‘Eeeurgh, I think some of it landed on me,’ Amelia said as they walked towards the patrol car. She took a brand-new tissue from a pack she always carried with her and began to wipe her hair.
They climbed into the car. It was the first time any of them had ever been in a patrol car.
‘This is cool,’ Sam said. ‘Can I sit in the front seat?’
Debra O’Loughlin sighed. ‘I only have two rules for travelling in my car. Rule number one is no one speaks. Not a single word. Obey rule number one and we’ll all get along just fine.’
‘What’s the second rule?’
‘You’ve just violated rule number one.’
‘What was the first rule again?’ Sam asked.
Debra shook her head sadly. When she was young, she had dreamed of becoming a detective after watching lots and lots of crime shows. She’d been expecting a few dull jobs early on in her career. What she hadn’t expected was that she’d be doing things like this. Why hadn’t she applied to work in Dublin or London or Los Angeles? Almost nothing ever happened in Newpark. And the one time it had she’d become the laughing stock of the town. How was that for bad luck? Now here she was driving some kids around, kids that were talking about ghosts and treasure. That it was the most exciting job she’d had in weeks only made her more depressed.
As soon as Hannah and Brian had heard the men’s voices, they did the first thing that came into their heads – they ran into the cottage and hid behind the shabby old living-room sofa. On reflection, it may not have been their best ever plan. Unless they decided to crash through the windows like stunt doubles in a thriller movie, their only exit was the door they’d just come through. They were trapped.
‘We shouldn’t have come in here,’ Hannah whispered.
‘I know, but—’ Brian began.
He didn’t get to finish the sentence. The door of the cottage creaked open.
‘Someone’s been here,’ a man’s voice said.
‘Are you sure?’ the second man said. His voice was deeper.
‘They broke the lock.’
‘Might just have been some kids messing around.’
‘Check if anything’s missing.’
‘Why do I have to check?’
‘Because I told you to.’
Hannah and Brian kept low behind the couch. It was about one and a half metres from the back wall of the living room, not visible at first glance from the doorway, but if anyone ventured halfway across the room? Both of them held their breath and tried not to move. They couldn’t see either of the men, but they sounded rough, and, to Brian at least, their voices sounded a little bit familiar, even if he couldn’t quite place them.
Brian had to bite his tongue to stop himself from shouting when he saw what Hannah was up to. She was crawling on her belly towards the end of the couch, trying to peer out and catch a glimpse of the men.
Moving as silently as he could across the cold and dirty floor, he reached out and grabbed her by the ankle to stop her progress. She turned back when she felt his grip, an annoyed look on her face. He shook his head, telling her no, that it was safer to stay where they were. She mimed at him to let go of her leg.
Before they could continue their silent argument, they heard the men stomp down the short hallway towards the kitchen, making quite a racket. When the two men spoke again, their voices were a little fainter, but still clear.
‘Watch that ladder. You’re wrecking the place.’
‘Who cares? It’s not like anyone lives here.’
They heard the attic door swing open. Brian was just glad they’d decided to shut it earlier, otherwise the men would have known someone had been up there. That was a lucky break.
The two Misfits looked at each other. A silent misunderstanding passed between them.
‘We can’t let them take the stuff. If they disappear with it, we might never find them again,’ Hannah whispered.
‘We have to get out of here first,’ Brian whispered back. ‘We can’t do anything if we’re trapped or kidnapped.’
‘I don’t have time to argue with you,’ Hannah whispered. ‘So we’ll go with my plan.’
‘How is that going to work?’
Hannah shrugged. She didn’t have the answer just yet. She wondered how long it would take the others to return with reinforcements. Brian seemed to have read her mind correctly this time.
‘The earliest they’ll be back here is about twenty minutes from now,’ he whispered.
As far as Hannah was concerned, that was too long. She wasn’t going to wait. She took her mobile phone from her pocket. Brian began waving at her, warning her not to use it. She made the phone call signal, shook her head no, then pretended to tap the keys. He understood what she was saying – she wasn’t going to call anyone, she was going to text. Get the others to ring someone in authority if they had to, to let them know that the criminals – if that’s what they were – were here and were about to take all the evidence with them.
Brian was nervous. He knew by the tense expression on Hannah’s face that she was nervous as well, but it wasn’t stopping her.
She was about to begin texting when her phone rang.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Amelia had enjoyed the looks they’d got from passers-by as they’d driven down Newpark’s long main street. Some people had seemed shocked to see three children in the back of a patrol car.
The traffic was heavy at the end of town, but soon they were out in the countryside, the housing estates giving way to trees and fields where, every so often, they’d see a tractor pulling a two-wheeled machine that spat out round hay bales.
‘Any chance you could put the siren on, Deb?’ Sam asked.
‘What did I tell you about talking?’
‘That you love the sound of my voice?’
‘Sam.’
‘Shutting up now.’
The patrol car took a left turn. Sam and Chris exchanged a look, Chris raising a quizzical eyebrow. This wasn’t the route they’d have chosen.
