“Inspector,” called an officer, “I think I have found something.”
The inspector pushed his way carefully over to where his colleague was standing looking at a small, shiny tin lid. “That’s not been here long. It’s too clean.”
With gloved hands, the inspector picked it up carefully by the rim. He smelt it. “That’s some sort of accelerant, alright. Should be able to trace this… Call the dog handler. There is a possibility that we can find out which way our suspect went.”
The dog was given a sniff of the lid. Then he snuffled at the ground and began moving deeper into the trees. He found the rest of the container and then, urged on, he began tugging his handler over towards the path through the wood that Jalli sometimes took on her way to her college.
“They definitely went or came from this way, sir,” he called. They ran after the dog who led them to the gate that led into the krallen field. After the gate, the dog left the path and went diagonally across the field, scattering the krallens who were moving towards the college to be milked.
“Oi!” shouted the stockhandler. “Get that dog out of the field.”
“Sorry,” said the officer loudly. “Police.” He charged through the unhappy animals and continued on towards the far corner by the road. Breathing deeply, the inspector approached the stockhandler.
“Sorry about that. Did you see anything last night? After the fire started in that cottage?”
“No. I wasn’t here. I was at home. I don’t live here. That’s Jalli’s place, isn’t it? Jalli Smith?”
“I believe so,” replied the policeman. “Do you know her?”
“Yes. She works here in the college. Has done for years. What happened?”
“That’s what we aim to find out. Can I have your name?”
“Lumg Yulli… I wasn’t here, officer.”
“So you said.”
The dog handler called out. “Must have got into a car or something here. The trail has gone cold.”
“Wait for me. Don’t trample the area,” shouted the inspector. But the dog handler was well aware of the possibility of learning a lot from the site of the suspect’s disappearance. The inspector summoned his forensic team.
13
At the hospital, Kakko and Bandi had left Matilda to rest and had returned to their father and mother. Jack was awake with a sleeping Jalli on his shoulder. Abby joined them, too. Yeka was getting fidgety. A good sign, thought Kakko. She picked her up.
“Want to go home…” Yeka whimpered.
“I know. But we can’t just yet. I know, it’s hard to be patient but we just have to be. Tell you what, let’s go down to see if the café is open… Dad, what are we going to do when they let us go?”
“When your mum wakes up we’ll arrange a hotel or something. That would solve the problem for a couple of days while we assess the extent of the damage.”
Bandi took an empty chair beside Abby and reached for her hand.
“You OK?”
“Yeah. It’s all so sad.”
“Where’s Shaun?”
“Said he was going out for some air. Must have been an hour ago.”
“Apparently they brought Wennai here to the hospital. They treated her for shock. She arrived at the house to find it ablaze…”
“I’ll go and look for him,” said Abby, glad to have something to do.
She found Shaun in a little garden outside the front of the hospital. He was sitting quite still watching the traffic.
“You OK, Shaun?”
Shaun nodded.
“You want to talk?”
“Not really.”
“Bandi heard they brought Wennai to the hospital. She came looking for you at the cottage and saw the fire. They reckon Hatta brought her in after she fainted.”
“I’ll text her.” Shaun pulled himself up. His leg was painful but it wasn’t just that that was hurting. The horrific events of the night had knocked away some of the fragile props he had been trying to build. He felt somehow even more diminished. Abby instinctively caught hold of his arm to help him up.
“Let me help.”
“No. I’ll be fine.” Shaun shrugged her off.
Abby persisted. “Can I get you anything?”
“I said, I’ll be fine,” snapped Shaun. “You go back to Mum and Dad.” He turned away and limped off.
Back inside, Abby explained that she had found Shaun. “He’s not great.”
“All this has opened up his wounds – and I don’t just mean his leg,” said Kakko, thoughtfully.
“I know. Sounds as if he and Wennai need each other.”
“They’ve been special to each other for ages. It’s about time they admitted it,” said Kakko, frankly.
Half an hour later, Shaun clumped into the room the family were using, with Wennai on his arm. He seemed a little more himself. Jalli was still sitting with her eyes closed.
“How damaged is the house?” Shaun asked. “It looked pretty bad to me when we left. It was still on fire.”
“Hatta says it’s quite bad. And it’s also a crime scene,” explained his father.
“A crime scene!”
Jack began to explain but before he had got very far, an imposing-looking man came to the door accompanied by a nurse.
“This is Inspector Dollod,” said the nurse. “Mr Smitt, I said it was alright for him to talk to you for a few moments… Inspector, Mrs Smitt is still in shock. Please try not to stress her any further.”
“I will do my best,” smiled the plain-clothes detective. He described what they had found in the wood. “Have your family any enemies?” he asked. “Has anyone threatened to do this?”
“No. No-one. That’s what’s so horrifying,” said Jack. “We had no idea anyone would want to do this to us… Who would hate us so much they would want to kill us?”
Jalli began to stir. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Jack introduced her.
“Sorry, Inspector, I must look a sight,” apologised Jalli.
“No, I’m sorry. I don’t wish to disturb you but… You know that we believe this was deliberate?” Jalli nodded. “We have followed the suspect to the gate of the agricultural college. He escaped through the wood and across the field. We think he had a vehicle parked up there. We are pretty sure it was a male from the size of the footprints. Have you any idea who this might be?”
