How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini (8 page)

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Chapter 13

They fought their way through the brambles and drifts of litter that lined the banks of the river. The water swelled to their right. To their left, warehouses crouched among the thin strip of woodland.

‘Not far,' Gez said. ‘Just a mile, I think.'

‘Yuck.' Caitlin shook an old lolly wrapper off her foot.

The river was held in check by concrete banks. Ali noticed that as they walked, the banks spread further apart. Water, banks, sky were all the same shade of hundred-wash grey. They were at the port.

And there was the sea!

It moved in swirls of navy and black, like a giant snake shedding its skin. A few fishing boats bobbed near the port wall. Further out, much further, huge cargo ships patrolled the depths.

‘Caitlin,' Ali said, ‘I've been thinking. How did the gang get hold of Miss Osborne's top? The orange one.'

Caitlin stopped walking and turned to Ali. Her face looked pale. ‘I don't know. Perhaps they broke into her house and took it.'

‘Oh no!' Gez gasped.

‘What?'

‘I just remembered something. Something Woody said last night! I can't believe I forgot it!'

‘Well, spit it out,' Caitlin said crossly.

‘He said they had a woman. One who was being difficult. But that they would get rid of her on Sunday!'

‘What?'

‘I know. I'm sorry. I'm a rubbish detective inspector. It just went out of my head,' Gez mumbled.

Ali stepped closer and put a hand on Gez's shoulder. ‘It's OK. Tell us exactly what you heard.'

‘Just that they had a woman, and she wouldn't be making trouble after Sunday. It was a threat.'

‘Murder?' Ali felt cold.

Gez nodded slowly.

‘That's it. I've had enough,' Caitlin said. She turned away from the port and started pushing back through the undergrowth.

‘Where are you going?' Ali asked.

‘To find Miss Osborne. To stop these people!'

‘Caitlin. That's exactly what we are doing right now. Following the clues. Come on – you can't just rush off, you don't know where to start looking. The docks are our main lead right now.'

‘But these people might be murderers. And they're after my dad!'

‘But,' Gez said, ‘your dad is –'

‘Safe and sound at home!' Ali interrupted.

Ali tried to glare at Gez without Caitlin noticing. Gez had been about to say Dave was the boss! Ali shook his head. There was no way that Caitlin would believe that without proof. ‘Come on,' he said. ‘Keep your eyes open. We need to work out where they're coming from. And what they're bringing in that would be worth killing someone for.'

He pointed to a footbridge that led over the final stretch of river to the quay buildings on the other side. The bridge was rusty with age. Ali hoped it was still safe. He led them across it, treading carefully.

‘My mum says this used to be a big, important port once,' Gez said, swinging down the last few steps of the bridge. ‘Ships came from all over the world – America, India, Australia, you name it. Everyone came here. Not like now. I suppose they all use planes now.'

‘Shh,' Caitlin said. ‘You're meant to be looking, not talking.'

‘Fine,' Gez said, and marched off ahead.

In a few moments, he rushed back. ‘Suspect! Suspect in sight!'

‘What?' Ali asked. ‘Who?'

‘Look!' Gez pointed downwards. Below the quay wall, a small fishing boat was moored to a huge iron ring. A man lay in the bottom of the boat, a hat covering his face. He wasn't moving.

‘Is he asleep?' Ali whispered.

‘Perhaps he's dead,' Gez said. ‘Perhaps he's a victim, not a suspect.'

The man groaned and lifted the hat off his face. ‘Perhaps he's just trying to get some rest,' he said.

Ali jumped back. Caitlin too.

‘Let DI Brown handle this one,' Gez whispered. He stepped forward. ‘Are you a fisherman? Do you work here?'

‘Aye,' the man said. ‘Here and all over. There aren't many places I haven't sailed.'

Gez's eyes lit up. ‘Have you ever seen any sharks?' he asked.

The man grinned. ‘One or two. Basking sharks round here.'

‘What about octopus and giant squid?'

‘Aye. I've seen some strange things at sea.'

‘Like what?' Gez stepped forward eagerly.

The man sat up and reached for a cord that hung around his neck. He pulled it out; a tooth, pointed and fierce, hung from it. ‘Here. I saw the shark that this came from. It was in Australia. It hunted along the Great Barrier Reef. It was the size of a bus, with teeth like razors.'

‘Cool!' Gez grinned again.

The man shrugged. Then he tucked the tooth away again under his clothes.

