by J A Mawter
Bryce grinned, thinking, Typical!
‘It’s that boy in the old clothes and white runners,’ said Clem.
Darcy spoke through clenched teeth. ‘The boy we keep seeing. The one at the bike fence. On the station. At the shelter. The one who we thought was Mio.’
Mio looked around at her friends, saying, ‘Lots of people wear white runners. How can we be sure it’s him?’ She turned to Clem and asked, ‘Did you get a good look at his face?’
‘No-o-o.’ Clem frowned. ‘But I’m one hundred percent sure it’s him.’ She walked over to her bike and lifted it up, then grabbed her helmet and swung her leg over the top tube bar. Once settled on her seat, she ran her hands over the frame, checking for damage. There were one or two extra scrapes but apart from that it had survived the slide on the pavement.
‘Only ninety-nine percent certain,’ corrected Darcy, also scooping up his helmet and retrieving his bike. ‘You’ve got to factor in human error. We learnt it in maths.’
‘Whatever!’
Mio walked along the street, now and again rising on tiptoes and peering upwards. Every so often she stopped and looked from a tenement to the park and back again. Her eyes calculated angles and distance.
‘Whatcha looking for?’ called Bryce.
‘I’m trying to see if he’s still there,’ answered Mio. Another couple of steps and she gave up, heading back to the others. A poster plastered to a brick wall caught her eye. Out loud she read:
Lost: Brittany spaniel. Answers to the name of Cassie. White fur with tan blotches. Much loved. Reward.
‘Someone else has lost a dog,’ she called to the others.
‘Never mind that. Did you see anything?’ asked Bryce. ‘Intruder? Elvis? ET?’
‘Very funny,’ said Clem, but it was only Darcy who laughed.
Mio flicked a speck of dust from her top, then looked up. ‘The roof’s too high to see from the street. He could be anywhere by now.’
Bryce looped his helmet straps over his wrist as he asked, ‘Why don’t we wait him out? He’s gotta come down sometime.’
Clem shook her head, saying, ‘Waste of time. What’s to stop him from getting away? He’s probably going from rooftop to rooftop as we speak.’
‘What’s he want?’ asked Darcy, his voice rising in frustration. Spit flew from his mouth. ‘And is he the one who left the note?’
‘We’ll never know, will we?’ said Clem. ‘Because we let him go!’
Mio thrust her hands in her pockets, saying, ‘We can’t be sure it’s the same boy. All we know is that a person was outside The Van while we were talking. We can’t say it’s him because of one white runner.’
Bryce beamed at her in admiration. ‘You sound like a full pro. Mio Shinozaki, Lawyer!’
Mio smiled. Her head lifted higher. She wished she got such praise at home.
‘I wonder if he wanted to help us or hurt us?’ asked Clem, thinking aloud.
Mio tucked a strand of hair behind her ears as she said, ‘Could be a trick.’
Darcy nodded. ‘I think it is a trick. Otherwise he’d come right out and tell us where the dog is—not muck around with riddles.’
‘But what’s his motive?’ Bryce turned to Mio, grinning. ‘Hey, I could be a lawyer, too!’
Darcy went to say, Not with your record, but he bit his tongue. Instead, he said, ‘His motive is to stop us from going back to the pound.’
‘But why’d he do that?’ asked Bryce. ‘Why wouldn’t he want us to have the dog?’
Clem jumped in. ‘Maybe he wants the dog for himself? Or maybe he’s trying to cover for someone? Or maybe he’s trying to get at us?’ She kicked at a loose stone on the ground. ‘How would we know?!’
‘At this point he’s only under suspicion,’ said Mio. ‘Before we do anything else we have to talk to him.’
‘No.’ Clem shook her head. ‘Before we do anything else we have to go back to the pound.’
‘I disagree,’ said Mio. ‘I think this boy knows something. Something that can help us. I say we speak to him first.’
‘Me, too,’ said Darcy.
‘Me, three,’ added Bryce.
‘But what if the dog gets shipped out? You heard the man. She’ll end up some place where we’ll never find her.’ Clem felt like she was pleading for its life.
‘Remember that other man said Thursday,’ said Darcy.
‘But what if it’s sooner?’ Clem’s voice crackled, then caught on the ‘sooner’. She could feel her face growing flushed. A lump wedged in her throat.
