thoughts round to her dad. It was six months since he had vanished without a single word to her or her mother. The Ministry of Defence where
he worked had offered no clue to his whereabouts. Neither had the Blue Hills police, who seemed at a loss as to how to track him down.Some time ago she had realised that her best bet for finding
her father would be her own investigations, but so far she had found out nothing. She thought of a man called Orville McIntyre, a colleague of her dad’s with whom she and Barney had dealt
during that strange business with Gloria Pickles last year. He had been extremely friendly and helpful at first but then revealed a somewhat darker, more ruthless side to his character when events
had turned serious. In a far corner of her mind, a vague suspicion nagged that he knew more about her dad’s disappearance than he was letting on.
An image of the statue in the park now appeared in her mind. In the vision, the robin and the robot came alive, the rain-streaked mottled granite turning to vibrant living colours, the
robot’s face a gleaming silver, the robin’s breast a vivid orange-red. The little bird fluttered off the robot’s palm and seemed to alight on Gabby’s shoulder. It pressed
its tiny beak to her ear.
‘It’s OK, Gab,’ it whispered, ‘we’re here now.’
Before she could ponder this statement, a shrill buzzing noise obliterated all thoughts from her mind. With a jolt, her eyes snapped open. Thin streaks of dim morning light were piercing the
cracks in her curtains, crisscrossing her duvet with silvery lines. She rolled over and clapped a hand to the snooze button of her clock radio. The buzzing noise ceased. She scooped her glasses and
mobile phone off the bedside table and settled comfortably back against her pillows. Thumbs working busily, she used her phone to log on to the advice forum, hoping someone had replied to her
request for info on Chas.
She gave a soft squeal of surprise.
RE: DO YOU KNOW THIS BOY? 329 REPLIES
Yes, I know him! He’s just started at our school, Beaverbrook Comprehensive in Tattenhall. He’s a bit of a freak to be honest! He does these weird magic tricks . . .
I kno this boi. He is called Charles Hinton and gos too Orange Tree Grammar. He is very wierd . . .
The kid in your photo has recently enrolled at the King’s School, Chester. He appears to be a talented conjuror who enjoys . . .
Gabby scrolled down the list of responses, slowly shaking her head. There were over three hundred sightings of Chas from kids all over the British Isles – all saying he had just started at
their own schools.This was
properly, impossibly
weird. How on earth could one boy simultaneously attend all these different schools?
Crazy theories began to jostle for position in Gabby’s mind. First, that the multiple Chases were alien invaders who had copied the appearance of a single Earth boy to blend into human
society. Then, they were all in fact the same person – a boy who could move impossibly quickly and attend three hundred and twenty-nine different schools on the same day. Then they were
actually an army of clones bred by the government for – what, though? Magic tricks? She giggled. Whatever the explanation for this was, she couldn’t wait to start investigating.
Barney’s arms were on fire.
That’s what it felt like, anyway. Never had he experienced pain so acute and so all-encompassing. His legs didn’t seem to be in much better condition, either. Or his back. He placed
the cardboard box down on the musty bed and sat down beside it, panting like a dog on a hot day. With the back of his hand, he wiped a thick smear of sweat from his forehead.
He looked at his watch. One forty-five. He had only been shifting boxes for fifteen minutes. He heaved a long, hissing sigh. Were they trying to kill him?
When he arrived at the Abbotts’ house that afternoon he had been worried that Gill would be in the same foul mood that he had left her in at
he worked had offered no clue to his whereabouts. Neither had the Blue Hills police, who seemed at a loss as to how to track him down.Some time ago she had realised that her best bet for finding
her father would be her own investigations, but so far she had found out nothing. She thought of a man called Orville McIntyre, a colleague of her dad’s with whom she and Barney had dealt
during that strange business with Gloria Pickles last year. He had been extremely friendly and helpful at first but then revealed a somewhat darker, more ruthless side to his character when events
had turned serious. In a far corner of her mind, a vague suspicion nagged that he knew more about her dad’s disappearance than he was letting on.
An image of the statue in the park now appeared in her mind. In the vision, the robin and the robot came alive, the rain-streaked mottled granite turning to vibrant living colours, the
robot’s face a gleaming silver, the robin’s breast a vivid orange-red. The little bird fluttered off the robot’s palm and seemed to alight on Gabby’s shoulder. It pressed
its tiny beak to her ear.
‘It’s OK, Gab,’ it whispered, ‘we’re here now.’
Before she could ponder this statement, a shrill buzzing noise obliterated all thoughts from her mind. With a jolt, her eyes snapped open. Thin streaks of dim morning light were piercing the
cracks in her curtains, crisscrossing her duvet with silvery lines. She rolled over and clapped a hand to the snooze button of her clock radio. The buzzing noise ceased. She scooped her glasses and
mobile phone off the bedside table and settled comfortably back against her pillows. Thumbs working busily, she used her phone to log on to the advice forum, hoping someone had replied to her
request for info on Chas.
She gave a soft squeal of surprise.
RE: DO YOU KNOW THIS BOY? 329 REPLIES
Yes, I know him! He’s just started at our school, Beaverbrook Comprehensive in Tattenhall. He’s a bit of a freak to be honest! He does these weird magic tricks . . .
I kno this boi. He is called Charles Hinton and gos too Orange Tree Grammar. He is very wierd . . .
The kid in your photo has recently enrolled at the King’s School, Chester. He appears to be a talented conjuror who enjoys . . .
Gabby scrolled down the list of responses, slowly shaking her head. There were over three hundred sightings of Chas from kids all over the British Isles – all saying he had just started at
their own schools.This was
properly, impossibly
weird. How on earth could one boy simultaneously attend all these different schools?
Crazy theories began to jostle for position in Gabby’s mind. First, that the multiple Chases were alien invaders who had copied the appearance of a single Earth boy to blend into human
society. Then, they were all in fact the same person – a boy who could move impossibly quickly and attend three hundred and twenty-nine different schools on the same day. Then they were
actually an army of clones bred by the government for – what, though? Magic tricks? She giggled. Whatever the explanation for this was, she couldn’t wait to start investigating.
Barney’s arms were on fire.
That’s what it felt like, anyway. Never had he experienced pain so acute and so all-encompassing. His legs didn’t seem to be in much better condition, either. Or his back. He placed
the cardboard box down on the musty bed and sat down beside it, panting like a dog on a hot day. With the back of his hand, he wiped a thick smear of sweat from his forehead.
He looked at his watch. One forty-five. He had only been shifting boxes for fifteen minutes. He heaved a long, hissing sigh. Were they trying to kill him?
When he arrived at the Abbotts’ house that afternoon he had been worried that Gill would be in the same foul mood that he had left her in at
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