Operation Gadgetman!

by Malorie Blackman

  ‘Do you think Lucas came back here?’ Ann whispered.

  Louisa shrugged as Beans said, ‘Shush!’

  They carried on walking. The ground under their feet was baked hard, making the going very tiring. Beans studied the path for tyre marks or other potential clues, but the rock-solid earth held nothing but the faintest impressions.

  ‘Keep your eyes and ears open for clues, everyone,’ Beans whispered.

  ‘Shush!’ Ann said. ‘What’s that noise?’

  They all stood absolutely still and listened.

  ‘It’s a car. A car’s coming!’ said Beans.

  ‘Get back!’ Louisa ordered. ‘It might be Lucas.’

  The track lay before and behind them. To the sides lay brambles and bushes and stinging nettles, with dense trees behind that. They each stood there, none of them keen to scramble through the thick undergrowth. The unmistakable sound of a car engine was getting closer.

  ‘Beans, Louisa . . .’ Ann said desperately. ‘What do we do?’

  ‘We’ve got no choice,’ Beans said. ‘Come on!’

  They waded through the bushes and brambles before squatting down, out of sight.

  ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ Louisa muttered. ‘I dread to think what I’m standing in.’

  ‘Shush!’ the other two girls glared at her.

  The car came closer and closer. From around the bend just up ahead, the blue Ford Escort appeared unexpectedly quickly and drove straight towards them. There, in the driver’s seat, was Lucas Moynahan. But Lucas wasn’t the only one in the car.

  Beans jumped up. ‘Dad . . . DAD!’ she screamed as the car roared past them.

  ‘What?’ Ann said.

  ‘My dad’s in that car!’ Beans started running after the Escort, which was speeding away from them. Two men sat in the back seat and one of them was her dad. He turned his head, his expression frantic as he mouthed words Beans couldn’t hear. Dad! Dad was in there. So close . . .

  Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. Beans froze.

  ‘Beans . . . Beans, come back!’ Louisa ran forward and grabbed her by the arm.

  One of the Escort doors opened. Lucas Moynahan got out of the car.

  ‘Come back, you two!’ Ann cried out. ‘They’re after us.’

  Beans hesitated for only a second. She pelted back to Ann and all three of them dived for cover into the bushes, scrambling to get as far away from Lucas as possible.

  ‘Come back here!’

  They heard Lucas’s furious voice call after them. If anything, his voice made them scramble faster and further away from him. Beans pointed to the right and they veered off in that direction, roots and brambles tearing at their clothes, scratching at their faces.

  ‘Keep still, everyone!’ Louisa hissed.

  They each froze. The crunch of Lucas’s angry footsteps through the undergrowth made Beans’s stomach churn with fright.

  ‘BEANS, THEY’RE AFTER YOU! DON’T LET THEM CATCH YOU. DON’T TRUST . . .’ Beans’s dad’s words were abruptly stifled.

  Beans raised her head. ‘Dad . . .’ she mouthed. She wanted to shout out to him, run to him – a feeling so strong she could almost reach out and touch it. But she couldn’t.

  She couldn’t.

  Beans stared through the brambles and bushes as if all she had to do was stare hard enough and they would disappear out of her way and she would see her father.

  The footsteps were getting closer. All three girls lowered their heads. Ann put her hands over her ears. Lucas Moynahan might be gaining on them, but she didn’t have to listen to it!

  A few more steps and he’ll be tripping over us, Beans thought desperately.

  ‘Lucas, get back here!’ the furious voice of Lucas’s accomplice commanded. ‘Don’t be an idiot.’

  ‘Those girls are somewhere around here,’ Lucas called back.

  Beans held her breath. Lucas was close enough for her to reach out and touch his foot.

  ‘Leave them! We don’t need them,’ the accomplice shouted impatiently.

  ‘We need her. She can persuade her father to give us what we want – then we can blow,’ Lucas called back. ‘We should have grabbed her in the beginning when I said so. I’ve had enough of both of them messing me about. I’d like to wring that girl’s neck.’

  Beans’s breath caught in her throat. She stared at Lucas’s feet, her eyes, her whole body, filled with terror.

  They were after her as well now . . .

  ‘We’ll get her later. Come on. We’ve got to go,’ the accomplice said.

