Gus suddenly sighed. ‘I’m homesick. I can’t stand the idea that those selfish, evil bullies from my childhood are running around in our sewer.’
‘Yes, I’m homesick too,’ Leo said. He took a giant bite out of the pizza crust.
‘We have to stop them,’ I said. ‘There’s no doubt about that. Let’s find a way to kick their mangy little tails back to Hull.’
CHAPTER NINE
‘Why did you drag me out here?’ Jacob said, as he accepted a pint of beer from Fred the landlord. ‘You know it’s not my thing to go to the pub more than once a week.’
‘Emily said you needed cheering up,’ Dave said, taking a large gulp from his pint. He eyed Jacob. ‘Tell me about your experiment.’
Jacob shrugged. ‘There’s not much to tell. It failed and now I don’t know how to continue.’
‘I’m sorry about that,’ Dave said. ‘I truly am. But don’t let it drag you down. You’ve experienced failures before in the past and you’ve never let it affect you. You’ll find a way to pick it up again, mark my words.’
‘I hope so.’ Jacob took a gulp from his own pint. ‘But in the meantime I’ve got to catch up on loads of little experiments that I’ve neglected for too long.’
‘Whatever you think is best.’ Dave wiped the condensation off his glass. ‘Don’t do anything crazy though. You know what people think about you going into their gardens.’
Jacob glared at him. ‘They’re fine with it. I’ve never had any complaints.’
‘That’s perhaps because they’re scared to approach you when you’re in one of your observation modes.’
‘Nah, I’m sure that’s not the case.’
Abe Monday approached and pulled out a bar stool. ‘I’d never thought I’d see you here on a Tuesday evening, Jacob.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘Any news on the murder?’ Dave said.
Abe shook his head. ‘Not really, other than that McDermott is still super focussed on catching the burglar.’
‘I thought McDermott had arrested Kenneth Field?’ Jacob said.
‘Kenneth just came to the station with us to answer some questions. He’s not a real suspect for now.’
‘Leave it to Mrs Jefferson to get it all wrong,’ Jacob said. He twirled his glass around on its coaster.
The door of the pub opened and Gareth walked in. He joined Jacob, Dave and Abe at the bar.
‘Evening, gents.’ He looked at their half empty pint glasses. ‘I’m having what they’re having,’ he said to Fred and sat down next to Jacob.
‘How are you doing, Gareth?’ Dave said. ‘How’s life in the sewers?’
‘Always good weather and plenty of nature.’ Gareth grinned. ‘I’m sure you guys are jealous.’
Dave threw a coaster at him. ‘Where are you working at the moment?’
Gareth took a swig from the pint of lager Fred put in front of him. ‘We’re replacing part of the sewer in Acomb. You know, under the pedestrian area in front of the shops.’
‘Go and rub it in, will you?’ Dave said. ‘What does Acomb have that Milbury doesn’t? We need a new sewer as well.’
‘Sorry, my friend. You know as well as I do that York Council doesn’t have that much money to go around. It’s one neighbourhood at a time.’ Gareth took a handful of peanuts from a little bowl and popped them into his mouth. ‘I’m glad I don’t deal with the money. I just go where I am sent. By the way, have you figured out yet where that blob of fat could have come from?’
Dave shook his head. ‘No idea.’ His brow wrinkled. ‘It could’ve come from a shop, of course, but I doubt that. Most of the shops at the bottom end have been there for years. If it came from any of them, we would’ve had problems before.’
‘Hmm, a bit of a mystery.’
‘Another one,’ Jacob said.
The door opened again and a woman came in wearing a red dress. Gareth got up. ‘There’s the missus. Gotta go. I promised her a night away from the boys. We’re doing a pub dinner and then a movie at the community centre.’
‘I see you’re really splashing out,’ Dave said.
‘Funny you should say that.’ Gareth winked at him. ‘Better make sure I don’t forget to compliment her on her new dress.’
They watched as Gareth and his wife took a table for two at the other end of the pub.
