When you are written large on a psychopath’s hit list, do you:
A: Stay indoors, turn the locks, switch off the lights, hide under the covers and wait for someone else to do something?
B: Brush up on your kung fu moves, wrap up warm, get out there, root out trouble and save yourself?
She tapped her pencil against her head.
The idea of being a sitting duck until another agent pulled the clues together, identified the mole and rounded up these murderers was not an appealing one.
‘Sit tight’ was a Spectrum watchword, but as far as Ruby could tell, this was no time to be taking orders from Spectrum.
She smiled sadly.
It could only be option two.
Death or glory, she thought.
Meanwhile –
some eleven and
a half years ago …
… the guy lying on the side of the road looked up at the old man and saw the fear in his face.
‘Am I … alive?’
The old man nodded. ‘It would seem so.’
‘You … OK …?’ stammered the guy. ‘You … look … like you’re … gonna … faint.’
The old man was shrugging off his jacket. He pulled a penknife from his pocket and he began cutting at the sleeve of his own shirt, tearing it right off and wrapping it around the bleeding guy’s leg.
‘My name, should you be wondering, is Lenny Rivers.’ He was working quickly but methodically, binding the wound tight, trying to stop all that blood leaking onto the road.
‘Pleased to … meet … you … Len …’
‘So what hit you friend, a truck?’ The poor guy was a real mess, the worst thing Lenny had ever seen, except for that time when he’d found a hunter who’d been attacked by a bear. That fella hadn’t made it. ‘Was it one of those haulage trucks smashed into you?’ he asked.
The guy smiled faintly. ‘The fun … the funny thing … is … I … don’t re-mem-ber.’
‘Musta been going at a fair old lick,’ Lenny tutted. ‘Either didn’t see you or just decided to leave you for dead.’
‘I guess,’ said the injured guy, his eyes closing slowly.
‘Hang in there,’ said Lenny, more to himself than to the half-dead fellow lying there on the ground. He’d do what he could, but this poor soul’s ticket was punched, Lenny Rivers was sure of that.
‘So what do they call you?’ Lenny asked.
One thing Lenny Rivers knew for a certainty was, he’d want to hear his name spoken aloud one final time if he was about to float heavenwards. But the wounded man was already slipping away, his focus gone. ‘Hey there son, don’t leave me, tell me what you go by.’ Lenny gently tapped the injured man’s bloodstained cheek. ‘Stick with me pal, you must have a name, right?’
The guy’s eyelids flickered and opened one last time. He was staring beyond Lenny as if his eyes saw some other figure standing behind him. ‘Loveday,’ he said. ‘It was Morgan … Loveday.’
THE SOAP RANG IN THE BATHROOM the next morning and Ruby spat out her toothpaste and picked up.
‘So what were you going to tell me?’ asked Clancy. Ruby could hear his little sister Olive in the background, talking to someone.
‘Who’s there with you?’ asked Ruby.
‘Olive,’ said Clancy.
‘But who’s she talking to?’ asked Ruby.
‘Buttercup,’ said Clancy.
Silence.
‘Her doll,’ said Clancy.
Ruby listened for a moment. ‘Jeepers,’ she said.
‘Exactly,’ said Clancy. ‘So what were you going to tell me?’
‘Well, I’m not going to say it over the phone, am I, buster?’
‘Of course you’re not, bozo. I was wondering if you’d like the pleasure of my company, plus if I have to listen to more of this dolly talk I’m gonna go crazy.’
‘Anyone would,’ said Ruby. ‘Is she like this most days?’
‘Try every day,’ said Clancy.
‘I’ll meet you in a half hour, usual place.’
The usual place was the tree on Amster. They met there when they wanted to be completely alone and out of sight. It was December and the tree’s branches were bare and so the oak would not provide any cover, but at least sitting high in its boughs meant they were a long way from eavesdroppers and interrupters. It was as they sat up in the oak that Ruby filled her friend in on everything she had omitted to tell him before.
‘LB killed Bradley Baker?’ said Clancy.
‘That’s what the Count told me,’ said Ruby.
