The Great Ice-Cream Heist (14 page)

‘No!' Melanie yelled, and dived towards the mic. Eva held it up above her head. Bandit barked loudly and Shan grabbed his collar to keep him out of harm's way.

‘Everyone, freeze!' Eva yelled.

‘I've always wanted to say that too,' Shan said peevishly. Her phone started ringing again.

‘Freeze,' Eva said, desperately trying to ignore Shan, ‘or Gary will hear all about this.' She waved the paper in the air.

Melanie froze.

Shan answered her phone.

‘I'll give this back,' Eva said, ‘and I won't tell Gary about it, if . . .
if
you tell us where Jamie is.'

‘But I can't,' Melanie said with a wail of anguish. ‘It's data protection and child safety and . . . and . . . against the rules!'

‘Sometimes,' Eva said, ‘rules are there to be broken.' She held the mic to her lips. ‘Gary, Melanie would like you to know that if you are looking to get marr–'

‘Stop!' Melanie yelled. ‘Please don't tell him. Please. I could never go back to boot camp again. I'd be so embarrassed.'

‘Then tell us where Jamie is!'

Eva was horrified to realise that there were tears glistening in Mel's eyes. ‘I can't do that,' she said sadly. ‘I can't.'

The van trundled on. Eva wondered if this were another
fait accompli
, or whether there was a different French word for when all the ideas have run out.

‘But,' Melanie said tentatively, ‘if I'd put Jamie's file in my briefcase instead of on the back seat of the car, then you'd have it already.
If?
I'd done that.'

‘I suppose so,' Eva said cautiously. Where was this going?

‘And you only want to find him because he's your friend. You don't want to hurt him or anything?'

Eva nodded. Shan snorted, but Melanie seemed not to hear.

‘So, if I wrote it down now, and put it in the briefcase, then, I don't know, got some dust in my eye, just for a second, then I can't help what you see. It would be out of my hands.
C'est la vie
, as it were.'

Eva nodded quickly. Mel grabbed a biro from beside the ice-cream machine and took up a scrap of paper. She scribbled quickly, dropped it in the open case and then clapped her hand over her eyes. ‘Oh! Something in my eye. My eyes. Both of them.'

Eva grabbed the paper and looked at the twist of words. Shan leaned in, ‘Maple Street. Number 19.'

Mel uncovered her eyes. She looked solemn. Was she regretting helping them already? Eva handed back the doodle. ‘Thank you.'

Eva turned to Brian. ‘Do you know where Maple Street is?'

He nodded slowly. ‘It's right in the heart of Ginelli country. You may have to watch my back. But I can take you there, if you really want me to.'

‘I want you to,' Eva said. ‘Let's step on it!'

Chapter 24

‘We go live now to Andy – he has tracked down the two tearaways who have stolen an ice-cream van and kidnapped a social worker and are causing the traffic build-up on the high street. Over to you, Andy.'

Shan looked from her phone to the radio in horror. ‘Hello,' she whispered into the receiver.

‘
Hello,
' her own voice came, a heartbeat later, from Brian's radio.

Shan was on air!

‘Shanika! This is Andy from Burn107FM. You're speaking live to the county. Can you tell us why you've kidnapped a social worker?'

Shan's dark eyes were wild with panic. She held the phone between two fingers as though it were a snotty hanky she'd found on Dilan's floor. ‘What do I do?' she asked.

‘Tell them the truth,' Eva said.

Shan spoke into the phone, trying not to touch it too much. ‘It wasn't me who kidnapped anyone. It was Eva. I'm just here to help with the reading.'

‘Shan!' Eva couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was that really what Shan thought? ‘No one kidnapped anyone.'

She heard her own voice come out of the radio. She was near enough for it to be picked up.

‘And where are you taking the social worker? Is this a cry for help, or a mindless act of teenage rebellion? What are your demands?'

‘We're not rebelling,' Shan said. ‘We're just trying to find Jamie.'

‘Is Jamie your gang leader?'

‘Just hang up!' Eva said.

‘I've got to go now,' Shan said into the phone, and out of the radio.

‘Is the social worker OK? Has she been harmed in any way?'

Melanie seemed to snap awake. ‘I'm fine!' she yelled, loud enough to be picked up by the radio. ‘Honestly!'

Shan hung up the phone. She dropped it down on the floor as though it were burning hot. Bandit sniffed it warily.

‘You're listening to Burn107FM. We've just been hearing from the teenage gang who have kidnapped their social worker and stolen an ice-cream van. Last seen turning off the high street towards Friar's Brook with crowds of people in pursuit.'

Eva looked out of the rear window.

There really were crowds following them now. Shoppers, people pushing prams, dog-walkers, old, young, tall, short, fat, thin – people of all shapes and sizes had joined Gary's class and were chasing them, whooping and cheering as they ran.

‘Can't this thing go any faster?' Eva asked Brian.

‘No, it's electric. Top speed of fifteen miles an hour, but very environmentally sound,' he said. ‘Don't worry – we'll be there soon.'

Eva felt wound up tight inside – the crowd behind them, stealing Melanie's briefcase, the radio station thinking they were a story – everything seemed to be pressing in close and twisting inside her. She had to keep focused on Jamie. Brian would get them there and it would all be OK.

‘Uh-oh,' Brian said.

The van slowed.

‘What is it?' Eva scrambled to the front to look over his shoulder.

‘Ginelli's,' he said. ‘They must have been listening to the radio too.'

Parked across the middle of the road was another ice-cream van. It was white, with green and red lettering across the sides. She recognised a capital ‘G' at the start of the word.

‘Ginelli's?' she whispered.

‘It's an ambush.'

