Heidi’s
School Project
Thursday
Night, the Ellsworth Residence
“Thanks for coming ladies,” Dorothy said as she sat down and looked at the
other four women in the room, “I just wanted to make sure we all knew what was
going to happen on Saturday.”
“Where’s Cindy?” Amy asked as she put her coffee mug down on the coffee table.
“Gone to see a film with Heidi and the other girls - we have the house to
ourselves for a few hours.” Dorothy was casually dressed, in an old jumper and
leggings - a far cry, Amy thought, from the prim and proper women she had first
met over a year ago. She was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, as was her sister
Veronica who was sat next to her.
On the other side of the room was Anne Duncombe, dressed as always in smart
pants and a jumper. She had been a good friend to Amy and Veronica, as well as
Dorothy, over the years and most recently had helped them escape from a
kidnapping. The final woman was Dorothy’s sister, Suzanne, a smile on her face
as she read the sheet of paper in front of her.
“Why am I not surprised,” she finally said as she put the sheet down. “This is
Cindy’s idea?”
“It is - I think we can safely say we are recovering from our unexpected trip
now. I will need quite a bit of help for this - I know we will have to
chaperone, provide food and drinks, and so on, but we may need some more
specialised help. Anne, can I count on you for that?”
“For some of it, yes - but surely we need some people a bit closer to their age
as well?”
“Joanne is already taking care of that,” Suzanne said with a smile, “She and
the other girls are meeting to discuss a few ideas...”
Thursday Night, the Blackwood Residence
“You will never get away with this, you foul fiend!”
Chloe stared back at Alexa, struggling in the ropes that held her firmly to the
bedroom chair. They were wound around her upper body and through the wooden
lattice work, binding her arms to the wood as well as her chest, while her sock
covered ankles were tied to the front legs. Her boots were tossed casually to
one side as the ropes also held her knees to the legs, the white contrasting
with her dark tights.
“Of course we’re going to get away with it,” Alexa chuckled in a way that was
supposed to be menacing. “After all, you failed to rescue the heiress, you
little snoop!”
Chloe glanced over to where Andrea lay on her bed, mewling through the broad
band of white tape that covered her mouth and lower jaw. A black sleep mask
covered her eyes, and a pair of plugs could be seen firmly placed into her
ears.
Her wrists were crossed and tightly bound in front of her, her hands safely
covered by a pair of fingerless mittens and a warm blue sleep suit covering her
body. The rope went round her waist, pinning the limbs firmly down in her lap.
There were also bands of rope at intervals running up her body, starting with
the length around her ankles and feet, then three at various points around her
legs, her waist, her belly and her shoulders.
Next to her stood Joanne, smiling as she gently tickled Andrea’s ribs and said
“Tell us the password to your account, Lady Blackwood, or suffer the torture of
the terrible typing digits!”
“No, do not do it Mdsdasdsdasda” Chloe called out before Alexa took the scarf
she had removed from around the young French woman’s neck and pulled it into
her mouth, silencing her as she tied the ends under her hair. “You can’t stop
our plan now,” she cackled as she walked round and looked into Chloe’s eyes,
“and your little friends can’t help you either!”
There was a knock on the door, and as it opened Joanne saw Coral, Andrea’s mother,
put her head round the door. “I’m sorry, girls,” she said with a smile, “but
Andrea’s father just called to say he is heading home. I suggest you clear up
before he gets back.”
“Of course, Mrs Blackwood,” Joanne said as she reached down and pulled the tape
away from Andrea’s mouth, helping her to push the sponge ball out from behind
her lips as she did so.
“Thanks,” she said as Joanne helped her to sit up and Alexa ungagged Chloe, “I
don’t think Dad’s quite ready for this yet.”
“So,” Chloe said as she watched Alexa unravel the rope around her, “This is the
plan? We are to provide the - dastardly villains for the girls to investigate?”
“That’s what Mum said,” Joanne replied with a smile. “My darling younger cousin
is having a Snoops Party, and they are each coming dressed as their favourite
teenage detective. We get to play the parts of the dastardly villains...”
“... and the grownups get to provide the food, drink and the surprise
elements,” Alexa said as she helped Chloe to stand up. “We each get to pick the
part of which villain we are going to play. Any ideas?”
“I do,” Chloe said with a smile, “but I need to get a blonde wig. After all,
Miss Eva Kant cannot be seen to be a brunette. What of you three?”
“Wait and see,” Joanne said with a smile as she untied Andrea, “Wait and
see...”
Friday, Final Class - English
“... and, as you will know from your reading, Lee evokes the atmosphere of
small town Alabama...”
Natalie nudged Cindy in the ribs as Miss Markham, their English Teacher,
continued to make To Kill A Mockingbird sound boring.
“Got your outfit sorted for tomorrow?”
“I have - you?”
“Me too - I know Heidi is going to be our Nancy Drew.”
“Yeah, well...”
“Ms Ellsworth, Ms Jenkins, is there something you wish to discuss with the
class.”
“No, Miss Markham,” the two girls replied in unison, making Heidi titter
slightly as she caught them out of the corner of her eye. The teacher looked at
her for a moment, but before she could say anything the bell went.
“STOP!” Miss Markham called out as the class began to gather their books. “I
have an assignment for you - I want you, in groups of three or four, to write a
one act play based on a favourite literary character, and I want it first thing
on Monday morning.”
Cindy and Heidi looked at each other. “Miss Markham,” Cindy said, “I have a
family event this weekend that I have to go, I can’t possibly...”
“And for asking that, Miss Ellsworth, you get to have your group read it
first,” Miss Markham said as she sat at her desk. “You may go.”
“I don’t believe it,” Cindy said as the trio walked out of the classroom,
“She’s done it to us again!”
“Done what,” Jannifer said as she and Alice walked up the corridor towards
them. “Has Moaning Markham pulled her fast one again?”
“Yeah - a one act play, to be read first thing Monday morning!”
“Tough break,” Alice said as she looked at the trio. “What’s the subject?”
“It has to feature our favourite...” Heidi stopped and looked at the others.
“Heh - I know how we can do this!”
“Oh,” Natalie said as she looked at her, absent mindedly playing with the rope
bracelet around her wrist, “How?”
“By doing what we were going to do this weekend anyway, and then just
re-writing it slightly. Cindy - we’ll see you tomorrow at 12, in costume.”