‘Are you actually serious?’ asked Clancy.
‘Serious as the look on your face,’ confirmed Ruby.
‘But … I mean, really? I mean … kill him? How?’ asked Clancy.
‘What you have to ask yourself is why,’ said Ruby.
‘Why?’ said Clancy. ‘Why is why the question I have to ask myself? Why not – can you get me outta Twinford as quickly as possible? Followed by, could you call the sheriff’s office right away? Because those are the questions I would be asking if I just found out that the boss of the secret agency I worked in had murdered her best friend and not just some average Joe either, not that that would make it all right or anything, but we are talking about Bradley Baker, legendary agent of Spectrum 8. So if LB did that then yes, can you get me to a safe house and could you call the sheriff would be my first two questions.’
‘Well, thank goodness you’re not me, Clance, because both of those questions are dead ends. For one: who’s actually going to believe any of this? And for two: if LB is really his killer then how far am I gonna get before I end up going the same way as Baker? I mean think about it, Clance, she runs a team of highly trained agents, secret agents who are capable of –’ she drew her finger across her throat, before adding – ‘secretly.’
Clancy opened his mouth to speak, but could not think of anything cheerful to say.
‘So what you gotta look at,’ said Ruby, ‘is the whole big picture. My boss might well be a traitorous killer: she has the means, the power, possibly a motive, but before we absolutely totally conclude she is a traitorous killer, we need to examine the evidence. For example, what do we know about Bradley Baker?’
Clancy shrugged. ‘He was the youngest spy Spectrum ever recruited, super respected and well-liked, and he was the most talented code breaker and agent they ever had.’ He stole a sideways look at Ruby. ‘No offence, Rube.’
‘Don’t sweat it bozo, I hear it all the time.’
‘And,’ continued Clancy, ‘he was killed in a plane crash.’
‘Which it seems was no accident,’ said Ruby. ‘Nor was it at the hand of the enemy, but rather by the hand of his most loyal ally.’
‘And let’s not forget fiancée,’ added Clancy.
‘So now what we got to look at is who exactly is feeding us this information,’ said Ruby. ‘Who is the deliverer of this sad and bad news?’
‘The Count,’ said Clancy. ‘At least, it was his apple.’
‘Yeah,’ said Ruby, ‘it was his apple, and he wanted me to find the note.’
‘So,’ said Clancy, ‘so you’re asking, do you think we should consider him a reliable source? Maybe he just wants us to believe LB is a murderer. He could be just making the whole thing up?’
‘Yeah, and the truth is, I can’t say I know him well enough to know,’ said Ruby.
‘You do know him well enough,’ said Clancy. ‘You know him well enough to know that you can never know him.’
‘What?’
‘I’m saying he likes to move the goal posts, he sorta enjoys playing with people, creeping them out, just for fun and also, you know … killing them.’ Clancy shivered.
Ruby stared into the distance. ‘Yeah, he does like to mess with people’s heads; once he’s planted an idea, you just can’t shake it. He knows how these thoughts grow, how they take off in different directions – you don’t exactly know what they mean or even what you’re scared of, you just keep running with it.
’
‘So what has he got you thinking?’ asked Clancy.
Ruby paused before speaking. ‘What he’s got me thinking is, what if Bradley was not all that he seemed; what if he were the so-called bad apple?’
‘You suggesting he wasn’t the super talent everyone thought he was?’ asked Clancy.
‘No, I think we can accept that Baker was the super talent that everyone drones on about, but if he was such a talented agent then he may also have had a talent for espionage.’
‘Huh?’
‘What I’m suggesting here is, was he leading a double life?’
Clancy was looking at her, his expression one of puzzlement.
Ruby spelled it out: ‘Do we know which side he was really on?’
‘Oh,’ said Clancy, ‘that … that wasn’t something I was even thinking about.’
‘So let’s just say he was a double agent, LB woulda had to kill him for the sake of Spectrum, for the sake of this country –’ she stretched her arms out wide – ‘the world even.’
Clancy let out a heavy sigh. ‘I’d feel a lot better if that’s how it was.’
