Alice-Miranda in the Alps (12 page)

Alice-Miranda and Millie walked across the snowy roadway to the rear entrance of Fanger's Palace Hotel.

‘Can you hold this?' Millie asked, passing the girl her trophy. Alice-Miranda balanced the huge cup on her hip. Millie rummaged around in her pocket and pulled out the little disc she'd found in the foyer the other morning. ‘Oh drat, I forgot our room key,' she said. ‘I don't suppose this will be of any use, although maybe it really was my lucky charm in the race.'

Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘I think sheer talent, guts and determination probably had a lot to do with it too.'

‘We'll have to go back and get the key from your mother.' Millie sighed and took her trophy.

The girls were on their way to the hotel to deposit their winnings and change out of their silks. They had just turned around when they saw Lucas racing towards them.

‘Hey, wait for me,' he yelled as he sped up to the hotel gate.

‘What are you doing here?' Alice-Miranda asked. ‘I thought you and the others were getting something to eat.'

‘I need my gloves,' the boy said. He pulled his hands out of his jacket pockets, revealing two pale sets of digits, which looked distinctly blue on the tips.

‘Have you got your key?' Millie asked. ‘I forgot mine.'

Lucas pulled out his card and swiped the keypad next to the gate. The children walked through a small garden and into a foyer, where they found a lift. The hotel seemed deserted compared to the early-morning bustle. Lucas pushed the button.

‘That trophy is enormous,' Lucas said to Millie as they waited.

Millie held up the silver cup and studied it closely. ‘I still can't believe I won.'

Lucas nodded. ‘You were incredible. You too, Alice-Miranda.'

‘It was so much fun,' Alice-Miranda said, grinning at the memory.

After several minutes had gone by, Lucas pushed the button again.

‘Do you think it's out of order?' Millie said. Her arms were beginning to ache from holding her prize.

Lucas walked to the other end of the vestibule. ‘That's weird,' he said, glancing around. ‘You'd think there'd be a staircase down here somewhere. Otherwise, how would you get up and down if the lift's not working?'

‘What about through that door?' Alice-Miranda said, pointing at a panel in the wall.

‘Where?' Lucas asked, trying to see what his cousin was looking at.

‘There.' The girl ran her finger around the outline of a door that was almost completely camouflaged in the timber wall.

‘Good spotting,' Millie said. She pushed on the panel and it pivoted, opening out onto a staircase.

‘The sign must have fallen off,' Lucas remarked. ‘Again.'

He and Alice-Miranda bounded up the stairs two at a time like a pair of thumping elephants. Millie was slower, taking care not to drop her trophy. Fortunately, each floor was clearly marked on the back of the exit doors. They passed the spa and swimming pool, which they knew was only a couple flights below reception.

‘Finally,' Alice-Miranda puffed as they reached the fourth floor. She was about to turn the door-handle when she was startled by loud voices. They were coming from the other side of the wall, and whoever was speaking didn't sound happy.

Millie pressed her finger to her lips.

‘Where are they?' Lucas whispered.

Alice-Miranda pointed to a vent high up on the wall. ‘It's coming from in there.'

‘Otto will be worried, you know,' they heard a woman say. ‘I always tell him my travel plans in advance.'

‘You wrote him a note,' a man replied.

‘It's Frau Doerflinger,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘But I'm not sure about the other person.'

Millie and Lucas nodded.

‘He knows about your acquisition, doesn't he?' the man said.

‘Yes,' Delphine replied. ‘He wants to know why we didn't celebrate last night.'

‘Then, surely, he will not even bat an eyelid. You are a businesswoman going away to do business,' the man said. ‘I expect to hear from you in the next few days. Good news only, please, or else –
poof
– she will be gone forever.'

‘You have no business speaking to me like that,' Frau Doerflinger said.

‘On the contrary, your business depends on our business, does it not?' the man said archly.

There was the sound of shuffling feet and the voices ceased.

The children looked at one another.

‘What was all that about?' Millie said.

‘If I didn't think she was the biggest dragon in the world, I'd have said that Frau Doerflinger almost sounded scared,' Lucas said.

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘I wonder where she's going and who will be gone forever.'

