The Secrets of Ice Cream Success

by AD Hartley

  He looked around the gloom, unsure what to do next. The factory felt overwhelming in its silence; a huge dark open space with a faint breeze carrying the smell of vanilla. He was reminded of the first time he had walked back into the factory after his father’s death.

  “He’s not even your father!” Carlo heard Herbert’s words in his head. What a ridiculous notion; he was the last Leodoni and owner of this factory. Over the past few weeks that very idea had grown in his heart until it was now what defined him, but those words were causing him anguish. The confidence he had gained recently was beginning to be beaten back by the old doubts he had always wrapped around himself while growing up. He had been a young boy; unsure of his place in the world, unconfident around girls with no idea what he wanted to do when he grew up. And now someone said he wasn’t even a Leodoni.

  Carlo took a deep breath and leant on the railings, looking across the dark machinery. He knew there was nothing he could do here. He should go home and wait for Randy to return, but as much as he wanted to get to the bottom of this mess the longer the dark thoughts settled in his mind the more they began to nibble away at his self-confidence.

  Where before he was racing to find Randy in order to demand to know why he would tell Herbert such lies, Carlo was now thinking of ways to put off that confrontation. Perhaps he would go to see the gang first or maybe sneak home and go to bed so he didn’t have to speak to Randy until tomorrow. He now also regretted not going directly home to speak to his father. Of course that should have been his first move.

  Carlo wandered across the back of the factory and down the stairs. His mind was jumbled and he needed a few minutes to think quietly before he headed home. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he found the door to his father’s study was ajar. Only he had the keys to this door and no one other than Abi, Ben, Newton and Norton were allowed to use the room and they had never left without closing and locking the door before. Carlo stepped inside making a mental note to reprimand Norton, the most likely suspect, but immediately realised it wasn’t him. The room was a mess.

  The books had been pulled from the shelves and scattered across the floor, the draws of the desk were open, the contents tipped on top. Papers were strewn everywhere, furniture moved and even the pictures on the wall were crooked.

  Carlo’s first thought was that they had been robbed, but that didn’t make sense. There were no other signs of forced entry in the factory and as he looked around the room, it was clear to him that the chaos was the result of a search rather than a burglary. But, who would search this room? It could only have been someone with regular access to the factory, but not even Norton would be capable of leaving such a state.

  Carlo picked through the muddle of books and papers and realised that nothing seemed to be missing. Few important documents were kept in this room, just Mr Leodoni’s old books and notes and those of his Grandfather, but all of those seemed to be here, thrown everywhere, but still present. Carlo had only ever removed one item, his father’s diary, which was currently in his bedroom with his father. All papers relating to the actual business were in the offices on the other side of the factory. Carlo suddenly panicked. What if this was another attempt by Hill’s to discredit them in some way? Not Herbert, obviously, he couldn’t have done this as Carlo had come straight from Herbert’s house. But perhaps Ben had been right, maybe Neil was now working for Hill? He pictured the offices laying in the same state and Neil rifling through the company’s important papers and immediately ran for the stairs!

  Carlo took the steps two at a time and rounded the top of the staircase at top speed colliding headlong with someone else running in the opposite direction towards the exit, sending both spinning to the floor.

  ‘Ouch!’ Carlo moaned from where he had come to rest, his head hanging over the first step of the stairs down to the study. He slowly raised his head and looked across to see who he had hit. Expecting to see Neil or one of the Hill’s staff, Carlo was surprised to see Randy cradling his head, looking dazed.

  ‘Randy?’ he said. ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘Carlo?’ Randy asked, still looking confused. ‘What… why…?’

  Carlo pulled himself slowly to his knees, feeling aches but no major injuries. ‘Boy am I glad it’s you.’ he said, standing slowly. ‘Someone’s been here, Uncle Randy. Someone’s been looking through our stuff. The study is a mess. We’ve got to check the offices.’

  Randy shook his head to clear it and started to stand. ‘Carlo, what are you doing here?’

  ‘I was looking for you, but that can wait. We have to check the offices.’

  ‘I’ve just been to the offices, there’s nothing amiss.’