‘It could have been that LB knew what nobody else knew: that he was a phoney, a fraud, an imposter.’
‘Like some kind of mole, you mean?’
‘Yeah,’ nodded Ruby.
‘Boy, it sure makes you think,’ said Clancy. ‘Imagine finding out that your best friend, most loyal ally, is a total fake, not to mention murderer.’ He looked at Ruby. ‘Though I have to say, Rube, if you turn out to be an evil genius, I can’t see myself killing you. I kinda like your company.’
‘I appreciate that Clance, I really do.’
‘Still, I think LB had guts to do what she did,’ said Clancy. ‘If Baker was a bad egg, she did the right thing.’
‘Yeah,’ said Ruby, contemplating this for a moment, ‘but what if he wasn’t? What if it was the other way around?’
‘Jeepers, I was just beginning to relax,’ said Clancy.
‘Yeah, well, don’t, cos what if it was Bradley Baker who was the good news in this story and LB eliminated him so she could get on with her plot to take over the world or steal the moon or whatever?’
‘The moon?’ said Clancy. ‘Can you even do that?’ He was on his feet now, as if he needed to be ready for what might be coming.
‘Geez, Clance, it was just an example, how should I know what she’s got planned?’ Ruby paused, sorting through the thoughts that were flickering in her brain: the cyan, the indigo, the ruby eyes of the Buddha, the 8 key, the yellow snake. ‘If I could figure that out, and how it all links together, the thefts and the murders, the mole within Spectrum, well, then I might know what to do.’
‘Yeah, right,’ said Clancy, ‘if you knew all that then you could just amble downtown and knock on Sheriff Bridges’ door and hand him the evidence.’
Ruby sighed. ‘Like that’s gonna happen.’
‘But meanwhile, you figure one of them has to be a bad seed?’ said Clancy. ‘Either it’s Baker or it’s LB?’
‘Or it’s neither?’ offered Ruby. ‘Unless of course,’ – she looked at him out of the corner of her eye – ‘they were both bad apples.’
Clancy made a face like he wished she wouldn’t say these kinds of things.
‘Look, could you give me a break here Rube? I can only cope with one double agent at a time.’
She thumped him lightly on the arm. ‘Take it easy,’ she said. ‘Yeah, I think it’s probably either Baker or LB, and let’s hope it’s Baker, right?’
Clancy nodded. ‘Because if it’s Baker then LB is on the level.’
‘Only thing is,’ said Ruby, ‘if LB isn’t the bad apple then who is, who’s the one pulling the strings?’
Clancy gave her the pained look again. ‘I don’t want to think about that right now.’
‘Yeah, well, time’s running out. Whoever is behind this whole series of events has a master plan and I get the feeling we’re heading towards the end game.’
‘So what’s your next move?’ asked Clancy.
‘I guess I need to find out more about Bradley Baker. I mean I know precisely zero about him other than what a great guy, what a smart agent, how we all wish he’d come back, but if I could dig down to what made him tick, what thoughts were whirling round that super-brain of his, and of course exactly how and why he died, then I might know more about LB.’
‘So ask around,’ said Clancy.
‘What, are you kidding? People don’t talk about Bradley Baker. They sorta mention him, how brilliant he was, but they don’t actually really say anything.’ Ruby shook her head. ‘No, if I started in asking a lot of questions then I would have to explain why I wanted to know, and then I would have to get into the whole bit about LB maybe being a murderer and I get the feeling that’s not gonna go down too well.’
‘You mean it might get you dead. If she’s a cold-blooded murderer, is that what you’re saying?’ said Clancy.
‘That is the worst case scenario,’ said Ruby, ‘and me dead is something I’m trying to avoid.’
‘You could tell Blacker?’ suggested Clancy. ‘You trust him, right?’
‘Sure, but this is not the same, this is me telling him not to trust his boss, and if you were asking, do I trust him not to go right ahead and speak to LB about my concerns? That would have to be a no. Blacker is loyal to Spectrum, loyal to the core, and I would have a pretty hard time convincing him that his boss is a bad egg or apple or whatever. People generally don’t like to believe they have been putting their trust in, and generally assisting, a dangerous psychopath.’
