Alice-Miranda at Camp 10 (8 page)

Fenella Freeman drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Her foot was planted firmly on the accelerator as she zoomed towards town. As the car entered the roundabout just before the village shops, she changed her mind, steered a full circle and drove back along the same road. If Wilson thought she was still bringing his coffee, he was even thicker than she'd first thought. She needed to talk to someone. And while she didn't always see eye to eye with her father, he was a pretty good listener.

Fenella turned left into Pelham Park's long driveway. Her father had spent much of his childhood in a cottage on the estate, as his own father had once been the butler. It sounded like an idyllic life, with lots of children to play with and grounds to roam about. Fenella's father learned how to fish and hunt and she'd heard stories of his great adventures.

But when her father was fifteen years old, her grandfather's employment was terminated. Her father had never told her why. All she knew was that her grandfather, her grandmother and their four children – the eldest of whom was Fenella's father – were booted from the estate, at a time when jobs were scarce and life was tough. It was the undoing of her grandfather, who never recovered from the setback. He died in his early forties. Her grandmother struggled on, but it never got any easier and she too died at a young age. Losing their livelihood and home had been a tremendous blow.

Despite his early difficulties, Fenella's father earned a law degree and became a doting husband and father. He developed a passion for art and shared this love with his children, often taking Fenella and her brother, Niall, to galleries to see his favourite paintings. When Fenella's mother became ill, her
father stopped working and cared for her until she passed away.

Seven years ago, when Pelham Park was transformed into an aged-care home, Fenella was stunned that her father decided to purchase one of the self-contained apartments. He could have lived anywhere, but he insisted that he was tired of living alone and wanted to be among people his own age. Fenella had wondered if it was her father's perverse way of getting his own back. His family had been kicked off the estate but now he was going to buy part of the mansion and no one would be able to tell him to leave. After what the Kennington-Joneses had done to her grandfather, she really couldn't understand it at all.

She pulled into a vacant parking spot at the side of the building and hopped out of the car. Pelham Park was a beautiful building, with double-storey bay windows and a rooftop colonnade. The honey-coloured stone was pretty but there was something overbearing about the place that Fenella couldn't quite put her finger on.

She buzzed herself through the front doors and into the majestic timber-panelled entrance hall.

‘Good afternoon, DS Freeman,' a sunshiny voice called from afar.

Fenella plastered a smile on her face. ‘Good afternoon, matron,' she replied.

‘Come to see your father?' The woman almost trilled, such was the sing-song nature of her voice.

Fenella wanted to tell her that she'd come to investigate a murder, just to shake the old bird up a bit. Matron Bright asked the same question every time she saw her and every time the answer was the same. What did the woman think she was there for?

Fenella resisted the temptation to embellish the reason for her visit. ‘Yes, how is he?'

‘You know your father. He's a happy chap,' the woman said and bounced away.

Matron Marigold Bright was one of those people Fenella found unreasonably irritating. She'd never slighted Fenella and was inordinately kind to her father, yet Fenella could barely stand to be in the same room as the woman. Unkind thoughts sprang immediately to mind. And not just about her. The whole staff seemed to be made of up of strange people who spent their entire lives smiling, as if looking after a house full of geriatrics and a nursing home wing where most of the residents had forgotten their own names, was something to look forward to each day.

Her own career may have hit a rough spot, but Fenella would prefer to chase criminals any day of the week, even on wild goose chases like the one she'd just had.

The afternoon sun streamed through the stained-glass windows on the stairwell, lending more colour to the brightly patterned runner. Fenella walked up to the first floor. She wondered how on earth just one family ever lived in such a ludicrously large house. Nowadays there were thirty good-sized apartments on the first floor alone, each with a bedroom, sitting room, kitchen and bathroom. Her father resided halfway along one of the hallways in the left wing. She rang the buzzer and waited for him to answer.

The old man opened the door. ‘Hello Fen, you home from school already?' he said as she walked through.

Fenella clenched her jaw. ‘Dad, I'm not at school any more. Remember?'

