Sim, who hadn’t registered what had just happened, carried on grumbling, “Things don’t change without a reason…”
And he was right.
Zef opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Maya and Toby. The entrance hall consisted of a small room with a second door that was closed. This must be the lawyer’s waiting room. Sim was still on the doormat, wiping his feet and joking loudly.
“I’m wiping my feet, Zef Clarac Esquire. You should put up a sign telling people to wipe theirs too!”
Zef, who wasn’t keen on people talking about the story behind his sign, signalled to him to be quiet. But Sim wouldn’t budge from the mat. Toby and Maya didn’t understand the professor’s joke, and Zef hurriedly pushed them inside. He ushered them into the spacious sitting room where they stumbled on a scene which, months later, it would take Toby three days to paint on the cave wall, a scene that made him weep with every brush stroke of his trembling fingers.
There were a lot of people in Clarac’s sitting room. Eight, not counting the new arrivals. The first person they noticed, mainly because his backside was taking over the entire sofa, was Joe Mitch.
When he saw them come in, he gave a smile, or the closest he ever got to one. In any event, you could see one or two yellow teeth on the side, behind the cigarette butt. The sound of his jowls flapping was followed by a rumbling noise from the bottom of his throat. Yes, this probably was his way of smiling.
Just behind the sofa were Mitch’s two revolting sidekicks, Razor and Torn. They were a few years older than at the time of the Balina incident, but the advantage of already looking like a corpse is that you never seem to age.
A little to the right, perched on an armchair, Mr Perlush’s feet didn’t quite touch the ground. He looked like a creepy waxwork dummy. Next to him, Toby was disgusted to see the figure of Tony Sireno, Sim Lolness’s former assistant, who was bright red with embarrassment. He had chosen his camp. He had gone over to the other side. Finally, on either side of the door, two distinctive shadows were already framing our friends. Even though he had never seen them before, Toby had no trouble in recognising Venge and Losh. Venge was scratching his belly button with a fingernail as big as a scythe. Losh had a piece of tarpaulin, or raincoat, between his teeth. It was the same material as the raincoat hanging from the sitting room coat rack, at the back on the left-hand side. Very high up – a green raincoat.
Zef recognised the coat hanging on the wall. It belonged to his friend, Doctor Pill. There was little doubting the owner, since the doctor himself was still inside it, dangling unconscious.
After a lengthy silence, which was only natural between people who hadn’t been expecting to meet up in this way, Joe Mitch made a long hissing noise between his teeth.
Razor rushed to translate, “We weren’t expecting to find you in such good company, Mr Clarac. What a surprise.”
“And indeed a joy,” Perlush added.
Mitch let out a “Grrrrrrr…” which shut Perlush up until the end of the conversation.
Razor picked up again, “Well, I do believe we’ve got the professor here too. Good news … I could only see the old bag and the brat.”
Sure enough, Sim had appeared behind Maya, Toby and Zef. Later on, he wondered if he would have done better to flee before being spotted. But at the time, it didn’t occur to him to desert his wife and son. He even stood in front of them and cast a dark look at Tony Sireno, who he had just recognised.
Razor explained, “To be frank, we were only expecting Mr Clarac. One of your friends, namely Doctor Pill, has just confirmed that Mrs Alnorell has died and the lawyer is handling this affair.”
Zef stared at Pill, who was hanging from his collar on the coat hanger. He knew the doctor well: if he had given anything away, it could only have been under the vilest torture, and he already forgave him for it. But Zef himself was trembling with guilt and horror at having unwittingly led the Lolness family into this trap.
“So we were waiting for you to tell us where the corpse is, and of course the ‘affair’ in question. We’ll handle everything, along with Mr Perlush.”
Sim spoke up, “My mother-in-law’s body is in the winter greenhouse. It should be treated with respect. As for her affairs … they revert to my wife, who is her only daughter.”
