by Lynn Watson
‘I’ll do it for you. I’ll get you in to see her by the end of the week, promise.’
‘Oh, Marcus, thank you so much. I realise you’re going out on a limb.’
‘If you win, if you manage to bring it off, it’ll be more than worth it.’
‘Another thing, quickly – that idea you mentioned of bringing my sketches to life, digital animation; it sounds fantastic, pure genius. It all fits with Junoco too.’
‘Then we’ll go ahead and do it after this is over – what’s to stop us? We’ll try it first with one of your favourites and see if it catches on.’
***
All week, Lily had marched past on her way home from school without turning her head. Today, for the first time, Fran saw she was with another child, a boy, and engrossed in a lively conversation. She went to the window and removed the Missing poster with the now-distressing cat photos, then waited.
Petra had said she would get home early to try and prevent Lily picking up any information or rumours about the fate of the animals from the local kids. Fran felt nervous, although less about that than about whether Lily would turn up and allow her to restore their friendship. Kids moved on, as adults did, they blanked things out and bounced back in unpredictable ways. Had she left it too late?
When the bell rang, she opened the door to see Lily cradling Sahara against her chest with one hand and struggling to hold a large hardback book under the other arm.
‘Hello, Fran. You told Mum I could come round here again.’
‘I did, and I’ve missed you lots, you wouldn’t believe. And Sahara too; I bought some juicy grapes today, her favourites.’
‘Do you still have her special box?’
‘Of course I do, silly. We’re still good friends. I was upset about something and I was mean and thoughtless; I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I never wanted to hurt you, not in a million years. Come on in now and let’s have some grapes and strawberry tarts.’
Lily gestured for her to lift the book out from under her arm and repositioned Sahara safely before stepping inside. She began on the subject of the dead animals straight away, her voice initially flat and emotionless.
‘Mum told me that our nasty neighbours stole the cats and rabbits, kidnapped them so they could sell them. The police say they killed them, if they were too old or sick.’
Fran nodded, waiting for the questions or the ideas and speculation, but they didn’t come. Lily just stood there, looking miserable and holding Sahara tight.
‘Yes, it’s horrible but at least now they’ve been arrested.’ The local paper was bound to make a huge splash of this, complete with all the gory details. It was inescapable.
‘I hope they never come back. I hate them and I never want to see them again.’
Lily’s lip was trembling as she tried to hold back the tears. Fran moved forward to put her arm around her and guide her to the sofa.
‘Hey, come on, let’s talk about something else.’
She reached for the big book, which was a new one about the solar system that Lily’s dad had ordered for her. Lily leaned towards her so they could turn the pages together.
‘I’m still going to be an astronomer. Jack is too. I gave him the idea, but I’m going to study asteroids like Juno, your favourite, and he’s into planets. Have you heard about the space probe Juno circling round Jupiter, taking photos and investigating what it’s made of?’
‘Yes, it’s exciting. And there’s a mission to intercept an asteroid and pick up material from it. By the time you’re grown up, we could be mining asteroids. They’re packed with valuable minerals, some of them, things like platinum worth trillions and trillions.’
Lily frowned. ‘It’s not good. If that happens, I hope they break away and crash-land on the earth in a storm of meteorites.’
‘Your imagination, Lily, it’s extraordinary. There is one out there that’s going to come pretty close to earth in 2079, might even hit us. But tell me – is Jack your new friend, the boy you were walking home with today?’
‘Yes, that’s him. He told me Juno was a space probe as well as an asteroid.’
‘Maybe you’ll make great discoveries together, you and Jack.’
‘And did you know Ferdi is coming home to live with us? Dad is going to America and Ferdi will stay with me and Mum for two years or even longer. How brilliant is that?’
‘It’s fantastic news – great! I can’t wait to meet Ferdi and Jack.’
‘Yes, but you’re my special friend, aren’t you? I like talking to you on my own.’
