Princess Phoebe

by Scilla James

  I stand rooted to the spot, forgetting that I’m supposed to be hiding. Should I go and try to help Nick, or what? Then a cold nose pushes itself under my right hand as Princess, her lead trailing behind her as it was dropped by Frank, comes to me for safety.

  I put my hand on her head, thrilled to have her next to me again, but I’m watching my brother too. What to do? I feel sick at the bashes he’s getting from Frank, although he’s landing quite a few of his own. I’ve seen fights before between Nick and the twins, but I realise now that those had just been playing. These two are fighting properly.

  Nick half turns his head and shouts,

  ‘Go back to the van, Ellie! Take the dog and go! I’ll join you in a minute.’ Then there’s a horrible thud – while Nick was distracted, Frank hit him again.

  I hadn’t even realised that Nick had seen me, but I decide for once to do as I’m told and, hanging on tight to Princess’s lead, I run for the gate then up the lane as quickly as I can. As I get near Nick’s van, though, a figure steps out from the side of it and stands blocking my way.

  Big Lennie! He must have been waiting outside for Frank, which means he must have seen Nick, and then me, creeping along the lane.

  ‘Give me the dog,’ he says.

  ‘No!’ I shout, kicking out at him and gripping the lead with all my strength as he comes closer to me. But Lennie calmly stretches out one tattooed arm and grasps my hand, bending my fingers back and taking the lead from me.

  ‘We’ve had enough of you,’ he says and, without another word, he walks back down the lane towards Frank’s van, dragging Princess behind him.

  ‘Oi, Frank!’ I hear him call as he reaches Mrs Henderson’s garden. Within a moment, Frank’s joined him and their engine starts up. There’s a squeal of tyres and they come fast in my direction, then Frank brakes, he winds his window down and smiles through his brown teeth.

  ‘You’d better go and fetch your brother. He’s lying on the grass. Oh, and don’t even think about reporting your friend’s broken window to the police. If I get just one visit about my dog, it’ll be found in the river before the cops can even get back in their cars.’

  11

  Calling 999

  Frank was right about Nick being on the grass, though as I get back to him he’s trying to stand up. I hold out a shaky hand.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Never better,’ he says, through a cut on his lip. There’s blood all over the place, and Mrs Henderson’s lawn looks like a road accident’s happened on top of it. Nick groans and stands, nearly pulling me over as he straightens. I feel my hand change shape as he grips it. .

  ‘I’ll do for that man!’ he says, ‘If it’s the last thing I ever do!’

  ‘It’s all my fault,’ I say, ‘for taking Princess back in the first place. And now Frank’s going to drown her! Oh, Nick! What are we going to do?’

  Nick dabs at the cut on his face and puts his arm around me. ‘Something,’ he says, ‘we’ll do something.’

  At that moment, we hear a car pulling up outside. Mrs Henderson is back.

  ‘Ellie? What on earth’s going on?’ As she comes through the gate she’s staring at Nick. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Oh, Mrs Henderson!’ I say, ‘Frank’s been and he’s taken Princess and he’s going to drown her, and he’s beaten Nick up.’ Mrs Henderson stays calm. Perhaps she doesn’t believe me. She looks at Nick and says he should come in and she’ll see if she can clean him up. Then she sees her broken window and goes nuts.

  ‘But what’s this? How dare he? There’s glass all over my kitchen! Right! I’m phoning the police!’ She marches to the phone as I try to stop her.

  ‘No! Don’t ring them! Frank said he’d drown Princess straightaway if anyone calls the cops. Please don’t!’

  ‘No Ellie, I’m sorry, but this won’t do. I can’t just do nothing, and if that man’s arrested he won’t be able to drown your dog. You can be witnesses to the fact that he broke in to my house. We have to fight back, don’t you agree Nick?’

  ‘Mrs Henderson’s right,’ says Nick.

  I am astonished. ‘But what about Princess?’

  Nick says, ‘If we’re quick, we should be able to get her back from Big Lennie. That’s where Frank will put her for sure. If the police are on to Frank he won’t want the dog at his place, even if he does claim that he owns her. He’ll never admit to coming over here and breaking Mrs Henderson’s window, and he’ll rely on us keeping quiet for Princess’s sake. I don’t think he’ll take the chance of hurting her, either. He talks big but he doesn’t want to go to prison, you can count on that.’

