The Ideas Pirates (5 page)

Chapter 7

The aircraft was filling quickly. Carrying hand luggage protectively in front of them, passengers staggered along the aisles. Fifi was having trouble fitting between seats. Luckily she'd been given front seats with more leg room, near the basket ballers. Carefully she put the gnome on the seat alongside.

Jason hurried past while her back was turned.

He didn't seem to want her to see him. But he could smell her. FIFI ORCHID was very strong.

Smiling aircrew helped passengers hoist hand luggage into the overhead lockers. ‘There you are , sir.'

Flight attendants all go to Smile School, Amy decided. Their hair was perfectly smooth and their unbitten fingernails had no chips.

When they got inside the plane, Amy looked around for the bird-watchers. They were sitting up the back. Too far for her to overhear anything. Luckily their seat was near a toilet door. She could visit a few times.

‘Would a gnome count as hand luggage?' Christopher watched as Fifi disorganised her belongings and plopped down.

‘If it has a seat of its own, it must count as a passenger.' As Amy flicked through the in-flight magazine, she noticed her own bitten nails.

A baby started to scream.

‘D'you think babies scream in English or Chinese?' Amy tried to bury her ears in the pillow provided by the airline. Usually Amy liked babies. Sometimes she even wished they had a baby brother or sister.

But Mum said twins were enough for any parents.

‘I must change my baby.' The anxious mother spoke to the attendant. She meant change the nappy and Amy smiled wondering what would happen if the crying baby were swapped for another, silent baby or even for a gnome.

Flicking the glossy colour magazine, Amy read the first page and tried to ignore the baby's cries as it was taken up the aisle. Security had let Sebastian the spider man came on board . He sat a few rows behind the twins.

‘Did you know that deer's antlers can be shaved?' Amy said, looking up.

Christopher imagined a picture of a deer with a beard being shaved.

But that's not what Amy was talking about. She showed him the in-flight magazine article , but Christopher just looked at the photos.

‘Where's the beard?'

‘A deer doesn't have one!'

‘What do they use the shavings for?' Christopher was interested now.

‘Traditional eastern medicine. They're smuggled from India. Some medicines have wildlife extracts in them - like monkey!'

‘Yuk.'

As Dr Chung tripped near seat 13, something fell from his bulging bag. He bent down and put it back inside. Amy peered across but she couldn't see exactly what had fallen.

Christopher recognised Dr Chung from his black rimmed glasses. He always noticed glasses. Some were harder to draw than others.

Dr Chung's worn leather bag was full of bumpy shapes with the strap pulled tightly now.

‘Excuse me.' He put it under the next seat and placed his feet either side.

Then he sat back and closed his eyes, breathing slowly. A faint smell, not after- shave, clung to him. Christopher turned to the photographs of bones. He read the words under the picture.' Tiger bone is used for stiff necks. The jumble of bones on the market stall photo looked very real.

‘What d'you think happened to the rest of the tiger?”

Amy shrugged. ‘Don't know. Might say on the other page.'

She skimmed the page. ‘No. It's just tiger bone.'

Dr Chung eyes were closed and he breathed deeply. Perhaps he was meditating?

‘What's tiger bone used for?' asked Christopher.

‘It's supposed to cure aches and pains.'

‘Aunty Viv has an ache in her neck.'

Amy grinned. ‘She says you're a pain in the neck too, Christopher Lee.'

‘Could we have your attention please!' said the flight attendant's voice. Dr Chung's eyes opened.

‘Shhh. They're going to do the safety bit.' warned Amy as the screen lowered from the ceiling of the plane. ‘D'you reckon they use actors or real people in that safety video?

‘Actors. No -one else would want to look such a dag.'

The twins watched as the safety video warned them about what to do if they crashed. In the aisle, the flight attendant pointed out the exits when the film voice got to that bit. She had her polite face on.

‘How many times d'you think she's done that?' As usual, Christopher was looking at the safety diagrams card in the seat pocket in front of him.

‘Millions.' Amy watched through the window as the plane gathered speed for the take-off. The baby started to cry again. Amy's tummy always felt empty and left behind as the plane went up. The plane levelled off smoothly, but her tummy still needed a lemonade.

‘Even Aunty Viv would like that take-off.'

‘Really cool.'

Aunty Viv was afraid of flying. She always drove them to and from the airport in her Animal Actors van, but she avoided flying.

‘Look. The seat belt signs are off.' Amy unclipped her belt. She pulled down her table. As the attendant walked past, she bent down and flicked a catch beside Amy's seat. It was the one Dr Chung had tripped on.

‘What's that for?'

Christopher leaned across. ‘We're opposite the safety exit. It's a catch holding the seats to be pulled out when we jump.'

‘If we jump. But why does she flick it in?'

‘Because the drinks trolley won't fit past.'

‘Huh.' said Amy. She wished she'd worked that out for herself. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned. It was Dr Chung..

‘Excuse me. My bag slipped under your seat during take-off. Something fell out. Could you give it back to me?'

Amy rummaged under her legs. Her hands touched a bone. It felt smooth and like a human leg! But it was cold! At that angle, it couldn't belong to Dr Chung's leg! It wasn't warm enough anyway!

Was Dr Chung carrying bits of people?

‘Is this yours?' Amy wasn't sure what to do. Skeletons or stray bones weren't usually hand luggage. Or even leg luggage?

‘Yes. thank you.' Dr Chung accepted the bone as she passed it over the seat.

