Kensy & Max: Freefall

by Jacqueline Harvey

  The officer looked around, but Kensy and Max had already climbed down the scaffold and melted into the crowd with Song and Curtis.

  ‘I didn’t see anyone,’ the policewoman said.

  Annika glanced up and realised it shouldn’t be too difficult to find them, given New York was teeming with CCTV cameras. With her connections, locating some good footage wasn’t even really a challenge. And if she showed it on the news, surely there would be someone who could identify them.

  Meanwhile the children were back in the kitchen at the townhouse, enjoying well-deserved milkshakes and telling Mim, Hector and Marisol all about their adventure.

  ‘It was amazing!’ Curtis could hardly believe what he’d seen. ‘Kensy almost knocked the guy clean over the edge and Max, he didn’t even hesitate to go after him.’

  Kensy smiled. ‘He deserved it. I’m just glad we got the lady’s purse back. Was she really okay, Song?’

  The butler nodded. ‘I am sure she will be fine. It was a good thing we managed to get away without any questions from the police – it is much better that we remain anonymous. Your grandmother will be pleased.’

  ‘What will I be pleased about?’ Cordelia asked as she entered the room, having finished a long conference call.

  Song immediately set about making the woman a cup of tea as the children launched into their story for the second time.

  Max slipped off the covers and dropped his feet silently onto the floor. He could hear Curtis’s breaths, deep and even, coming from the bed on the opposite side of the room. Kensy was down the hall on her own. Max hoped that the floorboards weren’t as squeaky here as they were at Alexandria, but that was the least of his problems as thunder growled across the city and a light show began through the gaps in the curtains. A cool breeze blew through the open window and Max hurried to close it before he shrugged on his dressing-gown and picked up the book from under his pillow. The note and his jottings were inside.

  Curtis rolled over and mumbled something. Max froze, hoping the boy was just talking in his sleep. He waited a few moments then tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.

  ‘You took your time,’ Kensy said as she looked up from the book she was reading. She was deliberately propped up against a mountain of pillows because lying down would have seen her snoring in seconds. As it was, the girl had been fighting the sandman for the past hour, yawning and rubbing her eyes in a bid to stay awake. It didn’t help that the book wasn’t exactly riveting either. It was about a dog, but he wasn’t very interesting. Kensy had found herself thinking about Wellie and Mac, wishing they’d been able to come along to New York, but the pair had stayed in Alexandria with Mrs Thornthwaite.

  It was lucky Max had caught her eye when the family arrived home from dinner or she would have gone straight to sleep. After all the excitement with the woman on the street, she’d forgotten about their discussion at the Top of the Rock.

  ‘Curtis took forever to nod off,’ the boy replied, sitting on the end of Kensy’s bed. ‘He kept on asking me questions about Pharos. He’s going to be an excellent spy, but if he badgers Vanden Boom like that, she might put a gag on him.’

  ‘So what is it that you need to tell me?’ Kensy asked, closing her book and setting it aside.

  Max took a deep breath. ‘I found a note. And it’s about us.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Kensy asked, scratching her nose.

  Max explained what had happened the day Blair passed out in the science lab and he’d helped Mrs Vanden Boom take her upstairs to the sick bay.

  ‘That was ages ago,’ Kensy said. ‘So why haven’t you told me until now?’

  Max shrugged. ‘I didn’t want you jumping to conclusions if it was nothing.’

  Kensy wriggled forward and drew her knees up to her chest. ‘Well, is it? Nothing?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’ve only figured out a little bit. I need your help to work out the rest,’ he replied.

  Kensy grinned. ‘Second time today – good to know I come in handy sometimes. What have you worked out so far?’

  Max pulled the note from the middle of the book and passed it over then unfurled another page on which he had been doing his scribblings. The words future, imminent, threat, Song and birthright were written above the coded letters and symbols he thought he had deciphered. The twins’ names were on the top of the page, clear as day.

  ‘Do you think that whoever wrote this is talking about us as a threat or someone who has been threatening us?’ Kensy asked, puzzling over the likely meanings.

