by Andrew Cope
‘So H told you it was hidden in his house,’ repeated Dale slowly. He paused to tip the contents of a small packet of peanuts into his mouth. ‘Did he tell you where?’
Cliff gave his brother a withering look. ‘Did he tell me where? Oooh, let me think. Yes, that’s right, he said he’d put it on the shelf in the kitchen, and there’s silly me letting us go and ransack the place when I knew exactly where it was all along.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘No, Dale, he did not tell me where he’d hidden it and now he’s gone and got himself locked up – for not paying his taxes, of all things – and that teacher’s moved into his house instead.’
‘Well, we know it’s not there now, anyway, don’t we?’ said Dale sulkily. ‘We turned the place over good and proper. So I suppose we might as well give up.’
Cliff snorted and spluttered beer all over the table. ‘Give up! Are you mad? We risked a lot breaking into that stupid museum. Robbery with violence, Dale. It doesn’t go down too well in court, in case you hadn’t noticed. And it didn’t help that you went and fired your shooter, either.’
Dale’s hand automatically checked the inside pocket of his jacket. ‘No, the Old Bill aren’t too keen on shooters,’ he agreed. He knew this from bitter experience, and yet somehow his time in prison still hadn’t made him change his ways.
‘If the cops catch us, we’ll be banged up for a long, long time,’ went on Cliff, ‘and we haven’t even got anything to show for it!’
A young couple came into the bar and looked like they might sit down nearby. Dale gave them his very worst scowl and they hurriedly moved outside.
Cliff lowered his voice. ‘H had a collector in Geneva lined up ready and waiting to buy it. He was going to pay tens of millions of euros – in cash!’ He put his face up close to Dale’s and looked into his eyes. ‘We deserve that money, Dale. The guy in Geneva’s waiting. If we can give him what he wants, he’ll pass that dosh over to us. We can keep it all and get out of the country before H gets out of the slammer. No one will ever find us.’
Dale nodded slowly. ‘Makes sense, bruv. I’ve always fancied a nice little place in the sun. So you say we keep on looking?’
‘That’s right,’ nodded Cliff.
Dale tipped half a packet of pickled-onion-flavoured crisps into his mouth and thought hard. You could tell from his face that he usually let someone else do the thinking. Then he had an idea.
‘Maybe the teacher found it when he moved in?’
‘Just what I was thinking,’ agreed Cliff. ‘He’d probably know a bit about all that old museum stuff, wouldn’t he, being a teacher? He might guess it was worth a bit. Maybe he’s going to try to flog it himself.’
Dale smiled a nasty smile. ‘We can’t have that, can we, bruv?’
‘No, we can’t,’ said Cliff. ‘You know what? I think we might have to take another little trip to the country …’
5. The School Run
Who’s that? Lara’s sharp ears heard footsteps on the stairs. Ben was tiptoeing down as quietly as he could – he even remembered to miss out the stair that always creaked – but when he opened the kitchen door, Lara was out of her basket and standing ready to greet him.
‘Sorry, Lara, I know it’s the middle of the night,’ said Ben, giving her a pat. ‘It’s so hot I just had to get a glass of water.’
Ben was the eldest of the Cook children and he and Lara had a special bond. It was on Ben’s tenth birthday that the family had found Lara at the RSPCA animal shelter and Ben had always felt that Lara was really his dog. Lara felt the same. She loved spending time with Ben, playing football, swimming or fishing in the river.
Ben crept past Spud and Star, both fast asleep in their baskets, and took a glass out of the cupboard. He was just about to turn on the tap when he suddenly froze. At exactly the same moment Lara’s sticky-up ear began to twitch and she looked quickly towards the back door. They had both heard a noise outside.
‘What is it, girl?’ whispered Ben.
I don’t know. Something’s out there – or somebody. Sounded like someone climbing over the fence. Could be a fox or could be – Lara rushed to the door and gave a low, threatening growl. Whoever you are, don’t you DARE come near my family!