The Ginelli's van suddenly started blaring out music – it sounded like the theme tune to Match of the Day.

‘Oh no,' Brian said. ‘Their battle cry. That'll bring more of them.'

He shoved the van into reverse and checked his wing mirror. The van lurched backwards, gaining speed as it moved.

‘Wait! What about Jamie?'

Brian shook his head. ‘I'm sorry, pet. But it's just got too dangerous. I can't go any further. You don't know what will happen to a van caught outside its territory. It's waffle-cone carnage. We'll not get out of here in one piece. Blast! Those joggers are blocking the escape.'

Eva looked back. Gary, the class and the growing crowd had turned down the street and were running towards the rear of the van.

In front of them the Ginelli's van was playing its battle music and revving its engine. They were trapped between a rock and a hard place. Or, rather, between Gary and a soft scoop.

‘On foot!' Eva yelled. ‘Which road is it? I can run there.'

‘It's straight up here for a hundred yards. First right on to Nutgrove Terrace, then second left on to Maple Street. It's not far. I'll hold them all off for as long as I can,' Brian said. ‘I'll buy you enough time for you to make your getaway.'

‘Thanks, Brian,' Eva said. ‘I owe you one.'

‘Not so fast.' Shan stood up. She grinned. ‘I
really
always wanted to say that.'

‘What?' Was Shan seriously going to stop her now when they were so close?

‘You can't read the street names. I'm coming with you.'

Eva felt her heart swell.

‘Woof!' Bandit barked, and tumbled out of the door alongside them.

‘I'd better come too,' Melanie said. ‘The least I can do is make this a suitably supervised visit.'

From far in the distance, but heading their way, came the sound of another ice-cream van playing the Match of the Day jingle.

‘Reinforcements!' Brian shouted. ‘Everyone out. Quickly, before they get here.' He looked sad. ‘It's been nice knowing you all.'

Melanie paused. She was midway out of the van. ‘Is it really that bad?' she asked.

Brian nodded slowly. ‘There are strict codes to selling ice cream. I've broken every rule in the book coming into their territory. They'll ruin my van. But it's only fair. I've only got myself to blame.'

Melanie glanced at the girls. Then she looked at Gary and his boot campers who were nearly upon them.

‘Well,' Melanie said. ‘Looks like the cavalry have got here just in time. Bandit, heel!' She rested a hand on the dog's head. ‘We'll stay with Brian. I think I can convince Gary to help here. We'll keep him safe from Ginelli's until the road clears enough for him to pass. You two, go and find your friend.'

‘We will,' Eva said solemnly.

‘He's not my friend,' Shan added. ‘He's Eva's. I'm just going to help read the signs.'

Eva grinned. She wasn't sure that this was entirely true. She had a feeling Shan was starting to enjoy herself. Maybe it was hearing herself on the radio that had done it. Or maybe Shan wasn't as mean as she'd thought. Either way, Shan was becoming a friend too.

‘Come on,' Eva said. ‘Let's find him.'

She set off at a sprint. Bandit whined and then decided to stay with his mistress. Shan and Eva were on their own.

‘Nutgrove Terrace, then Maple Street,' Shan yelled. ‘Here we come!'

Chapter 25

Now they ran down tree-lined streets, past redbrick houses set back from the road. Judging from the size of them, Jamie was staying somewhere with at least two bathrooms, Eva thought. An idea flashed through her head . . . Would he even want to come home? She shook it away – of course he would. Home was everything to him. He wouldn't swap that for an en suite bathroom and fruit trees in the garden.

On Maple Street the trees were taller and thicker. None of the houses were joined together. Sleek cars were parked on gravel drives outside lots of the houses. Eva and Shan crunched their way up to number 19.

‘What if he's not in?' Eva whispered. ‘What if he doesn't want to see me?'

Shan rolled her eyes. ‘Ring the doorbell before we die of old age.'

Eva did as she was told.

A bell sounded somewhere deep inside the house. It took an age before they heard footsteps approaching. The twisting feeling inside Eva's stomach was getting worse and worse.

Then the door opened and Jamie stood in the hallway.

His face looked surprised, then it flushed red and angry. ‘What do you two want?' he said.

‘Jamie,' Shan said. ‘I see those charm-school classes are really paying off.'

‘Jamie, I'm sorry,' Eva blurted out. ‘Don't be angry with me.'

‘I waited for you.' His eyes looked hurt. ‘I thought you were my friend. Not like the others. I waited for you on the roof for hours, but you didn't come. I waited.'

‘I know.' Eva didn't know what to say. She had taken the plunge off the mountain, all fizzing with excitement, and now she was at the bottom with all the puff taken out of her.

Jamie began to shut the door.

‘Now hold on one minute,' Shan said. She shoved her foot between the door and its frame to stop it closing. ‘This girl has been through enough because of you. It's chaos back there. Ice-cream van wars and the radio and the boot campers all fighting. And Melanie taken captive.'

‘She wasn't a captive!' Eva said quickly.

‘And Bandit jumping through windows and the lodge full of journalists, all looking for a story. All that just for you. The least you can do is listen. And probably say sorry yourself.' Shan took her foot away and stood with her arms folded across her chest.

Jamie didn't answer. He looked like all the breath had been knocked out of him too. He stepped back from the doorway and let them in.

The hallway had shiny tiles set like a chessboard on the floor. A hatstand stood to one side with a pot full of umbrellas rooted beneath it. Further along the hall, framed old maps and line drawings were displayed, winding up a wide staircase.

This house was about three times the size of their homes, Eva thought.

‘Are you OK?' she asked quietly.

Jamie shrugged. ‘They're nice enough to me here. I've got my own room. It hasn't got a telly in it though. And they want you to take your shoes off inside.'