Desperate Measures Read online

  ‘Wasn’t my fault!’ he whined. He rubbed his short spiky hair with his dirty hand.

  ‘Come on!’ said Vicky. She grabbed my arm. We all started running.

  ‘We’ll get you back . . . We will . . . Just you wait!’ the girl shouted at us as she rubbed blood and snot across her face.

  Chapter 34

  Once out of the village, we scrambled through the woods, along the stream and back to safety.

  We were almost back at the cave when Daniel turned to Jamie. ‘Thanks,’ he said quietly.

  Jamie suppressed a grin. ‘Any time,’ he muttered as he pretended to re-tie his trainer lace.

  Boys are such uncomplicated creatures; this was all that was needed for them to be friends again.

  Re grabbed the loaf of bread from under my arm. ‘Come on. I’m starving.’

  Daniel opened his rucksack and took out a big plastic bottle of milk, a jar of peanut butter, a bunch of bananas and a huge bar of chocolate. ‘Bought it to go with the bread,’ he said with a smile.

  I hurried into the cave and started unloading my stolen stash of food on to the shelf, too ashamed to tell the others what I’d done. I didn’t hear Daniel come in and, turning round, dropped the handful of chocolate bars in surprise.

  He looked at me, puzzled.

  ‘Thought you didn’t have any food . . .’

  Ashamed, I started scrabbling on the floor, picking them up. I indicated the rest of the food on the shelf.

  ‘I stole it all from the shop this morning,’ I mumbled, hanging my head and waiting for his reaction. ‘I’m a thief.’

  He didn’t say anything for a moment.

  ‘You were only trying to look after Jamie and Re.’

  ‘But up till today I’ve never stolen anything in my whole life.’

  Suddenly I thought of Dad. How did he feel when he was delivering all those stolen tellies? Gramps, his dad, had been a policeman. As a boy, Dad had been brought up very strictly, and that strong moral sense had stayed with him.

  ‘Dad always used to tell us it was important to do the right thing. Not to tell lies. Not to cheat – even at Monopoly. Not to take biscuits from the tin without asking. But then he goes and does a whopping great wrong thing himself. He knew full well it was wrong but he’d carried on doing it again and again until he was caught.’

  ‘He must have been totally desperate,’ said Daniel. ‘Just like you were.’

  I felt the tears prickling in my eyes and screwed them up to force them back.

  Daniel didn’t say a word. He just wrapped his arms round me and hugged me. I felt calmer. I looked up at him.

  ‘Thanks for what you did this morning. You were really brave,’ I said.

  ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?’

  ‘Not at all. First, in the shop you saved my skin, then when that horrible girl started on Rhianna . . .’

  ‘I didn’t do much though, did I? If it hadn’t have been for Jamie —’

  ‘Oh, Jamie’s always fighting. It’s like it’s his hobby or something. You were really scared but you still spoke up.’

  Daniel smiled at me.

  ‘I couldn’t sleep last night,’ he said. ‘I thought you were really angry with me, for throwing that stupid wobbly and leaving you at the lake yesterday. I thought I’d blown it and you wouldn’t want anything more to do with me.’ He glanced at me then added quickly, ‘You and Re and Jamie, I mean.’

  ‘Don’t be daft,’ I said, thinking how nice his eyes were when he smiled. ‘I . . . We all really like you.’

  Re came running into the cave. She saw Daniel’s arms around me and did a double take.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ Daniel and I said at exactly the same time.

  ‘Then why are you hugging?’

  Daniel and I immediately stepped away from each other. I caught his eye and we both smiled.

  ‘Because we’re all friends again,’ he said with a shrug.

  Breakfast was like a feast. A celebration. Maybe it was the food or maybe it was just the fact we were all together, but everyone was in a good mood. Jamie and Re had made peanut butter, banana and chocolate sandwiches and we washed them down with the cool fresh milk. Daniel wouldn’t have any. He said he’d had a huge fry-up for breakfast and happily watched as we demolished the whole lot between us. We joked and laughed about all sorts of silly stuff, like furnishing the cave with a few luxuries – maybe a DVD player and telly run off solar panels, a fancy barbecue to cook hot meals and a hot chocolate drink dispenser with marshmallows, whipped cream and sprinkles as standard. We fantasised how we could happily live undiscovered at the cave for years. Finally, one day we’d come out of hiding like a bunch of Rip Van Winkles and surprise everyone by our re-appearance.

