How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini (11 page)

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Chapter 20

Ali took the lift down to the ground floor. He called Gez's mobile.

‘Hola?' a strange voice said at the end of the line.

‘Oh. I was ringing for Gez.'

‘Gez? Wait.' There were a few muffled sounds, and then Ali heard someone yell Gez's name.

A few moments later, Gez spoke breathlessly. ‘Hello? Who's that?'

‘Gez, it's me, Ali.'

‘Oh, hi. Michael's punching me. Some
girl
is going to ring him soon. You have to talk quick.'

‘OK. Dave gave Falcon to the pet shop.'

Gez whistled softly.

‘He lied to Caitlin,' Ali said. ‘I didn't put her straight, but she's mad with me anyway.'

‘Why? What did you do?'

‘I dunno. Honest. But that isn't even the worst part. Dave took my mum with him when he went to the pet shop. He's getting her involved.'

There was silence at the other end of the line.

‘Gez? Are you there?' Ali asked.

‘Yes. But I won't be soon. Michael is going to kill me if I don't get off his phone. Listen, we need to go there. To the shop.' Gez paused while he thought. ‘OK, listen, here's the new mission. We go to the shop, we find the other half of the envelope. That tells us where to find our targets – Falcon and Miss Osborne. We rescue them and everyone lives happily ever after, except for Dave because he'll be in prison. Easy.'

Ali grinned. ‘Anything else?'

‘Yes, while we're at the shop we could buy a new pet. Chinchillas are cool.'

‘OK. Sounds like a good plan. Meet me outside in two minutes.'

‘Roger that, Detective Superintendent.'

.

Gez sang the theme tune to a cop show as they ran together along the pavement. They dodged people walking yappy dogs, ducked around shopping bags and trolleys, leapt over puddles that reflected the orange street lights. And all the while, car headlights swept across them like search beams.

‘Drop and roll!' Gez yelled as he weaved past lamp posts. As the next car flashed past, Gez groaned and stumbled. He crackled into an imaginary radio. ‘Back-up requested. Officer down.'

Ali smiled. Then took his own radio from his back pocket. ‘Roger that, DI Brown. We've got you covered. DS Ferguson, out.'

DS Ferguson helped injured DI Brown up, by the arm, pulling it over his shoulders. He staggered under the weight of his fallen companion. ‘Stay with me, DI Brown. We're nearly there.'

Suddenly, Gez's lolling head shot up. He stood up straight and pointed towards the road. ‘Look! No way!' he said.

‘What?' Ali asked.

‘That car! That car! Did you see?'

‘Gez! What?' Ali tried to see what Gez was pointing at, but the sleek silver car was pulling away from them.

‘That was Jason Adams!'

‘What would Liverpool's best striker be doing driving around our estate?' Ali asked.

Gez pulled him forward, after the car. ‘I don't know. Perhaps he was visiting his gran. She might live here.'

‘He earns thousands of pounds a week. His girlfriend is a pop star. They're in magazines all the time with pictures of their posh house and silly pets. His gran does
not
live here. It can't have been him,' Ali said.

‘It was. I'm telling you.'

‘No, it wasn't.'

‘Yes, it was.'

Ali sighed.

The car was out of sight. And they had reached the parade of shops. Ali put his arm out, barring the way. Gez was silent beside him. ‘Target in range,' Ali whispered.

‘Any sign of the enemy?' Gez asked.

‘Negative,' Ali said. The front of the shop was in darkness. ‘Wait!' Ali noticed something. ‘Miss Osborne's house – there's a light in the window upstairs!'

‘Really?' Gez stood on tiptoe to get a better look. ‘Do we have a new target, DS Ferguson?'

Ali thought for a moment. They might find the other half of the envelope in the pet shop. But they might find the whole gang and their hostages in the house next door.

‘Affirmative. We'll start with the house. Then go to the cardboard pile. This has to be done quickly and quietly. We try to find out if Miss Osborne's in there and who's holding her. But we don't get caught.'

Gez nodded firmly. ‘No, if we get caught my dad'll kill me.'

‘Come on.'

The boys crept down the back lane, silent as assassin church mice. Each step was careful and precise. Ali opened Miss Osborne's garden gate slowly. The rusty hinge creaked.

‘Shh!' Gez hissed.

‘I'm trying!' Ali whispered.

They moved into the garden. In the starlight, they could see an overgrown lawn with brambly borders. There was an apple tree in the centre of the lawn. Beyond that was a small concrete yard with the bin standing guard next to the back door. The house seemed to lean towards them, dark and forbidding.

Ali waved Gez forward. They scurried towards the tree and crouched behind it. Ali felt the damp, crumbly bark beneath his fingertips. He looked at the house. There were no lights on this side of the building. No sign of anyone at all.

‘We need to see in upstairs,' Gez whispered. ‘I could climb the tree.'

Ali looked up. The first branch was way over their heads. Gez probably couldn't reach it, even if he helped. ‘It's too high.'

‘Nah. I can stand on the bin. Let's pull it closer.'

Ali nodded. Together they stepped across the yard and grabbed the handles of the wheelie bin. It tilted heavily back on its axis. They pulled it towards the lawn, its wheels rumbling over the concrete. They heaved together and the bin mounted the small rise where the turf began. Then it wobbled.