She was just about to move on to some really fierce barks when she heard a doggie whisper from outside. ‘Psst, Lara, it’s me, Potter!’
‘Potter!’ Lara’s tail started to wag. ‘What are you doing? I thought you were a burglar!’
‘Urgent message, Lara. I’ve brought it to you myself. One of the cats has seen something – a blue car with a scratch on the passenger’s side; it’s parked outside the school.’
Lara immediately snapped into her official Spy Dog mode. ‘How long ago was this?’ she asked.
‘Just a couple of minutes. Sheba miaowed the message to Scottie; he barked it on to me and I came straight round.’
‘OK, Potter, thanks. I’ll take it from here.’
Lara looked around for her phone. Meanwhile the pups had woken up and heard the conversation. They couldn’t contain their excitement.
‘It’s Mr Thompson’s burglar. He’s back again!’ woofed Spud.
‘We’ve got to catch him this time!’ barked Star.
Ben could tell something was going on, but of course he didn’t know what. ‘What’s happening, Lara?’ he asked.
Ben, you can help me here! Lara grabbed a pencil in her mouth and scrawled a hurried message on the bottom of Mrs Cook’s shopping list:
POLICE SCHOOL
BURGLAR!
Then she tapped the emergency number for the police on to her phone and passed it to Ben.
‘Oh, I get it,’ said Ben. ‘That must have been a message from the neighbourhood watch.’
Ben gave the information to the emergency operator quickly and calmly while Lara expertly slid back the bolt on the back door.
‘Are we going to the school, Ma?’ woofed Star.
‘I am – and every second counts! If I hurry I can get there before the police – but you two pups must stay here and guard the house.’
The pups were disappointed, but they didn’t argue. After all, if there are baddies about, someone’s got to take care of the family.
‘I’ll come with you, Lara,’ said Ben. ‘Can I just go and get dressed?’
Lara shook her head emphatically. No time! She rushed outside to find her bike. Lara was an excellent cyclist and often went for long rides with the children. Ben followed, pushing his bare feet into his trainers.
‘Don’t go without me!’ It was Sophie, Ben’s sister, two years younger, but very brave. She had heard the barking and Ben’s voice downstairs and had come to investigate.
I haven’t got time to argue, thought Lara, as she pressed her back feet hard down on the pedals and began to cycle as if her life depended on it.
They made an unusual sight, three speeding cyclists on the empty night road – one in Star Wars pyjamas, one in a Hello Kitty nightdress and one a black and white dog with a very determined expression.
Lara took the lead. Halfway along the road they caught up with Potter who was making for the school as well. ‘We’ll take the short cut,’ said Lara as she hurtled down a side lane towards the railway level crossing.
‘I’m coming too!’ Little Scottie came bounding over a garden wall, his short, black legs moving faster than they’d ever done before.
Just at that moment the lights beside the crossing began to flash and the barricades came creaking slowly down.
Oh no! There’s a train coming! Lara squeezed her brakes and brought the bike to an emergency stop. She was going so fast that she nearly went head first over the handlebars. Behind her, Ben and Sophie pulled up too and Potter took the opportunity to catch his breath – but Scottie kept on going!
‘Stop, Scottie!’ barked Lara.
‘What’s the problem?’ replied Scottie. ‘We can get round these
funny fence things easily if we’re quick. Come on!’
‘No, Scottie!’ shouted Ben.
In a flash Lara realized that Scottie didn’t know about level crossings. He was quite a young dog and not one of the brightest members of her team. Of course he couldn’t read the warning signs. He had no idea of the deathly danger he was just about to face.
‘STOP!’ she bellowed, and with one flying leap, hurled herself towards the little dog, catching her teeth in his tartan collar just as he was about to dodge behind the barricade. Using all her strength she flung him away from danger. Then she stood over him with one paw firmly on his chest so that he couldn’t move.
‘You must never, EVER cross a level crossing once the lights are flashing, Scottie,’ said Lara. ‘It means there’s a train coming and –’ Her voice was drowned by the roar of a night train speeding down the line. As the heavy carriages hurtled past, Scottie saw and understood.
