Spark, page 10
“Don’t tell me, you were planning to go as a vampire.” Twitch laughed.
“No. It’s… It’s just…” Jack heard himself stuttering. His heart felt like it was trying to burst out of his chest. All the things he wanted to say fled from his head. “Twitch, I’m worried someone might be planning to kill the bearded vulture…”
“Kill it? Ha! Don’t be ridiculous.” Twitch shook his head disbelievingly. “First of all, that would be a serious crime. Secondly, every bird-lover in the country is following its flight. No one would ever get away with it. They’d be caught, and thirdly, no one is that, well … evil. The lammergeier is an endangered species.”
Jack could see he was about to get another lecture on the amazingness of the bearded vulture, and, a bit taken aback by Twitch’s dismissal, he persisted. “But some people think they’re above the law. What if…”
“Oh!” Twitch narrowed his eyes and smiled. “I know what’s going on here.”
“You do?” Jack’s heart nearly stopped.
“You’re playing at being a detective again, aren’t you?” Twitch laughed. “Like you did with the evil cat killer.”
“What evil cat killer?” Ozuru looked confused.
“When he rescued that cat, Jack concocted a case to solve over half-term. The case of the evil cat killer!”
“There’s a cat killer on the loose?” Ozuru looked at Jack.
“Not really. He made it up,” Twitch said. “But that was before Ava and Tippi came, and we learned about the lammergeier.”
“I didn’t make it up!” Jack protested.
Twitch leaned towards Ozuru. “His primary suspect was Lady Goremore!”
Twitch and Ozuru burst out laughing.
Jack looked at them, speechless. He hadn’t made up the case of the evil cat killer. He’d been working hard to solve it. He wasn’t playing at being a detective! He was hurt by Twitch’s laughter. He’d tried so hard to learn about birds and love the things that Twitch did, but Twitch thought Jack’s desire to be a detective was stupid! His blood began to boil. He was a good detective. He’d worked out what the weapon was that had hurt the cats. He’d narrowed down the suspects. He’d gone undercover at Mord Hall, and his sleuthing had revealed that Twitch’s precious bearded bird was the target of a murder plot!
“There’s more to life than birds…” Jack snapped, a squall of anger, hurt and frustration swirling inside him.
“Twitch! Ozuru! Jack!” Tara called out. She was paddling towards them in a red kayak, wearing a yellow life jacket and helmet. “Is the hide OK?”
“It will be,” Twitch replied, with a friendly wave.
“Twitch did a great job of making sure it didn’t get washed away,” Ozuru said.
Jack’s anger flared again. Why did Twitch always have to be such an angel?
“Jack,” Tara called up, “did you put the binoculars and the books into the plastic box?” Her brow was furrowed. “I’ve been worrying all night. The books are from the library and my dad’s guide to wildflowers was among them.”
Jack felt a fresh pang of guilt. He hadn’t.
“They’re safe,” Twitch said. “I took them to the Kingfisher.”
“You’re a hero.” Tara beamed warmly at him.
“Isn’t he just,” Jack said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.
Twitch glanced at him, but Jack avoided his eyes. “If everything’s all right here” – he got up – “I’d better go. Mum said I have to help clean up our house. It’s a wreck.”
“I came here to avoid cleaning up,” said Ozuru, looking pleased with himself.
“How will you get back?” Twitch asked.
“I’ll wade.” Jack leaned back, yanking off his boots and peeling off his socks. Balling them up, he put a pair in each pocket. Getting to his feet, he pulled up his joggers and waterproof trousers as high as they would go, till the elasticated cuffs started cutting off the blood circulation in his thighs. “See?”
“You could cut your foot,” Ozuru said.
“I’ll put the boots back on. This way it doesn’t matter if they fill with water.”
“Oh, OK.” Ozuru, Twitch and Tara watched Jack with amused disbelief as he pulled his boots on.
Jack fumed as he felt their eyes watching him climb down the ladder. He tried not to wince as his boots filled with freezing cold water.
He’d show Twitch who was the real detective.
