The smell of onions greeted Max as he ran up to the kitchen. He’d quickly changed back into his school uniform after realising that there was no way he was going to be able to do anything about Derek’s predicament.
‘Hiya, Mr MacGregor,’ he said. ‘I was just doing some reconnaissance in the garage to see if anyone might have come home. No luck.’
‘Hello, Max, I’m sorry to hear it. And I’m afraid Ida is in a very bad way. The poor woman really took a beating,’ Magoo announced as he swished the sizzling onions in the pan.
Max felt sick at the thought. Mrs Thornthwaite didn’t deserve what had happened to her.
Autumn was chopping tomatoes at the island. Her makeup was gone and she’d changed into some of Kensy’s clothes, which were a little baggy on her smaller frame. ‘Where’s Derek?’ she mouthed.
Max shook his head and tapped out, I’ll tell you later in Morse code on the bench.
She nodded and Magoo spun around. ‘What are you telling later?’ the man asked.
‘What was that, sir?’ Max said, his eyes wide.
‘You just tapped out a message,’ Magoo said.
‘Wow, nothing gets past you, Mr MacGregor – you were right when you said you were good at codes,’ Max said.
The man grabbed the slab of mince from the bench and added it to the pan.
‘Well, what were you going to tell Autumn later?’ Magoo asked. Clearly he wasn’t going to drop the matter.
Max walked to the fridge and poured himself and Autumn a glass of water each.
‘Just about Derek Grigsby, that’s all. He came round to drop something off and I let him out via the garage,’ the boy said. ‘When I was checking to see if anyone had come home.’ He probably said that too quickly, trying to cover his tracks.
‘What are you doing associating with that moron? Worst student I’ve ever taught, and as for that reprehensible mother of his – don’t get me started,’ Magoo blathered. ‘Always robbing people blind in that dumpy shop of hers, and half of the things were stale or out of date.’
‘He has a kind heart, sir,’ Max said.
‘And a criminal mind,’ the man replied.
Autumn felt her hands ball into fists. ‘Derek might not be the smartest person we know, but he means well, Mr MacGregor – which is more than some people.’
Magoo eyeballed the girl. ‘Well, I’d say the less you have to do with him the better.’ He opened the packet of spaghetti and dumped it into the pot of boiling water.
Max was feeling ill about Derek’s actual predicament, but there was nothing he could do now. On the bright side, he and Autumn had singlehandedly recaptured Pharos’s most wanted criminal. That was something to be proud of. He couldn’t wait to tell his parents and Granny – until the reality of their situation came crashing down and Max remembered that they still had to find them all first. Life was a bit like Newton’s third law at the moment – for every action there was an equal and opposite reaction – except that this was more like for every success there was an equal and opposite disappointment.
Autumn gave him a smile and a nod. He grinned back at her – staying positive was probably the most important thing right now.
‘Sir, after dinner can we have a proper look at Mrs Vanden Boom’s letters?’ the boy asked. He made himself useful setting the table even though he wasn’t hungry. The fish and chips he’d eaten earlier were currently sitting stone-like in his stomach.
‘I said I’d help you,’ Magoo replied. ‘But as I also said – I can’t imagine that we’ll find anything. The woman’s not as clever as you think.’
Autumn finished making a salad while Magoo added the sauce to the meat and Max drained the pasta.
The three were in the middle of serving up when Magoo’s phone rang. He picked it up and answered.
‘Hello, darling,’ he said then paused. ‘Oh heavens, that is such good news.’
‘Did they find Mim?’ Max asked.
Magoo nodded.
‘Really?’ the boy gasped.
Magoo nodded again, then frowned.
‘That’s fantastic,’ Max said to Autumn, who grinned and reached out to squeeze his arm.
‘Oh,’ Magoo said, his tone changing completely. ‘I’m sorry to hear it. Yes, best they stay there until they recover. That sort of thing spreads like wildfire.’
Max stood in front of the headmaster. ‘What’s the matter?’
Magoo asked Tippie to hold on a sec while he relayed the news about Kensy and Curtis’s sudden bout of illness, and that they were staying put with Mim until they were well again.
Max and Autumn exchanged curious looks. The boy would call Kensy as soon as he could and make sure that they weren’t being played. Knowing that his sister and friend weren’t with Tippie was disconcerting, given how many of their inner circle were already missing.
‘I’m going to stay here with Max and Autumn tonight, darling – why don’t you go home to Mr Pippin? Don’t want him getting lonely and, well, probably best we keep clear of each other in case you come down with anything. Can’t have both of us out of action.’
Unbeknown to Magoo, Tippie was smiling at the other end of the phone. Her plan was working perfectly.
‘Love you, darling. Yes, ring me when you get back to London. The children are fine. We’re just about to have dinner,’ Magoo said. He made some kissy noises before he hung up.
Max widened his eyes at Autumn.
‘Autumn, where did you leave the copies of those notes?’ he asked pointedly.
‘I can come and get them with you,’ the girl offered.
Max nodded.
‘Don’t be too long,’ Magoo said. ‘Dinner’s ready.’
‘Do you think Tippie’s telling the truth?’ Autumn asked as the pair sprinted upstairs to Max’s room. He wanted to phone Kensy without the risk of Magoo hearing.
‘I don’t know. Kensy and Curtis seemed pretty convinced that she’s behind everything, but now Mim’s back and everything’s okay . . . except for Kensy and Curtis coming down with gastro. Sounds pretty suspicious to me,’ Max said.
‘I agree,’ Autumn said.
Max sat on the end of his bed with Autumn beside him.
‘What happened to Derek?’ Autumn asked.
Max explained the man’s predicament. ‘I told him not to press the red button. I suppose that was probably a bit like telling a toddler not to eat the lollipop sitting in front of them.’
‘Oh no – what if Percy loses it?’ Autumn asked, then nibbled at her bottom lip.
‘I’ve tried to warn Derek not to upset him – beyond that I can only hope that when we can open up, Derek’s still alive,’ Max said, taking his phone out of his pocket.
‘Are you calling Kensy?’ Autumn asked, looking at the phone in Max’s hand.
He nodded and dialled his sister’s number. It rang for a while before finally she answered.
‘Can’t talk. So sick,’ Kensy whispered.
‘Are you okay? Is Mim really there?’ Max asked.
‘Yeah,’ she replied weakly. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to go.’
The line went dead.
Max looked at Autumn.
‘What do you think?’ the girl asked.
‘It sounded like Kensy – she said she was really sick and that Mim’s there. I guess we were wrong. Maybe Tippie was telling the truth. I don’t know. The whole thing’s weird.’
Autumn nodded. ‘I had stomach flu last year and it was gross – not that you needed to know that. Kensy and Curtis will need to get plenty of rest.’
‘Then I hope we don’t get it too,’ the boy said. ‘We can’t afford to be sick – we need to keep searching for everyone.’
They heard Magoo calling them from downstairs.
‘Dinner’s ready, you two. It’s getting cold,’ the man shouted.
Autumn reached for Max’s hand. ‘We’ll find them,’ she said.
He smiled at her. ‘I know.’ There was no other option.