Saturday,
11 am, The Cabot Residence
“Thanks again for allowing us to use your house for the party, Veronica - given
what Cindy wanted, there was just no room at our place.”
“It’s not a problem, Dorothy - the more the merrier.” The two women were
sitting in the breakfast bar, talking as Amy walked in with Anne and Suzanne.
“How are the girls?”
“Getting ready - and I’ve got to admit, Alexa has been very creative indeed
with her outfit. I take it one of the girls is coming as Kim Possible?”
“They are,” Cindy said as she walked in. She was wearing a long sleeved yellow
top over a pair of shiny black leggings, with her feet in a pair of red shoes.
Her mother had fixed a black cape with a red lining to the collar of the dress,
which hung to just above the black belt that hung loosely on her hips, and she
had a black hood over her head with a peak like jester’s cap, her black hair
sticking out from under the front.
“Thanks for the outfit, Aunt Suzanne,” Cindy said as she spun a black eye mask
around her finger, “I never would have thought of something like these.”
“I loved the books when I was a girl,” Suzanne said with a smile, “and I used
to wear that to fancy dress parties. I’m glad it fits you now. You’d better get
going - your guests will be here soon.”
“Talking of soon,” Anne said as she looked at her watch, “Have we decided who
it’s going to be?”
“No,” Amy said with a sigh, “so I guess it’s time to draw straws.” She took
three straws out of a box, and using a pair of scissor cut one in half.
“Whoever draws the short one,” she said as she held the four in her hand, the
ends level. One by one, Veronica, Dorothy and Suzanne drew a straw, as Amy
opened her hand to show the one that she was left with.
“Right,” Anne said as she stood up, “You’d better come with me and get ready...”
Saturday, 11.45 am
“All right, you two girls have fun now.”
Natalie’s mother held the door open to allow Natalie and Heidi to climb out of
the car. Natalie was wearing a mid-length purple dress, with matching strap
shoes, tights in a lighter shade of purple and one of her mother’s silk scarves
tied in a band loosely round her neck.
Heidi, unusually for her, was dressed fairly smartly, in a long sleeved yellow
jumper and a purple tartan print pleated skirt with a yellow belt round her
waist. A pair of purple brogues was on her feet, and a simple silver locket
round her neck.
“So, are we going to tell them today,” Natalie said as she waved goodbye to her
mother.
“Let’s see what happens,” Heidi said with a smile. “After you, Ms Blake.”
“No, after you, Ms Drew,” Natalie said, laughing as the two girls walked to the
front door and rang the doorbell.
“Hey there,” Cindy said as she opened the door, “Glad you could make it. Mum’s
got some drinks sorted out in the front room.” The three girls walked into
Veronica’s large front room, where Dorothy was pouring some drinks into
glasses.
“Welcome, ladies,” she said as she handed Heidi and Natalie a glass. “When the
others have arrived, then we can begin.” As if by cue, the doorbell rang, and
Cindy left the room, only to return with the two new arrivals.
Jannifer was wearing a cheerleader outfit, consisting of a cropped purple
sleeveless top with red trim, a pleated purple skirt with red trim and yellow
inserts in the pleats, a pair of red ankle socks and white sneakers. She also
carried a brown canvas bag over her shoulder, and her red hair was styled to
flow down her back.
Alice was wearing a red t-shirt with a white stripe across the centre, and
green combat pants. Her normal dark hair was covered by a blonde wig, with a
pigtail sticking out at either side, and she was carrying a large book with
her.
“All right then,” Cindy said as she closed the door, “Let’s all have a drink
and see what’s going to happen next....
The four women were sitting round a television screen, watching the assembled
group as they sat round talking.
“Purrfect,” Andrea said as she stroked her chin, “Simply purrrfect.” She was
wearing a form fitting black body suit, with a leather belt hanging loosely
round her waist, and black ankle boots. In her hair were perched a pair of cat
ears.
“Calm yourself, dear,” Alexa said as she played with the edges of her long
black wig. She was wearing a black and green bodysuit, with one black boot and
one green one on the opposing coloured legs. “Wait until the tape is shown, and
then we can move out.”
Chloe sat to one side, her finger to her chin as she watched Cindy. “The
birthday girl is dressed as one of my favourite heroines,” she said as she
started to finger the string of pearls that were round her neck, sitting on top
of the jumper part of the twin set she was wearing with a tweed skirt. “It will
give me the greatest of pleasure to ensure that she is kept - occupied for some
time.”
“Soon, girls,” Joanne said as she turned up the volume, “very soon...”
“Ladies,” Dorothy said as the five girls sat down, “You have been invited here
because your help is desperately needed. Some of you know each other, but
please, take a moment to introduce yourselves.”
“I’m Nancy - Nancy Drew,” Heidi said as she made a little curtsey.
“Kim Possible,” Jannifer said as she waved the pom-poms she had taken out of
her bag in the air.
“I’m Penny Gadget, and I hope agents of KLAW are nowhere round,” Alice said
with a defiant stand.
“Daphne Blake - pleased to meet you all,” Natalie said. “And who are you,” she
said as she looked at Cindy, her eye mask firmly fixed in place.
“You may call me Fantomette,” Cindy said with a false French accent, which made
Chloe giggle as she watched; “I’m the scourge of villains everywhere.”
“Well, thank you all for coming today,” Dorothy said as she switched on the
television and took a DVD out of a case. “We have asked you here because we -
well, I’ll let the Controller explain.” She opened the DVD player, slipped the
disk in and pressed “Play” on the remote. The screen went black, and then the
silhouette image of a person appeared.
“Greetings, sleuths,” an electronically masked voice said, “You have been asked
to attend today to find and rescue Lady Amelia DuBonet, a leading
philanthropist in this local area. Yesterday afternoon, she was apprehended by
a gang of four masked women, and we believe she is been held captive somewhere
in this very building. We received this communication two hours ago.”
The screen changed to show a woman, dressed in a long silk gown, tied securely
to a chair with ropes around her legs, midriff and arms. A canvas hood was
covering her head as she tried to look round. As the picture continued, a
female voice that the girls recognised as Joanne said “You have six hours to
raise one million dollars in cash, or the lady will be a tramp. We’ll be in
touch.”