Caitlin tutted. She stepped forward, pushing Gez out of the way. ‘Do people still use the docks?' she asked. Ali snapped to attention. Caitlin was right: they were here to investigate and Gez was getting distracted.

‘Of course. I'm here, aren't I?'

‘Yes, but –'

‘She means, is it still busy here?' Ali interrupted. ‘Or would this be a good place to choose if you were doing something secret?'

‘Secret?' The man frowned.

‘Yes,' Gez said. ‘You know, smuggling guns, or bringing in drugs. That sort of thing.'

‘Smuggling? You've been watching too many films.'

‘Doesn't it happen any more?' Caitlin asked.

‘No. No, it doesn't,' the man said. ‘And if it did, it isn't the sort of thing you should go asking about. You'll get yourselves into trouble. We might not have great white sharks here, but there are other dangerous things that travel these waters. Some nights, you can smell them in the air. You want to stay well clear.' The man stretched up and pulled the mooring rope free. He threw it down into the boat, without bothering to coil it. Then he pushed off the dock wall with the end of an oar.

The words
Deep Ocean
were painted in curly letters on the side.
On the hull
, Ali corrected himself. The
Deep Ocean
edged away from them. The man clearly wasn't going to tell them whatever it was he knew.

‘What's the name of that boat?' Gez whispered. ‘Seep? Qeep something?'

‘It's Deep Ocean,' Ali said, surprised.

‘I told you,' Caitlin said. ‘He's not that bright.'

‘That's not true!' Gez said sharply. ‘I just can't read that silly swirly writing. It's stupid, not me!'

Caitlin was ready to answer. This was headed towards a proper row, Ali thought. And just because of some daft lettering.

Ali's eyes widened. He had thought of something. ‘Gez,' he said, ‘the writing on the van – did it look like this?' He drew quickly in the dust by their feet.

.

Jones

.

‘Yeh,' Gez said slowly. ‘It did a bit.'

Ali grinned. Even Caitlin smiled a bit.

‘Gez,' Ali said, ‘it isn't a “T”, it's a “J”. It's Jones and Sons.'

Gez's face fell. Ali couldn't stand to see him look so unhappy. ‘Don't worry. It's an easy mistake to make, especially in the dark. Especially when it had been painted over.'

‘And especially when the gangsters were chasing after me!' Gez said, more brightly.

‘Exactly,' Ali said. ‘At least now we know who we're looking for. Come on, let's get back to that phone book!'

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Chapter 14

‘There are a few Joneses. Hundreds, in fact,' Caitlin said, running her finger down the page. ‘But only one Jones and Sons. And it's a pet shop! We've got them!'

She stood up.

‘Where are you going?' Ali asked.

‘To find the people who hurt my dad. And tried to take my dog. And kidnapped Miss Osborne!' Caitlin said.

‘Caitlin, sit down,' Ali said firmly. To his amazement, Caitlin did. ‘We can't just go rushing off there. It's getting dark. The shop's probably closed now anyway.'

Caitlin looked out of Gez's kitchen window. The sky was navy-black. The
EastEnders
theme tune started in the living room. ‘OK,' she said. ‘But first thing tomorrow – and I mean first thing, Gez – we go to that shop and we are going to find out what's going on. OK?'

‘It's a deal,' said Ali.

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Chapter 15

Ali let himself into the flat. He hung his coat on one of the coat hooks by the door.
That's odd, those hooks weren't there this morning
, he thought.

‘Ali?' Mum sounded worried.

Ali walked through into the living room. ‘Hi, Mum.'

‘Ali! Where have you been?' Mum leapt up off the sofa. She was across the room and squeezing him tight before he had a chance to answer. Then she stepped back. ‘I've been worried sick. I told you, you can't just disappear off here. It isn't like Nan's. Dave was attacked, remember?'

‘But you knew where I was,' Ali said.

‘No, I didn't. You went out this morning to play and I haven't heard from you since. I've been calling all day, but you haven't answered your phone. What was I supposed to think?'

His mobile. He'd left it in Gez's CSI kit. And Gez's mum had taken it.

‘It's at Gez's house. I'm sorry.'

‘Oh, Ali.' Mum looked cross. ‘I got you that so that we could stay in touch. That was the whole point.'

What if Gez saw something during the night? What if he needed to get in touch? ‘I'll go and get it,' Ali said. ‘It'll only take a second. I'll run straight there and back. And it isn't proper night-time yet.'

Before Mum could argue, Ali left the room and grabbed his coat. He ran out of the front door and into the lift. Then he was back out into the night.