Charlie Bone and the Shadow by Jenny Nimmo

Author:Jenny Nimmo
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy & Magic, Juvenile Fiction, School & Education, Action & Adventure, General
ISBN: 9780545520973
Publisher: Orchard Books
Published: 2008-09-02T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

TANCRED'S NOTE

Charlie and Benjamin left Mr. Bittermouse without meeting his wife. She must be very deaf, thought Charlie, not to have heard her porch falling down. Nobody else had heard either, for that matter. Or if they had, they were keeping well away. The street was deserted. But then most people would be huddled around a fire or the TV on a cold Sunday afternoon.

Ingledew's Bookstore was not far from Mr. Bittermouse's house. Had Miss Ingledew heard the noise?

Yes, she had. "Charlie, Benjamin, how good to see you," said Miss Ingledew as she opened the door to them. "You didn't happen to see what caused that awful crash just now, did you?"

"Yes, we did," said Charlie.

Olivia, who had been packing books behind the counter, suddenly popped up like a jack-in-a-box, causing Runner Bean to leap in the air with a yelp.

"So what was it?" asked Olivia.

"I'll tell you about the crash later," said Charlie, "but really I've come to ask Miss Ingledew's advice. Something awful has happened to Billy Raven."

Olivia pulled aside the curtain behind the counter and called, "Bad news, Em!"

"Oh, no!" said Emma in a suitably tragic voice.

They all joined her in the backroom, where Miss Ingledew had a good fire burning. A pile of roasted chestnuts by the grate reminded Charlie of Christmas. There was even a jug of hot blackberry juice just inside the fireplace screen.

Once he was tucked into a corner of the sofa, with hot chestnuts in his hands and a mug of blackberry juice on the table beside him, Charlie recounted his extraordinary weekend. There were interruptions, of course, most of them from Olivia, but Benjamin and Runner Bean, lying together on a rug before the fire, fell fast asleep. The others looked quite exhausted by the time Charlie had finished, but at least they'd stayed awake.

223 Charlie was disappointed with Miss Ingledew's reaction. "Your uncle will know what to do," she said. Her face was a picture of worry.

"But he's not here," said Charlie, peeling his last chestnut.

"Where is he, Charlie? He was away all last week. What are we going to do without him?" Miss Ingledew seemed to have reversed their roles. Now she was asking Charlie for his advice.

"I was hoping you would know," Charlie replied.

"Oh!" Miss Ingledew, who was sitting at her desk, nervously flipped over a page on her calendar, picked up a pen, and put it down again. Was it possible that she was missing Uncle Paton?

Wedged in beside Charlie, Olivia was frowning with concentration. Emma, at the other end of the sofa, was staring into the fire, with her chin resting on her hands. All at once, Olivia made a loud huffing sound and cried, "I know. We'll go and see the headmaster. Maybe Billy did go back to school, but if he's not there, we'll ask Dr. Bloor where he is. He'll have to tell us."

"He won't tell us the truth," Emma said gloomily. "He could easily say he's sent Billy away, or something."

Miss Ingledew stood up and began to pace about.

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