by J A Mawter
Before Clem could add any more Tong said, ‘Hello, Mio. Hello, Bryce. Happy to meet you. I Dang Van Tong. I tell you everything.’
And so, with a smattering of English and much gesturing, Tong explained that he had been watching them from the tenement roof, often creeping down to listen to their conversations.
‘I was right!’ said Mio, puffing with pride.
‘When you in van there much laughter. Much happy. Big happy.’ Tong lowered his eyes. His voice softened. ‘I like.’
‘Did you leave the flowers?’ asked Bryce.
‘Yes.’
‘And the turtle shell knot?’
‘Yes.’
‘And the crane?’
‘I want you like me.’
Clem hooked her hair behind her ears and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. It came away dripping so she wiped it on her shirt. ‘If you’re not a thief why’d you steal Sugar?’
Tong smiled but did not answer.
Bryce pointed. ‘Sugar. The dog. Why’d you steal her?’
‘Yes.’ Tong hung his head. ‘I take dog to help you.’
Darcy snorted. ‘Some help you turned out to be! We’ve been trying to catch these thieves.’
Tong rested his hands in his lap. His voice was gentle but firm. ‘Yes. Steal dogs.’
Clem stared intently at Tong and asked, ‘You know about the stolen dogs?’
‘Yes.’ Tong smiled and ran his fingers through his cropped black hair. It spiked upwards in a swathe across his head. ‘Little dog with…what word?’ He gestured to show them.
‘Floppy ears,’ said Mio.
Clem sat up straighter. ‘The beagle!’ Her knee jiggled with excitement. ‘What about the beagle?’
Tong watched Clem’s lips as she spoke, then tried out the word. ‘Bea-gle. I see man with beagle.’
Clem shivered. She couldn’t believe they were so close. ‘Where?’
‘In park and street.’
‘When?’
‘Last night.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
Clem’s tummy did a loop-the-loop. ‘She’s alive!’
‘What about the paper crane?’ asked Mio, her eyes narrowing. ‘You could not have written the message.’
‘Yes. Auntie Kim-Ly write for me.’
‘What’s the note mean?’ Clem recited from memory:
‘The Emperor and his hound,
will not be found,
where the strays no longer play.
‘We worked out most of it except for the Emperor.’
‘The Emperor is dog with tail.’ Tong drew a circle in the air. ‘From Japan. Uncle Hai tell me.’
‘The Chin!’ Clem’s eyes sparkled as she said, ‘The Chin and the beagle will not be found at the animal shelter.’
Mio nodded. ‘In Japan Chins are like royalty. They are the dogs of the Imperial Palace. They don’t even call them “inu” which means dogs.’
Mio stopped, surprised at herself. She had just called her people ‘they’ as if she no longer belonged. She felt a tinge of sadness then a warm glow. She was part of this new country now, and it felt good.
‘But how’d you know they’re no longer at the animal shelter?’ asked Darcy as he took Sugar from Clem. Sugar settled against his chest, her pink tongue lolling out as she panted. ‘How much do you know about the dog-stealing?’
‘Me on roof. I see men with dog. Many dog. Big one. Small one. Many.’
Clem leaned closer and asked, ‘You actually saw them stealing the dogs?’
Tong said, ‘Yes,’ but at the same time he shook his head. ‘I see men take dog for walk.’
Clem frowned. ‘I’m confused. How’d you know they’re stealing them, then?’
‘I tell you. I see man with beagle. I see you angry at him, Clem. I hear you say you find her. I wait outside your house. Follow you to train.’
Mio nodded. ‘We saw you. On the other side of the platform.’
‘Train stop. I jump down. Run over track. Get in last box.’
‘You mean carriage,’ corrected Mio, then she whistled. ‘So that’s how you disappeared.’
‘I follow you to dog home. Run fast. I good at hiding. I quiet. I shadow. You find nothing. But I do. I know where beagle live.’
‘In that equipment shed.’
‘You go to old man.’
‘Mr Lark.’
‘You come out. Mio leave. Clem, Darcy and Bryce go back to dog home. I follow. Man chase you. I make big mistake. You see me.’ He hung his head. ‘Big stupid.’
Clem laughed but inside she was thinking, This boy’s nice, very nice.
‘Next day I no come. English lesson.’ He grimaced, making Bryce laugh. ‘English no good.’
