‘Worry not, daughter dear,’ replied Granny Pam. ‘I have the PERFECT disguise for this evening’s pursuit …’
Chapter 10
While Granny Pam disappeared into the loo to change, Charlie took the opportunity to share her plan for the evening.
‘It sounds as if it could be dangerous tonight, so I want us all to work in pairs for safety and so that no one gets lost. Mum, you take Granny Pam. Harry and Larry, you two had best stay together. Joe, you come with me and Boris. We’ll look at the horses to see if we can find Noddy. Mum, you look for the cattle truck, and you two,’ she looked from Harry to Larry, ‘you might be needed to cause a distraction.’
Larry had finished his second pizza and was getting bored. He slid down to reach under the table and kicked Harry on the ankle. Harry tried to grab his foot and the table rocked.
‘Seriously?!’ Charlie said furiously. ‘Would you two just knock it off for one minute. If you want to help – and I mean really help – it would be a good idea to just grow up a bit!’
‘Ooh!’ Harry put on a voice. ‘Hark at our little sister telling us what to do. Yes, miss, of course, miss, anything you want, miss.’
Charlie felt tears start to prick the surface of her eyes. She was trying so hard not to let her anger get the better of her, but taking on her brothers was exhausting.
‘OW!’ Harry’s head bent to one side and his hand shot up to his ear. ‘Arghh, get off!’
Granny Pam had returned from the loo transformed. Her hair was now flowing over her shoulders and she had a purple headscarf worn as a bandana round her forehead and tied so that the ends fell down her back. She had on a long skirt, black boots and a pale blue off-the-shoulder top. The sleeves were wide and, when she moved, the material billowed softly around her. She was pinching Harry’s ear and twisting it.
‘Granny, let go! That hurts!’
‘Pull yourself together, boy. If you can’t behave, we’ll leave you and your useless brother here for the night. You can help WASH UP in the kitchen.’
‘All right, all right!’ Harry winced with pain. ‘We’ll be good. I promise!’
Granny Pam released her grip and leaned forward.
‘You’d BETTER keep that promise or, believe me, you won’t have an ear to hear me with.’
Charlie looked from Harry, his eyes wide with fear, to Granny Pam, who winked at her.
‘I know you believe in patience and teamwork,’ Granny Pam whispered conspiratorially, ‘but sometimes, with boys, a bit of brute force is the only way.’
The waitress came to clear their table and looked sideways at Granny Pam in confusion. She hesitated. Some of the dirty plates were next to Boris, who was sitting on the bench alongside Charlie. Granny Pam beamed.
‘Don’t be scared,’ said Granny Pam. ‘That other woman – the one in the RIDICULOUS cape – she makes things up. This is the kindest dog in the world. Give him a pat. He won’t bite you!’
The waitress reached out and briefly ruffled the smooth hair on top of Boris’s head.
‘I’m sure ’e’s very nice,’ she said and looked back to Granny Pam. ‘But could you tell the other lady that she’s left ’er cape and ’er ’at in the ladies’ loo? Thanks.’
She cleared the rest of the plates and, as she carried them back to the kitchen, Caroline left enough money to cover the bill plus a large tip. The waitress deserved it for the information she had given them.
The Basses left the restaurant as quickly as they could, apart from Granny Pam, who stopped off at every table to chat to people.
‘The pepperoni pizza is very good,’ Charlie heard her comment to one family. ‘I’d recommend the spaghetti bolognese,’ she suggested to another.
‘Make sure you talk to each other and don’t spend all evening staring at THOSE,’ she said loudly to a couple who were both checking their mobile phones. ‘It’s the quickest way to ruin a relationship.’
‘Granny!’ hissed Charlie, hustling her towards the door. ‘Come on, we’ve got to go.’
‘Probably worth popping into that sports shop,’ said Granny Pam, pointing. ‘You boys should get yourself a pair of those Essex Eagles baseball caps. They’ll help you BLEND IN.’
‘You know what, Mother?’ said Caroline. ‘Sometimes – just sometimes – you do have some sensible ideas.’ Caroline beckoned to the boys and led them across the car park.
