The Star Agency (The Star Agency Chronicles)

by R. E. Weber

  ‘Hola. You have called Juanita….’

  The message continued exactly as it had done before, and after it had played, Jules clicked the phone off and handed it back to Theo.

  ‘There must be something we’ve missed, there must. Give me that letter again, quickly.’

  Theo handed the letter to Jules. She slowly read it again, looking for clues, phrases, or anything else that looked helpful. Then she saw it.

  ‘Theo, look. Read the last line again.’

  Theo read the line:

  PS: Don’t believe everything you are told.

  He stared at it for a moment, confused. Then suddenly, the phrase seemed to jump out at him. The answer phone message had told him that Reach for the Sky was no longer open for business. But perhaps it was. Perhaps they shouldn’t believe what they had been told.

  ‘Jules, let’s do a search,’ he said excitedly.

  Theo turned to his computer and quickly typed Reach for the sky into an Internet Search engine. Moments later, thousands of results appeared. He read the top few, which were supposed to be the best matches. None of them looked right. He thought for a moment. Reach for the Sky was a business, so he added Business to try and narrow down the number of results. But it didn’t make much difference. There were still thousands of results and none looked right. He tried replacing business with Self Help, but that didn’t help either. And he tried several more times with lots of other combinations of words, but aside from an entry in a local business listing—showing nothing other than the phone number he’d already tried—he couldn’t find anything else.

  ‘This is hopeless, Jules,’ Theo said finally. ‘It’s gotta be easier than this.’ He stared out of the window for a moment, deep in thought. Then suddenly, almost like a light bulb had been turned on in his head, his eyes lit up. He span round and looked at Jules, then at the phone, then back at Jules again. ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘Don’t believe everything you’re told. Ignore the message telling you they’re out of business. Don’t put the phone down.’

  Theo grabbed the phone and dialled the number once more. It rang again and after eight rings the message played. As before, it finished and clicked. Then the continuous tone sounded. He continued to listen while he counted in his head. Ten seconds, fifteen, twenty, twenty fivethe tone still sounded—forty five, fifty, fifty five, sixty—still nothing. Theo’s heart began to sink. Seventy-five, eighty, eighty-five…

  ‘It’s no good, Jules, there’s nothing. I was just hoping….’

  He was just about to click off the phone when the continuous tone stopped, and for a moment there was silence. Then a different voice began to speak. It was a man’s voice this time, with an English accent:

  ‘Hello. This is still a recording. Please leave your email address after the tone. Further instructions will follow.’

  There was a bleep and then Theo read out his email address slowly and clearly. Once he’d finished, he clicked off the phone.

  ‘What did it say?’ said Jules excitedly.

  Theo told her exactly what he’d heard.

  ‘Really, so what happens now?’ said Jules.

  ‘I dunno, I suppose we’ll find out soon.’

  ‘And when we get the email, what then? Is this just gonna be a trail of riddles or something?’

  Theo paused for a moment, looked at Jules and smiled.

  ‘No, not a trail of riddles, Jules. A trail of breadcrumbs!’

  Chapter 2 – A trail of Breadcrumbs

  ‘A trail of breadcrumbs?’ said Jules. ‘Now what are you on about?’

  ‘Jules, you mean to tell me you’ve never read Hansel and Gretel?’

  ‘Erm no, should I have?’

  Theo pretended to sigh. ‘Kids today,’ he said sarcastically. Then he stood up, reached up to the top shelf of his bookcase, pulled out a tatty hardback book and handed it to Jules.

  ‘Grimm Fairy Tales?’ said Jules. ‘I wouldn’t have thought you were into all this. I mean, it’s not full of black holes and aliens and stuff, is it?’

  ‘No, well it wouldn’t be, would it? It’s like seventy years old or something. Grandpa used to sit and read these stories to me before bed, when I was little. Be careful with it though. Some of the pages are loose.’

  Carefully, Jules lifted open the cover and delicately turned the pages until she found Hansel and Gretel. Then she began to read.

  ‘There, look,’ said Theo, pointing as Jules turned over the page. ‘This bit here.’