‘Who cares?' Millie huffed. ‘Hopefully it's her and she's going far, far away and we'll never have to see her again.'

Alice-Miranda looked at her friends. ‘Come on, we should hurry up and get changed.'

The tiny girl pushed open the door and was surprised to see Delphine Doerflinger come out of the invisible doorway she'd taken the children through the other day. The woman was wearing the same heavy fur coat they'd seen her in at the races but was now trundling a small leather suitcase.

‘Hello Frau Doerflinger,' Alice-Miranda said, greeting the woman. ‘Are you going somewhere?'

Delphine spun around as if she'd been poked in the bottom with a pin. ‘Hasn't anyone ever told you it is rude to sneak up on people?' she snapped, signalling to a porter.

A young man strode forward.

‘Take this to the car,' Delphine barked. ‘I am going to the station.'

The porter looked as if he had just swallowed a slug. ‘I-I'm afraid that the car is at the track. Herr Fanger requested it be on standby for his use.'

‘Then get me another,' she demanded.

‘There are none available at the moment,' the porter said, his voice quivering. ‘Many of our guests booked them as their transport to the races. We weren't aware you would be needing a vehicle today.'

‘
Faulpelz
,' Delphine muttered under her breath. ‘I have an unexpected business trip. Call me a taxi!'

‘I will do my best, Frau,' the young man replied, relieved for the excuse to get away.

Frau Doerflinger turned to see Millie and Lucas staring at her. ‘What are you lot gawking at?' she snapped.

The children shook their heads. ‘Nothing,' Millie squeaked.

Alice-Miranda rejoined them after having asked for another key at reception. ‘Got it,' she said, triumphantly holding up the white card. She paused, noticing the woman's vexed state. ‘Are you all right, Frau Doerflinger?' she asked.

‘Of course I am all right,' the woman said. ‘Stop minding other people's business. Nobody likes a
Schnüffler
.'

‘I didn't mean to upset you,' Alice-Miranda apologised. ‘Have a good trip.'

She walked off with Millie and Lucas, still troubled by the woman's demeanour. They stopped at a door on the first landing, which provided a barrier between the hotel's public areas and guestrooms.

‘I don't know why you bother being nice to her,' Lucas said, stopping to swipe the keypad by the big glass door.

‘She's so mean,' Millie said indignantly. ‘Seriously, she doesn't know the first thing about being hospitable – at least not to kids.'

The children continued upstairs until they reached the entrance to their wing.

‘I'll get my gloves and meet you back here in a minute,' Lucas said, racing off to his room while Alice-Miranda and Millie headed into their suite.

The girls arranged their trophies on the coffee table and Millie took a few photos before they got changed and folded Herr Heffelfinger's silks. They emerged from their room a few minutes later to find Lucas waiting for them in the corridor.

‘Is Zermatt really as lovely as St Moritz?' Millie asked as the three children walked downstairs.

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘It's even lovelier, although there isn't a beautiful lake like here. The skiing is amazing and there's the most wonderful museum. It's across the road from Uncle Florian's hotel and it's full of bizarre mechanical instruments. I've been there lots of times. My friend Nina lives there – you'll get to meet her. She's a bit older than I am and she's really sweet.'

When they reached the reception area, Frau Doerflinger was still waiting for her car. She seemed
to be staring off into the distance, deep in thought. Alice-Miranda hesitated as Millie and Lucas charged past, eager to avoid being on the receiving end of the woman's sharp tongue again.

‘Excuse me, Frau Doerflinger, we're just on our way back to the racing. Would you like me to ask Herr Fanger to have the car sent back for you?' the child asked.

Something resembling fear flashed in the woman's eyes. ‘You will not say a word to Herr Fanger,' she ordered.

‘Of course.' The child smiled. ‘I just thought –'

The same porter from before scampered towards them and picked up the woman's suitcase. ‘Frau Doerflinger, your car has arrived,' he announced breathlessly.

‘About time,' Delphine muttered.

‘Thank you for having us,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘Fanger's Palace is such a lovely hotel. We'll be leaving tomorrow to catch the Glacier Express over to see Uncle Florian and Aunt Giselle. Daddy's there already.'

