Chapter Nineteen 
MISSING MONEY
Ava’s heart thumped hard in her chest as she stared down at the empty spot where she’d left the cash box.
‘It can’t have just vanished,’ she whispered, her mouth dry with creeping dread. She began frantically looking under the hedge, hoping it had, perhaps, been knocked underneath in the chaos of escaped animals and runaway children.
‘Everything okay?’ shouted Jas.
Ava was really beginning to panic now. The cash box was nowhere to be seen.
Jas came up behind her.
‘Hurry up, Ava – we’ve been away ages. Miss Harper will be sending out a search party soon.’
Ava swallowed and looked at Jas. She felt her face drain of all its colour.
‘What?’ said Jas.
‘The cash box with all the raffle-ticket money. It’s gone.’
‘What do you mean, it’s gone? It can’t just vanish.’
Ava took a deep breath and tried to calm the panic rising up into her chest.
‘I put the box right here when the animals escaped. I saw it just a few minutes ago. I saw it just a few minutes ago, just before the goat kids ran off across the football pitch. The box was still under the hedge then, but it’s not here now.’
‘Was there anyone else nearby?’ asked Jas. ‘Anyone who could have picked it up to put it somewhere safe?’
‘No!’ wailed Ava. ‘Everyone was trying to sort the chaos. It’s disappeared!’
‘It can’t just disappear into thin air, Ava. Maybe you put it somewhere else?’
Ava shook her head.
‘Well, well, well…’
Ava and Jas turned to see Melody standing behind them, arms folded and a smug look on her face.
‘Don’t tell me you’ve lost the cash box.’
‘I… I…’ began Ava.
‘You’re going to be in so much trouble.’ Melody could hardly contain her satisfaction at the thought of Ava getting into trouble.
The sound of footsteps across the playground made all three girls turn round. Miss Harper was hurrying towards them, a look of relief on her face.
‘Thank goodness I found you. I was getting worried when you didn’t come back. I sent Melody to see where you’d got to, and then she didn’t return! I was starting to think some sort of strange cosmic wormhole had opened up and was teleporting students to a galaxy far, far away.’
Miss Harper laughed, but Ava and Jas remained stony-faced.
‘What?’ asked Miss Harper. ‘What’s happened?’
Melody stood in front of Ava and Jas with an enormous smile plastered across her face. ‘Ava’s lost the raffle-ticket money.’
Miss Harper’s smile vanished.
A short time later, Ava found herself sitting outside the head teacher’s office biting her fingernails. Melody had already been in to give her version of events, and Jas was currently inside telling Mr Dalton what she knew. Ava closed her eyes and sighed. She knew she was in a lot of trouble – there was hundreds of pounds missing that the animal charity wouldn’t be getting. The whole of the Oaks class now knew what had happened too. They’d all been sent out to search the playground and the school fields, but the cash box was nowhere to be seen. The looks on her classmates’ faces was unbearable – there’d be no large donation to Hollybank Animal Rescue Centre as well as no Halloween party or Christmas treats now.
Aunt Kitty’s face appeared at the end of the corridor. Ava’s breath caught at how worried she looked. Her aunt raced down the corridor and pulled Ava into her arms. Ava fought back the threat of tears; she was so relieved to see her. Somehow, Aunt Kitty always made things feel better. After a moment, her aunt pulled away and looked Ava directly in the eye.
‘What on earth happened?’ she asked, her blue eyes searching Ava’s face.
‘I don’t know what happened to the money – honestly, I don’t.’
Aunt Kitty embraced her again.
‘Just tell me what happened. Don’t leave anything out – I need to know the bad stuff as well as the good. I don’t want to be hearing anything in there that you’ve left out if I’m going to fight for you. If I don’t know everything, then I can’t help you.’
‘That’s just it, Aunt Kitty. I don’t really know anything.’
Ava told Aunt Kitty exactly what had happened. It sounded ridiculous that the cash box had been there one minute, then gone the next. Aunt Kitty looked just as confused as Ava felt.
‘Maybe someone moved it to a safe place in the chaos that was going on,’ said Aunt Kitty hopefully.
‘But why haven’t they come forward to say they did? Besides, no one had the opportunity. Everyone was either grabbing animals or children.’
The door to Mr Dalton’s office opened and Jas came out. ‘Good luck,’ she whispered as she passed Ava.
Ava and Aunt Kitty sat in the head teacher’s office as he gave a brief speech about honesty, telling the truth and school values. He finished off by mentioning the poor animals at the rescue centre that would be so much worse off without the money from the raffle. That was the worst bit for Ava. She didn’t need Mr Dalton to tell her that. The whole reason she’d been so keen to help with the raffle was because of the rescue centre, and now they’d be getting nothing and it was all her fault.
For the third time that day, Ava recounted exactly what had happened out on the playground.
‘And you’re sure you didn’t see anyone else near the cash box?’ Mr Dalton asked when she’d finished.
Ava shook her head.
‘And it was just you, Jasmine and Melody helping the Marchant Park handlers out on the playground?’
‘Yes,’ replied Ava. ‘And a classful of five-year-olds running wild.’
Mr Dalton fixed his eyes on Ava. He seemed to be weighing up what to do.
‘Jasmine Evans gives the same version of events as you.’
‘And Melody’s version?’ asked Ava.
Mr Dalton’s mouth set into a hard line as he said nothing.
‘Whatever she said, it’s not true!’ shouted Ava. ‘She’s just trying to get me into trouble!’
‘That’s enough, Ava!’ said Mr Dalton. ‘That sort of outburst may be acceptable at your other school, but it definitely isn’t here.’
Ava sat back in her chair. Her mind was racing. Nothing about any of this made sense. Mr Dalton cleared his throat.
‘Mr Marshall said he saw Melody walk out of his classroom and straight over to you and the animal handler with the goat kids. He said she didn’t go anywhere near where you said you’d left the cash box. Jasmine was always in sight, helping to get his reception class back inside. He couldn’t confirm your whereabouts though.’
Ava’s mouth fell open, and Aunt Kitty cleared her throat.
‘So are you saying that Mr Marshall thinks Ava took the money?’ she asked quietly.
‘No. No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m just trying to work out where everyone was. No one seems to have had the opportunity to move the cash box.’
‘But someone else could have seen the box and come out and taken it while everyone was distracted by what was happening in the playground,’ added Aunt Kitty.
‘Yes, it’s possible,’ replied Mr Dalton. ‘But I have to be honest. Even if Ava didn’t move the cash box, and she left it where she said she did, then she’s certainly responsible for losing the raffle money.’
Ava’s shoulders sagged. She felt terrible, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong.
‘In light of this, and because a large amount of money has gone missing that isn’t actually the school’s, I need to think carefully about what to do next.’ Mr Dalton sounded serious.
‘And what do you think that might be?’ asked Aunt Kitty.
‘This sort of thing has never happened before in our school, and I honestly don’t know how to proceed. Ava, I suggest we take the weekend to see if the cash box turns up before I have to decide on a course of action. Perhaps you can think again about exactly what happened and see if there’s anything else you can remember that could help us find the missing money.’
Ava was beginning to feel sick. It was starting to get very serious, and the cash box seemed to have just vanished. She looked up at the head teacher and tried to collect herself.
‘I’ll show you the money going missing isn’t my fault, Mr Dalton.’
‘I hope you do, Ava,’ he replied with the hint of a smile. ‘I really hope you do.’