‘You’ve been very quiet, Joe,’ said Charlie. ‘Are you OK?’
‘I’m just thinking,’ he said, twisting his fingers anxiously. ‘If we do find Noddy, how will we get him home? The cattle truck is no good in the dark and he won’t fit in here.’
He gestured to the car, which was big enough for the six of them and Boris, but clearly wouldn’t take a fully grown horse.
‘I know,’ replied Charlie. ‘I’ve been worrying about that too. But first we’ve got to find him and stop the kidnappers running him on the road. We’ll work out the next move when we have to.’
The boys returned with their baseball caps pulled low over their heads. Harry had squeezed the peak of his cap so that it folded in the middle and didn’t look brand-new. Larry had jumped up and down on his, just to make sure.
Caroline drove them out of the shopping centre and back on to the dual carriageway. She followed the A13 until they reached the turn for Corringham. The sun was dipping in the sky behind them and the clouds were turning pale pink.
‘The field is off to the right over there,’ said Larry, staring at the map on his iPad. ‘Looks like you have to turn off the main road here on the left and then double back on yourself. Straight over those traffic lights and down that lane.’
Caroline drove slowly down the single-track road bordered by fields filled with short yellow wheat stubble. About a mile down the road there was a turning with a sign saying No Public Right of Way. The metal gate that had acted as a barrier was swinging open, the chain that had kept it locked dangling down.
Granny Pam opened her window. She stuck her head out and listened.
‘I can hear people shouting. Sounds like a big crowd. And I’m sure I heard a horse whinnying.’
‘Mum.’ Charlie’s voice was urgent. ‘Keep driving. We need to park the car somewhere out of sight. We’ll be better off walking the rest of the way. We mustn’t do anything to draw attention to ourselves. If the kidnappers recognize us, who knows what they might do!’
Caroline drove on for half a mile until they came to a farm and parked behind a hedge opposite the drive. Everyone in the car fell silent. Charlie felt a fluttering in her stomach. It was like the sensation she’d had before the Derby, but then she’d had a clear plan, worked out well in advance. This time they were improvising, and Charlie didn’t like it.
‘BUTTERFLIES!’ exclaimed Granny Pam suddenly, turning round from the passenger seat to look at all of them. ‘It’s just a sign of adrenalin. I used to get them all the time right before I went on stage. I’d have worried if I hadn’t felt like that. You have to use it. Harness the energy and the awareness they create. Be alert, be sharp and look out for each other.’
‘Remember to stay in your pairs,’ Charlie said. ‘Joe and I will look for Noddy. Mum and Granny Pam, you’re trying to find the cattle truck, in case we need a quick getaway. Harry and Larry, you see if you can blend in and pick up any information that might help us.’
But, while Charlie had chosen the quiet, gentle approach, Granny Pam was clearly ready for all-out war.
‘We have a horse to find and a pair of mean-spirited men to bring down. Are we READY?’ Granny Pam delivered her rousing call as if standing on stage. The car resounded with her voice.
‘I said, ARE WE READY?’
Charlie and her brothers nodded. Joe nodded. Caroline in the driver’s seat nodded. Even Boris joined in.
‘READY!’ they shouted as one.
They split into their pairs and made their way across the field. Charlie was thinking about all the things that might happen. What if they found Noddy too lat
e and he’d already been injured? What if the kidnappers found them and kidnapped the family too? What if they were in the wrong place entirely?
‘My head is so full that it’s starting to hurt,’ she confided to Joe.
‘Try not to think too much,’ he replied. ‘I know it’s difficult, but see if you can feel your feet, listen to the sound of the stubble as you walk through it, sense the wind, look at the sky changing colour. I do it when I’m nervous before a race and it makes me calmer.’
Charlie walked on in silence, trying to follow Joe’s advice. She wiggled her toes and became aware of her legs and her arms. She listened to the crunch of her footsteps landing on the shaven wheat stalks and she felt the temperature start to drop as the sun was setting. As they got closer, she could smell burning and noticed the plume of smoke coming from a large bonfire. She could hear music and the whoops of people dancing.
