The Turnarounders and the Arbuckle Rescue by Lou Heneghan Read Free Book Online Page A

a Swann’s Circus anywhere. I need you to tell me what you know!’
    ‘I don’t know anything,’ Ralf said. He turned his face away and decided not to answer any more questions. This was a good move, as it turned out, because he couldn’t. Burrowes’ next question practically knocked his Nessie slippers off.
    ‘Then can you please explain why the dead man had all your names and addresses on a piece of paper in his pocket?’
    He couldn’t explain, of course. The question was intended to make him nervous and get him thinking. It did both.
     
    Ralf was reeling as he left the police station. But things were about to get even more complicated. As he struggled with the turnstile outside and stepped into bright sunshine, he saw Leon waiting for him. ‘Look,’ Leon began earnestly. ‘This is going to sound a bit mad –’
    Ralf shook his head and attempted a smile. ‘There’s been quite a lot of mad today.’
    ‘It’s just – well – I think I know you. I…’ At first Ralf didn’t see what had made Leon break off but when he did, his mouth dropped open too.
    The Hooded Man was on the other side of the street.
    They both stared. A second later, they were running across the road.
    ‘Hey!’ Ralf shouted but The Hooded Man did not appear to hear him. Instead, he drifted into a crowd heading towards the river. The boys followed, dodging between pedestrians, keeping their eyes on the back of the dark figure. Ralf’s Nessie slippers slapped loudly on the hot tarmac and each footfall jolted up to his knees but he pressed on. For the first hundred metres he was focused only on catching up with The Hooded Man and finding out what was going on, but then a thought struck him. He knew why he was running, but what on earth was Leon doing?
    ‘You know him?’ Ralf called out between breaths.
    Leon’s face was a picture of perplexity. ‘No… just seen him … a lot. Always there when something weird happens…’
    You can say that again, Ralf thought, but he didn’t say it because the wind was knocked out of him by the appearance of Alfie.
    ‘He’s heading for the bridge!’ the boy shouted. ‘I’ll cut him off!’ and with that he gave Ralf a quick nod and hared off up an alley. Him too? This was getting ridiculous. Just as Ralf was thinking this, though, he noticed something even more odd. Both he and Leon were dodging around to avoid bumping in to people, but The Hooded Man was moving smoothly and in a straight line. It was the strangest thing. People seemed to step out of his way at the last possible second, not looking at him, but swerving unnaturally is if to avoid a hole they might fall down.
    Although The Hooded Man looked as if he was taking a leisurely stroll and they were running flat out, neither of them was able to catch up. Twice, Leon was within grabbing distance of the cloaked back, but the next second the man was far ahead again, a small figure in the rapidly swelling crowds. It was a pretty nifty trick, especially for someone who was supposed to be dead. How was he doing it? Ralf was beginning to get a painful stitch in his side but he was determined. He was in middle of something very strange. A plot? A mystery? He wasn’t sure what exactly, but all his instincts screamed that The Hooded Man would be the key to finding out. He kept running.
    As they approached Westminster Bridge the crowds got thicker and it was only the rapid thud of extra footsteps that made him realise he and Leon were not the only ones running. Seth and Valentina were there too. Valentina’s lips were set in a grim line but she was loping along comfortably, hardly out of breath. Seth, on the other hand, looked pained and there was a glint of fear in his eyes that Ralf was sure must also be in his own.
    ‘Stop!’ he yelled at the back of the hooded figure. ‘We just want to talk to you!’
    The four got curious glances from confused pedestrians who couldn’t seem to see who they were shouting at. To everyone else on the