by J. C. Jones
He looked up, smiled and put aside the marking. ‘Well, well. I thought you were going to sleep all day.’
‘No, I can’t,’ Pip explained. ‘I have to go to . . . somewhere on the train and I can’t be too long because—’ Remembering Houdini, she sat up suddenly in bed. Her head swam.
‘Whoa,’ Mr Blair said, putting out a hand to stop her. ‘You’re not going anywhere. You’ve got a concussion, according to the doctor, as well as a sprained ankle and assorted other scrapes and cuts.’
‘What time is it?’ Pip said urgently.
‘Er, just gone twelve.’
Relieved, Pip lay back down. ‘That’s okay. I was just worried about my dog.’
‘You have a dog?’ Mr Blair looked dumbfounded.
Pip nodded. ‘Houdini.’
‘You continue to surprise,’ he murmured. ‘Where is this dog?’
‘You can’t tell the police,’ Pip said. ‘Please.’
Mr Blair looked at her. ‘Pip, teachers aren’t always as free to do what they want as little girls.’
‘Please!’
‘I’ll do everything I can to make things turn out okay for you, but I can’t make promises I may not be able to keep.’
Pip’s shoulders slumped. Once she told him, she wouldn’t be able to hide out there any longer. But he had said he’d try to make things all right, so perhaps it was time to tell the truth.
‘He’s at home. Number 3 Greene Lane.’
‘Have you been hiding out there all this time?’
Pip shook her head. ‘He’s not used to being there. Perhaps you could take Matilda Browning with you. She’s . . . good with dogs.’
‘I see,’ Mr Blair said. ‘I’ll speak to her mother and see if she’s happy about that. If she is, we’ll go and rescue your hound.’
‘Thank you.’
‘So, how are you feeling? Molly said you took a knock to the head.’
Pip saw an opening. ‘She’s very nice and she needs a better boyfriend.’
Mr Blair raised his eyebrows. ‘I’m quite capable of sorting out my own love life – as is Senior Constable Dunlop, thank you, Pip.’
She shrugged. ‘I was just saying.’
‘Well, I’m just saying, you need to concentrate on you, Pip.’
‘I’m okay.’
‘Really? Pip, hiding from the authorities, missing school, frequenting racetracks – yes, I know about that – mixing with pickpockets and trying to bodily stop a moving car are not “okay”.’
‘Well . . .’ Put like that, it did look bad. ‘I just wanted to get enough money together to pay for Sully’s rehab.’
‘Pip!’ He sounded exasperated. ‘You don’t have to pay for it.’
‘Sully doesn’t have any money!’
‘Sully doesn’t have to pay for it either. The government pays for it.’
‘But I thought it was really expensive. It’s where famous people go.’
Mr Blair burst out laughing. ‘Pip, Sully’s kind of rehab is quite different from where celebrity addicts go to dry out.’ He stood up. ‘Now, I’m going to sort out this dog of yours. You, meanwhile, need more sleep. The police want to speak to you later.’
As she watched him leave the room, Pip thought that when he said ‘police’, he didn’t mean Molly. She just hoped it wasn’t Inspector Carozza.
Pip came awake to a chorus of loud whispers from the door of the hospital room.
‘Don’t let the nurses see him or we’ll be thrown out.’ That was Mr Blair.
‘He won’t stay under the jacket,’ Matilda replied. ‘Houdini, keep still!’
Pip opened one eye and saw her friend struggling to contain the wriggling jacket she held – a jacket with a scruffy grey tail.
‘Houdini?’ she said.
‘Ssshhh!’ Mr Blair said. ‘There’s a strict no-dogs policy in here.’
He closed the door as Matilda spilt the contents of the jacket onto Pip’s knees. A moment later, her face was being bathed by dog kisses from an excited Houdini.
‘Oh, Pip,’ Matilda said. ‘It’s so exciting, even though you got hurt. Everyone’s talking about how you saved Spiro and how brave you were.’
‘Bravado isn’t necessarily the same as bravery,’ Mr Blair murmured, but Matilda was asking a million questions and making up her own answers when Pip was too slow to respond. By the time Matilda paused for breath, Pip’s rescue of Spiro sounded like something out of the movies.
