by Sue Bentley
Flame mewed agreement. He curled his front paws over the basket’s rim and peered ahead, ears pricked up and fur sparkling.
At the top of the lane, Lisa paused. ‘Now. Do we go right or left?’
Suddenly a dark-blue van pulled up, hooting loudly. Lisa jumped with fright. The van’s broken wing mirror was only centimetres away. With a screech of tyres, the van sped off.
‘Some people have no manners!’ Lisa fumed, turning into Berry Road.
As she cycled towards her aunt’s cottage, a niggling worry crept into her mind. It felt like she had forgotten something.
Aunt Rose’s shopping!
‘Oh, no!’ she breathed. ‘Maybe we’ve still got time to go to the shops.’
‘We are too late.’ Flame pointed a paw at the red and black VW Beetle, which was coming towards them.
Matilda drew to a halt. Lisa’s aunt leaned out of the window, a furious look on her face. ‘I want a word with you, young lady!’ she said.
Lisa’s spirits sank. ‘Uh-oh,’ she whispered to Flame.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lisa dragged her feet as she followed her aunt into the cottage. There was no way she could avoid a lecture. Flame padded in behind them.
Rose’s cheeks were flushed with anger. ‘You’ve been gone for hours, Lisa. I’ve been frantic, driving around looking for you.’
‘I didn’t realize how late it was,’ Lisa murmured, wondering what all the fuss was about. She was back now, wasn’t she?
‘You should have come back and told me where you were going,’ Rose snapped. ‘You know that I’m responsible for you while you’re here. I thought you were more grown up than this.’
Lisa felt an uncomfortable twinge of guilt. ‘I’m sorry, Aunt Rose. I didn’t think.’ She told her aunt all about almost crashing into John on Fly, then going to the travellers’ site and having tea with Violet Wood.
‘I’m amazed you weren’t hurt when you fell off the bike. And you really should have told me first before going off with someone you’ve just met! But it sounds like you had a good time,’ Rose said more calmly. She flopped down on to the sofa and patted the seat next to her.
Lisa sat near to her aunt and Flame curled up between them. ‘John’s really nice when you get to know him, Aunt Rose. He mended the buckled wheel.’ Oops. She hadn’t meant to mention that.
But Rose didn’t seem to have noticed. She sighed and put her arm around Lisa’s shoulder. ‘No harm’s done. So let’s forget it. But promise me you’ll always tell me where you’re going from now on.’
‘I promise,’ Lisa said, making a cross-my-heart shape with one finger.
Rose smiled, her good humour restored. She jumped up and went towards the kitchen. ‘Right, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Could you bring the shopping inside, please?’
‘Um … ’ Lisa’s face fell. ‘Now I’m really going to get roasted,’ she whispered to Flame.
Flame mewed and twitched his whiskers. Lisa saw that huge silver sparks were popping in the air around him. The familiar warmth prickled down her spine.
‘Flame! You can’t have … Can you?’
She dashed outside to where she had left the bike leaning against the cottage wall. The bike’s basket was crammed with food. There was bread, milk, eggs and even a gooey, home-made chocolate cake.
‘Oh, you star!’ Lisa swept Flame up in a huge hug. She kissed his pink nose. ‘You’ve just saved my life!’
Flame widened his eyes. He stopped in mid-purr. ‘Are you in danger, Lisa?’
‘No. It’s just something you say.’ Lisa giggled.
Rose threw up her hands with delight when she saw the cake. ‘That’s my favourite!’
‘My treat,’ Lisa said, biting back a huge grin. She would have loved to say Flame chose it!
That evening after supper, Lisa washed the dishes without a second thought. She smiled to herself; she must be getting used to life in the countryside! Afterwards, she made a cup of coffee for her aunt and took it through to the sitting room. Flame was curled up asleep on his blanket.
‘Thanks. I could get used to this,’ Rose joked. ‘So, what did you think of Violet Wood?’
‘She’s great. I loved her cara– wagon,’ Lisa corrected herself. ‘It was really small inside, but with a wood stove and bed and everything. Violet told us some stories about her travelling days.’
