Gerald didn’t know where to look. He couldn’t understand a word that Mr Bourse was saying. All he wanted was to join his friends out on the water. To add to Gerald’s misery, at that moment Sam zipped past the window on a jet ski.
‘You’d need to ask Mr Prisk,’ Gerald said.
‘Playing your cards close to your chest, Gerald,’ Bourse responded. ‘I have to say, I respect that. But as I am bringing a major investment opportunity to Archer Corporation, I need to understand the leverage we can negotiate with the banks. Greater leverage, greater profits.’
Gerald stared at his hands as Mr Bourse wittered on about capital losses and internal cost transfers. ‘Let’s talk big picture,’ the banker said. ‘As I have been saying to Mr Prisk and your parents, the future investment strategy of Archer Corporation should be based on shorting insurance stocks. I have inside information that could guarantee all of us significant profits.’
Gerald blinked at the banker. When he was much younger, he used to get out of uncomfortable situations by saying, I think I can hear my mother calling me. He was about to give the tactic another go when a miracle happened.
‘Gerald! Where are you, my dear boy?’ Gerald’s mother was actually calling him. Vi Wilkins hurried into the saloon and was almost out the other side before she noticed her son and Mr Bourse. Mr Prisk, who was following close behind Vi, narrowly missed running into her when she pulled up. ‘There you are!’ Vi said, moving decisively to Gerald. ‘Why don’t you go off and play, dear. I’m sure Mr Prisk and I can keep Mr Bourse company.’
Birthday presents come in many shapes and guises, but this one was among the best that Gerald could ever remember receiving. ‘I can go?’ he asked, scared even to mouth the words in case the opportunity to escape disappeared.
‘Of course,’ Vi said, a smile painted on her face as she pulled Gerald out of his chair and pointed him towards the door. ‘It is your birthday.’ She ushered him to the entryway and, just as she was about to push Gerald outside, whispered in his ear, ‘You didn’t tell him anything important, did you?’ She shot an anxious glance over her shoulder. ‘About the family business, or anything else for that matter?’
Gerald shook his head. ‘I didn’t understand a word he was saying. I don’t think I actually said anything.’
Vi nodded to herself. ‘Excellent. Marvellous.’
‘Mum?’ Gerald said. ‘Why is he here? It’s not like he’s one of your friends.’
Vi patted Gerald on the arm. ‘Mr Bourse has some exciting plans he needs to discuss with the grown-ups. It’s certainly nothing for a boy on his fourteenth birthday to be worried about. Now, you go have some fun.’
Gerald shrugged. He would just add the experience to the growing list of adult weirdness that he had accumulated over the past year. He was about to dash out to the rear deck to dive in after Sam when he realised he wasn’t wearing swimmers. He jogged to the central stairwell and raced up two levels. And as he turned into the corridor that led to his suite, he caught a flash of movement at the far end of the passage: the merest hint of a foot disappearing around a corner. He didn’t give it a second’s thought, until he opened his cabin door.
The place looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. Bedsheets were thrown against one wall, cushions and pillows piled in a corner. Clothes were strewn about as if the wardrobe had vomited across the carpet. Then he saw the painting above his bed. The picture that hid the safe swung ajar on its hinge.
Gerald jumped onto the mattress and tried the safe door: it was shut tight. He spun the dial, popped the locks and peered inside. Gerald frowned and pulled out the bundles of banknotes. He retrieved the plastic bags containing the coded note from Jeremy Davey and the folded plans for the curiosity machine. While the rest of the room looked as if it had been spat out of a tumble drier, the contents of the safe were intact. Everything was precisely where Gerald had left it that morning.
‘Curious,’ he muttered to himself. He could not shake the feeling that Sir Mason Green was somehow staring over his shoulder. Gerald shot a glance at the television on the wall. The screen was blank.
Gerald replaced everything in the safe, swung the door shut with a solid thunk of tempered steel, and turned the combination. He tested the handle. Twice. It was definitely locked. Gerald pushed the painting back into place and tried the latch. It held firm.
‘Curious,’ he muttered again.
