The Team and the Move (Team books Book 3)

by S G Read

  'Well I’m awake now so what do we do?'

  Stuart shrugged his shoulders. 'Fresh out of ideas.'

  'Well, if he got in, he must have got in somewhere!' Stevey declared. 'All we have to do is to find where and make sure he doesn’t get in again!'

  'The police checked everywhere!'

  'Well we’ll have to find what they missed!'

  'Like what?' Stuart asked.

  'I don’t know, a cellar which no one knows about or a secret passage-'

  'Now that I like. Do you know how much fun we could have if we found a secret passage?' Stuart exclaimed. 'But how do we find it?'

  'Look in the room he set on fire I suppose.'

  They walked into the room which still smelled of smoke. The window was boarded up and the light bulb had exploded so it was hard to see anything. They turned on their torches and searched the walls for secret doors without luck until Stevey found a hole in the wall where the plaster had fallen off or had been washed away. The laths behind the plaster had gaps between them and he peered through one gap with his torch shining through the next gap.

  'Hey there is room to walk through there!' He announced.

  'But how do we get in?' Stuart asked.

  Now came the frantic search for the lever or button which opened a secret door, somewhere in the room. They poked and prodded at anything which might be the one that opened the door but without success. When they had given up Stevey sat down but Stuart, not wanting to get wet leant against the wall and fell into it.

  'Whoa!' He shouted and fell into the dust on the other side.

  Stevey was on his feet in an instant but instead of helping him up he was more interested in the passage, or more particular where it went and who was in it!

  'You could help me up!' Stuart complained.

  'Shh!' Stevey replied. 'Listen!'

  Stuart listened, then said. 'I can’t hear anything!'

  'Nor can I, good.' He helped Stuart up but they still did not know what had opened the door. 'Well at least we know where the door is, now all we have to do is to find out what opened it! Shut it up and stand next to it.'

  'Are you sure? What if we don’t get it open again?'

  'We’ll get it open.' Stevey replied.

  Stuart shut the door and tried to open it again but it would not move.

  'Well it’s shut.' He declared.

  'I’ll push the same things we did before and you try it each time.' Stevey moved round the wall, pulling and pushing things until the door opened with a faint click.

  Stuart pushed it open. 'It’s open! What did you push last?'

  'That wall light. Try it again.'

  Stuart shut the door, Stevey tipped the wall light forwards and the door opened again.

  'Good!' Stevey exclaimed. 'Torches out and we’ll see where it goes!'

  They walked into the narrow corridor but they had the choice of two directions, left towards the kitchen or right towards a brick wall.

  'Which way?' Stuart asked.

  'That looks the shortest!' Stevey replied pointing towards the brick wall and started walking towards it.

  Stuart followed but the passage did not end at the wall, instead it turned round the end of the room and they started walking along the side of the room until they came to a ladder. The ladder took them up to the upstairs rooms or down, each time passing through a trap door.

  'Down means a cellar!' Stuart exclaimed.

  'But are we alone?' Stevey asked. 'If we make sure this cannot be opened he can’t get in again if he came in that way!'

  'If he came in that way.' Stuart echoed. 'But surely we have to find out where he came in?'

  'But what if he is hiding down there, if we block it he won’t be able to get up and get us.'

  'That I prefer.' Stuart replied and they looked round for things to make sure the hatch would not open.

  With nothing available Stevey stood on the trapdoor while Stuart returned to the room they had started in for something to hold the trapdoor shut. He found a broken chair and after a struggle he was able to pull off one of its legs. He returned with his trophy and the trapdoor was sealed; now no one below could gain access! They climbed up to the passage above and found the same type of passage. A lever showed them when they reached a door and they opened the door to see just where they were. This was the bedroom where they had first put the things from the attic. They closed the door and moved on to the room they were sleeping in and found another door. They opened the door, saw the beds they slept in and looked at each other. This arsonist could have lit their bed, or worse! They closed the door and moved on to Great Aunt Agatha’s room, where there was another door and another ladder. The ladder went up and down. Down was to the living room, up was the roof! They shone their torches up and saw the trap door with its bolt firmly slid in place.