‘That’s when we found the beagle,’ explained Clem.
‘I leave flower.’ Tong gave a half-smile. ‘Vase bad one. Sorry. I find.’
‘But how do you know ikebana?’ asked Mio.
‘Japanese lady teach Auntie Kim-Ly, Uncle Hai. Many year ago.’ Tong dropped his gaze. He thought of his aunt and uncle, of the voyage they took. A perilous voyage in a leaky boat, attacked by pirates, then stranded and forgotten. Although he wasn’t born then their journey was engraved in his heart. His voice could barely be heard as he whispered, ‘In detention centre.’ To himself he added, ‘The centre with “Hành trinh tim tù dó” engraved on the exit gate…“Journey to Freedom”.’
‘Sorry.’ Clem wasn’t quite sure why but the word slipped from her mouth.
Bryce sang, ‘On the day the wall came down, they threw the locks onto the ground. And with glasses high we raised a cry, for freedom had arrived.’
Seconds ticked past.
Finally, Tong took up his tale again. ‘After flower I listen. You say you go to old man house. You on bike. I go back to roof. See many thing. Bad thing. You go big long time. I talk to Auntie. She write. I put crane in car.’
‘You mean in The Van,’ Bryce said, then asked, ‘But why the mystery? Why not just come up and tell us?’
Tong stared into the distance, searching for the correct words. ‘Me no sure. Maybe wrong.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘Maybe you think me big fat lie. Maybe bad man find crane, read message, no good.’
Mio crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing as she asked, ‘But how did you know that the dogs were gone?’
‘Yes.’ Tong played with the zip on his jacket. ‘I top of big building. See everything—man with chin, man with beagle. He open door of big house…’ Tong dropped the zipper and raised his arm to demonstrate, ‘…big one, very old. Go in.’
‘You mean the warehouse? With broken windows?’
‘Yes. Ware-house.’
Clem twisted to face Darcy, saying, ‘See? I told you that door’s important. They’re using the warehouse!’
Darcy ignored her but snapped his fingers as he remembered something. ‘That’s the day we chased you.’
‘Yes.’
‘And nearly caught you.’
‘Yes.’ Tong let his hands fall in his lap. This time he didn’t look down. ‘I see man come out warehouse with big dog. Like silver.’ He held his hand out to show how high.
‘The Weimaraner!’
‘Yes. Car drive up. Woman get out. Give money. Many money.’ Tong gestured handing over note after note. ‘Woman put dog in car. Drive away. I see many time.’
Clem waved her hands excitedly. ‘We were right! They’re stealing dogs and selling them.’ Her brow furrowed. ‘But what’s the pound got to do with it?’
No-one answered.
‘Must be a lot of money in it,’ said Mio. ‘That man nearly stabbed Clem.’
‘Man bad.’
Darcy found his voice. ‘We have to stop him. And all his friends.’
‘Phái. Yes.’
‘But how?’
Just then Sugar stepped out of Darcy’s lap and walked over to Tong. She sniffed his white trainers, then looked up, her tail wagging. Tong held out his hand, pal
m down. Again, Sugar sniffed and looked up. Tong’s hand hovered in the air. He made little clicking sounds with his tongue and waggled his fingers.
Clem watched the gentle way he talked to Sugar, the slow and soothing movements. She watched Sugar lick Tong’s outstretched hand over and over again. Clem thrust out her own hand. She rested it on Tong’s. She looked around the group, her eyes flashing, and in a strong voice she said, ‘Freewheelers.’
Tong flinched. He waited, head bowed, eyes lowered. But he did not remove his hand.
No-one moved. Tong shut his eyes. He was good at waiting.
Bryce was the first to break. He placed his hand on top of Clem’s, saying, ‘Freewheelers.’
Two more hands joined the pile.
‘Freewheelers.’
‘Freewheelers.’
‘Hành trình tìm t .’ The words hung in the air. A tear trickled down Tong’s cheek but he didn’t wipe it away. And then with a voice barely a whisper he added, ‘Freedom!’
Chapter Twenty
‘You’re all okay!’ cried Mr Lark when the kids arrived back at The Van. He patted Sugar, then one by one he gave them a hug, stopping when he got to Tong. He smiled but his eyes were wary. ‘And who might you be?’
Tong clasped his hands and gave a slight bow.
