The Sequin Star (19 page)

Claire shrank back against the wall. She looked around carefully. Most of the office doors were standing open, except for the door closest to the desk. It was about ten metres from the top of the stairs and had a key fitted in the lock. That must be where Kit was being held.

Rosina signalled with her hands. She took a chunk of apple from her pocket, where she always kept her animal treats. She showed the treat to Lula then threw it across the room. Lula scampered across the floor after the missile. The three children ducked.

‘What the heck?' said the man, jumping out of his chair and chasing after the monkey. While the man's back was turned, the three children raced forward.

Jem darted after Lula then threw himself into a series of cartwheels and somersaults. The man watched, open-mouthed in confusion, as Jem's body spun over and over. He gathered his wits and dived back towards the desk for the revolver.

Rosina ran forward and flicked her stockwhip. The leather lash snaked through the air, striking the revolver on the desk and sending it spinning across the floor, away from the locked door. Rosina and the man raced for the gun. Jem chased after them both, his slight frame sprinting faster than the older, heavier man.

While the guard was focused on the gun, Claire dashed for the locked door, clutching one of Jem's throwing knives in her right fist. Her heart pounded with fear. Her legs and arms pumped – it was a race for their lives! She thumped into the door, turned the key in the lock and flung it open. From the corner of her eye she saw Jem leap for the man's legs, crash tackling him to the ground. The man fell heavily, with Jem on top.

Claire stumbled through the door.

18
Rescue

The office was in darkness. Claire switched on her torch, her breath ragged. Stacked against the wall were numerous paintings and crates, and in the corner was a pile of blankets. The blankets moved as Claire came in. A head stuck up. It was Kit, his mouth gagged.

Claire ran to him. ‘Kit, Kit, are you all right?' she cried. Kit nodded, struggling to sit up.

The blanket fell away to reveal Kit's hands tied behind his back. Claire knelt behind him and fumbled with the knots to untie the gag. Her fingers refused to work.
Hurry, hurry,
she told herself.

Muffled sounds of struggle came through the open door.
What was happening?
Did Jem manage to keep the guard down? Did Rosina pick up the revolver? Or are they both now prisoners themselves?

The gag finally fell free. Kit gulped in deep breaths of air.

‘Claire.' Kit's voice was raspy. ‘What are you doing here? How did you find me?'

She took the throwing knife and began sawing at the ropes that bound his hands and arms. ‘We're here to rescue you. Rosina and Jem are here too. Even Lula.'

Kit rubbed his arms to restore the circulation. Claire crawled around and began to free his legs.

‘Can you walk?' Claire whispered. ‘We need to get out of here.'

‘I think so,' Kit replied, struggling to his feet.

Claire examined him in the light of her torch. There were bloodstains down his white shirt front, from what looked like a bleeding nose. His face was scratched and covered in more dried blood. Dark circles surrounded his sunken eyes. He stumbled, his legs numb from being tied up for so long. Claire took his arm and helped him hobble to the doorway.

She peered around the doorjamb to find the guard still lying on the floor. Rosina stood over him, stockwhip coiled, ready to strike. Jem stood on the other side, pointing the revolver at their prisoner. Lula jumped up and down on the guard's chest, her fangs bared, screeching wildly.

Claire looked at the man's face. It was Larry the chauffeur.

‘Larry,' she gasped. ‘You're the kidnapper.'

‘Get this rotten monkey off me,' Larry begged.

‘Kit, are you hurt?' Rosina cried.

‘I'm fine,' Kit replied, smiling warmly. Then he turned and glared at Larry. ‘No thanks to
you
. How could you do such a thing?'

Larry squirmed on the floor.

‘Father took you in when your dad died and gave you a job and somewhere to live,' said Kit. ‘And this is how you repay him?'

Larry glared at Kit. ‘My father died when a stack of crates fell on him in your father's warehouse. Mr Hunter's idea of helping his dead employee's family was to give me a job that pays a pittance and leave my mother scrubbing floors to feed her children. All the while your father sits in his fancy house counting all his money, and you swan around playing at being Prince Charming.'

Kit flushed. ‘My father . . . I didn't know. I'm sorry, Larry.'

Jem snorted. ‘Yes – we all have tough-luck stories. But we don't go around robbing and kidnapping people.'

Claire looked anxiously at the top of the stairs, wondering if Larry's accomplice in the circus might be on his way. ‘We know you have a helper in the circus. Is it Frank or Roy?'