‘I know what I’m doing,’ Debra said. ‘This is a short-cut. It’ll only be a fifteen-minute walk from where I’ll park. We’ll be there soon enough.’
Hannah managed to silence the call before the phone rang a second time. Her mother was ringing her. She’d ring back immediately if Hannah wasn’t careful. Her fingers fumbled for the off switch as she tried to power down the phone.
They heard the footsteps on the creaking beams in the attic above them, followed by the first man’s voice.
‘Did you hear that?’
‘What?’
‘Sounded like a phone,’ the first man said. ‘Check it out.’
‘I didn’t hear anything.’
The first man said something that neither Brian or Hannah could make out. The next thing they heard was the sound of someone climbing from the attic into the kitchen.
Hannah pointed to the hallway. Would they make it to the front door and out into the woods before he saw them?
It was too late. The footsteps were drawing closer. The man was coming for them. Brian looked around for something they could use to defend themselves, but anything that might be useful as a makeshift weapon was too far out of reach. If he made a move, he’d be seen. If he stayed where he was, they’d be found sooner rather than later. He didn’t know what to do.
And then the man was in the room.
They heard a click, followed by another. On the third click they smelled smoke. The man had lit a cigarette. Although they didn’t realize it, both of them were holding their breath.
The man crossed the floor as Brian and Hannah pressed themselves into the ground, trying to make themselves as invisible as possible. They knew it was ridiculous. They were caught. Once he took a step round the back of the couch, he’d see them.
They waited. And waited.
The couch sagged.
It took Brian a moment to realize the man was sitting on it. The lazy thief was sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette. He wasn�
�t looking for them at all.
‘See anything?’ came the voice from the attic.
‘Not yet. I’m still looking around,’ the man said, exhaling a long, thin stream of acrid smoke. He stomped his feet on the ground to make it seem as if he was searching the house.
A long arm reached out over the back of the couch, the cigarette gripped between its fingers. The man tapped a column of ash from the cigarette. It dropped right on to Brian’s face.
He thought he was going to sneeze. Hannah must have thought that too because a look of horror crossed her face. Somehow, Brian managed to restrain himself, and the moment passed.
Hannah breathed out as slowly and silently as she could. This was torture. One small noise, one glance over the back of the couch and the man would see them.
But he never looked.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finished his cigarette and got to his feet.
‘You must be hearing things,’ he shouted to his companion in the attic. ‘There’s no sign of any mobile phone.’
‘Well, come back up and give me a hand, then. We need to get out of here.’
Debra O’Loughlin had to hold Sam back to prevent him from rushing into the cottage. They’d walked through the woods together. At one point Debra thought she’d heard voices off to their left, but by the time she’d got the three youngsters to quieten down she couldn’t hear anything any longer. Once they’d reached the clearing, it took her a couple of minutes to persuade Sam to remain behind an oak tree nearly ten metres further back, where Amelia and Chris were already waiting. When she was certain he was going to stay put, she pushed the door of the cottage open. Even though she didn’t expect to find any criminals running around, she still felt a prickle of nerves.
‘Hello,’ she called out. ‘Anyone in there?’
There was no reply.
She stepped into the hallway and then into the living room. It was just as the three youngsters had described it.
‘This is Garda Debra O’Loughlin of Newpark station. If there’s anyone here, show yourself.’
Her words lingered in the damp air for a moment before two heads slowly rose up from behind the couch. They belonged to Hannah Fitzgerald and Brian McDonnell. Garda O’Loughlin didn’t think she’d ever seen such relieved faces in all her life.
Shortly afterwards, when the Misfits met up again, was the moment Debra decided she never, ever wanted to have children. The screeching, the babbling and the high-fiving was too much for her to take.
Hannah had snuck off to ring her mother and reassure her that she was fine, telling her she’d dropped the phone when trying to answer it and that it had switched itself off, but was working perfectly now and that she’d be back home soon. Her mother sounded sceptical, but then she usually did when Hannah explained why her day hadn’t followed the very neat path her parents had laid out for her.
As soon as she’d ended the call, Hannah joined Brian in begging Debra to chase after the criminals. They told her that two men had taken the stolen goods that had been hidden in the attic. Debra didn’t know if they were making it up or if they really believed it, but she didn’t see any sign of criminal activity.
‘You’re telling me you found some stolen items in the attic?’
‘Yes,’ the Misfits chorused.
‘Then three of you came to fetch me and report this alleged crime, while Brian and Hannah remained here.’
‘Yes.’
‘And the criminals chose that exact moment to take all of these stolen items away? While Brian and Hannah were stuck behind the couch the whole time and never got to see the men’s faces?’
‘That’s exactly it,’ Hannah said.
‘Right. It does seem a little far-fetched. Look, guys and girls, I know Newpark isn’t the most exciting town in the world and when young people get together their imaginations can go into overdrive. I understand that. So I’m not sure this actually happened. At least, not in the way you believe. There’s bound to be some innocent explanation for all this.’
‘We’re not making it up. I don’t have an imagination. I believe in logic, Debra. You know that. Please, have a look in the attic. They’ll have left some clues,’ Chris said.
