Sky Lights

by Barclay Baker

  ‘No, we are not going to Never Land. But we do have work here in Edinburgh. I sent the fairies all over the city to see if they could find out what the pirates were up to and they came back with several things to report.’

  ‘Like what?’ asked Amy, hanging on Peter’s every word.

  ‘O’Mullins and MacStarkey were seen running down the High Street being chased by a man in uniform. And then a short time after that they were seen carrying bundles of clothes into an old dark building.’ Peter paused for effect. ‘Noddler and Jukes are currently hanging about on the castle ramparts and they were overheard to say they would wait until 5 minutes past midnight for Fitzsmee and Skylights. And then Noddler was heard to say he wondered if they had got anything useful from the contents of the crocodile’s stomach, and Jukes replied that he hoped they had and that the professor was able to do the job on Hook.’

  ‘Do you think this professor is the same one that mum was talking about?’ asked Amy. ‘The one whose daughter goes to our school?’

  ‘Could be,’ said Jack, absentmindedly, as he searched his mind for what he could remember about the professor. He had seen him on TV a few days before. What was it that he had been able to do? And then he remembered! ‘Yeah, yeah, I think it could be the same professor. I remember what he’s famous for now. He’s able to grow new fingers and other body parts on people who have lost them. And grow them very quickly. Maybe Hook isn’t dead. Maybe he wants a new hand,’ said Jack.

  ‘Hook is definitely dead. I saw it happen. He fell right into the crocodile’s open mouth. The beast chewed twice then swallowed. When it opened its mouth to spit out the hook the captain was gone. He must be dead because he couldn’t live all these years inside a crocodile.’

  ‘Maybe not,’ said Jack, ‘but his DNA might.’

  ‘His what?’ asked Peter, for once in his life admitting that he didn’t know something.

  ‘Oh no,’ said Jack, ‘Surely they are not up to what I think they are up to. We’ve got to find them. We’ve got to find the professor and his daughter. They could be in real danger.’

  ‘Right,’ said Peter. ‘There’s enough fairy dust to get us round Edinburgh at top speed. Do you know where the professor’s house is? There may be some clues there.’

  ‘No idea,’ said Jack.

  ‘I know,’ said Amy. ‘We can check the school’s directory. All the children’s addresses are in it. I’ve a copy in my room. I’ll get it.’

  ‘Good idea, Amy. Be quick. This is a matter of life and death,’ said Jack.

  ‘Life and death? You don’t think the pirates will kill them do you?’ asked Shelley.

  ‘Maybe. Maybe not. But we’ll be dead if our parents find we have gone off again. We have to do what we can before they decide it’s time for soup and then bed. I reckon we have no more than an hour. Can we do it Peter?’

  ‘Cock a doodle doo!’ crowed Peter. ‘Of course we can…or my name’s not Peter Pan. Let’s go. Amy, you lead the way to the professor’s house.’

  And for the second time in twenty four hours a mini string of Christmas lights left the Patons’ rooftop and took to the sky.

  CHAPTER 16

  House of Discoveries

  Jack peered through the bars of the gates into the dark driveway of 16 Renfrew Street. ‘This must be the place where Wendy and her father live,’ he said. ‘Doesn’t look like anyone’s at home.’ Tall evergreen trees swayed in the darkness all round the stone built house. There was no sign of life. No light at any of the windows.

  ‘What’re we going to do?’ whispered Amy. ‘Are we going to knock at the door?’

  ‘We’d better, in case someone’s in,’ said her brother.

  Not even a security light penetrated the darkness surrounding the building. They looked in vain for a doorbell. Jack tapped softly, as if he really didn’t want an answer, and waited. They listened for signs of life inside. Only the rustle of dried leaves broke the silence. No answer. They were uncertain what to do next.

  ‘Let’s see if there’s a window open,’ said Jack.

  ‘I can climb up the outside of the house and check if there’s an upstairs window open,’ said Peter. ‘I can do that easily. If there’s a window open anywhere, I’ll find it,’ he boasted.

  ‘Be careful. We don’t want anyone to see you flying about,’ said Jack. ‘The rest of you, follow me. And stay quiet.’

  ‘Did I tell you the first girl I ever took to Never Land was also called Wendy? This could be the house where my Wendy lives now,’ announced Peter grandly from his perch on top of the porch.