Ali grabbed the side.

Gez grabbed the lid.

They both pushed upwards. Too hard.

The bin clattered on to its side with a bang that sounded like a car crash in the darkness. The echoes bounced around the garden. Rubbish tumbled on to the ground. Ali grabbed Gez's arm and pulled him back behind the tree. Ali's heart was pounding like a toddler with a saucepan lid. He peered up at the house, desperate to spot any sign of movement.

‘Sorry,' Gez whispered.

Ali cringed. This was the noisiest secret mission ever. They might as well kick the door down and tap-dance on the kitchen table.

There was no sound from the house. Maybe they'd gone out. Maybe they'd just left a light on by mistake. And Falcon couldn't be inside – she'd have barked the place down if she'd heard that noise.

They waited for what seemed like for ever, but the house stayed silent.

Ali looked at the bin, lying on its side. It was full. He reached out and grabbed Gez's arm. ‘It's full!'

‘So?'

‘They must have been using this house for ages! If Miss Osborne had really gone on holiday then the bin men would have emptied this by now and there would have been no one home to make more rubbish. They've been holding her for ages. She must be in a terrible state. We have to rescue her.'

‘We've got till Sunday. That's four days away. We'll find her.'

‘Come on. Let's lift the bin.' Ali sighed. ‘Quietly.'

Together they righted the wheelie bin. The black bag that had fallen out was ripped. He could see some of the rubbish poking out. Some paper, a few bits of plastic wrapper. And . . . something strange. He reached out. It was something light and powdery spilling out around the paper. It felt rough between his fingers. Sawdust! That's what it was, fine dust and curls of shaved wood. Had someone been making chairs in Miss Osborne's house while she was away? Or keeping hamsters? He leaned in closer for a better look.

Then the smell hit him.

‘Yuck!'

‘Shh. What is it?'

‘It stinks! Come and smell this.'

‘No way!'

‘Come on. It smells like the note.'

Gez shuffled over.

‘Put your nose there.' Ali pointed to the tear in the bag.

Gez did as he was told. ‘Yuck!'

‘Told you.'

‘What is that?'

‘Dunno. It smells like rotten eggs, or blocked loos.'

‘Nice.'

‘Thanks.' Ali grinned. Then he saw something poking out through the sawdust. White paper. He pulled it out.

‘Has it got any writing on it? What does it say?' Gez asked.

‘Oh. It's just a receipt. Pizza delivery for Donna. It's probably old. This is like one of those lucky dip things that they have at school fun day.'

‘But with poo,' Gez laughed.

Ali caught sight of something else. He pounced. ‘It can't be! Look!' He was holding half an envelope, torn and tatty.

‘No way!' Gez whispered. ‘Does it say anything?'

Ali looked closer. He could make out some writing in blue ink. ‘
Puma Reynolds. Sunday
,' he read.

‘Another code name? Woody, Monkey Adams and Puma Reynolds. Sounds like a cool gang.'

Ali sat back on his heels, looking at the paper in his hands.

‘There's something written on the back,' Gez said.

Ali turned the envelope over. Small, spidery writing inched across one corner.

‘
Meet do. Saturday. River
,' Gez read. He looked up at Ali. ‘Meet do? What does that mean?'

Ali looked harder. There were full stops between the letters. ‘It's not do; it's D.O. It's something's initials. Or
someone's
initials.'

Gez gasped. ‘Last Saturday Dave O'Connor was walking Falcon by the river. D.O.!' he said.

Suddenly, Ali froze. He could see Gez's face perfectly. Something was wrong. A second ago, they had been in near-darkness. A light had come on in the kitchen. Gez's eyes flashed with panic.

Ali stuffed the envelope into his pocket.

He heard the sound of a kettle boiling.

One of the gang was in the kitchen of Miss Osborne's house, just metres away!

Ali tugged at Gez's sleeve. They had to get out of the garden.

They moved quickly. Too quickly. Gez caught his foot on the shallow kerb. He fell backwards. His legs shot out from underneath him. His trainer caught the side of the bin. The clang vibrated around the garden.

‘What the . . . ?' Ali heard a man's voice.

‘Gez. Move. Now!' Ali helped Gez to his feet. Together they scrambled towards the gate.

‘Hey!' The back door was flung open. A tall rectangle of light hit the garden, framing them clearly. ‘Hey! You!' a man shouted.

They were metres away from the gate. Ali heard the man running behind them. He glanced back. The man was just a silhouette in the light from the house. He was gaining on them.

Gez clawed open the gate and dived out. Ali was at his heels. They broke into a sprint, their feet pounding hard. Their breath came in jagged gasps.

And the man was right behind them.

Ali dodged left, then right. He didn't dare look back now. He imagined the man's hand reaching for him, reaching, reaching. Fingers brushing the back of his jacket.

‘Faster!' he urged Gez.

The man's footsteps echoed loudly. He was a big man. Heavy. Ali suddenly realised that if they could keep ahead, they could wear him out.

Ali leapt forward. A new strength burned through him. The street passed by in a blur, houses, cars, shops, flashes of shapes and colour. And behind them, relentless footsteps.

Getting quieter.

Ali couldn't bear to turn round. But he was certain of it. The steps were quieter, further away.

‘Come on!' he shouted to Gez. It was hard to speak; every breath burned his chest.