PART TWO By Jenny McLachlan
THe CAsE Of tHe REd MOuStAcHe
PART TWO By Jenny McLachlan
I had just found out my sister was a spy and that a man – we were calling him Red Moustache – had tried to push her off a train and poison us with a pot of tea . Not only that , but the murderous fellow was blocking our exit from the Copper Kettle Café .
We were trapped .
However , I felt surprisingly calm . Dad had raised Iris and me to think on our feet . From a young age we were allowed to camp out on our own and every now and then he would drop us off in the middle of nowhere with nothing more than a packet of sandwiches and tell us to find our way home .
Perhaps this is why I didn ’ t panic when Iris asked me to come up with a plan to get us out of the café , although I did ask her why she couldn ’ t think of one herself .
‘ I ’ m feeling a little off colour ,’ she admitted .
My eyes shot to the poisoned pot of tea that sat on the table between us . ‘ Oh don ’ t worry about that ,’ she said . ‘ I haven ’ t drunk any – although if we don ’ t appear to soon then Red Moustache will get suspicious . No , I got a nasty bump on the head during the scuffle on the train .’ Iris raised her ugly green hat a fraction to reveal an even uglier bruise on her forehead .
For the first time I noticed that my sister looked pale . Sweat beaded on her forehead .
Seeing her like this pushed away my remaining fear and I was suddenly determined to get us both away from Red Moustache .
‘ We need to buy some time while we come up with a plan ,’ I said .
Just then there was a clatter on the other side of the café as the waitress put down her overloaded tray . Red Moustache was momentarily distracted and this allowed me to chuck the poisoned contents of my teacup into a plant pot .
When Red Moustache looked back at our table , I lifted the cup and – making sure my lips never touched the porcelain – I pretended to take a good long sip . I even licked my lips .
Iris looked at the copper plate on the wall behind me . She was using it as a mirror to see into the café .
‘ He ’ s bought it ,’ she said . ‘ He actually smiled , the brute !’ Then we got down to business . Iris revealed that she had one item that might help us : a pen . ‘ Do you plan to write him a letter asking him to let us go quietly ?’ I asked .
‘ No , silly . This is no ordinary pen . A small dose of tranquilliser is inside . Jab it into someone and they will be knocked out in seconds . If Red Moustache hadn ’ t taken me by surprise on the train I ’ d have already used it and we wouldn ’ t be in this mess .’
I eyed the pen . ‘ But this is brilliant , Iris . We just need to go over there and stick this in Red Moustache .’
Iris shook her head . ‘ No . That won ’ t
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