by Holly Bell
Matilda’s dad helped them pitch the tent in the top paddock. Matilda, Kate and Abbey searched through the garage for some binoculars and head-torches.
From the tent, the girls had a perfect view of the dirt road – and all the rubbish.
Some view! Kate thought to herself.
The girls spent the afternoon in the sun, eating the cupcakes Matilda’s mum had baked and keeping watch.
Kate tried to join in with the others’ chatter about movies and basketball games, but she was too focused on keeping watch. She was determined to find out who was polluting their beloved quarry and poisoning their pets!
Just after the sun had set, the girls heard the rumble of a truck engine. Headlights flashed on the hill below them.
‘Look!’ Kate said, jumping to her feet. ‘Down there!’
Kate, Matilda and Abbey looked through their binoculars. The others craned their necks to see what was happening.
A big red truck drove down the dirt road. It stopped beside the pile of rubbish. Kate and the others watched a man get out of the truck. He walked around the back and begin pulling out big containers of rubbish. He was wearing a cap, so Kate couldn’t see his face.
‘He’s doing it again!’ Olivia said.
They watched in horror as the man dumped his rubbish in the bushland.
‘Emma, where’s your notebook?’ Kate whispered. ‘Write the number plate down. FOM 294.’
‘Got it!’ Emma said, jotting it in the pink notebook she always carried with her.
‘Good thinking, Kate,’ Maddie said.
The truck began to reverse back along the road. Suddenly the truck’s headlights swung upwards and shone on the girls.
‘Get down, quick!’ shouted Kate.
The girls dropped to the ground. Kate had a sudden urge to giggle, so she held her breath. After a few moments, the lights swung away. Then they heard the soft grumble of the engine as it drove off.
‘That was close,’ Matilda breathed.
Emma tore the plate number out of her notebook and handed it to Kate. ‘So what now?’ she asked.
Kate hadn’t thought that far ahead. She’d never expected to catch the dumper so quickly! ‘I guess we go to the police in the morning?’ she suggested.
‘We can speak to my Uncle Steve!’ Olivia said. ‘He’s a policeman. He’ll help us.’
‘Well, that’s sorted, then,’ Emma said. ‘Which means we can close up the tent now and stop any more creepy crawlies getting in!’
‘There aren’t any crawlies in here,’ laughed Matilda.
‘Not yet there’s not!’ Emma replied.
The girls piled into the tent and zipped it up. Then they pooled their snacks for a midnight feast and chatted away all night. One by one, they fell asleep.
As Kate drifted off, she thought about Zac. She knew he’d be proud of them for finding the rubbish dumper.
The next morning, as soon as the girls woke up, Kate called home.
‘How’s Zac, Mum?’ she asked.
‘Much better,’ her mum replied. ‘He ate all his food this morning and seems more lively. Are you ready for me to pick you up yet? I’m sure Zac would love to see you.’
‘Yay!’ Kate said. ‘Yes please. But could we go to the police station first?’
‘The police station?’ her mum said, sounding alarmed. ‘Is everything OK?’
‘Everything’s fine, Mum,’ Kate grinned. Then she explained what they’d discovered last night.
‘I’ll be right there!’ said her mum.
On the way to the station, Kate’s mum wanted to hear the whole story again. ‘What brave girls you are,’ she said admiringly. ‘I hope the police catch him quickly.’
‘Uncle Steve will make sure they do,’ said Olivia firmly.
Kate hoped that he would take them seriously. Sometimes she worried that adults didn’t always listen to kids about stuff like this.
When they arrived at the police station, Olivia’s uncle took them to a small room out the back. He was a sergeant, and he listened patiently as the Forever Clover girls described everything they’d seen.
‘Well,’ he said when they’d finished. ‘You girls had quite an exciting night.’
‘Can you please check the number plate?’ Kate asked, giving him the piece of paper. ‘The man might come back.’
‘I’ll look into it today,’ he promised. ‘Rubbish dumping is a serious offence. Especially toxic rubbish. This guy is in a lot of trouble.’
‘Good!’ said Maddie, and Kate had to agree. She didn’t usually like it when people got into trouble. But this man needed to be taught a lesson.
‘But I’ll only do this on one condition,’ the sergeant said with a serious expression.
Uh-oh, Kate thought. Are we in trouble for spying?
‘You have to promise me,’ the sergeant said sternly, ‘that you’ll stay away from the quarry for now and let the police take over.’
Then his face broke into a huge smile. ‘Although I have to say that I’m very impressed with your detective work, girls,’ he added. ‘Well done.’
Kate beamed at Steve. She was so pleased she thought she might burst!
‘It was Kate’s idea,’ Emma said proudly. ‘She’s the bravest of us all.’
Now Kate knew that she would burst!
Kate’s mum grinned. ‘Well, I think our six investigators deserve a Sunday brunch,’ she said. ‘What do you girls think?’
‘Awesome!’ they all squealed.
As they stood to leave, Kate wondered if maybe she should be a detective instead of a scientist. But then she remembered how exciting it had been in the labs with her dad. She knew nothing could beat that.
‘Had enough to eat, Detective Kate?’ said her older brother John.
‘I think you mean Sherlock Kate,’ teased her other brother Nick.
Everyone laughed, and Kate poked her tongue out at them. Big brothers were so embarrassing sometimes.
Kate’s dad had cooked them a big feast of eggs, hash browns, avocado and baked beans. The Forever Clover girls had eaten nearly all of it!
The phone rang. Kate’s mum picked it up. ‘Hello? Oh hello, sergeant …’
‘It’s my uncle,’ Olivia whispered.
Kate’s mum put him on speaker. The girls crowded around. ‘We’ve found the truck and now we’re questioning the owner,’ the sergeant said. ‘At the very least, the man will be getting a huge fine.’
The sergeant told them that the man wasn’t from Davey’s Bay. Kate was relieved.
‘Because it was toxic, he couldn’t take the rubbish to the tip,’ the sergeant added. ‘He thought no-one would see him dumping it at the quarry. He never thought that six girls would be smart enough to catch him out!’
‘When will the lake and quarry be safe again, Uncle Steve?’ Olivia asked.
‘The rubbish will be removed by specialists,’ said the sergeant. ‘So the quarry will be safe again in two weeks.’
The girls cheered and hugged each other.
‘You girls might have saved the water supply for Davey’s Bay,’ Kate’s dad said as he hung up. ‘If that sludge had kept leaking, the whole area would’ve been poisoned.’
‘Three cheers for the Forever Clover girls!’ grinned her mum.
‘And three cheers for Kate!’ Emma said, putting her arm around her. ‘Our very own forensic scientist!’
Kate went red as everyone gave her three loud cheers. Then she glanced over at Zac, who was watching her from the window.
It looked like he was thinking, ‘Thanks for being the best friend any cat could ask for!’
Kate couldn’t help giggling.
‘What’s so funny?’ asked Emma.
‘Oh, nothing,’ Kate replied, and gave Zac a little wink.
To anyone else, it would’ve looked like Zac was blinking. But Kate knew for sure that he’d just given her a cheeky wink back.
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