by MG Leonard
‘Do you think she’d teach me some of her ninja moves?’ Darkus asked. ‘It would be cool to be able to deflect Robby’s punches next time he decides to bully me.’
‘Who’s Robby?’
‘Oh, just this kid at school. He never misses an opportunity to push me about. Bet he’d leave me alone if I went ninja on him.’ He held his hands up, his right wrist still in a cast, and narrowed his eyes as if he was about to fight.
‘Oh, and that’s another wonderful thing . . .’ Novak pursed her lips, pausing for dramatic emphasis. ‘I’m going to go to school.’ She clapped. ‘Isn’t that the best news ever? A real school.’
‘School’s not that great, you know.’ Darkus let his hands fall to his sides.
‘But I’m going to go to your school, with you and Virginia and Bertolt. Gerard’s sorting it all out. I start at King Ethelred Hall next week.’
‘That is cool. Although, I might not be going there.’ Darkus felt a sharp pain in his chest at the idea of Novak, Bertolt and Virginia together without him. ‘Dad and I will be going back home soon. Uncle Max probably wants a front room that isn’t full of beetles and doesn’t smell like a bonfire.’
Novak laughed. ‘It’s so nice being the person who knows everything, for once.’ She hugged herself. ‘I’m usually the one who doesn’t know anything.’
Darkus frowned. ‘What do you know?’
‘Mater owns the Emporium, next door. She bought it from the council after the explosion.’
Darkus blinked. ‘It belonged to her when she burnt it down?’
‘Yes, and it’s mine now,’ Novak continued, ‘I spoke about it with your dad and your uncle this morning. Gerard is getting a survey man to come and look at it and the buildings either side. I’m going to pay for the renovation works, and then,’ she paused and her face went bright pink as she squeaked and flapped her hands, ‘and then I’m getting an architect to turn it into a beetle zoo.’
‘A what?’
‘Well, the Base Camp beetles need somewhere proper to live, and if we’re going to change people’s minds about insects they’ll need to be able to visit a place where they can meet beetles and see how wonderful they are. So I thought we could build a beetle zoo right here.’
‘Oh, Novak, that’s a brilliant idea.’
‘Yes, and we’ll make a research centre too, where we can look at the good bits of the Fabre Project and fight to make the world a better place.’
‘I’ll be able to visit it, when I see Uncle Max.’ Darkus’s voice dropped to a whisper, and he felt a lump in his throat.
Novak grabbed his arms and looked up into his eyes. ‘Darkus, I want your dad to be the director of the research centre.’
Darkus blinked.
‘If he agrees, and you want to, you can both live in the flat above it. I mean, it has to be built first, of course, but there will be a flat.’
‘What!? Novak, that’s amazing!’ Darkus grabbed her arms and they both jumped up and down. ‘He’ll say yes, I know he will. I’ll get to stay here, at the school and see you and Virginia and Bertolt and Uncle Max every day!’ His heart soared. ‘C’mon, lets go downstairs and ask him now.’
‘Maybe you should talk to him on your own,’ Novak said. ‘I’ve got some packing to finish.’
‘I’ll be back in a sec.’ Darkus sprinted down the stairs to the living room and burst through the door. ‘Dad . . .’ He stopped, seeing Gerard standing in front of the paddling pool of Base Camp beetles. ‘Oh, hello.’
His dad was sitting on the sofa. ‘Ah Darkus, you know Olivier.’
‘Olivier?’ Darkus looked at the butler, confused. ‘What?’
‘Olivier Gerard Laroche.’ The butler bowed.
‘Laroche? Laroche.’ Darkus knew the name, but couldn’t place it. ‘Laroche! Danny Laroche. She was part of the Fabre Project . . .’ He frowned.
‘Danielle is my big sister.’ Gerard nodded. ‘A long time ago, Lucretia Cutter caused my sister great pain, a wound from which she never recovered. I trained as a butler and took a job in Lucretia Cutter’s household with the intention of making her sorry for what she did to my sister, but I had no idea of the darkness I would find there.’
‘Olivier made himself known to me when I was in the prison cell in Towering Heights,’ Barty said, smiling at the butler. ‘We’ve been working together ever since.’
‘Monsieur Cuttle,’ Gerard bowed to Darkus, ‘I must offer you an apology for the first time we met.’
‘It’s OK.’ Darkus shrugged.