Mr Lark also clasped his hands, then bowed back, saying, ‘Chào em.’ [Hello, young man.]
The kids looked surprised but Tong didn’t. He kept his face neutral.
‘Chau Ong Lark.’ [Hello, Mr Lark.] ‘Râ’t hân hanh.’ [Nice to meet you.]
Mr Lark cleared his throat as he asked, ‘Tên cúa em là gì?’ [What is your name?]
‘Dang Van Tong.’
‘Em bao nhiêu tuô’i?’ [How old are you?]
‘Tôi muòi ba tuô’inmh.’ [I’m thirteen years old.]
‘Em nói tiê’ng Anh không?’ [Do you speak English?]
‘Tôi nói chút .’ [I speak a little.]
‘Em có hiê’u không?’ [Do you understand?]
‘Có.’ [Yes.]
Mr Lark smiled. ‘We will speak English then.’
‘What language is that?’ demanded Clem.
‘Vietnamese.’
‘Where’d you learn to speak Vietnamese?’
‘Vietnam. Where else?’
‘When?’
Mr Lark hesitated. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘A long time ago. Before you lot were born.’ A myriad of emotions flitted across his face, some happy, some sad and some that were impossible to read.
Darcy grabbed Clem’s shoulder and gave her a shake. ‘Enough!’ He turned to Tong and grinned. ‘Excuse my sister, Queen Busybody.’
Clem gave Darcy a shove. ‘Speak for yourself.’
The kids explained to Mr Lark about Tong and why he took Sugar.
Mr Lark nodded as he listened, saying the occasional ‘Good lad’ and ‘Very clever’. He patted Tong on the back then took Sugar from Clem’s clutches. ‘I’d better get young Sugar back to her owner or there’ll be all hell to pay. Then, I think I should call the police.’
Bryce went pale, except for two flushed spots on his cheeks. ‘No cops.’ He reached out and grabbed Mr Lark’s arm. ‘Please.’
‘Yes, please don’t, Mr Lark,’ begged Clem. ‘Not yet. We need more evidence first.’
‘Yes, wait.’
‘Please.’
‘What harm can it do?’
Mr Lark’s lips pressed together in a thin line. ‘It’s time they’re involved,’ he said. Absent-mindedly, he tickled Sugar under the chin and she melted into a doggie grin. Mr Lark gestured to the door of The Van. ‘The video and camera are inside. I’ll see you soon.’ He turned to Tong. ‘You too, Tong.’ Then he strode along the perimeter of the park. At the gate he stopped and yelled, ‘Now, don’t do anything stupid. Go home.’
‘Yes, Mr Lark,’ they chorused.
But no-one had any intention of going home.
‘What’ll we do now?’ asked Mio, when Mr Lark and Sugar were a speck in the distance.
‘Come up with a new plan,’ said Clem, stepping into The Van and plonking herself on a milk crate. The others followed, except for Tong. He hovered at the doorway and peeked inside.
‘We won’t bite.’ Bryce shuffled to the edge of his milk crate. ‘Here, share with me.’
‘We’ve got your hat by the way,’ said Clem.
Mio opened the suitcase, adding, ‘And your vest,’ as she handed them to Tong.
Tong slipped on the vest, then jammed on his hat. ‘Make Auntie Kim-Ly very happy.’
Clem laughed and wriggled to get comfortable. ‘Tong? You say you saw a woman take the big silver dog after paying lots of money?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you see the beagle get sold?’
Tong shook his head.
‘Phew!’
Mio leaned forward to ask, ‘What about the Chin?’
‘No.’
‘Thanks to the kami. Shinto gods,’ she added.
‘So, they could still be in the warehouse?’ Clem leapt to her feet. ’Let’s go.’
Darcy rolled his eyes, saying, ‘Hang on, Clem. What do you think you’re going to do? Knock on the door and ask for the dogs? As if the man will hand them over!’
‘They might have many dogs in the warehouse that we need to free,’ said Mio.
Clem shook with frustration. ‘We’ve got to get into the warehouse somehow. And we’ve got to do it now!’
‘Not without a plan.’ Darcy prodded at the suitcase with his foot, deep in thought.
‘We could try climbing through a window,’ suggested Mio.
‘Nah. Too high up.’
‘What about trying to break down the door?’ asked Clem.
