The Deadly Dare Mysteries

by Malorie Blackman

  He risked a look at Bullet who was laughing at some joke his dad had just told him. Even Ricky was laughing. They might have been fooled by Darius’s act but Theo most certainly wasn’t. Darius might have acknowledged Bullet openly as his son, he might even have left him an awful lot of money in his will, but there was more to it than that. All this was moving much, much too fast. The introductions, the will-changing, the invites to DemTech and the apartment. It was as if Darius wanted the whole world to know that he was accepting his son with open arms. But Theo just couldn’t shake the feeling that Darius was up to something. Something which might cost all of them, but especially Bullet, very dear indeed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Opinions

  ‘HERE WE ARE! Seventh floor! Everyone out.’ Darius was the last one out of the lift. ‘This way to the labs.’

  The more Darius spoke, the less impressed Theo was with him. ‘I don’t know who he thinks he’s fooling with his Willy Wonka impersonation,’ Theo thought with a scowl.

  ‘This floor contains our testing labs. The sixth and seventh floors of this building are used for research and development in its initial stages. I have other R&D facilities up and down the country, of course.’

  ‘Of course,’ Theo muttered.

  Darius and Bullet turned to look at him. Darius’s smile wavered only slightly.

  ‘Anyway, at the moment the testing labs are all concentrating on the Lazarus suit,’ Darius continued.

  ‘Which was your idea, Mr Marriott – wasn’t it?’ Theo asked politely.

  ‘Yes, as a matter of fact it was,’ Darius replied, his mask of bonhomie never slipping.

  ‘Aren’t you afraid someone will try to steal your idea?’ Ricky asked.

  ‘Not with the security I have in this building. People know about the Lazarus suit now, of course. It was officially announced over a month ago now. But they don’t know about any of the components or the technology used. I’m sure any number of my competitors would sell their souls for one of our prototype suits but it’s not going to happen.’

  Ricky looked around, scepticism on his face.

  ‘The doors may look like wood, but they’re solid steel with locking mechanisms we designed ourselves here at Dem-Tech. The windows are all made of toughened glass so that nothing short of rapid machine-gun fire at close range could make so much as a dent in them. Believe me, no one’s walking out of this building with anything that doesn’t belong to them – and the Lazarus suit is mine.’

  Darius opened the nearest door to the lift. Three people occupied the room – one man and two women, each wearing white overalls. One sat at a computer, the other two sat at the huge table in the middle of the room. Three or four computers were situated on the only other table against the far wall. Books lined one set of shelves and electronic instruments lined another. High up on the wall there was a ventilation grille, about three times the size of the one in the bathroom in Theo’s house. A fire extinguisher and a smoke alarm where the glass had to be broken to raise the alarm were hidden away in one corner of the room. The occupants of the room sat on padded wooden stools which didn’t look at all comfortable.

  That’s probably Darius Marriott making the chairs uncomfy to make sure that no one falls asleep on the job, Theo thought.

  ‘Hi, Sam. How’s it going?’ Darius asked the man at the middle table.

  ‘Fine thanks, Mr Marriott,’ Sam replied. ‘The testing is going very smoothly indeed.’

  ‘That’s what I like to hear.’ Darius rubbed his hands together. ‘So we’re still on schedule?’

  ‘Yes, sir. No problem.’

  ‘How do you test something like the Lazarus suit?’ Theo couldn’t help asking. ‘I mean, don’t you need people to act as guinea pigs?’

  The room went strangely quiet at that. Tense moments passed, before Darius laughed lightly.

  ‘We test it as much as we can using computer simulations. And we have anatomically correct robots or dummies which are programmed to display any number of symptoms for our Lazarus suits to deal with.’

  ‘Oh I see,’ Theo said doubtfully.

  He wondered what he had said to make everyone pause like that.

  ‘And these suits are just for presidents and prime ministers and that?’

  ‘Not at all. Our suits come in all shapes and sizes,’ Darius denied.

  ‘They’re for anyone who can afford them,’ a woman piped up from across the room in front of a computer.

  Darius turned and lasered her with his look. The woman immediately turned back to her computer, suddenly very busy.

  ‘Dad, can we see some of your other labs?’ Bullet asked quickly.

