Bill Rules by Elizabeth Fensham

letter. ‘But why are you saying “alas Maggot”?’
    â€˜â€œAlso known as Maggot”. It’s detective talk.’
    â€˜I think that should be alias, Matty,’ Bill said as gently as he could. After all, it was Mat who had put so much effort into this impressive letter.
    â€˜Believe me, Bill. It’s alas.’
    Bill shrugged. This spelling mistake was a minor flaw in a clever plan. Anyway, if justice were going to be done, Maggot would shortly be feeling very sorry for himself – so ‘alas’ was quite correct.
    â€˜Well how do we get this letter to the police?’ asked Bill.
    â€˜We con Tom into giving us a lift to the shops. The police station there is open all night,’ said Mat.
    â€˜How about we ask him to take us to the pizza shop? One of us does the ordering, the other ducks into the police?’ suggested Bill.
    â€˜Good. You deliver the letter. They know most of the locals, but they don’t know you.’
    Bill and Mat scraped together enough money for a pizza and lured Tom into giving them a lift to the pizza shop. They promised him a third share of theirPizza Supreme. Luckily, Tom was still a bit ‘peckish’ as he called it. He cheerfully drove them in the family combi to the shops. Mat and Tom sat in the pizza shop reading magazines while they waited for their order. It was easy for Bill to say he was taking a look around town.
    When Bill walked into the police station, he realised that because he was just a boy, the police might think the letter was a prank. On the other hand, if he tried to explain that he was serious, the police might do what they called ‘detaining for questioning’. Just the name O’Connell would give away his dad, and that could not happen. He was trying to save his dad, not betray him.
    Bill had no plan. But he didn’t have the time to back out, either. There was chaos in the waiting room. A very drunk man was screaming and swearing. He was off his head, even trying to punch at people. Two police were trying to calm him down. A tired looking lady, maybe about fifty years old, was sitting quietly on a bench against the wall. She didn’t seem to haveanything to do with the drunk man. She was grey-haired and neatly dressed, and she had a patient, kind look on her face. In seconds, Bill felt he could and would have to trust her.
    Bill pulled the hood of his sweater over his head, walked up quickly to the lady, sat next to her and said quietly, ‘Lady, I have a big problem. I have to give this letter to the police, but they can’t know who I am. Please, please give it to them for me.’
    â€˜It’s better you just face up to what you’ve done, son,’ said the lady gently...
    â€˜I promise you, I haven’t done anything,’ said Bill looking straight into the lady’s eyes. ‘I’m giving a tip off. But someone else and I are in danger if...’ tears rose in Bill’s eyes.
    The drunk man was now sitting on the floor refusing to stand. One of the police turned to the lady and Bill. ‘We’ll be with you in a minute.’
    â€˜I believe you,’ said the lady to Bill. ‘I’ll give them your letter. Good luck.’
    Bill handed her the letter. ‘Thanks a million.’
    â€˜Go on. Get out of here.’
    Back at the Grubs’ place and full of pizza, the twofriends felt victorious, but the feeling passed quickly. They knew there was still the matter of Troy. He had to be told what Bill and Mat had done. And more.
    It just so happened that for this Saturday night, Donald and Tessa Grub had invited Bill’s mum and dad to play cards. Troy had already refused the invitation. Bill suspected this was because he needed as much time as possible on his own to plot away with his so-called friends. From the way Pam was quieter than usual, Bill knew she was still feeling hurt from the fight she and Troy had had the night before. She