Malice Read online

  The little township was quiet at this mid-morning time, just a few people shopping, cars parked along the edge of the road, kids running around free from school for the holidays. I headed straight for the general store. I was sure Rose could tell us a lot more. Repro stepped ahead of me at the doorway, gallantly holding back the plastic strips that kept the flies out of the shop so that I could walk through.

  Rose looked up from her weather charts and a shy smile lit up her face.

  ‘Good morning, Rose,’ I said, looking at some highly polished apples piled in a basket on the counter. ‘I’ll take six of those, thanks,’ I said, pointing to them. Then I lowered my voice. ‘Rose, I need your help. Can you tell me anything you might know about the Windraker? I got the feeling you were going to tell us something last time before we were interrupted.’

  Rose’s face paled. Wrong question, Winter, I scolded myself. But as I was kicking myself for scaring Rose, Repro had leaned an elbow on the counter as if he owned the place, winked at Rose in what he must have thought was a most alluring manner and asked, ‘Can you tell us anything you know, ma’am? Anything you might know about that old house, Perdita, and ghosts and secret passages? Any local knowledge about shipwrecked treasure?’

  I kicked him hard on the ankle, frowning fiercely, my eyes messaging—Shut up, Repro, as a slight movement of the curtain behind Rose alerted me to the fact that someone was there … again.

  ‘What was that for?’ he asked, looking very hurt.

  I did my best to cover up Repro’s words. ‘My friend is talking about a comic book he’s reading. It’s full of secret tunnels and ghosts and pirates and things.’

  ‘I am not! I don’t read comics—’ I kicked him again, really hard this time. Repro got it. ‘Oh, that comic? The one about the pirates?’

  But it was too late.

  No-one came out from behind the curtain—instead, I got the sense of a fleeting figure behind it, and heard a door slamming out the back somewhere.

  I grabbed Repro firmly and dragged him, protesting loudly, out of the shop.

  ‘Just sit here,’ I said, squashing him down onto a bus stop seat near the shop. ‘Don’t move and don’t say a word to anyone until I get back.’

  I took no notice of his muttering, ‘bossy boots woman … pushing a fellow around’. I ran as fast as I could, around the corner, desperate to see who had run out the back of the shop. But when I pulled up at the end of the lane and the back of the shop, no-one was there, just the back gate swinging on its hinges. Whoever had been listening to us had vanished. Then from somewhere ahead of me, I heard the sound of a powerful car engine revving up and screeching off.

  Then this too, faded into the distance. I immediately thought of the petrolhead in the red sports car. Disappointed and still angry with Repro, I stomped back to the bus stop, to find him sitting there, dejected, and fiddling with his red and green scarf.

  ‘I didn’t know,’ he tried to explain. ‘I thought I was being helpful. Putting her at ease, so that she’d open up.’

  ‘Come on, let’s go get those apples,’ I said, ‘and some more sausages. And some fresh bread.’

  When we went back inside, Rose’s manner was very different. This time, there was no smile and she avoided eye contact as she got the supplies. She looked scared, shrunken. No way was she going to say a word about any secrets today. I paid and we left.

  We pulled up outside Perdita and Ryan showed us where he’d started to clear a path through the grove.

  ‘Great progress,’ I said, ‘better than us. We didn’t do much good in town. But I’ve got sausages for lunch.’

  ‘Cool. I’m going to keep going out here, so call me when they’re cooked. And Boges is back too.’

  Perdita

  1:05 pm

  As we came into the house, Boges was downstairs like a shot from the lookout room.

  ‘Prepare yourself for a shock,’ said Boges. ‘I’ve got some good news and some bad news. First, the good news. Mission accomplished. Skyshadow is safely home. Come upstairs and have a look. Bad news, we are in big trouble.’

  ‘What is it, Boges?’ I asked, now very alarmed.

  ‘Just come up to the lookout room and you’ll see what I mean.’

  Repro and I followed Boges up to the third floor, and peered at the screen of the laptop, seeing the aerial view that Skyshadow had sent back.

  ‘Spit it out, Boges,’ I said. He paused, for dramatic effect.

  ‘I’ve ID’d the woman in the mansion.’

  ‘You know her?’

  ‘I wish I didn’t. Take a look.’