  Carlo looked relieved. Perhaps Neil had been scared off by one of them entering the factory. ‘Well that’s good. We’ll need to check the CCTV footage tomorrow. I think Neil has been here.’

  Randy looked surprised at the revelation, but waved it away. ‘We should go, Carlo. We can talk about this back at home.’ he said as he stretched his back with a groan.

  ‘Wait, I want to show you the study.’ Carlo said.

  ‘I’ll see it tomorrow. I really think we should leave now. We can check the study in the morning and see if we need to call the police.’

  ‘You don’t understand, Uncle Randy. Someone’s been through our stuff. I think it was Hill’s.’

  Randy shifted uneasily, looking behind him towards the other side of the factory. ‘We should go, Carlo, now!’

  ‘But the study…’

  ‘No, Carlo, I’m not joking. We should go!’ Randy said, raising his voice with a note of panic.

  ‘What is it?’ Carlo asked, sensing the concern. He looked around the factory. ‘Do you think they’re still here?’

  ‘No… Yes… Look, I don’t know. But we need to go, now!’ Randy shouted, grabbing Carlo’s arm and starting to drag him towards the exit.

  The young man shook Randy off and took a step back. ‘What’s wrong? Why are you so jumpy?’ Carlo asked. He’d never seen Randy act like this and it was beginning to make him worried. ‘What’s going on?’

  Randy took and deep breath and looked at his watch, still holding his side from the collision. ‘We don’t have time to talk about this now, Carlo. We need to leave!’

  ‘Why? I don’t think anyone’s still here.’

  ‘Carlo! We need to go…’

  ‘What were you doing here? Carlo asked. ‘I’ve been looking for you all afternoon. I wanted to talk to you about Herbert Fitzherbert.’

  Randy looked surprised. ‘Bert? Why?’ But remembered himself and waved away his own question. ‘Look it doesn’t matter we need to get out now!’

  But Carlo wasn’t listening. He wanted to say his piece finally. ‘Herbert said you are his Uncle. Is that true?’

  ‘Carlo, let’s go NOW!’ Randy shouted, looking at the exit, seemingly ready to run whether Carlo followed or not.

  ‘Are you Herbert’s UNCLE?!’ Carlo shouted back.

  ‘Yes, alright? Yes. It’s not a secret. Why are you obsessing about this?’

  ‘Because,’ Carlo said, starting to get angry, ‘You told him that I’m not my father’s son!’

  ‘Carlo, please.’ Randy pleaded. ‘Let’s do this outside.’

  ‘Why?’ Carlo demanded, just as a roaring silence sucked the air out of the factory. Carlo experienced a moment of calm before an explosion thumped into both men, knocking them into the air and sending huge flames thundering into the night sky.

  Ben, Abi, Norton and Newton heard the explosion while still sat in Ben’s bedroom talking in circles about Carlo, Herbert and at one point a brief mention of the coming school year, although Newton had quickly been shot down by his friends who weren’t willing to contemplate the looming horror of school until the day itself.

  On hearing the explosion, the friends had rushed downstairs to ask Mr and Mrs Teesdale what they thought it was, only to be hushed into silence by Mrs Teesdale who had immediately turned on the radio. Mr Teesdale
had rushed back into the kitchen talking about an orange glow in the sky and a few minutes later a breaking news story interrupted the normal programme to confirm a large explosion at the Leodoni’s factory. The four friends had raced out of the house before Mr Teesdale could stop them and headed at top speed to the factory on their bikes.

  They were now sat on their bikes watching in mute horror as flames lit up the sky. Ben was frustrated he couldn’t get closer, but firemen had cordoned off the street to the factory entrance and police were now guarding it and keeping a special eye on the four kids who seemed ready to make a break for a closer look at any point.

  ‘I can’t believe it.’ Abi said, a tear rolling down her face.

  ‘It’s so big!’ Ben mumbled, almost awestruck by the size of the flames.

  ‘Yes, fascinating.’ Newton agreed.

  Norton could only look on in astonishment, uncertain whether he was witnessing something dreadful or amazing. ‘Wow.’ he muttered.

