Lenny Smile…” Tim was still trying to work it all out.
“Only once. For the photograph that Joe Carter requested. But he was wearing the same coat and the same gloves when we saw him – which is why we thought he was Lenny Smile. Both times, he was too far away for us to see his face. And, of course, in the photograph the face was purposely blurred.” I turned to Rodney. “I’d be interested to know, though. What were you doing in the cemetery?”
Hoover shrugged. “I realized that the bloody fool of an undertaker had made a mistake with the date on the gravestone. I went there to put it right. When I saw you and your brother at the grave, I knew something was wrong. I have to admit, I panicked. And ran.”
“And the circus…?”
“Mrs Lovely told us there had been a witness. I had to track him down and make sure he didn’t talk.”
“But it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d talked,” Tim said. “He was Russian! Nobody would have understood.”
“I don’t believe in taking chances,” Rodney said. His hand had slid into his coat pocket. Why wasn’t I surprised, when it came out, to see that it was holding a gun?
“He’s got a gun!” Tim squealed.
“That’s right, Tim,” I said.
“You’ve been very clever,” Hoover snarled. “But you haven’t quite thought it through.” He glanced out of the window. We had reached the top of the circle, as high up as the Ferris wheel went. Suddenly Hoover fired. The glass door smashed. Tim leapt. The rain came rushing in. “An unfortunate accident!” Hoover shouted above the howl of the wind. “The door malfunctioned. Somehow it broke. You and your brother fell out.”
“No we didn’t!” Tim whimpered.
“Anyway, by the time they’ve finished wiping you off the South Bank, Fiona and I will have disappeared. The money is in a nice little bank in Brazil. We’ll move there. A beach house in Rio de Janeiro! We’ll live a life of luxury.”
“That money was meant for sick children!” I shouted. “Don’t you have any shame at all?”
“I cannot afford shame!” He gestured with the gun, pointing at the shattered glass and the swirling rain. “Now which one of you is going to step out first?”
“He is!” Tim pointed at me.
“No, I’m not,” I said. I turned back to Hoover. “It won’t work, Hoover. Why don’t you take a look in the next pod?”
Hoover’s eyes narrowed. Fiona Lee went over to the window. There were about twenty people in the pod above us on the London Eye. All of them were dressed in blue. “It’s full of policemen!” she exclaimed. She went over to the other side. “And the one below us! That’s full of police too!”
“It must be their day out!” Tim said.
“Forget it, Tim.” It was my turn to smile. “You’ve been set up, Hoover. Every word you’ve said has been recorded. The pod’s bugged. Your confession is on tape right now, and as soon as the ride is over you and Fiona will have another ride. To jail!”
Fiona had begun to tremble. Hoover’s eyes twitched. His grip tightened on the gun. “Maybe I’ll kill you anyway,” he said. “Just for the fun of it…”
And that was when the helicopter appeared – a dark-blue police helicopter, its blades beating at the rain outside the broken window. It had come swooping out of the clouds and now hovered just a few metres away. I could see Snape in the passenger seat. Boyle was in the back, dressed in a flak jacket, cradling an automatic rifle. I just hoped he was pointing it at Hoover, not at Tim.
“Why do you think the police released you?” I shouted above the noise of the helicopter. “I rang Snape this morning and told him what I’d worked out and he asked me to meet you. You walked into a trap. He knew you’d feel safe up in the air, just the four of us. He wanted you to confess.”
A second later there was a crackle and Snape’s voice came, amplified, from the helicopter. “Put the gun down, Hoover! The pod is
“Only once. For the photograph that Joe Carter requested. But he was wearing the same coat and the same gloves when we saw him – which is why we thought he was Lenny Smile. Both times, he was too far away for us to see his face. And, of course, in the photograph the face was purposely blurred.” I turned to Rodney. “I’d be interested to know, though. What were you doing in the cemetery?”
Hoover shrugged. “I realized that the bloody fool of an undertaker had made a mistake with the date on the gravestone. I went there to put it right. When I saw you and your brother at the grave, I knew something was wrong. I have to admit, I panicked. And ran.”
“And the circus…?”
“Mrs Lovely told us there had been a witness. I had to track him down and make sure he didn’t talk.”
“But it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d talked,” Tim said. “He was Russian! Nobody would have understood.”
“I don’t believe in taking chances,” Rodney said. His hand had slid into his coat pocket. Why wasn’t I surprised, when it came out, to see that it was holding a gun?
“He’s got a gun!” Tim squealed.
“That’s right, Tim,” I said.
“You’ve been very clever,” Hoover snarled. “But you haven’t quite thought it through.” He glanced out of the window. We had reached the top of the circle, as high up as the Ferris wheel went. Suddenly Hoover fired. The glass door smashed. Tim leapt. The rain came rushing in. “An unfortunate accident!” Hoover shouted above the howl of the wind. “The door malfunctioned. Somehow it broke. You and your brother fell out.”
“No we didn’t!” Tim whimpered.
“Anyway, by the time they’ve finished wiping you off the South Bank, Fiona and I will have disappeared. The money is in a nice little bank in Brazil. We’ll move there. A beach house in Rio de Janeiro! We’ll live a life of luxury.”
“That money was meant for sick children!” I shouted. “Don’t you have any shame at all?”
“I cannot afford shame!” He gestured with the gun, pointing at the shattered glass and the swirling rain. “Now which one of you is going to step out first?”
“He is!” Tim pointed at me.
“No, I’m not,” I said. I turned back to Hoover. “It won’t work, Hoover. Why don’t you take a look in the next pod?”
Hoover’s eyes narrowed. Fiona Lee went over to the window. There were about twenty people in the pod above us on the London Eye. All of them were dressed in blue. “It’s full of policemen!” she exclaimed. She went over to the other side. “And the one below us! That’s full of police too!”
“It must be their day out!” Tim said.
“Forget it, Tim.” It was my turn to smile. “You’ve been set up, Hoover. Every word you’ve said has been recorded. The pod’s bugged. Your confession is on tape right now, and as soon as the ride is over you and Fiona will have another ride. To jail!”
Fiona had begun to tremble. Hoover’s eyes twitched. His grip tightened on the gun. “Maybe I’ll kill you anyway,” he said. “Just for the fun of it…”
And that was when the helicopter appeared – a dark-blue police helicopter, its blades beating at the rain outside the broken window. It had come swooping out of the clouds and now hovered just a few metres away. I could see Snape in the passenger seat. Boyle was in the back, dressed in a flak jacket, cradling an automatic rifle. I just hoped he was pointing it at Hoover, not at Tim.
“Why do you think the police released you?” I shouted above the noise of the helicopter. “I rang Snape this morning and told him what I’d worked out and he asked me to meet you. You walked into a trap. He knew you’d feel safe up in the air, just the four of us. He wanted you to confess.”
A second later there was a crackle and Snape’s voice came, amplified, from the helicopter. “Put the gun down, Hoover! The pod is
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