‘Mais non, it is not OK.’ Gerard sighed. ‘Barty, I am ashamed to say that I struck your son, a blow to the back of his head. He was resisting me and I had to get him out of Lucretia Cutter’s house.’
‘It didn’t hurt,’ Darkus lied.
‘It is the only time I have ever struck a child, and it has troubled me ever since.’ Gerard shook his head. ‘I cannot forgive myself.’
‘You were trying to help him,’ Barty said, gently. ‘We understand that.’
‘And Uncle Max got you back by knocking you out cold.’ Darkus grinned.
‘Ha! This is true.’ Gerard rubbed his jaw, as if remembering the blow.
‘So is your name Olivier or Gerard?’ Darkus asked.
‘Both, but I will be using Gerard from now on, as this is how Mademoiselle Novak knows me.’
‘Where is she?’ Barty asked Darkus. ‘Olivier’s come to take her home.’
‘She’s upstairs packing,’ Darkus replied.
‘I will go and help Mademoiselle,’ Gerard said, bowing his head.
Darkus watched him leave the room. ‘He’s going to have to stop calling her that if he’s going to be her dad.’
Barty laughed.
‘Dad, listen, Novak told me about the job, and what she’s planning to do next door, with building a beetle zoo . . .’
‘Yes,’ his dad nodded, ‘it’s a lovely idea.’
‘So you’ll take the job?’
‘I’ll have to think about it, Darkus. Since Emma Lamb’s piece on Lucretia Cutter was published, and the world has learnt the truth, I’ve been inundated with offers and requests. The Natural History Museum have said I can have my old job back.’
Darkus felt his stomach sink. ‘But I don’t want to go back to that old life,’ he blurted out. ‘It was lonely, and you were sad. I’ve got friends here, and my beetles . . .’ He looked over at the paddling pool and his eyes swam with tears. He blinked them back and half shouted, ‘And what about Baxter, he’s only got five legs now and he’ll need his friends too. I want to stay.’
‘Hey, Darkus,’ his dad called softly, patting the sofa next to him. ‘Come over here.’
Darkus shuffled over to his father, his eyes on the floor.
‘Listen to me.’ His dad lifted his chin. His blue eyes were smiling and his chin covered in peppered stubble. ‘You saved my life. You travelled through the jungles of the Amazon to rescue me, and you brought me hope for the future. I am the proudest, luckiest dad in the world, and I love you. If you want to build a beetle zoo, then that is exactly what we will do.’
‘Really?’ Darkus blinked furiously but he couldn’t stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks. ‘Do you mean it? We can stay here?’
‘Oh, now, please don’t cry. It’s going to be OK.’ His dad put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. ‘I’m going to be a better dad from now on. I promise.’
‘You’re the best dad in the world,’ Darkus sobbed, hugging his dad’s chest.
They sat for a moment, until Darkus had calmed down. ‘Dad?’ he sniffed. ‘Did Mum really give Lucretia Prometheus, your Goliath beetle, and all your research?’
‘No, Darkus, that was a lie, aimed to hurt us. Your mother was a passionate scientist, but she wanted me to stop pursuing the genetic experiments with beetles. She never would have given my research to Lucretia Cutter.’
‘But she had Prometheus.’
‘He was stolen from a locked vault in the Natural History Museum, just l
ike Lucretia stole me.’
‘Sometimes, it feels like I don’t know who Mum really was, and it hurts.’
‘Oh Darkus, I’m sorry. You know you can ask me anything about her and I’ll tell you.’
‘But I don’t want to make you sad,’ Darkus admitted.
‘Well, I’m not going to be sad any more. I promise. I can’t be. We’ve got too much work to do, proving Lucretia Cutter wrong and getting people to take up the environmental fight.’
Darkus nodded. ‘In the new flat, next door, can we have pictures of Mum up on the wall?’
Barty ruffled Darkus’s hair. ‘Of course we can, Darkus. We can have anything you want.’
Darkus smiled. ‘Can I have a giant tank for Baxter in my bedroom?’
Barty laughed. ‘I think that brave rhinoceros beetle has more than earned it.’
There was a gentle knocking and Darkus sat up, wiping his face with his sleeve as Gerard pushed the door open. Novak was standing beside him, holding her suitcase, ready to leave.
‘Are you going?’ Barty got to his feet.