  ‘Don’t be silly!’ said Shelley, ‘That was over a hundred years ago. How could she still be alive?’

  ‘I’m still alive! And I don’t look a day older than I did a hundred years ago. Strange things happen in my world,’ said Peter. Shelley had no answer to that. Peter started peering in the upstairs windows, doing somersaults along the coping above the first floor. The others circled the building, checking the windows as they went.

  ‘I’m scared,’ whispered Amy. ‘Let’s go home.’ She pulled at Jack’s sleeve. ‘I’m really scared. It’s so dark.’

  ‘It’s OK Amy. Don’t worry. Think about those pirates. They were scared of shadows.’

  ‘No wonder,’ said Amy, laughing at the memory. ‘They were our shadows.’

  Jack shone a torch all around the back of the house. Peter cartwheeled off the roof and plopped down right in front of him. Jack jumped. Amy and Shelley laughed. ‘Who’s a scaredy cat now?’ said Shelley.

  ‘Be quiet,’ said Jack. ‘Let’s get a move on. We haven’t time to waste.’ Round the next corner, the torch lit up the patio doors.

  ‘Look!’ said Amy. ‘These doors aren’t shut properly. Are we going in?’

  ‘Yeah, well we didn’t come all this way to stay outside. We have to find out what’s going on, and what’s happened to this Professor Dante. See if he’s the same one the pirates talked about.’

  Jack stepped inside the house with Amy, Shelley and Peter following closely behind. Four wooden chairs were pushed neatly under a table and a sideboard stood against the wall. A vase of dead flowers was placed in the middle of the sideboard and a bowl of ripe bananas occupied one end of the table. At the other end lay a closed laptop computer, with a scattering of papers over it. Jack scanned the walls with the torchlight. He rested the beam on an old fashioned photograph of a young girl in school uniform, hanging above the sideboard.

  ‘Wow!’ he said. ‘Who does this remind you of?’ He turned to Amy. ‘Isn’t it like that photo of granny mum keeps by her family history files?’

  ‘Yeah, it is,’ replied Amy, giving it only a cursory glance. She switched on the reading light by the computer. ‘I’m going to look through these papers.’

  ‘Amy! What’re you doing?’ said Jack. ‘Don’t put on the light.’

  She ignored him and began leafing through the loose pages. ‘Well, it’s the correct house. These are addressed to Professor Dante all right. Most of them are about his work on ABRT. What’s that?’

  ‘Let’s see,’ said Jack, taking a sheaf of notes from Amy. He scanned a few of them searching for an explanation. ‘Here it is…Accelerated Biological Reconstruction Technique. Remember that article in the paper. Dad had it this morning. They can grow new parts of the body now, like missing fingers.’

  ‘How about hands?’ said Peter. ‘If this professor had been around when the captain lost his hand…there never would have been a Captain Hook. Hook wouldn’t have liked that. He liked to slash and rip and gouge with his hook.’

  ‘Stop being so bloodthirsty, Peter, and do something useful,’ said Jack.

  ‘Jack, what’s this? It looks like a threatening letter. It mentions his daughter,’ said Shelley.

  ‘Let’s see,’ said Jack. He read out the note.

  Professor Dante

  Your daughter is in our custody, and will remain so until you have given us what we want. Do not contact the police if you want to see
her alive again. Meet us at your laboratory at 8 o’clock tonight.

  Remember no police.

  ‘This is a kind of ransom note but it doesn’t mention money,’ said Jack. ‘It tells the professor to go to his lab. But it doesn’t say what they want. Wonder why? I wonder if it is to do with these new techniques he’s developing?’

  ‘Jack, we know his daughter is called Wendy,’ said Amy. ‘Don’t you think there have been an awful lot of coincidences? Something really weird’s going on and we’re right in the middle of it.’

  ‘I hate to admit it, but I think you’re absolutely right. Stolen fairy dust, a missing professor, a kidnapped girl, a crocodile, a band of pirates! And now more connections to the Peter Pan story. There must be a clue in this house. What has the professor got to do with it?’ Jack moved towards the other door. Amy picked up the note and Shelley stuffed a couple of other papers in her pocket before following him. Peter was opening drawers and cupboards as if he expected something to jump out at him.