“Ozuru, you should give him a lift,” Twitch said.
“I don’t want one!” Jack shouted.
“Are you OK?” Tara asked softly as he waded past her kayak.
“I’m fine.” He gave her a forced smile.
Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, Jack headed towards the trees, hoping to find a way back to the footpath. He tried to look confident and sure-footed, as he slipped and skidded on the uneven, unseeable undergrowth, aware that they were watching him.
They’re probably hoping I fall, Jack thought angrily. Give them another good laugh.
He wanted to find Ava and Terry. They knew he wasn’t playing at being a detective. They took him seriously. They understood him, and he wanted to talk to them about the case.
Jack’s spirits rose when he spotted the shopping trolley. He felt the compacted earth of the footpath under his feet. The water was only knee-deep here and it was relatively easy to wade to the towpath.
One thing Twitch had said stuck in Jack’s head: every bird-lover was following the vulture’s journey, so if someone tried to kill it, they’d be caught. Jack had a vision of Nick Skinner’s wily face as he tapped his temple and said, “Can’t shoot it. Got to be clever about it.” How, exactly, was Nick Skinner being clever? That’s what Jack wanted to find out.
It took an hour of careful wading up the drowned towpath for Jack to reach the Rosefinch Marina. He was freezing cold and shivering by the time he arrived. The marina was bursting with boats that had had the same idea as Nan. He found the Kingfisher nestling among them and knocked on the door.
“It’s Jack,” Tippi proclaimed with delight.
“Boots off. Leave them outside.” Nan handed him a small towel. “Dry your feet.”
Tippi laughed when she saw Jack’s feet were bare. “Where are your socks?”
Jack moved his hands as if he were doing a magic trick, then pulled them out of his pockets. “Ta-dah!”
“Nice of you to come find us.” Ava smiled at him from the table.
“Are you hungry, Jack?” Nan asked. “We were about to have lunch. Cheese and tomato sandwiches. Want to join us?”
“Yes, please.” Jack was starving. He hadn’t eaten any breakfast. He sat down opposite Ava.
What is it? Ava mouthed, able to see that something was wrong.
“I thought of something,” Jack whispered.
“What are you whispering about?” Tippi said, carrying a plate of sandwiches over to the table.
“Nothing.” Jack smiled at her. “These sandwiches look delicious.”
“They’re just sandwiches.” Tippi narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Jack’s face. “Is it a secret?” She looked at Ava. “It is, isn’t it? Tell me. Please.”
“There is no secret.” Jack picked up a sandwich.
Tippi frowned, eyeing Jack suspiciously. “I don’t believe you.”
“Urgh! Go away, Tippi.” Ava shooed her. “You shouldn’t earwig other people’s conversations.”
“You just want me to go away so you can be in private.” She puckered up her lips and made kissing noises.
Ava grabbed the cushion beside her and hurled it at her little sister. It was right on target, smacking Tippi in the face.
Tippi’s lip quivered, and she ran out of the room, bursting into tears. Nan shot Ava an unimpressed look and went after her.
“Ava, what day is it today?” Jack asked.
“Tuesday.”
“Right. Do you remember what Nick Skinner said when he left Peaky’s house?”
Ava’s brown eyes grew wide. “He said … ‘Tuesday, six o’clock, don’t be late.’”
Jack nodded. “What if the cat shootings and the plot to kill the vulture are connected?”
“You think the meeting is about the vulture?”
“It could be. I keep thinking about what Nick Skinner said, about being clever. He’s obviously got a plan…”
“But we don’t know where the meeting’s happening.”
“But we do know it’s happening today and who’s going to it,” Jack pointed out. “All we have to do is follow one of them.”
Under the table, Jack saw the plastic box of stuff that Twitch had brought from the hide. In it was a pile of books. The top one was called A Pocket Guide to Birds of Prey. A bookmark was poking out of it. Removing the lid, he lifted the book out, opening it at the section about vultures. “We might need this.”
“You said that we should tell Twitch and the others,” Ava reminded him.