  Jules read silently for a couple of minutes. Then she looked up at Theo, confused.

  ‘I still don’t get it,’ she said.

  ‘Well Hansel and Gretel were taken into the woods by their father and wicked stepmother to be abandoned, because they couldn’t afford to keep them. But because Hansel and Gretel knew what was happening, they secretly dropped breadcrumbs every so often to mark their way home. They left a trail for themselves to follow later. That’s what the letter and the newspaper are. They’re breadcrumbs. They’re gonna lead us somewhere.’

  Jules scanned through the next couple of pages. ‘But it says here that birds ate all the breadcrumbs and then they got lost in the woods. That doesn’t exactly give me much hope.’

  ‘Look mate, all I was trying to say was that it’s a trail that nobody else is supposed to know about. Except us, I mean. Like the breadcrumbs, you know. Only Hansel and Gretel knew they were leading somewhere, didn’t they?’

  ‘Yeh OK, I suppose,’ said Jules. ‘But how come you remember all this stuff? I mean, fairy tales and nursery rhymes. It’s not exactly your thing, is it?’

  ‘Yeh, well, I just remember this one,’ said Theo. ‘I remember it cos I found it scary at the time. When Grandpa read it to me, I got upset. It was like it was me being led into the woods.’

  ‘Ah bless,’ said Jules, grinning.

  ‘Yeh, well, I was only like four or five at the time. It wasn’t long after, well you know, mum and dad... I was always scared of getting lost when I was little. I kept thinking everybody was going to leave me.’

  ‘Sorry mate, I didn’t think,’ said Jules.

  ‘But there was something else too. When I got all upset, grandpa said something to me—something I always remembered.’

  ‘Which was?’

  ‘He said “Theo, I’m never leaving you. Not now, not ever.” Then he gave me a hug and kiss and I went to sleep.’

  ‘I bet you were sweet when you were little,’ said Jules, smiling.

  ‘Oh, adorable,’ said Theo.

  ‘Shame you got older then, isn’t it?’ said Jules.

  They looked at each other and laughed.

  ‘Seriously though, you get my point, don’t you?’ said Theo. ’I mean, about the breadcrumbs?’

  ‘Well, yeh I do now,’ said Jules.

  ‘But I mean, who’s sending this stuff to us? Who’s leaving the breadcrumbs?’

  ‘Have you thought that it might have been your grandpa?’

  ‘Grandpa?’ said Theo. ‘But what about the newspaper? It was dated after he died. And the letter…’

  ‘Yeh but perhaps he left instructions for somebody else to lay the trail, you know, to give you something to do—something to occupy your mind when he was gone.’

  ‘Well the letter was certainly from somebody who knew me because they knew about grandpa.’

  ‘What about your auntie? She might know something. She might have even have done it herself. She would…’

  ‘Her!’ interrupted Theo angrily. ‘She wouldn’t know about anything that wasn’t at the bottom of a wine glass.’

  ‘But she is family and she would certainly know enough,’ said Jules. ‘You never know.’

  ‘No chance. I can’t imagine her thinking of anything as complicated as this. Even if she’d been left instructions, I doubt she’d have the patience.’

  ‘People can surprise you.’

  ‘I guess, but I doubt it. No, I’m sure it’s somebody else.’

  ‘Well whoever it is, must
have lived nearby or at least visited the area. How else would they have gotten hold of the newspaper?’

  ‘Yeh I know. But there aren’t any clues as to who it is, are there? Not that I can see anyway—just a letter from a stranger and a newspaper. It’s not much to go on, is it?’

  ‘Suppose not.’

  ‘And anyway, I think we should just concentrate on our next step for now, once we get that email. We can worry about who set it all up later.’

  ‘So what, we just wait then?’ said Jules.

  ‘Afraid so,’ said Theo.

  For a moment, they looked at each other in silence. Then a dark cloud seemed to pass across Theo’s face.

  ‘Jules?’

  ‘Yeh?’

  ‘He said he would never leave me. But he did, didn’t he?’

  ‘Are we talking about your grandpa?’