The woman leaned down and peered into the girl's eyes. ‘What did you say?'

‘We're going to Zermatt in the morning,' the child repeated. She wondered if the hotelier had met the Von Zwickys.

‘Not that. The other part,' Delphine said impatiently.

‘E-excuse me, Frau, but your train will be leaving soon,' said the fidgety porter.

The woman turned and glared at him. ‘I'm coming!' she barked, then turned back to the little girl. ‘Continue.'

‘Oh, Daddy had to go and help Uncle Florian with some urgent business yesterday,' Alice-Miranda said, slightly disconcerted. She eyed the flecks of spittle that had begun to gather around the woman's mouth. ‘He was sorry to miss the White Turf. He would have loved it too, although I think he might have been less enthusiastic about Millie and me racing in the Shetland Stakes,' she added.

Delphine drew herself up to her full height. ‘How very interesting,' she murmured. Without a backward glance, she turned on her heel and glided out the revolving door.

‘Have a lovely trip,' Alice-Miranda called as she ran to catch up to her friends.

The children wove their way through the food stalls, past gleaming luxury cars on plinths and along a line of marquees hosting various events. There looked to be a fashion parade going on in one of them, while in another a large crowd was being serenaded by a string quartet. As they neared their destination, the children heard a loud sob.

‘You must find her, you simply must!' It was Herr Fanger and he was surrounded by a circle of grim-faced onlookers.

‘When did you see her last?' asked a well-meaning woman in a black fluffy coat and red turban.

‘She was here just a minute ago and now she is gone,' the man moaned, cradling his face in his hands.

Alice-Miranda walked up to the man. ‘Excuse me, Herr Fanger, who are you looking for?'

He turned to the child, tears welling in his eyes. ‘My little Gertie has disappeared.'

‘Oh dear, we can help look for her,' she offered. ‘Millie, do you want to see if Sloane and the others are in the tent? They can help with the search too.'

Millie wrinkled her nose, thinking of all the treats she would miss out on. ‘All right, but I want something really yummy to eat as soon as we find her,' she said, before scurrying away.

Alice-Miranda turned back to the distraught man. ‘She can't have gone too far.'

‘It is not like her to wander off,' Herr Fanger said, dabbing at his cheeks with a handkerchief.

Millie reappeared with their friends in tow.

‘We'd better find that spoilt pooch fast. I was just about to eat the biggest, most delicious-looking slice of strudel you have ever seen. It had cream
and
ice-cream,' Jacinta blustered.

Millie cleared her throat and gestured towards Herr Fanger, who was sniffing quietly to himself.

‘I mean, that sweet little dog,' Jacinta mumbled, hoping the man hadn't heard her the first time.

‘Why don't we split up and each take a couple of rows of tents?' Alice-Miranda suggested. ‘Gertie might have wandered into one of them and found something yummy to eat, like Jacinta's strudel.'

‘My princess does not like strudel at all,' Herr Fanger whimpered. ‘She is a very fussy eater.'

The children split up into pairs and Lucas allocated their search zones. ‘Remember,' he instructed in a low voice, ‘if you do find the snappy mutt, she's a princess in looks only. Take care of your hands – you're likely to lose a finger if you go in too quickly.'

Sep grinned and the girls giggled.

Alice-Miranda and Millie headed around to the back of the sponsors' tent while Lucas and Sep charged off to the other end of the food stalls. Lucas considered that, if they didn't end up finding the dog, he could at least grab himself that rösti he'd been hankering after.

Sloane and Jacinta darted to the back of the grandstands. As the children scattered, the afternoon train could be heard pulling out of the station.

Millie and Alice-Miranda didn't find anything, so they decided to try the outdoor cafe that fronted the jazz band. A U-shape of smaller tents and marquees created a square, which was packed with elegant people sitting at tables or standing in the sunshine sipping champagne.

‘Excuse me,' Millie said as she poked her head under one of the tables.

‘What in heaven's name are you doing, child?' a woman reproached. Her wrinkled hands didn't appear to belong to her flat, ironed face.

‘We're looking for Herr Fanger's dog,' Millie replied. She stood up and walked over to the next table, where she crouched down again.