‘Thank you for getting Houdini.’ Pip ran her hands over the dog’s ears and gave him a good scratch. He rolled over and howled in ecstasy.
A second later, the door opened and a stern-looking nurse stuck her head around it. Pip wasn’t quick enough to tuck Houdini under the bedclothes. Mr Blair was told icily that he would have to leave for breaking hospital policy.
Pip gave him a sympathetic grin. She knew how it felt to be in big trouble.
The nurse, however, didn’t see the funny side. ‘Now get that beast out of here this minute!’
‘He can stay with us for a few days until you get out,’ Matilda said. ‘Oh, do you need anything from your house, like clothes?’
Pip looked down at the blue hospital gown she wore. She thought it was probably one of the bare-bottom ones. No way was she traipsing around the hospital to see Sully with her bum hanging out.
‘Yes, please,’ she said to Matilda. ‘My bag is in the kitchen. Just pack the clean clothes from the line and my toothbrush and comb. You just have to shove the front door to get in.’
‘Sure. See you soon!’ Matilda waved one of Houdini’s paws at Pip and was hustled out by Mr Blair.
Beginning of the End
Pip snuggled down in bed ready for some more sleep but the nurse said, ‘Police are here to see you if you’re up to it.’
Molly put her head around the door. ‘We just want to get your version of things, Pip. I’ve got Doug Cameron with me if that’s okay?’
Doug smiled. ‘Okay, young lady, now do you feel able to tell us what happened today?’
In the end, Pip blurted out everything, starting with this morning’s events, all the way back to the Sunday before last. It was a marathon, but the police officers didn’t interrupt much, just let her tell it the whole way through. Molly did most of the asking and Doug did the writing.
‘Phew!’ Molly said when Pip ran out of things to say. ‘That’s a lot to pack into a few days.’
‘Things just kind of happened,’ Pip said. ‘How’s Spiro?’
‘Oh, he’s okay. No harm done. His mum and grandmother took him home a while ago.’
‘And the man?’
‘His name’s Terry Bohm, and he’s not at all the respectable businessman he would like us to think.’
‘Does that mean he’ll go to jail?’
‘You bet he will, sweetie, if I have anything to do with it,’ Molly said.
‘What happens now? I’d rather go to jail than back to Sandie,’ Pip said to Doug.
‘I can promise you that a stay with Sandie is not in your future,’ Doug told her.
‘I want to stay at Number 3 Greene Lane until Sully comes home. With Houdini, my dog.’
‘Yes, I’ve met Houdini,’ Molly said.
‘The thing is,’ Doug said, ‘to work out what happens next we need to work out who you are. Really.’
Pip was confused. ‘I’m me. Really.’
‘Look,’ Molly said hastily to Doug, ‘I think we need to let Pip rest now. It’s been a big day and Pip’s given us a detailed statement. How about we come back tomorrow and have another chat then?’
Although she liked them, Pip was glad to see them go. Her head was pounding and her knee and ankle ached. She wanted to rest so she had enough energy to visit Sully later.
As it turned out, she fell fast asleep and didn’t wake up until the next morning, to find that Matilda and her mum had dropped off Pip’s things, as well as some flowers and chocolate.
Matilda’s note said: You were snoring so we didn’t wak
e you up. Hope you feel better soon. Matilda J x.
Pip did feel better, although her head was woolly from having slept so long. She ate the chocolate and went to find a shower. The stern nurse was cross when she found out Pip had showered on her own, although Pip figured she was one of those people who went around looking for things to make her cross. Pip sat meekly on the bed in the detested bottomless gown until the nurse had gone, and then changed into her own clothes.
Sully was still sleeping when she finally found his room after a few false starts. Mrs Beetlebaum had also nodded off in her chair, so Pip crept in and perched carefully on Sully’s bed. If anything, he looked worse.
‘Sully,’ she whispered. ‘It’s me, Pip. More stuff happened yesterday and now I’m in the hospital too. I’m okay, and we don’t have to worry about the money.’
In her hand, his fluttered for a second and then went still, and she thought his dry lips framed the word ‘Pip’.