  ‘Yeh. I thought he would be there forever, but he wasn’t. He left me.’

  Jules put her hand on his shoulder.

  ‘No Theo, he didn’t leave you. He was taken from you.’

  ‘What’s the difference?’ said Theo, angrily. ‘He’s still gone.’

  ‘All the difference,’ said Jules calmly as she wiped away a single tear from his cheek. ‘All the difference in the world.’

  Theo smiled weakly back at her. ‘You’re a good mate, J,’ he said.

  ‘Yeh I know,’ said Jules, grinning back. ‘After all, who else would put up with you and your breadcrumbs?’

  *

  Theo awoke excitedly the next morning and logged on to check his emails before school. There was nothing—just the usual junk mail and advertisements. And he did the same thing every morning and every evening that week. But each time there was nothing. By Friday, Theo had begun to feel somewhat downhearted. Had the trail gone dead? Was that it? He certainly hoped not, but it was beginning to feel that way.

  That evening, he went round to Jules’s house. Her parents had gone out to the local pub to meet with couple of friends, but not before taking Jules down to the local film rental library to pick a movie.

  Theo plonked himself on the sofa, looking well and truly fed up.

  ‘Nothing I take it then?’ said Jules.

  ‘Not that I could see. Just an email from my cousin asking how I’m coping, and some junk mail. I’ve looked through them all for clues and hidden meanings. There’s nothing. Here, have a look.’

  Theo handed Jules the printouts, and while she read through them carefully, he stared absent-mindedly at the Television. But he wasn’t really concentrating. It was just some boring, early evening soap. Some drunken guy was being thrown out of the local pub while babbling inanely at the landlord. Same old rubbish thought Theo.

  Jules took her time and read through the emails several times. Then she looked back at Theo.

  ‘Well I’m sorry to say mate, but I think you’re right. There’s nothing here. If there was something, I’m sure one of us would’ve spotted it.’

  ‘That’s it then, isn’t it? End of. Trails gone dead. The birds have pecked up the rest of the breadcrumbs.’

  Jules looked back at Theo with a weak smile.

  ‘Don’t give up yet,mate. I was thinking. It was just a voice mail we got through to, wasn’t it? How often do they check it? They might be out—you know, away on holiday or something. If they’re not in, then they won’t be able to pick up the messages, will they? Give it some more time.’

  ‘It’s been four days now, how long do they need? We’ve gotta accept it Jules, the jokes over. We’ve been led on a wild goose chase. Somebody, somewhere is having a good laugh at us.’

  Jules looked back at Theo, who looked well and truly fed up. She was beginning to agree with him but didn’t dare say it. She’d seen the excitement on his face when he’d thought they’d been onto something earlier in the week. She’d also watched it gradually drift away to be replaced by disappointment.

  ‘Wanna watch that film?’ she said, forcing a smile.

  ‘I guess,’ said Theo miserably.

  Jules got up and went into the kitchen. Shortly after, Theo heard a clunk and a whirring noise, followed a minute or so later by a ping. Then he heard a lid being ripped off and something being poured into a bowl. Moments later, Jules returned with a tray containing a litre bottle of coke, two glasses and a big bowl of popcorn. She plonked the tray down on the coffee table in front of Theo.

  ‘That’ll be six pounds ninety-nine sir,’ she said smiling.

  ‘Cheaper than the real thing,’ said Theo, finally breaking into a grin.

  Jules popped the DVD into the player, cranked up the sound system and then dimmed the lights. Theo looked over at Jules in the dark room – her pale face lit by the ghostly flicker of the television – and smiled. Only she could cheer him up at a time like this.

  *

  Theo had enjoyed the movie that evening and had walked back in his front door feeling a lot happier than when he’d left. And as he trotted up the stairs to his room, he remembered something that one of his teachers had said to him earlier in the week.

  ‘Your head’s in the clouds again, Logan.’

  And it had been. He knew he had to come back down to Earth. The newspaper, the letter and the clues had been just a dream of something more exciting. It had been something to look forward to and something to occupy his mind. But it wasn’t real. The trail led nowhere. It was just Theo daydreaming again. He didn’t need all that. All he needed was a good friend to have fun with again. And he had one right next door.