  I can’t count on anything. ‘But they’ve set off already!’ I say. ‘What if they decide to get rid of Princess before we can follow them?’

  But I’m too late, Mrs Henderson’s already talking on the phone.

  ‘They’ll come as soon as they can,’ she says as she puts the receiver down. ‘We all know each other round here and they won’t leave an old lady like me without a window. In fact, I believe I used to teach the young man who’s now at the local police station, a few years ago of course. Now Ellie, you get us all a cold drink from the fridge and, for heaven’s sake, sit down and have a biscuit or something. You look dreadful.’

  She gets some horrible smelly stuff out of the cupboard to put on Nick’s eye, while I get the drinks and the biscuits. But I can’t eat or drink a thing.

  ‘I’m sorry about your window,’ says Nick, ‘and I know that Ellie and I should really wait until the police arrive, but I’ll leave our address so they can interview us later if they want. I think we need to get back now, and see what we can do about Princess. Even with you knowing the policeman, they might take a while to come. And in the meantime, if you agree, I’ll ring my granddad and ask him to come over and fix your window as soon as the police have looked at it. He only lives over in Shipwell, and he’s good at stuff like that. I’m sure he’d be glad to help.’

  Thank you,’ says Mrs Henderson. ‘Yes, you two go.’

  Nick rings Granddad and I hear him trying to explain.

  ‘No, Granddad, it’s a lady called Mrs Henderson. She’s about four miles from you. Yes, it’s a long story, but I haven’t got time to explain. If you could just come over ...’ There’s quiet for a moment then Nick puts the phone down. . ‘Granddad says he knows you,’ he says, ‘he claims you share an interest in asparagus.’

  ‘Mr Wood?’ Mrs Henderson looks pleased. ‘He’s your grandfather? Ellie! Why didn’t you say?’

  I would have if I’d known. ‘That’s amazing,’ I say, and of course I’m pleased too, but compared to the need to rescue Princess ... ‘Nick, please let’s go.’

  Nick must be feeling the urgency too, because he nods in agreement.

  ‘Granddad will get here as soon as he can,’ Nick tells Mrs Henderson as we say goodbye and hurry off down her path. In spite of all the glass, blood and mess, she’s full of smiles, I reckon because Granddad’s on his way.

  ‘Let me know what happens!’ she calls.

  I can’t sit still in the van. It seems to be getting hotter and I wish I’d had a drink before we left. I find a bottle of warm lemonade rolling around on the van floor and hand it to Nick.

  ‘Yuk!’ he says. ‘That’s disgusting.’

  Nick’s given Mrs Henderson a note of Frank’s address for the police, but he doesn’t think they’ll hurry over there. He’s gripping the steering wheel really hard and I can tell he’s worried, however calm he tries to look. When I ask what he thinks we should do, he doesn’t answer.

  ‘D’you think Margaret might have Princess for a bit?’ I ask him.

  ‘It’s worth a try. Give her a call. D’you think she’ll still be at the allotment? We need to get Princess away quickly,’ he says.

  ‘I’ll ring Jan,’ I say. There’s no reply, so I send her a text instead.

  ‘We’ll go straight to Big Lennie’s,’ Nick says. By now it’s getting on for 8 o’clock. Then he say
s, ‘Right Ellie, here’s what we’re going to do. First we’ll make sure that Frank’s not at Lennie’s – we can check around the estate for his van. Then I’ll park a good few houses away around the corner, and we’ll go to the back where Lennie’s gate is. He’ll have locked it for certain, because he’ll be expecting us. But Lennie’s a cowardly little bloke and if Frank’s not with him he’ll probably draw the curtains and turn the telly on, hoping to avoid trouble. He only fights people that are smaller than him, or children, or poor greyhounds that he knows he can win against.’

  ‘Can you climb the wall?’ I ask him, remembering how high it had seemed when Jan and I had been there.

  ‘Easy,’ Nick reassures me, ‘but if Lennie comes out you’ll have to get Princess away while I distract him. I’ll open the gate and let you in. I’ll bet there’s just one bolt on the inside the same as we’ve got at home. When you’ve got her from the shed, go back to the van and wait for me. If things go really wrong, or if Frank turns up or something, you take Princess and run for it. Cut through the park and make for the allotments and I’ll catch up with you. But only if you have to. Otherwise, wait in the van.’