  Boges clicked on a new screen and the face of the spiky haired woman appeared in grainy low resolution. But it was unmistakable. I gasped. ‘Oriana de la Force! That’s who we’re up against?’ I stood there, with my mouth open. Finally I was able to mumble. ‘She’s supposed to be in jail!’

  ‘That’s what I thought. But I did some research. She’s been released pending a judicial inquiry into her case. She’s alleging that she’s victim of a mistrial. It’s all there on my computer. You can read it for yourself.’

  I slid down the wall to the floor. ‘So she’s behind all this. She must have been employing Curly and that other person, the driver of the sports car, whoever that is. Plus security guy. Somehow, she’s found out about the shipwreck.’

  ‘She was onto the mystery of the Ormond Singularity way before we were,’ said Boges. ‘She’s got her ways of sniffing out money.’

  ‘Boges, I’ll bet she was the one who organised the private detective to break into my place. I couldn’t read the signature on that cheque when we searched his office, but I remember thinking then that there was something familiar about the handwriting. Oriana organised to steal the Perdita file. She’s never forgiven us for beating her to the Ormond Singularity and she blames us for the fact that she ended up in prison. Not to mention the indelible cat’s whiskers drawn on her cheeks, although that really wasn’t our fault. I doubt she cares! We need to be very careful. Oh no, do you think she could have sent the Drowner note? It would be just like her to do something like that to put us off the scent! She wanted Cal dead. We have to warn him. I’ll call him now.’

  ‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’ Boges asked. ‘It’ll only make him worry like crazy. He won’t be able to do anything and he can’t leave that residential school without blowing the whole course. He needs to be calm for the exams.’

  Boges had a point. ‘I guess we can handle this,’ I said, ‘but I should ring Cal—he’ll be wondering why I haven’t.’

  ‘That woman. She’s got worse since she’s been in prison. I’ll bet she’s learned some very crooked new skills inside,’ Repro said. Then he noticed the heavy old chest near where I was sitting on the floor. ‘That’s a very nice piece of cedar,’ he said. ‘What’s inside it?’

  ‘The jigsaw was in one drawer,’ I said. ‘Don’t know what else is in there. The bottom drawer’s jammed.’

  ‘These fancy fingers of mine,’ said Repro, flexing his skinny digits in the green mittens, ‘don’t know the meaning of the words “jammed” or “locked”. Let’s take a look.’ Repro examined the stuck drawer from every angle, muttering to himself. Finally, he spoke. ‘It’s been pushed in incorrectly,’ he announced, ‘you can see that uneven angle across the top.’

  He disappeared downstairs for a moment, and returned bringing his old bag with him, selecting some of his locksmith tools. He did a little filing and poking around with a fine chisel and within minutes, the stuck drawer was free.

  ‘What’s this?’ he said, lifting out an old book. Its covers had been water-damaged and they curled back, revealing damage to the interior pages.

  ‘It’s a photo album,’ I said, taking it from him, wrinkling my nose at the smell of rotting paper and damp. Sadly, it was almost totally destroyed and fell into useless lumps. But one page at the back of the album was still intact.

  The picture was a very old sepia portrait of a beautiful young wo
man with a high collar, tiny seed pearl earrings, and her hair pinned up. ‘Perdita Blanche Greenlowe, aged nineteen,’ I read on the back.

  It was very precious to have a picture of Captain Greenlowe’s tragic young daughter. In spite of my really good friends, my deep friendships with Cal, Boges, and lately, Ryan, there was still an ache in my heart for family. Even though it was just a house, I felt a strong connection to Perdita, and having a picture of its namesake was amazing. I didn’t know whether to cry with grief for her, or jump up and down with happiness at finding it. I felt someone slip an arm around me, and looked up surprised. Ryan.

  ‘I came inside to see what had happened to the sausages,’ he said, ‘and then realised everybody was up here. I know you’re sad, Winter,’ he said, ‘but this picture is a really beautiful gift. One of this old house’s good secrets.’

  I thanked Repro for opening the jammed drawer. Carefully, I took the old photograph and propped it up in my bedroom near the French windows.