‘We’ll leave plenty of time for that. In fact, I’ve just had an idea. We could go and visit my Uncle George, who is designing a computer system to transform future space travel. I’ve promised to sort out his stuff with him, and he’d love to explain his invention to you. He’s eccentric, mind you, a bit mad.’
Lily squatted down to put Sahara into her box. ‘That’s okay. I like the sound of Uncle George. My uncles and aunties are boring, and I’ve only got one interesting cousin. Sometimes it’s good to be a bit mad, don’t you think?’
‘I think so, and look at Guacamole over there, smiling at us. He can change his expression and sometimes he turns his head. I’m sure he thinks the same.’
‘How does he do it? Can I see?’
‘He’s not ready yet, but it’s not far off. You’ll be first to see it, I promise. And that reminds me – I brought a special present back for you, from my holiday. Do you want to know what it is, or shall I go and fetch it first?’
‘Oh yes, please tell me now!’
‘It’s a golden iguana.’
‘A golden iguana – I never had anything like that. Will it talk to me, I wonder?’
‘You never know, Lily – being you, it just might.’
Chapter 19
Someone was standing under the chestnut tree; a man, she couldn’t see any details from this distance. Now mistrustful of anyone who might be stopping to watch her house, Fran swung round and retraced her steps so she was out of sight beyond the street corner. She counted to twenty and then peered round the end house. The man had disappeared, or at least she could no longer see him under the tree or walking in either direction. She had to be careful, not get paranoid, but it felt difficult to maintain the balance, as it was entirely possible she was being spied on.
Her front door was locked as usual but there was a draught of cool air coming through the house, which could only mean the back door was open. She stood stock-still in the hall, heart pounding and listening for any sounds – nothing. Marcus would be out at work and Kwesi needed to stay hidden as much as possible, especially as Eric and Delia might try to save themselves from their own predicament by pointing the finger at him. Anyway, Fran’s sense was that the intruder had gone, probably in a hurry as the back door was wide open. An attempt had been made to break the lock, presumably without success as one of the long door panes had been smashed in with her large wooden mallet, which lay on the ground on top of the broken glass. She picked it up, feeling more than ready to use it on anyone she might encounter in the house.
The kitchen looked intact and the living room just as she had left it, except for one glaring gap – her laptop computer was missing from the dining table. Thinking fast, her eyes darted to the large chest, where all the drawers were firmly closed. She would check in a minute, once she had searched the bedrooms. Running upstairs, she looked under the two beds, where the spaces were crammed with stuff, and opened every cupboard where someone could possibly hide. It didn’t feel as if they had been up here, which was no surprise as she knew this wasn’t an ordinary burglar.
Back in the living room, she went to the top right drawer of the chest, easing it open slowly as if expecting something might jump out at her. She could see immediately that the current Junoco box, which still contained four chocolates, had been touched. The truffles were out of order; there were two blue and two gold ones next to each other. They still had their wrappers on and didn’t ap
pear to have been opened.
She perched on the edge of the sofa to think. She had got home half an hour earlier than usual and had possibly disturbed them, almost caught them in the act. The man under the tree could have been the lookout, ready to raise the alarm in time for the guy inside to escape through the side gate and down the back path.
‘Holy moly, Guacamole – who was it, what did you see? Talk to me, mole, won’t you? It’s important.’
Guacamole looked ruffled and disconcerted, not his usual easy-going self.
Should she call Ned, or Alice? Definitely Alice, as Fran felt most worried about the chocolates and why they had been changed about. Alice would take it seriously, be over-cautious if anything. Thankfully, she picked up the call straight away and Fran gave a quick rundown of the scene she had come home to and what she had found when she opened the drawer.
‘They’re still wrapped up and I don’t think they’ve been opened.’
‘You don’t know that, Fran; there are ways and means. They could have been replaced, for a start. Don’t touch them, whatever you do. I’m cancelling my next meeting and coming over. And don’t call the police, not yet anyway.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve no intention of calling the police – it would be a disaster.’
