‘No. You just did,’ Bullet replied bitterly.
A strangely stricken look swept over Darius’s face. Theo just wanted to get out of there. He’d never felt so in the way, so horribly intrusive, in his entire life.
‘Look, you don’t understand,’ Darius began.
‘Oh, yes I do. I understand perfectly,’ said Bullet. ‘I’ll be going now. I think I’ve wasted enough of your time.’
Bullet turned and walked out of the door, leaving Theo and the others with no choice but to follow him.
Chapter Five
If We Hadn’t Turned Up
‘WHAT A SLIME bag!’ Angela voiced her opinion the moment the door to the side room had shut behind them. ‘Bullet, you’re better off without him.’
‘Angela, not now,’ Ricky said impatiently.
‘But he is.’
‘Angela. Shut up,’ Ricky hissed.
‘Excuse me.’ Bullet walked down the ward without another word.
‘Angela, for goodness’ sake! How would you feel if you were Bullet? Just remember what it was like when it was you and your brother in trouble,’ Ricky rounded on her.
‘I didn’t mean …’
‘You never mean to say these things, but you do!’ said Ricky.
Angela looked down the ward to where Bullet was walking away from them without a backward glance. ‘Toby, hang on. Wait!’ Angela pelted down the ward after him.
‘You were a bit hard on her,’ Theo said to Ricky. ‘She means well.’
‘Angela has to learn to think before she opens her mouth,’ Ricky said, not a hint of an apology in his voice. ‘It was bad enough for Bullet to have to listen to that man who’s supposed to be his father without Angela making things worse.’
They started walking down the ward.
‘Ricky, what’s the matter with you?’ Theo asked curiously. ‘It’s not like you to be so … so impatient and judgmental. What’s wrong?’
Ricky sighed. He looked towards the closed side room door. ‘I guess Darius Marriott just got to me, that’s all.’
‘Why?’ Theo asked.
‘If you must know, I think … I think I … envy Bullet. At least his dad is here for him to find and be with. My dad’s in another country and isn’t the slightest bit interested in me. I guess that’s why Darius Marriott got to me. He shouldn’t …’ Ricky got no further.
At that moment the side room door opened and Doctor Nolan stepped out. She called down the ward to Ricky and Theo. ‘Could you come back please? Mr Marriott would like to see you. Where’re the other two?’
Theo looked down the ward corridor but Angela and Bullet were nowhere to be seen. ‘They’ve gone.’
‘Then you two had better step in. But you’re not to upset Mr Marriott, d’you understand?’ said the doctor.
‘That works the other way round as well,’ Ricky muttered.
Theo didn’t want to see Darius Marriott again. He’d had enough of that man to last him a lifetime and beyond. He looked at Ricky. If Ricky refused to go in, then so would he – but nothing doing. Ricky walked into the room. Theo had no choice but to follow.
‘You wanted to see us.’ Ricky’s tone was clipped.
‘Where’s … Toby?’ Darius asked.
‘Your son has gone,’ Ricky said deliberately. ‘I guess he didn’t want to stay where he wasn’t wanted.’
Darius regarded Ricky. Ricky returned his gaze without flinching.
‘Do you know Toby’s address?’ asked Darius.
‘Yeah,’ said Ricky.
Silence.
‘Could you possibly give it to me?’
‘Why?’ Ricky said bluntly.
‘Ricky!’ Theo’s voice held a warning.
‘It’s a perfectly reasonable question.’ Ricky turned back to Darius. ‘Why?’
‘I think I may have been a bit … hasty. I want to sit down with Tessa and Toby and talk about this … situation,’ Darius replied.
Ricky scrutinized Darius as long moments passed.
‘Have you got a piece of paper and a pen?’ Ricky asked at last.
Darius removed a notepad and a fancy fountain pen from his bedside cabinet. He held them out to Ricky. After a moment’s hesitation, Ricky moved forward to take them. Writing quickly, Ricky soon handed the pen and pad back to Darius who immediately looked down at the pad to see what Ricky had written.
‘I know where that is,’ Darius nodded.
‘Mr Marriott, if you don’t mind me asking, who d’you think that bogus doctor was?’ Theo couldn’t help asking.
