Danny Dempsey and the Unlikely Alliance (16 page)

‘Of course I am, Anna. I saw the toe of her shoe peeping out. She's up there all right.'

‘Lily, we know you're there,' Anna called softly. ‘Now don't be foolish. Come down before you hurt yourself. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you.'

A fat lot you'd care, Lily thought to herself. I wouldn't be up here only for you. She decided to keep very still and say nothing in reply.
Anna
, the man had called her. So much for Mrs. Stevens, being a friend of her Mommy, and all rest of it.

Then, despite her anxiety at being trapped with nowhere to go, Lily couldn't help but notice the sudden glare of light that seemed to come out of nowhere over near the back of the house. She had a birds-eye view, and could hardly believe her eyes. Bushes and undergrowth and entwined vegetation were plainly visible in the encircling glare, all moving along the ground as though they had feet. It was amazing. And in the spot where they'd been, a glowing circle now appeared, like a great big moon on the earth below. Then a helicopter started its descent.

Lily didn't see what happened next, for her body was suddenly encircled by a monstrous arm, enfolding her helplessly in its embrace. It held her firmly. Lily was so shocked, she couldn't even scream. She expected to be crushed at any second. Yet she felt no uncomfortable pressure other than a firm, reassuring strength, like the strength of a considerate giant intent on ensuring that her safety was first and foremost in his thoughts. Lily looked down at the huge arm which held her so securely. The skin was covered in snakes and dragons and daggers dripping blood. She promptly fainted at the sight.

For such an enormous man, Teddy Tattoo was as light as a feather on his feet. No one could understand how his massive frame could combine such nimbleness as gracefully as an eight stone ballerina. He unnerved people with the panther-like stealth he was capable of displaying when called upon to do so.

One second he was nowhere to be seen, the next he was breathing down the necks of those who'd incurred the wrath of the Boss. The Scarlet Pimpernel could have taken lessons from Tattoo in the art of seemingly being in two places at the same time. Then, mysteriously disappearing from both locations, as though he'd never been there in the first place.

Lily hadn't heard so much as a single leaf rustle. Anna had hastily whispered orders into his ear the second the helicopter hove into sight. Teddy had gone straight into action. Before the rest of them knew it, he was standing beside them, cradling Lily in the crook of his arm like a sleeping infant. None of them saw him descend. He seemed to appear as though he'd materialised out of the darkness like just another shadow. On Anna's orders, he carried Lily towards the house, brought her inside and laid her gently on her bed.

Anna let out a sigh of relief as she dismissed him back to the section of the house he was occupying, and to which Needles and Dapper had already returned. Before they went, she warned them that tonight's search had never really happened at all as far as the Boss was concerned. Anna knew that such a warning wasn't necessary where Teddy Tattoo was concerned. She was aware that frightening Lily the way he had was something he wouldn't want to remember anyway.

Outside, the engine of the helicopter had been switched off, and the whirl of the rotor blades lulled into silence. Its occupant, Anna told herself in relief, would never have been able to hear the recorded howling over the noise of the machine as it came down to land. Her order to have the wolves silenced had only just been in time to save her having to answer any awkward questions the Boss might ask her had he heard them.

H
arrington called the Superintendent on his mobile just as soon as Harry and himself had parted company. It was almost midnight, and the Superintendent was getting ready for bed. The Superintendent sighed. He thought it was the Chief of Police badgering him again. He picked up the phone, not even bothering to say hello, merely waiting for another demand from Carter about the latest progress on the kidnappings. He was relieved to hear Harrington's voice instead of the Chief's.

‘I'm not sure whether it's of any help,' Harrington said, ‘but Harry the Hustler seems to think the gang behind the abductions are an outfit called Moran's Enterprises. That's all he could tell me, I'm afraid. Have you ever heard of them, sir?'

‘Unfortunately I haven't, Harrington. ‘Did he say where he got this information from?'

Harrington filled him in on exactly what Harry had told him regarding Dapper Desmond, and the way he'd been boasting about something big coming down the pipeline months ago. ‘I was wondering where Dapper had disappeared to,' the Superintendent said. ‘I thought he'd emigrated or something. What you've been told seems to make sense. But we're still as much in the dark when we don't know where to lay our hands on Desmond. And we've haven't much time left before the kidnappers deadline is on top of us.'

‘I'm sorry, sir, it's all I could find out.'

‘It's not your fault, Harrington. At least you got something. I'll get Headquarters to run a computer check and see if they can come up with anything further on them. Danny's been on to me earlier. I never heard him so excited about anything in his life. Half the time I didn't know what he was going on about. He says he's stumbled across someone he's certain could be a big addition to our team. It took me all my time to calm him down before I understood what he was talking about.'

‘That's not like Danny, sir' Harrington observed. ‘He's usually pretty cool about things. Did he say who it was?'

‘Are you sitting down, Harrington?'

‘I'm on my way home. At the moment I'm walking up along the quays. What's sitting down got to do with anything, sir?'