  When we’d finished every single crumb, we lolled back on the grass. Re carefully showed Daniel the tin containing the rabbit. He was hunched down even more on Jamie’s T- shirt.

  ‘I’m only keeping him till he’s better,’ she told him, ‘then I’m going to let him free, because he’s a wild rabbit not a house one.’

  I watched as Daniel gently stroked the rabbit’s back then darted me a knowing glance.

  ‘He’s lovely and soft,’ he told Re.

  It was late morning by now and despite what the lady in the shop had said, it was turning into another beautiful day. We decided to go down to the lake. Jamie and Re wanted to go for a swim and I said I’d paddle. It was getting hot and the thought of cooling off in the clear water was irresistible.

  Daniel said he’d come with us and we made our way through the trees laughing and joking in the warm sunshine as if we didn’t have a care in the world.

  We came to an abrupt halt as we reached the edge of the woods. Looking down towards the lake, Rhianna blurted out what I was thinking.

  ‘What if those bullies are down there waiting for us?’ she asked fearfully.

  ‘I’m not scared of them,’ Jamie replied with a scowl. But we still hid behind trees while he and Daniel checked out the shoreline. The place was deserted. Jamie beckoned to us and we joined him and Daniel at the water’s edge. The water looked deliciously cool and inviting.

  ‘Hey, Daniel, you coming?’ Jamie called as he waded in.

  Daniel hesitated for a second. Then he quickly pulled off his T-shirt, revealing the angry scarring on his stomach and chest. This time Jamie didn’t bat an eyelid.

  ‘Bet you can’t do handstands . . .’ he called.

  ‘Bet I can!’ retorted Daniel with a grin, charging into the water. They spent ages larking and splashing about.

  I kept an eye on the woods, aware that someone might hear us or arrive at any second. Was this how it was going to be, I wondered. Always watching our backs to avoid being discovered? Running from place to place? Living hand to mouth? Lying? Stealing? Hiding? What sort of future was that? The idea of living in our cave for as long as we wanted now seemed totally ridiculous. A little kid’s fantasy, I thought flatly.

  Chapter 35

  Daniel showed me how to do handstands. They’re easy-peasy chocolate squeezy. You just dive under the water, plonk your hands on the squelchy weeds at the bottom and kick your legs up at the same time. But don’t swallow any water. It tastes of mud. We practised for ages. Vicky just sat on the grass with her arms hugging her knees, looking round behind her at the woods or down at her feet.

  ‘Vicky watch me!’

  I did my best handstand so far. She said it was really good but she wasn’t even looking.

  ‘You didn’t see it!’

  ‘I did . . . It was great.’ Her voice sounded funny and she still didn’t look up.

  ‘Come in with us!’ Jamie called but she just shook her head. She looked very small scrunched up like that.

  Daniel stopped and stared over at her. It was his go but he waded out and went and sat down next to her on the grass. I don’t think she saw him because she still didn’t look up. He put his arm round her. She didn’t push him away, s
he just leaned on him and looked sad. I suppose she really wanted to do handstands like us. It’s not very nice when you can’t do things and everyone else can.

  Jamie and I carried on for a bit. Jamie wanted to do cartwheels but they’re really hard so we did back-flips instead. They’re handstands but you go over and swoosh up through the water in a circle. We did thirty-seven each.

  When we came out of the water Daniel and Vicky were still sitting together talking.

  ‘Don’t be upset Vicky. I can show you how to do handstands tomorrow – I’ll hold your legs up for you.’

  ‘Thanks Re,’ she said with a small smile.

  Daniel grinned at her and then do you know, she went all red and toothy just like she used to with Manky Matt.

  Jamie didn’t say anything. He was staring out over the lake. Suddenly he turned to us.

  ‘Look!’ he said, pointing at the road across the water.

  Vicky went white and Daniel jumped up like he had ants in his pants. I don’t know what they were making such a fuss about. It was just two police cars driving along.