‘I have no idea.’ Darius’s shrug of the shoulders was a little too nonchalant. ‘I’ve been wondering that myself.’
‘So you didn’t recognize him?’ Theo persisted.
‘Of course not.’
‘What did he tell you he was doing?’ asked Theo.
Darius shrugged again. ‘He said he had some medicine for me which had to be administered via my drip.’
‘Did he say what it was?’
‘No and I didn’t ask.’ Darius began to frown. Theo knew he had to get the next question in quick!
‘Your Lazarus suit, have you worn it before?’
‘Yes, but not outside our research lab. We still have more tests to run before we can get them formally safety-tested.’
‘D’you really think they’ll sell loads?’ Theo asked.
‘Of course. If I wasn’t already a millionaire then the Lazarus suit would certainly make me one.’
‘And what happens if they don’t sell loads?’
‘What d’you mean?’ Darius’s frown was back with a vengeance.
‘If they don’t sell, will you lose a lot of money?’ asked Theo.
‘I don’t see what …’
‘I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,’ Theo interjected.
‘If you must know, quite a lot of my company’s money, not to mention my own, is tied up in this project,’ said Darius. ‘And that’s all I’m prepared to say on the subject.’
‘Thanks,’ Theo said thoughtfully.
‘I can’t believe I’m answering the questions of a little kid!’ Incredulous, Darius shook his head, speaking more to himself than anyone else.
Little kid indeed! What a cheek! Theo glared at Darius, who didn’t seem to notice.
‘Are you going to be a reporter or a chatshow host when you grow up?’ Darius asked Theo.
Theo shook his head, still feeling peeved at being called a little kid.
‘You should seriously consider it,’ said Darius drily. ‘You have a way of getting people to talk to you before they even realize what they’re doing.’
‘Theo’s going to be a world-famous private detective,’ Ricky smiled.
Theo scowled at his friend. What did Ricky think he was playing at? Theo’s ambition was a secret, shared with only a few close friends.
‘Is that right?’ Darius raised his eyebrows. ‘That’s very interesting.’
‘I’m only thinking about it. There are a lot of things I’d like to do,’ Theo said defensively.
‘Well, fascinating as all this might be, I think it’s time you two boys left now. Mr Marriott needs to rest,’ Doctor Nolan said.
‘We were just going anyway,’ said Ricky. ‘Mr Marriott, good luck with Bullet, I mean Toby, and his mum.’
The only indication they got that Darius had heard was the curt nod of his head. Ricky and Theo left the room.
‘Don’t tell anyone else about my wanting to be a private detective.’ Theo rounded on Ricky at once.
‘Is it such a big secret?’ Ricky asked, surprised.
‘Yes. I don’t want the whole world to know yet – and certainly not Darius Marriott,’ said Theo.
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t like him – and I don’t trust him. And a detective has to trust his instincts.’
‘Why did you ask him all those questions?’ Ricky asked.
‘There’s something very funny going on here,’ Theo replied.
&nbs
p; ‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know what – yet. But I intend to find out.’
‘Oh dear!’ Ricky sighed. ‘Theo, I don’t think we should stick our noses into Bullet and his dad’s private business, however much we might like to.’
‘I have no intention of doing anything of the kind. But Darius Marriott almost died at our school. And if we hadn’t turned up at this hospital when we did, he might’ve been dead now. That needs investigating. And we’re just the ones to do it.’
Ricky held up his hands. ‘Theo, don’t say it! Please don’t say it!’
But, grinning, Theo said, ‘This is a job for the Solve-It Detective Agency!’
Chapter Six
Motive
‘WHERE’S BULLET?’
Ricky and Theo were outside the hospital building now. Angela was there waiting for them. Bullet wasn’t.
‘He went home,’ Angela sighed.
‘What did you say to him?’ Ricky asked, eyes narrowed.
‘Nothing. I didn’t say anything tactless,’ Angela defended herself. ‘I apologized, that’s all.’
‘How did he seem?’ Ricky asked. ‘Was he all right?’
Moments passed before Angela answered. ‘To be honest, I don’t think he was. I think, if I wasn’t with him …’ Angela didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t have to.