  I called Cal. I told him about finding the photograph, and about Repro’s visit and how he had worked out the secret to the sea caves map and that he was now working hard on the jigsaw wpuzzle. I brought him up-to-date with almost everything, except the fact that his old enemy, Oriana de la Force, was only a relatively short distance away, and up to no good again.

  Soon it was Cal’s turn. ‘They’ve kept us insanely busy here,’ he said. ‘I’ve been working from about seven in the morning to eight at night, as well as flying five times a week. I’m cramming now for the test tomorrow morning.’ Just before he rang off, he asked, ‘Winter, are you OK? You’d tell me if there was something wrong—you promised, remember?’

  ‘Of course,’ I said quickly. ‘Good luck in the exams and I’ll see you soon.’

  DAY 29

  2 days to go …

  Perdita

  9:55 am

  It had been raining since the early hours, so we built up the fire to warm ourselves. Repro seemed to be devoting most of his time to the jigsaw puzzle. I went over to check it out. What I saw surprised and pleased me. ‘Hey!’ I said. ‘It’s a picture of Perdita, from when the house was in its heyday. The only bit left to do is the grove. Maybe the jigsaw puzzle will show us what the building in the middle is.’

  Boges had just arrived back at the house and came over to see, but I could tell that he had barely heard what I’d said. I understood. He could only focus on our caving mission and Oriana de la Force’s next move.

  ‘Right now,’ said Boges, ‘we’ve still got the upper hand. Oriana doesn’t know how to get into the caves, but it’s only a matter of time before Curly works it out. I’ve just had a look over the cliff and this bad weather is whipping up the swell, so I reckon we go for it tonight at the next high tide.’

  6:11 pm

  The hours ticked down to the time for the high tide and the rain continued to pour down. Repro got up from working on the jigsaw puzzle and came over, sticking out his hands in front of the fire.

  ‘Ryan,’ I said, ‘maybe you could lend Repro something he could swim in?’

  ‘Um,’ said Repro. ‘About this night swim in the caves … ’

  ‘Don’t tell me you don’t swim?’ I asked.

  ‘Like a fish,’ he said. ‘But … ’

  ‘But what, Repro?’ I asked. ‘I thought you’d jump at the chance to navigate through dark tunnels again.’

  He sighed. ‘I have to leave, or I’ll be in big trouble with Correctional Services. I have to get the train back to the city. It leaves at 8:30.’

  ‘You can’t possibly walk back into town in this weather,’ I said. ‘All your layers will get sodden.’

  ‘Winter,’ said Boges, passing over the keys to his truck. ‘Ryan and I can go get the metal box. We don’t need three people splashing around in there, and this rain is just going to make it miserable. If you run Repro into town, you might be able to get Rose by herself. Anyway, we won’t be leaving until after ten—high tide isn’t till midnight,’ he continued. ‘It would be better if I set you up to monitor the live feed input from Skyshadow. If it looks like we’re going to get some unwelcome company, you might have to warn us.’

  ‘How? You don’t have underwater phones.’ For once, Boges didn’t have an answer. ‘OK, OK,’ I said, taking the keys. ‘I get the feeling that Rose would love to help us—if she could. Come on, Repro. Grab your bag.’ I picked up my phone and some money, and pushed them into my back pocket.

  7:13 pm

  We set off through the rain, windscreen wipers racing as I strained to see what was ahead of me on the road. Fortunately there wasn’t anyone else around. We crawled along, fearing that we’d get bogged. I hoped that the rain was helping Harriet a little, but I was concerned about how Abercrombie House might stand up to this deluge, as I remembered the state of the roof.

  It seemed to take ages to get into town. Eventually, we made it into the village and I dropped Repro off near the station under an awning. Rain poured off the edges and Repro danced to avoid the drips.

  ‘Any other problems you might have,’ said Repro, ‘just let me know. I’ll do what I can. Best of luck with solving the mystery. And by the way, I finished the jigsaw puzzle for you. My fingers just seemed to know which bits to put in.’

  ‘Fantastic, thanks! Bye, Repro,’ I said, and watched his lanky figure disappearing into the booking office. From the doorway, he leaned out to wave to me one last time. I waved back, smiling.