Larry turned his face away. ‘I don't know what you're talking about.'

‘Well, whoever it is, they could be coming back at any moment,' Rosina reminded them. ‘We need to get out of here and get Kit to safety.'

Rosina chittered to Lula and the monkey bounded back to her usual perch on her shoulder.

‘I think this knucklehead could do with a taste of his own nasty medicine,' Jem proposed, nudging Larry with his boot.

‘Shall we lock him in the office?' asked Claire.

‘Sterling idea,' Kit replied.

‘But we need to hurry,' Claire urged.

As Jem started to tie Larry up they heard a faint noise from below. They decided to simply lock Larry in the office and run, leaving the revolver on the table.

The four friends tiptoed down the stairs to the first floor. Jem had to help Kit, who was stumbling and light-headed. As they reached the landing they heard hurried footsteps approaching. Jem gestured for them to race back to the storeroom they had first entered. A torch shone in the darkness below, its beam faintly reflected up the stairwell.

As they reached the door to the storeroom, there was a noise from directly behind. Claire swung around just as a man appeared, torch in hand, at the top of the stairs. Recognition dawned on both of them at the same time.

It was Manfred the Magnificent.

‘
Run
,' screamed Claire. ‘It's Manfred.'

Manfred darted towards them, his face twisted with rage. As he ran, he drew his arm back, took aim and threw something. A flash of silver whizzed through the air. Claire swerved just as a razor-sharp dagger flew past her head and buried itself in the timber architrave around the doorway. Claire stumbled through the door right behind Jem and Kit.

‘He tried to kill me,' gasped Claire.

Rosina slammed the door shut behind her, and Kit helped her hold it firm. Manfred thudded into the closed door.

‘Claire, help me drag this over,' Jem said. The two of them heaved and puffed as they manoeuvred a desk over to jam the door shut. Manfred pounded against the door, making the desk shudder. Jem and Claire pushed all their weight against the desk, holding it fast.

‘Get out the window,' ordered Jem, gesturing at Rosina. ‘We won't be able to hold him off for long.'

‘Kit first,' Rosina said, her arms crossed.

‘I'm not going until the girls are safe,' Kit replied.

A loud crash came from the other side of the door as though Manfred had thrown something heavy against it. The desk juddered.

‘Just go!' shrieked Claire, pushing Rosina towards the window. Rosina scrambled over the ledge and, hand over hand, slithered down the rope to the yard below. Lula followed quickly.

There was now only silence from the other side of the door, as though Manfred had given up. To Claire, the silence was more ominous.
What is he up to
? she thought as she leant out the window to make sure Rosina had made it safely to the ground.

With acrobatic grace, Rosina jumped up and swung over the top of the fence, disappearing back over into the circus lot. Elsie trumpeted a welcome.

‘Go, Claire,' Kit hissed.

Claire clambered over the ledge and tried to climb down the rope just as Rosina had. Instead, she slid down the rope like a fireman down a pole. The rough hemp tore at her skin, searing her palms. She cried out as she fell and hit the ground with a bone-shuddering thump. All the breath was knocked from her chest and she lay on the ground helpless, curled into a ball.

Kit followed down the rope, nearly landing on top of her. ‘Claire, are you all right?' he asked. ‘Can you stand?'

Claire blinked back tears of pain and fear. She nodded. Kit helped her struggle to her feet. Jem slipped down the rope and landed like a cat beside them.

A torchlight shone from the storeroom window above. Manfred had broken in. Kit hoisted Claire up to help her climb over the fence. She clung to the top of the fence feeling awkward and clumsy. She could see the big dark shadow of Elsie with Rosina beside her. Elsie stretched out her trunk to help lift Claire down.

‘Hurry, Claire,' Rosina shouted. ‘He has the gun.'

Claire glanced up, crouched on the very top of the fence, one leg hanging on either side of the palings. The torch shone down, illuminating her, and she froze, her heart beating wildly.

She could see that Manfred had the revolver pointed straight at her. He pulled the trigger.

‘Jump, Claire!' Kit yelled.

Claire threw herself from the top of the fence and landed with a thump, winded and aching all over. Jaspar whined and licked her on the face. Rosina helped her scramble to her feet.

‘The gun didn't fire?' Claire asked as the boys joined them in the circus lot.

