‘Teddy and Harriet, can you guys go after Mrs Abbott? Stall her. Tell her we found something out about Patrick Radcliffe and we’ll meet her at her cottage,’ I say.
‘You got it,’ he replies, and Harriet nods. They follow the crowd outside.
‘Come on,’ I say to Audrey. ‘If this really was Clover, then she has to be aware of the consequences.’ I gesture down at my bleeding arms and legs. ‘We need to get through to her before someone really gets hurt.’
‘I can’t believe Clover would have endangered us like that. She sounded really worried in that episode.’ Audrey’s right. If it wasn’t for Mrs Abbott’s confirmation that she’d seen Clover hanging the wreath round the mirror, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. But I’m beginning to realize that, no matter what I thought, I don’t really know Clover at all.
Adrenaline is pumping through my body, my arms stinging from the scratches.
‘When she said someone dangerous was operating at the school, I didn’t realize she meant herself. She needs to be stopped.’ I push through the heavy doors leading into Polaris House. The school is eerie, the halls echoing and empty – the students are all outside round the roaring fire. I can hear the muffled sound of laughter through the stone walls.
We march through the corridors, opening each door with such force I worry one will come off its hinges.
‘She’s definitely doing this for her own gain – there’s absolutely no doubt about that,’ I say. Audrey is following closely behind me and I can sense an adrenaline boost in her too. I feel like we’re on the last level of a computer game, and we’re heading to defeat the big boss.
‘I know she said it’s not about the money, but it must be. Regardless, we’re going to bring her to Mrs Abbott right now,’ I say as I push Clover’s bedroom door open.
Audrey states the obvious: ‘She’s not here.’
‘But she said she wasn’t going to the party. I just assumed she’d be here. Surely she’s not back at the tower?’ I wade through the mess on the floor to Clover’s bed and sit down, feeling deflated. But then I notice something out of the ordinary. The clothes, shoes and make-up aren’t the only things among the mess. There are books, hard drives, the girls’ secret phones and pages ripped from workbooks. It looks like someone’s been through all their stuff. I turn round and notice that the bedding I’m sitting on is also completely messed up. The sheets are coming loose and the mattress isn’t sitting on the bedframe properly. My heart is in my mouth. This doesn’t feel right.
‘Someone’s been in here!’ I stand up in a panic and see Audrey staring blankly at Clover’s desk. Her face is turning whiter by the second.
‘Ivy … there’s blood.’
‘What? Whose?’ I get up and walk over to the desk, being careful not to touch or stand on anything.
‘It could be Clover’s?’ Audrey whispers, looking round the room. We lock panicked eyes.
I instantly feel the mood shift in the room, and everything seems dark and uncertain, like running up the stairs at night. ‘We were wrong. Again.’
‘Do you think –’ Audrey stops and looks around – ‘that Clover really did know something about this dangerous person, and she’s now their latest victim?’
‘Maybe. She might have known too much.’ I look at the blood glistening in the low light of the moon and the dim side lamps. There’s not a lot, but enough that it looks like someone was really hurt. And it’s still glistening. Does that mean it’s fresh?
‘We need to tell someone. Right now.’ Audrey is backing up. She steps on a phone, which cracks underfoot. She hops up as if her foot is on fire.
‘Look, Audrey.’ I kneel down and snatch the phone. ‘The phone’s recording. It’s been recording this whole time!’
I hold it out so she can see. Clover had a voice-recording app, probably to help with the podcast interviews. I stop it and rewind to early in the evening. There’s almost two hours of recording there, and it takes a little while until we finally hear something.
‘Get away from me … No … stop … help!’ Clover’s stricken voice sounds out on the recording. Both Audrey and I look at each other in terror.
‘Oh my God!’ Audrey’s hand flies to her mouth.
‘Don’t take me! I won’t go!’ Clover is shouting and then there’s a thump as the phone drops to the floor and the recording falls silent. At least, I hope that’s what the thump means. I can’t think about it any further than that.
Audrey runs to the door. ‘Help!’ she screams down the corridor. But everyone’s at the party. There’s no one around to hear her.
I stop the recording, careful not to delete it. Although the screen is smashed, it still works. I swipe to the emergency call number. My hands are shaking as it rings.
‘Nine nine nine, which service do you require?’
‘Police. My name is Ivy Moore-Zhang. I’m a student at Illumen Hall near Winferne Bay. We think something’s happened to one of the students, Clover Mirth? She’s missing.’ I stay on the phone to the operator for a few minutes, answering the multitude of questions. ‘Yes, OK, thank you. We’ll get our headmistress and she can meet you at the front entrance.’
