No one knew. No one could even agree on a likely explanation. And while Sterling was keen to pursue the matter, Jake definitely wasn’t. ‘No,’ said Jake, when Sterling proposed that they should try to discover Miss Molpe’s present whereabouts. ‘I don’t care where she is. Or what she is. I just want her to stay away from me.’
‘But aren’t you interested in knowing what actually happened?’ Sterling pressed.
‘Not really,’ Jake retorted. And Newt backed him up.
‘What happened is that she destroyed her own tourist trap,’ Newt theorised. ‘So she wouldn’t get caught. And good riddance, too.’
‘Yes, but how did she destroy it? And what was actually destroyed? Prot wasn’t – we know that. Was it because he belonged to the real world, or because of the alloy in his casing?’ Sterling turned to the Bradshaws. ‘What I want to do is dismantle your caravan, piece by piece. I’d like to examine all Prot’s databanks, because there’ll be quantifiable readings in there. I want to check police records for disappearances, and then I want to compare our own recollections of what we saw, and after that I want to pursue the whole Shibilis angle—’
‘Why?’ Jake interrupted.
‘Why?’ Sterling looked astonished. ‘Because unless we find out what actually happened, we might not be able to stop it from happening again!’
‘Do you think so?’ Marcus wasn’t sure. ‘Couldn’t we just sell the caravan? Or destroy it?’ He appealed to Holly. ‘I don’t really want to go in there again – do you? I mean, even if Miss Molpe never comes back, it still smells horrible.’
His mother sighed. ‘I know it does,’ she admitted. ‘But I paid so much for it, you see . . .’
‘That’s all right!’ Sterling interrupted, beaming enthusiastically. ‘I’ll pay you double the original price! And you can buy yourselves something better!’
So Sterling bought the Bradshaws’ old caravan, took it apart, and found nothing. He combed through Prot’s databanks and found nothing of great interest in there, either. None of his research turned up any useful information, though he kept making inquiries long after his beach holiday had well and truly ended. Every so often, during the months that followed, he would call the Bradshaws with a question or invite them to evaluate his latest theory. Sometimes, when Jake visited Holly, he would bring an update from Sterling. But nothing ever came of all this work – and eventually, even Sterling gave up.
As for Holly, she didn’t use Sterling’s money to buy a new caravan. She didn’t need to, because the Huckstepps were always inviting her to stay in theirs. Instead she used the money to pay for a very simple honeymoon, once she’d finally married Jake. And with the small sum left over, she was able to take Marcus to see his dad.
For something that Marcus had looked forward to for so long, it proved to be a disappointing trip. He soon realised that his father wasn’t particularly interested in him – not half as interested as Jake was. And the journey itself was a disaster, what with the baggage handlers’ strike, the unscheduled stopover, the endless rain, the bad cold that Marcus picked up, and the earphones that he lost. But he didn’t mind, really. Disastrous holidays no longer worried him. On the contrary, he found them reassuring, because he knew he was safe from Miss Molpe just as long as things weren’t perfect.
It was the dream holidays that he had to avoid.
‘Look at this,’ he remarked to his mother one day, upon glancing at a magazine holiday promotion. ‘Island Paradise Getaway Special. Four nights in a luxury spa resort, all meals included, complimentary champagne and snorkelling, swim with the dolphins, free kids’ club. That sounds too good to resist, don’t you think?’
‘Probably,’ Holly agreed.
‘Do you think it’s Miss Molpe again? Do you think it’s one of her traps? Free kids’ club – that’s just the kind of thing Miss Molpe would dream up.’
‘Perhaps,’ Holly had to allow.
‘Maybe we should warn people that she’s still out there, waiting to pounce on them.’ Marcus was concerned about all the innocent little kids who might find themselves lured into Miss Molpe’s paradise trap. ‘Maybe we should write a letter to the newspapers, saying that if it sounds too good to be true, then it’s probably a lie.’
‘We can’t do that, Marcus. We’d be sued for defamation.’
‘But—’
‘People want to believe in paradise. They want to believe that they can escape into a perfect world where nothing will ever go wrong. It’s why they pay so much money for these trips.’ Holly leaned down and hugged him. ‘Don’t fret about it, sweetie. You don’t have to worry about Miss Molpe. As long as you’re sensible, you’ll be safe from Miss Molpe and everyone like her. All you have to do is remember that the real world isn’t meant to be perfect. And that there will always be ups and downs, no matter where you are.’
