Chapter 52
Puck's Dell, Stumblefrith Forest, Wealdshire. Saturday 30 May 1998
Chris and Josie were horrified when they arrived at Stumblefrith Forest and discovered what had happened — over half the pixies having been evicted and the benders destroyed. They tried to get to the camp but were prevented by the police, so they were delighted when they saw Shadow and Misty heading in their direction.
'We would have come yesterday, if we'd known what was happening,' gabbled Chris, 'but we slept most of the afternoon and didn't know the eviction was taking place until we saw it on the news last night. We're so sorry. Is there anything we can do right now?'
'Not a lot,' said Shadow. 'You don't happen to know where Andrew Starling is, do you?'
'Yes, we do,' Josie replied. 'We need to talk to you about it. Something's happened. It could affect the road.'
'Perhaps we'd better go and sit in the Rainbow van where we won't be disturbed,' Shadow suggested.
On the way there, the twins enquired about the Starling family and were genuinely pleased to hear that not only had they avoided being pains in the neck, but had actively participated in defending the camp.
'It just goes to show,' mused Josie. 'People can change — for the better.'
When they were comfortably ensconced amongst the cushions which covered the floor in the back of the Rainbow van, the twins related the whole story of Starling's misdeeds up to the point where Sir James placed the yellow envelope on the table.
Shadow rubbed his hands together. 'I think I'm going to enjoy this bit. It's funny, you know, but only a little while ago, Misty was saying how we have friends that we never see. Have you any idea who this black friar might be?'
'None at all,' said Chris.
Shadow looked at Josie. 'What about you?'
Josie looked as if she was about to suggest someone, but then seemed to change her mind. 'No, I don't know who it is. It's strange, though, that the black friars are only ever seen by the sixteenth-century people. It's almost as if they don't want to show themselves to us.'
'Because you might recognise them, do you think?' suggested Shadow.
'Hmmm. Possibly. I don't know.'
'Forget about black friars for a moment,' Misty said, but not unkindly, 'I want to know what was in that envelope.'
'How about if I show you?' Chris said, feeling like a conjuror as he reached inside the bag that was hanging from his shoulder.
He took out the envelope, removed some sheets of paper, and spread them out on the floor so that Misty and Shadow could see them.
No-one said anything for a moment.
Finally, Shadow sat back, a huge grin on his face. 'I've had no legal training, but I would say that these documents prove that our Mr Starling has been up to no good. Firstly, it looks as if the only reason the proposed route was chosen is because someone held back some vital information — and, of course, told a few porkies. Route 'C', the route that was chosen, was known to be the most expensive and the most environmentally-damaging. Secondly, it would appear that Hardtop Aggregates were awarded the contract illegally. I may be wrong, but I think Starling engaged in a bit of jiggery-pokery in order to line his own pocket. These documents are dynamite. They're only photocopies so the originals must be locked away somewhere. God knows how anyone got hold of these. But, whoever they are, they either want to put a stop to the bypass, or to Starling's devious scheme, or both. The big question now is what we do with this material.'
'The other question,' Misty added, 'is what Josie and Chris do with Starling. And, of course, what we tell Penelope. Any suggestions?'
'Could you tell Penelope that her husband is in a spot of bother and has had to go into hiding?' Josie wondered.
'Yes. Good idea,' said Misty. 'I'll think of something to tell her. Okay. Now what about Mr Starling?'
Shadow drummed on the floor with his fingers. 'I need to think about this but, off the top of my head, I would say that we let Andrew Starling decide what he wants to do with himself. Has he seen these documents? I mean, does he know that you have these copies?'
'No,' Josie told him.
'Okay. Well, I think he'll want to run away and hide somewhere when he does know. This stuff will not only end his career, but probably ensure that he spends the next few years enjoying Her Majesty's hospitality.'
'Eh?' Chris said, looking dumb.
Josie leaned towards his ear. 'In prison,' she whispered.
'Oh. Yeah.'
Shadow continued. 'So, as I said, I think we ought to be kind to Mr Starling and let him decide what he wants to do.'
Misty looked uncertain. 'Couldn't he stuff things up for us? If he comes back here.'
'I don't see how. There's nothing he can do except pack his bag and zip off to Paraguay before the cops get him.'
Josie shifted her position on the cushions and drew in a noisy breath. The others looked at her.