  Darius started, almost as if he’d forgotten about them for a moment. ‘Yes, of course. Right this way.’

  Darius took them into some more of the labs on the seventh floor. In one lab, a short woman was putting on a Lazarus suit, adjusting the straps across her chest and waist to ensure a snug fit.

  ‘How d’you know which medications to put in the suit?’ Bullet asked.

  ‘That’s all worked out beforehand, based on each individual’s medical history,’ Darius answered.

  ‘And how d’you set it up?’

  Theo frowned at Bullet. Why did he want to know that? What difference did it make? Bullet turned to face Theo as if he’d heard the unspoken questions.

  ‘Just interested,’ he said, defensively.

  Darius proceeded to explain exactly how the appropriate syringes with the necessary medication should be attached to the suit.

  ‘And my suit will do the rest,’ he finished with a flourish.

  ‘It’s a very, very clever idea, Dad,’ Bullet enthused. ‘I hope I can come up with something half as good when I’m an inventor.’

  By the time Darius had showed them around the R&D labs on the sixth floor as well, Theo had to admit he was very impressed. The testing labs were like nothing he’d ever imagined. One contained a mockup of an intensive care hospital ward, another contained a number of different-sized suits at various stages of development and all the labs contained more electronic gadgetry than Theo had ever seen in his life.

  ‘This lot must’ve cost a fortune,’ Theo whistled. For the first time he was beginning to appreciate just how rich Darius Marriott really was.

  ‘DemTech have spent over thirty million on the Lazarus suit already,’ Darius shrugged. ‘But it’s all going to be worth it.’

  Theo nodded. He could well believe it. He wouldn’t have minded being shown around again as it was a lot to take in at just one go, but unfortunately it was getting late.

  ‘Thank you so much for showing us around, Mr Marriott,’ Ricky said sincerely. ‘It was great – really interesting.’

  ‘My pleasure,’ Darius smiled, escorting them back to the lift. ‘It’s the least I could do. After all, you did help to save my life.’

  ‘Oh yes! By the way, Mr Marriott, did the police ever tell you what was in that hypodermic syringe left by the bogus doctor?’ asked Theo.

  Darius’s expression immediately became strangely watchful. ‘Ever the detective, eh! As a matter of fact, they did tell me. Apparently it was potassium chloride. It would’ve made my heart stop almost immediately and everyone would’ve assumed I’d had another heart attack – fatal this time.’

  ‘So someone was still trying to make it look like an accident,’ Theo mused to himself.

  ‘Well, at least all that nonsense is over now.’ Darius’s smile missed his eyes by kilometres. ‘So thank you for your concern but there’s no need to worry.’

  ‘Did the police catch the person responsible, then?’ Ricky asked.

  ‘No, I did,’ Darius replied.

  Theo and Ricky stared at him, astounded.

  ‘Bullet didn’t tell us the person who tried to harm you had been arrested.’ Ricky faced Bullet with accusatory eyes.

  ‘I didn’t know,’ said Bullet. ‘But I’m so glad, Dad.’

  ‘You must be very relieved.’ Theo tho
ught about how he’d feel if he had the sword of Damocles suddenly removed from over his head. Relief wouldn’t begin to describe it.

  ‘Yes. It is good news,’ Darius agreed evenly.

  Good news! Is that all he had to say? Good news? Theo looked at Darius suspiciously and all at once he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Darius was lying. But why? Why?

  ‘I was sorry to hear about your friend’s accident. Toby tells me the driver jumped a red light and hit Angela and never stopped.’

  ‘I don’t understand. What …?’

  A swift elbow in the ribs from Ricky halted the rest of Theo’s sentence.

  ‘Yeah! I don’t understand how anyone could do something like that either,’ Ricky said. ‘But at least Angela’s doing OK in hospital. We’re going to visit her tomorrow.’

  ‘Give her my best, won’t you,’ said Darius.

  Ricky nodded.

  ‘So you’re all off home now?’ Darius asked as the lift arrived.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘What about you, Toby? Will you be having dinner at my apartment or with your mum? I’ll give you a lift home afterwards if you have dinner with me.’

  Bullet thought for a while. ‘With Mum I think.’