  Chapter 36

  ‘They’re coming round this side!’ shouted Daniel.

  ‘What are we going to do?’

  ‘They might not be after us . . . It might just be a coincidence . . .’ But no one was listening to me and a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that something was wrong. I remembered the odd expression of the woman in the shop – after I’d gone she must have noticed stuff had been taken, put two and two together and realised who I was.

  Daniel had taken Re’s hand and had already started running.

  ‘Back to the cave,’ he yelled. ‘It’s your only chance!’

  Jamie was hot on their heels. Quickly, I collected up our things and ran full pelt after them.

  We reached the cave, panting and breathless. Re was crying, not sure what was going on. I took her inside and tried to calm her down while Jamie and Daniel worked furiously to remove any traces that betrayed our presence.

  We heard voices.

  ‘Jamie!’ I hissed.

  ‘Get inside!’ called Daniel urgently to Jamie, then pulled brambles and wild roses over the mouth of the cave. ‘And don’t make a sound!’

  ‘I want Baby Emma!’

  I peered out through the tangle of stems and leaves. Perched on a bush, Baby Emma and her wardrobe of clothes were sprawled in full view of anyone who passed.

  The voices were getting louder.

  ‘They’re coming!’

  ‘They’ll be here any second!’

  ‘But I want Baby Emma!’ wailed Re, her sobs becoming louder and more uncontrollable.

  Jamie looked at me. He was thinking exactly what I was thinking. Springing into action, he pushed his way out of the cave, grabbed the doll and the clothes and sprinted back inside. Pulling the brambles back into place, he threw himself down on to the floor next to us and we huddled together hardly daring to breathe.

  ‘Hey, you there!’ a man’s voice called. ‘Stay where you are please.’

  We heard them scramble down the slope. There must have been three or four of them. One of them slipped and swore noisily. The first man asked Daniel his name and address and if he’d seen any new kids around. Daniel kept his cool. He was amazing.

  ‘There’s always people round here. Holidaymakers and stuff.’

  ‘We’re looking for three runaway children, two girls aged fourteen and a boy of ten. One of the girls was in the village shop this morning. Here’re their photos.’

  There was a silence.

  ‘Yeah . . . I saw her. She dropped some money so I gave it back to her.’

  ‘Sergeant, take the others and have a quick scout round . . .’

  I could feel the panic rising.

  ‘She didn’t hang about though. She ran off towards Blakewell’s Farm.’ I could hear the urgency in Daniel’s voice as the policeman came nearer the cave.

  ‘Blakewell’s Farm, you say?’ He was right outside the cave. No more than two metres separated us. Through the bundle of scrub I could see his dark trousers and shiny black police boots splattered with specks of dirt and leaves. I had my arms round Re and didn’t dare to breathe. I glanced over at Jamie. The whites of his eyes were wide and staring. He wasn’t even daring to blink.

  ‘Yeah . . . I’ll show you where I saw her go if you want.’

  ‘OK, come on then, let’s take a look.’ He called to his colleagues. ‘Hey – this kid saw one of the girls.’

  I breathed a sigh of relief. They were going.

  ‘Oh and another thing,’ the policeman said. ‘Their dad might show up. He’s absconded from prison . . . probably looking for them.’

  My heart missed a beat. I glanced over at Jamie. Shocked and dazed as if someone had just hit him, he slowly turned and stared at me.

  ‘It’s all right,’ the policeman continued, ‘he’s not dangerous, but we’d like him back behind bars.’

  The voices died away but still none of us dared to move. Jamie was now staring down at the ground. After about five minutes, I slowly leant forward to peep out. I felt my arm sharply pulled back as Jamie swung me round.

  ‘You told us Dad was abroad, delivering stuff to refugees!’

  He glared at me, his face buckling into anger and fury.

  ‘I didn’t want you knowing . . .’

  ‘You didn’t want us knowing where our own dad was?’

  ‘Why’s Dad in prison? What’s he done?’ asked Re.

  ‘That stuff he used to deliver for Mr McCready on the quiet. It was all stolen.’

  ‘Was he a burglar?’ asked Re.

