Don't Feed the Rat!

by Annie Appleton

Dave looked at Jacob.

  ‘How much money are we talking about?’

  ‘Three thousand pounds.’

  Dave’s mouth fell open. ‘Do you think I have that kind of money laying around? And even if I did, I wasn’t going to lend you any of it. Not for a whimsical computer project that is most likely never going to succeed. Having a hobby is all well and good, but not if it bankrupts you.’ He crossed his arms.

  Jacob swallowed. Dave had never talked to him like that. ‘It’s not a hobby, you know that. I have to do this, for Robbie.’

  Dave looked down at his hands. ‘It’s going too far.’

  ‘But it wasn’t going to bankrupt me. I had the money from the mug coming in.’

  ‘Not any more.’ Dave jutted his chin out. ‘Don’t you think it’s better to concentrate on staying out of jail?’

  Jacob’s thoughts were spinning. Why couldn’t Dave see the project for what it was — his life’s work? Why couldn’t even his best friend take him seriously? Especially after all they went through together. But of course Dave was right. He had to stay out of jail or the project would never be finished. After all, Dave just wanted to protect him from disappointment, as he had done their whole life.

  Jacob tried a smile. ‘You are right, of course. Borrowing money from friends is never a good idea.’ He stood up. He needed some time alone. Maybe he would think of another way to get the money.

  Without trying to make a sound, Emily looked around the rhododendron which was the pride of Aunt Judith’s front garden. In the distance Jacob was making his way home along the pavement from spending the evening with Uncle Dave. Emily ducked out of the garden and on to the quiet road, where she could follow Jacob while she was more or less hidden behind the parked cars.

  Jacob slowly walked down towards Milbury Road, head bowed, hands deep in the pockets of his lab coat. The stupid old professor didn’t even realise she was following him. So much for his observation skills.

  Emily had eavesdropped on the entire conversation between her uncle, Jacob and Abe and wondered about why Jacob had asked Uncle Dave for money. What was this project that it was so important that Jacob was willing to get into debt? Did it have anything to do with the big computer in his allotment shed? Or did Jacob already have some other money problems that he was hiding? And who was Robbie?

  In front of her, Jacob had suddenly come to a halt; he had nearly bumped into two men coming out of the alleyway. Emily ducked low behind the bonnet of a car, hoping that none of the three men saw the movement.

  She peered with one eye around the bumper. The two men were talking to Jacob in low voices. She couldn’t hear what they said, but she thought she recognised them. They looked like the two men that she saw getting out of the car behind the Fox & Glove a couple of days ago. She squinted. Yes, it was them! Still looking unsavoury and up to something.

  The conversation was over. Jacob continued walking, while the two men climbed into a parked car and drove off.

  Emily kept following Jacob at a distance. Uncle Dave had said something about a man hanging about Godric’s allotment. And Abe had mentioned some loan shark’s henchmen. They might very well have been talking about these two men. One of the men this evening had had large eyebrows, just as Abe had said. Were these the henchmen? But they talked to Jacob, so perhaps they knew him. Perhaps they were in York to meet up with him. And maybe Jacob didn’t tell Abe about this because he knew the henchmen were in York for him. It seemed that Jacob had actually borrowed money from the loan shark and was now in trouble!

  Emily stood still and stared at Jacob’s back. And of course that was the reason why he needed money from Uncle Dave. It seemed there was more to the old professor than she thought.

  * * *

  Paddy

  What was that? I squinted through the darkness at the hazelnut trees in front of us. They stood a bit further down the hill, but we’d never paid them much attention. Eddy, however, was now explaining they were a potential source of food to him in the autumn, so important nonetheless.

  But were they supposed to sway like that?

  Pete looked up at the trees. His nose wrinkled. ‘If these nuts are anything like the rosebud, I’ll skip that meal, thank you.’

  Eddy’s tail drooped. ‘I thought you’d be interested in what is edible around here. What with the food shortage and all.’

  ‘We are,’ Vinnie said. He slapped Eddy on the back. ‘But we have different eating habits, that’s all. You being a squirrel and us being rats.’ He wiped his paw on some grass. Eddy didn’t notice.