I breathe out hard.
‘Ivy, come look at this,’ Audrey says. Her voice is quiet, and I see she’s now standing by Clover’s desk. I’m surprised she wants to get that close, what with all the blood.
I walk over, carefully picking my way through the detritus of the room. I stare down at what Audrey’s looking at. It’s an etching of the words ILLUMEN HALL.
But no. Not quite.
Most of the etching looks deep and a dark brown, as if it had been there for ages, probably scratched by an old student with a compass. But there’s a fresh mark, still pale and splintered around the edges. It changes the way the words read. Instead of Illumen Hall, it reads:
ILL OMEN HALL
I shudder.
‘This place really is cursed,’ Audrey mutters.
‘Come on, we need to find Mrs Abbott.’ But, as I move backwards, something catches my eye. Something taped under the desk. A small piece of white paper.
Dear Clover,
You are invited to become a part of THE MAGPIE SOCIETY.
Do you agree to uphold the values of the school, protecting it from corruption and keeping it and its students safe, no matter what the cost?
If so, sign here – and await further instructions.
Acknowledgements
First of all, our heartfelt thanks to you, the reader, who has chosen this book! We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we loved writing it together, even if our best laid co-writing plans were replaced with Zoom calls, FaceTime and Whatsapp voice notes!
We realize that a lot of difficult topics are addressed over the course of this story, and we wanted to provide some resources for anyone who is struggling – especially with bullying, suicide, anxiety and mental health issues. Please reach out if you need help. There are people out there who want to talk to you – you are not alone.
Anti-bullying helpline
Childline - 0800 1111
www.childline.org.uk
Suicide Outreach
Samaritans - 116 123
http://samaritans.org
Hopeline UK - Call: 0800 068 4141
http://papyrus-UK.org
Anxiety & Mental Health
Mind Infoline: 0300 123 3393
[email protected]
Even though it’s only our names on the cover, so many people have helped us on our journey. First of all, we’d like to thank Penguin Random House Children’s for being the perfect home for this series. In particular, Emma Jones, Wendy Shakespeare, Alesha Bonser, Simon Armstrong, Tania Vian-Smith, Andrea Kearney and Anne Bowman have gone above and beyond across editorial, marketing, publicity, design and rights, and we truly appreciate all your enthusiasm for Magpie. We’d also like to thank Abigail Bergstrom of Gleam Literary for her hard work in bringing this series to life.
On a personal note, Z
oe would like to thank Alfie Deyes, Mark Ferris, Poppy Deyes, Joe Sugg, Sean O’Connor, Danielle Cox, Lareese Craig, Katie Allanson, Tanya Burr, Alexis Main, Holly Macey and Dianne Buswell, for always believing in her and supporting her in all her endeavours alongside the rest of her friends and family! She also wants to extend a huge big grateful squish to Maddie Chester, her partner in crime, her right-hand woman, and to Amy, her co-writer on this exciting Magpie journey!
Amy’s first thanks have to go to Juliet Mushens, brilliant literary agent extraordinaire and incredible friend. She would also like to extend a special thank you to Tanya Byrne, Shannon Cullen, Kim Curran, Juno Dawson, Holly Harris, Amie Kaufman, Zosia Knopp, Laura Lam, Tom Pollock and James Smythe, for all their help and advice along the journey. As always, many thanks to her parents, Angus and Maria McCulloch, and her sister Sophie, for their love and support. A shout-out to Moose: thank you for being an endless source of joy and puppy cuddles. And to Zoe – what an adventure this has been, and long may it continue!
Never forget … don’t cross the magpies.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Find us online and join the conversation
Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/penguinukbooks
Like us on Facebook facebook.com/penguinbooks
Share the love on Instagram instagram.com/penguinukbooks
Watch our authors on YouTube youtube.com/penguinbooks
Pin Penguin books to your Pinterest pinterest.com/penguinukbooks
Listen to audiobook clips at soundcloud.com/penguin-books
Find out more about the author and discover
your next read at penguin.co.uk
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
www.penguin.co.uk
www.puffin.co.uk
www.ladybird.co.uk
First published 2020
Copyright © Tiger Tales Limited and Zoe Sugg, 2020
The moral right of the authors has been asserted
Cover illustration by Khius
ISBN: 978-0-241-40236-8
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
The Magpie Society One for Sorrow Page 24