halfway down the stairs.
“Who promises a
dog
?” said Sabina.
On the way back from her walk, Ruby made a stop at the tree on Amster Green. She wanted to see if Clancy had left something for her. He had. A coded note, folded in two.
It translated as:
Are you in some kind of trouble? I saw that
butler guy of yours and his fancy car —
I don’t trust him.
Ruby felt a pang of guilt as she carefully refolded the note and put it back in the tree as if she had never read it.
Back home she dejectedly climbed the stairs to her room. She closed the door firmly behind her and her thoughts returned to the watch. She knew it was safe inside her jacket pocket — only thing was, where was her jacket?
Luckily, Mrs. Digby had taken to sleeping in the bed at the far end of the warehouse in the Redforts’ guest room. She had always wanted to try it out — the mattress was pocket sprung.
She pulled on her robe and tiptoed silently along the far side of the warehouse, where she was hidden from sight by huge cargo crates. From here she had a pretty good view of what was going on, and she did not like what she saw. There were several thuggish men tearing at the furniture, pulling open drawers and cupboards, opening jars, ripping into feather cushions. Mrs. Redfort’s jewelery boxes were simply tipped upside down and emptied onto the floor. None of the thugs seemed at all interested in the contents once they had rummaged through them, yet these jewels were worth many thousands of dollars.
Mrs. Digby, who was finding it hard to restrain herself from marching right out there and giving them a piece of her mind, was relieved to hear a woman’s voice shout out, “Just what do you numbskulls think you are doing?”
About time,
thought Mrs. Digby.
The woman continued. “We are looking for something very small and highly valuable, how are we supposed to find it if you have turned the whole place on its head!”
Silence from the numbskulls.
Couldn’t have put it better myself,
thought Mrs. Digby. She couldn’t see the woman from where she hid but she guessed she must be quite a force to reckon with, since for the next eleven hours the men went painstakingly through every item of the Redforts’ home, picking it up, opening it, inspecting it, and then replacing it.
What in tarnation are those creeps looking for?
wondered Mrs. Digby.
Whatever it was, it seemed they didn’t find it.
RUBY GOT HERSELF UP AND READY nice and early. She was looking forward to going back to Spectrum and finding out more of its secrets. But first she had to find the Escape Watch, which meant locating her jacket. She was pretty sure that she must have left it in Hitch’s car, in which case it was safe — but what if he had found the jacket and looked through her pockets? She wouldn’t put it past him. In which case she was in big trouble.
But when she got downstairs Hitch was in the kitchen quietly studying a piece of toast.
“Is that piece of toast private or can anyone eat it?” she said.
He looked up. “Strictly confidential,” he replied, hurriedly biting into it. “So, you excited about your first day as a code breaker?”
Ruby gave him a withering look.
He winked at her. “Just pulling your leg, kid, I know you’re far too cool to get
excited
about things.”
She gave him another withering look and started for the back door.
“Where you going?”
“To get my bike. I might as well leave now. I can pick up breakfast at the diner.”
“No, that’s not how it’s going to be, kid. Strict instructions from the top: I’m going to drive you in to the Spectrum office each day and I’m going to collect you when you’re done.”
“Oh, man!” Ruby rolled her eyes. “I don’t need you driving me around. I’ll take my bike, OK?”
“Not OK, said Hitch firmly. “I gotta make sure no one tails you and I need to make sure you are all present and correct in one piece. If I’m not available then someone else will drive you
“Who promises a
dog
?” said Sabina.
On the way back from her walk, Ruby made a stop at the tree on Amster Green. She wanted to see if Clancy had left something for her. He had. A coded note, folded in two.
It translated as:
Are you in some kind of trouble? I saw that
butler guy of yours and his fancy car —
I don’t trust him.
Ruby felt a pang of guilt as she carefully refolded the note and put it back in the tree as if she had never read it.
Back home she dejectedly climbed the stairs to her room. She closed the door firmly behind her and her thoughts returned to the watch. She knew it was safe inside her jacket pocket — only thing was, where was her jacket?
Luckily, Mrs. Digby had taken to sleeping in the bed at the far end of the warehouse in the Redforts’ guest room. She had always wanted to try it out — the mattress was pocket sprung.
She pulled on her robe and tiptoed silently along the far side of the warehouse, where she was hidden from sight by huge cargo crates. From here she had a pretty good view of what was going on, and she did not like what she saw. There were several thuggish men tearing at the furniture, pulling open drawers and cupboards, opening jars, ripping into feather cushions. Mrs. Redfort’s jewelery boxes were simply tipped upside down and emptied onto the floor. None of the thugs seemed at all interested in the contents once they had rummaged through them, yet these jewels were worth many thousands of dollars.
Mrs. Digby, who was finding it hard to restrain herself from marching right out there and giving them a piece of her mind, was relieved to hear a woman’s voice shout out, “Just what do you numbskulls think you are doing?”
About time,
thought Mrs. Digby.
The woman continued. “We are looking for something very small and highly valuable, how are we supposed to find it if you have turned the whole place on its head!”
Silence from the numbskulls.
Couldn’t have put it better myself,
thought Mrs. Digby. She couldn’t see the woman from where she hid but she guessed she must be quite a force to reckon with, since for the next eleven hours the men went painstakingly through every item of the Redforts’ home, picking it up, opening it, inspecting it, and then replacing it.
What in tarnation are those creeps looking for?
wondered Mrs. Digby.
Whatever it was, it seemed they didn’t find it.
RUBY GOT HERSELF UP AND READY nice and early. She was looking forward to going back to Spectrum and finding out more of its secrets. But first she had to find the Escape Watch, which meant locating her jacket. She was pretty sure that she must have left it in Hitch’s car, in which case it was safe — but what if he had found the jacket and looked through her pockets? She wouldn’t put it past him. In which case she was in big trouble.
But when she got downstairs Hitch was in the kitchen quietly studying a piece of toast.
“Is that piece of toast private or can anyone eat it?” she said.
He looked up. “Strictly confidential,” he replied, hurriedly biting into it. “So, you excited about your first day as a code breaker?”
Ruby gave him a withering look.
He winked at her. “Just pulling your leg, kid, I know you’re far too cool to get
excited
about things.”
She gave him another withering look and started for the back door.
“Where you going?”
“To get my bike. I might as well leave now. I can pick up breakfast at the diner.”
“No, that’s not how it’s going to be, kid. Strict instructions from the top: I’m going to drive you in to the Spectrum office each day and I’m going to collect you when you’re done.”
“Oh, man!” Ruby rolled her eyes. “I don’t need you driving me around. I’ll take my bike, OK?”
“Not OK, said Hitch firmly. “I gotta make sure no one tails you and I need to make sure you are all present and correct in one piece. If I’m not available then someone else will drive you
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