Gerald took another look around the mess on the floor. He crossed to the shambles of clothing on the carpet, kicked through a tangle of shirts and underwear and fished out a pair of board shorts. He pulled them on and was about to close the cabin door when he paused, reached around and took a cardboard sign that swung from a cord on the door handle. He slung it onto the front of the door and ran off down the corridor, leaving the sign swinging in place: Please make up my room.
‘Are you sure you didn’t just leave the place a bit untidy?’ Ruby asked. ‘You can be a bit of a pig, you know.’
Ruby lay back on an enormous inflatable dolphin, bobbing in the clear water that lapped at the golden sand of the island shore. She rolled onto her front and let her hands trail in the shallows.
Gerald shook his head. ‘I tell you, the room had been turned over. Even I couldn’t make that much of a mess.’
‘But you said nothing was missing,’ Felicity said, floating by on a giant purple unicorn. ‘So it’s not a robbery, is it?’
Gerald screwed up his face. Why were Felicity and Ruby so painfully logical?
‘Look,’ Gerald said, ‘the room was broken into, the painting hiding the safe was hanging open and all of my stuff was thrown everywhere. It looked like a TV crime scene. The only thing missing was the chalk outline of a body.’
‘You say there was bundles of cash, but nothing was taken?’ Ruby said.
‘Well, no.’
‘And the plan for the curiosity machine and Jeremy Davey’s note are still there?’ Felicity said. ‘Locked in the safe.’
‘Um…yes.’
‘Not much of a crime then, is it?’ Ruby said. ‘First-degree untidiness.’
Sam’s head broke through the surface close to Ruby’s inflatable dolphin, a diving mask across his face. He spat out a snorkel mouthpiece and said, ‘Are you still going on about the crime of the century? You know what probably happened? You were digging around this morning looking for some clothes and you left a pile on the floor. Then when you put the plan for the curiosity machine back into the safe you didn’t close the door properly so when the boat ran over a wave it popped open. Simple as that.’
‘When we ran over a wave?’ Gerald said, unconvinced.
‘Sure,’ Sam said. ‘Like the Titanic and the iceberg, just on a really tiny scale.’
Ruby leaned down and patted Sam on the head. ‘That’s a remarkably rational explanation,’ she said.
‘You worry too much about things, Gerald,’ Felicity said. ‘We’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and a million miles from anywhere. We know the plans are safely locked away, so that’s a good thing. All you should be worrying about is what superhero costume you’re going to wear to the party and whether to wear your underpants on the inside or the outside.’
Gerald ran his hands back and forth through the water, swirling eddies between his fingers. Now would be the perfect time to tell his friends about the video call from Sir Mason Green. But they were in the middle of the largest expanse of water on the planet. How could Sir Mason Green possibly reach him there? ‘All right,’ Gerald said after a moment. ‘But I get to wear my underpants on the outside.’
Gerald looked long and hard at the full-length mirror, swivelling left and right to get a better view of his costume. No matter what angle he viewed himself from, there was no escaping the fact that he looked a colossal goose. He wore a bright blue lycra bodysuit with red jockey pants on the outside, and a golden G emblazoned on his chest, with crossed lightning bolts highlighted in silver sequins and glitter.
Felicity poked her head
out from where the girls were getting dressed in the bathroom to check on Gerald’s progress. ‘Is it safe to come out yet?’ she asked, then choked back a laugh. ‘Oh goodness. What are you supposed to be? Super Gerald?’
Gerald took another look at his reflection and sighed at what looked back at him. ‘With all this lycra I look like I’ve joined Team Dork Cycling.’
Felicity let out a bell-like laugh. ‘If it’s any consolation, Gerald, all cyclists in lycra ride for Team Dork. You look very dashing. But not quite as dashing as I do.’ She stepped from the bathroom. She was clad from the neck down in a skin-tight blue-and-white striped bodysuit. Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a long plait that fell between her shoulders. A stark purple ‘F’ was stitched to her chest.
‘Who are you supposed to be?’ Gerald asked.
She pulled a scarlet red eye mask onto her face. ‘Ferocious Felicity,’ she said, planting her fists on her hips. ‘And don’t you forget it, fella.’
‘Your mum did an amazing job with these costumes, Gerald,’ Ruby said, following Felicity out of the bathroom. ‘They look fantastic.’ She beamed at him from beneath a silk skullcap that covered the upper half of her face. It had pointed golden ears on top and almond-shaped eyeholes. A cream satin cape, pinned to a golden sleeveless bodysuit, draped from her shoulders to the floor. ‘I’m Rambunctious Ruby,’ she said in answer to Gerald’s querying look. ‘The rodent defender of all that is right in the world.’
