The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders

Author:Kate Saunders [Saunders, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-307-98034-2
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-03-12T04:00:00+00:00

14

The Video

“We’ve analyzed the postcard,” J said, “and it’s very much as we expected—fireproof and covered with an antitracking spell. That fallen oak tree over there is Isadore’s hiding place—I’m just waiting until the area’s cleared, in case it’s booby-trapped.”

They were on a bench in Hampstead Heath, beside a large pond that was busy with ducks and swans. All the joggers, dog walkers and mothers with baby buggies were being politely moved out of the way by the police—Lily heard one of the policemen saying something about a gas leak.

“How’s Demerara?”

“Still moaning about her fur,” Caydon said. “You know how vain she is.”

“She’s cold without it,” Lily said, feeling she should speak up for her. “And she’s really very sad. Every time she wakes up she checks to see if it’s growing back, and when it isn’t, she cries.”

“And she’s always nagging Spike,” Caydon added. “I feel sorry for that rat sometimes.”

“We’ll see what we can do to cheer her up,” J said.

Lily was thinking about the postcard. “Is there any clue to where he’s keeping Oz?”

“Not yet, but I think we’re just about to find out.” J glanced around and went over to the fallen tree. Bending down, he rummaged among the tangled branches, and pulled out a small brown parcel. When he opened it, an old-fashioned plastic videotape fell out, and a note, with two words: “WATCH THIS.”

Lily was excited, and very impatient. “When can we watch it?”

“All in good time,” J said, smiling. “To tell the truth, I didn’t really need you two here for the pickup this morning—I brought you for Edwin.”

“Edwin! I thought he never left his cage!”

“He likes an outing sometimes.”

“Where is he?” Caydon asked.

In front of them was the great, green sweep of Kite Hill, absolutely empty of people.

“Take a close look at the grass,” J said.

Lily saw that the smooth, fresh grass on the hill kept going flat, as if being pressed down by an enormous invisible iron.

“He’s rolling down the hill,” J said. “It’s his treat, but we obviously have to make sure he doesn’t flatten any joggers or dog walkers—I mean, imagine being rolled on by an invisible elephant! Young Alan’s keeping an eye on him—as far as it’s possible.”

“Oh, I wish we could see him!” Lily cried.

“SIR!” yelled Alan, halfway up the hill. “LOOK OUT!”

“He’s rolling this way!” shouted Caydon. “He’s going to roll into the pond!”

As they watched, the water in the nearby pond convulsed in a huge splash—as if something gigantic had been dropped from the air—and they were all drenched by a tsunami of weedy pond water. An astonished swan was swept into a bush, and the ducks went into a frenzy of quacking and thrashing.

Lily felt Edwin’s dripping trunk. It crept around her waist, suddenly gripping her hard and whisking her off her feet. He put her down very gently, and then cheekily tried to push Caydon into the pond. After that he squirted them both with jets of water from his ghostly trunk, and the SMU “meeting” ended in screams of laughter.

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