Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz Read Free Book Online

who
have sent their children there include an American vice president, a Nobel
Prize-winning scientist, and a member of our own royal family."
    "As
well as Roscoe and this man, Ivanov," Alex said.
    "Yes."
    Alex
shrugged. "So it's a coincidence. Just like you said. Two rich
parents with two rich kids at the same school. They're both killed in
accidents. Why are you so interested?"
    "Because
I don't like coincidence," Blunt replied. "In fact, I
don't believe in coincidence. Where some people see coincidence, I see
conspiracy. That's my job."
    And
you're welcome to it
, Alex thought. What he said was, "Do you really
think the school and this man--Grief--might have had something to do
with the two deaths? Why? Had the parents forgotten to pay the fees?"
    Blunt
didn't smile. "Roscoe telephones me because he's worried
about his son. The next day the man's dead. We've also learned from
Russian intelligence sources that a week before he died, Ivanov had a violent
argument with his son. Apparently Ivanov was worried about something. Now do
you see the link?"
    Alex thought
for a moment. "So you want me to go and look into this school," he
said. "How are you going to manage that? I don't have parents, and
they were never rich anyway."
    "We've
already arranged for that," Mrs. Jones said, and Alex realized that
she must have made her plans before the business with the crane ever happened.
Even if he hadn't drawn attention to himself, they would have come for
him. "We're going to supply you with a wealthy father. His name is
Sir David Friend."
    "Friend
... as in Friends Supermarkets?" Alex had seen the name often enough
in the newspapers.
    "Supermarkets.
Department stores. Art galleries. Soccer teams." Mrs. Jones paused.
"Friend is certainly a member of the same club as Roscoe. The
billionaires' club. He's also heavily involved in government
circles, as personal adviser to the prime minister. Very little happens in this
country without Sir David being involved in some way."
    "We've
created a false identity for you," Blunt said. "From this moment
on, I want you to start thinking of yourself as Alex Friend, the
fourteen-year-old son of Sir David. You've been expelled from Eton. You
have a criminal record ... shoplifting, vandalism, and possession of drugs.
Sir David and his wife, Caroline, don't know what to do with you. So
they've enrolled you in the academy. And you've been accepted."
    "Isn't
school vacation about to start?"
    "They
don't have official vacations. The school is open all year round."
    "And
Sir David has agreed to all this?" Alex asked.
    Blunt
sniffed. "As a matter of fact, he wasn't very happy about
it--about using someone as young as you. But I spoke to him at some length
and yes, he agreed to help."
    "So
when am I going to the academy?"
    "Five
days from now," Mrs. Jones said. "But first you have to
immerse yourself in your new life. When you leave here, we've arranged
for you to be taken to Sir David's home. He has a house in Lancashire. He
lives there with his wife, and he has a daughter. She's one year older
than you. You'll spend the rest of the week with the family, which should
give you time to learn everything you need to know. It's vital that you
have a strong cover. After that, you'll leave for Grenoble."
    "And
what do I do when I get there?"
    "We'll
give you a full briefing nearer the time. Essentially, your job is to find out
everything you can. It may be that this school is perfectly ordinary and that
there was in fact no connection between the deaths. If so, we'll pull you
out. But we want to be sure."
    "How
will I get in touch with you?"
    "We'll
arrange all that." Mrs. Jones ran an eye over Alex, then turned to
Blunt. "We'll have to do something about his appearance," she
said. "He doesn't exactly look the part."
    "See to
it!" Blunt said.
    Alex sighed.
It was strange, really. He was simply going from one school to another, from a
London comprehensive to a finishing school in France. It wasn't quite the
adventure