break in,’ Piotr said. ‘I’d prefer not to break the law if we don’t have to. But we can definitely watch the shop, see if anyone goes in or out. Watch for anything suspicious.’
‘We’ll have to take shifts,’ Andrew said. ‘Five kids standing outside staring at the shop? He’ll know we’re on to him.’
‘Four kids,’ Flora said forlornly.
‘ Pff ,’ Minnie said, not wanting to think about Sylvie just now. Or ever.
‘OK,’ Piotr said, ‘me and Andrew can take the first shift. Minnie and Flora take over in an hour. All right?’
Flora didn’t reply. She didn’t move. Her pen hovered in mid-air, pointing. She was stock-still, almost bristling, like a terrier about to chase a cat.
‘Are you OK?’ Minnie asked.
Flora gestured with her pen, pointing at the table.
The grey plastic wipe-clean surface was the same as it ever was. Salt, pepper, sachets of sugar. Normal.A laminated menu smeared in places with dried-on mustard. The postcard thrown down on top of it.
All normal.
Then Minnie saw what Flora could see.
Where the postcard overlaid the menu, the empty cut-outs framed certain letters beneath: ‘gs’, ‘au’, ‘ra’, ‘ak’ – parts of words where eyes should be. The postcard was highlighting letters!
‘A cipher,’ Flora whispered.
‘What?’ Piotr asked.
‘A cipher is a code, a way to send a hidden message. The boy was carrying the cipher to someone who needed to read a hidden message. You have to send the cipher and the message separately because if they get intercepted, it’s too easy to decode. He was delivering the cipher.’
He was a delivery boy? Not a walking larder of curse ingredients? The relief was like a wave crashing over Minnie. He was going to keep all his fingers. But the feeling didn’t last long. Only criminals would need ciphers smuggled across borders. A shiver caterpillared up her spine. The boy was being used by criminals. Minnie leaned forwards, her elbows on the table. ‘What’s it for?’ she asked. ‘What does it decode?’
Flora looked up from her notebook, where she was scribbling furiously. ‘I have no idea. There must be a message somewhere. A letter or a flyer. It could be anything!’
Glances passed around the table like a relay baton, each person wondering if the others had any bright ideas. No one did.
Minnie picked up the replica postcard and flipped it between her fingers. Flora had done such a good job, she’d even printed the back of the original.
The back!
Minnie laid the postcard down with a wide grin and stabbed at it with her index finger. ‘Post in two days!’ she said.
‘What?’ Andrew asked.
‘Post in two days! That’s where the hidden message is. The boy was supposed to deliver this by hand, then the letter would follow in two days. Just in the regular post. I mean, if the secret message is hidden, then it can be delivered by the postman and no one would ever even know it’s there.’
‘Hiding in plain sight,’ Flora whispered.
‘Minnie, you’re a genius!’ Piotr said.
‘So,’ Andrew said, ‘the ninja stake-out needs to watch for suspicious people and suspicious post. Got it.’
Minnie wasn’t sure what to do with herself for an hour while she waited for her turn to keep watch. She felt as though she had energy zipping right down to the tips of her toes. She left the cafe and bounced into the salon. Bernice, Mum’s assistant, was looking harassed. Her face glistened with sweat, and patches had formed under her arms. She ran between three customers, plaiting and weaving and braiding hair like a machine. A sweaty machine.
‘Where’s Mum?’ Minnie asked.
‘An excellent question,’ Bernice said. ‘If you could find her and ask her to come and take care of her one o’clock appointment, that way I might not hand in my resignation.’
‘OK,’ Minnie said. It wasn’t like Mum to forget an appointment. She raced up the stairs to the flat. ‘Mum? Mum!’ she called.
Mum didn’t reply,
‘We’ll have to take shifts,’ Andrew said. ‘Five kids standing outside staring at the shop? He’ll know we’re on to him.’
‘Four kids,’ Flora said forlornly.
‘ Pff ,’ Minnie said, not wanting to think about Sylvie just now. Or ever.
‘OK,’ Piotr said, ‘me and Andrew can take the first shift. Minnie and Flora take over in an hour. All right?’
Flora didn’t reply. She didn’t move. Her pen hovered in mid-air, pointing. She was stock-still, almost bristling, like a terrier about to chase a cat.
‘Are you OK?’ Minnie asked.
Flora gestured with her pen, pointing at the table.
The grey plastic wipe-clean surface was the same as it ever was. Salt, pepper, sachets of sugar. Normal.A laminated menu smeared in places with dried-on mustard. The postcard thrown down on top of it.
All normal.
Then Minnie saw what Flora could see.
Where the postcard overlaid the menu, the empty cut-outs framed certain letters beneath: ‘gs’, ‘au’, ‘ra’, ‘ak’ – parts of words where eyes should be. The postcard was highlighting letters!
‘A cipher,’ Flora whispered.
‘What?’ Piotr asked.
‘A cipher is a code, a way to send a hidden message. The boy was carrying the cipher to someone who needed to read a hidden message. You have to send the cipher and the message separately because if they get intercepted, it’s too easy to decode. He was delivering the cipher.’
He was a delivery boy? Not a walking larder of curse ingredients? The relief was like a wave crashing over Minnie. He was going to keep all his fingers. But the feeling didn’t last long. Only criminals would need ciphers smuggled across borders. A shiver caterpillared up her spine. The boy was being used by criminals. Minnie leaned forwards, her elbows on the table. ‘What’s it for?’ she asked. ‘What does it decode?’
Flora looked up from her notebook, where she was scribbling furiously. ‘I have no idea. There must be a message somewhere. A letter or a flyer. It could be anything!’
Glances passed around the table like a relay baton, each person wondering if the others had any bright ideas. No one did.
Minnie picked up the replica postcard and flipped it between her fingers. Flora had done such a good job, she’d even printed the back of the original.
The back!
Minnie laid the postcard down with a wide grin and stabbed at it with her index finger. ‘Post in two days!’ she said.
‘What?’ Andrew asked.
‘Post in two days! That’s where the hidden message is. The boy was supposed to deliver this by hand, then the letter would follow in two days. Just in the regular post. I mean, if the secret message is hidden, then it can be delivered by the postman and no one would ever even know it’s there.’
‘Hiding in plain sight,’ Flora whispered.
‘Minnie, you’re a genius!’ Piotr said.
‘So,’ Andrew said, ‘the ninja stake-out needs to watch for suspicious people and suspicious post. Got it.’
Minnie wasn’t sure what to do with herself for an hour while she waited for her turn to keep watch. She felt as though she had energy zipping right down to the tips of her toes. She left the cafe and bounced into the salon. Bernice, Mum’s assistant, was looking harassed. Her face glistened with sweat, and patches had formed under her arms. She ran between three customers, plaiting and weaving and braiding hair like a machine. A sweaty machine.
‘Where’s Mum?’ Minnie asked.
‘An excellent question,’ Bernice said. ‘If you could find her and ask her to come and take care of her one o’clock appointment, that way I might not hand in my resignation.’
‘OK,’ Minnie said. It wasn’t like Mum to forget an appointment. She raced up the stairs to the flat. ‘Mum? Mum!’ she called.
Mum didn’t reply,
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