Lady in Red by Tessa Buckley

Author:Tessa Buckley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2019-10-29T00:00:00+00:00

13

A Race Against Time

When we told Nan that we had offered to spend the next day helping the O’Connors to prepare for their move, she looked at us a bit suspiciously, but all she said was, “That’s very neighbourly of you. That poor woman needs all the help she can get.” Half of me was disappointed she hadn’t objected. Sneaking into No 3 undetected when Mr Mortimer might be in the house would be dangerous, and getting a large painting out without being caught would be even dicier. Of course, it would be worse for Jake if he came face to face with Mr Mortimer, after annoying him so much the night Mr Pascoe had his stroke.

When we arrived at Acacia Villa the next day, everybody was already busy packing things into boxes and suitcases. Mrs O’Connor asked us to help her wrap all the china and glasses in newspaper and pack them into crates, but she kept stopping and staring into space, so we ended up doing most of the work ourselves. Billie told us that her mother had been very upset when she returned home from seeing Mr Mortimer, who had wasted no time in telling her that the flat with the dead rat was all he could offer her. “She rang Dad,” Billie said, “And he said she must accept the flat for the moment, and he’ll sort everything out when he returns.” Billie’s lip trembled. “It’s not fair. I don’t want to leave here. It’s the best home we’ve ever had, and I’ll miss the tree house so much!”

After a while, Mrs O’Connor said she would go upstairs to the studio and start packing up her art equipment. As soon as she was safely out of the way, we went to find Jake. “This is the ideal opportunity to go next door,” I said, but Jake was more cautious. “Let’s go and look out the front first and see if there are any cars parked outside No 3.” We checked, but there was no sign of the Rolls, or any other vehicles. “Great!” Donna said.

Miles, who had followed us into the living room, immediately said: “Can I come too?” I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous. We need as few people as possible.”

Before Miles could object, Jake said, “I’ve got a much more important job for you, wombat. We need you to stay here, keep looking out of the window, and let us know if anyone goes into No 3. Think you can do that?”

Miles nodded enthusiastically. Jake gave Miles his mobile and showed him how to contact us if he needed to. “We’re relying on you to advise us of the enemy’s movements. Don’t let us down.” Miles saluted him. “Yessir!”

Leaving Miles by a window where he could see anyone who arrived at No 3, Donna, Jake and I ran down the stairs and out of the flat. We sprinted across the lawn and then headed down the steps and into the Jungle. We followed

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