“Yeah, well, I just tried.” Jack sighed dejectedly. “Twitch laughed at me and said I was making things up so I could play at being a detective.”
“He didn’t!” Ava was shocked.
“He did.” Ava’s outrage made Jack feel better about being angry with Twitch. “We’ll see what he thinks of our detective skills when we save the bearded vulture and catch the evil cat killer without him.” He took a bite of his sandwich and looked out of the window as he chewed. “How long do you think it’ll take for the water to go down?”
“Nan said there are ways of moving water down the canal, and that the bulk of the water will go quite quickly, but that it could take a couple of weeks before the water levels are back to normal.”
“A couple of weeks!”
“And that’s only if it doesn’t rain again.”
“I’d better get myself a pair of waders.” Jack took a swig of squash. “We need to find Terry if we’re going to spy on the meeting at six o’clock.”
The door opened and Nan came in. Tippi was hugging her and hiding behind her thigh. “Tippi is upset that you threw the cushion at her.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “She was making gross noises and saying I wanted to kiss Jack.”
“I was only joking,” Tippi mumbled into Nan’s trousers.
“Why don’t you both say sorry to each other,” Nan suggested.
“But she hurt me!” Tippi wailed.
“I’m sorry … that you’re such a baby,” Ava said, getting to her feet. “Come on, Jack. Let’s go.”
“And where do you think you’re off to?” Nan asked.
“Terry’s house,” Ava said. “I’ll be with Jack, we’ll be careful.”
“Make up with Tippi first. I won’t have you fighting. If you can’t be nice to each other, I’ll turn the boat around and take you both home to your mother.”
“Sorry, Tippi,” Ava said, sulkily.
“And you, Tippi,” Nan prompted.
“Sorry, Ava,” Tippi replied.
“I’ll be back after dinner,” Ava said, taking a pair of waterproof trousers from a hook by the door and pulling them on over her leggings. “We’ll eat at Terry’s.”
“You don’t have two spare carrier bags and a couple of elastic bands, do you?” Jack asked.
Nan pulled a couple of plastic bags from a drawer and handed them to him.
He put on his socks, then stepped into the bags. Taking elastic bands from a bowl of bits and bobs on the side, he used them to hold the bags around his feet and calves, before sliding them into his wet wellington boots.
“I want to go with them,” Tippi muttered to Nan.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, petal,” Nan said softly, kissing the top of her head. “There’s too much water out there. You and I can do some painting. How about we do some more bee-eaters?”
“See you later,” Ava called out as they left. She set a brisk pace as they made their way back towards town.
“Terry’s house is at the bottom of the hill that leads up to Twitch’s. It will have been hit by the floodwater.”
“If he’s helping out at home, he might not be able to come with us.”
“Maybe, but Terry has two older brothers, three older sisters and one younger sister. There are plenty of people to help out.”
“Terry’s one of seven?”
“Yeah. I think that’s why he’s so easy to get along with. He’s difficult to upset, and he doesn’t hold grudges,” Jack said. “It’s probably why he talks so much too. He has to, to be heard in his house. It makes sense him being best mates with Ozuru.”
“Why?”
“Because Ozuru’s chill. He’s not competitive” – Jack paused – “and he thinks before he speaks.”
“That’s some pretty impressive detective work.” Ava smiled at him. “You certainly aren’t playing.”
“Count me in,” Terry said, after Jack and Ava had told him that they wanted to eavesdrop on Nick Skinner’s meeting. “Anything’s got to be better than staying in this mad house.”
The three of them were perching on the breakfast bar in Terry’s kitchen. The lino floor was covered with about ten centimetres of water.
“Mum and Dad turned us into a human chain this morning so we could get all the furniture and stuff upstairs quickly,” Terry said. “Everything is piled up in our bedrooms. Who knows where we’re going to sleep? The place looks like a jumble sale. Mum keeps crying.” He looked down at the kitchen floor and sighed. “Dad keeps going on about the house insurance and saying the car will be ruined.” He looked at Jack. “He blames the toffs on the hill for burning the heather and drying out the land.”
