39

The Queen looked up, suddenly alert, all sense of cosiness wiped away in an instant as they turned to see Henry – the mature, scarred Henry that Alex had described – now leering at them.

‘You four thought you were so clever!’ he snarled.

Jonny stood, furious with Henry for what he’d done to Alex, among other things.

‘Uh-uh!’ warned Henry, suddenly brandishing a screwdriver. ‘Not so fast, beanpole! I’ve got someone here who’d like to say hello; someone I’m sure you’ll all be very surprised to see!’

The others stood too as Henry reached into the darkness of the corridor and pulled someone into the room: a man in a suit with a bag over his head, his hands tied behind his back. Henry flung him on the floor, causing the man to cry out in pain.

‘Now, you listen ’ere, mister!’ barked the Queen.

‘No, you listen here!’ shouted back Henry, his lips flailing about sinisterly. ‘Don’t you want to know how I’ve done it? How I’ve managed to pull off one of the greatest thefts in all of history?!’

‘Yes, Henry,’ said Sophie, acting oddly calm. ‘Why don’t we all sit down while you tell us?’ She returned to the chaise longue, encouraging the others – including the Queen – to sit down too.

‘Hey, hey!’ cried Henry, waving the screwdriver around. ‘Don’t any of you move a muscle! And don’t try any of that relaxing mumbo jumbo on me, idiot girl! I’ve seen what you did to those dogs!’

‘Fine, fine,’ said Sophie, holding up her hands and standing back up, trying to ignore the Queen’s slight glance of disapproval. ‘We just want to know how you knew to come here.’

‘What? You don’t think I’ve been one step ahead of you all the time?’ said Henry with a smug laugh. ‘What better way to outwit a bunch of clever children than to let them outwit themselves! All I needed to do was tempt you in and now look where we are … Oh, what – was this not part of your plan?’ He pouted insanely at Zack, looking like an unhinged baboon.

‘But what … what about the rest of the thieves?’ said Zack, feeling empty all of a sudden.

‘What thieves? There were never any thieves. It was only me. And this man, of course!’ Henry kicked the man on the floor, causing him to let out another muffled shriek.

‘President … President Pickle?’ wondered Jonny.

‘Oh, you wish, beanpole! You couldn’t see it, even though it was staring you in the face!’

Jonny stared at the figure on the floor, the aged suit, the smart tie …

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ screamed Henry as if he was on stage at The Royal Variety Performance. ‘Your Majesty, children! May I present to you the real mastermind behind the madness … ERNEST HAIGH!’