“No. N-none at all. I-I can’t imagine…” stammered Jalli.
“We have some good leads,” assured the detective. “I’ll be in touch. Let me know if you leave the hospital.”
“We will,” said Jack, taking Jalli into his arms.
“Big man!” said Yeka after the policeman had gone. “Mummy, can we go home now?”
“Not yet, Yeka. Sorry.”
“Come on, Yeka,” said Abby. “Let’s go to the café. Get you an ice cream.”
Yeka took her hand and pulled. Abby smiled.
“I don’t think there is much wrong with you, little lady… Come on, Bandi, come with us.”
As they walked along the corridor, Yeka swinging on Abby’s arm, Abby told Bandi that she was really worried about Shaun.
“I know he’s been through a lot but, the thing is, he’s barely said a word to anyone since we got out of the cottage. Everyone’s fussed over Yeka and your nan, and Kakko and you for rescuing them. They’re treating your mum for shock but Shaun’s been so quiet that everyone’s just ignored him. I tried to talk to him but he didn’t want a conversation.”
Bandi spotted Kakko pursuing them down the corridor. They stopped and waited for her.
“I need an ice cream, too…” Kakko could see they had been in earnest conversation. “Sorry to interrupt… You talking about me?”
“No. Shaun. We’re a bit worried about him.”
Kakko sighed. “Look, I have to tell you this. Shaun doesn’t want anyone to talk about it but...” she hestitated, then resolved to continue. “What you don’t know,” said Kakko gently, “is that he, and we all, thought he was goi
ng to die on that last adventure. If a man with a gun ready to shoot him hadn’t been taken out by someone else the second he was about to pull the trigger, he would have been, and that… that,” stammered Kakko, “that takes some coming to terms with… Look, no-one else knows… right. I shouldn’t have told you really but I can’t not say anything forever. He doesn’t want anyone to know – especially Mum and Dad. He was doing kind of fine considering… We all were… But I’m scared that all this has set us back… The thing is, it feels like…” Kakko stopped as she tried to find the right words. “It’s as if the floor under you has suddenly become risky to walk on – like you’re walking on thin ice that could give way at any time. There is no longer any solid ground. Life, everything is… is so… so fragile… The fact is, we could all lose one another so easily… Poof! And we’re going to the next world – or the ones you love are without you, which is worse…” Kakko tailed off.
Abby put her free hand around Kakko as tears streamed down both their faces.
“Sorry, Kakko. I had no idea it was as bad as that.”
“Of course not. Look, I’m glad you know. Sometimes it’s better to get it out there… But we can’t tell Dad and Mum, and especially Nan… not yet and, after this, not for a long time… Come on, Yeka, let’s get that ice cream.”
“Why are you crying, Kakko?” asked Yeka.
“Oh, I want to go home like you, and we can’t… You see, Yeka, there’s been a big fire and they’ve got to mend the house before we can go home… and that will take a long, long time… What sort of ice cream would you like?”
“Strawberry. Shaun likes strawberry… Shaun’s very sad, too.”
“I know… I know what; after we’ve finished ours, why don’t you take him an ice cream and go and cuddle him while he eats it… Cheer him up.”
“Yes. Shaun’s my friend.”
“We’re all your friends, Yeka.”
“Yes. But I don’t like it when Shaun goes away.”
“I know. But with his broken leg he can’t go far for the moment… I think you are his special friend, too.”
“Only sometimes. He likes Wennai best.”
“I don’t think Wennai is going to take him away from you, though.”
“Can I have some chocolate in my ice cream?”
“Why not? If they have any.”
But it was too early for the café. They had a half-hour’s wait but Kakko daren’t take Yeka back without her ice cream. She proposed a walk.
“Come on, let’s explore,” she said as enthusiastically as possible.
Yeka pouted but she could see there was no-one to serve them ice cream, so she just folded her arms, lowered her head and said nothing.
“I think,” said Abby, “I saw a play area back down that corridor. Let’s start exploring there.”
Kakko’s phone bleeped a text message. It was Tam, who had turned on his phone to find Kakko’s midnight message. It simply read: Where r u? U OK? Call me. Tam xxx.
Kakko sat in the play area with Yeka, Bandi and Abby. The toys weren’t very exciting but Yeka was making the most of them. Kakko called Tam.
“Hey, Kakko,” he replied. “Great to hear you. I’ve just seen the devastation. You all OK? Where are you?”
“We’re all fine. We’re at the hospital. Nan’s a bit shook up. We had to drag her out. She was unconscious. She’s all black and blue but she’ll live. They want to keep Yeka a bit longer… We all breathed rather a lot of horrid smoke.”
“What happened?”
“The roof caught light. The police say it was deliberate.”
“No way?”
“Straight up. Somebody lit something and chucked it onto the roof from the woods.”
“Who would do that?”
“Search me.”
“Look, I’m coming down to the hospital. I’ll get the next bus.”
