hold of him,’ said LB, ‘and tell him to get his wretched behind in here before I start thinking about using him as shark bait.’
‘I think shark bait should be my fate,’ said Hitch. ‘I’m the one who should have been looking after her.’
‘You’re being too hard on yourself – it was Froghorn’s responsibility. He was assigned to keep her out of trouble.’
But Hitch couldn’t agree.
‘Please tell me Klaus Gustav is safely in Twinford?’ said LB.
‘He is – Blacker flew him in yesterday. I hear he’s not exactly all things nice – no wonder he’s a recluse but at least he is secure and all tucked up at the Grand Twin.’
‘And you?’
‘I’ve been working with the security squad and everything looks as locked down as it’s ever going to be,’ replied Hitch.
‘Well, that’s something,’ said LB. ‘So this kid Clancy – do you think Ruby might have confided in him, told him everything?’
‘There’s a good chance,’ said Hitch. ‘Ruby can keep a secret, no doubt about that. But Clancy is her closest friend; if she’s going to tell anyone it’s going to be him.’
‘Speak to the kid, find out everything he knows.’ With that she was gone.
Hitch got in his car and drove the short distance to Ambassador Crew’s elegant residence.
He swung the car through the main gates and parked. As he climbed the carved stone steps he smelt the fresh smell of blossom and felt the warm sun on his back, it was hard to believe anyone was in peril on a morning like this. The housekeeper answered the door and asked him to sit in the hall while she went to fetch Clancy.
Hitch perched uncomfortably on a delicate French chair and gazed around at the imposing portraits of ambassadors and dignitaries – they all looked back at him with accusing eyes. He was feeling bad. OK, so it wasn’t his fault that Froghorn was an incompetent idiot and had let Ruby slip through his fingers, but the truth was he should never have left her with him in the first place.
Should have listened to her. Someone else could have gone to brief the security staff. And it had to be said that as far as working with thirteen-year-old kids went, Ruby wasn’t so bad… She was one cool customer, funny too. But now she was gone and he could only blame himself.
Kid, if you’re still out there, I’m gonna find you. You can count on it.
Hitch was pulled out of his circular thoughts by the appearance of Clancy, his face displaying considerable mistrust.
Hitch stood up. ‘Shall we go outside?’
The two of them sat down on the warm stone steps facing the twisty gates, Ruby’s bike visible through the bars.
Hitch looked at Clancy. ‘So what do you know?’
‘What I know is that Ruby was meant to be coming over last night. She arrived OK, but then you showed up and now I am wondering where she is.’
‘You don’t believe me when I say that didn’t happen?’
‘I got no reason to believe you – a lot of weird things have been happening since you showed up.’
Hitch shrugged. ‘So what do you know about HQ?’
‘I know HQ stands for headquarters,’ said Clancy.
‘OK, let’s try another one. How about Spectrum, you know anything about that?’
‘Well I know about the colour spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green…’
‘Smart, very smart – how about the Jade Buddha?’
‘Well,’ said Clancy, ‘I know that the museum is having a big launch because the Jade Buddha of Khotan is coming to Twinford, everyone’s talking about it.’
‘Kid, cut the choirboy act would you and just tell me what you know.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Clancy shrugging, ‘but I am not sure what you are getting at.’
‘What I am getting at, is what do you know about this case, about Ruby’s undercover work?’
‘I guess we have our wires crossed because I don’t have a clue what you want me to say and I don’t know anything about any undercover stuff.’
The boy’s face was a mask, it was hard to believe that Clancy knew more than he was letting on. ‘You got a problem with me kid?’ asked Hitch.
But Clancy said nothing.
Hitch looked the boy square in the eye. ‘Your dad has security cameras trained at the house and the road in front. Why don’t we take a look at the tape – see if that car was mine?’
Clancy Crew got up slowly and led the way into the office where the security monitor was kept. He clicked the tape and rewound back to about eight o’clock the previous night. The image was grainy but it was easy to see the figure of Ruby cycling into the frame, and seconds later Hitch’s car pull up. He saw Ruby happily walking towards it, saw the window wind down and a hand appear. He couldn’t see the driver, nor could he make out Ruby’s expression, but… was that a little step back she took?
Clancy paused the tape and looked hard at the car.
‘Does that look like my car? Look closely,’ said Hitch.
Clancy looked closely; the car was parked at an angle and the vehicle plates were not in the shot but even so there were things about it that did not seem very “Hitch-like”.
‘Do you honestly think that I would drive a car with those hub caps?’ said Hitch. It was true, they were a little flashy, and now that he came to look closely, Clancy could see this car was no convertible.
Suddenly he felt very cold and very unsure.
Hitch turned to go. ‘When you’re ready to talk kid, call this number.’ He placed a card on the table and walked out of the house. All Hitch came away with was the knowledge that as far as Clancy Crew was concerned, Ruby had told the truth – the boy would take a secret to the grave.
Nine Lives
AS SOON AS HE HEARD HITCH’S CAR drive away, Clancy grabbed his sweatshirt and the card and ran towards the front door. Then he turned and shouted, ‘Just off to meet Ruby, OK?’
‘Make sure you are back in good time for the museum party!’ called his mother. But Clancy was already out of the house. Climbing on Ruby’s bike he cycled off towards Amster.
He made a right at Everglade until he got to the little green opposite the Double Donut Diner. He propped the bike against a fence and walked over to the oak tree.