  ‘I don’t know. Without the words in between it’s impossible,’ Max replied. ‘There’s something else that’s been bothering me too.’

  Kensy looked at him expectantly. But Max seemed to lose his voice for a minute. ‘Come on, we’re not playing charades and I would like to get some sleep tonight.’

  ‘Okay, it’s Song,’ Max said. ‘And his incredible ability to be out of harm’s way right at the time it’s headed straight for us.’

  His sister frowned. ‘That’s not true,’ Kensy said then stopped. She thought for a moment, realising that Max was right. Even way back when the first assault on the twins happened in London, it was Autumn and Carlos who had come to their rescue and then Song joined in later. He’d been distracted by a call from his boss, who at the time they had no idea was their grandmother – at least that’s what he’d said.

  Kensy felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. The idea of it was too awful for words. ‘Max, you don’t really think he could have anything to do with the attacks, do you?’

  ‘I don’t know. Song’s a bit like a crazy old uncle – I’m really fond of him, but we can’t ignore the evidence. The fact that his name is in that note concerns me too. And there’s something else,’ the boy said. He then explained to his sister about the toilet in the games room at Alexandria that had contained a spare pair of Song’s glasses and magazines in Chinese. He and Curtis had been able to hear everything their grandmother said from the other side of the wall in her office. Max told Kensy what Cordelia had said about an eagle’s nest and hiding in plain sight and that Curtis had heard her say the name Tinsley too.

  ‘We need to tell Granny all of this,’ Kensy said, nodding.

  ‘I thought about that, but Song’s her right-hand man. He’d find out and then who knows what he might do. Another part of me thinks if he really is behind everything, he’s had so many other opportunities to get us. I mean he could smother us in our beds or poison our food if he really wanted to,’ Max said. ‘Maybe he doesn’t want to kill us, just get us out of the way for some strange reason.’

  ‘Max, this is awful,’ Kensy moaned. ‘I love Song, except when he sings and says his confusing Confucius quotes . . . although sometimes they are pretty funny. I can’t believe he’d want to hurt us. But you’re right, the evidence is all there.’

  Kensy rocked back and forth, her mind in overdrive. ‘Maybe we should set a trap.’

  ‘A trap?’ the boy said.

  ‘Put one of us in danger and see if Song comes to the rescue,’ Kensy suggested. ‘We could make it look like it was an accident and then if he rises to the occasion, we’ll know it can’t possibly be him, but if he lets you die, then guilty as suspected.’

  ‘Steady on! Why does it have to be me who has the accident?’ Max said.

  ‘Because I thought of it and you’re braver – at least that’s what you’re always telling me,’ Kensy said with a smile.

  ‘That’s not true. You’re always telling me how you’re the daring one,’ the lad retorted. ‘And you got in the first blow with that thief this afternoon.’

  ‘True – I am pretty amazing. If you’d rather I did it, I will,’ Kensy said with an exaggerated sigh.

  ‘I’ve got a better idea. Let’s play scissors, paper, rock and that will decide it,’ Max said.

  The twins clenched their fists and started counting when they heard footsteps outside in the hall accompanied by a crack of lightning to
rival the wildest Sydney storm. Kensy jumped, her heart hammering. For a fleeting second she wondered if Song had somehow found out they were on to him and he’d come to finish them off. It was the perfect night for it.

  The handle on the door turned and the light from the hallway sliced into the room along with another drumroll of thunder.

  Kensy squinted then squealed and leapt out of bed. ‘Uncle Rupert!’ She charged across to hug the man with Max right behind her.

  ‘How’s my favourite niece and nephew?’ their uncle said, grinning. Rupert prised the pair off him and walked over to the chair in the corner where he plonked himself down.

  Kensy and Max sat on the edge of the bed, agog.

  ‘Where have you been all this time?’ Max asked. ‘We haven’t seen you in ages.’

  ‘Have you found Dash? Is he here in New York?’ Kensy fired.

  ‘Steady on, you two. I only came to say hello, not be the subject of an inquisition.’ Rupert frowned. He was dressed in a casual navy checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of chinos with white sandshoes, looking effortlessly chic as always.

