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by Jacqueline Harvey

  ‘Oh for goodness sakes,’ Max shouted. ‘Why is everyone in London out to get us?’

  Kensy looked at her brother, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. Was this really her cool-headed twin talking?

  The police officer rolled his eyes. ‘Good one, kid. You should be an actor, you know.’

  Max took a few deep breaths then turned to his sister. ‘Sorry, I don’t know what got into me.’

  With sinking hearts, the children realised they were getting absolutely nowhere with this fellow and decided the only thing to do was to go home and tell Song. He’d believe them. The twins took off, thinking it was probably safest to take the main road, although the mere sight of a black cab almost sent Kensy skywards.

  ‘Who do you think that guy was and what did he want with us?’ Max said, as they dashed past another police cordon. Traffic was building up as drivers were questioned and redirected.

  Kensy shook her head. ‘It must have something to do with Mum and Dad. All of this weirdness began with their disappearance.’

  The kids charged past The Morpeth Arms, which hadn’t yet opened, and were nearing Ponsonby Terrace when Claudia appeared around the corner. Max almost ran straight into the pram she was pushing and only just managed to stop himself in time.

  ‘My gosh, you two,’ Claudia said, looking concerned. ‘What’s happened? Shouldn’t you be at school?’

  ‘We were kidnapped by a taxi driver, but the stupid policeman didn’t believe us,’ Kensy blurted. ‘We’ve got to find Song.’

  Claudia’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘What do you mean you were kidnapped?’

  Max quickly filled her in on the details. Unlike the young constable, though, the woman hung on to his every word.

  ‘And the Peacock Brooch has been stolen from the Tate,’ Max added. ‘We only saw it yesterday.’

  Kensy’s mind was racing. She was thinking about Mrs Brightside and those gadgets she and Max had returned to her last night. She looked at Max and Max looked at her.

  ‘Mrs Brightside!’ the children gasped in unison.

  ‘She hasn’t been renovating,’ Kensy said slowly.

  Max nodded. ‘She’s been tunnelling.’

  ‘What?’ Claudia’s brows appeared ready to leap off her forehead.

  ‘It was Mrs Brightside and the other lady who works at the gallery and Derek Grigsby,’ Max said. ‘They took the Peacock Brooch.’

  Talking at the speed of light, Kensy relayed their visit to the Tate and the contents of the envelope addressed to Esme Brightside. ‘I knew that old lady was full of secrets! Those gadgets in the envelope were probably for the alarms and cameras,’ the girl said, ‘and it was that other woman who works there who gave them to her. No wonder she was so happy I’d returned them.’

  ‘And Derek hasn’t been renovating – he’s been digging!’ Max exclaimed. ‘I’d put money on him having found a tunnel from the old prison that goes straight to the gallery. That’s how they’ve done it. This whole area is riddled with them. Gary at the pub told us.’

  ‘Esme Brightside might be ancient but she’s tricky,’ Kensy told Claudia, who was looking more incredulous by the second. ‘I saw her through the curtains one night doing flips and jumps. I bet it was her who got the jewel. And, Max, remember how Derek said she was an Olympic gymnast when she was young?’

  Claudia put her wrist to her mouth and spoke so quickly the children didn’t catch what she said or what exactly she was doing. ‘They’ve probably already left the country, but notify the airports anyway,’ the woman finished.

  Max recalled the brochures splayed across Esme Brightside’s coffee table. ‘They’re heading for the Dominican Republic, to be precise.’

  Kensy nodded. ‘And their husbands are meeting them at LAX. That’s the international airport in Los Angeles.’

  Claudia’s face drained of colour. The poor woman looked as if she was about to faint. ‘I’ve been on this case for over a year and two eleven-year-olds have solved it,’ she wheezed. ‘I’ll be sacked for sure.’

  It was the children’s turn to look surprised.

  ‘Who do you work for?’ Max asked.

  Claudia pointed across the river.

  ‘You’re MI6?’ he said, his eyes wide. Max gestured to the pram. ‘There’s no baby, is there?’

  Claudia shook her head and lifted the covering on the pram to reveal a doll and a transmitter that made baby noises.