‘I’m right here, Sully,’ she said. ‘They’re looking after you well. You just need to wake up so you can go to rehab. Everything is fine at Number 3 Greene Lane. I’m going to fix up the garden because we have a dog now and he needs a place to run around. His name is Houdini because—’
She felt a slight tug on her hand and heard the whisper of her name. She leant closer and thought he said something like ‘cash’.
‘It’s okay, Sully,’ she told him. ‘We don’t have to pay for rehab.’
Frowning, he shook his head from side to side.
‘What is it, Sully? Shall I get the nurse?’
‘Em,’ he murmured and Pip realised he was looking at the photo next to the bed. She put it into his good hand and called the nurse, but was told that he was as comfortable as they could make him and there was nothing more anyone could do.
Pip sat with him a little longer but when he slept on she wandered back to her room to find a plastic tray with lunch, which was stone cold. She ate the ice-cream dessert, ignored the rest, and was very happy when Matilda arrived after school with Mrs Browning, bringing chocolate cake.
Five minutes later, Molly and Mr Blair knocked on the door, saying, ‘Surprise!’
Their surprise was Ginger, looking uncomfortable. He pushed a horse-racing magazine into her hands, said he was sorry she’d got hurt and made a hasty retreat.
‘I’m talking to some people about getting him somewhere permanent to live and an apprenticeship,’ Molly said.
Pip grinned. ‘That’s great. Thanks.’
A knock sounded on the door. The nurse opened it, looking grimmer than ever.
‘I need a word with a responsible adult. Not you,’ she said to Mr Blair.
Molly went out into the corridor with the nurse and when she came back a minute later, she had tears in her eyes.
Mr Blair put a hand on her shoulder. ‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘It’s . . . it’s . . . Oh, Pip!’
Molly came and sat on the bed next to Matilda. She looked at Pip and gulped. ‘I’m so sorry, but Sully died ten minutes ago.’
Go, Pip, Go
By Sully’s funeral, six days later, Pip had still been unable to cry. She stood among the small crowd by his graveside as a man in black said things about him that sounded a lot like bulldust. When the man called him ‘Archibald’ for the fourth time, she said through stiff lips, ‘He didn’t like Archibald.’ Mr Blair tried to hush her but she ignored him. ‘His name was Sully.’
Pip hung her head, tuning the man out, staring at the hole in the ground containing the box with Sully inside. When the man in black had finished, she said, ‘Sully said he didn’t like bulldust. He said lots of other b-words too. He liked his Em and smoking and the horses. He was my friend. That’s all.’
‘Well said,’ Mr Blair whispered. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
Across the far side of the hole, Matilda stood, crying, with Mrs Browning, Doug Cameron and two of Sully’s old mates from the pub. Molly Dunlop and Ginger stood next to Mr Blair.
At last it was over and Pip went home with the Brownings to Elliott Street, where she had stayed since the day Sully had died. Her bruises had almost disappeared, her cuts were healing and she could no longer feel the soreness in her ankle. The soreness in her heart was a different matter. Even going back to school hadn’t been able to cheer her up, and after classes each day she sat in the park with her arms around Houdini, staring into space.
Molly had told her that the ‘authorities’ were trying to work out where she’d come from, and had asked yet again if Pip had any family she hadn’t told Molly about. Pip had just shrugged, and kept silent about the creased photo of the woman with grey-green eyes still tucked inside her bag. If her mother hadn’t wanted her, Pip didn’t want her either.
Her brain had gone all foggy the day Sully died. Before that, she’d had a mission to stay clear of the welfare and help Sully get better. Now, she just didn’t know what she was supposed to do. It was easier just to go along with things.
The Brownings couldn’t have been nicer, even though Houdini made Mrs Browning sneeze. Pip had her own room, new clothes, delicious food to eat, Matilda’s non-stop chatter to fill the long silences, and all the space she needed.
Not knowing where she belonged was the hardest thing of all, perhaps even harder than missing Sully. What would happen to her? Where would she go next?
Eventually, though, Matilda’s cheerfulness started to rub off on Pip, and she began to feel the clouds were clearing. Sometimes it was hard not to smile when Matilda kept giving Pip sideways glances and then bursting into giggles.