Mio touched Clem lightly on the arm. ‘I know it’s hard to ask you to wait, but you can’t ignore the clue.’
‘Or the fact that we’ve got an eavesdropper,’ said Bryce. ‘We haven’t forgotten the beagle, Clem. We’ve just put her temporarily on hold.’
It made sense but every instinct was telling Clem to go back to the animal shelter. ‘Okay. We’ll try to catch this kid tomorrow. But, if we fail, I’m going back to the pound. With or without you.’
‘So, how do we find this dude?’ asked Bryce. ‘He hasn’t exactly left a name ’n’ address.’
‘We could set a trap like Mr Lark suggested,’ said Clem.
Darcy snorted and raised one eyebrow. ‘We already tried that. Some trap!’
Mio pressed her lips together. The rest of her face stayed blank.
Bryce waggled his finger at Darcy, saying, ‘At least Mio tried.’
No-one spoke. Mio peered up at the rooftops, looking for answers. Darcy scowled into the sun. Bryce winked at Clem to reassure her, when suddenly Mio announced, ‘We don’t have to set a trap.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Darcy.
‘We don’t need a trap. All we need to do is meet at The Van.’ Her voice grew stronger, shimmering with excitement. ‘And he’ll come to us.’
‘How come?’ asked Clem.
Mio explained, ‘We got a really good view from that landing, didn’t we? Could see all the way to the park. Imagine what that boy can see if he’s up one level higher. I’ll bet he spies on us. Watches and waits, from up there.’
Darcy smiled. ‘So when we’re in The Van, all he has to do is creep down and eavesdrop and…’
‘Learn all our plans,’ finished Clem.
Bryce whistled in admiration. ‘Clever.’
There was a moment of silence as the kids let the words sink in.
‘Maybe he works with that horrible man? As his sidekick, or something?’ suggested Clem. She blanched at the thought.
‘We’ll catch him,’ said Darcy. ‘Tomorrow afternoon, after school. We’ll come to The Van, make something yummy and lure him in.’
‘Let’s make bananas in a blanket!’ said Bryce. ‘With choc bits. My favourite.’
The others shook their heads. ‘Hopeless,’ said Mio.
‘I’m only helping to set the scene,’ said Bryce, but he did look sheepish. As much as he tried not to let it, food came into his thoughts every waking minute.
‘Yeah, right, Bryce.’ Clem tried to look stern but her eyes were smiling. ‘I think three of us should come to The Van at the normal time after school and the other one should come early and hide. Then, when the boy gets near, we pounce. Let’s beat him at his own game.’
‘Great idea!’ said Mio. ‘We can easily hide in those play tunnels.’
Darcy hooked his thumb in his shorts. ‘I’ll hide. I’ll come out with the bus kids and race straight here.’
‘No, me,’ said Clem. ‘I’ll hide.’
‘No, I will. I’m the smallest and can easily fit in a tunnel. Besides, this is my idea.’ By the tone in Mio’s voice the others knew not to argue. She checked her watch, saying, ‘Oh, no! Look at the time. Better run.’
Bryce called to her departing back, ‘I’ll bring the ingredients!’
Chapter Fifteen
When the buzzer went for the bus kids to leave early, Mio tore out the school gate and headed for the park. She took every shortcut she could—through the car pa
rk, over four lanes of traffic without waiting for the ‘Walk’ sign, even through McCarthy’s Pharmacy with her bike. ‘Hi, Mr McCarthy!’ she called, and with a wave she bolted through the storage area out the back and into the alley. Record time, she thought, as she checked her watch.
Once at the park, Mio stowed her bike in The Van, manoeuvring it around the suitcase and the television. She knew it was going to be pretty squashed inside, but she couldn’t help it. She ran from swing to slide to tunnel, trying to work out where to hide and get the best view. Finally, she crawled inside the climbing tunnel. The narrow chamber magnified her thumping heart, and with her raspy breath Mio was sure she was making so much noise that she’d be discovered. Fifteen minutes elapsed before she heard voices.
‘Poor Mio,’ said Darcy in an overly loud and stilted voice. ‘She had to go home because she was sick.’
‘Yes!’ Clem stopped at the fireman’s pole at the climbing frame. ‘I hope she’ll be all right.’
Bryce, too, spoke loudly. ‘I bet she’s at home in bed. Poor, sick Mio missing out on these.’ Pulling open his backpack he grabbed the choc bits and waved them about.
