‘Do we need to carry on up to End House?’ asked Sophie once all the excitement was over and the neighbourhood-watch team had scampered home. ‘Is anyone living there now?’
End House was the very last house in the village, down a long, dark drive with tall trees on either side. Its owner lived abroad but rented it out from time to time. No one ever seemed to stay there long.
‘There is someone there – just for a few weeks,’ said Jamie, whose dad ran the village store. ‘He’s called Stanley Strange – and he is strange too! I think he’s some kind of computer geek – he bought all the computer magazines in the shop.’
‘That’s not strange!’ protested Ollie, who loved his computer games. ‘That’s really cool. Come on, guys, we can’t leave him out!’
So the children and Lara made their way down the shadowy drive with Spud and Star running ahead of them. The house was in total darkness except for one room on the ground floor illuminated only by the pale light of a laptop computer. They could see a thin figure hunched over the screen, staring at it intently, his long fingers tapping furiously on the keyboard.
That man looks familiar, thought Lara. Where have I seen him before?
‘I’ll count you in, Lara!’ said Ben, interrupting her thoughts. ‘We’ll do “Silent Night”. One, two, three …’
That’s my favourite! Lara began to blow on the mouth organ and the children joined in, softly at first and then slightly louder, their voices blending perfectly. It sounds beautiful – even though I say it myself, thought Lara.
Unfortunately, Stanley Strange didn’t agree. As soon as the carol began, he started away from his screen and looked quickly from left to right. Then he slammed the laptop closed, leapt to his feet and raced to the window. Stanley saw the smiling faces of the children and Ollie giving him a friendly wave. He opened the window and shouted, ‘Stop that awful noise! Go away! This is private property!’
Lara stopped playing abruptly and the carol singers’ voices faded to silence.
‘We’ve just come to wish you a merry Christmas, Mr Strange,’ said one of the boys politely. ‘We’re collecting for a children’s charity.’
‘Well, you can forget about that for a start!’ hissed Stanley. ‘I’m not giving you any money. I hate Christmas and I hate, hate, HATE children. Understand? Now get out of here before I lose my temper! Go on – scram!’
Spud began to growl and Star looked at Lara questioningly. ‘Is he threatening the children? Shall we bite him?’
‘No. We should take the children home,’ woofed Lara, turning quickly away.
It was then that Spud noticed a black four-wheel drive parked at the side of the house.
‘Hey, look, Mum! Isn’t that the car that nearly ran us over the other night?’
‘So that’s where I’ve seen him before,’ said Lara. ‘That explains a lot. Come on, pups, let’s get out of here.’
As Lara and the children hurried away Spud whispered to his sister. ‘I’ve got an idea! Let’s jump on his car with our muddy paws!’
Before Star could answer, Spud leapt on to the bonnet and marched backwards and forwards leaving dirty paw marks all over the paintwork and the windscreen.
‘Serves him right!’ giggled Star as she bounded up on to the roof to add her own prints – but then she stopped suddenly. ‘Spud! Spud! Look inside the car!’
Star stared in amazement at a pile of clothes lying neatly on the back seat. ‘Look! Red trousers and a red coat, a black belt and big black boots, a hat with a white fur trim – and yes, there it is – a white false beard. Do you know what that is?
‘Of course I do, silly!’ said Spud. ‘It’s a Father Christmas outfit!’
The pups looked at each other in excitement, sensing the beginning of a mystery. ‘The question is,’ said Star, ‘if he hates Christmas and children so much, what’s a Father Christmas outfit doing in Stanley Strange’s car?’