Читать книгу THE RUBY REDFORT COLLECTION: 1-3: Look into My Eyes; Take Your Last Breath; Catch Your Death - Lauren Child - Страница 43

Chapter 21.

The blink of an eye

TODAY RUBY WAS DEFINITELY ON EDGE. She got up a half hour early and, using one of her mother’s powder compacts for a mirror, taped it to her bike’s handlebars – this way she could see behind her without turning around.

So, maybe she was being paranoid but better that than… well, never mind.

Amster was busy as ever, people jogging, people walking their dogs, walking to work, people sitting on benches reading the paper, nothing sinister but just to be sure, she would take a new route. This time, when she got to the left turn she sailed on past it. She was taking the long way round, the route which took you over the wooden cycle bridge.

Every couple of minutes she glanced in the mirror, there was quite a bit of traffic and Ruby was managing to keep ahead of most of it by cycling on the sidewalk. Each time she thought a car was on her tail, it would peel off in another direction and she would feel a wave of relief. However, there was one vehicle, a taxi, which seemed to have been behind her for a long time. There were a whole lot of yellow cabs on the road, each displaying its own individual number:

etc.

Ruby had a particular gift for remembering numbers even when they were displayed backwards in a tiny mirror, and this one was sticking to her like gum:

Ruby cut across one of the parks to see if she could lose it but when she rejoined the road a few blocks up, there it was – just as if it could read her mind. She cycled three blocks down a tiny pedestrian alleyway but sure enough, when she reached the end, there was the cab. This was someone who could second-guess her every move.

Ruby was beginning to sweat.

She was tired and her mouth was dry. The cab neither slowed down nor sped up, it just kept following. Her finger hovered over the little orange bicycle bell but she couldn’t press it – if she did he would swoop in and all this would be over. At last she reached the cycle bridge, not wide enough for cars – the nearest vehicle bridge was a quarter mile away so it was the end of the road as far as this guy was concerned. So she was surprised when she heard the car’s engine cut out and alarmed when she heard the clunk of the door opening and closing. But no one appeared on the bridge.

What are they up to? She heard the sound of movement in the marsh reeds below. Ruby froze; for seven minutes she stood completely still, not even blinking. YOU CAN MISS A LOT IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE {RULE 52}.

Then suddenly she saw it, something definitely glinted in the long grass, just for a spilt second. What was it? Something glass – a camera, binoculars… glasses?

Suddenly, something or someone was moving through the marsh reeds at great speed. Curiosity over took fear and Ruby found herself climbing over the railings, straining to see where whatever it was had gone – holding on with one hand, she leant her body out as far as she could. She wanted to see under the walkway, then just like that, she heard the clunk of the cab door closing and the rumble of the engine as it drove away.

‘Who are you?’ shouted Ruby, and that’s when she lost her footing, slipping on the iron support, her hand let go of the rail and she felt herself falling to the soggy ground below. She landed heavily but not awkwardly and nothing seemed to be broken. Whoever had been there was gone but they had left behind footprints, two smallish footprints; she crouched down to get a better look. The soles had a crisscross pattern like a lot of sneakers, but what was interesting was that in the left shoe there were two round indents – the size of thumbtacks.

Now who can I think of who might have stepped on a couple of thumbtacks recently?

She turned her bike in the direction of Ambassador Row.

Ruby was buzzed through the high black curly-metal gates and there sitting on the steps was Clancy. His top lip was all puffy and he had his dog with him – they seemed to be sharing a soda.

‘I’m not sure soda’s good for dogs, Clance,’ said Ruby

‘Oh, I just wondered if Dolly could drink through a straw.’

‘And?’ said Ruby.

‘No, she just starts eating it,’ replied Clancy.

‘Oh too bad, you won’t be able to get her on My Pet Genius after all.’

My Pet Genius was a programme that Ruby and Clancy were crazy about. It featured birds that could operate remote controls, dogs that seemed to be able to read, and cats that could make their own supper – it was highly entertaining.

Clancy smiled. ‘No, I guess not, Dolly is not exactly top of the class.’

‘By the look of you I’d say you had to take a seat in the old dentist’s chair – either that or your dentist punched you in the kisser.’

‘Does it show?’ said Clancy, pointing to his puffy lip.

‘Uhhh – did you look like a duck before? I can’t remember,’ said Ruby ruffling his hair.

‘Thanks Rube, that’s really reassuring – how would you like to go to the dentist at 7am?’

‘That sucks,’ agreed Ruby. She looked down at Clancy’s feet; his shoes were not quite clean, there was still the residue of dry mud around the sides, and in the sole of the left shoe were two brass pin-tacks.

‘So you been following me Clance?’

‘How did you know?’ he asked.

Ruby nodded her head at his shoes. ‘You left tracks,’ she said. ‘Or should I say tacks?’

‘Oh.’

Neither of them said anything for a couple of minutes until Clancy took a deep breath. ‘So you going to tell me what you’ve been up to Rube?’

‘It’s kinda a long story,’ said Ruby, ‘very involved.’

‘I got time, got the whole day off as a matter of fact – on account of my puffy lip.’

Ruby looked up. ‘So you know where I’ve been going?’

‘Not exactly – you cycle fast, I’ve only tailed you up as far as the west side of East Twinford.’

‘Well that’s a relief I guess.’

‘So how about it Rube, you might as well tell me – remember that time a couple of years ago when you knew what my mom and dad had gotten me for Christmas and you didn’t wanna tell me but I just wore you down until you did?’

Ruby sighed. She remembered it well. ‘OK Clance, I’ll tell you but you to have to swear you won’t under any circumstance breathe a word – not even in your sleep.’

‘I know, girl scouts honour and all that.’

‘Not even under torture,’ Ruby insisted. ‘Not even under torture in your sleep.’

‘I’ll gag myself, how about that?’ smiled Clancy.

Ruby wasn’t smiling. ‘This isn’t some little secret Clancy – this is big.’

‘You know me Ruby. I never blab – never,’ said Clancy earnestly.

It was true, Clancy never blabbed – you could dangle him over a crocodile pit and he wouldn’t say a thing.

Ruby looked at her friend. It was her sideways look, a look she gave when she was measuring up a situation. Clancy Crew knew that look well and held her gaze.

‘OK,’ she said, ‘this is the story.’

It took a lot of explaining and Clancy spent a lot of time saying, ‘you have to be kidding’ and ‘this is unbelievable – a real spy agency underneath Twinford City?’

‘It’s all true,’ she said. ‘Every word.’

‘So what are we going to do now?’

‘What I am going to do is to get myself over to Maverick Street before the Silent G gets on my tail.’ She picked up her bike. ‘I need to keep thinking but I’ll be in touch Clance, I promise – just keep it zipped, OK?’