  ‘What are you doing, Peter?’ asked Jack, anxious to finish up in this strange house and go home.

  ‘I am going to find something important in this house,’ replied Peter, puffing out his chest. ‘I just don’t know what it is yet.’

  Jack stepped into the hallway. By the light from the dining room, they could see other doors at the bottom of a staircase. Crossing the carpeted hall on tiptoe, Amy slowly turned the handle of one of the doors. A sound from inside made the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up. They froze, rooted to the spot. They held their breath and listened. There was the noise again! It was a rasping, breathing sound. Someone or something was in the room! Their eyes opened wide as they realised they were not alone in the house after all. Amy stepped away from the door.

  Whatever was in the room charged across the floor with a deep growl. They heard what sounded like claws scraping on the floor. Realising they were in danger Jack quickly pulled the door shut and yelled, ‘Quick, up the stairs.’ The door closed for a second then bounced open. It scarcely hindered the fearsome beast that was after the children. Peter flew to the landing in a flash and disappeared. Amy, Shelley and Jack leapt up the stairs. A second later, the creature was bounding up the stairs behind them. The children fled up the remaining steps. On the dimly lit landing, Jack made a quick decision.

  ‘Amy, in here!’ he yelled, opening the first door, dragging Amy and Shelley in and slamming it behind him. He leaned against it.

  ‘Whew! Just in time!’ Shelley wheezed, as the beast threw itself against the door in a furious rage, snapping and snarling. The sound of the creature frantically clawing at the door was terrifying.

  ‘What is it?’ screamed Amy hysterically. ‘Is it a crocodile or what? Did you see it?’ She clung on to her brother.

  ‘You’ve got crocodiles on the brain! I don’t think a crocodile would be so fast,’ said her brother, trying to catch his breath. ‘I didn’t get a look at it.’

  ‘If it is a crocodile, it won’t be able to get in will it?’ whispered Amy. ‘I’m really scared.’

  ‘I’m scared too,’ whispered Shelley. ‘And where’s Peter gone?’

  ‘Never mind him. He can look after himself,’ said Jack. ‘Let’s find the light switch and see where we are.’ He fumbled in the darkness and eventually found the switch. ‘There!’ He looked round. A bare bulb dangled from the centre of the ceiling. Dusty shelves lined the walls and piles of boxes littered the floor. Jack groaned.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ said Amy.

  ‘There’s no other way out,’ gasped Jack. ‘No door, no window.’

  The animal out on the landing threw itself at the door with renewed vigour. Its claws scraped on the door as it snarled and growled.

  ‘What can we do? We’re trapped! We’ll never get out of here,’ said Jack. ‘I’m sorry I got you into this mess, girls. It’s my fault.’

  Amy bent down and put her eye to the keyhole. She could barely see anything. ‘Can you see it?’ said Jack. ‘Let’s see if there’s anything in this room we can use to beat it off.’

  ‘I can see its teeth and its huge mouth,’ replied Amy. ‘It looks very fierce. Oh wait a minute! It’s backing off a bit. Well, that’s interesting.’ She stood up and looked at her brother and Shelley. ‘We have to get out of here, don’t we? Well you have to trust me! I’m going to try something. I hope I’m not wrong.’ She put her hand on the handle of the door. Jack sprang forward and placed his hand on top of hers.

  ‘No, Amy, don’t do it. It’ll rip you to pieces. It would be madness to open the door.’

  ‘Jack’s right. There must be another way,’ said Shelley.

  ‘It’ll be OK, honestly. I know what I’m doing. At least I hope I do.’ Amy shook off Jack’s hand and turned the handle.

  Stepping out on the landing, Amy faced up to the huge beast, pointed her finger at the floor and commanded, ‘Sit, Nana!’ The enormous creature stopped in its tracks and sat back onto its bottom. Its jaws drooled and it panted with exhaustion. ‘Down!’ said Amy and the dog slumped forward and rested its head on its paws and blinked.

  ‘How did you do that?’ asked Jack, coming round the door cautiously.

  ‘I was pretty sure it was a dog when I got a better look at it through the key hole. It also smelled kind of doggy. I wasn’t being as brave as you thought.’

  ‘But how did you know its name?’

  ‘A lucky guess,’ said his sister, going to the dog and scratching its head. ‘We’re with Peter Pan in the house where Wendy lives, so I just guessed the dog might be called Nana.’