  I hadn’t really followed the conversation. I was keeping an eye on the trees. Something weird was going on in them. It looked as if something was gliding along in the branches, coming closer and closer.

  ‘Guys,’ I said. ‘Do you see something coming through the trees?’

  We all peered into the darkness.

  ‘It looks like there is a two-legged coming at us,’ Pete said. His ears twitched.

  ‘It’s not a two-legged,’ Vinnie said. ‘It’s just a two-legged’s dress.’

  ‘But how is that possible?’

  The dress came closer still and now hovered on its own. Pete squealed and quickly spun around his axis twice to ward off this evil.

  I was more curious than spooked, even though something potentially eerie could be happening here. Vinnie, Eddy and I edged towards the dress. It really was hovering on its own. My stomach balled itself together, but I tried to ignore it.

  Suddenly a scream broke our concentration and made us all jump. I turned around and saw Mad Maggie scampering over the garden wall.

  ‘That’s my dress! Give it back, it’s mine!’

  I wanted to run as Mad Maggie came closer and closer, but my legs refused to move. From the corner of my eye I saw the dress floating down and Cecil’s posse flee in all directions. It seemed that those little furballs had stolen Mad Maggie’s dress and tried to play a prank with it.

  The dress fell in a bundle on the ground on top of Eddy.

  ‘Help! What’s happening?!’ Eddy wrestled to find an opening. ‘I want to get out!’ Before I knew it Mad Maggie was on top of us. She made a grab for the moving and squirming dress, just as Eddy crawled out. For a second they looked at each other.

  ‘Eeeee...!’ Mad Maggie’s squeal made my ears hurt. Eddy scampered away towards where we sat along the path. Now Mad Maggie spotted us as well.

  ‘No! Dirty rats. I knew it! She clutched the dress to her chest and stalked off. ‘I’ll get you!’

  Pete was in stitches. He pointed at Eddy. ‘So funny the way you were caught in that dress.’

  Eddy glared at Pete. ‘It wasn’t funny at all. I could have suffocated.’

  Pete gave Eddy a friendly poke in the ribs with his elbow. ‘Nah, we would have saved you before that happened.’ Eddy didn’t laugh.

  Giggling came from the trees. The posse was laughing at Mad Maggie’s retreating figure. Cecil jumped on the ground before me. ‘Were you nice and scared, old rat?’

  ‘No I wasn’t.’ I lied. I didn’t like it at all that Cecil had played a prank on Mad Maggie again. ‘I hope you realise that one day she’s going to be so angry that she takes it out on all of us.’

  Cecil waved his paw at me. ‘Nah, I don’t care. I’m too fast for her anyway, unlike you old guys!’

  I watched as Cecil and his posse moved off. This couldn’t be good. Whatever was Mad Maggie going to do next? Whatever was Cecil going to do next?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jacob had a restless night. He’d hoped on a good night’s sleep, but that didn’t happen. Questions kept going round and round in his head. What if he never found more money? Then his project would grind to a halt and then what? Too many people were relying on him. He had to continue, but how? What if Dave became more and more sceptical about it and stopped supporting him altogether?

  Jacob rolled over on his back and stared at the ceiling. And what about Hal and Clyde Simms, who seem to be everywhere? Were
they keeping an eye on Godric’s allotment, and if so, why? And why was McDermott talking to them all the time? What if they weren’t keeping an eye on Godric’s allotment, but were actually following him for some reason? After all, they had been near Dave’s house at the time he was in it. But why would they do such a thing? Had this anything to do with McDermott? Were they perhaps spying on him for McDermott? No, that was silly. If McDermott wanted to know what he was up to, he would have a policeman follow him. Or would he?

  Suddenly Jacob was on Milbury Road. His heart was beating fast and as he looked over his shoulder he saw two men with giant eyebrows following him. He tried to walk faster, but his legs didn’t want to speed up. The eye-browed men closed in on him.