‘What about those break-ins? Aren’t they strange?’ Dave said to Abe. ‘What is your take on this? Is it the same burglar who robbed Field’s?’
‘If it is, then he’s McDermott’s prime suspect. Why risk it by coming back?’
‘So you don’t think it’s the same person,’ Jacob said.
Abe shrugged. ‘Who knows?’
‘But why go to the trouble of breaking into a building and then not taking anything?’ Dave said. ‘It just seems too much fuss. And that’s not even taking into consideration that you run the risk of being caught.’
They pondered Dave’s words.
‘Maybe he’s looking for something really specific to steal and not finding it anywhere,’ Abe said.
‘A thief who doesn’t do his homework before he breaks in somewhere, is not really a smart guy,’ Jacob said. He screwed up his face in thought. ‘No, it must be something else.’
A young man got up and made his way to the door. Jacob noticed his straw-coloured hair, just before he pulled the hood of his sweater over his head. What was it with youths these days, always wearing hooded sweaters?
* * *
Ricky was sure of it now. The sewer guy knew more about his loot than he let on. Why else had he bought a new dress for his wife? Even the warden had noticed he was splashing out. It seemed that everyone was spending his loot but him. He swatted at a piece of shrubbery that was in his way. The sewer guy must have hidden the loot somewhere else than in his van. If he only knew where!
He walked along the edge of Milbury Green. Some children were playing football, but he didn’t notice them. How innocent were the warden and sewer guy pretending to be puzzled by the break-ins. Of course they knew he was looking for his loot! Maybe he should steal something the next time. Puzzle them a bit more. And why had that cop said that he was the prime suspect for the murder? He didn’t kill that bloke!
Ricky turned into Milbury Road. No, the sewers! Like it or not, that’s where he had to go back to. The sewer guy might have sold some of the loot to get a new dress for his wife, but the rest was most likely still down there.
He picked up the pace. He’d better get ready for another descent. But as it wouldn’t be dark for a while yet, it might be an idea to get some shuteye before he went out again. He sat down at the bus stop to wait for the bus to take him back home. One thing was sure, no one was going to stop him finding his loot this time!
* * *
Paddy
Everything was silent as I crawled down a side-pipe into the sewers. I wasn’t really sure why I was doing this, but the whole day we hadn’t heard anything of the Three Bambini and I wanted to know what they were up to. Were they planning of moving on to Ratville or Milbury Hill? My stomach clenched itself into a ball at the thought of my family being in danger from them. Or were they content for now to be in our sewer?
I reached the main sewer. For a while I listened to the sounds coming from further down, then I inched my nose around the corner.
There they were, the three of them. Lying on their backs, snoring away, Victor in the middle with one of his brothers on either side. I became all hot under my fur at the thought that they apparently felt so safe in their new home that they hadn’t even set up a guard. Mangy fur balls.
Suddenly a strange noise reverberated through the silent sewer. What was that? It seemed to come from the direction of the manhole.
I looked down the sewer, careful not to be spotted by the Bambini. They had woken up with a start.
‘What was that noise?’ Dino said, looking about him, his eyes still half-closed.
Sal pointed in my direction. ‘It came from down
there.’
‘Let’s have a look,’ Victor said. ‘Better make sure it’s not my spindly-tailed cousins, trying to get their sewer back.’
I made myself as small as I could in the side-pipe, but had already seen the legs of a two-legged coming down the manhole.
The Three Bambini walked past the side-pipe without noticing me. They stopped a little further down and stared as the two-legged reached the sewer floor. He shone a bright light down the tunnel, then with careful steps started coming towards us.
‘We need to get out of here!’ Sal said. ‘He might trap us!’
‘Why would he?’ Victor said, giving Sal a slap across the head. ‘He doesn’t have any equipment with him. He’s not a trapper. This isn’t Hull.’
The two-legged came closer and closer and as the light briefly shone on his face, I realised that it was Yellow Hair. Had he found out Gus’ treasure was still in the sewer and was now coming back to get it?
