The Black Cat Detectives by Wendy Meddour

Author:Wendy Meddour [Meddour, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781781010969
Publisher: MBI

***

It was getting late by the time they left. Nanna Stalk was strapping Iqbal into his car seat whilst Mrs Stalk was squeezing the antique telescope into the boot of the car.

“I can’t believe she just gave it to you,” said Ramzi.

Shaima laughed.

“Well of course she gave it to you,” sighed Nanna Stalk. “That daughter of mine has no sense of money.”

Ramzi looked back at the house and saw Aunty Zakiya’s pillar-box silhouette appear behind the closed curtains. Two arms stretched up as she took off her niqab – and a new silhouette appeared – a slight little figure with a bobbing pony tail. Then she was gone.

“Why does she live here on her own?” asked Ramzi.

“Cos she likes it,” said Shaima.

“But isn’t it a bit...”

“What?”

“I dunno... spooky?”

The cottage looked eerie as it faded in the half-light. And it was so quiet. Not like Cinnamon Grove. At home, there was always the hum of distant traffic. A dog barking. An ice-cream van. A child laughing outside. But on the winding lane outside Aunty Zakiya’s house, there was only the sound of the wind.

“We’re always asking her to move back to Cinnamon Grove,” began Mrs Stalk.

“But she’s as stubborn as a mule,” interrupted Nanna Stalk.

“Nanna!” said Shaima.

Mrs Stalk started the engine and drove down the twisting lane.

“Do you reckon there are ghosts here?” asked Ramzi, peering into the thickening darkness.

“You mean ‘unexplained supernatural phenomena’?” said Shaima.

“Yeh,” said Ramzi. He could feel the skin tingling on the back of his neck.

“No,” said Shaima. “It’s highly unlikely. You’re probably just experiencing some sort of mild anxiety.”

“Am not,” said Ramzi. But he felt disappointed. Why did Shaima have to be so logical about everything? He looked up at the pale, charcoal sky and watched the stars appear – one by one. He traced them with his finger. ‘I’ll go up there, one day,’ he thought. ‘Outer Space. Beyond the Final Frontier. Where no man has gone before....’

Shaima prodded his arm. “You’re doing it again, Agent Ramadan,” she said.

“What?”

“Dreaming,” said Shaima.

“Nothing wrong with dreaming,” shouted Mrs Stalk, over the sound of the radio. “In fact, I’ve always thought that dreaming is what makes us human...”

“But animals dream too, Ammi,” said Shaima. “When four rats had micro-electrodes implanted in their hippocampus...” Suddenly, her voice became strange and muffled: “Iqbal! ’ill you ’lease take your ’oot out of my ’ouf!”

Ramzi smiled in the darkness. He loved being with the Stalks. But he couldn’t wait to get home. It felt like he’d been away for weeks, not just a day. He hoped Baby Zed was OK and that Mum and Dad weren’t worried about him.

Something dug into his leg. He reached into his pocket and brought out a crumpled envelope – the tickets for the Hot Air Balloon Ride! How could he have forgotten? His stomach swirled with excitement. Not long now.

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