“That’s what Reggie said.”
“I daren’t tell him I’ve got a job up there helping out at the party on Friday.” Terry looked guilty.
“You don’t have to do it,” Jack said.
“I’m going to give Dad the money,” Terry said, “and if it means we stop them from hurting that vulture, it’s worth it.” He looked at Jack. “Did you tell Twitch and the others? Together, we’ve got a better chance of stopping Nick Skinner.”
“I tried.” Jack shook his head. “Twitch laughed. He said it was impossible that someone would want to kill the bird, and that I was just playing at being a detective.”
“He never!” Terry looked disbelieving. “Did you tell him about Lady Goremore and that room?”
“I didn’t get a chance.”
“Wow.” Terry blinked with surprise. “I really thought he’d want to help.”
“Let’s see what we find out at six o’clock,” Ava said. “We don’t know for definite what Nick Skinner’s planning. If we get some concrete evidence that he is hunting the bearded vulture, that will change Twitch’s mind.”
“We don’t need Twitch,” Jack said. “We’re doing great on our own.”
Jack, Ava and Terry decided to go to the playground behind St Mary’s church, at the top of the high street, and sit on the swings. From there, they watched the world go by. They didn’t know where Nick Skinner was going to meet Peaky, but Mord Hall was out on the west side of town, and Peaky lived on the east side. With most of the surrounding area being flooded, it stood to reason that wherever the meeting was, one of them was going to have to pass along the high street, either on foot or in a jeep.
Jack sat on the roundabout reading the chapter on vultures in the pocketbook. Terry and Ava were on the swings. He was telling her about Briddvale.
“If you go left off the high street, you get to our school. Past the school is the canal, and the old paper mill. Behind there is where Tara lives. Ozuru lives on this side of the school, closer to me. It takes me eight minutes to walk from my house to Ozuru’s front door. I timed it once. It takes me longer to walk up the hill to Twitch’s but I reckon that’s because it’s uphill all the way. I hate hills.”
Ava laughed.
“That is Mr Bettany’s, the local newsagent’s. Twitch does a paper round for him at the weekend. Mr Bettany’s a good sort. He’ll give you a free chocolate bar if you can prove it’s your birthday.”
“What’s he doing now?” Ava asked, as they watched the proprietor of the newsagent carrying box after box out of his shop and piling them up down a waterlogged side alley.
“Floodwater’s got to his stock,” Terry said mournfully, and they all took a moment to consider the tragedy of the loss of so many delicious sweets.
A gaggle of people were setting up giant tea and coffee urns on a trestle table outside the town hall. A truck arrived with camp beds and sleeping bags.
“The flood must have got some people really bad,” Terry said, watching them unload.
“I wonder if many birdwatchers were planning to camp?” Ava said.
“Dad says the hotel and all the bed and breakfasts are full.”
“It’s them,” Jack hissed, jumping up, then sitting back down again, trying to look casual. “It’s Peaky and he’s with Madden.”
Terry and Ava kept swinging, watching Peaky and Madden sloshing down the high street, shoving and splashing one another. Everyone who saw them coming moved out of their way or crossed the road.
“They’re not in any hurry,” Ava said.
“What time is it?” Jack asked.
Terry looked at his watch. “Four forty-seven.”
“We should follow them,” Jack said, getting up.
“Let them get further ahead first,” Terry said, nervously. “We don’t want them to see us.”
Once Peaky and Madden were at the end of the parade of shops, Jack, Ava and Terry left the playground, trying to look naturally nonchalant.
“They’re going in the direction of Mord Hall,” Jack observed.
As they got towards the edge of town, the buildings thinned and Jack felt more conspicuous, but he needn’t have worried. It didn’t cross the minds of the two lads in front that anyone would be following them. They didn’t turn around.
Once they’d left Briddvale, the road developed an incline and the water got shallower until there was nothing but rivulets streaming down the hill. Jack suggested they leap the ditch beside the road, which had become a stream, and walk along behind the hedgerow so that, should Peaky and Madden turn around, they wouldn’t be seen.