As the scene went back to the silhouette, the altered voice said “We only have
four hours left - and we need your help to find Her Ladyship. Please, do your
best to find her, but be careful - we have reason to believe that the gang have
hired four master villainesses to try and thwart any attempt to release Lady
DuBonet.”
“That’s our cue,” Joanne said as the four older girls stood up. “Move out and good
luck.”
The five looked at each other, and said as one “We’ll find her.”
“Excellent - my assistant Dorothy will be here if you need help, but tread
carefully, and good luck.”
“You heard the Controller,” Dorothy said as she turned off the player. “You
have until four o’clock - good luck.”
“So how do you want to handle this,” Cindy said as she turned to the others.
“It’s a big house, but Heidi - sorry, Nancy and I know something of the
layout.”
“let’s split up,” Natalie suggested. “Kim, you go with Fantomette - she may be
able to help you out. Penny and I will go with Nancy. You start upstairs, we’ll
look downstairs.”
“Meet back here in one hour,” Cindy said as she looked at her watch, “And look
out for each other.” The five girls nodded as they turned and left the room,
Jannifer and Cindy heading up the staircase as the others went into the
kitchen.
“Something smells nice,” Natalie said as the three of them walked into the
large open area.
“Must be something for later,” Heidi said quietly, taking a magnifying glass
from her handbag. “Spread out and look for clues.”
As she examined the work surface, Alice walked over to the fridge and looked in.
“Peckish?”
“No - just looking for - hello, what’s this?”
Heidi looked over as Alice picked something out of the fridge. “What is it -
one of her ladyship’s jewels?”
“Nah - just discovering your aunt loves fresh pineapple,” Alice said as she
held a dish up for Heidi to see. “You need to eat right, right Daphne?”
“Hmm - sorry, be with you in a minute,” Natalie said as she saw a red thread,
similar in colour to the gown on the bound woman, running across the floor.
Rubbing her arms, she slowly followed the thread towards a large door that led
to the cellar.
“I wonder if she’s down here,” she said to herself as she put her hand on the
door handle, but before she got a chance to turn it the door opened and she was
dragged through by two pairs of arms.
“Did you say something, Daphne?” Heidi said as she turned and looked at the
slowly swinging door. “Daphne? Daphne, where are you?”
Saturday, 12.30 pm
“Whttrudng?”
Natalie was
trying to stop her arms been secured to the chair back with the loops of rope
that were been passed round her upper body, but with little success. Her wrists were already well secured behind
her back, and tied down to the central spar of the chair back, as the ropes were
pulled even tighter around her by the tall, thin, stocking masked woman.
“This ought
to hold her in place,” she heard her say in a high pitched voice to the other person,
who was busy lashing her feet together to the side of the chair leg. This person was wearing a Frankenstein full
head mask, over a dark baggy jumper and trousers.
Natalie tried
to call out again, only for the cloth stuffed in her mouth to muffle her
attempts, held in place as it was by her own scarf which was pulled between her
teeth. Looking to her side, in the gloom
she could just about see across the room the person they had been looking for,
the hood still over her head.
“Don’t
worry,” the voice said, “Your friends will join you soon enough.” A pair of earplugs were pushed into Natalie’s
ears, before a long woollen scarf was tied over her ears and eyes, blacking out
her vision.
“I can’t see
anything in here,” Cindy said as she and Jannifer looked one more time round
the large bedroom.
“No, I
agree,” Jannifer said as she scratched her head, “I think we need to split up
and see what else we can find in the other rooms. Meet at the top of the stairs in twenty
minutes?”
“All right,”
Jannifer said quietly as she went one way down the corridor, and Cindy made her
way to the room she knew was Veronica’s bedroom. As she opened it, she was surprised to see
sitting at the dressing table a woman, her blonde hair done up in a bun,
applying some lipstick to her face.
“I’m sorry,”
Cindy said as she closed the door behind her, “I thought the room was
empty. May I ask who you are?”
“Me,” the
woman said with an Italian accent as she stood up and turned to look at Cindy,
“I am Lady Amelia DuBonet. May I ask who
you are, dressed in that circus outfit.”
Cindy looked
at the woman, dressed in a twin set and tweed knee length skirt with a pearl of
strings around her neck. She knew it was
Chloe wearing a wig, but had no idea what character she was playing. She did think her Italian accent was good,
however.
“You can call
me Fantomette,” she finally said, “and I know you are not Lady DuBonet. We have seen the ransom video for...
“... for my
mother,” Chloe said with a smile. “I had
heard this mysterious Controller had called in some outside help - I presume
you are one of them?”
“I am,” Cindy
said as she watched Chloe walk slowly towards her, her handbag slung over her
shoulder. “Perhaps you can tell me why
someone would wish to kidnap your mother?”
“Money, her
valuables, or maybe they just really do not like her - she can be a difficult
person at times,” Chloe said with a smile as she walked up and stood in front
of Cindy, opening her bag as she did so.
“After all, I should know better than anyone - I am her daughter, after
all.”
“Which is
strange,” Cindy said quietly, “Because Lady DuBonet does not have any
children.”
“Very good,”
Chloe said as she took a perfume spray from her bag, “Allow me to introduce
myself. My name is Eva Kant.”
“Eva...” Cindy
said as Chloe sprayed water into her face.
She swayed for a moment, before closing her eyes and dropping to the
floor, as if she had been given a blast of ether to the nose and mouth.
“How very
stupid of you,” Chloe said as she knelt next to Cindy and rolled her over,
drawing a length of parachute cord out of her bag as she did so, “to fall for
so simple a trap.” She pulled the
younger girl’s wrists together, crossing them behind her back before she
started to tie them together.
“Daphne? Where did she go?”
As Alice and
Heidi looked round, the door from the dining room opened and Amy came in,
dressed as a housekeeper with a white apron over a blue housecoat, and low
black shoe son her feet. “Oh,” she said
in a Southern accent, “I’m sorry, I did know you would be in here. Can I help you young ladies?”
“Our friend
seems to have disappeared,” Alice said with a smile, “You did not see her, did
you?”
“This friend
- about your height, wearing a purple dress?”
“That’s her,”
Heidi said as she looked at her mother, “which way did she go?”
“I believe
she made her way to the telephone,” Amy said as she went to the sink, “to call
someone called Thelma?”
“Thanks,”
Heidi said as she and Alice walked out of the room. As they made their way down the corridor,
Alice stopped for a moment.