  ‘Do you think Carlo knows?’ Ben asked, looking at his friends.

  ‘He must have heard the explosion.’ Newton said.

  Abi shrugged. ‘I don’t know, he was probably still at Herbert’s and that’s miles away.’

  Newton nodded to the flames. ‘It was a big explosion.’

  ‘Wow.’ Norton said, still staring at the flames.

  ‘I don’t think he was at Herbert’s, guys.’ Ben said.

  ‘Why?’ Abi asked.

  Ben pointed across the street past the burning factory where another cordon had been placed. Through the dust and haze from the fire the unmistakable shapes of Mr Hill and Herbert could be seen watching the fire with other onlookers, both stood in front of Mr Hill’s huge black car.

  ‘If Carlo was still with Herbert at the time then he would probably be here by now.’ Ben said. ‘He must have gone home. He might not even know.’

  Abi looked dubious. ‘How could he not know? It’s all over the radio and TV. And look, Lucy’s here.’ she finished, pointing over to where Lucy could be seen talking to the Fire and Police chiefs, occasionally pointing at the factory. She looked shocked and it was clear she too had been crying. ‘If Lucy’s here then someone must have called his house by now.’

  Ben looked at his sister and shrugged. ‘We didn’t.’

  In silent agreement, Ben Abi and Newton jumped onto their bikes.

  ‘Norton.’ Ben said, waiting for his friend.

  ‘Wow.’ Norton repeated, still staring at the flames.

  ‘Norton, come on!’ Ben shouted, grabbing Norton’s t-shirt and spinning him. ‘We’re going. Come on.’

  ‘Huh?’ Norton said, still craning to look at the flames. ‘Oh, right.’ he said finally as Ben pulled him forwards, seeing Abi and Newton already pushing through the crowd on their bikes. ‘Right, I’m coming.’

  He followed Ben through the onlookers and the four of them headed to Carlo’s house to make sure he knew the worst.

  Carlo stared up at the ceiling beam above him, fearing the worst. The explosion had knocked him down the stairs into the study, which had probably saved his life. He had been briefly knocked unconscious by the blow but when he came around he could see that much of the factory above was now in ruins through a large hole in the ceiling, but the basement room had survived relatively intact.

  However the large metal beam above him gave him cause for concern as it wobbled precariously, hanging across the hole directly above Carlo; but as the seconds ticked by it showed no signs of falling. Gathering himself, Carlo tried to move to get away from the hole just in case, but his body protested, feeling like one large, angry ache. Pushing with his hands and heels he scrabbled from underneath the hole and made it through the debris to the door of the study where he sat leaning against the three steps which, along with the door seemed remarkably undamaged.

  Taking an inventory he tested every limb whilst sat on the floor. His arms and hands worked, though his joints objected at the need. His back ached, but seemed able to hold him upright, whilst his left leg was a picture of good health. However, as Carlo carefully stood and put weight on his right leg, he crumpled to the floor with a scream of pain, his ankle unable to bear his weight as it collapsed beneath him.

  ‘Damn.’ he whispered, wiping away tears of pain and fear, making a small clean spot on his dusty face.

  Above him he could hear the roar of the flames as they continued to burn, but further away there was the unmistakable sound of sirens, and if there were sirens there were people that could help him.

  ‘Help! Help!’ Carlo shouted as loud as he could, but his voice sounded weak to his own ears and he coughed violently in the dusty air. Above him the floor beam dropped an inch or so showering more debris down into the study. Carlo looked up into the smoke filled sky above the hole. The fire was still raging above and it was unlikely anyone would be able to reach the study at the far end of the factory until it was out. But was the ceiling above able to hold that long? Carlo doubted so.

  ‘HELP!’ he shouted again. ‘Help!’

  He knew it would be impossible for anyone to hear him above the noise of the fire, the crumbling building and even the sirens outside and it suddenly occurred to him that it was now late in the evening. The factory had been closed and there would be no reason for those outside to suspect that anyone would be inside.