  As he walked into his bedroom, he noticed an amber light in the corner, and he remembered that he’d left his computer switched on in the vain hope of receiving an email. But the computer was going to be switched off now. No more daydreaming.

  He switched on the bedroom light and headed over to his computer. The monitor had gone into standby and there was no picture on the screen. He wiggled the mouse and within a couple of seconds the picture popped back up. He was just about to shut the computer down when he noticed the small envelope icon in the bottom right of his screen telling him that a new email had arrived. He wasn’t excited anymore because there had just been far too many emails all leading to nothing. But he thought he’d better just clear it before he shut down. He clicked on the symbol and after a few seconds his email inbox opened up. He could see one new message at the top of the list. He looked at the message title:

  Sender: Prize Draw 5066351 User Admin

  Subject:[none]

  He opened the message and read it:

  Hello Agent Logan,

  Well done,

  Your details have been entered into our competition prize draw. The top prize is a luxury weekend break, all expenses paid. Please click on the link below to register.

  http://www.mentalchains.co.uk/login.asp

  Good luck and God’s speed

  Mental Chains. The Internet link almost leapt out of the screen. Theo grabbed his mobile and hurriedly dialled Jules. His hands were shaking and his heart was beating fast. Jules answered in a whisper.

  ‘Theo, what’s wrong?’

  ‘Nothing,’ cried Theo. ‘We’re back on. Get over here now, the email’s arrived.’

  ‘Do you know what time it is?’ she whispered back.

  Theo glanced down at his watch. It was ten past eleven. Her Dad was never going to let her come over this late.

  ‘I’ll come over first thing in the morning. It can wait ‘til then, can’t it?’ continued Jules.

  ‘Suppose so,’ said Theo reluctantly.

  ‘I’ll be round first thing mate. Eight o’clock, I promise.’

  ‘Eight it is then,’ said Theo.

  He clicked off the phone and stared back at the email. He so wanted to click on the link and placed the mouse pointer over it. But he didn’t click on it. He knew Jules should be with him, so instead he closed the email and shut down the computer. Then he wandered back over to his bed and quickly changed before crawling under the covers. But it was several hours before he f
inally fell asleep.

  *

  Theo woke with a start the next day as his aunt yelled up the stairs.

  ‘Theopolis. Visitor!’

  He glanced over at his alarm clock, which he’d forgotten to set the night before. Five past eight. Jules! Frantically, he leapt out of bed.

  ‘Down in a sec,’ he shouted as he quickly dressed.

  A minute later, when he arrived downstairs, Jules was sat at the table with a glass of orange juice, chatting with his aunt. As he entered the room, he just caught the end of their conversation.

  ‘…oh I know, he’s never up early, especially at the weeke…. Oh hi, Theo.’

  ‘Hi, Jules. Come on, let’s…’

  ‘Theo,’ interrupted his aunt, ‘for once can you just stop rushing around. Let’s sit down and have a civilised breakfast. It is Saturday after all. It’s not like you have to go to school.’

  He was about to answer her back, but thought better of it with Jules watching him.

  ‘Jules, do you want anything to eat?’ his aunt said as she put two slices of bread into the toaster.

  ‘No thanks, Mrs Sheridan,’ replied Jules politely. ‘I’ve already eaten.’

  A few moments later, the toaster rattled and two slices of toast leapt up. She put them onto a plate and handed them to Theo. He quickly buttered them and haphazardly slapped on some marmalade onto them. Then he began cramming them hurriedly into his mouth.

  As Theo munched noisily on his toast, Jules and his auntie sat and stared at him.

  ‘Well this is nice, isn’t it?’ said his auntie.

  ‘Yeh,’ said Jules, ‘my favourite time of the day.’

  ‘What, breakfast time?’ said his aunt.

  ‘No, feeding time at the zoo!’ said Jules.

  At that moment, Theo almost choked on his toast, and Jules and his aunt looked at each other and burst out laughing. Then as he looked at them both, he started laughing too, spitting several globules of soggy toast at Jules.