  ‘Then I’ll see you all soon,’ Darius said.

  ‘Oh, hang on. Sorry, Dad. I’ve left my duffel bag in lab number four. I’ll just go and get it.’ And before anyone could say a word, Bullet was off. An embarrassed silence descended as they all tried to find something to say.

  ‘How did you catch the person who tried to … harm you?’ Theo asked at last.

  ‘I don’t think I should say. It’s now in the hands of the police and I’m not supposed to talk about it until after the court case,’ Darius replied.

  Or at least until you’ve had a chance to make up a reasonable story, Theo thought, making sure his expression stayed perfectly neutral.

  ‘Have all those people in the offices on the same floor as you been at this company a long time?’ asked Theo.

  Darius didn’t attempt to hide the suspicious look on his face. ‘Ron and I started the company and Faith and Yves came on board within the first year.’

  ‘It’s lucky it wasn’t any of them, then.’ Theo decided to try his luck.

  ‘None of them have any reason to try and get rid of me. They all have plenty of shares in the company and they’re each paper millionaires because of it. Even Jo my secretary has shares in DemTech. She’s a very rich woman too.’

  ‘What’s a paper millionaire?’ Theo asked.

  Darius looked annoyed. ‘It means that they all have shares which are worth a great deal of money if they were to sell them – which they can’t, unless they sell them to me.’

  ‘Why can’t they sell them to someone else?’

  ‘Because the shares were signed over to them on the strict understanding that each of the shareholders had to hold on to their shares for a minimum of fifteen years, or sell them back to me at the price they originally bought them for. They all signed contracts to that effect. I’m not having DemTech carved up by big conglomerates trying to buy all the shares they can, so that they can take over my company. And if any of the other stock holders so much as live together, never mind get married, one of the parties has to give up all rights to their shares. In effect the shares come back to me.’

  ‘So if Yves and Faith or Ron and Faith get married, one of them loses their shares? Is that right?’ Theo wanted to make sure that he hadn’t misunderstood.

  Darius nodded. ‘Correct. The person with the largest amount of shares has to give them back to me.’

  ‘And if something should happen to you?’ asked Ricky.

  ‘Then of course my fifty-one per cent stock holding in the company goes to Toby. But nothing is going to happen to me. I intend to be around for a very, very long time.’

  ‘Of course,’ Theo said. But before he could say anything else, Bullet appeared.

  ‘Here it is. I’ve found it.’ He held up his bulging duffel bag.

  They all trooped into the lift.

  ‘Toby, phone me tomorrow and let me know how you are – OK?’

  Bullet nodded. ‘See you, Dad.’

  And the lift doors shut.

  ‘I’m glad everything’s worked out OK between you and your dad,’ Theo said carefully.

  Bullet and Ricky exchanged a glance. Neither of them spoke. Once again, Theo found himself wondering just what on earth was going on.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Visiting Hours

  ‘HI, ANGELA. WE can’t stay long. How’re you feeling?’

  ‘Why can’t you stay long? You’ve only just got here.’ Angela struggled to sit up a bit more. ‘And you lot took your time visiting me. I was beginning to wonder if I had bad breath or something!’

  ‘You’ve finally guessed, huh!’ Ricky grinned.

  Angela’s look spoke unspoken volumes!

  ‘I see you’re back to normal,’ Theo said drily.

  ‘All apart from my leg here.’ Angela pointed to the plaster cast which covered most of her right leg.

  ‘How does it feel?’ Ricky asked.

  ‘Itchy! What’s the matter with you, Bullet? You’re very quiet.’

  Bullet looked at the curtains surrounding Angela’s bed, he looked up and down the hospital ward, he looked everywhere but directly at Angela.

  ‘I … er … I just wanted …’

  ‘You wanted to get down on bended knee and kiss my itchy big toe and thank me for saving your life.’ Angela grinned.

  Urrgghhh! Theo broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of it.

  ‘Well, I wouldn’t go that far,’ Bullet laughed, now looking at Angela.

  ‘But something like that – right?’

  ‘Something like that,’ Bullet agreed.

  ‘So how have you lot been getting on without me? Have you made any progress?’