“You go and
check the telephone,” she said as she looked in the dining room, “I’ll be there
in a few minutes.” She turned and opened
the door, intrigued by the sound she had heard.
“Daphne, did
you come in here,” Alice said as she walked into the room, looking at the
dining room table. Lying on her side on
it was Andrea, dressed in a tight fitting black cat suit with a leather belt
hanging round her hips, black ankle boots, a domino mask over her eyes and
kitten ears stuck in her hair.
“Well hello,
my little kitten,” she purred as she looked at Alice, “and what is your name?”
“Penny -
Penny Gadget,” Alice said, “and who are you?”
“Penny Gadget
- how purrfectly splendid,” Andrea said as she stood up and walked over to Alice,
using her glove covered hands to lift her chin up. “An old friend of mine asked me to keep an
eye out for you, young Penny. I believe
you know him very well.”
“Oh - and who
might that be?”
“Doctor
Claw,” Andrea said as she grabbed Alice and held her in her tight grip, “He
said to give you his best regards, and to give you a little gift.”
Alice tried
to break loose of Andrea’s grip, as she said “Let go of me, you fiend!”
“Now, now,
little kitten,” Andrea purred as she sprayed a little water mist into Alice’s
face, “Perhaps a little catnip will help you to relax.”
Alice blinked
twice before relaxing, closing her eyes as Alice helped her to the floor. The door from the kitchen opened and Chloe
walked in.
“I see you
have caught another little agent,” she said as she knelt next to Alice.
“Of course I
have, it was purrfectly simple,” Andrea said as she took Alice by the legs, and
Chloe lifted her by the shoulders, “Let us take her to join her friend.”
Saturday, 1 pm.
Cindy opened
her eyes as she heard Chloe and Andrea leave the room, looking at Alice as she
lay next to her. The two older girls had
tied Alice’s wrists tightly together behind her back with rope, and then wound
a length round her upper body to hold her arms firmly in place. Her ankles were tightly tied together side by
side, as were her legs above her knees and a red scarf was pulled between her
lips.
“Pnne? Pnnewkp,” Cindy mumbled through the strip of
white tape that was pressed over her lips.
She was securely hogtied, her wrists and ankles crossed and tied
together with cord, and then to each other with a further length holding them
so tightly she could touch the heels of her red shoes with her fingers. The tape was the sticky medical kind, sealing
her lips so effectively she could not push out the cloth that was in her mouth.
“So, who
shall we try to capture next,” Andrea said as she and Chloe walked down the
upstairs corridor.
“Well,” Chloe
said as she stopped in front of the bathroom door, “I already have my next
target in mind, dear sweet Selina.”
“Oh,” Andrea
said as she looked at the cool blonde, “and who might that be?”
“You,” Chloe
said as the bathroom door was opened and Andrea was pulled backwards, a gloved
hand covering her mouth as her eyes opened wide in surprise...
“Penny? Now where has she gone?”
Heidi looked
behind her as she stood by the telephone table.
She had vaguely heard Alice say she was going off somewhere, but paid
little attention.
“Hey- what’s
happening?”
She turned
and looked up the staircase to see Jannifer walking down the staircase.
“Well, I seem
to be on my own - both Natalie and Alice have...”
“Disappeared
into thin air? Cindy too - I guess someone
must be picking us off one by one.”
“OH, so
little miss Goodie Cheerleader finally figured out something? Hang on for a minute while I soak in the
astonishment.”
“Oh boy,”
Heidi said as she turned to see Alexa standing there, the long black hair of
her wig falling over her shoulders as she moved in her green and black
outfit. “She-go, just the person we
didn’t want to see.”
“Stay out of
this if you have any sense, little miss prim and proper,” Alexa said with a smile
that could melt ice, “This is between me and Miss Possible here. Come on, Kimmy - give it your best shot.”
“I don’t want
to fight you, She-go,” Jannifer said as she slowly walked down the stairs, her
pom-poms in her hand, “I have something else to do today.”
“OH, the
missing lady? I know where she might be,
but I’m not going to tell you?”
“You’re
not? Why not?”
“Duh -
because I’m the bad guy?” As she said
this, Alexa leapt towards Jannifer, just missing as she jumped to the side,
rolled in a ball and straightened up almost immediately on stopping.
“I knew the
gymnastics would come in handy one day,” she said with a smile as she jumped
again, missing the black cotton ball that Alexa had thrown to represent a power
blast. “Come on, you can do better than
that,” she taunted as Alexa jumped again, while Heidi backed into a corner, her
hand groping for something she had seen earlier.
“PNNEEEEE!!!”
“Llrrt, llrt
- mcmngt.”
Alice opened
her eyes to the sight of Cindy looking at her, her eyes wide over the white
strip covering her mouth as they both lay on the bed.
“Gtuuswllmmm?”
“Ysssss -
cnupltpfff?”
Alice rolled
over onto her back, looking over her shoulder as Cindy pushed herself up the
silky covers until her face was within reach of Alice’s fingers. Slowly, carefully, Alice felt round Cindy’s
mouth, feeling the edge of the tape before she began to rub at it with her fingers,
slowly loosening one corner until she was able to grab it and Cindy rolled her
face away, the tap e coming off as she did so.
“Phwwwgggam,”
Cindy finally said as she spat the sock out of her mouth. “Who got you, Penny?”
“Ctwmn.”
“You have got
to be kidding me,” Cindy said as she looked at the rope around Alice’s
wrists. “Hold still, I think I can start
to unpick the knot with my teeth.”
“Hgtu?”
“Chlo... Sorry, a woman called Eva Kant. I’d heard of her, but had no idea she was in this
country.”
Chloe smiled
as she looked down on Andrea, struggling on the floor as she tried to move the
ropes that were holding her in a tight hogtie, wrapped round her body and legs
with the heels of her boots almost, but not quite within reach of her fingers.
“I am sorry that you had to be taken the way
you were, my dear Selina,” Chloe said as she knelt down next to her captive and
watched the woman behind tightening the ropes around her waist, “but you must
understand - there are wheels within wheels in motion here.”
“Indrsntd -
btwhstgngnnn?”
She wasn’t
able to say much, her mouth been stuffed with cotton and a wide strip of black
tape covering her lips. The second woman
walked round, her hair held down by the stocking mask covering her head, and
smiled as she placed a set of earplugs in Andrea’s ears.