  ‘HELP!’ Carlo tried again as his fear started to turn to panic. But he knew it was useless. More tears fell and the full extent of his predicament became clear. ‘OK… OK…’ he muttered, rubbing the tears and dirt from his eyes. ‘OK...’

  Carlo knew he had to let those outside know he was there and get away from study before the factory above collapsed into it, and that meant the stairs. Carlo pulled himself up, grabbing the small rail next to the steps, and stood on his left leg, hopping into position facing the doors. He made his way up one step at a time, wincing with every hop as he pulled himself up using the bannister and reached out to take the door handle.

  Carlo placed his palm on the door to make sure there was no excessive heat behind. His hand ached so he couldn’t be sure, but he was fairly certain if there was a fire on the other side he would be able to feel it. He slowly turned the door handle and opened the door just a crack. Nothing happened. With a sigh of relief Carlo pulled open the door fully allowing debris to scatter across the floor from the outside. Hopping across the door step he looked up the stairwell but was dismayed to see that wreckage from the factory above had collapsed onto the stairs blocking the exit. Even in this gloom he could see it would be extremely difficult to clear a path without bringing the rubble down on top of him and with his bad leg he wasn’t even sure he could make it up the stairs through the fallen masonry to try.

  With a grunt of effort he braced himself against the walls on either side of the stairs and hopped onto the first step but was surprised to hear the step groan when landed. Carlo quickly hopped back down, but landed heavily and fell to the floor, unable to steady himself with his right leg.

  As he sat, the step in front of him groaned again and through the darkness Carlo could just start to make out the shape of an arm covered in dust and debris.

  ‘Randy?’ Carlo asked, reaching out to hold the arm. ‘Randy, is that you?’

  There was another groan as Carlo gently squeezed the arm. He leant forward and felt his way around the rubble trying to find bits he could safely move. After a while Carlo had dislodged enough to reveal Randy’s head, shoulders and left arm as he lay face down on the steps, his body and legs covered in heavy masonry pointing up the stairway.

  ‘Randy? Randy it’s me. Can you hear me?’ Carlo asked. ‘Can you move?’ There was no movement from his guardian and Carlo’s fear for himself was replaced with fear for Randy who was clearly in more danger. Carlo began to cry again as he delicately tried to remove as much dust from Randy’s face as he could, clearing his mouth, nose and eyes. Underneath the dirt his face seemed pale and cold in the half-light of the stairwell and Carlo felt certain he
would die soon unless they were found.

  ‘Help! Somebody help us!’ he shouted through the tears, but there was no answer.

  ‘Carlo? Randy?’ Abi shouted, banging on the front door, but the house was silent.

  ‘Well if he’s not here, where could he be?’ Norton asked, still out of breath from the ride. ‘I’m not going riding around half the town looking for him. I’m knackered.’

  ‘He’s probably just asleep.’ Ben said stepping forward to bang on the door. ‘Carlo! Your factory has exploded, time to wake up!’ he shouted, thumping the front door, but his final knock went straight through a face that had appeared suddenly through the door.

  ‘Argh!’ Ben shouted jumping backwards.

  ‘The factory has what?’ Luigi shouted.

  ‘Do you have to do that?’ Ben grumbled as Norton chuckled behind him.

  ‘What’s happened at the factory?’ Luigi asked, ignoring him.

  ‘It’s exploded.’ Abi answered. ‘Can you let us in, we need to tell Carlo.’

  ‘Carlo’s not here.’ Luigi said, a look of shock on his ghostly face. His head pulled back through the door and after a second or two there was a click and the door swung open. Ben flew up the stairs calling for Carlo without waiting for an invite, as the others followed him into the house. Mr Leodoni floated up through the ceiling to meet them in Carlo’s room.

  ‘I told you, he’s not here.’

  ‘Then where is he?’ Abi asked, beginning to get concerned.

  ‘I have no idea.’ Luigi answered. ‘What did you say about my factory?’

  ‘There’s been an explosion. It’s gone. Well, mostly gone.’ she answered. ‘Lucy’s there now with the police, but we haven’t seen Carlo so we don’t know if he knows yet.’

  ‘When was the last time you saw him?’ Luigi asked, sounding very worried.