She heard the anger in her response and reminded herself that Alice knew nothing about Vicky’s betrayals and her unmasking as an undercover officer. She didn’t want Alice to know. She had told her that Junoco had been under police surveillance from the beginning; that was enough to justify not bringing the police into it. Suddenly, she felt a different fear: the fear that she could lose Alice as well through this, have her back off because she had to hang on to her career or because it was simply too frightening. She had been enchanted by Alice, by her look and ideas, and then her music, her easy way with Marcus and Kwesi, and her open-minded attitude. It was very odd, she realised, that in this perilous situation her mind should be occupied by thoughts of their friendship, but there it was.
They agreed not to resort to subterfuge but to have Alice arrive as normal by the front door. This was on the assumption that the burglars knew about the side path entrance to the house, and also knew their connection to each other. It was a risk, but they reckoned no more so than meeting elsewhere, if Fran was being watched.
She waited by the window, even waving at Lily as she passed by with Jack on her way home from school. When she arrived, Alice immediately slipped on her gloves and lifted both the open box of truffles and the one remaining unopened box out of the drawer. She picked up a chocolate, turned it round under the light of the table lamp and then held it up to the daylight, being careful to remain invisible from the street.
‘What are you thinking, Alice? Who the hell would do this?’
‘That’s the second question, although the questions are linked – how and who? The “why” is easy – someone wanted to find out what’s on your laptop and scare you off by meddling with the truffles. How they’ve meddled with them is what we need to find out. I’m going to take these boxes straight to the lab to have the contents analysed. My suspicion is that something else has been added or the balance altered. It could be done through the wrapper, simple as anything. I’ll get off now, so there’s a chance of a result this evening, if I can charm the lab assistants and persuade them to work late.’
It was all said so matter-of-factly, but the implications were frightening and Fran had the rest of the afternoon to dwell on them. It seemed incredible that someone might try to harm her like that. Was it possible that Fred Henson-Morris would do such a thing, in his guise as Infrared; or maybe Ravi, if his journalist identity was just a front; or even Daniela, if she had found out from Osvaldo that Ned and Fran were planning to break away and set up their own rival company? She was fiery, but could she be so callous?
‘It’s starting to freak me out, this whole thing. Is it possible… could you perhaps stay over tonight, Alice, just for reassurance? Or maybe you’ve got other—?’
‘No, I can do that, no worry; I wouldn’t leave you here on your own.’
When Alice left, Fran felt guilty about not having mentioned the showdown with Andy and Vicky; not acknowledging or sharing her feelings about it. It was just too soon to disclose her vulnerability again, to trust anyone with the story of her loss. She was missing Judi so much, missing all of them, all gone. It would be hours yet before she heard back from Alice and she felt restless, scared and unable to concentrate on anything.
Then her phone pinged – a text from Ravi. Could she meet him at the Green Duck in half an hour? She sat looking at it, wondering if he perhaps wanted to discuss a new plan, now that she had changed her mind about him setting up the meeting with the civil servant. That would be tricky, given that Marcus had now fixed the meeting for Friday, just two days away, but it was less alarming than the alternative idea that Ravi was involved in the breakin and his call was connected to that.
She looked over to Guacamole and then to the spiral-horned antelope, which stood above him on the mantelpiece. There was no sign, no indication of what she should do. She shook her head and sighed in exasperation.
‘Tell you what – I’m feeling hemmed in, with you two for company. I don’t know if you’re smart and pretending to be dumb, or dumb and pretending to be smart. I’ve got to get out of here before I go stir-crazy, have a walk, and yes, I will drop into the pub, just for five minutes, see what it’s about.’
She should really call a glazier, but she couldn’t face the hassle of tracking one down right now. Also, she had to find out why Ravi needed to see her at such short notice, even if it might be some kind of trap.