Donald looked at his daughter. He paused for a few moments. ‘Oh, of course, I was just kidding, you know.'

But Fenella wasn't so sure. There had been several occasions recently when he'd asked her about school
or if her mum would be home from the shops soon. She was starting to worry about him.

‘I was close by and thought I'd pop in for a cuppa. Not busy, are you?'

‘No, not at all, love. Matron Bright brought me up a slice of cake. I can share it with you,' he offered.

‘Of course she did,' Fenella muttered as she followed her father into the sitting room.

Donald continued into the kitchen but something on the dining room table caught his daughter's eye. A stunning oil painting, as yet unframed. She walked over to inspect it more closely and marvelled at the movement of the horses as they thundered down the track. She glanced at the signature in the bottom right-hand corner and sighed.

‘I was going to give you a ring. My radio's on the blink and I wondered if you could get me a new one next time you're at the shops,' Donald called.

‘Yeah, sure,' Fenella replied. Then she thought for a moment. ‘Actually, I think I might have a spare one at home.'

‘That'd be perfect, love,' Donald replied.

He filled the kettle, located two mugs and scooped three heaped spoons of tea into a battered silver pot.

‘Your brother telephoned this morning,' he said. ‘His new exhibition is doing wonderfully well. He and Sophie and the children send their love.'

‘That's nice,' Fenella mumbled. As children Fenella and Niall had been close, but when her brother won a competition that propelled his career into the stratosphere, their relationship changed. Niall moved to France, met Sophie and was busy being one of the world's most sought-after artists.

Her father reappeared and set a tea tray on the table. He quickly rolled up the painting and placed it to the side.

‘Did you look at it?' he said, nodding towards the art.

‘Mmm. Perfect as always.' There was a tinge of resentment in her voice.

‘Are you all right, Fen?' Donald asked as he began to pour the tea.

‘No, not really.' Fenella added some milk.

‘It can't be as bad as all that, can it?'

‘I need a case, Dad. A proper case. If I'm ever going to get out of here and work my way up the ladder I can't be investigating stolen vehicles that have already been returned to their owners. That pair of imbeciles I work with have no idea,' Fenella blathered.

Her father offered her a slice of cake. ‘Why don't you quit the Force and do something else, while you're still young.'

‘Really? Like what?' Fenella snapped.

‘Like that.' The old man pointed at the rolled-up painting. ‘You've got more talent in your little finger than your brother and look at how well he's doing.'

‘Stop it, Dad. You know why I joined the police – because I failed at that thing I was supposed to be so good at.'

‘You didn't fail, Fen. A couple of bad reviews and you threw it all away.' Donald Freeman stared at his daughter.

‘I don't want to talk about it. I'm a detective. A really good one, but I can't spend the rest of my days chasing crimes that don't exist,' Fenella snapped.

‘Well, you know how I feel about it,' her father said.

‘Yes, and it's a bit rich coming from you. How many years did you spend as a criminal lawyer?'

‘But I never represented anyone I didn't think deserved my help,' the old man insisted.

It was true that Donald Freeman had never taken on the worst of the worst. There were no murderers or violent criminals on his books. But there was a
long line of thieves – so many so, that his nickname around the traps had been ‘Fagin'. It was a constant source of tension between him and Fenella. Even now in his retirement he'd frequently take up the cause of the criminals. His argument was that people weren't necessarily born bad, but that often circumstances meant that they had to do some bad things to survive.

Fenella didn't agree and lived by the motto ‘Commit the crime, do the time.'

‘Well, I'm sure something will come up soon.' Donald nodded thoughtfully and took a sip of his tea.

Fenella picked up her mug. ‘I hope you're right, Dad. I hope you're right.'

Alice-Miranda studied the first clue.

‘“Tie a yellow ribbon round the
blank blank blank
.” Three words.'

‘Huh?' Millie frowned. ‘What's that supposed to mean? Have you seen any yellow ribbons anywhere? What are we supposed to tie it around?'

‘It's a song,' Alice-Miranda replied. ‘“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree”.'