‘So you’re a rat,’ Gerald said. ‘Ruby the rat.’
Ruby narrowed her eyes. ‘I’m righteous, I’m resilient, I’m rowdy, I’m—’
‘A rat,’ Gerald said, smirking.
Ruby’s eyes narrowed further. ‘Oh all right, I’m a rat. But a golden one, so that must count for something.’
They were interrupted by Sam as he stepped in from the adjoining cabin. ‘Can we stop talking about rats, please?’ he said. Gerald, Felicity and Ruby looked at him. Sam wore pink hotpants, white knee-high boots and a sequined lime green muscle shirt. He stared back at them. Gerald tried to hold in a laugh. ‘And you are?’
Sam looked down at his outfit. ‘I think I’m either Fluoroboy or Sparklyman,’ he said. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. ‘There wasn’t much left to choose from. It was either this or a gorilla suit.’
Felicity pressed a knuckle to her mouth. ‘Why didn’t you pick the gorilla suit?’
‘What?’ Sam said. ‘And look a right idiot?’
Ruby couldn’t contain her laughter. She hooked her arm through Sam’s and led the way out the door. ‘Come on Prince Sparklepony. Let’s have some fun.’
Chapter 8
The strains of ‘Happy Birthday’ spilled out from the Archer’s main ballroom, rolled across the rear deck and floated off into the balmy night. Chinese lanterns lining the rails swayed in the lightest of tropical breezes. There were balloons, bunting, streamers and people dressed as the most unlikely of superheroes. The party was in full swing and Gerald was at the centre of it all, feeling his most self-conscious. He stood in the middle of the ballroom, his arms straight by his sides and his face growing a deeper shade of awkward by the moment. His overwhelming discomfort was not helped by his costume. He was surrounded by a sea of people in similarly outlandish outfits, singing and smiling at him, waving glasses in time to the music. Gerald could feel the blood pulsing in his ears as the chorus reached its final notes, ‘…birthday to yoooo.’
‘Kill me now,’ he muttered to himself. ‘Please, kill me now.’
A cheer erupted from the crowd, and Vi leapt forward to wrap Gerald in her arms. She was dressed in a black cat suit, complete with a long tail that snaked over one shoulder. ‘My darling boy,’ she said as she rocked Gerald from side to side in her embrace. ‘Fourteen years old, but still my little baby.’
‘Mum!’ Gerald protested, struggling to free himself. ‘Your whiskers are stabbing me in the face.’
Vi loosened her grip and Gerald wriggled free. ‘We’ll cut the cake later, but you go open your presents,’ she said. ‘And cheer up, for goodness sake—it’s your birthday!’
A sharp pop sounded from behind them and a champagne cork whizzed past Gerald’s ear. Vi’s face lit up. ‘There’s the starter’s pistol. You go play with your friends, Gerald, and I’ll go play with mine.’ Vi waved an empty glass towards a waiter who was pouring champagne from an enormous bottle. ‘Yoohoo!’ she cried. ‘A lady’s not a camel, you know!’
Music blared and Gerald watched his mother weave across the dance floor through party guests who writhed and pranced in figure-hugging spandex and brightly coloured capes. He grinned. His mother may spread a fog of wince-inducing embarrassment wherever they went together but Gerald had to admit it: she knew how to have fun.
‘Come on, Super Gerald,’ Felicity said, appearing by his side with Ruby. ‘Let’s see what you’ve scored at the present table.’ A long table draped with a burgundy cloth was piled high with gifts. Gerald picked up a small box with a red bow on top, and read the card. ‘It’s from my mum’s friends, Frannie and Jacinta,’ he said. He looked over to the dance floor, which was grinding to a crush of sweaty superheroes. Jacinta and Frannie were somewhere in the middle of the crowd, whooping with their hands in the air. Gerald undid the bow and pulled the top from the box. He took out a decorative glass bottle. ‘Aftershave?’ he said, giving the bottle a shake.