  ‘So you’re not going to tell us anything?’ Kensy said.

  ‘Can I catch my breath? I mean you two just about squeezed the life out of me,’ the man sighed.

  ‘We saw Tinsley Chalmers today,’ Max said, wondering what sort of reaction he would get.

  Rupert frowned again. ‘Really? Where?’

  Max and Kensy explained what they’d seen from the top of the Rockefeller Centre, but their uncle seemed sceptical. ‘So this woman looked sort of like Tinsley, but you’re not one hundred per cent sure?’

  ‘She had different hair and she might have been thinner,’ Kensy said.

  ‘But people lose weight and they change hairstyles, so it could have been her,’ Max said.

  If Rupert knew anything, he certainly wasn’t letting on.

  ‘Well, you can keep an eye out, but I suspect she’s probably on the other side of the world given the last information we have about Dash is that he’s somewhere in the United States. I can’t imagine she’d bring the children here. Dash is a dangerous man,’ Rupert said. He stood up. ‘You’d better get some sleep.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ Kensy jumped off the bed and ran to block the door. ‘You can’t leave yet. You haven’t told us anything.’

  ‘All in good time, sweetheart,’ Rupert said.

  ‘Will you be here tomorrow?’ Max asked.

  ‘I’m not sure, but I’ll certainly be at Mother’s special event – I wouldn’t dare not show up for that one,’ the man replied. ‘I’d be disinherited.’

  ‘Have you always been so mysterious?’ Kensy asked.

  ‘I do my best,’ Rupert said, arching his left eyebrow and with that he manoeuvred himself around her and out the door.

  Kensy launched herself onto her bed.

  ‘He’s going back on my list,’ she said.

  ‘What list?’ Max asked.

  ‘All the people who might want to kill us and the rest of the family. He’s never around when the bad things happen and then he disappears all the time without anyone knowing where he is. Maybe Uncle Rupert wants to take over the empire on his own and he can’t do it if the rest of us are around,’ Kensy said. ‘He could be annoyed that Mum and Dad and Fitz aren’t actually dead and then we showed up too.’

  ‘I think you’re imagining things, Kens. Uncle Rupert saved us in Rome, remember?’ Max said, not wanting to think that the perpetrator could be anyone so close to them.

  ‘Well, it’s hard to know who to trust around here any more. I’m going to sleep. My brain hurts,’ Kensy said as she snuggled down under the covers. Max had barely left the room before she was out cold.

  Fenton Grady picked up the remote and turned the television onto the morning news. He had just poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to read the newspaper when his daughter appeared in the doorway.

  The man glanced up. ‘Mornin’, sweetheart. You got any plans for today?’

  The teenager shrugged. ‘Everyone’s left for the summer.’

  ‘I told you you should have accepted one of those invitations. I hear the Hamptons is real nice this time of year. You could have been swimmin’ at the beach or in a fancy pool instead of sweatin’ like a rat in a sock here with me,’ the man said. ‘They say it’s gonna be back up around ninety-five tomorrow and I reckon over a hundred in here even with the air conditionin’ going at full speed,’ Fenton said. ‘But at least today we get a reprieve.’

  ‘Daddy, you know I didn’t want to go anywhere without you and besides you promised to take a coupla days off sometime,’ the girl said. ‘Maybe we can take the ferry over to Coney Island.’

  She sat down and poured herself a bowl of Apple Jacks then looked at the television screen.

  ‘Yesterday one of our own was attacked while going about her business on the Upper East Side,’ the news anchor said.

  Fenton Grady frowned and turned up the volume.

  ‘Don’t you go tellin’ me it’s safe for you to be out roamin’ the streets around here on your own.’ The man glared at his daughter.

  ‘Daddy, people get mugged and New York is about a million times safer now than it was twenty years ago,’ Tessa rolled her eyes. ‘Besides, this is a fancy neighbourhood and I ain’t fancy so no one’s gonna be interested in me.’

  The news reporter continued. ‘But I am pleased to say that Annika Bailey is fine and doing well following her ordeal thanks to the swift assistance of a group of good Samaritans who came to her aid. Three children and an elderly gentleman, I understand. Annika, you are standing on the corner where you say the children confronted the man who stole your wallet and basically, erm, kicked his butt,’ the man said, a curious look on his face.