  ‘Some,’ Ricky said after a brief glance at Bullet.

  ‘But not as much as we should have made by now,’ Theo added.

  ‘Let’s hear it then,’ Angela prompted.

  They spent the next ten minutes arguing about what had happened after Angela was taken to hospital, bringing Angela up-to-date with everything that had taken place.

  ‘So who’s on our list of suspects?’ asked Angela.

  Bullet and Ricky turned expectantly to Theo. ‘I think it has to be someone who’d benefit from Darius Marriott’s death.’

  ‘You had to read fifty million “How To Be A Detective” books to reach that conclusion?’ Angela was not impressed.

  ‘If you’ll let me finish!’ Theo sniffed. ‘As I see it, that narrows our list of suspects down to Darius Marriott’s wife, Samantha; Ron Westall, the company secretary; Faith Shanley, the R&D director; or Yves Hamilton, the sales and marketing director. Under Darius Marriot’s old will they’d each get another block of shares when Darius died but not enough for any one of them to get controlling interest of DemTech. But under the new will Bullet here will get fifty-one per cent of all the shares in the company which means it’ll be his. But if something happens to Bullet and his dad, then the co-directors of DemTech are laughing.’

  ‘What about Jo Fleming?’ Ricky frowned.

  ‘What about her?’ asked Theo.

  ‘Well, she’s got some shares in the company too – remember?’ Ricky pointed out.

  ‘Oh yes … I’d forgotten about her.’

  ‘So who do you think is responsible for all this?’ asked Angela.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Theo replied slowly. ‘I still can’t get over the feeling that I’m missing something – something obvious and vital. I know it has to be one of the directors of the company or Samantha Marriott but I still can’t work out who. At the moment Faith Shanley’s my favourite suspect.’

  ‘Why?’ Bullet asked, surprised.

  ‘She looks and acts like she could wrestle a shark with one hand tied behind her back,’ Theo said.

&n
bsp; ‘That doesn’t make her a killer,’ Ricky pointed out.

  ‘So who do you think it is, then?’ asked Theo.

  ‘Someone else,’ Ricky said mysteriously.

  ‘Like who?’

  Ricky shook his head, unwilling to say anything further.

  ‘Come on, Ricky. Stop being so mysterious,’ Angela cajoled.

  ‘It’s just that I’ve been doing a little detective work of my own,’ Ricky admitted. ‘And I suspect something about one of DemTech’s directors.’

  ‘What?’ Theo asked, exasperated.

  ‘I’m not going to say until I have proof.’ Ricky shook his head.

  ‘Ricky, this is Theo, Bullet and Angela you’re talking to,’ Theo said, annoyed. ‘You don’t need concrete proof to make us believe you.’

  ‘I know. But if what I suspect is true, then I want to be sure of my facts.’ When Theo opened his mouth to argue further, Ricky stated, ‘Theo, Darius Marriott is Bullet’s dad. I want to be absolutely certain I’m not making a mistake before I do anything to upset either of them or jeopardize their relationship.’

  ‘And might it come to that?’ Bullet asked quietly.

  Ricky didn’t answer. The look on his face said that he thought he’d said too much already.

  ‘What I will say is this,’ Ricky said at last. ‘Bullet, you’re not to trust any of the staff at DemTech. If anyone, anyone at all from that company, phones you and says they want to see you – for whatever reason – make sure you take one of us along with you. D’you understand?’

  Bullet nodded.

  ‘This is really important, Bullet. D’you understand me? You’re not to trust anyone from DemTech.’

  ‘I get it. I get it.’ Bullet frowned.

  Everyone stared at Ricky. None of them had ever before heard that note of urgency in his voice.

  ‘Ricky, stop it.’ Bullet frowned. ‘You’re … you’re making me nervous.’

  ‘I hope so,’ Ricky said seriously. ‘I really hope so. ’Cos if you don’t do as I say – it’ll probably be the last thing you ever do.’

  Theo wasn’t going to let him get away with that. ‘Ricky, d’you remember when Jade was convinced her dead dad was sending her e-mail messages and I thought I’d discovered who the real culprit was?’ Theo reminded his friend. ‘I set a trap to catch him and I didn’t tell you what I was doing.’