‘We need to do something,’ Dino said, looking over his shoulder as if to look for an escape route. ‘He’s getting too close.’
‘I know what I will do,’ Victor said, and with an almighty shriek he jumped forward. Dino and Sal followed his lead and also sprang forward.
The two-legged recoiled back, his light falling on the Three Bambini that now attacked him.
‘What the…?!’ he said, before dropping his light, and raising his hands. Victor jumped up at him, scratching his hands and face, while Dino and Sal attacked his ankles.
Losing his balance Yellow Hair now fell face forward into the sewer, where he landed with a splash. Scrambling up as quick as he could, he looked down at his wet trousers with disgust on his face, only just in time noticing that the Bambini jumped at him again. They raced up his legs and continued scratching his hands.
Yellow Hair started swiping at them, shouting at the top of his lungs. With difficulty he stumbled back to the manhole, with Dino nipping at his ankles.
I realised it was time for me to make my retreat as well. If the Bambini found me now, they would rip me to shreds, the state they were in.
I took one last look at Yellow Hair as he climbed back up the manhole, then ran up the side-pipe, making my escape. My heart pounded in my throat. No wonder everyone was so afraid of the Mob!
As I made my way through the hole in the wall, I knew that I’d learned two important things tonight. One, the Bambini were serious about defending this particular bit of sewer and two, Yellow Hair was still searching for the treasure.
CHAPTER TEN
It never ceased to amaze him that ants were able to build nests anywhere. Jacob bent low over the pile of rubble that was lying in the corner of a back garden. The house to which it belonged had been empty for almost a year, leaving it a wilderness. The people who moved in about three weeks ago, hadn’t had a chance yet to do something about it.
He pulled out his notebook and flipped to the page where he had taken some notes on the anthill a number of months ago. It definitely had grown since then.
‘Can I ask what you are doing here?’ Jacob nearly dropped his pen when a voice suddenly came from behind him.
He looked up at Inspector McDermott, who stood, legs wide and arms crossed, glaring at him. Behind him, the new owners of the house were peeking through the curtains in the back window. The woman’s hair still in curlers.
‘Mr and Mrs Roberts have filed a complaint against you,’ McDermott said. ‘They don’t like it when you rummage around their garden. Mrs Roberts nearly got the fright of her life when she spotted you.’
‘But I’ve gone into people’s gardens my whole life.’ Jacob got up. ‘Everyone here knows I do that sort of thing and no one minds.’
McDermott sighed. ‘That’s not an excuse to keep doing it. The Robertses have just moved here and it unsettles them to find you stalking their back garden at an ungodly hour.’
‘It’s twenty past six,’ Jacob said, consulting his watch.
‘As I said, ungodly hour.’ McDermott waved his arm in the direction of the street. ‘Let’s go.’
As they walked past the house, Jacob looked over his shoulder at the inspector. ‘Why are you responding to the Robertses’ call yourself? Don’t you have minions who do this work for you?’
‘You’re my pet project. I couldn’t let this one go.’
They reached the street.
‘Now be off with you,’ McDermott said. ‘I will take action if I get any more complaints about you.’
Jacob watched as McDermott walked down Mortar Street. His scalp pricked and he balled his fist. How dare McDermott escort him out of a garden like an unruly teenager. Pet project? The nerve of the man. This was obviously not going to stop him doing his experiments!
At a fast pace, Jacob made his way to Lower Clay Street and ducked into Miss Foley’s garden. She’d known him for years, she wouldn’t complain. He crouched down at her pond and took some quick notes about the newts. McDermott wasn’t going to stop him doing what he had done all his life.
Five minutes later, Jacob walked down Woolaston Road on his way to buy a newspaper. There wasn’t much traffic yet and he was surprised to find Dave standing in the middle of the road in his dayglow jacket, staring down at a manhole cover. What on earth was he doing there?
‘Good morning,’ Dave said, as Jacob walked up to him.
‘Morning.’ Jacob watched as his friend pushed the cover back over the manhole with his foot. ‘What are you doing?’