People were gathered round the fire, some of them chatting, some eating, some holding hands. Children with bare feet and grubby faces were running around. One section of the crowd was watching a man with no shirt on. His head was shorn, but his grey beard gave away his age. He had a heavy metal chain looped around his body and was wiggling and writhing, trying to free himself. Another man was looking at a watch and counting down.
‘Come on, Johnny, you can do it!’ shouted a younger man in jeans and a T-shirt.
‘Thirty seconds left,’ said the man with the watch.
Johnny bent his right shoulder towards his chest and the chain moved. He gritted his teeth and flinched as his shoulder came closer to his chin and clicked. The chain slipped over his shoulder and his arm was free. He flinched again as he moved his shoulder back and it clicked into place. Then he used his free hand to pull the chain down until he stood with it at his feet. He raised his arms above his head and grinned. There was a huge cheer from the crowd.
‘No one keeps Johnny in chains!’ he cried.
‘Success, ladies and gents, with ten seconds to spare. Pay up,’ said the man with the watch.
‘Told you he’d do it.’ The younger man who had been cheering on Johnny turned to the man next to him. ‘He’s over sixty and still stronger than anyone else here. That’s fifty quid you owe me.’
Charlie glanced at Joe and urged him with her eyes to shadow her as she moved closer to the group. Boris was at her heels and, when she stopped, he sniffed the air. Then he growled. He was looking at the man who had lost the bet.
‘Joe, it’s him!’ Charlie gasped. ‘The whispering man from the Open Day! We’re in the right place. Noddy must be here too!’
Charlie’s heart was thumping so hard she was worried the whispering man would hear it from where he was standing. Adrenalin coursed through her veins, banishing fear and making her feel exhilarated.
The whispering man looked up and turned his head towards them. As he did so, Charlie grabbed Joe’s arm and whirled him round as if they were dancing.
‘Quick!’ she said. ‘Keep moving. We’ve got to find Noddy before that man sees us.’
Just beyond the bonfire, a group of women were laughing. They were wearing exactly the sort of brightly coloured clothes that Granny Pam had put on. A couple of dogs that looked like greyhounds with long hair roamed around them, sniffing the ground and picking up scraps of food. One of them lifted his head and looked at Boris, who leaned into Charlie’s leg for protection.
‘It’s OK, fella. He won’t eat you.’ Charlie reached down to reassure Boris and, sure enough, the dog walked past, ignoring him.
‘Where are they keeping all the horses?’ Charlie muttered to herself. ‘They must be close.’
The women were laughing even louder now. One of them had her back to Charlie, but was clearly telling them a funny story. The ends of a purple scarf trailed down past her shoulders and her voice was heavily accented. Boris darted forward, wagging his tail.
‘Boris, don’t!’ hissed Charlie, but it was too late. Boris ran to the woman and jumped up at her skirt.
‘Oh, vot a SVEET little dog!’ the woman said, as she turned towards Charlie. ‘Ees it yars?’
Charlie tried to keep the shock off her face. Granny Pam was staring straight at her, behaving as if she’d never met Charlie in her life!
‘I vas just telling a little story about my little pooch who ate ALL za money I von at zee last King ov za Road!’ Granny Pam turned back towards her new friends. ‘Vot time vill the racing begin today?’ she asked.
‘As soon as the sun goes below the horizon,’ said the woman closest to Granny Pam. ‘They’re getting the horses ready for the knockout stage soon and then they’ll head up to the dual carriageway.’
‘Not long zen. Not long at all.’ Granny Pam looked at Charlie again. ‘You had better take your SVEET little dog to see za horses. Ver are zey?’
The woman pointed to the next field. Charlie and Joe hurried towards a small gap in the hedge that stood between them.
‘What’s Granny Pam doing?’ said Charlie. ‘She’s supposed to be looking for the cattle truck with Mum!’
Joe grinned. ‘She’s doing what she does best,’ he replied. ‘Making sure she’s the centre of attention! And it worked, didn’t it? Now we know where we’re going.’