Then she went off to watch the Powerball jackpot on TV, leaving Marcus to help Jake build a kennel for their little white dog.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catherine Jinks was born in Brisbane in 1963 and grew up in Sydney and Papua New Guinea. She studied medieval history at university and her love of reading led her to become a writer. Her books for children, teenagers and adults have been published all over the world, and have won numerous awards.
Catherine lives in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales with her husband, Canadian journalist Peter Dockrill, and their daughter Hannah.
At seven, Cadel Piggott was hacking into computer networks. At eight, he was orchestrating traffic jams. At twelve, he was sabotaging construction sites. Now, at fourteen, he’s studying for his world domination degree.
The trouble is, he’s finding it hard to live up to his father’s expectations.
Evil Genius explores the fine line between good and evil in a strange world of manipulation and subterfuge.
Winner 2006 Davitt Award (Young Adult)
Sometimes, when it comes to fighting evil, one genius just isn’t enough.
Cadel Piggott’s been having a hard time since he chose to be good rather than evil.
He doesn’t know where he was born. He doesn’t know who his father is. And he’s under constant threat from Prosper English – the criminal mastermind he helped to put in gaol.
Will Genius Squad be the answer to all Cadel’s prayers? Or is he right to question their motives? Deciding what’s good and bad is more difficult than Cadel could ever have imagined …
Winner 2009 Davitt Award (Young Adult)
After abandoning a life of lies and mistrust, fifteen-year-old Cadel has finally found his niche. He has a proper home, good friends and loving parents. He’s even studying at university.
But he’s still not safe from Prosper English, who’s now a fugitive from justice and determined to smash everything that Cadel has struggled to build. When Cadel’s nearest and dearest are threatened, he must launch an all-out attack on the man he once viewed as his father.
Can he track down Prosper before it’s too late? And what rules will they both have to break in the process?
Table of Contents
COVER PAGE
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT PAGE
DEDICATION
CONTENTS
1. ‘OUR BEST HOLIDAY EVER . . .’
2. . . . OR MAYBE NOT
3. AN OLD FRIEND
4. A NEW FRIEND
5. PAST AND PRESENT
6. GHOST HUNTERS
7. A BURIED SECRET
8. ‘THIS IS CRAZY . . .’
9. ‘HEY, EDISON!’
10. GETTING HELP
11. BACK TO THE CELLAR
12. THE WORLD’S BEST PARTY
13. MUMS TO THE RESCUE
14. THE FIRST DOOR ON THE LEFT
15. THE CRYSTAL HIBISCUS
16. WE NEED THAT ROBOT!
17. THE DISAPPEARING DOORS
18. PICK YOUR DREAM
19. ‘PLEASE ENTER YOUR CODE . . .’
20. THE CRYSTAL HIBISCUS REVISITED
21. TRIGGER POINT
22. GATECRASHING
23. PARTY POOPERS
24. LOST IN THE DARK
25. ALL ABOARD
26. IN SEARCH OF EDISON
27. ESCAPE!
28. MORE MISS MOLPE
29. OLD DIAMOND BEACH
30. FAMILIAR CHILDREN
31. ‘YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED IN THERE . . .’
32. THE TERRIBLE TRUTH
33. ‘THEY DON’T EXIST . . .’
34. THE LAST RESORT
35. INSIDE THE SUITCASE
36. LEAVING AT LAST
37. NEARLY HOME
38. ‘LET HER GO!’
39. NIGHTMARE HOLIDAY
40. THE LAST PLACE YOU’D EVER WANT TO BE
41. BELOW DECK
42. SINKING
43. WHERE TO NOW?
44. ‘THIS IS A JOB FOR THE EMERGENCY SERVICES . . .’
45. THE PERFECT ESCAPE
46. MARTIYA
47. THE AMBASSADOR
48. TERMINAL ONE
49. WAITING
50. AMBUSHED
51. ‘I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT AIRPORTS . . .’
52. THE SEARCH FOR THE SMOKING ROOM
53. CHOKING
54. PAPER CHASE
55. INFERNO
56. EXCESS BAGGAGE
57. ‘IS THIS THE REAL THING?’
58. THE END OF THE HOLIDAY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catherine Jinks, The Paradise Trap
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