‘What should we do now?’ Ricky asked Theo.
Theo considered. ‘I think the first thing we should do is find out as much about Darius Marriott, his family and his company, DemTech Industries, as we can.’
‘In one afternoon?’ Angela said dubiously.
‘We’ll carry on next week if we have to,’ Theo decided.
‘If? There’s no if about it. It’ll take us ages to find out any useful information,’ frowned Angela. ‘And finding out about DemTech and Darius Marriott wasn’t exactly how I had planned to spend my half-term. I wanted to …’
‘Bullet needs us,’ Ricky interrupted.
Angela huffed impatiently. ‘OK! OK! So how exactly are we supposed to find this info?’
‘The Internet, of course. Where else?’ Theo smiled.
‘I’ll go to the library and see what I can find out from the newspaper archives and the company records,’ Ricky suggested.
‘Good idea,’ Theo agreed.
‘I’ll go with Ricky,’ said Angela.
‘Meanwhile I’ll go home and use Mum and Dad’s computer. Hopefully, it won’t take me long to find out a thing or two about our friend Mr Marriott,’ said Theo.
‘So when are we going to meet up?’ asked Ricky.
‘Tomorrow at three in my house – unless I phone to say otherwise. OK?’ Theo replied. ‘See you.’
The three friends split up and headed in their different directions. Theo hadn’t the first clue what he was looking for. What did he hope to find? What did he know so far? Some man had tried to inject goodness only knew what into Darius’s intravenous drip. The police had bagged the syringe and would analyse the substance in it, but how would Theo ever get the results of their analysis? That was the first problem. And then there was this so-called Lazarus suit. Had it malfunctioned on its own or did Bullet’s lie detector have something to do with it? Or was there another explanation? With each step he took, Theo’s lips became more compressed. There was a mystery here all right, but how would Theo get access to all the information he needed to solve it? And then there was Bullet. If Darius did turn out to be Bullet’s dad, then in a way that would make what Theo had to do a lot simpler. On the other hand, it would make Bullet’s life a lot more complicated. Theo had decided he didn’t like Darius Marriott and nothing had happened to make him change his mind.
Theo stopped walking abruptly, making the woman who was walking behind him swerve to avoid him. Oblivious to her impatient look, Theo stood still as he thought. In the Solve-It Detective Agency’s last case, Theo had made the mistake of not taking Jade’s predicament seriously until it was almost too late. He didn’t want that to happen again. Bullet was a mate. Theo wanted it to remain that way. And secretly, Theo couldn’t help agreeing with Angela. Not having Darius Marriott for a father would be no loss as far as he was concerned. The man was a cold fish. But Theo knew he’d have to set his own feelings aside. He had to do what he could to help Bullet and the first step was to sign on to the Internet using Mum and Dad’s computer.
Two hours later, Theo sat back and tilted his head in every direction to massage his tired neck muscles. He was exhausted and his eyes felt like they were perched precariously on two matchsticks. He felt like he’d read through at least a whole novel’s worth of data. But at least he’d made progress. Theo looked down at the A4 sheets of paper beside his chair. He’d found at least fifteen pages of information about Darius Marriott and DemTech that was worth printing out. And nothing he’d read had changed his mind about Darius Evan Marriott. The man had been married three times, his third wife being Samantha McRae – now Samantha Marriott – who was currently in the States. Darius was forty-five and had started up DemTech Industries when he was twenty-six. DemTech stood for Darius Evan Marriott Technologies and Darius seemed to take the credit for every invention to come out of his company even though most of them were designed and researched and built by his employees. Darius was a multi-millionaire but as far as Theo could see that was the only thing he had going for him. Once again, Theo studied the organizational chart he’d drawn up for DemTech.
He had photos of Darius and all his company directors. He had their full backgrounds and CVs. Ron Westall, Yves Hamilton and Faith Shanley. In their photos, they all looked shifty as far as Theo was concerned. He had more information than he knew what to do with and yet, in a way, it felt as if he had nothing. Any of them, all of them or none of them could’ve been responsible for the attempt on Darius’s life. With Darius out of the way, maybe one of them or all of them would take over DemTech. Maybe one of them had a mind warped enough to believe that that was a strong enough motive for murder. What were the usual motives for murder? Greed? Jealousy? Fear? Did any of those apply here? It was hard to know without knowing the people involved.