‘OK,’ said Lara, getting on her bike. ‘We should be able to get across now.’ But no, the lights kept flashing and the barricades stayed down. Another train was on its way. This was an engine going back to the local depot. It was travelling at a much more sedate pace. Lara tapped her handlebars impatiently; Potter started running on the spot. The driver saw the children and slowed right down.
‘What are you two doing out at this time of night?’ he called from his window. He hadn’t noticed Lara in the shadow of a tree.
‘Er, just keeping fit!’ said Ben. It would take too long to explain.
‘You can take this keep-fit malarkey too far, if you ask me,’ said the driver. ‘Oh well, good luck to you!’
As the engine chugged on through, the driver turned to give the children a wave and caught a glimpse of Lara.
I’ve really got to stop doing these late shifts, he thought, giving his head a shake. I could have sworn I saw a dog on a bike back there.
At last the barriers went up and the path was clear. The cyclists raced off down the lane with Potter and a rather quiet Scottie following behind.
As they reached the school gates, Lara saw immediately that the lock had been neatly picked. The school’s front door was swinging open too, but there was no sign of a car.
Sheba the Siamese cat appeared out of the bushes. ‘You’re too late,’ she miaowed. ‘They’ve gone.’
‘Did you get a look at them?’ asked Lara.
‘Not really – only from the back. There were two of them, both men. One was tall and slim and one was short and stocky.’
Seconds later a police car arrived – and so did Mr Thompson. Mr Thompson had obviously got dressed in a hurry. He was wearing his T-shirt back to front and inside out so the label was sticking out at the front and his hair was standing on end in a very unusual style. He greeted the children and Lara cheerfully. ‘Hi, Sophie! Hello, Ben – and Lara too! The police told me you raised the alarm. I don’t know – two break-ins in two days. What is going on around here?’
‘It seems the thieves have left the property,’ said PC Brown. ‘Could you come in and tell us what’s missing, sir?’
Everyone went into the school. It was hard to believe that anything out of the ordinary had happened there that night. Every classroom looked just as usual; the cloakrooms too. There was an odd sock lying on a bench in the hall, but it seemed like the cleaners could have found that behind a radiator. The head teacher’s desk was a bit untidy, but Mr Thompson said it often looked like that. Then Mr Thompson opened the staffroom door.
‘Wow, what a mess!’ he said, gazing at the overturned chairs and scattered papers. The noticeboard was ripped off the wall and all the teachers’ coffee mugs had been swept out of the cupboard on to the floor. With every step he took across the room, Mr Thompson crunched spilt sugar and instant coffee into the carpet. Yet, even though he looked very hard, he couldn’t find anything missing.
‘Just vandals,’ said PC Brown as they secured the gates with a new padlock. ‘Most probably teenagers from the town with nothing better to do than go round making trouble. Well, thank you everyone, you can all go back to your beds.’
There’s more to this than meets the eye, thought Lara as they cycled home with the first rays of sunlight appearing in the sky. Those two men deactivated an alarm system and broke through two secure locks. I’d bet my last custard cream that they are professional thieves. I’d say they’re looking for something. But what? And, just as importantly, why?
6. The Experiment
The next day was Saturday. Spud and Star were practising keepy-uppies in the garden when they heard the doorbell. ‘Race you!’ shouted Spud and the two pups hurtled through the house, jostling each other as they both tried to get to the front door first.
Ollie beat them both as he happened to be coming down the stairs at the time. Six-year-old Ollie was the youngest of the three Cook children. He had to stand on tiptoe to reach the latch. Spud and Star both jumped up too, but they were much too small and only succeeded in getting in Ollie’s way.
At last the door was open and Ollie and the pups looked out at the strange sight in front of them. It was a tall, rather wobbly pile of books with a pair of pale, hairy legs poking out from underneath. The legs were wearing long shorts, grey socks and sensible sandals.