  'No way in for him there!' Stevey noted.

  'The way I see it.' Stuart said deep in thought. 'He moves around through these passages-'

  'And he can hear what we are saying!' Stevey exclaimed.

  'And he can hear what we are saying, when we say it.' Stuart continued. 'If we make sure all these doors stay shut, he can’t go anywhere!'

  'What about the cellar?' Stevey asked.

  'Where are you?' They heard Pat ask.

  Stevey pulled the lever and opened the door.

  'Right here mum.' He said when the door opened.

  'Is that a little cupboard then?' She asked.

  'No it is a passage and it goes everywhere in the house. We found the cellar but we didn’t go down into it in case you know who was down there!' Stevey replied.

  'I don’t like the idea of someone walking behind the bed I am sleeping in!' Pat complained.

  'What about the rats in the flat?' Stevey asked.

  'They aren’t human, they also don’t set things on fire!' Pat replied.

  'We were going to make sure none of the doors could be opened when we had finished our tour of inspection!' Stevey said, holding the door open.

  'Well that sounds like a good idea to me. Whoever it was might have been listening to our plans! In fact it might have prompted his actions!'

  'How do you mean mum?' Stevey asked.

  'Well if he knew you were going to sell that stuff from the attic and weren’t going to sell the house. Or if he didn’t like the idea of your friends coming to help you search no this place, who knows! You might find whatever is hidden in here, you seem to be able to anything you want to, between you.' Pat answered.

  'We nearly made a mess of the last one!' Stuart said, remembering the flames shooting up when they were tied up and unable to escape. Then he remembered the song they started singing. 'Still always look on the bright side!' He added. 'We made it alright!'

  'And we caught the bad guys!' Stevey added. 'We’ll go on and see where this goes.'

  They returned to the passage and closed the door. Down was the only way they could go as the trap door through the roof showed no signs of anyone using recently. They climbed down to the kitchen, there was the passage leading to where they came in but there seemed to be no door into the kitchen, well not one they could find, no matter how hard they tried. In the end they climbed back up and sealed the door by blocking it with more wood from the earlier fire! Now they retraced their steps, making sure each door they closed, would not open, after they had passed through it. When they returned to the trap door which they assumed lead to the cellar they hesitated. To open it might invite an unwanted guest, whereas to open it would let them know where it led! In the end their curiosity won and they removed the chair leg from the trapdoor and opened it. It was too dark to see what was down there and they used their torches to see. It appeared to be a tunnel which lead away and round a corner, they returned to the room where the fire had been and armed themselves before dropping into the passage. They walked round the corner, crouched, expecting the worst but there was no one to be seen. It was obvious that it did not lead into the cellar as it was leading away fr
om the house in a straight line.

  'That’s odd.' Stuart noted, when he straightened up.

  'So what do we do?' Stevey asked.

  'See where it goes I suppose.' Stuart answered.

  'What if the one who lit the fire is there?' Shouldn’t we be ready?'

  'We have weapons!' He said holding up his chair leg. 'It’s a shame they didn’t let us keep those oozies!' Stuart replied.

  'I’d like to see his face if we had them with us!' Stevey retorted. 'Not just little kids but little kids with oozies!'

  'And me with an oozy, he would have to watch himself!' Stuart added.

  'You with an oozy and we would all have to watch ourselves!' Stevey replied.

  'Don’t knock it, it worked didn’t it?' Stuart retorted. 'Ask José, he is the one missing a finger!'

  'Don’t forget the other man with a hole in his foot!' Stevey added.

  'Oh yes, him.'

  'If they ever get out of prison, they are going to want to come and visit with you!' Stevey said, trying to make it sound as nice as possible.

