Search for a Star (12 page)

“I thought it was a bit odd,” said Ellie truthfully. “But then I wondered…you see…I think you know Charlie Daniels!” she gabbled before she could stop herself. “And you didn't want me to find out.”

Just then someone else appeared through an inner door. It was a boy who looked a bit older than Ellie. He was in time to hear what she'd said and laughed. The woman looked urgently at him, but the same time as she said, “No,” he said, “Yes.”

The woman looked cross. She turned to the boy. “Don't, Daniel,” she said.

“It's all right,” he said. “It doesn't matter any more.”

Ellie looked from one to the other, but neither of them seemed tempted to elaborate. Finding Ferdinand safe and, bizarrely, with the very woman she'd been hoping to meet in the park, she felt reckless, and didn't care if they thought her rude to pursue the subject.

“I found out that Charlie Daniels used to have two dogs,” she told the boy. “They were called Snippit and Snappit.”

The boy looked very startled for a moment, then recovered himself and smiled. “And your point is…?” he said.

“Well,” said Ellie. “Maybe Snippit died. If so, I'm sorry, but you still have Snappit, don't you? Ferdinand used to play with him and Beastly until…”

The boat rocked again and Ellie wondered if it might be Sophie. But it wasn't her. It was a man, wearing a badge that showed he worked for Replica Boats Inc. He seemed both worried and annoyed.

He looked at the woman. “I do apologize. I know you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll remove this young lady and her dog immediately.”

“NO!”

They all stared at Ellie. “I'm sorry,” she said to the woman and the boy called Daniel. “I will go in a minute, and I'm sorry about the dog, and disturbing you and everything…” Her voice faltered for a moment and then she went stubbornly on. “I didn't know you were going to be here…but you are…and I've been looking for Charlie Daniels for so long. I've tried the publisher, the agent…trawled through thousands of websites…I went to a bookshop and the library. And I'd wanted to talk to you in the park,” she said accusingly to the woman. “But you stopped coming, and so I had to give up. I had worked so hard at it…”

“And you've done so well!” said Daniel. “Really. You have.”

The woman put her hand on his sleeve but he shook her off gently. “It's okay, Mum,” he said. “Really. It's all right. I don't mind now.” He smiled at the man who had offered to remove Ellie. “She can stay,” he said, and looked at his mother. “Can't she?” His mother looked exasperated, but then she smiled at her son and nodded slightly.

“What about the dog?”

“I'll take the dog.”

Everyone turned to where Sophie was standing in the doorway. She had come on board much more quietly than Ellie or the man, and no one had heard her. “Give him to me, Ellie. I'll take Ferdinand back. After all, I owe you.” She looked at the official. “It's my fault he's here, so if you need to escort me off the premises go ahead.”

Ellie picked up Ferdinand's lead and handed him over to Sophie. She smiled at Ellie. “Don't worry,” she said. “I won't say a word to anyone…about anything. You've obviously got stuff to do here. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Sophie!” Ellie wondered what on earth Sophie would say to Angel. No doubt Ellie would find out later, and it wasn't something she was looking forward to. She hoped Sophie wouldn't get into too much trouble.

When Sophie and the official had gone Ellie stood in the cabin of the boat, wondering what to say next. The woman stood up and went over to close the door. It was suddenly very quiet.

“So,” said Daniel with an amused expression on his face. “Tell us exactly what you know, and how you know it, and I'll tell you if you're right.”

“All right,” said Ellie. “I'll tell you what I know, but it's not very much.”

“Wait a moment,” said the woman. “I could really do with a cup of tea. Do sit down if you're staying, and chat to Daniel for a minute. I'm going to put the kettle on. Would you like a cup of tea, or a soft drink? The fridge is quite well equipped I think.” Without waiting for an answer she disappeared into the galley, and Ellie looked at Daniel.

He patted the seat next to him. “Sit down. And call me Dan. Mum is the only one who calls me Daniel, and then only when she's cross.” He grinned. “Tell me how you found out about Snappit and Snippit.”

Ellie's heart gave a thump. He wasn't denying it! She must have been right. He and his mum
did
have something to do with Charlie Daniels's family…at the very least they must surely be friends. Whoever they were, Ellie was getting very close to the reclusive author. Maybe he was even on the boat at this very minute!

“I found a blog,” she told Dan, trying hard to sound calm, even though she could feel her excitement rising. “By someone called Matt Budgeon.”

Dan looked astonished. “Really? I thought he'd stopped that ages ago.”

“It was quite old,” she said. “I'd looked through all the newest websites, blogs and articles about Charlie Daniels that I could find, but there was nothing to go on. So I tried starting at the back and working forward instead. There still wasn't much, except for the old blog. I needed to get in touch,” she explained, “to ask if he'd let me interview him.”

Dan was shaking his head. “Hang on. What made you think Charlie Daniels would let you interview him, when he hasn't
ever
given an interview?”

Ellie blushed. “Well, I want to be a journalist,” she explained. “Like my dad was. And I have this sort of part-time job for a magazine…well it's work experience really but…”

“So what do your mum and dad think about you chasing after people for interviews?” It was Dan's mum, carrying a tray with a mug of tea, two glasses of orange juice and a plate of expensive-looking biscuits.