‘I expect it was a wonderful life,’ Rose said. ‘It’s a shame that some things have to change so much. Violet rules the Wood family with a rod of iron – even the men! She really must have taken to you. I’ve never heard of anyone from the village being invited to have tea with her.’
‘Violet loved Flame too,’ Lisa said. ‘But not as much as I do.’ She glanced at the sleeping kitten, a warm glow filling her chest.
Rose smiled. ‘The Woods seem like a really nice, friendly family.’
Lisa was glad her aunt approved of John Wood and his family. ‘Do you know Mr Higgins? Violet didn’t seem to think much of him.’
Rose snorted. ‘Robert Higgins isn’t a nice man. You’d think twice about getting on his wrong side. He’s jumped to the conclusion that the travellers have been poaching deer.’
‘Violet said she told Mr Higgins that she was sure none of their men had been poaching deer, but he didn’t believe her,’ Lisa told her aunt. If Violet didn’t think any of the Wood family had poached deer, then neither did Lisa.
She jumped up. ‘I’ll go and feed the animals and bed them down.’ She tickled Flame gently to wake him up. ‘Are you coming, Flame?’
Flame yawned and stretched. He purred eagerly and jumped down.
Rose stood up too. ‘Thanks, love. I’ve still got this patchwork quilt to finish. I lost a bit of time going off to look for someone who was late home,’ she said with a twinkle in her eye.
In the barn, Lisa filled food dishes and water bottles and replaced soiled bedding. As she fed chopped carrots to the rabbits and guinea pigs, a thought came to her.
‘Where did that magic food come from?’ she asked Flame.
‘I took it from the shop. Like you wanted,’ Flame said. He frowned. ‘Did I do wrong?’
‘No. But I’d better go and pay for it. I’ve still got the shopping money in my pocket. We’ll dash over and deliver it and I’ll scribble a note to explain things.’ Lisa grabbed her shoulder bag. ‘Come on, Flame. Jump in. We’ll only be a few minutes. There’s no need to tell Rose.’
Lisa and Flame hurried across the green towards the line of shops. She pushed the envelope through the village store’s letter box.
‘Job done,’ she said happily, patting Flame’s soft fur. ‘I really love having you here with me.’
‘I like it too,’ Flame purred contentedly from the opening of her shoulder bag.
The first stars glinted in the violet sky. A smudge of fading peach light just showed above the church spire.
‘It’s getting dark,’ Lisa said worriedly. ‘We’d better get back before Aunt Rose finds out or she’ll ground me for the rest of the holiday!’
She started jogging towards the cottage. There was a signpost beside a track she hadn’t noticed before. It read ‘To Lower Berry Road’.
‘It must be a short cut. We’ll go that way!’
On one side of the track there were open fields. Thick woods that were part of the estate Robert Higgins looked after stretched away on the other side.
Lisa had been walking for about five minutes when there was a loud bang.
‘Oh!’ she gasped, nearly jumping out of her skin. ‘What was that?’
Flame reared up out of the shoulder bag. The fur along his back stood on end. ‘Danger!’ he hissed.
Lisa’s breath came faster. She saw beams of light moving through the trees. There were shouts and men moving towards her. More bangs broke the silence.
‘They sound like gunshots,’ Lisa said shakily. ‘Come on, Flame. We’re getting out of here!’
She clutched the shoulder bag in her arms so
that she could run faster without jostling Flame about. She had taken a couple of steps when a dark-blue van drove up. It screeched to a halt, blocking Lisa’s way. Lisa spotted the broken wing mirror.
‘It’s that van again!’ she whispered to Flame.
The driver leaned out of the side window. He shouted to a man coming out of the trees. ‘Who’s that kid? Go and find out!’
Icy fear curdled Lisa’s stomach. She couldn’t move.
CHAPTER EIGHT
A warm tingle spread over Lisa. She felt the sparks crackling in Flame’s fur beneath her hand.
‘You are safe,’ Flame assured her softly.
A moment later a man dashed up to where Lisa was standing. He stared straight at her. ‘What kid? There’s noone here,’ the man shouted to the van driver.
Lisa gave a shudder of relief. Flame had made her invisible!
‘We must go now,’ urged Flame.