  ‘Don’t worry, Beatrice Conran – I’ll get you . . .’ Lucas hissed to himself.

  Slowly, reluctantly, Lucas headed back to his car. The girls heard angry mutterings from the two kidnappers, but were too far away to make out the words. Ann, Louisa and Beans didn’t move; they didn’t even breathe until they heard the car engine start up and the car being driven away. Louisa moved to stand up.

  ‘Not yet,’ Beans whispered quickly. ‘It might be a trick. One of them might still be here, waiting for us to raise our heads.’

  ‘It’s all right for you two. I’ve got a skirt on,’ Louisa grumbled.

  ‘What on earth did you wear a skirt for?’ Ann hissed.

  ‘Because no-one told me I’d be crawling on my hands and knees through the countryside, that’s why!’ Louisa snapped, her voice still a whisper. ‘I hate getting dirty . . .’

  ‘At least you didn’t have a twig sticking up your left nostril the entire time, whilst Lucas Moynahan was two centimetres away from you . . .’ Ann interrupted.

  ‘Shush!’ Beans ordered.

  They waited a couple of minutes but could hear nothing but birds chirping and insects buzzing. From somewhere far away, a dog barked.

  ‘Ann, you crawl off over there.’ Beans pointed to the left. ‘I’ll crawl over to the right. Then I’ll stand up and see if they’ve gone.’

  ‘Why can’t we stick together?’ Louisa protested.

  ‘Because if they are still here, we’ll be easier to catch if we stick together. If we split up then they’re unlikely to get all three of us,’ Beans whispered. ‘The one or two remaining can then go straight to the police and tell Detective Warner what happened.’

  Reluctantly, Louisa agreed that the plan made sense. They separated, Ann crawling off on her stomach in one direction, Beans heading in the other. Beans watched the second hand of her watch count down another minute before she slowly raised her head then stood up, ready to sprint off at the first sign of Lucas or the other kidnapper. There was no-one there. Beans took a good look around.

  ‘Ann, Louisa, you can stand up now. We’re alone.’ Beans didn’t know whether to be glad or disappointed.

  But at least her dad was all right. Beans hugged that knowledge to her like a winter coat. Dad had spoken to her. He was all right – so far. Slowly, the other two girls stood up.

  ‘Just look at my skirt and blouse. They’re ruined!’ Louisa howled as she looked down at the green-and-brown stains on her clothes.

  ‘Never mind your clothes,’ Ann dismissed. ‘Those stains will wash out.’

  ‘I’m not thinking of that. I’m thinking about what my mum and dad are going to say when they see them,’ Louisa retorted. ‘Mum’s going to go through the roof and hit the chimney stack!’

  Ann walked over to Beans, ignoring Louisa. ‘That was definitely your dad, Beans. I saw him too,’ she said.

  ‘I’ve had enough of playing amateur spy!’ Louisa marched over to her friends. ‘It’s time we got the police in on this.’

  ‘I agree,’ Beans said. ‘Now that we all know Lucas Moynahan is one of the kidnappers, the police should have no trouble from here on in.’

  Chapter Ten

  Sergeant Paxman

  ‘You’re certain the driver was Lucas Moynahan?’ Detective Warner asked over the phone.

  Beans wanted to bang the phone down and keep banging it until Detective Warner’s ears popped! How many more times was he goi
ng to ask the same question?

  ‘Yes, I am positive. Certain. Sure. It was him,’ Beans said with thinly disguised impatience. ‘I saw him in my dad’s building society earlier today. We looked up his address and went over there. Only we were too late. He was driving off – with my dad in the back seat of his car.’

  Ann nodded approval. ‘You tell him.’

  ‘Was there anyone else in the car besides your dad and Lucas Moynahan?’

  Beans could hear the wary frown in Detective Warner’s voice.

  ‘Yeah, there was the other man but I didn’t get a good look at him,’ Beans admitted. ‘I was so surprised and happy to see Dad that I didn’t look at anyone else after that.’

  ‘You say your friends Louisa and Ann were with you?’ the detective asked.

  Beans nodded. ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Did they see the third man? Can either of them describe him?’