Alice-Miranda glanced around the edge of the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a woman in a long white fur coat. She was holding a phone to her ear and, as she put it away, she dropped something onto the ground. At first Alice-Miranda thought it was a furry hat but she soon realised it wasn't a hat at all.

‘Gertie!' the child shouted, racing towards the woman. ‘That's Princess Gertie, Herr Fanger's dog!'

Millie's head jerked up, thumping the underside of the table. ‘Ow,' she said, rubbing her crown. She scrambled out and ran towards her friend.

‘Thank goodness you found her,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘Herr Fanger will be so happy.'

‘I don't know what you're talking about,' the woman said, stepping away from the dog. ‘I didn't find her.'

‘Then why do you have her?' Alice-Miranda asked.

The woman shrugged. ‘A man paid me five hundred francs to look after her until he called, which he just did. Then he told me to let her go.'

Gertie was dancing about, the pompoms on her coat jiggling.

Alice-Miranda frowned. ‘Why would anyone do that?' she wondered aloud. She grabbed an abandoned half-eaten sausage from a nearby table and knelt down in the snow. The little white fur ball wagged her tail as the girl inched closer. ‘Gertie, look what I've got,' she cooed, dangling the bratwurst in the air.

Gertie dashed towards Alice-Miranda and snatched the sausage from her hand. As she did, the child scooped the dog into her arms.

‘So much for Gertie being a fussy eater,' Millie said, joining them. ‘Where was she?'

‘This lady was …' Alice-Miranda turned around to find that the woman had gone.

‘What lady?' Millie asked.

‘She was here just a second ago. She said that someone had paid her to hold onto Gertie,' Alice-Miranda said.

Millie eyes grew wide. ‘Like dognapping? We have to find her and call the police.'

‘I think we should take Gertie back to Herr Fanger first. He'll be so relieved.' Alice-Miranda held on to the little dog, who had now finished the sausage and was squirming like a worm.

The girls hurried through the crowd and discovered the poor man sitting at a table sobbing into his handkerchief and blowing his nose loudly. ‘My baby. Someone find my baby,' he wailed through hiccuping gulps.

‘Herr Fanger, we found her,' Alice-Miranda called as the girls rushed towards him.

Otto immediately stopped crying and leapt to his feet, almost knocking Alice-Miranda over as he seized Gertie. ‘My darling, where did you go?' he said, hugging her close to him. ‘Are you hurt, my princess?'

The creature sniffed her master's face.

Otto's jaw dropped. ‘Where are her hairclips? She was wearing her diamonds and now they are gone.'

‘That woman must have stolen them,' Millie said.

‘What woman? Where?' Otto demanded.

Alice-Miranda relayed what had happened and everything the woman had told her.

‘We must find her at once,' Otto said. ‘I will alert security. What did she look like?'

‘She was tall with long blonde hair and she was wearing sunglasses and a white fur coat,' Alice-Miranda reported.

Millie glanced around. ‘Sort of like every other woman here at the moment.'

Several of the ladies who had been comforting Herr Fanger shot Millie snooty glances and quickly moved away.

‘If she was after Gertie's jewels, Herr Fanger, she's probably long gone by now, especially as she knows I've seen her up close,' Alice-Miranda said.

Otto nodded and turned to one of his minders. ‘Get Gertie a fillet steak and caviar. You know she won't eat anything less.'

‘Actually she just ate someone's leftover sausage,' Millie piped up. ‘She didn't seem to mind that at all.'

Otto's jaw dropped. ‘My princess doesn't eat leftovers!' He looked at the dog, who licked her lips.

‘Did you find her?' Lucas called as he and Sep ran over to them, with Jacinta and Sloane in tow.

‘Sure did,' Millie said with a satisfied smile. She turned to Otto. ‘Good thing too, as you would have been lonely tonight without Gertie and Frau Doerflinger.'

Otto looked at her blankly. ‘What do you mean?' he asked.

Millie bit her lip. ‘Oh, just that Frau Doerflinger has gone away on business,' she said, wishing she'd kept quiet.

Otto Fanger's brows knotted. It wasn't like his wife to disappear without any notice. What on earth was going on today?