Scotland Hard (Book 2 in the Tom & Laura Series) (9 page)

“Are you going to be able to cure all three of them?” Laura asked as he staggered over to Tricky. He gave her a nod of reassurance and touched Tricky on the arm.

Tricky was much easier to cure, despite having been beaten as badly as
Alice
. This was because he was a fundamentally healthy child.

Laura was relieved that Tom was not looking as stressed as he had been when he cured
Alice
. She hoped Ebb would prove as easy for him to cure as Tricky.

When Tom touched Ebb, he felt dizzy and confused. It took him much longer than usual to find his way about the world he entered. There was a strange wrongness somewhere that Tom suspected was deep inside Ebb’s brain. It was as if part of Ebb was already dead but had not yet begun to decay. Tom fought to cure Ebb of his wrongness as all the other parts of Ebb’s body cleared of disease.

The boy had allergies that gave him a permanently running nose and Tom cured all of them he could find. He suspected that Ebb would become allergic to new things as soon as he let him go. It was as if the boy’s body was determined to self-destruct.

When Tom released Ebb he staggered back and fell to the floor in a faint. He knew that he had changed something fundamental in Ebb’s brain though he had no idea what. Tom hoped it would be a change for the better.

“What’s your man rolling on the floor for?”
Alice
asked as she opened her eyes sleepily. “It was us who got beat, not ‘im”

Alice
moved her hands across her body, feeling her back and buttocks in astonishment.

“That’s the kind of beating I could do with more often. I feels bloody marvelous.”

10.
      
Lurking

Cam stopped suddenly as they reached the War Office causing Daisy and
Arnold
to run into her.

“What’s the problem?”
Arnold
enquired as he disentangled arms and legs from the girls.

“I’ve just realized that I have no idea what Saunders looks like,”
Cam
said ruefully.

“Oh,”
Arnold
said as he considered the matter. He quickly reached the conclusion that he had no idea either. As far as he was aware, Saunders had never been to Hobsgate, certainly not since
Arnold
had been at the school and he had not met him on his two visits to MM3.

“It’s lucky then, that I know exactly what he looks like,” Daisy said with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

“When did you meet him?”
Cam
asked suspiciously.

Daisy’s grin grew wider. “I’ve never actually
met
him, but I would recognize him anywhere. I suppose that means that you will have to take a back seat as I take care of this little job.”

“But you’ve never even been to
London
and that’s where he’s stationed,”
Cam
complained. “This is not one of your Precog dreams is it? This mission is far too important to trust to one of those.”

Daisy flushed at
Cam
’s words. The Precogs of Hobsgate had gone through a year of distain with their warnings completely ignored. Now
Cam
was treating her abilities with that same contempt again.

“You were happy enough to rely on my gifts when you needed them against the Captain,” Daisy snapped back. The girls closed on each other angrily, ready to slap or punch one another.

Arnold
stepped between them; hands raised and ready to ward off blows.

“Daisy has proved her worth as a Precog,
Cam
, so stop attacking her. She spotted the top hat in Manny’s room straight away, didn’t she?”

Cam shifted the weight on her feet and
Arnold
stepped back a pace.

“I would have noticed it eventually,”
Cam
said angrily. “It doesn’t mean she would recognize Saunders. Ask her how she knows what he looks like.”

Arnold
turned, “Daisy…” He got no further as Daisy shoved him back towards
Cam
.
Arnold
was unprepared as Daisy was almost never violent.

“I happen to be standing not four feet away from you, Camilla Burns. You don’t need
Arnold
to relay your questions.”

Daisy breathed heavily, trying to compose herself. “And I’m not going to tell either of you how I know what he looks like. If we can’t trust each other, we might as well end this mission right here.”

Cam
found it difficult to calm down. She was used to being in control and Daisy had dared to usurp her authority. Much worse than that was the fact that Daisy was proving to be a better agent than
Cam
. That really hurt her pride.

“Daisy’s right, Cam,” Arnold said unnecessarily, and very irritatingly as far as
Cam
was concerned. It was bad enough being about to eat humble pie without
Arnold
rubbing it in her face.

“You are quite right, Daisy,”
Cam
said through clenched teeth. “Of course I trust you and Arnold, but you have to understand how important it is that we rescue Tom and Laura. I need some reassurance.”

“And you will get it when I successfully identify Saunders,” Daisy replied smugly. It wasn’t often anybody managed to get Camilla to admit she was wrong and Daisy planned to make the most of it. “I would also remind you that Tom and Laura saved all of us the last time they were in trouble. Don’t think for a moment that they are sitting around waiting for us to rescue them.”

“You are quite right, Daisy,”
Cam
repeated as she stared down at the cobbled street. “Where do you think we should wait for Saunders?”

“I haven’t a clue,” Daisy admitted cheerfully. “After all, I’ve never been to
London
and I don’t even know which of these buildings is the War Office, let alone where MM3 is.”

Cam
looked up at her and grinned. “I suppose we shall have to work as a team to succeed then?”

“Don’t we always?”
Arnold
said warmly as he put his arms around the girls and gave them a big hug.

 
“What ‘appened to us?” Tricky asked as he got unsteadily to his feet. “I was dying in me ‘urt and then it all went away as if be magic.”

“Tom is a Healer,” Laura said proudly as she helped Tom stand up. “Not just your common or garden variety Healer either.”

“I feel all of a dither,” Ebb said as he raised himself up to sit cross-legged on the floor. He wiped the back of his hand across his nose though he didn’t need to, the habit deeply ingrained.

“How are you?” Tom asked Ebb anxiously. “You are all right, aren’t you?”

“I feel all out of sorts,” Ebb told Tom. “Like me ‘ead aint on proper anymore. But I don’t ‘urt and I thanks you kindly for ‘ealing me.”

