was back on the mainland. I was nowhere near!”
“But what about the face you saw?” Tim asked. “The skull at the window! Brenda saw it too!”
“You’ve already answered that one, Tim,” I said. “A remote control helicopter or something with a mask hanging underneath. Nadler controlled that too. It was easy!”
“But how could he see us?”
I glanced at Nadler and he nodded. He was happy for me to explain how it had been done.
“The whole island is covered in cameras,” I said. “That was Rory’s security system. We’ve been watched from the moment we arrived. Nadler knew where we were every minute of the day.”
“Right again!” Nadler grinned. He was pleased with himself, I could see that. “It was easy to hack into McDougal’s security system and redirect the pictures to my own TV monitor. I was even able to watch you in the bath!”
“That’s outrageous!” Tim was blushing. He knew that Nadler would have seen him playing with his plastic duck.
“Nadler had positioned the globe up on the roof,” I went on. “If we’d gone up and looked we’d probably have found some sort of ramp with a simple switch. He waited until Libby Goldman came out of the front door and then he pressed the button that released the globe. It rolled forward and that was that. She never had a chance. He killed Eric and Brenda the same way. First he turned out the lights. Then he fired a bullet and brought down an organ pipe … both by remote control.” I paused. “How about Mark Tyler?” I asked.
“The javelin was hidden in the branches of a tree,” Nadler explained. “It was on a giant elastic band. Remote control again. It was just like a crossbow.” He giggled for a second time. “Only bigger.”
Well that explained the leaves. Some of them must have travelled with the javelin when it was fired.
“And that just left you, Tim,” I said. “Nadler had to wait until you came out here. Then he was going to blow the ground out from beneath your feet and watch you fall onto the needles below. And with you dead, his revenge would be complete.”
“Revenge?” Tim was genuinely puzzled. “But why did he want revenge? We never did anything to him!”
“I think it was because he came second,” I said. I turned to Nadler. “You came second in every subject at school. And the boat you picked us up in. It was called the
Silver Medal
. I guess you chose the name on purpose. Because that’s what you’re given when you come second.”
“That’s right.” Nadler nodded and now his face had darkened and his lips were twisted into an expression of pain. His finger tightened on the trigger and he looked at me with hatred in his eyes. “I came second in maths, second in chemistry, second in French, second in geography, second in history, second in music and second in sport. I even came second in needlework, even though my embroidered tea towel was much more beautiful than your brother’s stupid handkerchief!”
“It was a lovely handkerchief!” Tim said.
“Shut up!” Nadler screamed and for a moment I was afraid he was going to shoot Tim then and there. “Do you have any idea how horrible it is coming second?” he went on. Saliva flecked at his lips. The hand with the gun never moved. “Coming last doesn’t matter. Coming fifth or sixth … who cares? But when you come second, everyone knows. You’ve just missed! You’ve missed getting the prize by just a few marks. And everyone feels sorry for you. Poor old Johnny! He couldn’t quite make it. He wasn’t quite good enough.”
He took a deep breath. “I’ve been coming second all my life. I go for jobs and I get down to the last two in the interviews but it’s always the other person who gets it. I went out with a girl but then she decided to marry someone else because as far as she was concerned, I was Number Two. When I’ve tried to sell my inventions, I’ve discovered that someone else has always got there first. Number Two! Number
“But what about the face you saw?” Tim asked. “The skull at the window! Brenda saw it too!”
“You’ve already answered that one, Tim,” I said. “A remote control helicopter or something with a mask hanging underneath. Nadler controlled that too. It was easy!”
“But how could he see us?”
I glanced at Nadler and he nodded. He was happy for me to explain how it had been done.
“The whole island is covered in cameras,” I said. “That was Rory’s security system. We’ve been watched from the moment we arrived. Nadler knew where we were every minute of the day.”
“Right again!” Nadler grinned. He was pleased with himself, I could see that. “It was easy to hack into McDougal’s security system and redirect the pictures to my own TV monitor. I was even able to watch you in the bath!”
“That’s outrageous!” Tim was blushing. He knew that Nadler would have seen him playing with his plastic duck.
“Nadler had positioned the globe up on the roof,” I went on. “If we’d gone up and looked we’d probably have found some sort of ramp with a simple switch. He waited until Libby Goldman came out of the front door and then he pressed the button that released the globe. It rolled forward and that was that. She never had a chance. He killed Eric and Brenda the same way. First he turned out the lights. Then he fired a bullet and brought down an organ pipe … both by remote control.” I paused. “How about Mark Tyler?” I asked.
“The javelin was hidden in the branches of a tree,” Nadler explained. “It was on a giant elastic band. Remote control again. It was just like a crossbow.” He giggled for a second time. “Only bigger.”
Well that explained the leaves. Some of them must have travelled with the javelin when it was fired.
“And that just left you, Tim,” I said. “Nadler had to wait until you came out here. Then he was going to blow the ground out from beneath your feet and watch you fall onto the needles below. And with you dead, his revenge would be complete.”
“Revenge?” Tim was genuinely puzzled. “But why did he want revenge? We never did anything to him!”
“I think it was because he came second,” I said. I turned to Nadler. “You came second in every subject at school. And the boat you picked us up in. It was called the
Silver Medal
. I guess you chose the name on purpose. Because that’s what you’re given when you come second.”
“That’s right.” Nadler nodded and now his face had darkened and his lips were twisted into an expression of pain. His finger tightened on the trigger and he looked at me with hatred in his eyes. “I came second in maths, second in chemistry, second in French, second in geography, second in history, second in music and second in sport. I even came second in needlework, even though my embroidered tea towel was much more beautiful than your brother’s stupid handkerchief!”
“It was a lovely handkerchief!” Tim said.
“Shut up!” Nadler screamed and for a moment I was afraid he was going to shoot Tim then and there. “Do you have any idea how horrible it is coming second?” he went on. Saliva flecked at his lips. The hand with the gun never moved. “Coming last doesn’t matter. Coming fifth or sixth … who cares? But when you come second, everyone knows. You’ve just missed! You’ve missed getting the prize by just a few marks. And everyone feels sorry for you. Poor old Johnny! He couldn’t quite make it. He wasn’t quite good enough.”
He took a deep breath. “I’ve been coming second all my life. I go for jobs and I get down to the last two in the interviews but it’s always the other person who gets it. I went out with a girl but then she decided to marry someone else because as far as she was concerned, I was Number Two. When I’ve tried to sell my inventions, I’ve discovered that someone else has always got there first. Number Two! Number
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