Looking to
her side, her eyes widened as she saw a dark haired woman sitting by the
wall. Her ankles were clearly lashed
together over her leather boots, while the long bohemian skirt she was wearing
was secured around her thighs with rope.
Her hands were tied down to that rope in front of her and lashed
together, while there were ropes around her arms and chest over her long
sleeved white blouse.
“Btttt -
hsntsllrr?” Andrea mumbled as the dark
haired woman twisted round and tried to speak through the thick cotton band
that was held between her lips.
“A
Distraction,” the woman said in a high pitched voice. “Come, Eva - we have other plans to sort
through. You need to find and eliminate
your leader next.”
“Not fair,
Kimmy - you need to stand still if my blasts are going to hit you.”
“That’s kind
of the point,” Jannifer said as she dodged another cotton ball tossed by
Alexa. “Besides, I have a surprise for
you.”
“Oh - and
what would that be?”
“This,” Heidi
said as she tapped Alexa on the head with a rolled up umbrella. Alexa stood still for a moment, before
allowing herself to fall to the floor, her eyes closed.
“I like these
rules,” Jannifer said with a smile.
“Thanks, Nancy.”
“No problem,
Kim - there should be a stash around here somewhere.” She looked round the room they had moved
into, spotting a paper bag behind a chair.
As she retrieved it, she drew out several lengths of rope, a scarf and a
roll of clear tape.
“You take her
ankles,” she said as she tossed Jannifer a length of rope, and then rolled
Alexa onto her stomach and crossed her wrists behind her back, “and I’ll take
her arms.”
Jannifer
passed the doubled over rope around Alexa’s ankles, pulling them tightly together
as Heidi lashed her wrists to each other, making sure the rope was snug and
secure before she passed some more around her elbows.
“Does she
like that?” Jannifer said as she passed the rope between her captive’s legs and
pulled tightly.
“I’m told she
does,” Heidi said as she pulled Alexa’s arms together and lashed the rope round
them, watching as Jannifer did a similar thing to the legs below her knees, the
white trope contrasting with the black and green of her bodysuit.
“So what do
you think happened to the others?”
“Well, we
know of at least four bad girls out there, looking for us, so I’d guess they
had fallen into their hands. Once we’ve
finished here, what say we go and see if we can find them?”
Jannifer
nodded as she helped Heidi to roll Alexa over onto her back and then sit her
up, holding her upper body as Heidi passed the long length of rope around her
arms and chest.
“NGgggggg-
fnks,” Alice mumbled as Cindy finally managed to remove the rope holding her
hands together behind her back. Reaching
up to pull the scarf from her own mouth, she swiftly untied her ankles before
starting to unravel the ropes holding Cindy in place.
“I propose we
stick together from now on, Mademoiselle Fantomet,” Alice said as Cindy
stretched out her legs and rubbed her wrists.
“I agree, mon
ami,” she said quietly as they both climbed off the bed. “The question is, where do we look next?”
“I’m not
sure,” Alice said as the door opened and Veronica walked in, dressed in a black
short sleeved dress with a white apron tied round the front. Her legs were encased in dark stockings,
while her fete nestled in a pair of white deck shoes.
“Oh, I’m
sorry miss,” she said with a small curtsey, “I did not know the room was in
use. I can return if...”
“No, it is
all right,” Cindy said as she looked at Heidi’s aunt, “Are you one of the
staff?”
“I am - I am
Lady DuBonet’s personal maid.”
“What can you
tell us of her disappearance?”
“Oh, it was
terrible - I brought her her morning coffee, and left her in the room to answer
her letters. A few minutes later, there
was a scream, and by the time I got to the room - she had gone.”
“Did you see
anything else?”
“Only two
women running away - I only saw their backs, but I know they were women.”
“How?”
“Their legs -
they were both wearing boots, one white, the other green and black...”
“That should
hold her!”
Heidi stuck
the last of four strips of clear tape over Alexa’s mouth, holding the scarf in
place in her mouth. Her lips were
slightly apart, and the folded edges of the cream silk could be clearly seen.
“Come on,”
she said to Jannifer, “Let’s go - I want to explore the cellar.”
As they left
the room, they did not see the door to the kitchen open. Alexa opened her eyes to see the new arrival
walk in, the heels of her knee length white leather boots sinking into the rich
carpet. As she approached, she knelt
down and Alexa felt her gloved hand stroking her cheek.
“So they got
you, my dear,” Joanne said as she looked down at her, the pillbox hat perched
on her head. “I guess it’s up to Dr.
Girlfriend to step in and sort things out again...”
Saturday, 2 pm
“So where was
Daphne when you last saw her?”
As Heidi and
Jannifer walked back into the kitchen, they found the room empty, the only real
sign of life the oven light which illuminated the pit cooking inside it.
“Wonder where
the housekeeper went,” Heidi said as she looked round the room. “Anyway, Daphne said she had seen something,
and was standing over there.”
“What, next
to the door?”
“Well a
little way from it,” Heidi said as she made her way over. “Having said that, however, do you see what I
see?”
The two girls
looked at the floor, and especially at the footprints in the dust, pointing
towards the door and then scuffed and mixed in the dirt.
“Try pushing
the door,” Jannifer said, and as Heidi pushed the door opened inwards,
revealing a set of stairs leading down to a dark passage. She turned and picked up a flashlight, saying
“Come on” as she and Jannifer walked down.
As they
descended, Cindy and Alice started to walk along the upstairs corridor,
wondering who was likely to jump out at them next.
“From what
the maid said, one of the attackers had to be Ale... She-Go,” Cindy said as
they stopped at the bathroom door, “but who is the other one?”
“No idea, but
I’d bet anything it’s either Joanne or Andrea,” Alice said as she opened the
bathroom door. As they looked in,
everything looked normal and in the right place, but as she looked in the bath
she found something unexpected.
“Well, I didn’t
think I’d find this in here?” Alice
reached into the bath and pulled out the long black whip that she had seen on
Andrea’s hip earlier.
“Catwoman? But she brought you into the room - what is
this doing here?”
As Cindy
looked in she didn’t hear the woman walking up behind her, the skirt of her
Christian Dior suit moving with her legs as the heels of her white boots sank into
the carpet...
“Hello? Any villains or other nasty people down
here?”