‘Hello, there!’ Professor Cortex’s beaming face peered round the side of the book pile. ‘I’ve just brought some contributions for your mum’s stall at the school fete.’
Professor Maximus Cortex was one of the country’s most brilliant scientists and inventors. He had worked for the Secret Service for many years and was responsible for training all the highly skilled undercover spy animals. Lara had been his very first graduate and was still his star pupil, but he had high hopes that Spud and Star might soon be following in her footsteps.
‘I know the fete’s not till next weekend,’ he said, ‘but I’m off on holiday today.’
That explains the outfit! Star smiled to herself. She had never seen the professor in that Hawaiian shirt before – it was green and orange and covered in palm trees!
Soon the professor was sitting comfortably in the kitchen surrounded by all three children and all three dogs while Mrs Cook put his books in a cardboard box ready to take to school. Lara made him a cup of coffee and Sophie offered him a chocolate digestive. Spud looked longingly at the biscuit tin, but Lara shook her head. Really, Spud, you’ve only just had your breakfast!
‘I was also wondering whether Lara and the pups might like to take part in a little experiment for a friend of mine,’ said the professor. ‘If that’s OK with you, of course?’ he added, looking at Mrs Cook.
Oooh yay! woofed Spud. What is it, Prof? Secret spy stuff? Testing stun guns and ejector seats and cars that can fly?
‘It’s an experiment to see whether children’s performance at school improves if there are animals around,’ went on the professor.
Not spy stuff, then, thought Spud, a bit disappointed.
‘My friend is looking into the idea that having a pet in the classroom may actually help children learn. It’s just for the next couple of weeks until the end of term.’ He looked at Lara and the pups. ‘All you’d have to do is go to the local school every day and sit in on the lessons. You don’t actually have to do the lessons – unless you want to, of course; just be around the children.’
‘At my school?’ asked Ollie excitedly. ‘Mine and Sophie’s?’ Now Ben was twelve, he went to secondary school in the nearby town.
‘That’s right,’ said the professor. ‘Spud would be in your class, Ollie. Star would be in Mrs Lawson’s class and Lara would be in Mr Thompson’s class with Sophie.’
Lara gave the professor a questioning look.
‘It sounds like an interesting experiment,’ said Mrs Cook. ‘I’d be happy to let them take part.’
Ollie jumped up and down. ‘It’ll be SO cool!’ he said. ‘We can play together at lunchtime and I can show my friends all the b
rilliant things the pups can do.’
‘I’m not sure it will improve Ollie’s performance, having Spud in his class,’ said Mum doubtfully as Ollie and Spud did a celebratory dance like two footballers who had just scored a goal. ‘But you never know, I suppose.’
Ollie collapsed breathlessly beside their guest again. ‘Have you invented any new gadgets recently?’ he asked.
Professor Cortex chuckled. ‘I thought you might ask me that, young man,’ he said. ‘Do you still have a sandpit in your garden? Or are you too grown up for that sort of thing nowadays?’
‘No, we’ve still got one,’ said Ollie, looking interested. ‘Why?’
‘Well, if you go out there, I’ll just get my bag,’ said the scientist. ‘Then I’ll show you something you might find interesting.’
Everyone went into the garden except the professor and Lara. The professor hurried to his car, which was parked on the road outside, and Lara followed him.
When they were alone Lara looked the professor squarely in the eye. Come on, Prof, spill the beans. There’s more to this ‘school experiment’ than meets the eye, isn’t there? Why do you want me in Mr Thompson’s class exactly?
‘All right, GM451, I know you’re on to me!’ laughed her old friend. ‘The experiment is completely genuine, but, yes, I do also have an ulterior motive for sending you and the pups into the school.’
Lara nodded. Keep talking.
‘The truth is that I’m not at all happy about what’s been going on around here – those two mysterious break-ins where nothing was taken. I don’t understand it, but it seems to have something to do with Mr Thompson. I’d just like you and the pups to keep your eyes open while I’m away. It might be nothing but …’