‘Do you usually carry bones in your bag?'

‘It isn't human. It's to show at my herbal medicine lecture.'

‘Oh.'

‘I'm warning about the illegal use of fake tiger bone.'

‘Oh.'

Christopher whispered. ‘D'you think he's carrying a whole skeleton in that bag? How did he get it through the security scanner? Would a bone show up?'

Amy shrugged. That bone had felt weird.

Just then, the drinks trolley rattled. At home, they drank water. That's one reason they liked flying.

Soon, the drinks trolley stopped at their row of seats. ‘Lemonade please. Thank you.'

‘Tea or coffee sir?' asked the attendant to the seat behind ‘It's Dr Chung isn't it sir?'

‘Hot water please. I have my own herbal tea bag.' Dr Chung rooted around in his bulging brief case. The bone stuck out a bit.

Amy turned around.' What does herbal tea do for you?'

‘It depends which herbs.' Dr Chung dangled a tea bag. ‘This helps with aches and pains, especially in older people, like me. I'm a herbalist. We use herbal teas, acupuncture and massage. The results speak for themselves. How old do you think I am?'

That was a hard question. Dr Chung looked ancient. But if Amy said one hundred, he'd probably get upset like Aunty Viv when they called her an antique.

‘Forty?' That was older than Dad.

‘Fifty four but I feel like a ten year old.'

The twins doubted he felt like them.

‘Is acupuncture when you stick needles in people?' Amy knelt around on the seat.

Dr Chung looked over the top of his glasses at Amy.

‘Acupuncture is about balancing your body. I help people with back pains. And with bone problems. I've worked with Chinese athletes. Some went to the Olympic Games.'

‘Ace.' Amy was impressed. “ If you're a bone expert, do you fix tiger's bones?'

Dr Chung peered over his glasses. ‘No. I don't. Some herbalists use ground tiger bone in their medicines. Internationally, tigers are protected animals. If tigers all go, so will their forests. And that affects everybody.''

‘Our parents are always talking about saving the forests.' said the twins. ‘They take photos ALL the time!'

Sometimes the twins got tired of eco-photography.

Dr Chung continued. ‘That's why poachers are hunting wild tigers illegally for their bones. These are used in some traditional medicine... for problems like rheumatism.'

‘Rheumatism?' Christopher repeated.

He'd had heard the word before, but couldn't remember what it meant.

‘Stiffening joints -mainly from old age.'

Dr Chung AND Aunty Viv might need to know about that soon.

‘Do some people sell fakes?' Amy was sleuthing again.

‘Yes. They sell fake animal parts.' From the way he spoke, Dr Chung didn't approve of tiger poachers or fake tiger bone sellers.

‘Fake animals?'

Dr Chung smiled. ‘The animals aren't fakes. It's just the seller pretends they've come from a different animal. Snow Leopard and Asian Golden Cat bones have been sold as tiger. Street pedlars have sold cattle bones pretending they came from tigers.'

‘How can you tell the real ones from fakes? Especially if you haven't got a tiger bone there to compare it with?'

‘Difficult. Fake tiger bones are usually made from cattle bones which are much larger, thicker and heavier. Bear bones are greasier.'

Dr Chung sipped his tea. Amy sniffed. The smell was unusual but pleasant.

‘I blend my own. Herb teas heal and refresh. Most are from dried plants or flowers .'

‘Which is your favourite?'

‘Rosemary is a memory tonic. And I like sage. It improves your alertness. Sage is the “thinker's” tea. If you brew leaves quickly and drink it hot, you get more vitamins that way. Try it. I'll ask the attendant for more hot water.'

Minutes later, Amy tried a sip of Dr Chung's sage tea. It might be helpful for an airport sleuth to think more clearly.

‘What's it like?' asked Christopher wrinkling his nose.

‘Just tastes like weak herby tea.' Amy didn't like to be rude but lemonade tasted much better. ‘Thank you.'

Dr Chung smiled. ‘It's an acquired taste.'

‘What about tiger bone? Is that made into a tea?' Tigers interested Christopher more.

‘A small piece is sliced off a bone and crushed. The bone is made into a poultice , boiled with other materials to make a broth or soaked in wine.'

‘Do people like drinking that?' Amy didn't like the sound of it. She'd rather have sage tea.

‘Some think it will make them well.'

‘Does it?'

‘Nothing is certain. But sometimes, if you believe, then it happens, ‘ continued Dr Chung. ‘Other times, things are exaggerated. Now the Chinese Government wants to set up their own “tiger farm”. Tigers breed well in captivity. Then they could legally use parts from tigers.'

‘Why is it legal?' asked Amy.

‘They would be captive-bred, not wild. And they could use bones from those which had died naturally.'

‘Yuk.' Christopher could imagine that. Dead tigers!

‘But traditional medicine is about more than tiger bones.' Dr Chung added.

‘Any fakes “ bad name” the good things about traditional medicine. This bone was just an example, to show at the conference in Singapore. Here, have a feel. Then I'll put it away in my bag.' Dr Chung let them handle the bone.

‘I've been to the Tiger Balm Gardens,' Winston interrupted. ‘Has that got anything to do with it?'

‘Not really.' said Dr Chung. ‘Although a balm is a kind of ointment. My company in Hong Kong makes some. A new one will be released very soon.'

Christopher remembered the airport lounge message. ‘Does it have ‘orchid' in the name?'