Heidi walked into
the cellar, shining the flashlight around as Jannifer came in behind her. The ingle beam cut across the wooden crates
and storage boxes, the chairs that had been laid out, and the young girl in the
purple dress with the scarf over her eyes....
“Scarf over
her eyes? NATALIE!!” Jannifer ran over and pulled the woollen
scarf off her friend’s face, Natalie blinking as she looked at the two new
arrivals.
“Btttmtushwdp,”
she mumbled through her gag as Heidi walked round and untied the scarf,
allowing her to spit out the sloth as Jannifer pulled out the earplugs. “I was wondering when one of you was going to
show up!”
“What
happened,” Heidi said as she started to untie the ropes holding Natalie into
the chair.
“I got
grabbed from behind and pulled down here,” Natalie said as she rubbed her
wrists, “Some cousin you are, not noticing I had disappeared.”
“We did, but
not quickly enough,” Heidi said as she helped Natalie to stand up, once Jannifer
had untied her legs. She stood up and
looked at the two girls, a strange look in her eyes.
“Cousin? Heidi, your aunt doesn’t have any kids, is
there something you want to tell me?”
Natalie and
Heidi looked at each other, before Natalie said “Actually, Jannifer, we are
cousins - Veronica is my biological mother.”
“Oooookay,
that’s a topic of conversation for later, but can I ask another question
first?”
“Sure, what?”
“Who’s that
tied in the other chair?”
The trio
looked over to see the hooded woman squirming in the ropes that crossed her
silk gown, holding her firmly in place.
“Lady
DuBonet,” Jannifer said as she walked forward, before Natalie called out
“STOP!”
“What?”
“It could be
a trap,” she said as she stepped forward.
“You two take up position either side of her, and then I’ll take the
hood off from behind.” Heidi and
Jannifer nodded as they walked to each side of the bound woman, Natalie taking
up the position behind.
“Ready? One, two...
Three!”
Natalie
pulled off the head to reveal Suzanne, her eyes wide over the thick knotted
scarf that had been pulled into her face.
“One moment,
Your Ladyship,” Heidi said as she untied the knot over Suzanne’s dark hair and
pulled the scarf out of her mouth, “We’ll have you free in no time!”
“Thank you,”
Suzanne said quietly, “but I am not Lady DuBonet.”
“You’re
not? Then who are you?”
“I am her
personal maid - I was kidnapped three days ago.
Why - has something happened to my mistress?”
As she crept
past the bedroom door, Cindy turned and looked at the new arrival. She had a long dark wig cut like Jackie
Kennedy, and her clothes were in the same style, right down to the white
pillbox hat and gloves. The only incongruous
thing was the deep voice she had as she said “Well now, I see our foreign guest
has come into my domain.”
“Foreign
Guest? Who are you?”
“Oh me? I’m the reason you’re here, little one.”
As they
talked, Alice came out and joined Cindy, looking at the new arrival. “Joanne?
Who are you meant to be?”
“I see you
found your captor’s little gadget, Little Miss Gadget. What have you done with Selina?”
“I? I haven’t done anything with her. Last I heard she was with that Kant woman,
but I was a little woozy at the time.”
“Indeed? Well, you both did well to escape from their
clutches,” Joanne said as she took a toy pistol from her handbag, “but you will
not....” She stopped talking for a
moment, and then crumpled to the floor, a toy dart stuck to her back.
“You didn’t?”
Cindy shook
her head as she looked at Alice. “I
think we need to do one thing now.”
“What’s
that?”
“Downstairs -
fast!”
As the tow
girls turned and walked down the stairs, the door to the bedroom opened and
Veronica walked out, smiling as she placed the dart gun in her belt. “Time to sleep, young one,” she said as she
put her hands under Joanne’s arms and dragged her into the bedroom, “I may even
bring your raven haired friend to you....”
“She has been
kidnapped? By whom?”
Suzanne
rubbed her wrists as she stood up. “What
is the last thing you remember before you were snatched,” Heidi said as
Jannifer found a light switch and pushed it down, the single bulb illuminating
the room.
“I was
cleaning her room when two women came in.
One had a stocking over her head, the other a fright mask like that
monster in the old movies. They forced
me to put on a night robe of my mistress, then bound and gagged me and brought
me down here. After that I could only
hear things, until you released me.
“So who are
you?”
“Drew, Blake
and Possible, girl detectives at large,” Jannifer said as the light suddenly
went out.
“OH come on,”
Natalie said as Jannifer groped her way over to the light switch, “I’ve only
just started to see again.
“Hang on,”
Jannifer said as she found the switch and pushed it down. She looked at Natalie and Suzanne, before
asking “Where’s Nancy?”
“Stop
struggling, little sleuth.”
Heidi felt the
rope pulling her wrists together, and then the tape been smoothed over her
mouth. She was pushed by the shoulders
to a staircase, and as she walked up it she heard Anne behind her saying “You
can join the other s- you won’t be alone for very long...”
At the top of
the staircase, a door was opened as Heidi was pushed through. She saw Andrea struggling on the floor, and a
woman sat on the other side whom she recognised instantly - as well as the
third person standing, a drink glass in her hand.
“So glad you
could join us, Ms Drew,” she said as Heidi was forced onto her knees, “The
others will join you soon enough.”
“Ishldhvknwn,”
Heidi mumbled as her ankles were crossed and rope pulled tightly around them,
“tllmksnsssn.”
“Wlltsnfrfnmssuvgtmnt!”
Joanne
grunted through the large pad of white medical tape that had been fixed over
her mouth as Alexa was carried in, squirming in her ropes as she was laid on
the bed next to her. The red lips were
still clearly visible through the clear tape over Alexa’s mouth as she tried to
twist out of the ropes holding her wrists together and then attached to her
ankles.
As Veronica
placed Alexa on her knees, facing Joanne, she opened her eyes and saw her
elegantly dressed friend looking at her, her wrists secured behind her back and
the ropes clearly visible as they ran down and around her white leather covered
ankles.
“Whtdummnm,”
Alexa mumbled as Veronica picked up a large coil of rope and made a lasso,
passing it over the two girls and pulling it around their waists so that they
were almost literally face to face. As
she wound it round their arms and chests, Joanne smiled under her tape and said
“wlltlstwrtgfr.”
“Thrsstttysssm”
Alexa replied as the tape crinkled slightly over her smile, before grunting as
Veronica passed the rope around their arms, securing them together before she
wound it round their upper bodies.