‘How would you know that?' Millie asked. ‘Seriously, Alice-Miranda, sometimes I think there
must be a fifty-year-old woman trapped in that eight-year-old body of yours.'

‘I've heard it on the radio. Mrs Oliver listens to an old-fashioned station. Some of the songs are terrible but some are pretty catchy. Now we've just got to find an oak tree.'

The girls spun around, scanning the garden and the fields.

‘What about them?' Millie pointed at the driveway, which was lined by large trees.

Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘Plane trees.'

‘Oh, I thought they were sort of pretty,' Millie said.

Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘I don't mean
plain
as in
dull
. They're called plane trees, the same spelling as aeroplane. It's just their name.'

Millie grinned. ‘I think I need some gardening lessons from Charlie. What about around the back?'

The two girls scooted off to see what they could find.

Caprice had also figured out the answer, but she and Susannah had gone in the opposite direction and found themselves near the gymnasium. They were heading back to the front of the house when Susannah spotted Alice-Miranda and Millie.

‘We should follow them,' Susannah suggested. ‘Alice-Miranda is the smartest person I've ever met.'

‘Until now, maybe,' Caprice retorted, then raced in the girls' direction.

‘There!' Alice-Miranda pointed. A lush canopy of leaves rose above a high wall. ‘On the other side.'

She and Millie ran towards the rear garden, past a volleyball court and some sheds, with Caprice and Susannah hot on their heels.

They rounded the garden wall and found a climbing course. Right in the middle with a rope bridge attached was a giant oak tree.

‘There it is,' Caprice shouted and sprinted towards the tree. The girls had to find a token and they wanted the one labelled ‘1', to show they were the first to solve the puzzle.

Millie chased after her as fast as she could. ‘Number one is ours!' she shouted.

Caprice reached the tree, puffing and blowing. Her eyes searched for the tokens. But Millie spotted them first and snatched the small circular disc bearing a ‘1'.

‘What?' Give me that!' Caprice demanded.

Millie shook her head. ‘No. I saw it first.'

Susannah and Alice-Miranda reached the tree.

‘I'll get the next clue,' said Alice-Miranda. She ran to look for the box that Beth had explained would contain the next clue. Susannah spotted it sitting on top of a post that formed the start of the low ropes course. She bolted towards it and opened the lid, handing Alice-Miranda an envelope before taking another for herself.

‘Why are you helping her?' Caprice bellowed.

Susannah looked sheepish. ‘Sorry,' she mumbled. ‘But we're friends and friends help each other.'

‘Not when it's a competition, they don't.' Caprice snatched the clue from Susannah's hand and charged around the corner of the wall. ‘Are you coming or not?' she screeched.

‘Sorry, Alice-Miranda,' said Susannah. ‘I hadn't realised it was that big a deal.'

‘It's not,' Millie said. ‘Except to
her
.'

Alice-Miranda opened the envelope and read the clue aloud. ‘“I am frozen to the spot to view my domain.”'

‘What's that supposed to mean?' Millie asked.

‘Think about it. What can be frozen?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Um, an ice block,' Millie replied.

‘Yes, but I don't think the cook will want us raiding the freezer,' Alice-Miranda said as she studied the map of the grounds.

‘What about a statue?' Millie asked.

‘Of course!' Alice-Miranda's eyes widened. ‘But where? Did you see anything out the front?'

Millie shook her head.

Alice-Miranda tucked the map into her pocket and grabbed Millie's hand. The girls took off running towards the quadrangle.

‘Didn't it say something about “surveying my domain”?' Alice-Miranda asked as the girls reached the little raised platform where the teachers gave their announcements.

‘So we're looking for somewhere high. The statue must overlook something,' Millie agreed.

The group's camp leader, Beth, was walking towards the girls.

‘Hi there,' she called. ‘Have you had any luck?'

‘Yes, we found the oak tree but now we think we're looking for a statue,' Millie said. ‘Is that right?'

Beth winked. ‘I can't tell you that. It wouldn't be fair.'