Ducking through the gap in the hedge, Charlie and Joe found a very different scene. There were no groups of laughing people here, no sideshows or food or music. The field was full of horses tethered to posts so that they could move in a circle but not stray any further. One skewbald horse with long hair on the bottoms of its legs was pawing at the ground. It looked hungry.
About twelve small contraptions with wheels were lined up on the far side of the field. A man was harnessing a horse to one of them. Long white bars went on either side of the horse and were attached by a strap across its chest. There were long reins on the horse’s bridle that passed back to the seat of the carriage, which was like a tiny little chariot, with a low-slung seat for the driver.
‘Charlie, look!’ Joe pointed towards the hedge where there were a few vehicles parked. Right in the middle was a familiar grey-and-blue shape. ‘It’s the cattle truck!’
Suddenly from inside the truck came the most almighty bang. Then another, and another. A man jumped out of the front and banged a stick on the side.
‘Shut up, I told you!’ he shouted, banging the stick louder. ‘I’ll come in there and hit you with this if you don’t stop kicking, you stupid horse.’
The man was clearly angry, but all the time he was grinning as if someone had just told him a joke.
‘It’s the other man who came to the Open Day,’ murmured Joe. ‘Noddy must still be in the truck.’
Charlie felt her heart leap. ‘We’ve found him!’
Chapter 11
Charlie wanted to punch the grinning man right in his toothy mouth. She felt more anger and aggression than at any time in her life. How dare he and that stupid, whispering creep take her horse? How dare they separate him from Percy and steal their cattle truck? How dare they put her friend Polly in hospital with serious injuries?
Charlie’s eyes were blazing and, when she looked down at her hands, she saw they were balled into fists. She was ready for a fight. She could see Joe’s lips moving, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. The blood was throbbing so much in her ears that nothing was getting through.
Joe put his hand on Charlie’s arm and she jumped as if he’d burned her.
He stood in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Listen to me, Charlie! We can’t take them on in a fight. We won’t win.’
Charlie took a deep breath.
‘You’re right, Joe. I know you’re right. Let’s find the others and work out what we can do.’
As they turned to go back, though, Caroline popped her head through the gap in the hedge.
‘What’s happening?’ she asked. ‘Have you found him?’
‘Mum, he’s in the truck.’ Charlie gestured towards the cattle truck. ‘He’s scared and the horrible, grinning m
an who was at the Open Day keeps bashing the side and that’s making Noddy even more frantic. We’ve got to get him out!’
The banging from the cattle truck started again and, as they looked towards the noise, the whispering man joined his grinning friend.
Suddenly Boris started wagging his tail and jumping up at Charlie’s side. He ran towards the hedge and back again. Through the gap came Harry and Larry. Harry’s right eye was swollen and he had blood coming from his nose. He held his left hand up to his face and limped towards them. Larry was helping him.
‘What have you been up to now?’ exclaimed Caroline. ‘Larry, how could you do this to your brother?’
‘It wasn’t me!’ Larry looked horrified. ‘Some boys by the bonfire started picking on me, and Harry jumped in to defend me. They held him down. I couldn’t do anything about it.’
Harry tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn’t open properly. Caroline pulled out a tissue and started cleaning his face. Harry winced.
‘Keep still!’ said Caroline, as she kept dabbing his nose, his cheek and his top lip. ‘We need to get you some ice for your eye. It’s closing up.’
‘That waitress was right when she said it was a rough crowd,’ said Joe. ‘We need to be careful here.’
Seeing Harry hurt reminded Charlie of Polly, lying in a hospital bed, not knowing whether she would ever walk again. But she knew she must think logically and calmly. Pure rage wouldn’t get her anywhere.
‘Did you see a list of names for the races?’ Charlie asked.
‘Yeah,’ answered Larry. ‘I saw them chalked up on a betting board. There are ten horses to begin with and they go head-to-head to decide which ones go into the final race. I guess they have to narrow it down because it’s not safe to gallop ten horses on the road.’
‘They’re going to gallop these horses on a tarmac dual carriageway and they might not even stop the traffic to do it,’ said Charlie passionately. ‘I don’t think they care about safety.’
The Racehorse Who Disappeared Page 8