  'You mean cut me up into little pieces and feed me to whatever is to hand!'

  'That sort of thing.' Stevey admitted.

  'Well I just hope they die in prison, especially that José.' Stuart said from the heart.

  'Capitain Torres would not let them go without telling you.' Stevey said to reassure him.

  'No you’re right, Captain Torres will contact me if there is trouble!' Stuart agreed with some relief.

  'So we are safe as long as it is only a local murderer!' Stevey concluded.

  'You’re right! Let’s go and kick butt!'

  They followed the tunnel, using their torches to see where they were going. They walked on for sometime until natural light shone in through crevices round whatever was above them. It was a stone cover, one they would never be able to move.

  'Well that stops that then!' Stevey said a little disappointed.

  'Why?' Stuart asked.

  'We’ll never be able to shift that!' Stevey replied.

  'Nor would a man!' Stuart pointed out.

  'You’re right! What do you think, a lever somewhere?'

  'There has been up to now!' Stuart replied.

  They pushed and pulled things until, with a grinding sound, the stone cover slid out of the way. They climbed out and found themselves in a cemetery. One thing that stood out to both of them, was that all the graves were old.

  'Weirder and weirder!' Stevey said as they looked round the cemetery.

  A grinding noise let them know the door was closing and they tried to stop it, but it was no use. They tried to find a lever to open it again but nothing worked.

  'That’s fun.' Stuart complained. 'Now we have to find our way back!'

  They started walking, trying to follow the tunnel below.

  'What if he was there and closed the door.' Stevey said as they walked. 'He might go back to the house and mum is all alone! Quick we have to get back!'

  Chapter 16

  The walk turned into a run but they did not know how to get home. They had walked underground and the tunnel had not always gone in a straight line. They ran into dead ends or hedges they could not get through with Stevey getting more and more frantic, as time went on and they seemed no nearer Apsford house. Then they found themselves on a road they knew and Stevey started running as fast as he could, leaving Stuart trying to keep up behind him. Stevey turned into the drive and ran on as fast as he could, despite being tired. He crashed in through the front door as behind him Stuart turned into the drive. Pat was ironing in the kitchen when he ran into the house.

  'You look like you’ve seen a ghost!' She said looking up from her work.

  At first Stevey was too puffed to say anything, then Stuart came crashing in through the door.

  Stevey took several deep breaths before he answered.

  'We were having a race.' He said when he was able.

  Stuart, seeing that Pat was not in any trouble and unable to speak nodded his agreement.

  'I won.' Stevey added and poured himself a glass of water which Stuart took and drank.

  'Thanks, I needed that!' He said when the glass was empty. Stuart washed it, filled it and passed it to Stevey.

  Stevey emptied the glass. 'Thank you.' He said as he wiped his face. 'Come on, we have work to do!'

  The hurried away, leaving pat mystified. First they made sure the tunnel entrance could not be opened from underneath then they searched the house making sure none of the doors had been forced open to make sure there was no one in the house. When they were satisfied they flopped on the old sofa, causing it to complain.

  'The others are really going to like this place!' Stuart said as he lay sprawled on the sofa.

  'I hope they have some ideas on finding the money, or whatever it is.' Stevey replied.

  'It could be jewels, or gold and silver.' Stuart declared.

  'But where is it?'

  'Beats me. I was happy to think it was in the cellar until we found it hasn’t got one.'

  'Well we actually don’t know it hasn’t got a cellar.' Stevey replied. 'We just haven’t found it yet if it has!'

  'Another secret passage!' Stuart declared and jumped up off the sofa causing it to complain again. 'Let’s see if we can find the cellar!'