‘Are you serious?’ Bryce laughed. ‘Number one, we’re not strong enough, number two, we’ve got to take the thieves by surprise, and number three, it’s vandalism and there’s no way I’m going there again.’
‘Well, how are we going to rescue the dogs, then? And how are we going to convince the police that there’s a dog-stealing ring?’
Tong bowed his head and looked at the ground. ‘Watch from roof. Take picture.’ He demonstrated by holding a camera to his eye.
Mio reached for the video which was resting on the suitcase, saying, ‘I could film it.’
Clem’s eyes lit up. ‘That’d work.’
Darcy started tapping on the suitcase and said, ‘Trouble is, we might be waiting up there for a very long time. I don’t want to come down off that roof with white hair, a beard and a moustache.’
Bryce pulled out his key-ring and jiggled it.
‘We need to hurry things along,’ said Darcy.
‘But how?’ asked Clem.
‘Yes, how?’ said Mio.
Clem scowled. Mio frowned. Darcy tapped.
But Bryce stopped jiggling. He peered at the key-ring deep in thought, then closed his eyes. A slight shudder went through his body and his lips moved as if in silent prayer.
‘There must be a way,’ cried Clem.
Bryce opened his eyes, cleared his throat and said quietly, ‘There is.’ All eyes were on him. Carefully he reached for a metal tube dangling from the key-ring and slowly unscrewed the top. Then he upended the contents into his hand and held them out for everyone to see.
‘What are they?’ asked Mio, squinting in the dim light of The Van.
Darcy reached out to pick one up but Bryce pulled back, saying, ‘Not so fast, buddy.’
Clem had a bemused look on her face. ‘They aren’t what I think they are, are they?’
‘Depends.’ Bryce took his time before continuing. ‘What d’you think they are?’
‘Are they some sort of tools for picking a lock?’
‘They might be.’
Clem inspected the assortment of tools in different shapes and sizes. Bryce pointed to one with a long handle and a thin bridge, with a tip on the end. ‘This is what you call a pick with a half diamond tip.’ He put it down and
picked up another. ‘And this is a torque wrench. Not too springy, but strong.’ He pointed to the head. ‘With a 90-degree twist.’
‘But why do you have them?’ asked Mio.
Darcy laughed and said, ‘Can’t you guess? Part of Bryce’s dim, dark past.’
Bryce snapped at him, ‘You want me to break in, or don’t you?’
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Mio stared intently into his eyes. ‘We don’t want you getting into more trouble.’
‘Yes,’ said Clem. ‘What if you’re caught?’
‘And what about your dad?’
‘And what about what the judge said? He said one more thing and you’ll be locked up for sure.’
Bryce twisted the handle of the torque wrench in his fingers and sighed. It was a long, deep sigh that seemed to last forever. Finally he said, ‘We need to rescue the dogs. End of argument.’ Then under his breath he sang, ‘Quietly turning the backdoor key. Stepping outside he is free.’
Tong, who had been listening, clasped his hands and bowed. ‘You good person, Bryce. Very good.’
Bryce gave a wan smile. ‘Let’s hope Dad and the judge agree.’
‘So, how do they work?’ asked Mio.
‘Basically, all I have to do is set the pins inside the lock, rotate the plug, and she opens. Simple.’
‘Great!’ Darcy gave Bryce an affectionate poke in the ribs. ‘Where’d we be without you?’
Clem gave a wicked cackle as she leaned forward, rubbing her hands together. ‘Right!’ she said. ‘This is the plan…’
Chapter Twenty-One
Clem ran through the checklist of her rescue plan. ‘Bryce?’
‘Pick the lock and open the door.’
‘Darcy?’
‘Camera man.’ He turned to Bryce and held up the camera, asking, ‘Has this thing got a flash?’
‘Sure.’ Bryce leaned over and pointed. ‘Press this button here. It’ll flash automatically. And don’t forget the rapid shot function. Hold down the motor drive to take the fast frames. I’ll show you.’ Suddenly, The Van flooded with light as the camera rapidly clicked.
‘Cool.’
‘Mio?’
‘Roof surveillance with video. Lucky it’s summer or we wouldn’t see a thing. Tong’s going to show me how he gets to the best spot.’ Mio looked at her watch then cried, ‘Oh, no! It’s late. When Mum rings I won’t be at my desk. Boy, will I be in trouble!’