  Then he was on the allotments, trying to get past Godric’s allotment unnoticed. He peered over the hedge on to the allotment, where McDermott and Priscilla were hunched over, not very well hidden behind the shed. They looked at him and pointed their fingers, sniggering. Jacob walked up, pulling his notebook out of his pocket. But before he could take a peek at the special rat, the inspector and Priscilla both got up blocking his way. In the distance he could hear the school bell ringing and he realised with a pang that he couldn’t go to work. Priscilla now openly laughed at him as the school bell became more insistent.

  ‘What’s that?!’ Jacob startled awake as Spike jumped on to his chest. Daylight shone through a crack in the curtains and with a glance on his alarm clock Jacob saw that it was half past eight. His pyjamas were drenched in sweat and his heart pounded.

  The school bell rang, this time even longer and louder. It took Jacob a moment to realise it was actually the doorbell.

  Now what? Couldn’t he have a moment’s peace?

  Jacob walked to the door in his pyjamas. Spike weaved in and out of his legs, expecting to be fed.

  Abe Monday was on the doorstep. ‘Sorry, Jacob. McDermott wants me to take you to the police station for some more questioning.’

  ‘Really?’ Jacob shook his head and took a deep breath. ‘Okay, whatever McDermott wants, I guess. Can I get dressed? I only just woke up.’

  ‘Yes, of course. Take your time.’

  While Abe fed Spike, Jacob got dressed. What was it that McDermott wanted?

  At the police station, Jacob was once again led to an interview room. DCI McDermott was already seated behind the table. His arms crossed, glaring at him. Abe didn’t come in, but closed the door behind him. Jacob sat down and looked McDermott in the eyes. If McDermott really was trying to set him up, he wasn’t going to go down easy.

  ‘Where were you last night?’ McDermott asked, tapping his pen on his notebook.

  ‘Why? Did I kill someone else?’

  ‘That’s not funny.’ McDermott looked at Jacob in silence. ‘Godric’s allotment shed was broken into last night. Was that you trying to get rid of evidence?’

  ‘Hmpf.’ Jacob crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘Now I’m certain you’re grasping at straws.’

  McDermott stood up. The legs of the chair scraped across the floor. He glared down at Jacob. ‘I’m beginning to think that you’re not realising how serious the situation is that you are in.’

  ‘Well, who put me in that situation?’ Jacob looked up at the inspector. ‘Show me some real evidence against me and I might.’

  McDermott sat down again and sighed. ‘You’re spending too much time with that Emily Norton. Her disrespect of the law is rubbing off on you.’

  Jacob snorted. ‘Oh, is that what you think? I already had a certain disrespect for the law. I don’t need Emily for that.’

  The two men looked daggers at each other. Then McDermott shook his head.

  ‘You want proof? I think your old field of DNA research will help us determine you’re the killer.’ He pressed a button on the intercom on the table. ‘Constable?’

  Abe came into the interview room with what Jacob recognised as a DNA test kit. He put it on the table, then took a seat on the corner next to Jacob.

  ‘After you have given a sample, you can go home,’ McDermott said. He walked to the door and turned around. ‘Then we wait and see what the results will bring us.’

  Abe pulled on some surgical gloves, then fiddled with the little brush for the cheek swab. In hushed tones he said, ‘We’ve found evidence on Godric’s clothes, which most likely comes from the murderer. We need to check if it came from you.’

  Jacob smiled at Abe. ‘Don’t worry. I was nowhere near Godric’s body.’

  Abe nodded and mouthed, ‘I know.’

  The sample taken, Abe got up. He patted Jacob on the shoulder. At the door he turned around, all ‘policeman’ again. ‘You can go home now, Mr Hicks.’

  Jacob walked out, glad to have Abe on his side, as he had no idea what more McDermott was going to do to get him behind bars.

  Jacob was on his way home, walking along Woolaston Road. He was deep in thought. Why had there been a break-in in Godric’s shed? Perhaps the murderer was trying to get rid of evidence. Or perhaps it had something to do with Hal and Clyde Simms. They kept popping up around Milbury. Perhaps it was an idea to put them on the list of suspects as well, along with Georgie and Rupert. But why would some loan shark’s henchmen be after Godric if he didn’t have any debts?