Eventually she passed the rope between their bodies and tied it off,
saying “Have a nice time girls,” before closing the door on them.
“Swhwtdwdnnwww,”
Alexa said as she looked into Joanne’s eyes.
“Hllfnkfsmfng,”
she said as she gazed back, their heads tilting as they brought their gagged
mouths together....
Natalie
cautiously opened the door and looked out, then signalled to the others that the
coast was clear. She held the door open
as Jannifer and Suzanne all emerged from the cellar, before closing the door
behind her.
“So someone
snatched Nancy from right under our noses,” Natalie said as she left her scarf
on the kitchen table, the dark stain clearly visible in the centre. “Just what is going on here anyway?”
“I have no
idea,” Jannifer said as the door opened and Cindy and Alice came in, stopping
as they saw the three people standing there.
“Hi,” Cindy
said quietly, “Who is this?”
“Lady
DuBonet’s maid - why?”
“But we met
Lady DuBonet’s maid upstairs - she told us two women had kidnapped her
mistress.”
“How can that
be,” Suzanne said, “If I have been tied up for the last few days?”
“You know,
girls, I’m beginning to smell a very big rat.
Someone took out Joanna when she was about to capture us, and I haven’t
seen any of the others for a while.
The kitchen
door opened and they all turned to see Veronica walk in, saying “What to do
next, what to do....” as she stopped and saw the group standing there.
“Ah,” she
said as she especially saw Suzanne, “I see you have discovered my little
deception. Well, if you will excuse
me....”
“GET HER!!”
Natalie shouted as both Suzanne and Jannifer ran over and grabbed Veronica by
the arms, dragging her back into the kitchen and sitting her down on one of the
old wooden chairs. As they did this,
Alice picked up a roll of duct tape that was on the floor and tore it loose,
taping Veronica’s arms to the back of the chair and her waist in place as
Natalie looked into the older woman’s eyes.
“Hello
again,” she said as the other two taped her legs to the front legs of the
chair, “Now, why don’t we start at the beginning - who are you, and what have
you done with Lady DuBonet?”
“I’ll never
tell,” Veronica said as she looked directly back at Natalie, “and nothing you
can do can make me talk!”
“Oh no,”
Natalie said as she looked at Suzanne.
“Tell me, how would you like to be the one to get her to talk?”
“With extreme
pleasure - what do you have in mind?”
“Kim, you go
with her and fetch her best feather duster.”
Jannifer nodded as she and Suzanne headed for the kitchen door. “Penny, you and Fantomas here go and see if
you can find that woman who briefed us earlier.
Something tells me she has not been telling us the absolute truth.”
“What makes
you say that?”
Natalie
turned to Suzanne. “When I was taken
captive I noticed that one of the women had a particular marked perfume around
her - Chanel No 10. Did your mistress
ever use that?”
“No -
but...” Suzanne let her voice trail off
before nodding and leaving with Jannifer.
“Natalie,”
Cindy said as she took her friend to one side, “I only know two people who wear
that perfume. One is my aunt and the
other is...”
“Your
mother,” Natalie said as she nodded. “Go
-you and Alice find her while I have a little chat with our guest here.”
The two girls
nodded and left Natalie alone with Veronica.
“So,” she said as she sat down and poured herself a glass of squash,
“How’s the day going for you, Mum?”
“Can’t complain,
can’t complain,” Veronica said with a smile as she looked at Natalie. “You’ve figured it out, haven’t you?”
“Some of it,
but not all of it,” Natalie said with a smile.
“And if I’m right, then one of them is not going to come back...”
“M<Gggppfddffdgfg.”
Heidi let out
a muffled grunt as she was pushed over onto the floor of the attic, next to
Alex who moved her legs out of the way to avoid hitting her cheek. Her ankles had been pulled back and secured
to the ropes that now held her arms firmly into her side, running under her armpits
and around the back of her neck to hold them in place. Her legs had also been tied together; the ropes
visible below her knees as Anne pulled her skirt back down.
“We can't
have our prim and proper girl sleuth exposing herself, now can we,” the woman
said as she knelt down and held Heidi’s face in her hand. “After all, she will be joined by the others
soon enough. In fact, I fully expect the
first person to fall into our clutches any minute now...”
“In here,” Suzanne
said as she opened the door to the bedroom, allowing Jannifer to walk in in
front of her before she headed to the wardrobe.
“An unusual
place to keep your cleaning things,” Jannifer said as she looked round the
simply furnished room.
“It is Madame’s
wishes,” Suzanne said as she took a pair of black trousers out and pulled them
on under the robe, before reaching round and trying to reach the zip. “I wonder if you could help me - I have been
tied for so long, I cannot reach the zipper very easily.”
“Oh very
well,” Jannifer said as she laid her pom poms down on the bed and walked over
to Suzanne, moving her long hair out of the way as she looked for the zipper.
“It seems to
be stu....” she said as she tried to move it, before a pad of damp cloth was
clamped tightly over her nose and mouth.
Her eyes widened as she looked at Suzanne, who turned round and smiled
as she allowed her eyes to close and she pretended to fall into a state of
unconsciousness.
“Such a
lovely girl,” Chloe said as she helped Jannifer to lie gently on the
floor. “I was expecting Veronica to be returning
with her.”
“Slight
change of plans,” Suzanne said as she reached round and pulled the zip down
with no problem, allowing it to fall to the floor as she pulled down the t-shirt
that she was wearing underneath. “She
walked in on me and four of the others.”
“Four of
them? Who was missing?”
“Heidi - I
think one of us nabbed her while the cellar lights went out. Have you been upstairs yet?”
“No,” Chloe
said as she knelt down and turned Jannifer onto her stomach, crossing her wrists
and tying them together with a length of satin cloth, “but we can walk her up
afterwards. I think the end game is
about to begin.”
“We can’t
find her,” Alice and Cindy said as they walked back into the kitchen, only to
stop as they saw Natalie tickling Veronica’s ribs, to the accompaniment of
“No!!! ENOUGH!!!! MERCY, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!”
“Oh no - I’m
not showing you any mercy, mum!”
“Mum?” Now it was the turn of Alice and Cindy to
look at her askance. “Natalie, what did you
mean by that?”
