I can’t let Theo spoil things for us. Since I wrote in here this morning, things have got worse, not better. When is it all going to end? Where is it going to end? I have to stop writing now.

  I’m smudging the ink across the paper again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Betrayed

  THEO CROUCHED DOWN before taking a look around. The warning bells in his head wouldn’t stop clanging.