‘What sort of noises were they?’
‘The sounds of rustling and groaning, and of chains rattling.’
‘Just like Scooby-doo,’ put in Ram.
‘Who?’ said Rigolet.
‘Don’t be silly,’ said Nisha. ‘That’s make-believe; this is real. Pay no attention to him, Mr Rigolet.’
‘Was this always at night?’ asked Nose Uncle.
‘Always.’
‘And you didn’t tell the police.’
Rigolet’s eyes flashed. ‘What do you think? Just consider how silly I’d look going into a police station and saying that my archaeological digs were haunted. I’d be laughed out of town. No, I decided to say nothing officially and just press on in the hope that it would all go away. But now it’s started all over again.’
‘Hmm. And when you heard these noises, did you see anything?’
Rigolet shook his head. ‘By the time I’d put some clothes on and reach the site, the noises would stop and there was nothing to be seen.’
‘I see. And why are you telling me all this? I’m not a ghost hunter. If you really think you’re being haunted, you need some kind of priest, and though I’ve done many things in my life, being a priest isn’t one of them.’
Rigolet smiled weakly. ‘I came to you because I respect you,’ he said.
For once, Nose Uncle seemed at a loss for words. He peered at Rigolet over his glasses but said nothing. Then he pulled himself together.
‘If you respect me,’ he said, ‘why have you been having us followed?’
Rigolet looked puzzled. ‘Having you followed? What are you talking about?’
‘We have been spied on ever since we arrived here,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘And that’s how you knew where to find us.’
‘That is absolutely false. I found out where you were by asking that man who drives a bullock cart. I found him near your house and asked him if he’d seen you. He said he brought you here.’
‘Ah,’ said Nose Uncle after a moment’s thought. ‘It is true that I didn’t ask Siva to keep it secret. But we have been watched for some time; I once saw the sun glinting on the glass of a pair of binoculars. And Nose tells me to watch out.’
‘Well, it was not me,’ said Rigolet, ‘nor was it anyone sent by me. And that’s a fact.’
‘I wish I could believe you,’ said Nose Uncle.
At that moment, the still hot air inside the walls of the fort was shattered by the sound of a rifle shot. It was immediately followed by a splintering noise in the trunk of the palm tree under which they were sitting.
‘Get down!’ shouted Rigolet and they all threw themselves flat on the warm sand.
‘Someone’s shooting at us,’ cried Nisha.
‘I want to go home,’ whimpered Ram.
‘Lie still,’ ordered Nose Uncle. ‘He may shoot again.’
‘He’s not a very good shot,’ said Rigolet after a while. ‘That bullet went far too high.’
‘Perhaps he wasn’t trying to hit us,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘That would bring all the police within miles. No, I think it was just a warning. If I’m right,’ he added, ‘he’ll have cleared off by now and there’ll be no more shots.’
They continued to lie under the tree and Ram thought he felt several ants crawl over him. Certainly, a small lizard gathered up the courage to emerge from a small bush and resume its sunbathing.
Nose Uncle at last got to his feet and dusted himself down.
‘I think he’s gone,’ he said. ‘You can get up now.’
Rigolet, who had gone unnaturally pale as soon as the shot was fired, smiled nervously and looked around before he finally stood up.
‘Who do you think it was?’
‘Well,’ said Nose Uncle, ‘I’d guess that it was someone who didn’t want you and I to find out what is going on. You see, your so-called hauntings are at the bottom of all this.’
‘You think so?’
‘Of course, and our next line of action is to observe them at work.’
Rigolet was still nervous, although some colour had returned to his cheeks. ‘You mean we have to stay up and watch out for the ghosts?’
‘I do, except I don’t think they are ghosts. Are you up for joining us tonight at the site?’
Rigolet swallowed. ‘Us?’
Nisha and Ram nodded. ‘We are part of the team,’ said Nisha. Ram felt much the same as Rigolet, but loyally joined his sister in agreeing to stay up and watching out for whoever was making the noises at the site.
‘Very well,’ said Rigolet. ‘Where and when shall we meet?’
