Alice-Miranda in the Alps

by Jacqueline Harvey

  Alice-Miranda pressed the intercom button. ‘So do we.’

  ‘That’s not possible,’ Delphine screamed. A volley of words unfit for children’s ears spewed from her lips.

  Millie plucked the token from the keypad and held it up for the woman to see. ‘Is too!’

  Delphine fainted on the spot.

  ‘You will pay for this, Sancia!’ Vincenzo threatened.

  The woman curled her lip and whined like a three-year-old. ‘No, Vincenzo, that’s the price you pay for not giving Sancia everything she wants.’ She winked at the girls before pressing the button to make him disappear.

  Alice-Miranda looked at the woman. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘Italian Secret Service,’ the woman replied.

  ‘You were amazing,’ Millie gushed. The woman had leapt and twirled all over the place in three-inch heels. ‘So, all that whining was just an act?’

  ‘Yes, and I can’t tell you how glad I am that it is over,’ the woman said, dusting her hands.

  The lift doors slid open, and Marius and the children spilled out.

  ‘Frau Doerflinger and Vincenzo are locked inside,’ Alice-Miranda told them excitedly, jigging on the spot.

  Marius eyeballed Sancia. ‘What is she doing out here?’

  ‘Her name is Sancia,’ Alice-Miranda began.

  ‘She’s Italian Secret Service,’ Millie said proudly, ‘and boy, can she kick it.’

  The woman pulled out a badge and held it up for Marius to see. ‘I am sorry. I had no idea until today that you were on Vincenzo’s trail as well. We should have been working together,’ she apologised.

  The lift doors opened again and this time Anton appeared with Alice-Miranda’s and Millie’s parents as well as Herr Fanger.

  ‘Darlings, are you all right?’ Cecelia rushed over and hugged her daughter, then proceeded to hug every one of the children.

  Hamish and Pippa raced to embrace Millie too.

  ‘Your children are very brave,’ Marius said. ‘They have helped us to bring down Signor Grande, the world’s most brazen gold smuggler.’

  ‘What about Frau Doerflinger?’ Hugh asked.

  ‘Yes, what has my Delphine got to do with all this?’ Otto Fanger asked, clutching Gertie to his chest.

  ‘Herr Fanger, your wife has been a rather unfortunate player in this whole business. From what we have discovered, she borrowed a large sum of money from Signor Grande to cover the costs of running the hotel. Of course, she did not realise the potential consequences of doing so. We know that she has tried to free herself from the deal, but Signor Grande is a persuasive man. He threatened to harm you and your dog if she did not do as he wished.’

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ Otto said, shielding Gertie’s ears.

  ‘If Frau Doerflinger is borrowing money to run this hotel, how can she afford to buy Uncle Florian’s?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘Vincenzo wanted the railway station beneath the Grand Hotel Von Zwicky for his smuggling operation,’ Sancia said. ‘He would have been able to move far greater amounts of gold right under everyone’s noses, so to speak. Frau Doerflinger was obliged to follow, and she had her niece run down the Baron’s business to force his hand to sell. As part of her payment she would get the hotel, paid for with his dirty money.’

  ‘Alice-Miranda, you were right all along,’ Cecelia said, shaking her head.

  ‘Will my Delphine go to prison?’ Otto sniffed.

  ‘We can strike a deal if your wife is willing to testify against Signor Grande,’ Marius said solemnly.

  ‘My poor Delphine,’ the man wailed.

  ‘Poor Delphine?’ Sloane wrinkled her lip. ‘Poor Herr Fanger for being married to her.’

  ‘Where is Herr Dettwiller?’ Millie asked, looking around the room.

  The police have taken him upstairs to speak to his son-in-law and granddaughter,’ Anton said. ‘They are over the moon that he has been found, thanks to you children.’

  ‘Well, if it’s all right with the police, I think it’s time we got going to the airport,’ Hugh suggested.

  ‘I’m glad I stayed with you guys,’ Caprice said. ‘You have way more exciting holidays than my family.’

  Millie arched her eyebrow at the girl. ‘That’s not what you were saying a couple of hours ago.’

  Hugh shook his head. ‘I don’t know if we can cope with this much excitement again.’

  The group turned to leave.

  ‘Millie, aren’t you forgetting something?’ Alice-Miranda said, but her friend looked at her blankly. ‘I think Herr Roten might need the key.’

  ‘Oh, that.’ Millie reached into her pocket and pulled out the token. ‘I wasn’t going to take it with me, promise.’

  Alice-Miranda grinned. ‘It really did turn out to be your lucky charm, didn’t it?’