  ‘So that’s why you weren’t keen for me to have a look,’ Max said, a grin creeping on to his face. ‘That’s really cool.’

  ‘Not if I let them get away.’ The woman’s shoulders slumped. ‘It’s bad enough we lost Garnet Brightside, Walter Grigsby and Ray Daggett a year and a half ago. The three old geezers pulled off the greatest diamond heist in history before skipping town, and I’ve been watching their wives for a year, hoping they would lead us to them. And now you’ve gone ahead and cracked the case.’

  ‘Come on, let’s go,’ Kensy urged. ‘They might still be around.’

  Claudia didn’t need to be told twice. She took off up the road, abandoning the pram on the footpath. Max hesitated, thinking an unattended pram would attract far too much attention. He grabbed the handle and the three of them tore around the corner with Claudia speaking into her sleeve the whole way. They pulled up sharply at the sight of Derek standing beside his blinged-up hatchback with the driver’s door open. His mother was in the back seat with Ivy Daggett, who Claudia identified as the lady who worked at the Tate Gallery.

  Claudia and the children approached silently, getting close enough to hear what they were saying.

  ‘’Urry up, Esme!’ Wanda called. ‘The ship’ll leave without us.’

  ‘Did she just say a ship?’ Claudia whispered. ‘Didn’t you hear Esme tell her husband that she was meeting him at LAX?’

  Kensy nodded.

  Claudia whispered into her sleeve. ‘On my signal …’

  ‘Oh, put a sock in it, Wanda!’ Esme grouched, closing her front door. ‘You’d better not give me the irrits – we’re a long time gettin’ there and a long time gone, if you don’t remember.’

  ‘I wish I could see the look on Dad’s face when ’e realises we’re not meetin’ ’em.’ Derek grinned his shiny smile. ‘Serves ’em right for leavin’ us and gamblin’ away all the money. That’s a very good idea callin’ the FBI once we’re safely away. That’ll show the old geezers who can really pull off an ’eist.’ And it doesn’t ’urt that I’m a genius that worked out the Dominican Republic ’as no extradition treaty wiv England.’

  Esme threw her walking stick onto the ground and practically catapulted herself into the passenger seat.

  ‘Go!’ Claudia shouted.

  The children were stunned to see agents appear from everywhere, surrounding the vehicle with their weapons drawn.

  ‘Sorry, kids, I’ve got to run,’ Claudia said, and charged off to lead the arrest.

  A silver van hurtled into the street followed by a tow truck and, within less than a few minutes, the four thieves were gone and Derek’s blingy hatchback with them.

  Max and Kensy were still reeling from the fact that they had just cracked Britain’s greatest diamond heist and another jewel theft that would undoubtedly go down in the annals of history. Pity no one would ever know about it.

  The children crossed the road to number thirteen, but just as Kensy was about to hit the buzzer, Max grabbed her hand. He shook his head and pointed at the silhouette in the top-right window. ‘That’s not Song. They’re too bulky.’

  ‘What if he’s in there and he’s been hurt?’ Kensy whispered. ‘Shouldn’t we try to help?’

  Max heard footsteps just inside. He motioned to his sister and the pair leapt over the balcony railing and down to the basement entrance below, where they huddled under the steps. The front door opened and footfalls sounded on the walkway above. The twins held their breaths.

  ‘No, the butler’s not ’ere and the kids aren’t either,’ a man gro
wled. ‘’Ow on earth did you lose them out of the back of the taxi, you blinkin’ bozo? The boss will not be ’appy.’

  Max squinted through a small gap between the step treads but could only see the back of the man’s head. He appeared to be talking on his phone.

  ‘We’ll meet back at HQ. Might ’ave to lie low for a while,’ the man continued, and hurried across the footpath, where he hopped into the driver’s seat of a black cab.

  Kensy waited until the vehicle disappeared around the end of the road near the Thames before he spoke. ‘Do you think all the taxi drivers in London are bad guys?’ she breathed.

  Max shook his head. ‘I don’t know, but let’s go to the Beacon. I’m pretty sure Dame Spencer can help us.’

  The pair ran up the steps and along the road in the opposite direction to the taxi. They didn’t stop until they reached the newspaper’s offices. Luckily, the security guard recognised them from their previous visit and let them straight through. They skidded across the polished floor to the reception desk.