  They searched high and low for a door into the cellar without success. When Pat called them to eat, they were glad to stop looking and eat their food. After they had eaten, they settled down to play cards. There was no television to watch, only a radio to listen to. Pat joined in with the game of cards and they played until evening, not bothering to search anymore. They ate supper and Stuart phoned his parents to let them know that he was alright. He told them only what he wanted them to know, so that they would not worry, which meant he did not mention the fire at all! He asked about Jenny and as she was back out of hospital Wendy put her on the phone, after David had spoken to him.

  'Are you alright now?' Stuart asked.

  'Yeah but I have to take it easy. I wanted to come down with the boys when they come but I am not allowed!' Jenny answered. He could hear the disappointment on her voice and he felt disappointment as well.

  'We’ll soon be back and if we aren’t you can come down when you are allowed. There is going to be a lot of work for your dad to do when Stevey can afford it!'

  'Good, he has just been laid off again. He phoned me to let me know.'

  'That’s not fair.'

  'I know that but it still happened. He said it was last in first out, no matter how good you are!'

  'Do you have a scar there now?'

  'Not much of one and they say it will soon fade.' Jenny looked round to make sure she was alone. 'I can’t believe you were singing with the place burning down round your ears!'

  'Seemed like the thing to do at the time.' Stuart replied and heard Wendy telling Jenny it was time for bed, 'I’ll phone you tomorrow.'

  'Okay, goodbye.' Jenny replied.

  Later Pat turned the radio on for background music, the game changed to hangman, Jenny’s favourite although she was not there. They played that until it was time to use the outside toilet, for the last time that night, hopefully. As the game went on the dictionary was consulted more and more with some weird and wonderful words starting to appear on the paper but no one minded, the better the word, the more the laughter it caused. When heads started to droop they climbed the stairs, Pat talked with them for a while, then she let them sleep as it was going to be a busy day tomorrow, in fact the start of a busy week for her.

  The day before had taken it out of them and they slept like logs. Pat was the first awake and chose to let the two boys sleep on until breakfast was ready. The first thing Stevey did when she woke him was to look out of the window to see if the others had arrived yet but the drive was empty, save for the overgrown flower bed in the middle. For some reason it remained unattended when the rest of the garden was well looked after.

  'Stu, why is that bed overgrown
when all the others are well kept?' He asked but Stuart had turned over in bed, which was his usual reply to being told to get up.

  Stevey walked over and pulled the sleeping bag of him, not easy as he was zipped up inside it. It caused Stuart to complain but at least he did wake up!

  'Why is that bit of garden overgrown, when the rest is well kept?' He repeated.

  Stuart stopped complaining, climbed of the bed and walked to the window.

  'Search me! Maybe it’s a clue!' He said the second part with more interest. 'We should see what is in there!' He looked round, waiting for Stevey to answer but Stevey was long gone!

  Stevey raced down the stairs but if he thought he was going anywhere before he had eaten some breakfast, he was mistaken. Pat collared him and he was forced to eat what she put in front of him. At first he was annoyed but he soon realised how hungry he was. Stuart arrived and sat next to him.

  'Do we wait until the others arrive?' He asked between mouthfuls. 'Before we investigate the front garden?'

  'They can help when they get here.' Stevey replied, more genteelly.

  A fried breakfast and fresh orange juice later the two boys excused themselves from the breakfast table and walked to the overgrown bed.

  'Wow. I think we need some tools!' Stevey said after an inspection of the overgrown bed.

  They walked round the house and down to the shed and took out any of the tools in there that they thought might help. They loaded the tools onto the wheelbarrow and it was then wheeled to the front of the house. The enormity of the task made them walk down the drive to see if there was any sign of the others, but the road was clear. They walked back, looked at the bed, then at each other.

  'What if it is in there?' Stuart said hopefully.

  'If it isn’t it wants looking after!' Stevey replied and started hacking at the undergrowth.

  The two boys worked hard and when Pat came out to see what they were doing she was so impressed that she joined in. Part way through the morning they heard the phone ring. Stevey ran in to see who it was.

  'Stevey it’s Ben.' A voice said when he picked up the receiver.