‘Just cross to the other side of the road, if you don't mind. I wouldn't like to see you falling into the river.'

Harrington frowned quizzically at this. He'd never, he told himself, become accustomed to the Superintendent's eccentricities. But he didn't hesitate to do as he was told. ‘I'm safely across, sir,' he muttered into his mobile, waiting to hear what it was could possibly make him slip into the river.

‘What would you say to Mr. Pearson joining our non-existent team, Harrington? Eh?'

Harrington didn't reply. He mentally checked the date to see what day it was. Nothing important that he knew about. Maybe the days had reversed without his knowledge and it was April the first again. Or it was possible another special joke day had been created by the authorities that no one had bothered to tell him about. Then, of course, it could be that he'd heard incorrectly.

‘Harrington!'

‘Sir!'

‘You're still there?'

‘Yes, sir, but I don't think the line is very good. Would you mind repeating - -'

‘Those were my exact words when Danny told me who he had in mind. I though
I
was hearing things as well, Harrington'

‘Surely he can't be serious?' Harrington managed through his amazement, then asked, ‘You
did
say Mr. Pearson, sir?'

‘I did indeed. Mr. Dermot, hen-pecked Pearson, who our friend Danny insists is nothing short of a genius. So what do you think of that, Harrington? Eh?'

‘I really don't know what to say, sir,' Harrington replied. ‘But I'm sure if Danny is so enthusiastic about him, there must be something to it.'

‘My sentiments exactly. It seems Mr. Pearson saved Danny's life when he fell off the back of a pterodactyl as they were flying quite some distance from the ground earlier tonight.'

‘Sir,' Harrington said, having first taken a deep breath before steeling himself to ask. ‘Have you been drinking?'

‘Only my usual bedtime cup of cocoa,' the Superintendent chuckled. ‘Nor have I been eating magic mushrooms, or indulging in any other hallucinatory drugs recently. After all, Harrington, I
am
a police officer.'

Harrington felt as though he could do with some sort of stimulant himself at the moment. The idea of Mr. Pearson joining them in the hunt for the kidnappers was one he was finding it difficult to come to terms with. All he could picture in his mind's eye was the poor, unfortunate man being swept along by Mrs. Pearson both in and out of the station that day she'd come to report on seeing Charlie in all his pride and glory.

He shuddered to think what the woman would do if Mr. Pearson blithely informed her he was off now to do some undercover police work, and was very sorry, but he couldn't give her any more information, as the task he was in engaged in was extremely shush-shush.

‘Sir, pterodactyls have been extinct for millions of years,' Harrington thought it his duty to point out, narrowly missing walking into a lamppost, so intent was he on concentrating on not letting the Superintendent make an ass of him altogether. ‘I think Danny must have been pulling your leg about both that
and
Mr. Pearson.'

‘Tell that to Charlie next time you meet him,' the Superintendent answered, still sounding amused. ‘I don't think anyone told him they were out of fashion.'

‘I see, sir,' Harrington said, having witnessed some pretty incredible things with his own eyes where Danny and Charlie were concerned. ‘I think I understand.'

‘I'll be in touch, Harrington,' the Superintendent told him, sounding much more serious now. ‘The best thing for both of us now is to try and get good nights sleep.'

As Harrington rang off and put his mobile into his pocket, he somehow doubted that either of them would. Time was running out fast.

*

Danny wasn't finding it easy to sleep either. He knew he was lucky to be alive. Every time he thought he was about to nod off, he felt himself falling through space, the ground rushing up to meet him faster than he thought possible. Then he'd be wide awake again.

Poor Charlie was inconsolable. As soon as Mr. Pearson had left them, Danny ordered Charlie to transform into a sheepdog. Even then, he couldn't stop crying, but at least his tears weren't now threatening to cause a flood as they'd been doing earlier. Walking home to the compound, Danny tried to make light of the matter, telling Charlie over and over again that everything was fine, and that his high jinks had only been a bit of harmless fun. He reminded him of how well behaved he'd been when giving Mr. Pearson his exhilarating flight in repayment for - -, well, for - -.

Of course, Danny's hesitation in completing what he was saying only made Charlie worse. It was lucky they hadn't far to go. If anyone saw them they'd have wondered what on earth was going on.

A sheepdog trudging along beside Danny crying its eyes out as though its heart was broken, with Danny earnestly talking to it in comforting tones. Some people might have found it a bit odd.

Odd or not, it was another while before Charlie's weeping subsided into a more or less subdued sniffling. This disappeared altogether after they'd let themselves into the shack and Danny, after phoning the Superintendent regarding Mr. Pearson, had spent ten minutes patting and hugging Charlie affectionately. And when Danny let him curl up at the end of his bed, Charlie knew for certain that all was forgiven.

*

When Danny woke up, dawn had broken. He'd finally dropped off after enduring some more terrifying flashbacks. Charlie was still asleep. Danny eased himself out of bed without disturbing him. When he'd washed and dressed, he had his breakfast, before heading out to feed the stray animals he'd rescued over the course of time. There was grain, lettuce, chopped-up vegetables and fresh water to be provided and, of course, heads to be patted, ears to be tickled, conversations to be engaged in.