  ‘Course not. He was only trying to keep us all going!’ shouted Jamie. ‘He wouldn’t have done anything wrong if he didn’t have to! He’s our dad!’

  Reddening, I remembered what happened in the shop.

  ‘Jamie, I’m so sorry.’

  ‘We could have gone to see him in prison if we’d known! I hate you, Vicky Davies! You’re so bossy . . . and you always think you’re right!’

  Jamie leapt up and barged past me out of the cave.

  ‘Jamie . . . no! Where are you going?’

  ‘Anywhere away from you!’

  ‘Jamie, come back! You can’t just run off like this!’

  ‘Watch me!’ he hissed, jumping over the stream and disappearing into the woods.

  Chapter 37

  ‘I want Jamie.’

  He’d been gone for ages. We sat on the cave floor. I had the tin with Peter in on my lap. I wanted to go outside to get him some fresh grass but Vicky wouldn’t let me go anywhere.

  ‘We’ve got to stay here, Re,’ she said.

  ‘I want Jamie.’

  ‘He’ll come back soon . . .’

  ‘When?’

  She didn’t say anything. Her eyes were red and puffy.

  ‘When Vicky?’

  ‘I don’t know . . . When he’s hungry. He always comes home when he’s hungry. You know that.’

  ‘Let’s go and look for him.’

  ‘We can’t.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because there’re police everywhere.’

  ‘But we could ask one of them to help us. Mrs Edwards says if I get lost I have to ask a police lady or a policeman or . . . um . . . just an ordinary lady on her own . . . or a lady with children . . . or two ladies together . . . or if I can’t find any ladies on their own or with children or with another lady then I have to ask a lady and a man but —’

  ‘Rhianna shut up . . . please . . .’

  ‘Nuckets to you.’

  I turned my back on her. She hated that. I looked down at Peter. I touched his fur. He didn’t move. I took him out of the tin and held him in my hands. His fur felt soft but his body was stiff.

  ‘Wake up.’

  I poked him again really gently. He still didn’t move. I showed him the penguin but he wasn’t interested. Vicky came over. She tried to put her arm round me but I pushed it off.

  ‘He�
��s just asleep,’ I told her.

  ‘He was really ill Re . . . Too ill to live. He’s dead now.’

  ‘He’s not. He’s asleep. You don’t know anything. Jamie was right. You think you know stuff but you don’t. He’s just asleep because he’s tired.’

  Vicky made a big sighing noise then went and stood by the mouth of the cave.

  I stroked Peter gently with just the tips of my fingers. When you’re not well you have to be looked after.

  Chapter 38

  I left Re cradling the dead rabbit and crept out of the cave into the fresh air. I remembered those first few days after Mum died; Dad had shut himself away in his room but Re hadn’t been upset at all. I bit my lip as I realised she just hadn’t understood what it all meant.

  There was no sign of Jamie. I wondered if the police had already found him. I pictured him sullen and cross, being driven back to the local police station, kicking the seat of the driver in front and trying to whack the policeman next to him. No wonder he was angry. He’d got a right to be. Jamie was only eight when Dad was sentenced and neither he nor Rhianna had really understood when Mrs Frankish told us all Dad was going away and we wouldn’t be able to visit. The prison was over a hundred miles away. Writing ‘no contact with dad’ on our records was her cop out. Weaving a fairy tale about him delivering supplies for refugees was mine. I know I should have told them the truth but somehow it had just seemed so much easier to change the story. Too easy in fact. They’d always trusted me to explain things to them.

  I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone finding out – especially Jamie and Re who both worshipped Dad. If Jamie had known, he would have immediately told his friend Sam who would have told his mum and then it would have been round the whole town in no time. Rosie would have heard and so would Matt and the evil Charlene Slackton. I’m sure Rosie would have been all right about it, although her parents sounded a bit posh – they ran some sort of furniture business – and probably wouldn’t approve of Rosie being friends with some prisoner’s daughter.

  As for Charlene Slackton – I could just imagine her blabbing non-stop to everyone. And I mean everyone. That girl had a mouth on her the size of a small country and she wasn’t afraid to open it and dish the dirt. Knowing her, we would have become the unfortunate spawn of an evil serial murderer. Exaggeration was her speciality.