Normally, when an entire room bursts out laughing, the atmosphere is blissfully happy, like a foretaste of eternity. But when Joe Mitch’s six stooges burst out laughing, Toby wanted to block his ears. In the end, it was Joe Mitch himself who silenced his stooges.
He got Torn and Razor to help him up from the sofa. A mounting block and pulley wouldn’t have been out of place.
Once standing, Mitch was so exhausted it took him nearly a minute to catch his breath. He took the few steps that had separated him from the professor and came to a stop in front of him. Mitch stared at Sim, as if there was something on his nose, and then, raising his fingers to the professor’s face, he grabbed Sim’s new glasses and crushed them in his hand. He threw the broken remains of the glasses onto the floor, returned to the sofa and collapsed into it, gratified.
Sim hadn’t moved. Maya closed her eyes. A tiny tear nestled in the corner of her eye. But she gritted her teeth, and kept telling herself, “Don’t cry. Don’t cry.”
The tear must have heard her silent instructions. It briefly popped out, only to disappear back inside again.
Toby and Zef hadn’t taken their eyes off Sim.
Torn spoke first, “The Friendly Neighbour has a great sense of humour. He likes these little teasing games, which make life more fun, and—”
Mitch let out a loud “Rhhhaaa-glglglgl-burpb…” that was difficult to decipher.
Torn cleared his throat and continued. “You’ve got five minutes to give us two things: the Stone and Balina’s black box.”
Sim tried to hide his surprise. He glanced at Tony Sireno, who was shifting from foot to foot, embarrassed, in front of his former boss.
So, this riffraff still had their minds set on the black box…
What the professor didn’t know was that they were so set on it that, guided by Sireno, ninety researchers had been scratching their heads over the question for the past six years. It was Joe Mitch’s obsession. He wanted the secret of that black box.
Torn asked Losh to count down five minutes. Losh looked shifty and signalled to Venge, who was biting his little fingernail. Neither of them knew how to count to five. They looked pleadingly at Perlush, who started counting the seconds.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…”
The four people under interrogation stared straight ahead of them. Toby glanced briefly at the body of Doctor Pill hanging from the coat hanger. He was still moving.
The five minutes went by very quickly. Nobody said a word. Losh was sharpening his teeth by grinding them against each other. He sensed he was going to have to take action. Impatience was making white foam appear in the corners of his mouth.
When the time was up, Mitch growled. Torn offered a simultaneous translation, “All right then, we’ll have to search you ourselves.” And he roared, “Search them!”
Venge didn’t know who to start with. “The wart first,” Razor said.
Venge almost wavered, but Zef Clarac had already stepped forward.
It could only mean him. Ever since he was very small, he had always been the wart, the monster, the scruffy one, the blister, the pimple, the stain, the eyesore or the stinking pile of rubbish. Zef Clarac smiled. He had chosen to be a glittering monster, a radiant pimple, a flamboyant wart.
Toby noticed that in front of Joe Mitch’s hideous gang, Zef looked like a prince.
Venge almost hesitated to go up to someone with so much pride. In the end, he put his revolting hands on Zef and started searching him. They didn’t find anything except his house key, so Losh pushed him to the other side of the room.
Maya stepped forward.
“It’s my turn. Is there a woman to search me???
?
A few sniggers greeted this question. Mitch mumbled, “Puss-y-kin-ska.”
“Get Pussykinska in here!” Torn shouted.
Losh disappeared for just long enough to usher in someone who had been standing guard outside. She had problems squeezing through the door, and had to stoop and tuck in the folds of her generous curves.
There was only one way to describe Pussykinska: she was a human mountain. This aside, her face was quite kind, and she had a pudding-basin haircut. She wasn’t in the least bit scary. Maya smiled at her. Pussykinska went up and delicately searched Maya’s pockets, her hems and linings, concentrating hard throughout. She shook her head at Razor. Maya Lolness joined Zef on the other side of the sitting room. Pussykinska left discreetly, which was no mean feat for her.
Next they frisked Toby in the same way. After which, Razor looked at Toby and said in disgust, “The worst is when scum breeds small scum.”