Ellie took a glass of orange. “Thanks. Mum's fine about it. And my dad died just before I was born. He was a war correspondent.”

The boy stared at her. “Wow. I mean…sorry.”

Ellie found herself smiling at him to make light of his confusion. “It's okay. And I have his notebook, which is really cool.”

“So. You read Matt's blog, which is amazing, because we're mates from school, and he didn't do the blog for long. It was just a joke. He was always into computers and the net…and names. In fact Charlie Daniels was his idea. He was so pleased when we decided to go with it – it made his day.”

Ellie wondered what Dan meant.

The boy's mum sipped her tea. “So what did Matt Budgeon say that alerted you to us?”

“He was writing about
dogs
' names. He was saying that it was good to have names in pairs, and one pair he mentioned was Snippit and Snappit, who belonged to the ‘soon to be famous' Charlie Daniels.”

“He said that?” Dan was laughing as he looked at his mum.

His mum offered Ellie a biscuit. “I can fill in the rest. You saw me and the dogs in the park, heard Snappit's name and put two and two together.”

“I'm sorry,” said Ellie, nibbling the biscuit, “I didn't want to take pictures, or reveal where he lives, or anything like that. I just hoped he'd let me ask him some questions about his writing and the films.”

“And now you're getting your wish,” said the boy.

Ellie looked at him. “I am?”

He nodded.

“You mean…he's here? And will talk to me?” Ellie fumbled in her bag for her notebook. “I won't take up much of his time…”

Now Dan
and
his mum were laughing. Ellie felt a bit put out, but the woman soon took pity on her. “You'll have to tell her now, Dan. Or do you want me to?”

“I will.” The boy cleared his throat. “You are already talking to Charlie Daniels.”

Ellie stared at him, open-mouthed. “You? You're Charlie Daniels?” She probably sounded rude, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't in her wildest dreams imagined that the author would be so young.

“Well, I'm the Daniels part, or Daniel, to be correct as it's my name. The other half is my mum here, Charlotte…better known as Charlie.”

“But…” Ellie looked from one to the other. “I thought he was a man.”

“That's what we wanted everyone to think,” said Charlie. “You see, a couple of years ago, when we got this big advance for the books, Daniel was still at school, working for his A levels. If the papers had got hold of the story, he wouldn't have had any peace.”

“The publishers suggested we come up with a pseudonym and Matt's name for us seemed perfect,” said Dan. “And it worked really well, but it's not so important to keep the secret now. I've taken my exams, and I'm going to take a gap year before university, while Mum and I write the next book.” He threw his arms wide to include the whole cabin. “And we're going off sailing!”

His enthusiasm was infectious, and Ellie found herself smiling back. “In this boat?”

He nodded. “We've just bought it! It's our first big treat since we started earning so much money. Do you like it?”

“I do,” said Ellie, full of admiration.

As they devoured the biscuits, Dan and Charlie explained how it had all happened. How, when Dan's dad had died a few years earlier, Dan had told his mum that he'd help to make enough money for them to live. How it had started more as a way for them to share a hobby, but had ended up as a bit of an obsession, one that turned into the Fanghurst Trilogy that had sold so many copies and was now being turned into three films.

“The thing is,” said Charlie thoughtfully, “I'm not sure our publisher will want a teen magazine like
Heart
to be the one to reveal the secret. They are planning a big event this summer. They want to keep the books uppermost in people's minds. It's an ideal time, with the first film being such a hit, and the second one due out soon.”

“Well I don't want to spoil their plans,” said Ellie wistfully.

“But Ellie did all the sleuthing to find out,” said Dan. “It won't be fair if she doesn't get her scoop. At least her magazine ought to be able to reveal who we are at the same time as the publisher.”

“It's going to depend on timing,” said Charlie. “I expect your magazine is monthly, isn't it?”

Ellie nodded.

“Well, our publisher won't want to risk waiting any longer, now you've uncovered our secret,” said Charlie, “in case it gets leaked. I don't know if it would be possible for you to run the story at the same time or not. But I tell you what: Dan, why don't you give
Heart
your first interview? We'll have to do a joint one I expect, pretty quickly, but I don't see why Ellie shouldn't do an interview just with you. You're the one who will interest a magazine like
Heart
. I'll clear it with the publishers. We haven't signed over
all
our decision making for publicity.”

“That would be
brilliant
!” said Ellie, hardly able to believe her ears. “It's exactly the sort of thing the readers of
Heart
will love.”

“I'll phone our publicist,” said Charlie with a smile. “To be honest, although it was good to stay out of the limelight for a while, it's rather a relief to know that we won't have to live a lie for much longer.”

“Will you be prepared to have photographs taken as well?” said Ellie hopefully. “You could come into the office for the interview and a photo shoot if you like.”

“Why not?” said Dan. “It sounds fun, and now the secret is out there's no point being shy. But look…in case none of this works out…I'll make sure you have a couple of tickets for the premiere of the next film. How about that as a reward for your persistence?”

As soon as Ellie had got the contact numbers for Dan and his mum she hurried back to the office. Some of the staff would have left already, but she needed to collect some of her things, and she hoped that she might be able to make sure that Sophie was okay. Had she got into terrible trouble with Angel for bringing Ferdinand back so late? And would Ellie be in trouble too, for not arriving back with him at all?