‘But her name was inside a bad apple,’ Clancy reminded her. ‘Blacker can’t ignore that.’
‘And who put it there?’ said Ruby. ‘The biggest bad apple of them all. Everyone knows the Count would be happy to see Spectrum destroyed.’
‘You have a point,’ said Clancy.
‘I know,’ said Ruby.
‘So you need to find someone who will talk.’
‘Who exactly?’
‘What about Froghorn?’
‘What about him?’ said Ruby.
‘Do you trust Froghorn?’
‘I trust him not to push me off a cliff or under a bus, but that’s about it.’
‘But do you trust him to tell the truth?’ asked Clancy.
‘Froghorn? Oh, he just loves to tell it like it is,’ said Ruby. ‘He’s like a regular truth trumpet.’
‘So ask him,’ said Clancy. ‘I bet you he’ll talk. He’s dying to rub your nose in the whole Bradley Baker legend, I bet you anything he’ll tell you whatever you wanna know, just to make you feel small.’
‘You know what Clance, that’s not such a terrible idea.’
He smiled. ‘Really?’
She gave him another friendly punch to the arm. ‘Nice going, Crew.’ She looked at her watch and then began to climb down the oak.
‘Where are you going?’ he asked.
‘Little Mountain Side,’ she said.
‘Where?’
‘It’s in the Sequoia Mountains, wanna come?’
‘Why would I wanna go to the Sequoia Mountains?’
‘Are you kidding? The Sequoia Mountains are a UFO hotspot,’ said Ruby. ‘I’m hoping to spot one on my way through.’
‘You’re looking for unidentified flying objects?’
‘Mushrooms,’ called Ruby.
‘Same to you,’ shouted Clancy.
Somehow
Lenny Rivers got the dying guy
to the hospital in Ridgepoint before
the dying guy actually died …
… the old man was relieved, not because he thought the fellow had a hope in Christmas of seeing Christmas, but because he didn’t want to see it happen. It was too sad, the idea that this Morgan Loveday could just pass away without a friend to hold his hand, die all alone on a deserted road or in the back of some stranger’s truck. Well, it was too tragic to contemplate.
It hadn’t been straightfor
ward getting to the hospital. There had been some kind of incident on Pine Forest Pass, a cordoned-off road which Lenny had ignored – he’d had no choice.
Drive on, he thought, and have a chance of delivering a man with a pulse.
Turn back and he might as well have driven straight to the undertakers.
When Lenny Rivers handed him over to the ER team, Morgan Loveday was still breathing, but who knew for how long? Lenny gave his number to the triage nurse.
‘Would you mind calling me?’ he asked. ‘When he … you know, when … if … well, call me, his folks might want to speak to the guy that found him.’
‘Of course,’ said the nurse. ‘I promise I’ll call you when the time comes.’
DESPITE HIS RESISTANCE, Clancy Crew did join Ruby on her mission to find mushrooms. It took her no more than ten minutes of persuading before he reluctantly agreed. It took a lot longer than that to reach Little Mountain Side, but the journey was not the tedious experience Clancy had expected. As the bus wound up high into the Sequoia Mountains, the scenery became more and more spectacular, the great red trees rising from the rock. As the woodland thinned, they were confronted by staggering views to the south and west and far away in the distance one could just about see the ocean.
When at last the bus pulled up in Little Mountain Side there was no missing the perfect prettiness of the town either, perched high up there on the south side of the mountain, the sun slanting through the trees. As they stepped off the bus, Ruby and Clancy breathed in the mountain air; it was pretty good.
‘Sure doesn’t smell like Twinford,’ said Clancy.
‘You can almost taste the trees,’ said Ruby.
By the side of the road was a sign that read:
FRIENDLIEST TOWN IN THE NORTH-
WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND ‘FREE OF
SERIOUS CRIME’ SINCE 1951.
‘That’s reassuring,’ said Ruby.