This time she got there before him and was able to order a glass of wine at the bar and choose a comfortable corner. Today, his behaviour contrasted strongly with the way he had presented himself before. His hands were moving around instead of pressing on the table, and he kept touching his face and smoothing down his already-sleek hair as he spoke.
‘So, I’ve decided I don’t want to work on this story any more, Fran, I can’t. Our house was broken into last night while we were asleep and they stole my laptop and camera, nothing else. Then I was accosted in the street and warned to stop digging around, as the guy put it. He made it clear that they know where my children go to school; that they’re prepared to go to extreme lengths. So I’m backing off, it’s not worth it. I can’t stay here with you now either and we shouldn’t be seen together again, but I wanted to tip you off in person. It’s not a kids’ adventure story, believe me. There’s too much money and too many reputations at stake.’
‘I’m well aware of that, Ravi, and it’s awful that they violated your home and made threats against your family, unforgivable. Thanks for the warning, I appreciate it. It’s coming to an end for me now anyway, with Daniela closing down Junoco and going abroad. The other thing, the research in schools, is too big an affair for me to get mixed up in, so don’t worry, I’m going to stick to my safe little boutique from now on.’
After Ravi left the pub, she stayed for another half-hour and then set off on a long route home, not heading towards the river as she usually did on her solitary walks but in the other direction, through the maze of residential streets and garden squares with their myriad architectural styles and stark contrasts in housing design and quality. The deck-access blocks of flats reared up behind elegant Georgian and neo-Georgian terraces, and a number of the modern gated developments with their soft-yellow town houses and low-rise apartments had thick coils of barbed wire over the iron gates and high walls.
She didn’t believe Ravi’s version of events for a moment, but she believed he was genuinely afraid and he hadn’t met her willingly. Someone had twisted his arm, thought it important enough to add the verbal warning to her burglary and the interference with the truffles. She couldn’t claim to read anyone’s mind, but since discovering Junoco she had become more astute at reading emotions, even when the clues seemed discordant. Except she had misjudged it ba
dly with Vicky – unless Vicky’s seemingly artless affection for her was still authentic, despite the extreme deception. That was the frustrating teaser, the puzzle and optimistic thought that would in all likelihood never be solved or tested.
As she got near to the high street, the sound of wailing police and ambulance sirens turned into a continuous background din and the street environment became noticeably more dirty and dilapidated. Many of the shops on the main street were closed up, their metal shutters decorated in graffiti, and knots of young men took up the pavement space at almost every street corner. Nobody took any notice of Fran, but they eventually stood aside as she weaved her way through, determined to keep walking straight on and not be forced to step onto the road.
She wasn’t aiming for anywhere specific and had no goal, other than to arrive home before Alice returned from the lab. When the main road branched off into a large paved area that would once have been a thriving shopping square but was now full of fast-food joints and sad market stalls, she turned in that direction and wandered towards the disused fountain in the centre. There were a few people milling about and a group was gathered by the fountain, some sitting on its low concrete walls. She stopped to watch, suddenly thinking of Charley, the street girl who had panicked her all those months ago and Kwesi had tried to befriend. What if she had been hooked on Junoco, instead of filthy, toxic drugs and endless cheap alcohol?
‘C’mon, sweetheart, come over ’ere and join us!’ a man shouted to her, noticing the attention she was paying to the group. He held up a cigarette as if to invite her to have a drag.
Fran emerged from her reverie, acknowledged him with a friendly wave and walked on. She quickened her pace now, suddenly anxious that Alice would be early, although she hadn’t had any text alert from her.
As she turned into her street, approaching home from the far end for a change, she saw a sign in Eric and Delia’s front garden; their house was up for sale. They hadn’t been seen since their arrest, although Marcus said they had been charged with serial animal cruelty and bailed. Now they were leaving for good, which was a tremendous result whatever the eventual outcome of the trial.