Gerard nodded. ‘Thank you for taking such good care of Novak.’
‘She’s always welcome in our home,’ Barty smiled, ‘and Novak, Darkus and I have discussed it. I’d like to accept your offer of a job and help you build your beetle zoo.’
‘You would?’ Novak dropped her suitcase to the floor and jumped up and down clapping. ‘That’s wonderful news. We’ll show everyone how wonderful beetles are and how useful they can be.’ Hepburn leapt up from the corsage on Novak’s Alice band and looped the loop. Novak looked at Darkus. ‘Now we can see each other every day.’
‘But wait,’ Darkus said. ‘What about Humphrey and Pickering? If we live next door, where will they live?’
‘Oh, they’ll be fine,’ Novak replied. ‘I’ve honoured Mater’s promise. I thought it was only fair. They’ve each been given a quarter of a million pounds. What they do with it is up to them.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Hamish MacTavish’s Haggis and Sporran Shop
Humphrey and Pickering stood outside the boarded-up shop.
‘That sign’ll have to go,’ Humphrey said, pointing above the door at a red and green tartan-checked board with HAMISH MACTAVISH’S HAGGIS AND SPORRAN SHOP written in gold block capitals.
‘Yes.’ Pickering nodded, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. ‘Shall we go in and see our new home?’
The cousins tramped into the shop on the Walworth Road in Elephant and Castle, south London. It had recently gone out of business due to the decline in customers interested in buying sporrans and eating haggis.
‘Look! A meat counter.’ Humphrey lumbered over to the left-hand side of the shop, carrying his white bucket of cranberry sauce, which hadn’t left his side since he’d got back to England. It was set up like a butcher’s.
‘Look! Display cabinets!’ Pickering was looking at the right-hand side of the shop, his arms opened wide as if he wanted to hug the wall of glass. ‘These will be perfect for my antiques.’
‘This will be perfect for my pies,’ Humphrey said from behind the counter. ‘I wonder what haggis pie tastes like? It could be a good addition to my menu.’
‘C’mon, let’s look upstairs,’ Pickering said, striding excitedly through the back of the shop and hurrying up a spiral staircase. He wanted to make sure he got the best bedroom.
‘I hate stairs,’ Humphrey grumbled. ‘Bagsy the first bedroom we come to.’
Pickering silently cursed under his breath.
They came to a kitchen. Pickering opened cupboards and found a couple of old mugs and a saucepan. ‘Shall we have tea?’
‘Why not?’ Humphrey nodded.
Pickering produced tea bags from his coat pocket and dropped them into the pan, filling it with water and placing it on the stove top. He poured the tea into the mugs and pulled out a handful of tiny pots of UHT milk that he’d stolen on the plane home, emptying a couple into each mug. The two cousins carried their mugs up another flight of stairs.
‘Here’s my bedroom,’ Humphrey said, pushing open the first door they came to. It was a large room with a threadbare carpet over floorboards, empty apart from an old blue armchair. He went and sat down in it. ‘Perfect. It has everything I need.’ He slurped his tea.
‘Aren’t you going to come and look upstairs?’ Pickering asked, annoyed that Humphrey’s room was so large. ‘There might be a better room up there.’
‘Nope.’ Humphrey shook his head.
Pickering huffed and stalked out of the room. Humphrey heard his cousin climbing the stairs.
‘Oh, Humphrey, it’s lovely up here. You should come and see,’ Pickering’s voice called.
Humphrey smiled to himself and finished his tea. He had no intention of moving. He put the empty mug on the floor and kicked it into the corner of the room. I’ll wash it up later, he thought.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Beetle Girl
The children, dressed in their black and purple uniform, poured through the school gates. Darkus stood to one side, and glanced down at Baxter, who was nestled in his blazer pocket. The beetle waggled a claw at him. ‘Now, remember to stay hidden,’ Darkus whispered to the rhinoceros beetle, as he scanned the crowds heading to their classrooms, chattering and calling to one another. A black iridescent car pulled up, hints of violet and emerald flickering in the light. He smiled, remembering the first time he’d seen it, and how he’d thought it looked like something out of one of his comics. Now it was his friend’s car.
The rude voice of Robby sounded above the clamour of children. ‘Whoa! Check out those wheels!’
Daniel Dowie pulled a comb out of his blazer pocket and dragged it through his oily quiff.