  ‘What about you?’ I ask Nick. ‘What if Lennie’s not on his own?’ I’ve begun to realise that this isn’t just about me and Princess.

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ he says, ‘but you’ve got to be fast Ellie; don’t mess about talking to the other dogs. And keep texting Jan. We don’t want to get to the allotments and find no one there.

  All this while we’ve been driving, and at last we’re back among the familiar roads of our town. Nick knows all the shortcuts and side streets, and he swings the van around and about, bringing us quickly out onto the main route into Lennie’s estate. He slows and parks up behind a row of empty garages where the doors are hanging loose and squeaking. It feels like the wind’s getting up and I wonder if we might be in for a storm later.

  ‘Now,’ says Nick, ‘speed, Ellie. Just grab her and run. I’ll leave the van unlocked. We’ll work out what to do next once we have her safe back with us.’

  We walk towards the back of Lennie’s row of houses. Nick looks around and checks in other directions for signs of Frank’s van, but neither of us really expects to see it. We guess he’ll be at home trying to look as if he’s been there all day. Probably checking on telly programmes that he can claim he’s been watching, just in case we’ve told Mrs Henderson where he lives. It’s his bad luck that we turned up immediately after he’d broken into her house. On the other hand, he might assume we’d keep quiet. People round our way don’t often tell the police anything, especially about Frank, for fear of trouble. And I bet he won’t worry about Big Lennie. Knowing Frank Skally, he’ll be happy if Lennie gets arrested so long as he can save himself.

  We reach Lennie’s back gate with no trouble. Nick tries the catch and, sure enough, it’s locked. He takes a breath and springs, gripping the top of the wall so he can get his left foot up against the brickwork, and then the rest of him over the top. He drops down the other side and slides back the bolt to let me in. I run quickly towards the shed, glad that I’ve been here before and know which way to go and what to expect. But just as I reach the shed there’s a shout from the house, and the back door flies open. Lennie comes charging out – Nick’s ready for him. Glancing sideways, I see my brother dive for Lennie’s skinny legs and bring him down. Lennie squeals as he hits the ground.

  ‘Quick!’ Nick shouts at me. In a flash, I have the shed door open and Princess by the collar she’s still wearing, complete with Mrs Henderson’s details and the nametag ‘Phoebe’.

  ‘Come on my precious,’ I say to her, as her long tail wags with joy at seeing me again. ‘No time for kisses or hugs. We’ve got to go!’ I don’t think to shut the shed door after me, and am vaguely aware of a scramble of furry puppies streaming out in to the yard, and probably, I realise afterwards, out of the open gate.

  Outside the gate, I let Princess go and she and I race to the place where Nick left the van. I’m about to climb into it when I change my mind. I don’t trust Frank not to be hiding nearby, and then we’ll be trapped as we were by Lennie when we ran from Mrs Henderson’s house. So I make a decision. Instead of getting back in to the van, I urge Princess on and we run for it. Up towards the park, and in the direction of the allotments. I’m sure Nick will know where we’ve gone, and I reckon he’ll understand.

  We clear Lennie’s estate in no time. Dodging between the rows of houses, there’s hardly any traffic on this Monday evening. The clouds are making it dark earlier than usual and I worry that Jan’s gran might have left the allotment for the day. Should I change direction and go to Jan’s house instead? But I still can’t get her on my mobile, and anyway Nick said Margaret’s allotment, not Jan’s house. I hope desperately that my brother will come quickly and pick me up in his van.

  We fly through the park, with one eye on the dark bushes where I’ve known Frank to lurk before, but everything seems quiet and we reach the far gate safely. I slow down to get my breath. Taking hold of Princess’s collar, I look again for Nick’s van as I come out on to the road. And there it is! Parked just to the left of the gate. I open the back to let Princess in, and then rush round to the passenger door as relief floods through me. Nick must have fought Big Lennie and got away with no bother. With a big smile I pull down the handle and climb in. But it isn’t Nick who smiles back at me – It’s Frank. This isn’t Nick’s van at all. In the dusk I’ve mistaken it, thinking only that my brother would be there for me, I haven’t looked properly. How could I make such a stupid mistake? I scream and turn to re-open the door.