  ‘Hang on. I’ll ask,’ Beans said. She turned to Louisa and Ann, who were standing right in front of her. ‘Can either of you describe the man who was sitting next to Dad in the car?’

  Ann shook her head. ‘I was too busy staring at your dad and trying to memorise the licence number of the car.’

  Louisa shook her head. ‘I was doing the same as Ann. I only noticed your dad. Sorry. I did notice that the third man had sunglasses on, but that’s all, I’m afraid.’

  Beans repeated what had been said to Detective Warner.

  ‘Does Ann still remember the licence number?’ Detective Warner asked.

  Beans handed over the telephone. ‘He wants to know the licence number of the car,’ she whispered.

  Ann took the receiver. ‘Hello? Detective Warner? It was . . . er . . . just a minute. It was . . . E391RP something. I can’t remember the last letter, but I’m sure the rest is right. Yeah . . . Thanks . . . Yes, she’s here.’ Ann handed the phone back to Beans.

  ‘Detective Warner, you have the kidnapper’s name. Surely the licence number isn’t that necessary?’ Beans said at once.

  ‘It all helps,’ Detective Warner replied. ‘Is there anything else you want to tell me, Beans?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so,’ Beans said slowly. ‘I gave you Lucas Moynahan’s address, but I wouldn’t have thought he’d go back there. You’ve got his car licence-plate number from Ann, and we each saw my dad. I told you what happened.’

  ‘Are you at home now?’ Detective Warner asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Beans replied. ‘We hopped on a passing bus and came straight home. We didn’t want to risk running across the kidnappers again, in case they decided to finish what they’d started.’

  ‘Good. Very wise. Now, listen carefully, Beans. I’m going to be busy co-ordinating the setting up of roadblocks throughout the county, and I’ll be arranging garage checks and searches of any and all car parks where Lucas Moynahan might try to hide his car,’ said Detective Warner. ‘I want you to stay at home and wait for word from me. I shall be around either later this evening or first thing tomorrow morning to tell you how the search for your father is going. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes.’ Beans frowned at the phone. ‘But isn’t there something I can do . . . ?’

  ‘The best thing you can do is stay at home,’ Detective Warner interrupted. ‘Is your gran there now?’

  ‘No, she’s gone shopping. But she should be at home soon, and my friends are here too,’ Beans replied.

  ‘What about tomorrow morning? Will your gran and your friends be around then?’

  ‘Well, Gran always goes to church on Sunday morning,’ Beans said. ‘And I wouldn’t have thought Ann and Louisa would be around tomorrow. Not until the afternoon, at any rate.’

  ‘Good. Good,’ Detective Warner said briskly. ‘I have a lot to sort out today so it’ll probably be tomorrow before I can call on you to tell you of our progress. You did very well in identifying one of the kidnappers, but now it’s time to leave it to the professionals.’

  ‘If you say so,’ Beans sniffed.

  The professionals hadn’t done much so far!

  ‘I insist,’ Detective Warner said sternly. ‘We’ll see you tomorrow. And in the meantime, it’s most important that you search out information about your dad’s induction oscillator.’

  ‘OK. I’ll search tonight,’ Beans said.

  She wondered why Detective Warner kept harping on about the induction oscillator. Surely, finding Dad was far more important than knowing how the induction oscillator worked?

  The detective put down the phone.

  ‘So what did he say?’ Ann asked eagerly. ‘Is he going to send someone round for our statements?’

  ‘No.’ Beans shook her head. ‘He said he’d come round tomorrow to tell me what progress he’s made.’

  ‘No statements!’ Ann said, deeply disappointed.

  ‘Wasn’t he concerned that Lucas said he wanted to use you to get at your dad?’ Louisa asked, surprised.

  ‘It doesn’t seem like it. I told him that obviously Dad hasn’t told the kidnappers how his gadget works yet, so they want to use me to force Dad’s hand. I told him all that.’ Beans shrugged. She hoped she didn’t look too worried. She didn’t want to scare her friends. She was more than scared enough for all of them. Would Lucas and the other kidnapper really be after her? What would they do? Force their way into the house? Wait until she went to school on Monday? What? Beans felt sick.

  ‘So what did he say?’ Louisa asked.

  ‘Not a lot. He said he’d be round tomorrow,’ Beans repeated.