The front door opened. A woman dressed in black, with scars on her cheeks, stepped out and opened the rear door of the car. Out stepped Novak in her black and purple uniform, followed by Gerard, who held out a purple satchel.
‘Your packed lunch is in your bag, and so is your pencil case. I checked with the school and they’ll be providing any books you need.’
‘Stop fussing, Gerard.’ Novak giggled and kissed him on the cheek as she took her bag.
‘We’ll be here at the end of the day to pick you up,’ he called as she headed towards the gate.
‘Hello, princess.’ Daniel Dowie called out. ‘What’s your name?’
Novak barely paused to give him a withering look.
Darkus heard a snort from beside him. Virginia and Bertolt had arrived to meet Novak for her first day at school. He grinned at them. Marvin was hanging from Virginia’s braid, and Newton was glowing gently inside Bertolt’s hair, making him appear angelic.
‘They’d better not be mean to her,’ Bertolt said, looking very serious.
‘She’ll make mincemeat of them,’ Virginia chuckled.
‘Yup.’ Darkus nodded.
Novak saw the three of them standing inside the gate, and waved.
‘What’s she doing, waving at Beetle Boy?’ Robby exclaimed. ‘Hey, princess. You don’t want to go near him. He might set his beetle on you.’
Novak ignored him and ran towards Darkus, Virginia and Bertolt.
‘Welcome to your first day at school,’ Darkus said. ‘I see you’ve already met our bullies.’
Novak took him by surprise, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. He stumbled backwards a step.
‘Isn’t this exciting?’ she gushed.
‘Not really.’ Virginia shook her head. ‘It’s school.’
‘Exactly!’ Novak bounced up and down, hugging Virginia and then Bertolt.
‘It’s exciting to have you here.’ Bertolt blushed as he squeezed her back.
‘So where’s our classroom?’ Novak asked, taking Darkus’s hand. ‘I want to see it.’
‘Oi, Beetle Boy!’ Robby shouted.
The four of them turned and looked at the approaching gaggle of boys, strutting over behind Daniel Dowie and Robby.
<
br /> ‘Aren’t you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?’ Robby asked, and all the clones sniggered. ‘Don’t go thinking she’s gonna be into you for long.’ He pointed at Daniel Dowie, who pouted at Novak and waggled his eyebrows. ‘Not once she’s met Dowie the ladykiller.’
Darkus felt Novak’s grip on his hand tighten with anger.
‘Excuse me.’ Novak glared at Robby. ‘Would you kindly ask your friend to stop pulling those weird faces at me, he’s making me feel ill.’ Robby’s mouth dropped open and his metal braces glinted. ‘Oh, and I’ll have you know that I’m not Darkus’s girlfriend because he’s never asked me out, but if he ever did ask me out, I’d say yes in a heartbeat, because he is the kindest, bravest, cleverest boy I’ve ever met.’
Darkus drew in a sharp breath and choked on his own saliva. His face burnt as Bertolt thumped him on the back.
‘Oooooooooooooooooo.’ Robby waggled his head and made sloppy kissing noises. ‘What did he do to you? Get one of his beetles to bite you?’ He laughed at his own joke. ‘Better watch out or you’ll get turned into a Beetle Girl!’
‘Beetle Girl! Beetle Girl!’ the clones all echoed.
‘Much as we’d love to kick your arses right now,’ Virginia said, ‘we have to get to class.’ She turned her back on the crowing bullies, and the other three did the same.
‘Beetle Girl! Beetle Girl!’ The chant followed them.
Novak looked at Darkus, a wicked smile creeping across her face as her eyes went black. ‘Do you want to tell them, or shall I?’
AN ENTOMOLOGIST’S DICTIONARY
abdomen
the part of the body behind the thorax (human abdomens are usually referred to as tummy or belly). It is the largest of the three body segments of an insect (the other parts being the head and the thorax).
antennae (singular: antenna)
a pair of sensory appendages on the head, sometimes called ‘feelers’. They are used to sense many things including odour, taste, heat, wind speed and direction.
arthropod
means ‘jointed leg’ and refers to a group of animals that includes insects (known as hexapods), crustaceans, myriapods (millipedes and centipedes) and chelicerates (spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs and their relatives). Arthropod bodies are usually in segments, and all arthropods have an exoskeleton and are invertebrates.