  ‘Not just mine,’ Millie agreed.

  ‘If we’re in the business of returning things, I think you might like to have these back, Herr Fanger.’ The Italian Secret Service agent pulled two sparkling diamond hairclips from her pocket.

  ‘Look, Gertie, you will be Papa’s beautiful girl once more,’ Otto trilled. Gertie’s tongue shot out and licked him on the nose.

  Sloane grimaced. ‘Still gross.’

  A chortle of laughter rang out around the room.

  ‘I can’t believe I thought the Cresta Run was going to be the most dangerous thing we saw on this trip,’ Lucas said, as they all walked towards the lift.

  ‘I thought it would be my sister’s skiing,’ Sep teased.

  Sloane glared at her brother and poked out her tongue.

  ‘One thing’s for sure, when Mrs Oliver and Shilly find out about all this, I don’t think they’ll ever let us out of their sights again,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Cecelia laughed. ‘I suspect you’re right about that, darling.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ Hugh agreed. ‘Come on, everyone, let’s go home.’

  Vincenzo Luciano, otherwise known as Signor Grande, was the head of Italy’s largest gang of organised criminals. The man had created an empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He had stolen gold from all over Europe, which was then melted into bars and transported to various vaults throughout Switzerland. By catching him, the authorities also nabbed hundreds of smaller crooks who were part of his shady network.

  The Black Diamonds Ski School was just a front for the gang of young skiers who transported the gold across the border. Upon hearing of their boss’s demise the young men fled from Zermatt and Cervinia. Several of them were caught and charged. Vincenzo himself was sentenced to a maximum term of twenty years in prison. Interpol and the Italian Secret Service still have outstanding cases against him and expect that he will be incarcerated for much longer once they have finished with him.

  Delphine Doerflinger was given a two-year home detention order in exchange for testifying against Vincenzo and his gang. She would never forgive herself for allowing greed and ambition to cloud her judgement so badly. After St Moritz had endured a couple of poor snow seasons, she had overextended the hotel finances. She should have told her husband and worked out some other way of getting back on top of things, but when Vincenzo approached her to use the vault with the promise of a huge payday, she thought it was the answer to all her problems. It didn’t take her long to realise that she had made a very bad decision indeed.

  While Otto was devastated that his wife had deceived him in such a way, he was quick to forgive. He couldn’t bear seeing Delphine wearing such an ugly tracking device on her ankle, so he had it covered in diamantes to match Gertie’s new collar (although Gertie’s was made of real diamonds, of course). Delphine’s confinement within the boundaries of their apartment meant that she and Gertie spent a lot more time together. Otto was thrilled that his girls were finally getting closer – though, never more than three feet – as they sat at opposite ends of the lounge each afternoon to watch their favourite game show, Winners Are Grinners.

  Otto developed a much greater interest in the hotel’
s financial affairs and took Hugh up on his generous offer to advance a loan until they could get themselves back on their feet. Hugh and Dolly were interested in the Fanger’s chocolate-box technology and decided to buy a small stake in the company. Millie thought this was the best news ever and hoped that meant there would be a lifetime supply of Fanger’s Chocolate on hand at Alice-Miranda’s place.

  Valerie confessed all to the Baron and Baroness von Zwicky, having no idea that her aunt was in cahoots with the most notorious criminal in Italy. The woman resigned immediately, ashamed of her deviousness and misguided ambition. She had evaded their initial suspicions because the first page of the telephone contact list Valerie had compiled had been cleverly engineered to reflect the truth, while anything after that contained false phone numbers and lies. Cecelia and the Baroness had only called former guests on the first page, so they had no cause to suspect her of any wrongdoing.

  The Von Zwickys were hugely disappointed but reasoned that, if Valerie was so good at manipulating guests to stay away, she should be equally good at enticing them back again. They were both thrilled at the prospect of keeping the hotel and determined to restore it to its former glory and have enrolled in a computer course too. Valerie is working extra-hard, on half her previous wage, to make up for her diabolical activities.

  Shilly and Dolly had indeed been shocked to hear of all the drama that embroiled the family during their few days away. As Alice-Miranda predicted, they both vowed never to leave the family to their own devices again.

  With help from Sebastien and Nina and some of the townsfolk, Lars Dettwiller finished the renovations to the station. The following summer his museum reopened to great fanfare. His health continues to improve and Nina and her father are thrilled to have him back. Nina’s most treasured possession is her silver music box with the tiny fluttering bird.

  Alice-Miranda and Nina have been writing regularly, keeping up with each other’s news. They can’t wait to see each other again next ski season.