Figgy and Rufus rounded the corner. ‘Have you found anything yet?' Figgy called.

Millie nodded. ‘Sure have. We're looking for the second clue.'

Rufus looked crestfallen. ‘We haven't even worked out the first one yet. Can we phone a friend?'

Beth walked over to the boys. ‘Come on, tell me what you're thinking and I'll see if you're on the right track.'

‘Over there!' Alice-Miranda shouted and pointed to the other side of the quadrangle.

‘What are you looking at?' Millie couldn't see any statues.

‘In the garden.' Alice-Miranda hotfooted it across the pavement.

Millie ran after her but still couldn't understand what she was looking at. A statue should have been obvious, like the enormous ones in the gardens at Alice-Miranda's house.

Down among the shrubs was a gnome. Taped to his little hat were five tokens.

‘That's not what I was looking for,' Millie said with a grin. ‘He looks like Mrs Parker's gnome, Newton. He probably stowed away on the bus with us, just to get away from her. You know he likes to travel.'

‘Poor Newton. I don't think Mrs Parker lets him outside at all these days,' Alice-Miranda said with a giggle.

She reached in and picked off the token marked ‘1' while Millie searched for the box containing the next clue.

She located it at the back of the garden and pulled out an envelope just as Jacinta and Sloane arrived to take the second token.

‘Have you seen Caprice and Susannah?' Millie asked.

‘They were down the back near the tennis courts,' Sloane gasped. ‘We thought we'd be last to get here. We were number four at the tree.'

‘I'm glad you beat Caprice,' Millie said. ‘She tried to snatch our number last time. She's going to be really mad when she realises she's at least third to get here.'

Millie opened their envelope and she and Alice-Miranda sped away to read the clue: ‘Peter Rabbit's favourite food.'

‘This one's easy,' Millie said. She was starting to get the hang of the clues and remembered straight away that she'd seen a vegetable patch marked next to the tennis courts on the map. Somewhere among the carrots they would find the next clue.

The girls sprinted towards the tennis courts, passing Caprice and Susannah on the way.

‘Have you found the second clue?' Susannah asked.

Millie nodded.

Caprice's eyes were wild. ‘Stop talking to them!' She grabbed Susannah's hand and dragged her around the corner. ‘You go and get the next clue. I've got a stone in my shoe,' she whined.

Susannah did what she was told. Sep and Lucas had just pulled the third token from the gnome, leaving Susannah to collect the fourth.

Susannah came back with the next clue.

‘What number did you get?' Caprice demanded.

Susannah reluctantly held up four fingers.

‘Argh!' Caprice clenched her fist and shuddered. ‘They can't win. I won't let them!' She snatched the clue from Susannah and tore it open.

‘Easy!' she blurted. She started for the vegetable patch, where she'd seen Millie and Alice-Miranda heading. There'd been no stone in her shoe at all. She'd just wanted to see which direction the girls went.

Millie and Alice-Miranda had found the patch easily enough but the treasure was proving more difficult.

Susannah followed Caprice as she ran through the tomatoes and sunflowers.

‘There!' Caprice pointed at a basket of carrots covered in numbers.

Millie was watching from a few beds away. She grabbed Alice-Miranda's hand and the girls raced towards Susannah and Caprice, but Caprice had already taken the first token and found the next clue.

‘So, still think you're the smartest girls in the school?' Caprice taunted.

Millie pulled a face. ‘You haven't won yet.'

‘Oh, but I will,' Caprice promised and darted off to open the clue.

‘How much time do we have left?' Millie asked.

Alice-Miranda glanced at her watch. ‘About twelve minutes to solve the last two clues.'

The fourth clue proved trickier than all the others and turned out to be the shed where the canoes and kayaks were stored. Somehow Lucas and Sep managed to get there first, leaving Caprice and Susannah with the second token and Alice-Miranda and Millie in third place.

The race to the finish was neck and neck.

‘Quick, what's the clue?' Millie's heart hammered inside her chest. She wanted to beat Caprice more than she'd wanted anything for a very long time.