  ‘He’s not going to send someone round to protect you?’ Ann asked, aghast.

  ‘I can protect myself,’ Beans said firmly.

  ‘It’s the job of the police to protect you,’ Louisa said with disgust. ‘It’s not up to you to do it yourself.’

  ‘I can’t exactly go round to the police station and drag Detective Warner back here by force, can I?’ Beans said crossly.

  Nothing had gone right today, and to be so close to Dad – actually to hear his voice – only to lose him again, was frustrating to say the very least.

  There was the sound of a key turning and the front door opened. Gran struggled over the threshold with two heavy shopping bags.

  ‘Gran! Let me help you with that,’ Beans said at once, leaping forward to take the shopping.

  ‘My goodness! Where have you three been?’ Gran asked. ‘You look like you’ve been rolling backwards and forwards in green paint and mud.’

  ‘You’re not far wrong,’ Ann laughed.

  ‘I can’t send you home like that,’ Gran said, scandalized.

  Louisa quickly whispered something in Ann’s ear. Ann nodded. They both approached Gran, broad smiles on their faces.

  ‘That’s just what we wanted to talk to you about, Mrs Conran,’ Ann said. ‘Beans has asked us to spend the night here, but we wanted to ask your permission. If you have no objections, we thought you could phone up our parents and tell them that it’s OK with you if we stay here.’

  Beans frowned at Ann. Where had she got that story from?

  Gran smiled. ‘I’d be happy to phone your parents. Beans, you unpack the shopping whilst I sort this out.’

  Beans took the shopping into the kitchen, leaving Gran to phone first Louisa’s then Ann’s parents. Fifteen minutes later, when Beans had just packed away the last item – a packet of quick-cook macaroni – Louisa, Ann and her gran all appeared in the kitchen.

  ‘That’s all settled then,’ Gran smiled. ‘Now then, you three. Off with those dirty things and I’ll throw them in the washing machine. Beans, go upstairs with your friends and give them some of your clean clothes.’

  ‘And there I was, about to give them my dirty ones out of the linen basket,’ Beans muttered.

  ‘I heard that, madam!’ said Gran.

  Laughing, the three girls ran upstairs and into Beans’s bedroom. Beans closed the door carefully behind her before turning to Louisa and Ann.

  ‘Now you two can tell me just what all that w
as about downstairs,’ Beans ordered. ‘Why the sudden rush to spend the night?’

  ‘Because I think your dad’s kidnappers are out to get you as well, even if Detective Warner doesn’t,’ Louisa answered. ‘And there’s no way we’re going to leave you alone tonight so that they can get you.’

  ‘Dead right!’ Ann smiled. Her smile faded. ‘But what can we do?’

  ‘Plenty,’ Louisa said. ‘We’ll set up some traps and alarms in the house, just in case the kidnappers should try anything funny.’

  ‘What sort of traps?’ Beans asked suspiciously. ‘I don’t want to set up anything that could hurt my gran. And besides, how can we set up alarms that Gran won’t set off?’

  ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan,’ Louisa smiled.

  It was lucky for Beans and her friends that there was nothing on the telly that Gran wanted to watch. She decided to go to bed early, leaving the house free and clear for Beans and Louisa and Ann.

  Following Louisa’s instructions, they raided the kitchen and the airing cupboard and the cupboard in the front room where Dad kept all his stationery. Beans’s bedroom took half an hour to prepare, but at last it was ready.

  A plethora of coat hangers hung on the door handle and behind the door on the dressing-gown hook, ready to rattle if Beans’s bedroom door was even looked at sideways. Tin cans were strewn on the carpet directly under her bedroom window. The curtains were partially drawn to hide the drawing pins littered across the windowsill. A frying pan was placed under either pillow on Beans’s bed, and a rounders bat was placed behind the headboard. The only thing Beans wasn’t too sure about was the cornflakes scattered around her bed.

  ‘That’s our alarm if the kidnappers get past the other traps,’ Louisa said. ‘They’ll scrunch the cornflakes underfoot and the noise will wake us up.’

  ‘But I’ll get ants and mice in here . . .’ Bean protested.

  ‘Would you rather have ants and mice or kidnappers?’ Louisa asked. It was a close thing, but the ants and mice won.