  ‘Oh Wendy, you are so brave,’ said Shelley. ‘You’ve saved us from the monster.’

  ‘Only there wasn’t a monster, just Nana,’ laughed Amy.

  At that moment, another door opened and Peter Pan, wearing a battered old top hat, poked his head through. Seeing the great big dog, he shot upwards and crashed into the ceiling. The impact pushed the hat down over his eyes.

  ‘Is that the dog that stole my shadow?’ he spluttered.

  ‘Well, it’s Nana all right but it’s not the dog you knew a hundred years ago!’ answered Amy. The Newfoundland thumped the floor with its tail on hearing its name spoken again. Amy patted its head. ‘Have you been shut in that room ever since the professor left?’ she said. ‘No wonder you were in a rage, you must be starving, poor thing. Come on down to the kitchen and I’ll find you something to eat and a bowl of water. Are you coming, Jack?’

  ‘You go, and take Shelley with you. I’ll have a rummage about in here,’ he replied.

  ‘Come on, Nana,’ said Amy. ‘We’ll leave the boys to it, then.’ The dog got up and obediently followed Amy and Shelley down the stairs to the kitchen.

  Jack brushed the dust off a large trunk. ‘This stuff’s been here for years,’ he said to Peter. He lifted the lid and found notebooks of various sizes labelled with the name John Dante, Edinburgh University. The next box had similar contents labelled John Dante ABRT. He flicked through some of the pages, but finding the content a bit beyond his understanding dropped them back into the trunk. Then almost immediately changed his mind and stuffed the newest looking one into his back pocket. ‘This might prove useful later,’ he thought. On the shelves were various box files, with the contents printed on the spine. He lifted down the one marked family tree and after studying it for a few minutes decided to take that with him too. Switching off the light, the two boys made their way down to the kitchen where Nana was wolfing down a dinner of dog food and biscuits from the biggest dog bowl that Jack had ever seen.

  ‘Look, Amy,’ he said. ‘I’ve got Professor John Dante’s family tree with all the relevant birth certificates. His own, his mother’s and his grandfather’s, all neatly documented. And guess what! His grandfather was John Darling of Kensington in London.’

  ‘Do you mean Wendy Darling’s brother, John?’ gasped Amy incredulously. ‘That means we’re related and Wendy, who’s missing, is our distant cousin!’

  ‘But we
still don’t know why the professor was taken,’ said Shelley.

  ‘Never mind that,’ said Amy. ‘We’ve just found another connection to the Darlings in Kensington.’

  They all turned to look at Peter. The top hat was sitting jauntily on his head, but he was oblivious that he had found something of any significance.

  ‘Look at that hat, Peter,’ said Amy. ‘Where did you find it?’

  Peter took it off and looked at it disinterestedly. ‘Oh, it was just a bit of junk in one of the rooms upstairs.’

  ‘But don’t you realise, it’s the hat that was worn by the original John Darling when he flew to Never Land with you,’ explained Shelley. ‘Wasn’t it used as a chimney on the little hut? I can smell the wood smoke even after all these years.’

  ‘Yes, they certainly don’t make hats like that nowadays,’ said Jack. ‘You found something important after all, Peter, and you didn’t even realise it.’

  ‘Of course I knew,’ bluffed Peter. ‘I was only testing you.’

  ‘Yeah sure,’ said Jack. ‘Now we’d better get home before Mum notices we’ve gone. I think we’ve gathered enough information from here. We’ll need adult help to do any more.’

  ‘Good plan, Jack. I can take over from here. I’ll head off into Edinburgh and see what my fairy spies can tell me. I will solve this mystery. I can do it by myself, or my name is not Peter Pan.’

  They all laughed. They were finally getting used to Peter’s eccentric ways.

  CHAPTER 17

  Seeing is Believing

  ‘You kids are unbelievable,’ said Beth sitting at the kitchen table with the professor’s family tree papers spread out in front of her. ‘These certificates are all authentic and go back as far as John Darling, the brother of Wendy Darling. There are even documents pertaining to Michael Darling, an engine driver and his family. It seems that the boys kept in touch even though they moved away from Kensington.’

  ‘Does that mean we’re related to Wendy Dante?’ asked Amy excitedly.