‘Of course not, you mutton-head,' Jem said. ‘You don't think I would have left a loaded gun behind?'

He pulled his hand from his pocket and revealed a palm full of bullets and a shiny key.

They looked back up. Manfred was leaning out of the window, pointing the gun down at them, his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

Rosina turned to Elsie and murmured in her big flapping ear. Elsie's trunk snaked up through the darkness. She grasped the surprised man around his body and dragged him through the window, curled in her strong trunk. Manfred struggled, kicking and screaming, dropping his gun and his hat. He thumped Elsie on the trunk with all his might.

Elsie hurled him away. Manfred fell, landing on the soft, moist manure heap. Jaspar ran at him, growling, and everyone followed.

In Jem's torchlight Manfred didn't look so magnificent now, sprawled among the sawdust, straw and elephant dung. His carefully slicked back hair was now dishevelled and standing on end. His dapper suit was covered in filth, and his pencil-thin moustache was smeared on one side with a thick dollop of green manure.

Manfred rolled to get to his feet.

‘Oh, no you don't, Mr Magician,' Kit ordered, pushing him back down onto the compost pile with the rake from the nearby wheelbarrow. Kit held it to Manfred's chest, pinning him in the muck.

‘Let me up,' Manfred demanded. ‘Jem, Rosina – you know me. Tell him there's been a misunderstanding. I just happened to be passing and heard a noise. The door was open and I thought I'd look inside in case there were burglars.'

Claire felt a flash of fury at Manfred's unlikely protestations. ‘Of course you were. Your magic must be super powerful as the door was dead-bolted just a few minutes ago. I'm sorry I
misunderstood
when you tried to shoot me.'

Rosina shook her head, glaring at the magician in disgust. ‘Why? Why would you kidnap Kit and rob his house? Why would you try to shoot an innocent girl?'

‘No. No – I had nothing to do with it,' Manfred blustered.

‘Keep him here,' Rosina instructed, turning away. Manfred was surrounded by Kit with the rake, Jem with his throwing knife, Jaspar the dog, Elsie and her lethal trunk, and Claire holding the shovel like a baseball bat.

‘Don't make a sound,' Jem warned, his voice thick with loathing. ‘And don't even
think
of moving.'

Sensibly, Manfred the magician didn't try to move.

Rosina darted off through the shadows between the caravans, cages and vehicles. Fires were burning in the campfires around the lot. The smell of frying potatoes came from the cookhouse, reminding Claire that she hadn't eaten for hours.

Rosina was back in a few minutes, reversing in a bright-yellow van painted with huge red letters that read, ‘Sterling Brothers Circus'. This was the van that usually carried the band on the roof during the street parades. Rosina parked it up against the elephant enclosure and jumped out, the keys in her hand. She threw open the back door.

‘Manfred the Magnificent, your chariot awaits,' Rosina said in a scathing voice.

Kit prodded Manfred with the rake to encourage him to get up. Manfred looked at each teenager carefully, gauging their strength and resolve. Claire saw his eyes flick towards her, then past her and into the shadows.
He thinks I'm the weakest one,
thought Claire
. He thinks he can escape past me.
The thought made her angry.

Claire tightened her grip on the shovel handle, adrenalin pumping through her veins. She stepped forward and drew herself tall, taking determined aim. ‘Don't try to run for it. You wouldn't get five metres before one of us brings you down. After what you did to Kit, we are all itching to have an excuse.'

Manfred blanched. With a sharp nip on his leg from Jaspar, he scrambled into the back of the empty van. Rosina took the key and locked the door from the outside, then she climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

‘Jump in,' Rosina ordered, and the four of them squeezed across the front seat, with Lula on Claire's lap and Jaspar on the floor at Jem's feet. Kit stared at Rosina with her hands on the steering wheel of the large vehicle.

‘I don't mean to be rude,' Kit began. ‘But can you actually drive this thing?'

‘You just watch me,' Rosina replied with a grin, throwing the van into gear and driving it over the rough grass.

‘Of course you can,' Kit agreed, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Is there anything you can't do?'

Rosina thought for a moment then shook her head. ‘I'd give most things a go.'

‘Knucklehead,' teased Jem.

A number of circus workers looked up as the van roared between the campfires. A couple leapt to their feet in surprise. Rosina waved at them through the windscreen.

‘Where are we going now?' Claire asked.

‘We're taking Kit home,' Rosina replied.