‘“The spring is in the water”,' Alice-Miranda read. ‘I've got it!' She grabbed Millie's hand and charged off.

‘Where are we going?' Millie shouted.

‘The indoor pool,' Alice-Miranda puffed. ‘If there's a diving board I think that's what we're looking for.'

‘We could lock the others out,' Millie said.

‘But that would be cheating.' Alice-Miranda gave her friend a playful shove as they ran along the path they thought would take them to the pool.

Caprice had figured out the clue too and was bolting after them. As Alice-Miranda and Millie neared the building, they looked for the entrance. There was a lot of glass and the location of the doors wasn't clear.

‘I'll go the other way,' Millie panted. She took the path that led right while Alice-Miranda went left.

‘Go left!' Caprice barked at Susannah.

The poor girl wasn't keen to be on the sharp end of Caprice's tongue again and did exactly as she was
told. Caprice raced after Millie just as the red-haired girl found the door and pushed it open.

‘No!' Caprice screeched and followed Millie inside. Caprice spun around and looked at the door, then reached out and turned the latch.

Millie scanned the pool deck. Sure enough, a diving board jutted out across the water. She ran for it. There were five tokens on the ladder. Millie reached out to take the first one.

‘No!' Caprice shouted. She was right behind her. ‘No, no, no! That's mine.' She stamped her foot like a two-year-old.

‘Caprice, it's a game,' Millie snapped.

‘But I don't lose anything!' Caprice snarled, poking Millie sharply in the chest.

‘Too bad, you just did.'

Outside, Alice-Miranda and Susannah finally located the door only to find it locked. Alice-Miranda wondered how that had happened and pushed the thought of Millie's earlier comment about the pool out of her head. Why would she lock the door with Caprice already inside? The girls ran to find Mr Plumpton or Beth.

Inside, Caprice and Millie were still arguing. ‘Give me that token,' Caprice demanded.

Millie shook her head.

Caprice's eyes narrowed. ‘Give it to me. Or else.'

‘Or else what? You'll push me in the pool?' Millie laughed at her. ‘Seriously, it's just a game. As long as you complete the task, you'll pass.'

‘But I don't want to pass. I want to be first. Besides, how could I push you in the pool when I'm the one with my back to it?'

Millie had begun to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with Caprice. Competitive wasn't the half of it.

Caprice was watching over Millie's shoulder. She waited until she could see Alice-Miranda and the teachers come into view near the doors.

‘Stop it, Millie, stop pushing me,' she yelled as loudly as she could.

Millie looked at the girl, bewildered.

Caprice stepped backwards, edging closer and closer to the water.

‘What are you doing?' Millie demanded.

‘You'll see,' Caprice snapped. She could see Beth and Mr Plumpton through the glass.

Beth was fumbling with the key on the lanyard around her neck.

‘Stop it! Don't touch me!' Caprice screeched at the top of her voice.

‘I'm not touching you,' Millie said. ‘Are you hallucinating?'

‘No, of course not,' Caprice hissed. ‘You know, I don't think you deserve to pass this test, after what you did to me.'

‘What did I do to you?' Millie said. ‘Come away from the edge.'

‘Why? Are you worried I might fall in?' Caprice pouted.

‘Oh, for goodness sake.' Millie lunged at the girl and grabbed for her arm. Just as she did, there was a loud splash as Caprice toppled backwards into the water.

Outside, Beth finally managed to unlock the door. Mr Plumpton ran towards the pool while Beth raced to fetch a lifebuoy.

‘Oh heavens, Caprice, I'm coming!' Mr Plumpton kicked off his shoes and leapt into the water, clothes and all. He sank like a stone, before pushing off the bottom of the pool and snatching the child under one arm. The pair burst to the surface, coughing and spluttering.

Caprice seemed to be fighting Mr Plumpton all the way and the poor man struggled to keep his head above the water.

‘Here, grab this.' Beth threw the lifebuoy, which the teacher caught.

The young woman hauled and heaved the sodden pair to the ladder, before grabbing Caprice and pulling her out of the water.