“No, don’t do that, Tam. We’re OK, honest. There isn’t much room and the nurses are getting worked up about all the coming and going anyway. Hatta and Callan came… and the police. The doctor wants Mum to rest. I’ll be back in touch. I must stick around for Yeka… She’s fine. Just impatient… No, I don’t blame her… Yeka, do you want to talk to Tam?” Kakko gave Yeka the phone. She pulled a face but nevertheless said, “Hello, Tam… Yes… No, she’s just real dirty and her hair is sticking out. She smells horrid… Oh, no, I don’t – the nurses washed me after the doctor came… I will, I’ll tell her… Tam says you can go to his house for a shower if you like… Wait, no, his mum says, ‘make that a bath’…”
“Give me the phone, Yeka. Tam, it’s really not that bad…”
“It is,” shouted Yeka.
“No, I agree,” said Kakko down the phone. “I don’t think there is anything much wrong with her either.” Kakko pulled a face at her little sister. “The café’s opening and I promised her something sweet. I’d better go… I’ll call when I know more. Bye… Yeka, you didn’t have to tell him all those things.”
“I did. He asked me what you looked like…”
At least, thought Kakko, he’s not going to get a shock when he sees me… Oh, I better ring Prof Rob and tell him I won’t be in…
***
Inspector Dollod drove into the agricultural college car park. The area around the entrance to the drive, some one hundred metres from the college, was still taped off. Getting out of the car, he asked a student where he might find the principal. He was directed to the reception where he introduced himself, and was taken up to Mrs Trenz’s office on the first floor.
“Inspector Dollod,” said the principal, “what can I do for you?”
The inspector explained he had come in relation to the fire at White Gates Cottage. “Have you any idea who might have done such a thing to your neighbours?” he asked.
“This is a shocking thing,” said Mrs Trenz. “Jalli has been working here ever since they moved into the cottage.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Well over twenty years – nearer thirty, I think. Do you want me to look it up?”
“No. Not just now. Perhaps later. Where did they move from?”
“Oh. Another planet. Or planets. You know about the portals?”
Inspector Dollod obviously didn’t, so Mrs Trenz went on to explain about the white gates to the astonished inspector.
“That’s why it’s called White Gates Cottage, when all you can see is one gate.”
“I had no idea that people settled here from other parts of the universe through portals.”
“They don’t go round advertising it, Inspector – but neither do they keep it a secret.”
Inspector Dollod made a note in his book, then returned to his next question.
“We know that the perpetrator escaped through the wood and then crossed the field, diagonally, to the field gate beside your entrance drive. This is an unusual thing to do in the middle of a very dark night, wouldn’t you think? I believe you have a krallen bull in the field.”
“Are you suggesting that it was one of my staff, Inspector? I would be most surprised – very surprised indeed – if this fire was started by any employee here. Apart from the fact that it is not something I think any of them would ever contemplate, Jalli Smith is a very popular colleague.”
“The perpetrator stood around for a bit – probably watching the fire from the top of the field – just before he got to the corner and climbed over the barbed wire fence next to the post. We think he was familiar with the layout. I would like to interview all members of the college staff and, of course, I would have to include you in that.”
“Inspector Dollod, you don’t mean to imply—?”
“I’m not implying anything, Mrs Trenz, just looking for clues and eliminating possibilities.”
“I want to see who did this caught as much as you do, Inspector. You have my permission.”
***
A team of detectives set up in the principal’s outer office and the adjoining staff rooms. The staff were call
ed in in turn and asked about their whereabouts the previous evening. They were each asked to provide alibis. When they got to Lumg Yulli, Inspector Dollod was aware the man had a police record. He also knew the man looked after the stock in the field and would be completely familiar with the lay of the land.
“This morning, Mr Yulli, you said you were not here when the fire started. Where were you?”
“I was at home.”
“Who else was there?”
“Last night? No-one. My wife and daughter had gone to see my mother-in-law. They won’t be back until this afternoon.”
“Who can verify you were at home, Mr Yulli?”
“I don’t know. We live in the country. Mr Ted at the end of the lane might have seen me drive up. His van was gone this morning, though. He starts early.”
“Not a very good alibi, Mr Yulli.”
“I tell you, I was at home. You can’t think I would do that to Jalli Smith? I owe my job to her. She stuck up for me… said I should be given a second chance. Apparently that man, Salma, said some horrible things to her – but she stood up for me.”
“Tell me more,” said the inspector.
Lumg Yulli explained that Salma had left the college shortly before he came but others had told him how Jalli had won the day. He didn’t know all the details.
“One thing more, Mr Yulli… If I were crossing a field of krallens in the middle of a dark night, how would they behave?”
“These? Oh, these are pretty docile. They wouldn’t hurt you unless they felt threatened. The bull was in there last night, though. He wouldn’t have stood for any nonsense. If it had been someone, like yourself, who was not known to them, they might have been spooked – unless you know your way around krallens.”
“But if that person was familiar to them?”
“Oh, no problem. They know the people who come and go through the field. If you weren’t a stranger they wouldn’t even get up unless they thought you had come with food… or the vet. And that’s not usual at night.”
“So a familiar person could walk through without being bothered?”
The Spark (White Gates Adventures Book 4) Page 14