‘Enough!’ hissed Clem. ‘Or he’ll get suspicious.’
Hidden away in the tunnel, Mio couldn’t help but giggle.
The kids secured their bikes outside The Van, removed their helmets and tossed them inside. Then, they made preparations to make bananas in a blanket. Bryce pulled a packet of tortillas from his backpack, tore open the plastic and placed one on each of four plates. Grabbing a bottle he turned it upside down and drizzled honey over his tortilla. Next, he tipped a handful of choc bits over the honey, then laid a peeled banana on the edge of the tortilla and wrapped it up. The others followed.
Bryce bit through the floury tortilla. Runny, gooey, yummy honey oozed down his chin. His tastebuds were in heaven. The fruity taste of the bananas mixed with the sweetness of honey and crunchy chocolate. ‘Mmmm, mmmm.’ Bryce closed his eyes as he swirled the banana in a blanket round his mouth. ‘I’m going to patent these. I’ll call them Bryce’s Banana Bliss.’ Suddenly, his eyes pinged open and he started making puhh, puhh noises.
Clem laughed as she watched him spit out a badly bruised bit of banana. ‘You’re too impatient.’ Carefully she scraped off a bruise on her own banana then wrapped it in her tortilla. Clem took a bite, honey and choc bits coating her lips. ‘Perfecto!’
She puckered up, and Darcy chuckled. ‘Choc bits lip gloss,’ he said. ‘Yum.’
‘Watch this,’ said Bryce, pretending to bite without any teeth. White flour coated his lips. ‘Moustache.’
Darcy reached for a handful of choc bits and shoved them all in his mouth, sticking with his theory that things were best eaten in one go.
‘I’ll sing you a song, I am Chocolate Man.’ Bryce managed somehow to smile as he sang. ‘Chocolate Man, tonight.’ He stuck out his tongue, making Clem and Darcy laugh. It was coated with clumps of chocolate and squished banana. ‘My favourite.’ Bryce made little whimpering noises of delight as he continued to chew.
Darcy threw a choc bit at him, saying, ‘You sound like a love-struck seal.’
Bryce caught it and popped it in his mouth. ‘Delish.’ He patted his tummy. ‘And now for more.’ But as he reached for another tortilla he heard a little cough. Darcy and Clem heard it, too. They all froze. Clem lowered her half-eaten banana in a blanket and looked about, trying to work out exactly where the boy might be. Bryce pointed to the rear of The Van and mouthed the words, ‘Over there.’
Clem nodded. Slowly she got to her feet, at the same time saying, ‘You’ve finished already, Darcy. Oink, oink.’ Holding her fingers to her lips to shush the others she stepped round Mio’s bike. ‘What’s Mum going to say when you won’t eat your dinner?’ She flattened herself beside The Van’s door. Me, this way, she gestured to Darcy and You, that way. Bryce crouched behind. Darcy nodded and rose to his feet. Then, Clem held up her fingers for the countdown. Three, two, one.
They both pounced and caught…
Nothing!
‘I could’ve sworn I heard something,’ said Clem, dusting herself off.
‘Me, too.’ Darcy ran around The Van to check if the boy was hiding.
‘Me, three,’ said Bryce.
Together they jumped the fence and checked under and behind every piece of equipment in the park. But when Clem got to the tunnel and looked at Mio, she opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again and walked away. Mio made three gestures—‘be quiet’, ’down there’ and ‘you go’. So back to The Van she would go. But before Clem had gone a few steps the boy sprang out from under Mio’s tunnel.
‘Hey!’ Darcy lunged for him.
The boy sidestepped, then raced for the fence, hitching up his pants as he prepared to jump.
‘Not so fast!’ All that hockey training paid off as Clem sprinted, swiped, then latched onto his vest.
With an Aiyeeah and a sharp twist the boy released himself, leaving Clem clutching a knitted vest that still held the outline and warmth of his body. With the grace of a panther the boy jumped the fence, landing on his feet on the other side.
By now, Mio had wriggled out of her tunnel and she joined in the chase. There was no time to secure her bike. She could only hope that it wasn’t stolen.
The boy ran towards the warehouse, leaping piles of rubbish and some council bins. He had a good five metres on the others.
‘Stop!’ yelled Darcy, gaining ground.