'What's on your mind?' Misty asked.
'I was thinking. I said just now about people changing for the better. You said that the Starling kids and their mum had stopped being obnoxious pains who couldn't care less about the countryside, and turned into true pixies. Well . . . Mr Starling seemed to change as well.' She looked at her brother. 'Wouldn't you say so, Chris?'
'Hmmm.' Chris considered the idea for a moment. 'Yes, he did. It started when we were at the time gate. He came over all funny and mumbled something about hearing someone singing.'
'At what time was that?' Shadow asked, leaning forward as if he had a good idea what the reply would be.
'Oh . . . just after three, I think. Yes, of course it was. We were meeting him at three o'clock.'
Shadow leaned sideways, wrapped his arm around Misty, and gave her a squeeze. 'More of your magic, I think.' Seeing the puzzled look on the twins' faces, he released Misty and explained how she had paralysed everyone with her song. 'The thing is,' he added, 'there's no way it could have been heard at Blackfriars Wood. Too far away. I assume you two didn't hear anything?'
When the twins shook their heads, Shadow said, 'I thought not. So — you said he started to act strangely at that point.'
Josie took over. 'All the way from the time gate to Tatscombe Hall he seemed very reluctant to carry on. I know he was worried that things might go wrong — but there was more to it than that. I'm sure he was starting to think that he shouldn't be going ahead with it.'
Misty held her hands out, palms upward. 'Okay, so what are you saying? What are you suggesting?'
Josie wriggled on the cushions again. 'I . . . I'm not sure. Maybe he was changing — in the same way that his family changed. Perhaps we could show him this evidence . . .' she indicated the papers scattered in front of her. 'And ask him what he thinks we should do.'
Josie expected her suggestion to be met with a barrage of protests. Instead, everyone seemed to be giving her words some serious consideration. Eventually, Shadow said, 'I'd be happy to go along with that. How about you two?'
When Misty and Chris nodded their agreement, Shadow asked the twins when they could see Starling. They decided they would go later that morning.
'That's good,' Shadow said. 'I don't think we've anything to lose by giving Andrew Starling the opportunity to make amends for what he's done. Now that we've got that settled, we'd better go and see what's been happening outside.'
'My home has gone. I lived in that tree house for eighteen months. Every morning I looked out and saw the beauty all around me, heard the birds singing, watched the sun rising over the forest, appreciated what I had, and wondered how anyone could want to destroy it. I'm homeless. I'm devastated. But what is far worse than losing my home is the thought that I'm about to lose a friend. That tree is a living being. It's four- hundred years old. It lived and it breathed and it remembered everything that had happened in the forest over four centuries. Those . . . vandals, they're going to murder that beautiful tree. They're gonna hack off its limbs, cut its body into pieces. It's murder.'
Leaf, one of the tree dwellers, was talking to the cameras. The twins stopped to listen before they went home. Leaf was crying, but she wasn't performing for the viewers. She meant every word that she was saying. Several of the pixies had been dragged from their tree houses by professional climbers during the last half-hour. Gerard was one of them. The twins spotted him looking dejected and decided to have a word.
'You never did get to stay in my tree house, Chris,' Gerard sobbed.
Chris put an arm around the boy's shoulders. 'You did a good job, Gerard. What you did was important. We're proud of you, and I'm sure your mum is as well.'
Gerard's face brightened. 'Do you think she is?'
'Sure of it. Look, we've gotta go. See you at school on Monday?'
'Yeah, okay. That'll be great.'
'And tell Jaine-Marie that I'll see her,' added Josie.
At home in Swainshurst, before they set off for the time gate, the twins heard a snatch of the 11 o'clock news.
'. . . has dismissed rumours that several heavy machines disappeared during the night. Ground radar will be employed today to try to locate the system of tunnels. Two entrances have been found, but the specialist team's progress has been barred by heavy steel doors which, evidently, were supplied by a local scrap merchant by the name of Riley. The bailiffs have no idea how long it will take to remove the locked doors, but suspect that these two will be only the first of many. The Sheriff of Wealdshire says he has no idea how many protesters are hiding in the tunnels but suspects there may be a dozen or more. He has been in communication with them by intercom and says that they are in fine fettle and determined to remain underground for as long as possible. It is expected that the protesters will make demands. The Sheriff, however, is adamant that any such demands will be ignored.'