‘At my place,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘At about eight. All right?’
‘Fine. I’ll see you later.’
They watched him trudge off across the sand to the gateway of the fort.
‘Do you trust him?’ asked Ram.
‘I think we have to,’ said Nose Uncle, ‘but we’ll watch him like a hawk.’
‘And what about this site?’ said Nisha. ‘We’ve only just started here.’
‘It’s served its purpose,’ said Nose Uncle, ‘and drawn out the enemy. The real business is back at the original site. And I hope that tonight will reveal everything. Now let’s get packed up, ready for Siva to pick us up.’
It was already nearly dusk by the time they returned to Nose Uncle’s house. Tea and mango juice provided immediate relief, after which a large meal of rice and a vegetable stew of bitter gourd was eaten with gusto.
They cleaned up and then sat and waited for Rigolet to arrive.
Eight o’clock came and went without any sign of him.
‘I don’t think he’s coming,’ said Nose Uncle at last.
‘We couldn’t trust him after all,’ said Nisha.
‘Perhaps.’
‘What do we do now,’ asked Ram.
‘If he won’t come to us,’ said Nose Uncle ‘we’ll go to him.’
Rigolet was living in a sort of imported caravan near the site. By the time Nose Uncle and the children, using the pedal rickshaw, arrived there, it was quite dark.
The caravan appeared deserted, without a single light at its windows. The curtains were drawn.
‘Knock on the door,’ said Nose Uncle.
Nisha went to do as she was told, but stopped short.
‘The door is open,’ she said.
Nose Uncle went in first, a torch in his hand.
Nisha gave a gasp. ‘What a mess!’ she cried. ‘Everything has been turned upside down.’
‘Someone has been searching the place,’ said Ram, remembering his detective stories.
‘Look!’ said Nose Uncle. ‘There, on the floor.’
The torch light, when swung around, revealed, lying by the side of his bed, the still body of Rigolet.
Chapter 12
Nose Uncle went down on one knee and bent over Rigolet. He felt for a pulse in the side of his neck.
‘Thank the Lord,’ he said. ‘He’s still breathing. For a moment there, I thought he was a goner. He needs an ambulance.’ He glanced around the caravan. It was in great disorder, but on the floor, under a chair lying on its side, he spotted the foreigner’s cell phone.
‘Nisha,’ he said, pointing to the phone. ‘Do you know how to use those things?’ She nodded. ‘Right. Call for an ambulance, immediately please.’
Nisha ran over and picked up the phone. ‘I’ll get a better signal outside,’ she said, and went out of the caravan.
Ram, meanwhile, joined Nose Uncle at Rigolet’s side.
‘Is he seriously hurt?’ he asked.
‘He looks all right,’ said Nose Uncle, ‘but you never can tell with head injuries. Someone’s given him an almighty whack on the side of the head. There’s not much blood, fortunately, but he could have suffered from at least concussion or perhaps worse. Only a hospital examination will tell us for sure.’
‘Could it have been an accident?’ said Ram. ‘Maybe he fell and banged his head.’
‘I don’t think so. There’s nothing near the body
that could explain such a blow.’
Nisha returned from having phoned the hospital. ‘I’ve called them,’ she said. ‘It was difficult describing how to get here, but I think I managed.’
‘Well done,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘Now I’ll have to ask you to make another call. Ring the police and tell them someone has been attacked.’
But before Nisha could do as she was asked, the caravan door opened and in stepped Lentil Brain, followed by two uniformed policemen.
‘There he is,’ said Lentil Brain, pointing at Nose Uncle. ‘Arrest him.’
The policemen, who clearly knew Nose Uncle, hesitated.
‘Go on,’ said Lentil Brain impatiently. ‘Do your duty. The man is a murderer, so go carefully.’
Nose Uncle sniffed. ‘Wrong on both counts, Chandrasekar. Firstly, Rigolet is not dead and an ambulance is on its way. Secondly, I did not attack him. We’ve only just arrived. The children will confirm that.’
Before either Nisha or Ram could say a word, Lentil Brain dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
‘They’re children,’ he said. ‘Their evidence is worthless.’