Instinctively, Toby answered back, “Small scum? I wouldn’t say you’re that small…”
Razor was slow to twig, but Sim Lolness rushed over and gave Toby a great whack on the back of his head. Toby’s hair flew up.
“Don’t insult the gentleman!” Sim shouted.
Trembling, Toby instantly raised his head again and rushed over, with his back to the wall, to join his mother. He felt groggy and he looked distraught. Maya stared, wide-eyed. It was the first time Sim had ever hit his son.
Everyone looked from Toby to his father. The professor was losing his wits. Losing his soul.
They had won.
This great scientist, this unique man, was going to crumble because of them. Maya saw her husband sink to the ground, until he was kneeling with his head in his hands.
“I can’t go on… I give up. I’ll tell you everything. I’ll give you everything.”
Sim Lolness’s short-sighted eyes were shedding warm tears.
Toby’s face hardened.
Never let a child see his own father in the act of betrayal.
20
The Hollow Branch
Everyone in Zef Clarac’s sitting room was in a state of shock. Even the Mitch camp looked stunned by Professor Lolness’s disgrace.
Joe Mitch was already picturing himself as the master of Balina’s Secret. The crude sap reserves he’d been stockpiling would be put to use at last. By employing mechanical weevils, the Tree would be destroyed twice as fast.
Joe Mitch’s projects were simple, they revolved around one thing: holes. Ever since he was born, Mitch wanted to make holes. Little ones, big ones, holes everywhere. It was like a disease or an itch. He dreamed of turning life into one big hole. For this crazy project, he needed a lot of money.
By telling all, Sim Lolness would be making the only dream inside the big black hole of Joe Mitch’s brain come true.
Fifteen years earlier, Joe Mitch had still been a modest Border guard.
The Border consisted of a simple line round the Main Trunk, at the base of the Low Branches. Mitch lived in a stinky lair with two weevils he’d trained up. After El Blue died crossing the Border, Joe Mitch took advantage of the general unrest to put his weevils to work. He started digging a deep trench within his surveillance area.
The Grand Tree Council congratulated this young, unknown Border guard who gave up his free time to dig ging for the security of the Tree. Only Professor Lolness and a few old crazies raised any opposition to his initiative. Sim made a speech entitled “Cut-throat”, in which he talked about how the trench along the Border was cutting the Tree’s veins and endangering it. People called out, “He’s got talent but he really goes over the top, that Lolness. Soon, they’ll ban us from cutting bread so we don’t hurt any poor little slices!”
Joe Mitch enjoyed his first taste of success and started breeding a few weevils, which he hired out so that houses could be dug.
And so, Joe Mitch Arbor was born. The business started growing, like a baby ogre. But once it got hold of the Balina Method, that ogre would grow up.
When she saw Sim collapse, Maya’s tears welled up again. And this time, they rolled down her cheeks, sneaking into the corners of her mouth, soaking her collar. Zef held out a handkerchief, which she didn’t even see.
Toby kept his icy gaze fixed on his father. He was witnessing the Lolness family pride cracking in every direction.
Torn went over to Sim Lolness and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Take heart, Professor. You’re a brave man.”
Toby saw his father shudder. A compliment from a swine is about as palatable as delicious cream served up in a dirty ashtray.
Sim took a deep breath.
“Before explaining where the Stone is, I’m going to lead you to the black box.”
“Just tell us where it is.”
“That’s impossible, I’ll have to come with you. You’ll never find it without me.”
Razor looked at his boss, who seemed to be snoring, despite the fact he was wide awake. Joe Mitch shook his head.
“You’re not leaving here,” Razor said.
For this bunch of idiots, a scientist like Sim was a sort of wizard, capable of vanishing into thin air, or slipping through their fingers as soon as he left the room. Sim didn’t look surprised by their reaction. But when he spoke, he sounded annoyed.
“In that case, my son will have to take you there.”
