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‘Are you all right?’

‘Help me. Untie me.’

She felt for his hands. They were behind his back, tied with a cord, as were his ankles. He had been gagged too, but had managed to push the gag off his face, maybe by rubbing his chin against the rocky floor.

Kelly untied his hands, then helped him sit up.

‘What happened?’ she said.

‘I got a call to come out to the cave,’ he said. ‘Someone hit me over the back of the head … and then I woke up here tied up. If you hadn’t come … I don’t know what might have happened.’

She reached out and hugged him, squeezing him tight.

‘Thank goodness you’re okay,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here.’

‘Just untie my feet,’ he said. ‘Quickly.’

‘Don’t worry. You’re safe now.’

‘I know,’ he replied. ‘But I really, really need the toilet.’

33

An Attempted Gatecrash

The quad bike wasn’t much use as an ambulance. Kelly pressed down some plants to make a seat, then sat Edward down beside it. She handed him her bag to hold while she tried again to see if she could get any reception on her damaged phone.

However, as before, there was nothing.

She was just wondering whether she should try standing on top of the quad bike when Edward let out a gasp.

Kelly spun around to see him peering into her rucksack.

‘Is that Larry?’ he said.

‘Yes,’ Kelly said. ‘He decided to come along for the ride.’

‘I was just wondering if you had anything to drink.’

‘There’s a bottle of water at the bottom,’ Kelly said. ‘If you reach down underneath the toad.’

As Edward sipped from the bottle of water, Kelly told him about the mysterious phone call.

‘Are you sure it was him?’ Edward said. ‘I mean, he’s always seemed shifty, but he can’t possibly have been involved in my dad’s disappearance.’

‘It was him,’ Kelly said. ‘It was Lars Blackship. I’d put money on it. And he told me that the game was ready. The ship was ready to set sail as soon as the second sailor arrived. What on earth does that mean?’

Edward rubbed his head, then frowned. ‘It can only mean one thing,’ he said. ‘It has to be his house. You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The way it’s designed to look like a sinking Viking ship. I remember when they built it. There was a huge basement downstairs. That must be where they’re holding Dad.’

‘Are you sure?’

He rubbed his head again. ‘I can’t believe I was fooled by that postcard. I just don’t get it, though. That postmark is genuine. It was posted in France.’

‘I don’t know how they pulled it off,’ Kelly said, ‘but in their room I quite clearly saw a postcard from France addressed to you at the Carnival of Horrors. This whole thing is one massive setup. Pierce Littleslade is planning to get his land back from your dad.’

They climbed back onto the quad bike, bumping along the dirt trail.

Soon they emerged at the edge of Briar Speckles. Although several roads were cordoned off because of the parade preparations and the film crew causing additional disruption, they were able to use the quad bike’s small size to thread their way through the village until they came to Lars’s place.