Nisha and Ram suddenly discovered that they disliked Lentil Brain a great deal.
Nose Uncle looked at the two reluctant policemen and held out his hands.
‘Come on, you fellows,’ he said. ‘Bring your handcuffs. It’s not your fault. I’ll come quietly, I assure you.’ He turned and looked at Lentil Brain. ‘Tell me, Chandrasekar, what brought you here tonight? Am I right in thinking that a little bird spoke to you?’
Lentil Brain stiffened. ‘That is confidential information,’ he said.
‘So I’m right. Who was it?’
‘I cannot reveal my sources.’
‘An anonymous phone call is my guess, then,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘Well, let’s hope you have better evidence than that if you want to take me to court.’
Lentil Brain couldn’t control himself.
‘What better evidence do I need?’ he cried. ‘Here you are at the scene of an attack against a man who took away your archaeological investigation. That’s both opportunity and motive.’
‘My word,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘You are a regular Sherlock Holmes. It will be interesting to hear what Rigolet himself says when he comes round. Or hadn’t you thought of that?’
Lentil Brain blushed but stubbornly shook his head. ‘Take him away,’ he ordered the policemen.
Nose Uncle turned to Nisha and Ram. ‘Don’t worry about me,’ he assured. ‘Just carry on with what we were planning. All right? Preeti will help you.’
‘Who’s Preeti?’ asked Lentil Brain suspiciously.
‘No one you know,’ said Nose Uncle. ‘Ah, here comes the ambulance. Now lead me away before I change my mind and turn into a dangerous criminal.’
The children watched the ambulance drive off in one direction and the police car, carrying Nose Uncle, in another. Suddenly they felt very alone.
‘What are we going to do?’ said Ram, holding tight to Nisha’s arm.
‘We’re going to do what Nose Uncle asked us to do—carry on with the investigation.’
‘All by ourselves? Tonight?’
‘Yes, why not? But we won’t be alone. Remember, Nose Uncle said we should ask Preeti for help.’
‘All the same, I’m scared.’
‘Me, too, but that won’t help Nose Uncle. And I have an idea.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Come back inside the caravan and you’ll see.’
‘Do you think we should? Lentil Brain said it was a crime scene.’
‘Perhaps it is, but locking Nose Uncle up is also a crime. We have to help him, right?’
‘Right.’
‘So let’s do it.’
For the first time, they had a clear view of the inside of the caravan. Although it was not very large, every inch of space had been used to house Rigolet’s possessions. Apart from the bed, which folded up against a wall when not in use, there was a folding table which clearly served as a desk and two small green canvas chairs, all of which had been upturned. In one corner there was a tiny kitchen. In another corner was a curtained section that contained a compact shower and toilet. The entire floor of the caravan was covered with scattered books and papers.
‘Wow!’ said Ram. ‘Someone really wanted to find something, whatever it was.’
‘Maybe they were looking for this,’ said Nisha.
She had been trying to tidy things up. When she pulled back the covers of the bed, she saw a slim, grey laptop computer and a black notebook.
‘That’s what they were after,’ said Nisha. ‘We must have disturbed them before they could finish searching properly. Now it can help us.’
‘How?’ said Ram, who had discovered a smashed portable television at the back of the caravan.
‘Because it will tell us what Rigolet was working on and may give us a clue to what or who was making those ghostly noises at his archaeological sites. And the cell phone could tell us who his main contacts are,’ she patted the phone in her pocket.
Ram sat on one of the canvas chairs and looked over Nisha’s shoulders as she sat on the other chair and began to log on to the computer.
‘You won’t know his password,’ said Ram, suddenly.
‘I’ve thought of that,’ said Nisha, holding up the small black notebook. ‘It’s my guess it’ll be in here.’
But there was no need of the notebook for the laptop was not password protected. It was clear that Rigolet never suspected anyone would have access to his computer files.
‘Gosh,’ said Ram as he saw a huge list of files appear on the screen. ‘Where do we start?’