“Well I feel blooming marvelous,”
Alice
told them. She danced a little jig on the floor as if to prove the point. “I could do with a clean set of clothes though. Me bloomers are stuck ‘ard to me bum.”

“So are mine,” Tricky complained. “Not that I’m wearing bloomers,” he said hastily as he saw Laura’s grin at his words. “It’s just that me long-john’s are well stuck.”

“Perhaps we should throw the three of them into the pond?” Laura suggested. “It couldn’t make their clothes any dirtier and it might just wash some of the dirt off their faces.”

Alice
backed away to the wall. She was not completely sure Laura was joking.

“I can’t swim. I’d be drownded,”
Alice
said anxiously. “Me mam always says that nothing good comes of washing. That’s how the pox gets you.”

“I was only joking,
Alice
,” Laura said as she smiled reassuringly at the girl. “I’m going to pick a few berries from those bushes.”

Laura left the pen without a backward glance.

“Aint they feeding you two enough?” Tricky enquired.

“You never know for certain what’s going on with Laura,” Tom admitted. “However, in this case I think she has a more serious and important intent than simply satisfying her hunger. Is there anything at all like a sharp knife around here?”

The children looked puzzled, and then Ebb grinned at Tricky. A few seconds later Tricky spoke up.

“I couldn’t think of anything until Ebb grinned. Then I knew I was going to ‘ave an idea. I saw an old ploughshare in one of the out buildings. Someone’s sharpened it for cutting ‘ay. What do you want it for? We aint going to ‘ave to fight our way out of ‘ere are we?

Tom was fascinated by this weird example of Ebb talents. Ebb’s excursion into the world of five seconds ahead had made him smile, which then gave Tricky the idea that made him smile in the first place. What would have happened if Ebb hadn’t seen the future and grinned? It gave Tom a headache trying to think about it.

Laura returned with several overripe and partly rotted berries in her handkerchief. As Tom anticipated, she took the candle holder from her pocket and put it on the floor. Then she used her handkerchief as a sieve and squeezed the dark juice out of the berries into the central ‘cup’ of the holder.

“Is she tryin’ to make ‘erself a drink?”
Alice
asked. “She aint goin’ to get much out of that an’ I wouldn’t drink it if you paid me.”

“She is making fruit ink,” Tom explained. “Now if Tricky can go and get that ploughshare without getting caught, you three might get to see some Class A spellbinding.

Locating the Military Magic building proved easy because there was a massive brass plaque proclaiming it to the world right next to the doors of its impressive entrance. A taxi rank was marked out on the road in front of it and there was a steady stream of traffic as people arrived and departed.

“How are we going to do this?”
Arnold
asked.

Cam
considered the problem. “Daisy needs to wait by the doors so she can spot Saunders as soon as he comes out.
Arnold
, you need to stand with her. A young woman standing on her own might attract the wrong sort of attention. We need a cab waiting nearby so we can follow him.”

“That will be your problem to solve,” Daisy said quickly. “Arnold and I will be busy enough with our task.”

“We leave the easy things for you, Cam,”
Arnold
said airily. “Run along now while we do our jobs.”

Cam
glared at them and then walked over to the far end of the rank. She caught the eye of a cabby dropping off a fare and engaged him in conversation.

Daisy nudged him. “What do you think she’s telling him?”

Arnold
shrugged. “I’m glad it’s her and not me. I would not have a clue what to say.”

The saw
Cam
get into the cab with the cabby and some time later get out. He looked in their direction and gave them a wave, which they returned.

“Whatever it was, it must have worked,” Daisy whispered. She clung to
Arnold
as if he was her betrothed and settled down to wait for Saunders.

Daisy tugged at
Arnold
’s sleeve. “There he is, the small man with the enormous handlebar moustache.”

Arnold
waved his arm over his head in
Cam
’s direction and saw her nod. She said something to the cabby and held open the cab door.

Saunders crossed the busy road outside the War Office with Daisy and
Arnold
behind him. He got into the cab at the front of the rank after giving instructions to the driver. They weren’t near enough to catch the words.

Daisy and
Arnold
hurried to
Cam
and the cab.

“Quick, get in!”
Cam
ordered.

They got into the cab, whereupon the driver urged his horse forward as if he was on horseback chasing a fox.

“What on Earth did you tell him?”
Arnold
asked as they were rocked from side to side as the cab bounced along the cobbled street.

“I told him that Saunders had betrayed our family honor and stolen our youngest sister in a tryst to have his evil way with her,”
Cam
explained. “And that we need to track him to his lair and rescue our sister before she is ruined by him. Whatever the outcome, we must avoid a scandal.”

“And he believed all that?” Daisy asked in wonder. “You had him waiting for nearly three hours for Saunders to come out. I shouldn’t wonder he wanted to be off about his business.”

“I think the large sum of money I offered him in recompense had something to do with it. I paid half up front and gave him sight of the rest to prove I had it,”
Cam
admitted.

“I’m not going to want to know how much of our depleted funds you have spent, am I?”
Arnold
asked wearily.

“It’s not your own money, you know,”
Cam
whispered furiously. “And could you have done any better?”

Arnold
shook his head. He wouldn’t have had a clue how to get a cabby to go along with following a gentleman coming out of the War Office. Most likely, the cabby would have called a policeman and had him arrested as a spy. The problem worrying him was that if they didn’t find Tom and Laura fairly soon, they would have no money left.

“I think you were brilliant,
Cam
,” Daisy said grinning at her. “When I think about it, that is not such an unbelievable story. Something similar happened to a cousin of mine a couple of years ago.”

“You told me about her,”
Cam
admitted and punched Daisy lightly on the chest. “Where do you think I got the idea from?”