  I ducked into the shop, but Rose wasn’t there. Instead, a young girl was behind the counter. ‘Wicked weather, isn’t it?’ she said, ‘And there’s a cyclone system moving down the coast. You’re just in time, we’re about to close. What can I get you?’

  ‘Cyclone? What do we do?’ I asked, alarmed.

  ‘We close everything up, batten down the hatches as they say. Tape up the windows and hope that they don’t blow in. It’s the flooding I worry about. But you should be safe up on Clifftop Drive.’

  ‘Oh, OK. I hope everything will be alright down here,’ I said. I was wondering whether swimming through the cave system was such a good idea now that the weather was getting worse. The slow drive into town meant I was running later than I’d expected. I was sure I’d be back before they set off. Just in case, I called Boges, but it went straight to voicemail. Ryan’s phone did the same thing. I left a message ‘Call me!’ on both of them. I hoped that the caves’ narrow entrance would protect them if they did go down there early. But I had a really bad feeling about it.

  Outside the shop, the rain increased in intensity, whipped almost horizontal by the fierce wind. A couple of the locals, weathered fishermen in their oilskins, climbed into a car next to me. ‘Nasty storm. There’s a king tide as well,’ I overheard the passenger say.

  ‘People died in the last one back in 1962,’ said the driver, as the car took off.

  I hesitated at the truck door. Why did that date seem familiar?

  8:35 pm

  Back in the truck, I drove as fast as I could. The weather was really shocking now. Whenever I caught glimpses of the sea through the trees, I was alarmed to see how huge the swells were, with dim waves breaking well before the shore. My concern about Harriet also grew. I’d have to make a quick check on her, to see if she was OK. She had no-one else. The truck rattled and banged across the corrugated road. It kept sliding sickeningly as I braked at corners.

  8:59 pm

  I became aware of a vehicle coming up behind me, leaning on its horn and flashing its headlights. What was wrong? He was clearly trying to get my attention.

  I drove on a little further, but the flashing headlights and the sound of the horn blaring through the rain made me think that maybe there was some big problem on the road.

  I signalled and pulled over, waiting while the other vehicle drove up alongside. The driver wound down the window. Curly.

  ‘You’ve got a flat tyre at the back, young lady. You’ll need a hand with that. Don’t try and drive any further with it—you’ll wreck
the wheel.’

  Of all times to get a flat tyre. I’d never changed a tyre in my life. I jumped out of the truck as Curly got out of his car, and with my head down against the driving rain, I squelched around to the rear of the truck. I squinted at both back tyres. I was turning to say, ‘they both look OK to me,’ when my arms were suddenly pinned behind me. ‘Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Let me go!!’ I struggled, my feet skidding on slippery mud.

  ‘Take it easy, young lady, and you won’t get hurt,’ Curly growled, strapping my wrists behind me with something that I couldn’t see.

  ‘Get off me! You can’t kidnap people like this!’ But he was already dragging me over to his car, and shoving me in the back seat. My arms were twisted behind me, and before I could manoeuvre myself to try to unlock the back doors, he was behind the wheel and driving away.

  ‘My boss just wants a little word with you,’ said Curly. ‘Now don’t try anything, especially in weather like this. You don’t want us slipping off the road and crashing over the cliff, do you? Shame you didn’t fall for my little ghost trick and leave town.’ I knew it! It was Curly who’d tried to frighten me.

  He was driving erratically, zigzagging from side to side on the muddy road, throwing me around in the back where I was helpless to save myself from being banged against the front seats or the door. I screamed, ‘Let me GO!’ and strained as hard as I could against whatever was tying my wrists. I found it was just possible to grasp my phone. I needed to hide it before Curly realised I had it.

  ‘If you want me to drive nicely, you have to behave, OK? Just calm down.’

  I could see there was no point in making a lot of noise. There was no-one to hear me. I calmed down and sat awkwardly back in the seat.

  ‘Where are you taking me?’

  ‘I already told you. The boss wants a word with you.’

  ‘You mean Oriana de la Force, don’t you?’

  Curly chuckled, and it wasn’t a pleasant sound.

  I craned my neck to try to see where we were heading when Curly suddenly swung off the road that ran from the town and headed up the rise towards the northern headland and the mansion. I knew I had to break free. My hands might be bound but my legs weren’t. I waited for my moment.