‘I’ll try and pick out the most obvious ones,’ said Nisha. ‘No, wait, there’s one here called Diary. That should be very useful.’
‘Open it,’ said Ram.
‘Don’t worry, that’s just what I’m going to do.’
She clicked on the file marked Diary. ‘There is a lot of information here,’ she said. ‘I guess I’d better start from today and work backwards. That way we’ll pick up any recent developments.’
‘Go for it,’ said Ram, who had forgotten his anxiety about being alone and was now full of excitement.
‘This is a real adventure,’ he said. ‘So what does the last entry say?’
‘I’m getting there,’ said Nisha. ‘Yes, here it is. Let’s see what it has to say.’
Ram leant forward so that he could see better, and the next thing he knew, a rough hand was clamped over his mouth.
‘Got you,’ said a strange harsh voice.
Chapter 13
Lentil Brain was in a triumphant mood as they entered the police station.
‘Well, Inspector,’ he said to the officer in charge, ‘I have brought you a special prisoner. We caught him red-handed at the scene of the crime. I hope you have a pleasant cell ready for him.’
Inspector Reddy looked up from the file she was reading and a huge smile lit up her face. She was a tall slim woman in her late thirties, with the most enormous brown eyes.
‘Professor!’ she cried. ‘How wonderful to see you again. Are you well?’
Lentil Brain’s face fell. ‘Do you know each other?’ he almost whispered.
‘Of course,’ said the Inspector. ‘We are old friends. My family was not very well off and Professor helped me get through university and then Police College. I owe him a great deal.’
Lentil Brain shuffled his feet and stroked his thin moustache.
‘Well, that’s as may be,’ he said, ‘but he’s now in a great deal of trouble.’
The Inspector looked at him sternly.
‘That’s for me to decide,’ she said sharply. ‘Tell me what this is all about.’ She turned to the two police constables escorting Nose Uncle. ‘Release him,’ she said. ‘Handcuffs are quite unnecessary for Professor. And find him a chair and a cup of tea.’
Lentil Brain flushed. ‘I hope you will not allow your friendship with this man to
interfere with the course of justice,’ he said.
The Inspector’s eyes flashed. ‘Be careful about what you say,’ she warned, ‘or your words may turn on you. Now, say your piece.’
Nose Uncle sat on a chair provided by a constable, and drank his tea while the Inspector listened to what Lentil Brain had to say.
‘I received a telephone call,’ he began. ‘It told me what had happened in the caravan. I called the station and asked for police support to catch and arrest the Professor. He was clearly guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Rigolet. On our arrival, we found the Professor, together with his niece and nephew, bending over Mr Rigolet’s body.’
‘Is that it?’ said the Inspector, when Chandhrasekar had finished.
‘I believe so.’
‘So just because of one anonymous telephone call, you have had the Professor brought here in handcuffs.’
‘Yes, but …’
‘I would also like to hear what the Professor has to say,’ said the Inspector, cutting short Lentil Brain.
‘Thank you,’ said Nose Uncle. He then went on to tell the Inspector how he and the children happened to find Rigolet unconscious in his caravan. However, he did not tell her about their own suspicions and investigation.
‘And where are the children now?’ asked the Inspector, ‘and who is looking after them?’
Lentil Brain started. ‘What? Oh, we left them at the caravan,’
‘Alone?’
‘Er, well, they seemed capable of looking after themselves.’
‘I should hope so,’ said the Inspector, ‘or you may be looking at charges of neglect. We must find out where they are and what they are doing.’
After they had been gagged and had their hands tied behind their back, Nisha and Ram had been bundled out of the caravan and half-dragged along a footpath until they found themselves near the East Coast Road. In a small lay-by was a lorry. It was, no doubt, thought Nisha, the same lorry that had brought the shadowy figures to dig in Nose Uncle’s field the night before.
Their captors, about three in number, were dressed in black with their faces covered. They forced the children to climb into the back of the lorry. There they were made to sit uncomfortably in one corner while the men in black sat in front. The lorry started its engine and then bumped its way out of the lay-by on to the main road, heading into the night.
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