  ‘Good morning, Dan. And yes, that’s absolutely correct. If it wasn’t for the actions of those children and their guardian, I certainly wouldn’t have been reunited with my wallet and reassured that the kindness of strangers really does exist here on the streets of New York City,’ the woman said into the microphone she was holding.

  ‘The alleged offender was caught, Annika?’ the man said.

  The view cut back to the reporter who was wearing a pale pink dress and matching heels. Her blonde hair was tied neatly in a ponytail and her perfectly made-up face was flawless.

  ‘Yes, he was apprehended and charged and I expect will feel the full force of the law,’ she replied.

  ‘But you are keen to find the youngsters and gentleman who assisted you?’ Dan said.

  ‘Indeed. I’ve managed to get some CCTV footage from the building opposite. I’m hoping that someone will know these people and put us in touch with them – or maybe they will see it themselves and contact the station, so I can thank them properly for what they did,’ Annika said.

  Fenton Grady carried his coffee cup to the sink and kissed his daughter’s forehead. ‘I’d better be gettin’ downstairs. That new tenant in number fifteen has had me doin’ jobs all week and I don’t expect that I’m finished yet.’ He exited the room as the footage appeared on the screen.

  Tessa coughed and almost spat her cereal across the table. The recording of the two children climbing down from the scaffolding was very clear. So too was the image of the Asian man on the street alongside a blond-haired boy who would have been about eleven years of age.

  ‘Is that really you?’ she whispered under her breath. Tessa’s brain was in overdrive. She was certain she’d seen the children before – in an interview on television and in a tiny piece in the newspaper. The story ended and the focus was back on the hosts in the studio.

  ‘In other news a man has died overnight in a New York hospital, the latest victim of the letter virus attacks that have now claimed three lives. The FBI says they have put a vast number of resources on the case but so far have few leads to go on, with the mail originating from a variety of locations across the country. Initially thought to be anthrax, it now appears that the letter
s have each contained an as-yet unidentified virus stored in a tiny pressurised ampoule, which is triggered upon opening and has an almost immediate effect on the recipient. The three victims were not known to one another.’

  But Tessa wasn’t listening. This was her chance and there was no way she was going to let it pass her by.

  Kensy sat down at the kitchen island in front of the row of cereal boxes Song had brought out of the pantry.

  ‘Is Uncle Rupert still here?’ she asked no one in particular as she poured muesli into her bowl then sloshed some milk on top.

  Cordelia glanced up from the newspaper she was studying at the kitchen table. ‘So he did look in on you and your brother last night?’

  ‘Yes, but he didn’t stay long and he didn’t answer any of my questions. I think Uncle Rupert loves the international man of mystery identity that he’s conjured for himself,’ Kensy said, rolling her eyes.

  ‘Rupert has always been his own person, my dear, and anyone who thinks they’re going to tame him should think again,’ Cordelia said.

  Hector Clement looked up from his marmalade toast and gave his wife a quizzical look while Mim who was outside on the terrace pulling weeds, stopped her whistling. The boys hadn’t yet appeared though Kensy had heard them talking when she walked down the hall.

  ‘Abigail must have believed she could rein him in,’ Kensy said.

  Cordelia closed the paper and pushed it aside as Song delivered a fresh pot of tea to the table.

  ‘Abigail was the most darling girl – exactly like her mother. Kind, confident and terribly smart. She was her own woman too. Abi and Rupert were made for one another and I couldn’t wait to welcome her to the family. I’d planned to tell Faye and Conrad the truth about my life too and invite them into the fold. We could have done such wonderful work together,’ Cordelia said, absently lifting her teacup into the air. ‘Now I shudder to think what would have happened if that dastardly brother of Abi’s had known about our true lives.’

  Marisol Clement shook her head. ‘I think ’e would have destroyed you, Cordelia. Imagine if that man ’ad got a whiff of the power ’e might have ’ad at the ’elm of an organisation like Pharos.’