They were sitting together on the wall outside school waiting for Mrs Browning to pick them up one day, when Matilda whispered, ‘Can you keep a secret?’
Pip nodded. ‘Sure.’
‘It’s so exciting! We’re going to be sisters!’
Pip couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face. ‘Really?’ she said.
‘It is what you want, isn’t it?’ Matilda asked. ‘I told Mum it’s what I want.’
For the first time since Sully’s death, Pip felt so happy she thought she’d yell with joy if she opened her mouth, so she just nodded.
‘If it all works out well, we can adopt you – and you can adopt us. But don’t say anything yet or I’ll get in trouble for having a big mouth. Mum says it’s a big step and there’s lots of things they have to think about.’
‘Okay,’ Pip agreed.
‘Mum always wanted a big family,’ Matilda prattled on. ‘And I’ve always wanted a sister or brother. It would be amazing if we could all be together.’
Pip nodded, still thinking. She would have a nice home with the perfect family. She would have tasty meals, nice clothes and a hot shower every day. Maybe twice a day! And Houdini could keep his comfortable spot on the Brownings’ living room rug and the meaty bones he’d deposited around the garden. They would belong. And that was worth almost anything.
‘When do you think—’
‘Ssshhh!’ Matilda hissed as Mrs Browning pulled up in front of them.
Pip managed to answer Mrs Browning’s questions about her day as though everything was ordinary, but there was nothing ordinary about the way she felt.
When Molly came to the house one evening, Pip wondered with a growing sense of hope if it was to tell them that she could stay with the Brownings for good. Instead, Molly said that they had a lot of evidence to put Terry Bohm behind bars for stalking kids and that Pip might not even need to speak at the trial.
‘You’re also in line to get a bravery award,’ Molly said.
Pip didn’t really care about that. She just wanted a home for herself and Houdini, but she didn’t want to ask anyone about what Matilda had said in case she caused trouble.
That night, she found it impossible to sleep. After staring at the ceiling for hours, she slipped quietly downstairs for a glass of water. Halfway down, she overheard Mr and Mrs Browning talking about her in serious tones.
‘They hav
en’t found anything yet,’ Mr Browning said. ‘I pestered Molly until she told me. They’ve no idea where Pip came from.’
‘It’s such a big step, Michael,’ Mrs Browning replied. ‘Do you think we’re up to it?’
‘Every child needs a proper home, Lindsay.’
‘I know. I keep telling myself that. But secretly . . .’
‘What?’ Mr Browning asked. ‘Pip’s a great kid.’
‘I know. Tilly adores her and Pip’s been trying so hard to fit in.’
‘Do you want to change your mind about adopting her?’
When Mr Browning asked his question, Pip thought she might be sick on the stairs. Just when she thought she had a new home and family, it looked like being snatched away from her.
Mrs Browning sighed. ‘No. I’d like nothing more than for Pip to stay with us, but I suppose I’m scared. What if we all become too attached to her and then . . . and then we find out she does have family after all?’
‘The police have followed up every lead they could find,’ Mr Browning reminded her.
‘But what if her mother or other family reappears one day and wants to take her? Or what if Pip decides she doesn’t want to stay with us? She’s such a secretive child, it’s hard to tell what she’s thinking? I should have told you before but—’
Their voices became muffled as they moved out of earshot while Pip stood transfixed on the bottom stair. She wasn’t sure what to think, except that everything seemed to revolve around secrets.
Matilda couldn’t keep a secret. Mrs Browning was tied up in knots by her own secret and was scared to love Pip because of hers. And then there was Sully’s secret, kept for so long it had died with him.
Pip didn’t sleep for the rest of the night and was so distracted at school the next day, the classes went by in a blur.
When they got home from school, Pip went to her bedroom and looked at the framed photo of Sully and his Em, which the hospital had returned to her. She hoped it would help her to think more clearly, but Matilda kept interrupting.
In the end, Pip decided that she needed somewhere quiet to think about things, and she knew just where to go. She put the photos of Sully, Em and her mum in her bag, found Houdini, put his new lead around his neck and called out that she was taking him for a walk.