And murder was a serious business. Not something Theo wanted to get anywhere near. And not something he wanted his friends mixed up in either. If one of the directors was responsible for the attempt on Darius Marriott’s life, it was a job for the police. Theo was in danger of getting in way over his head. ’Cos if one of the directors was involved, what was to stop them from trying again? Which one of them could it be?
Theo didn’t know the directors so it was a bit pointless to speculate about their motives. He did know Darius, though. He’d met the would-be victim so he’d have to concentrate on him first. And it was strange, but Darius seemed to recover remarkably quickly from the initial shock of learning that someone was trying to kill him. But then what else was he supposed to do? It wasn’t as if he could lock himself in his hospital room and refuse to come out ever again. Maybe Darius had more than an inkling as to who was trying to get rid of him? It had to be someone close to him. Someone who maybe knew about him being at their school, but who certainly knew that he was in hospital. The first thing to establish was exactly what had happened to Darius Marriott on their school stage. Was it Bullet’s lie detector that had caused his dad’s accident? It seemed very unlikely but Theo couldn’t rule it out. Only one person would know whether or not the lie detector was involved and that was Bullet himself. Gathering up the DemTech data off the floor, Theo ran out of the room and downstairs.
‘Mum, can I go round to Bullet’s house?’
‘What? Now?’ Mum glanced down at her watch. ‘It’s almost six o’clock.’
‘It’s really important,’ Theo pleaded. ‘And I’ll be back in an hour, I promise.’
‘I don’t know, Theo. It’s a bit late to go visiting. Can’t you leave it until tomorrow?’ asked Mum.
‘No, I can’t. I really can’t. It’s very important, Mum.’
Theo’s mum regarded him w
ith a frown. A huge grin spread over Theo’s face. ‘Thanks, Mum.’
‘I didn’t say yes,’ Theo’s mum protested.
‘Thanks, Mum.’ Theo was already in the hall and heading for the door.
‘An hour.’ Theo’s mum stressed as she followed him. ‘I want you back in an hour and you’re to go straight to Bullet’s house and then straight home again. D’you understand?’
The front door was open. ‘No problem. See you later.’
‘Theo …’
Theo didn’t wait to hear any more. He needed to see Bullet. Bullet was the key to this whole mystery.
Chapter Seven
The Unexpected Guest
‘HI, MISS BARKER. IS Bullet in?’
‘Hello, Theo.’
Theo took a good look at Bullet’s mum. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time. Usually she received the briefest of glances to make sure she hadn’t sprouted two heads or something and then Theo swept past her on his way to find Bullet. But now that he knew a bit more about her, he was more interested. She was a lot younger than his mum. Theo reckoned she was in her early thirties at the very most. Theo’s mum was Jurassic, in her mid-forties and climbing. Or was the word deteriorating! Bullet’s mum had short hair parted on one side and swept back off her face and dark brown, twinkling eyes. And she always wore leggings or jeans. Theo had never seen her in a skirt or a dress.
Bullet’s mum turned with a frown to look at the clock hanging on the hall wall. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Oh no. I just wanted a quick word, that’s all,’ Theo assured her.
‘Hhmm. Well, you’ll have company. Ricky and Angela just arrived saying the same thing.’ Bullet’s mum missed Theo’s start of surprise as she turned to take another quick look at the clock. ‘Come on in, then.’
Theo stepped into the house and Bullet’s mum shut the door behind him. ‘They’re all in the living room. I wish I knew why you all look so serious.’
Bullet’s mum’s voice was mildly curious, inviting Theo to confide in her, but Theo didn’t answer. He walked into the living room. Bullet was sitting at his computer – naturally! – whilst Angela and Ricky sat on the sofa. And it didn’t take a clairvoyant to realize that there was a very frosty atmosphere in the room. Nodding his hello, Theo sat down next to Ricky. Bullet’s mum looked around the room.