Ruby took it from him, twisted off the cap and wafted the opening under her nose. ‘Oh, goodness,’ she said, blinking rapidly. ‘You’d need to be Superman to get away with that. It reeks.’
Gerald selected a long, narrow box from the front of the pile. ‘It’s from Jasper Mantle,’ he said, reading the card. ‘That’s odd. Why would he send me a present?’
‘You are a member of the Billionaire’s Club now,’ Felicity said. ‘He is the head of the membership committee. Maybe he sends birthday gifts to every member.’
‘I’d say he owes you a favour,’ Ruby said. ‘You did point him in the direction of that massive butterfly collection in the Billionaire’s Club.’
Gerald tore off the wrapping and opened the box.
‘What is it?’ Sam asked.
Gerald pulled out a stout rod of polished wood, about thirty centimetres long and the diameter of a ten-cent piece. He held it up in front of his face. ‘What do you think?’ he asked.
‘I think you’re too old to be getting wizard-based birthday presents,’ Ruby said, wrinkling her nose.
‘I hardly think Jasper Mantle is going to give me a magic wand,’ Gerald said, waving the stick about. ‘Is he?’
Felicity took the object from Gerald’s fingers. ‘It’s quite heavy. And look—there’s a button on one end.’ A raised metal nub of dull brass protruded from the bottom of the stick. Felicity pressed it with her thumb. With a jolt, the stick telescoped out, hidden springs pushing section after section into place until it was almost two metres long.
‘Oh my goodness!’ Felicity said as the stick threatened to take out Sam’s eye. The final section slotted into place and fanned open to reveal a triangular sheet of fine gauze. ‘What on earth is that?’ Felicity asked, holding onto the now quite long stick as if it was a fishing rod.
Ruby snuffled a laugh. ‘It’s a butterfly net,’ she said. ‘Jasper Mantle has given you your very own butterfly net.’
Sam snorted. ‘Just what every fourteen-year-old billionaire needs,’ he said. ‘Pack your aftershave and your butterfly net. Oh, the adventures we shall have.’
Gerald took the net back from Felicity. He pressed the brass button and the net reversed its opening routine, retracting back to a stout length of polished timber, which Gerald tapped into his open palm. He glanced with menace at Sam, who was still helpless with mirth. ‘I could always bludgeon my enemies into silence,’ he said. ‘Permanently.’
Sam waved a calming hand at him. ‘Put it away Butterfly Boy. You’re terrifying me.’
Gerald slid the net into his belt like a sword and cast an eye over
the presents on the table. ‘Aftershave and a butterfly net,’ he said. ‘Maybe I’ll open the rest of these later.’
Felicity’s face fell. ‘But what about our present?’ she said. ‘We put ever so much thought into choosing it.’
‘That’s right,’ Sam said. ‘I sunk a month’s worth of pocket money into it.’
Ruby picked up a box wrapped in simple brown paper. ‘Here you are,’ she said, and smiled. ‘Happy birthday.’
Gerald took the package and grinned thanks to his friends. He ripped off the paper, flipped the lid from the box and looked inside. His brow furrowed.
‘Go on,’ Felicity said. ‘Take it out.’
From a bed of blue tissue paper, Gerald pulled out a squat polished-brass cylinder. The top was hinged at the back. He folded it up.
‘It’s a compass,’ he said.
Felicity beamed at him, bouncing up and down on her toes. ‘And there’s a little telescope built into the base, and a flint to start fires. Isn’t it marvellous? It’s an adventurer’s super tool.’
Ruby and Sam stared at the instrument in Gerald’s hand. ‘I thought we were getting him World of Gorecraft VI on Xbox,’ Sam said.
‘You were supposed to get him the leather-bound journal and fountain pen that I suggested,’ Ruby said, darting a look at Felicity. ‘Why would you get him a compass?’
Felicity ignored the Valentines’ complaints. ‘Look,’ she said, pointing to the inside of the lid. ‘It’s even engraved.’
Gerald squinted to read the tiny lettering: ‘To Gerald on his 14th birthday—may this keep you in perpetual motion.’ He looked at Felicity, who beamed back at him.
‘Don’t you just love it?’ she said.
‘Felicity,’ Gerald said, ‘are you using my birthday present to bring up the perpetual motion machine again?’
The Curiosity Machine Page 7