‘It was standing open a bit,’ Dave said. He looked puzzled. ‘I was just walking by when I noticed it wasn’t closed properly. Thought I’d better check it out.’
‘How could it have opened?’ Jacob tapped the manhole cover with his foot. ‘It’s too heavy to open by itself.’
‘Don’t say that,’ Dave said. ‘I saw on TV once that manhole covers can be blown off by an explosion in the sewers. It’s the air pressure you see.’
Jacob shook his head. ‘If there had been an explosion in the sewers last night, you would’ve heard about it.’
‘True, but still… Maybe a little surge in air pressure could lift it up just a bit?’ He scratched his head.
‘You watch too much TV. It’s far more likely that someone went down into the sewers and forgot to close it properly.’
‘Yeah, you’re right. But why? And who?’
The two men stared at the cover.
‘Wait a minute.’ Jacob’s eagle eye had spotted a faint smudge on the road. ‘Doesn’t that look a bit like a footprint?’ He pointed a bit further down. ‘And there’s another one.’
‘So someone did go down into the sewers last night,’ Dave said. ‘Who could it have been?’
‘No idea.’
The two men moved to the pavement to let a cement truck pass.
‘Have there been any more break-ins?’ Jacob said.
‘Not that I’ve heard of.’ Dave waved a hand in the direction of the corner supermarket. ‘I was on my way to get the morning paper.’
‘So was I.’ Together they walked on. Just before turning into the supermarket, Jacob looked over his shoulder at the manhole cover. He had a bad feeling about it.
* * *
Ugh. Emily kicked at some dandelion flowers that seemingly grew out of the pavement. She didn’t feel like going to work at all today. Aunt Peggy had been a pain in the backside the past few days, constantly keeping an eye on her. And however hard she was working in the shop, she didn’t seem able to convince her aunt she was doing her best.
And now Uncle Dave and Aunt Peggy had been talking about her behind her back. How dare they! What was it to them how hard she worked? Aunt Peggy had told Uncle Dave that she wasn’t taking the work at Posh Nosh serious enough. Why couldn’t the woman see that she was? But let’s face it, there were also more interesting things to do, like finding Nate’s killer.
Uncle Dave had taken her aside last evening telling her he was worried about her. He said that part of her probation was that she needed to prove that she wa
s working hard, and that she couldn’t let things slip. Otherwise he and Aunt Peggy would be her guardians forever, and he surely didn’t want that to happen. Well, newsflash, Uncle Dave. Neither did she!
Without looking where she was going, Emily crossed Woolaston Road and took the turn into Upper Tile Street. Going past the warden’s office she on purpose didn’t check if Uncle Dave was in, as she normally did. She didn’t want to have to wave at him and pretend she was okay.
She also didn’t want him to see the bulge her two rats made in the pocket of her hoody. He had forbidden her to take her rats to work this morning, but she didn’t see the harm. Aunt Peggy didn’t know about them and she didn’t actually take them into the shop! They would be sleeping in the pocket, while her sweater hung by the back door, what was wrong with that?
She turned into the alleyway. But the worst thing was that Uncle Dave had said that she was prone to obsess over causes. She hated it when he did air quotes. What was it to him if she wanted to help Sam and prove that she had nothing to do with Nate’s murder? Sam was her friend. She should help her. Wasn’t that the definition of a friend?
And then telling her that her previous obsession had got her into the trouble she was in. Ridiculous! If she hadn’t obsessed over saving that old Victorian hotel from being demolished for a golf course, her hometown would have lost a significant landmark. It wasn’t her fault that the police had used violence to evict her and the other squatters. They had been peaceful demonstrators. But if a policeman grabs your arm, you have no choice but to bite him in the hand. No, Uncle Dave wasn’t going to stop her obsessing over helping her friends. Tsss.
Nearing the back door of Posh Nosh, Emily fervently hoped that Aunt Peggy wasn’t going to be too tiresome today. She wanted to ask her if she could help to get Jacob over his disappointment of his failed computer test. He needed something else to do than just staring at bugs.
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