wall, but no one went down the steps to the beach. At ten to nine I got a text message from Max:
The note must have been sent by someone playing a stupid trick. I squeezed out from behind the bins, crossed the road and peered over the wall. The beach was empty. I ran down the steps and reached into the bin for the carrier bag. As I pulled it out, a hand clasped me on the shoulder. Someone had followed me down the steps! My heart racing, I spun round and found myself face to face with PC Lambard. He yanked down my hood and shook his head sorrowfully.
‘Well, Amy, I’m very disappointed in you. I can’t believe that you’ve been blackmailing your Gran.’
‘I didn’t. I haven’t. You’ve got it all wrong.’
‘Save it for the station, young lady. I’ll phone your Gran and tell her to meet us there.’ He held out his hand. ‘I’ll have the bag.’
I looked at the bag, noticing for the first time that it was dark blue. ‘This isn’t the bag I left,’ I protested as PC Lambard snatched it out of my hand. ‘Mine was a pink one.’
‘Stop talking and start walking,’ he ordered. As he marched me up the steps, I glanced up and caught a brief glimpse of a pale, pointed face beneath a black beanie hat peering over the wall, but when we got to the top it was gone. If only I’d waited a few more minutes, we’d have caught the real blackmailer.
When we got to the police station, PC Lambard took the envelope out of the bag and emptied it onto his desk. Piles of shredded newspaper tumbled out everywhere.
‘Did you really think we’d leave £2,000 in a litter bin for you to collect?’ he said.
‘I didn’t ask you to. I didn’t send the ransom letter. I went to the beach to meet the blackmailer,’ I explained. ‘I put a pink bag full of fake money in the bin.’ PC Lambard stood up straight and folded his arms. ‘A pink bag with fake money?’ he repeated, unconvinced by my story.
Fortunately, I still had the ransom note and the spare two fake twenties in my pocket, so the mix-up was cleared up by the time Gran and her shadow, Mr Winkleberry, arrived. PC Lambard went back to the beach, but the bag of fake money had gone. He wasnvery pleased. ‘If anything else happens, you come to me instead of playing detective, or I’ll have you arrested for withholding evidence,’ he boomed.
On the way home, Gran told me how they’d received a letter at lunch-time telling them to leave the money at 9.30 pm in the bin at the dog beach. The blackmailer must have changed his plan. I bet he was dead chuffed to see me being whisked away by PC Lambard. Gran said Mr Winkleberry had persuaded her to tell the police, so the officer had been watching for someone to go down the steps and take the bag of money from the bin. Then she gave me a lecture about acting irresponsibly and putting myself in danger. So did Mr Winkleberry. Then, when I got home and sent a text to Max, he phoned back and gave me a blasting too.
‘I told you I should have come with you,’ he said. ‘I could have kept watch and warned you about PC Lambard. And I might have seen the blackmailer.’
‘Yeah, and I’d have been in even more trouble for putting you in danger as well,’ I retorted. ‘Gran would have been so mad she’d have probably sent me back home on the next flight.’
I went to sleep feeling pretty low I can tell you. I’d been so close to catching the blackmailer, maybe even the dognapper, and I’d blown it.
Chapter 11
Scarface
I’m not one to be down for long, and I woke up the next morning feeling more positive. I’d gone up a few wrong tracks before I worked out who was sabotaging our baseball games back home, and even Vince Bronson didn’t always work out who the culprit was right away. I just had to keep trying.
I wondered how long it had taken the culprit to realise that the bank notes were only copies. And when he – or she – found out, what did they do with them? They’d have to dump them somewhere. Maybe I
The note must have been sent by someone playing a stupid trick. I squeezed out from behind the bins, crossed the road and peered over the wall. The beach was empty. I ran down the steps and reached into the bin for the carrier bag. As I pulled it out, a hand clasped me on the shoulder. Someone had followed me down the steps! My heart racing, I spun round and found myself face to face with PC Lambard. He yanked down my hood and shook his head sorrowfully.
‘Well, Amy, I’m very disappointed in you. I can’t believe that you’ve been blackmailing your Gran.’
‘I didn’t. I haven’t. You’ve got it all wrong.’
‘Save it for the station, young lady. I’ll phone your Gran and tell her to meet us there.’ He held out his hand. ‘I’ll have the bag.’
I looked at the bag, noticing for the first time that it was dark blue. ‘This isn’t the bag I left,’ I protested as PC Lambard snatched it out of my hand. ‘Mine was a pink one.’
‘Stop talking and start walking,’ he ordered. As he marched me up the steps, I glanced up and caught a brief glimpse of a pale, pointed face beneath a black beanie hat peering over the wall, but when we got to the top it was gone. If only I’d waited a few more minutes, we’d have caught the real blackmailer.
When we got to the police station, PC Lambard took the envelope out of the bag and emptied it onto his desk. Piles of shredded newspaper tumbled out everywhere.
‘Did you really think we’d leave £2,000 in a litter bin for you to collect?’ he said.
‘I didn’t ask you to. I didn’t send the ransom letter. I went to the beach to meet the blackmailer,’ I explained. ‘I put a pink bag full of fake money in the bin.’ PC Lambard stood up straight and folded his arms. ‘A pink bag with fake money?’ he repeated, unconvinced by my story.
Fortunately, I still had the ransom note and the spare two fake twenties in my pocket, so the mix-up was cleared up by the time Gran and her shadow, Mr Winkleberry, arrived. PC Lambard went back to the beach, but the bag of fake money had gone. He wasnvery pleased. ‘If anything else happens, you come to me instead of playing detective, or I’ll have you arrested for withholding evidence,’ he boomed.
On the way home, Gran told me how they’d received a letter at lunch-time telling them to leave the money at 9.30 pm in the bin at the dog beach. The blackmailer must have changed his plan. I bet he was dead chuffed to see me being whisked away by PC Lambard. Gran said Mr Winkleberry had persuaded her to tell the police, so the officer had been watching for someone to go down the steps and take the bag of money from the bin. Then she gave me a lecture about acting irresponsibly and putting myself in danger. So did Mr Winkleberry. Then, when I got home and sent a text to Max, he phoned back and gave me a blasting too.
‘I told you I should have come with you,’ he said. ‘I could have kept watch and warned you about PC Lambard. And I might have seen the blackmailer.’
‘Yeah, and I’d have been in even more trouble for putting you in danger as well,’ I retorted. ‘Gran would have been so mad she’d have probably sent me back home on the next flight.’
I went to sleep feeling pretty low I can tell you. I’d been so close to catching the blackmailer, maybe even the dognapper, and I’d blown it.
Chapter 11
Scarface
I’m not one to be down for long, and I woke up the next morning feeling more positive. I’d gone up a few wrong tracks before I worked out who was sabotaging our baseball games back home, and even Vince Bronson didn’t always work out who the culprit was right away. I just had to keep trying.
I wondered how long it had taken the culprit to realise that the bank notes were only copies. And when he – or she – found out, what did they do with them? They’d have to dump them somewhere. Maybe I
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