Lisa didn’t need telling twice. She ran past the van, where the driver was still frowning in puzzlement.
Five minutes later she emerged on to Berry Road. She could see her aunt’s cottage. Running the last couple of metres, she slipped into the back garden and crept into the kitchen.
The sound of her aunt’s sewing machine came from her workroom. Lisa stuck her head round the door. ‘I’m going to my room now, Aunt Rose. I want to read for a while.’
Rose looked up with a smile. ‘OK, love. Thanks for seeing to the animals. I’ll look in on you before I go to bed.’
Lisa heaved a sigh of relief as she climbed the stairs. She had only just about stopped trembling. What had those men in the woods been doing? Maybe they were shooting crows or rabbits. They had seemed really angry at being disturbed.
Thank goodness for Flame. Once again he had saved her skin!
‘Have you made any plans for today?’ Rose asked the following morning. Sunshine set rainbow patterns dancing from the crystal hanging in the window.
Lisa told her she was meeting John. ‘We’re going fishing.’
‘Are you taking Flame with you?’ asked Rose.
‘You bet!’ Lisa said. She wouldn’t dream of leaving him behind. Especially after the way Flame had saved her last night.
Flame wound himself round her legs affectionately.
Rose reached down to stroke him. ‘Well, have fun, you two. Be back in plenty of time for supper, OK?’
‘Definitely,’ Lisa promised. ‘Come on, Flame, jump in.’ Looping her bag on to her shoulder, she set out for the White Hart.
John and Fly were already waiting when Lisa and Flame arrived. ‘The river’s this way,’ John said. They went past the green to a line of silvery willow trees.
The river gleamed through the swaying branches. John led the way down a grassy bank. ‘Our family’s got special permission to fish here. Dad helps clear waterweed away in spring.’
Flame stretched out in the grass and closed his eyes, purring contentedly. Fly, who was cropping the sweet grass, swung his head round and gave Flame a friendly snort.
‘I can’t get over how much Fly likes that kitten,’ said John, setting out his fishing things.
Lisa smiled. ‘Flame’s not just any old kitten. He’s really special.’
John passed Lisa a fishing rod and a small, battered tin. ‘You can use my spare rod. Do you think you can bait it yourself?’
‘Sure! How hard can it be?’ Lisa opened the tin. It was full of little, squirming white bodies. ‘Ugh! Maggots!’ she gasped.
John grinned. ‘You nearly dropped the lot! What did you think was in there, breadcrumbs?’
‘Something like that!’ Lisa admitted, blushing. ‘I don’t think I can hook one of these on.’
‘Give them here. It’s dead easy. I’ll do it for you.’ John gave her the baited rod and showed Lisa how to cast the line into the river. Lisa soon had the hang of it and they settled down to wait for a bite.
The scent of warm grass drifted on the river breeze. A moorhen picked her way through the reeds.
‘You’ve got a bite!’ John suddenly declared. He reeled in the fish and slipped it into a net in the water. ‘There you go. One fat brown trout.’
‘This is fun!’ Lisa said. She felt proud of catching her very first fish.
John beamed at her. ‘You’re not bad company for a girl and a townie!’
‘Watch it! You … you road rogue!’ Lisa laughed.
‘Road … what?’ John asked as he fell about laughing.
‘Hello there! Caught anything yet?’ called a voice. Mike Sanders came along the river path, a smile on his pleasant face.
‘Not again,’ John groaned, but he nodded politely.
Mike Sanders peered into the net. ‘That’s a fine supper for someone.’
‘Yeah, it’s Lisa’s first ever fish,’ John said.
Mike Sanders smiled at Lisa. ‘Beginner’s luck, eh?’ His face suddenly turned more serious. ‘Now, I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about a couple of deer that were killed last night, John?’ he asked.
John shook his head. ‘Why ask me?’
‘Because I reckon you’ve got a level head on your shoulders. You’d know where to come if you got wind of anyone poaching round here, wouldn’t you?’ Sanders said.
John shrugged. ‘Might do. But I don’t know anything.’
‘Where were they killed?’ Lisa asked.