It was a labour of love for Danny, and made him forget all about the close shave he'd had the previous night. This morning he discovered there were a couple of disputes to be settled. Danny was only too glad to be called upon to act as mediator in both, having done so in the past on numerous occasions. Animals, like humans, often bickered amongst themselves about one thing and another.

Apparently, there'd been a debating competition arranged to take place in a few days time. The usual selection process had been agreed on, and a vote made to elect the most suitable speakers. The rabbits had elected their two representatives by secret ballot. Snowy and Cynthia had won the contest by a mile.

They'd received five votes apiece, with only one vote being recorded for Snuffles the Swot. Snuffles was anything but pleased at the outcome. Danny was told that he'd been lobbying intensively prior to the selection process, and had been quite confident his name would have been chewed several times into the oak leaves which were used as ballot papers.

Now, he was slinking about the rabbit enclosure, muttering darkly under his breath of gerrymandering, and other less than honest methods being employed to undermine his chances.
Everyone
, he finally declared for all to hear, was fully aware that he was by far the most skilled debater in the entire compound.

Snowy, who was somewhat soft-hearted, had immediately declared that he'd step down and allow Snuffles take his place if the general consensus was that he was an inferior speaker to Snuffles. Snuffles said that was an excellent idea, and he'd no doubt both himself and Cynthia would soon have the lambs and puppy dogs tied up in knots with their eloquence and logic.

Cynthia wouldn't hear of it. Snowy, she exclaimed rather shrilly, had been chosen fair and square, despite Snuffles unfounded insinuations. Why, it had been a veritable landslide in favour of Snowy and herself, and both of them were quite capable of confounding the opposition every bit as well as Snuffles presumed he could. But Snuffles wouldn't let it go. He called for a recount. Which was really ridiculous, seeing as he'd only received a single vote.

Danny, after listening patiently to the details, agreed to Snuffles suggestion that he should personally check the leaves again. Snuffles specifically requested him to examine each vote carefully to see if any had been cast by the same individual more than once. Shocked as the remainder of his companions were at such an outlandish allegation, each and every one of them declared that they couldn't wait for Danny to verify the honesty of the election.

When he did, Snuffles still wasn't satisfied. Something, he muttered into his whiskers, wasn't as it should be. Danny called for an open show of paws to settle the matter once and for all. When the same outcome as the secret ballot resulted, Snuffles disappeared into his hutch in a sulk, where he continued to mutter his doubts in seclusion for the next couple of hours.

Then there was the puppy dogs' grievance to be sorted out. They objected strongly to the motion which had been put forward for the debate. They considered it offensive and insulting, and declared that the chair-animal of the adjudicating panel should be ashamed of herself for even giving it consideration in the first place.

The individual referred to was, of course, none other than Edwina the ewe, whom Danny had rescued when she was no more than two weeks old after she'd been left all alone in the world, after her Mother was chased to the point of exhaustion by a swarm of short-sighted honey bees who mistook her for their hive. When they realised their mistake and took after one of Mrs. Vixen's cubs instead, poor Edwina's Mother had been so traumatised by the experience, she never really got over it. She was now a permanent resident of a Nursing Home specialising in caring for worried sheep. To this day, the very mention of a honey bee was likely to result in her legs buckling under her of their own accord.

One would have thought that Edwina, given the circumstances of her Mother's unfortunate experience, would have been of a more sensitive nature than she was. It had never even occurred to her that putting forward the motion for debate to be what little boys and girls were made of would be regarded as an insult to the puppy dogs.

Edwina claimed that it had merely been her intention to produce something interesting for those listening to the opposing views. Of course, it was obvious she hadn't thought the matter through with any degree of clarity. Sugar and spice and all things nice popped into her head and she thought it sounded lovely. That the puppy dogs should take umbrage that their tails be included with slugs and snails for the opposing teams to have a field day with never even entered her head.

Of course, Danny was very diplomatic about the issue. He knew all the traits and idiosyncrasies of every one of his animals. And loved them all equally, whatever little quirks of character they displayed on occasions. He was quite off-hand about the matter at the beginning, and asked Edwina if she'd be kind enough to accompany him on his rounds as he saw to the needs of the remaining enclosures. He deliberately waited to ask her
after
he'd seen to the puppy dogs himself. Edwina was delighted. Danny balanced a cardboard box of foodstuffs on her back, and asked her if she could manage to tote it along for him, as he was finding it a bit much to carry as well as the pail of spring water.

‘Don't worry, Danny,' she assured him, all but preening with pleasure on being called upon to assist. ‘Just settle it snugly into my fleece and I'll be fine.'

When they'd finished their rounds, Danny deliberately led her out of earshot of the other animals. ‘Thanks very much, Edwina,' he said. ‘That was a great help.'

‘Oh, don't mention it, Danny. Any time you need me, just ask .'

‘That's very kind of you, Edwina.' Danny replied, ‘You're very obliging.'