  ‘Please, we need to see Dame Spencer,’ Max panted.

  The young woman smiled at them brightly. ‘I’m terribly sorry, but she’s not available at the moment. I can take a message.’

  ‘But we have to see her,’ Kensy insisted. ‘It’s a matter of life and death.’

  The woman gave the eleven-year-old twins a look not dissimilar to that of the policeman outside the Tate. She held up a finger as she turned away to answer the phone. Kensy, noticing people coming and going via the staff entrance, nudged her brother and pointed. Without a moment’s hesitation, they tailgated two young fellows through to the other side.

  Max spotted a harried-looking man carrying a stack of papers coming out of the stairwell. ‘Quick!’ he said, sprinting towards it. He slid his foot inside just before it clanked shut. ‘Ow,’ he complained, rubbing his ankle.

  The pair charged upstairs. Once they reached the thirteenth floor, the twins peered around the door. When all was clear, they slipped out and found themselves at the far end of the hallway to Dame Spencer’s office. They ran for it, their feet thudding and squeaking against the marble floor.

  ‘Max!’ Kensy gasped, skidding to a halt. She pointed to the portrait of Dominic Spencer. ‘He looks like Dad.’

  Max reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out the newspaper clipping he’d found that morning. ‘I was going to say that the last time we were here, but Sidney interrupted us,’ he said, and held out the clipping for her to see.

  Kensy looked at the photograph of the well-dressed man and woman and the two young boys standing in front of them. ‘That’s Dad,’ she said, frowning. ‘And Dame Spencer and that man on the wall … Are they …?’

  Max nodded. ‘Think about it, Kens – the book at Alexandria. EDS, Edward, Dominic …’

  ‘She’s not in,’ a man said.

  Kensy and Max spun around. ‘Fitz!’ they cried, barrelling towards him.

  ‘I’m sorry I didn’t find them,’ the man said. He shook his head and wiped the tears from Kensy’s cheeks. ‘There’s no trace.’

  When the children finally let go, they looked at one another, a silent agreement passing between them.

  ‘Don’t worry, Fitz. We know they’re okay,’ Max said. ‘They sent us a message.’

  Fitz’s brow furrowed. ‘How?’

  Max patted his watch.

  ‘Oh, thank heavens,’ Fitz said, and the twins could feel his relief.

  ‘You can’t tell anyone,’ Kensy said. ‘Mum and Dad were very clear. And you’re the only person we can trust, although we’re not even sure about that, considering how much you’ve lied to us.’

  Max crossed his arms, his eyes hardening. ‘Kensy saw you here when we came to meet Dame Spencer. I wasn’t sure at the time, but it was you, wasn’t it?’

  Fitz exhaled. ‘Yes, but I can explain. That really doesn’t matter now but there’s something else that does.’ He glanced down the hall at Cordelia Spencer’s office.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Kensy said. ‘We know Dame Spencer is our grandmother.’

  Fitz’s eyebrows jumped up in surprise. ‘Now, how did you two work that out?’

  Kensy grinned, looking chuffed with herself. ‘That portrait over there is a pretty good start. Max and Dad are the spitting image of Dominic Spencer, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘I found a book at Alexandria with an inscription in code,’ Max added. ‘We worked it out. Even though the name wasn’t exactly the same, I know it was Dad’s.’

  ‘This confirmed it.’ Kensy held out the photograph Max had found that morning. ‘That’s Dad, isn’t it?’

  ‘When we met Cordelia the other day, she wasn’t exactly friendly and seemed to want nothing to do with us,’ Max said, looking into the man’s grey eyes. ‘Why doesn’t she want to know us? Did we do something bad?’

  Fitz took a deep breath and shook his head. ‘Never. We’ve got a lot to talk about, but this isn’t the place for it. Let’s get you two back to school, or Magoo will be calling the police,’ he said, and ushered the children to the lift. ‘I promise to tell you everything once we get there.’

  ‘Well, we’ve got some stories to tell you on the way too,’ Kensy said, and Max nodded.

  Fitz listened while the twins explained everything that had happened that morning.