  He crossed the road without really looking if there was traffic. A car came to a screeching halt and Jacob put up a hand to apologise. Perhaps he should pay better attention to where he was going, but in his mind he kept seeing McDermott talking to Hal Simms. Could there be a connection between those meetings and the break-in? No, that was ridiculous, especially as the first time he had seen the inspector talking to Hal was before Godric’s murder. But it did seem a strange coincidence.

  Jacob shook his head as if to get rid of this nagging thought. Then he stopped and realised where he was. He had walked past Posh Nosh Delicatessen without trying to get a glimpse of Peggy. He turned around and took a few steps towards the shop, then stopped again. What if Peggy had seen him walk past the first time? Wouldn’t it be weird if he walked past again? Better not do it. He turned around again and nearly bumped into Mrs Jefferson.

  ‘What are you doing, you silly man?’ She stepped aside. ‘I see they’ve let you out again. And here I was hoping they would lock you up for good when they came to pick you up this morning.’

  Jacob sighed and rolled his eyes. He walked on, her eyes boring into his back. Better not to react. It would only give her more fuel. He turned into Upper Tile Street. The street slowly descended towards the River Ouse, changing names halfway down to Lower Tile Street.

  He would pay a quick visit to his mother to see if she needed anything. The poor woman had been very worried about him since he had become a suspect, even though she knew that Jacob didn’t have anything to do with it. He’d better not tell her about the cheek swab and let her needlessly worry more.

  He walked down along Lower Tile Street — the street where he spent his youth and where his mother still lived in the same house where he and his sister were born.

  As he neared Dot’s house, he noticed that two heavy built men were talking to her in the open front door. One of them was hovering over Dot, who stood wringing her hands looking from one man to the other. It looked like the guys from the loan shark. Why would they be talking to his mother? Jacob quickened his step. No... it wasn’t them. He had never seen these guys before.

  Dot spotted Jacob coming and started to cry. ‘Jacob, I’m so glad you’re here.’ She grabbed him by the arm and sobbed.

  Jacob’s stomach turned. ‘What’s wrong? Did something bad happen to someone?’ He looked from his mother to the two men. One of them held a piece of paper.

  ‘These men want to evict me,’ Dot said.

  ‘What? Why?’ Jacob stepped closer to the two men. ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’

  One of the men looked down at Jacob. ‘I only have orders to give Mrs Hicks an eviction notice and don’t know the particulars.’

  ‘And it takes two
men to do that? Were you afraid she was going to attack you?’ Jacob snorted. He pointed at his mother. ‘This woman has lived in this house for sixty years and is an exemplary tenant. Why would you want to evict her?’

  The man held out the notice. Dot burst into tears once more and Jacob put his arm around her thin shoulders. ‘It will be okay, Mum.’

  He faced the burly man. ‘I demand to speak to Mr Peterson the landlord. I’m certain there has been some mistake.’

  The man shook his head. ‘Mr Peterson works for Fairclough Development now. They took over the rentals in this area. If you want to complain, you should contact them.’

  A chill ran down Jacob’s spine. This couldn’t be a coincidence.

  ‘Fairclough Development?’ Jacob asked. ‘As in Rupert Fairclough?’ This was not good.

  The man nodded and handed him the eviction notice. Then they drove away in the Mercedes that was parked down the street, leaving Jacob and his mother standing in the doorway.

  First a building plan for the allotments and now the rentals on Lower Tile Street. Rupert’s tentacles seemed to reach everywhere.

  * * *

  Paddy

  ‘I can’t believe it!’ Pete ran towards the one and only fat ball that was probably still present on the allotments, and started gnawing it as if he hadn’t eaten in days.

  Pete, Vinnie, Eddy and I had wandered on to Vole Guy’s allotment to hang about in the sun. It looked like he was the only two-legged on the hill who still had some bird food left.

  Pete was in heaven. ‘I wish I’d thought of coming here earlier,’ he muttered between bites.

  Vinnie and I watched Pete and Eddy scavenge for more bird food. Eddy loved the peanuts that were left out sometimes. Things had been quiet after Cecil’s dress prank last night, but I was a little on edge to find out what Mad Maggie would do.

  ‘Why do you worry about it so much?’ Vinnie asked. ‘I don’t see her doing anything worse than she already has done, taking away the bird food.’