  But Frank’s ready for that and leans over to lock it, grabbing my hands as he leans back again so that I can’t pull the catch up.

  ‘Ellie!’ he says, ‘I’ve been expecting you. I knew you’d never go home without trying to get that dog. I told Lennie to look out for the two of you. He sent a text to say you’d been and gone.’

  I stare at him, panic strangling my voice in my throat. ‘Where’s Nick?’

  ‘With Lennie, I expect,’ smiles Frank.

  I struggle against his grip. With just one of his huge hands, he’s holding both of mine. I realise how skinny and hopeless my fingers look against his great hairy mitts.

  ‘You won’t learn, will you?’ he asks. ‘And now, the dog’s going to have to go in the river far sooner than she would have, and you’re going to have to come and watch. It’s time you understood who’s boss around here. In fact, little girl, you’ve really got up my nose lately. I’ve hardly been able to get my work done. And speaking of my work, I’ve heard on the grapevine that Charlie needs money too, or the lot of you will be out on the street. Well, well. That will be a shame.’

  I look round frantically for someone to help as Frank turns his attention to Princess. She is cowering and trembling behind us, pressed up against the doors with her tail clenched tight between her back legs. I wonder whether I could climb over there with her, and somehow jump out.

  Frank reads my mind.

  ‘Yes! Why don’t you get in the back with your dog?’ He lifts my arms and gives me a sideways shove. ‘Those doors won’t open from the inside, so you’ll be quite safe.’

  I stagger as he drops his hold on me and turns to start-up the engine. As I slide to the back, he drives off at speed. Poor Princess lurches sideways and bangs herself on a pile of scrap metal he has in there. She yelps. I manage to get hold of her and keep her steady, though it’s hard to stop us both from rolling around as Frank sets off like he’s in some sort of crazy race.

  ‘It’s not far to the river,’ he says, swerving off to the left and away from the main road. He’s smiling, enjoying himself.

  ‘I know a good spot where I’ve taken many a dog that didn’t want to earn its keep. And I doubt there’ll be any fishermen there at this time, what with this rain starting.’

  He’s right about the rain. Dark clouds are looming and there’s water on the windscreen. I think I hear th
under in the distance. I bang frantically on the dirty glass window as we go, shouting and screaming for help, but we don’t pass a single person.

  I’m seriously scared. Is Nick being held prisoner at Lennie’s place? Frank seemed very certain that he’d still be there, so maybe Lennie did find someone else to help after all. As we turn down the track towards the river, I give up hope of being rescued. Princess and I are on our own. I try to calm down and think clearly, though fear clutches at my stomach and I’m shaking all over.

  ‘The police have been called,’ I shout at Frank, ‘and they’ve got your address. You’ll get done and you’ll be sent to prison! Kidnapping is really serious, have you thought about that?’

  He hesitates for one tiny moment. ‘Nick wouldn’t dare,’ he says.

  ‘No, not Nick,’ I tell him, ‘that lady you stole the dog from.’

  As I speak, I hold tight to Princess, bringing her face round to rest against me to try and give her a reassuring hug. I feel her nametag dig into my neck and I have a thought.

  ‘You think this is Princess, don’t you? Well, it isn’t. It’s Mrs Henderson’s dog and she’s called Phoebe. Mrs Henderson went mad when she got home and found you’d broken in and taken her dog. She rang the police straightaway.’

  Frank goes quiet. I can’t believe that he’s even given me time to finish my lie, although luckily the bit about the police is true. As someone who hardly ever looks at his dogs, he might well wonder for a moment. All he ever thinks about is money, and even I know there are dozens, hundreds perhaps, of greyhounds with similar markings to Princess.

  He hesitates again, but then, glancing back over his shoulder he says, ‘Don’t make me laugh.’

  ‘I’m not,’ I say, ‘you should look at her collar. It says Phoebe Henderson with a phone number. Why don’t you give the number a ring and check? She might look like the dog I used to have, that you took from me, but she’s not. We were at Mrs Henderson’s house because she knows my granddad, and me and Nick were visiting. So you’d better not drown her dog, or you’ll be in even bigger trouble: kidnapping me, breaking into a house, stealing a dog, and then drowning her.’