  The Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones household

  Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones

  Cecelia Highton-Smith

  Alice-Miranda’s adoring mother

  Hugh Kennington-Jones

  Alice-Miranda’s adoring father

  Dolly Oliver

  Family cook, part-time inventor

  Mrs Shillingsworth

  Head housekeeper

  Cyril

  Pilot

  Friends of the Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones family

  Millicent Jane

  McLoughlin-McTavish-McNoughton-McGill

  Alice-Miranda’s best friend and room mate

  Jacinta Headlington-Bear

  Alice-Miranda’s friend

  Sloane Sykes

  Alice-Miranda’s friend

  Sep Sykes

  Lucas’s best friend and brother of Sloane

  Lucas Nixon

  Alice-Miranda’s cousin

  Pippa McLoughlin-McTavish

  Millie’s mother

  Hamish McNoughton-McGill

  Millie’s father

  Nina Ebersold

  Alice-Miranda’s friend

  Sebastien Ebersold

  Nina’s father

  Lars Dettwiller

  Nina’s grandfather

  Fanger’s Palace Hotel

  Otto Fanger

  Owner

  Delphine Doerflinger

  Otto’s wife

  Gertie

  Otto’s beloved Maltese terrier

  Brigitte

  Receptionist

  Grand Hotel Von Zwicky

  Florian von Zwicky

  Owner and friend of the

  Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones family

  Giselle von Zwicky

  Florian’s wife and friend of the Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones family

  Valerie Wiederman

  Receptionist

  Marius Roten

  Driver

  Herr Schlappi

  Doorman

  Others

  Caprice Radford

  Student at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale

  Anton

  Glacier Express train conductor

  Andreas

  Glacier Express engine driver

  Michaela

  Zermatt ski instructor

  Gunter

  St Moritz ski instructor

  Sancia

  Whiny skier

  Vincenzo

  Sancia’s boyfriend (among other things!)

  Klaus Gerber

  White Turf chaperone

  Johan Heffelfinger

  White Turf horse trainer

  Christiane Birchler

  Receptionist of a St Moritz guesthouse

  Auf Wiedersehen

  goodbye

  Dummkopf

  idiot

  Faulpelz

  lazybones

  Frau

  Mrs

  Groß

  big

  Herr

  Mr

  Ja

  yes

  Opa

  grandpa

  Schnüffler

  snoop

  Wer ist da?

  Who’s there?

  Wo ist die blöde Kuh?

  Where is the stupid cow?

  Jacqueline Harvey taught for many years in girls’ boarding schools. She is the author of the bestselling Alice-Miranda series and the Clementine Rose series, and was awarded Honour Book in the 2006 Australian CBC Awards for her picture book The Sound of the Sea. She now writes full-time and is working on more Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose adventures.

  www.jacquelineharvey.com.au

  Jacqueline Harvey is a passionate educator who enjoys sharing her love of reading and writing with children and adults alike. She is an ambassador for Dymocks Children’s Charities and Room to Read. Find out more at www.dcc.gofundraise.com.au and www.roomtoread.org/australia.

  Books by Jacqueline Harvey

  Alice-Miranda at School

  Alice-Miranda on Holiday

  Alice-Miranda Takes the Lead

  Alice-Miranda at Sea

  Alice-Miranda in New York

  Alice-Miranda Shows the Way

  Alice-Miranda in Paris

  Alice-Miranda Shines Bright

  Alice-Miranda in Japan

  Alice-Miranda at Camp

  Alice-Miranda at the Palace

  Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor

  Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster

  Clementine Rose and the Perfect Present

  Clementine Rose and the Farm Fiasco

  Clementine Rose and the Seaside Escape

  Clementine Rose and the Treasure Box

  Clementine Rose and the Famous Friend

  Clementine Rose and the Ballet Break-In

  Clementine Rose and the Movie Magic

  Clementine Rose and the Birthday Emergency

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  Alice-Miranda in the Alps

  9780857982759

  First published by Random House Australia in 2015

  Copyright © Jacqueline Harvey 2015

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  A Random House Australia book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  Random House Books i
s part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com/offices.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

  Creator: Harvey, Jacqueline

  Title: Alice-Miranda in the Alps/Jacqueline Harvey

  ISBN: 9780857982759 (ebook)

  Series: Harvey, Jacqueline. Alice-Miranda; 12

  Target audience: For primary school age

  Subjects: Skis and skiing – Juvenile fiction.

  Vacations – Switzerland – Juvenile fiction.

  Dewey number: A823.4

  Cover and internal illustrations by J. Yi

  Cover design by Mathematics www.xy-1.com