Unlike Brian, Debra had no difficulty in climbing into the attic. Her navy-uniformed legs dangled for a moment in mid-air, and then, with a grunt, she disappeared from view completely. She had told the others to wait downstairs. The last thing she needed was one of them falling through the ceiling. She could do without that hassle.
She shone her torch around the small space. The only thing out of the ordinary was a small hinged ledge near the peak of the roof. It could have been used to conceal some stolen goods, she supposed, but it was unlikely. In her experience, criminals made things easier for themselves rather than more difficult, and getting any stolen items in and out of these woods and in and out of an attic would be difficult.
‘There’s nothing here,’ she said.
‘Nothing? They’ve taken it all?’ Hannah cried. ‘Hang on, I’m coming up.’
‘No, no one else is coming up,’ Debra said. ‘Is that clear?’
Hannah’s head popped up through the attic door.
‘Oh, for crying out loud,’ Debra said.
A quick search later and Hannah was distraught.
‘It’s empty,’ she cried. ‘They’ve taken everything.’
Debra just about managed to stop Sam from climbing up too, finally ushered Hannah back down and then took one last look around, just in case she’d missed anything. When she was satisfied that she hadn’t, she dropped down into the kitchen and dusted herself off as five expectant young faces stared up at her.
‘We have to move quickly to track them down. They could be anywhere in a few hours’ time and our chance will have gone,’ Hannah said. ‘Can you put out an APB?’
‘An APB is American,’ Debra said. ‘And I can’t issue an arrest warrant when I don’t suspect any crime has taken place.’
‘But we saw—’ Brian began.
‘It’s gone. I can’t believe it’s all gone,’ Amelia said. She hadn’t even seen the jewellery and now she never would.
‘You know what else is gone?’ Debra said. ‘Me.’
‘Wait, you can’t go yet. We know where the criminals are,’ Sam said.
‘You do? Where?’
‘Er, yes, Chris, where have they gone?’ Sam asked.
‘I don’t know, but with Debra’s help, we can find them,’ Chris said.
‘Exactly, it’s only been an hour, so they can’t have got far. Let’s go after them. We can put on the siren,’ Brian said.
‘For the last time, there’ll be no siren. I’ve already wasted enough time,’ Debra said. ‘I have to go back to the station.’
Despite their pleadings and their certainty that they’d be able to catch the thieves in the act of transporting the goods, they couldn’t persuade Debra to go after them.
Forlorn, they trudged through the woods until they emerged near Seamus Barry’s farm, where Debra had parked the patrol car.
‘What do you want me to do – spend my day driving around looking for them?’ she asked as they drove back towards town. Four of the five were squashed into the back of the car, Sam’s head hanging out of the window like a pet dog. Chris was in the passenger seat.
‘No, of course not. We’ll only crack this case through evidence,’ Chris said. ‘You need trackers, sniffer dogs and a top-notch forensics team.’
‘That’s a shame,’ Debra replied. ‘Today’s their day off.’
‘All of them? Why would they all have the same day off? That’s just extremely poor planning,’ Chris said.
‘I think she’s joking,’ Amelia said.
‘I don’t get it.’
‘Newpark doesn’t have trackers, sniffer dogs and a topnotch forensics team,’ Sam said, the wind rushing through his hair. ‘You’d know that if you weren’t such a spacer.’
‘Well, it should have those things. Maybe th
en we wouldn’t have thieves running all over the place.’
‘Maybe so,’ Debra said.
Brian was furious that she was giving up so quickly. Maybe his dad had been right about the Newpark police force all along – he’d always said they were useless.
‘I want all of you to stay well away from that cottage,’ Debra warned them.
‘But—’ Hannah began.
‘No buts.’
‘But, if you don’t think there’s anyone sinister there, and the cottage is a safe place, then why do we need to stay away?’ Hannah said.
‘Didn’t I just say no buts?’
The expressions that stared back at her in the reflection of the rear-view mirror were decidedly stony.
‘Look,’ Debra continued, her voice a little softer. ‘I just want you to stay away from that place. It’s not your property, so if you do go in there you’re trespassing. I’m going to keep what happened today between us, but if I even think for one moment that you’re considering going back, if I even smell the possibility of it, then I’ll tell your parents.’
Telling parents or guardians wasn’t as much of a threat as far as Brian and Amelia were concerned, but Debra O’Loughlin had thought of that too.
‘If Sam, Chris and Hannah get into trouble, then they’ll be grounded. That means no more Misfits.’
Brian must have looked surprised because she directed her next comment at him.
‘Yes, I’ve heard of the Misfits Club. I keep track of all the gangs around here. It’s part of my job.’
‘Oh, we’re not a gang, we’re just a—’ Amelia began.
Hannah laid her hand on Amelia’s arm. ‘She’s messing with you, Amelia.’
‘I’m not messing with you about going back to the woods, though. Stay clear. OK?’
‘Yes,’ they all said in unison.
The moment Debra had entered the station and closed the door behind her, Brian turned to the others.
‘Right, how are we going to track those criminals down?’ he asked.
The Misfits Club Page 9