  ‘You actually need to call the police,’ Kensy said, as they stepped out of the lift and into a car park. ‘Someone tried to kidnap us twice and I think it was one of the groundsmen from Alexandria – the one called Shugs. Well, it sounded like him, but the driver didn’t look like anyone I’ve seen at the estate.’

  She gave Fitz a description of the driver’s face and he said that it didn’t match Shugs’s features at all – and he’d known the man for years.

  A black cab roared out of a spot and pulled up in front of them.

  Kensy gulped. ‘The last time we hopped into one of those things we almost got killed,’ she said uneasily.

  ‘I have no doubt that this one is perfectly safe,’ Fitz said, opening a passenger door. He gave Kensington a reassuring hug before jumping in ahead of them.

  Kensy reluctantly followed suit, as did Max. The girl stared at the driver and was slightly comforted by the fact that he greeted the children with an Indian accent. The car popped out of the basement garage into a tiny side street and drove through a series of garages, the doors zipping up and down before they joined John Islip Street and headed for the school.

  ‘What was that?’ Max said, trying to get his head around what he’d just seen. Surely that wasn’t normal.

  Fitz flashed him a grin and a wink. ‘You’ll see.’

  This time the car stopped at the school gates and the group got out. Fitz thanked the driver but didn’t pay, which Max thought was a little odd.

  Mrs Potts gave the children a wave as they entered the building. It was strangely silent. ‘Mr MacGregor will see you now,’ she trilled.

  Fitz pushed open the door to the head master’s study and found the man himself standing by a bookcase that was pivoted away from the wall.

  ‘Hello kids,’ Magoo said. ‘I hear you’ve had quite the adventure this morning, though I’m afraid there are a few more surprises to come.’

  Kensy looked at her brother and then at Fitz. ‘Good ones, I hope.’

  The children were taken into a narrow corridor past what appeared to be a full bathroom – and quite a glamorous one at that. The sight of a soggy pair of padded bicycle shorts hanging up next to the sink made Max smile. At the end of the bare concrete passage was a lift, which they all piled into. Mr MacGregor placed his palm onto a black panel that lit up in green before the compartment rocketed downwards. Max and Kensy looked at one another. This was definitely a bit different to the rest of Central London Free School.

  When the doors opened, the twins discovered they were in another bare concrete corridor. One of the walls slid back and they were suddenly in a breathtaking room with high ceilings and elaborate cornicing.
There was flocked green wallpaper and antiques of every description. If Max didn’t know better, he would have guessed they were back at Alexandria.

  Mr MacGregor led them to a set of double doors. He pushed them open, exposing another enormous space, but this time the children were stunned to see several of their classmates and most of their teachers. There were two men Kensy realised were the police officers who had come to the townhouse after their first attempted kidnapping, as well as the taxi driver who had just dropped them off outside. Mim was also there, a warmth radiating from her weathered face. The room was lined with computers and other curious contraptions. There was a coat of arms bearing a name they’d never seen before, but one of the symbols was the same lighthouse that featured on the masthead of the Beacon. Mrs Vanden Boom smiled at the pair and waved, as did Mr Reffell and Mrs Trimm. Mr Lazenby gave the children a sturdy nod.

  Carlos and Autumn were there, as were Harper and Sachin, Yasmina, Inez, Dante and Alfie the rugby lad. There were some other children they recognised from school but didn’t really know. Kensy spotted Amelie, who grinned sheepishly. Even Misha was there.

  Kensy and Max looked around the room, their hearts pounding. ‘What is this place?’ Max said.

  The group parted down the centre to reveal a huge desk and a high-backed chair facing away from them. There was a cabinet behind it heaving with books and various gadgets and gizmos. The chair spun around and the twins gasped.

  ‘Dame Spencer!’ they breathed in unison.

  The woman stood up and walked around to the pair. ‘Actually, it’s –’

  ‘Granny Spencer,’ the twins chorused, and rushed towards her.

  For a second, the woman was taken aback. Then she clung to the children as if her life depended on it. Finally, she let go of them and brushed tears from her eyes. Everyone else appeared to have an urgent need for tissues too and were pulling them from their pockets or, like Alfie, wiping their noses on their sleeves.