‘In the woods near Lower Berry Road,’ Sanders told her. ‘Quite near where your Aunt Rose lives.’ He gave John a friendly pat on the back. ‘Well – keep your eyes peeled, lad.’ He looked back before continuing down the river path and called over his shoulder, ‘Hope the fish keep biting.’
Lisa stared after him, her thoughts whirling as she remembered the shots in the woods last night and the men with torches among the trees. Then there was the blue van, which she had seen twice now.
She had been tempted to tell Mike Sanders her suspicions, but she hadn’t any proof. And she’d have to explain what she’d been doing out near the woods at night. That meant risking getting into trouble again with Aunt Rose.
Were those men the deer poachers? She pressed her lips together in determination. She and Flame were going to find out.
CHAPTER NINE
Lisa stared out of the cottage window as drops streamed down the glass. It had been pelting with rain all afternoon. Aunt Rose was at the village hall running a workshop on making patchwork quilts. Lisa felt restless.
Flame jumped on to the window sill. He batted at the glass, trying to catch the raindrops. Lisa laughed and dangled a piece of wool for him to catch. ‘You want to go out too, don’t you? I hope it stops raining before tonight.’
Flame nodded and wrinkled his little pink nose. ‘I do not like wet fur.’
Lisa planned to wait until dark and then go back up to the woods and have a good look around.
Just then she heard a knock at the kitchen door. It was John on Fly.
Lisa took one look at him. ‘What’s wrong?’ she gasped.
John was soaked to the skin. His hair was plastered flat and his face looked pale and angry. ‘It’s my dad. He’s been taken to the police station. They think he’s been poaching deer,’ John told her as he tethered Fly to the back porch. He looked like he might burst into tears.
‘Oh, that’s awful. I’m really sorry,’ Lisa sympathized. She fetched a towel so John could dry himself.
John shoulders slumped as he sank into a kitchen chair. ‘It’s Robert Higgins’s doing. I know it is. But I don’t get it. What’s he got against my dad? He’s never done anything to him.’
Lisa bit her lip, wishing she could think of some way to help. She got him a piece of the delicious chocolate cake. ‘Here you are.’
He cheered up a bit as he ate. ‘Gran’s furious, but she’s dead worried too. If only there was something I could do.’
‘Maybe there is,’ Lisa said on impulse.
She told John about the gunfire and the men she’d seen in the woods. ‘And I’ve seen that blue van tw
ice. I know it was the same one because of the broken wing mirror.’
John jumped to his feet and paced round the kitchen. ‘It must have been the poachers! Deer are big animals. You’d need a van to take them away. Maybe we should go and tell Mike Sanders.’
‘I thought of that already. But we haven’t any proof. Shouldn’t we wait until we’re sure about this?’ Lisa reasoned.
John gnawed at his lip. ‘You’re right. And if the police start going round asking loads of questions, the poachers will go into hiding. That leaves my dad as chief suspect. But how do we get proof?’
‘I’ve got an idea … ’ Lisa began telling him about her plan to go to the woods after dark.
John listened in silence, then a wide grin spread across his face. ‘What time do we meet?’
‘We?’ Lisa grinned back. ‘I hoped you might say that!’
‘You don’t think I’d let you have all the fun, do you?’ John said. He got up and went towards the garden to untie Fly.
Lisa was relieved. It had been really scary up at those dark woods.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘I’ll meet you at midnight on the back path to the woods. Don’t do anything before I get there, OK?’
‘Who, me?’ John flashed her one of his cheeky grins. He jumped up on to Fly’s back and urged the pony forward. ‘See you tonight,’ he called over his shoulder.
The bedroom was dark except for the digital display of her bedside clock. Lisa jolted awake. Flame was licking her chin. His whiskers tickled her nose.
‘Thanks for waking me!’ She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
‘You are welcome,’ Flame purred, his fur twinkling in the darkness.
It was a quarter to midnight. No time to waste. Lisa was fully clothed beneath the duvet. Reaching for her bag and a disposable camera, she and Flame crept downstairs and out of the house.
The moon sailed overhead, as bright as a beacon. Lisa’s eyes soon adjusted as she made her way to the woods. Flame trotted beside her. With his cat night sight he moved as easily as in daylight.