Toby reeled. His father was crazy. Toby hadn’t seen the black box for what felt like centuries and didn’t know anything about it. His father must have gone mad. Mitch mumbled something else even more inaudible. Torn and Razor leaned over the sofa, ears straining to catch what he was saying. Mitch gave each of them a flabby wallop.
Razor whimpered, “The Friendly Neighbour consents. Your son will go with Venge and Losh.”
Losh smiled, slicing his lips with his teeth. The blood oozed into his spit. Venge was sniggering, “We … wee-wee … wee-wee…”
Toby couldn’t make head nor tail of what was going on any more than Maya could, as she watched her only son about to be sent out by his unhinged father, on an impossible mission.
But a simple glance from Sim, who was wrinkling his nose the way he tended to on important occasions, made Toby think that his father must be giving him a signal. He was asking for something. There was a glimmer of hope after all. Toby understood that the first part of his mission was to play for time. He reminded himself that the only one of the four not to be searched was his father, who still had the Stone in his pocket. The professor’s breakdown might be a trick. All was not lost.
Like a good childminder, Venge held out his killer’s hand to Toby. Toby refused to take it and put his hands in his pockets instead. He went ahead of the two creeps. At the last moment, he turned round again. Toby saw his mother in floods of tears, which made him melt. Then he turned to his father, who was gently scratching his cheek. The professor said something very silly: “And don’t go doing yourself another injury.”
It was idiotic, pointless, ridiculous.
But as he walked out of that door, Toby was sure about one thing – his father’s look was that of someone saying farewell. A look that meant, “Leave, my son. And don’t ever come back.”
For now, Toby was being followed at a distance of a quarter of a millimetre by two psychopaths. It was going to be difficult to shake them off. But his little brain, free as the air, was working overtime.
There could be no worse situation in the world than the one Toby found himself in now. Seeing as his father had led him here, however, and since a few clues gave him hope that Sim hadn’t actually gone mad, there had to be a meaning to all this. For the time being, he walked tall on the branch with no idea of where he was going.
His father’s golden rule kept going round and round in his head, “Things don’t change without a reason.” This had to be the key.
Why had the professor changed so suddenly?
With the grim escorts galumphing behind him, Toby started by trying to get Sim’s odd behaviour clear in
his mind. First of all, slapping Toby; next, the promise to surrender his secrets; and finally, that last sentence: “And don’t go doing yourself another injury.”
No matter how hard Sim tried to be a normal dad, tactless as the next, he never said clumsy things such as, “Be careful,” “You’ll get all dirty again,” or “Don’t go breaking your leg now.” So if he was talking like that for the first time, there had to be a reason for it.
“Don’t go doing yourself another injury.” Odd advice when you’re sending your son to the front line. Toby appealed to the words to shed some light. And instantly the words showed him the way.
The only time he had really hurt himself was at The Tufts, in that little hollow branch at the end of the garden. He still had the scar on his cheek. He thought back to his father’s gesture, scratching his cheek as he gave advice. Toby smiled to himself.
The garden at The Tufts. That was where he had to go.
He turned and found himself face-to-face with Venge and Losh, who were peering at him.
“I made a mistake. It’s this way.”
Losh made the blades of his teeth glint. He didn’t like being taken for a ride. Venge warned Toby, “Wotchit-kiddo.”
Which can be roughly translated out of Venge-speak to mean, “Be careful, young man.”
They stepped aside and let him pass between them.
To get to The Tufts they had to cross a second branch and turn right under a few leaves turned gold by early autumn.
They got to the gate, which was still padlocked.
“It’s here,” said Toby, who was panicking about reaching his destination so quickly.
He thought the business of opening the gate would give him a few more minutes to play with, but Losh had already taken a big bite out of the chain and Venge sent the gate flying.
“There we go!” they said in unison, like a pair of out-of-tune choristers.
Toby walked round the outside of the house. He saw his father’s beret hanging up. He saw the broken windowpanes, the ripped curtains, the garden running riot. Wild grass had taken root in the bark dust. Venge’s swaying hands acted as a makeshift pair of shears.