The boy’s cap flew off, looping-the-loop before bouncing on the ground. Clem glanced down and hesitated but Darcy hurried her onwards, saying, ‘No time.’ By now they were close enough to see shiny black hair and a fine porcelain neck. The trademark white runners pounded the pavement. The boy checked over his shoulder, his eyes so wide that he looked like a startled owl. Clem felt almost sorry for him. ‘Stop!’ she cried. ‘We just want to talk to you.’
The boy rounded the corner, lost from sight. Darcy was the first to follow. ‘Whooaaah.’ He careered into an approaching figure, a man walking a dog. Thud! The three came crashing down in a spectacular configuration of arms and legs and a tail. Clem and Mio pulled up several paces away.
‘Oh, my God,’ said Bryce when he, too, rounded the corner, but he was not as nimble as the girls and he ploughed into Darcy, the man and the dog. The man’s hat tumbled to the ground.
The dog yelped, then scrambled up, its feet braced, lips curled in a snarl.
‘The Chin!’ cried Mio, taking in the plumed tail curving over the back and the profuse silky coat. She reached for the collar, but as she did so the man bellowed at her, ‘Stop! Leave ’im alone!’ He stumbled as he got to his feet, snatching up the dog lead at the same time and yelling at the kids to ‘Eff off!’
By now Darcy had also staggered to his feet but he was doubled over and gasping in such a way that it was obvious he’d been winded. Clem placed a reassuring arm across his shoulders, telling him to ‘Breathe deeply’.
Surprisingly, Bryce came off the best. Being at the top of the heap sure did help.
‘Where did you get that dog?’ demanded Mio. It was only then that she realised she had seen this man before. In the park. With the beagle. ‘Hey!’ she said when the man brushed past, scooping up his hat as he went. She strode after him and tried again. ‘This is a rare breed of dog. Where did you get him?’
Suddenly, the man stopped. He turned to Mio and jabbed her shoulder. ‘Clear off!’ he hollered and, with a tug of the lead, he and the dog strode away.
Clem called, ‘What about the beagle? Please tell us. It’s important.’
The man stepped down off the pavement. Clem followed. The man crossed the street. Clem followed. But as the man got to the row of tenements he stopped and Clem almost ran into him.
By now Darcy had recovered and he, Mio and Bryce ran back round the side of the building towards the road. What they saw turned their legs to jelly. They saw Clem close to the man. They saw him put his hand inside his
coat.
They saw a pointed flash of silver!
Chapter Sixteen
‘Aaaagh!’ Clem sprung back in terror. She staggered, her shoe catching on the uneven footpath, tripped, then screamed. There was another flash of silver. Using her hands to shield her face she cowered on the ground, aware that there was a sharp sting in the palm of one hand. Blood trickled down her wrist.
The man stood over her, his face contorted with rage.
‘Clem!’ shrieked Mio and she ran across the road.
Mio feigned a move to the left but swung back, kicking out with one foot, then the other. The man cried out in pain and dropped the knife. Mio twisted, only to land on her feet, then kicked the knife out of his reach. The man lunged for it, making the dog yelp as he stepped on its paw. Clem scuttled backwards, nursing her left hand. Her eyes stayed glued to the man.
Mio leapt sidewards, kicking the knife further away with one foot. The other connected with the man’s thigh. A third kick landed on his shin. It happened in a blink.
By now, Bryce and Darcy had joined the girls. Bryce had a rock and was taking aim. Darcy’s fists were raised for battle. Bryce lobbed the rock at the man. It whacked him on the shoulder and Bryce turned to look for another.
‘Bah!’ The man whirled and hobbled away, stopping only to pick up the knife as he dragged the chin behind him.
Bryce took a few steps to follow, then stopped at the thought of the knife.
The man disappeared around the corner.
Darcy pulled Clem to her feet, saying, ‘Let’s look at this hand.’ Clem winced as he inspected the wound. ‘Not too deep. Shouldn’t need stitches,’ said Darcy, but he turned to the others and asked, ‘Anyone got a hankie?’
Heads shook all round.
Darcy flicked off his shoe and pulled down his sock. He smiled at Clem. ‘This’ll have to do till we can get you cleaned up.’ With firm moves he bound the sock around Clem’s hand and secured it in a knot. Then he pulled her towards him and gave her an enormous hug, like when you greet someone at an airport.