“You would
have found out today anyway,” Natalie said as she stood up, “Veronica is my
natural mother - I’m adopted.”
“Wh... When
did you find this out?”
“The weekend
you and Heidi were - away,” Natalie said as Veronica regained her
composure. “It’s true,” she eventually
said as she sat up, “and we’ll explain it all later. For now, let’s go back to the game.”
“Well,” Cindy
said quietly, “We could not find the woman at all. Has Kim returned?”
“No she hasn’t
- as I suspected would be the case,” Natalie said as she picked up a
cloth. “Tear some strips of tape off
that roll - we need to silence our prisoner.
Open wide.”
As Veronica
opened her mouth, she stuffed the cloth in and covered her lips and jaw with
several lengths of duct tape, sealing it in place before she placed the roll on
the table. “Come on,” she said to Alice
and Jannifer, “Looks like it’s up to us to save the day again.”
Saturday, 4 pm
The three
girls left the room, as Veronica tried to move herself in the chair, grunting
as she desperately tried to break free of the tape bands holding her in place.
“What the
hell is going on,” Cindy and Alice said as they walked down the corridor with
Natalie. “We keep appearing and
disappearing, and now the girls who were meant to capture us are disappearing
as well?”
“Perplexing,
isn’t it Ms Fantomet,” Natalie said with a smile, “but I’ve been through my
fair share of preposterous plots, and believe it or not I have learnt one or
two things. It’s at this point that
Velma would have a brainwave, or Fred would set a trap, but there’s one big
difference here.”
“What’s
that?”
“The whole
thing, this house - it’s all a big trap, and some of us have already been
caught. And do you know what the best thing
to do if your friends are in danger and you know there’s a trap is?”
Cindy
nodded. “Walk right into it - what are
we going to do?”
Jannifer
looked round, eyes wide as Chloe and Suzanne pushed her into the attic.
“Kmmm? Gddsdwhssnnxt?”
“Quiet,
little miss snoop,” Suzanne sneered as she forced Jannifer to lie on her
stomach on the floor and pulled her ankles up behind her, crossing her ankles
and lashing them together with rope. As
she looked to her right, she saw Andrea as well, growling through her gag as
she tried desperately to get free.
As her ankles
were attached to the ropes around her bare arms, she looked to the other side,
then back to Heidi.
“Whsyrmmmhr?”
“Wvbnstp,
thsw.”
Chloe smiled
as she looked down on the three trussed captives. “Your friends will be here soon,” she said
quietly, “so enjoy yourself for a while.”
As she walked to the door, Suzanne walked to the far side of the room,
where the other woman was standing.
“Veronica has
probably been compromised - we should assume that they will be here soon.”
“Good, good -
let us hope it is not too long.”
As Chloe
walked down the corridor, she saw the bedroom door standing slightly ajar. She opened it gently and looked in, smiling
as she saw Joanne and Alexa together.
“Avoir du
plaisir, mes amis,” she said quietly as she closed the door to, only to stop in
her tracks as she saw Alice and Natalie standing in front of her, their faces
grim and their arms folded.
“Why, Miss
Gadget, Miss Blake - I had hoped I would see you both before the day was
over. It will save me so much time
trying to find you. But tell me, where
is your friend, the charming Fantomet? I
did so enjoy meeting her earlier today.”
“I cannot say
I shared the sentiment, Miss Kant,” she heard a voice say behind her, before
she felt fingers tickling the back of her knees. She allowed herself to crumple to the floor,
laughing as Natalie unfolded her hands and showed Chloe the roll of duct tape
she had been hiding underneath.
“Can you
guess what this is for,” she said as Cindy held the laughing girl from behind,
tickling her ribs as she did so. “Yes -
yes I can,” Chloe said between laughs, as Natalie pulled the end of the tape
free. Alice also allowed herself a smile
as she held a clean cloth in her hand.
“Open wide,
my dear friend,” she said as Chloe felt her hands been pulled behind her back,
and something sticking to her bare wrist.
Heidi looked
at the two women at the far side of the room, deep in conversation, and
motioned with her head to Jannifer. She
nodded as she moved herself closer, and the two turned so that they were lying
back to back, their fingers probing to see if they could loosen the knots for
each other.
Andrea had finally managed to loosen the
blindfold that had been tied over her eyes, and was looking round the room as
well. Satisfied nobody was watching, she
started to try and move her arms from side to side, seeking a little manoeuvring
room so that she could get to a small purse attached to her belt...
“Let’s go,”
Natalie said as she forced Chloe to stand up and walked her in front of the
trio, heading for the steps that led to the attic. As Alice opened the door, the group walked
up, stopping at a closed wooden door.
Natalie
turned the handle and pushed the door open, revealing the three trussed and
bound captives to them all. They looked
up as Chloe was pushed in, followed by Natalie, Alice and Cindy.
“Ah,” the
woman said as she put her glass down, “I see you have found our little
spy. Tell me, where is my other associate?”
“Safe and
secure,” Natalie said as she stepped forward.
“After all, that is what you wanted, isn’t it Lady DuBonet?”
Dorothy
smiled as she slowly clapped her hands together. “Well done, Miss Blake, very well done
indeed. Tell me, how did you figure it
out?”
“You should
change your perfume - I recognised it when I was first grabbed, and I knew I
had smelt it somewhere before, but it took me a while to realise where. It was when you briefed us earlier. I realised then that the video, the so-called
controller - all of that was a red herring, but why?”
“Oh, I’ll be
more than delighted to tell you,” Dorothy said as she looked at the trio, “just
as soon as my other associate here has bound and gagged you.”
“Hands behind
your backs, girls,” Suzanne said as she stepped forward, “and don’t move a
muscle, or your friends and the police officer here get it.”
Alice, Cindy
and Natalie looked at each other, and moved their hands behind their backs as
Suzanne used a zip tie to secure the wrists of each of them, and then slapped a
length of white micropore tape over their mouths. As she did this, Chloe looked pleadingly at
Dorothy.
“Oh no, Miss
Kant - I am afraid you must remain bound as well,” Dorothy replied with a sweet
smile. “After all, our plans were to
make sure you all were held captive. Now
you are here, we can proceed with the final phase.
“You see,”
she continued as the girls were forced to their knees, “I have spent
considerable time and resources building a criminal empire, but I knew the main
threats would come from two groups - you little girl sleuths, and the main
villainesses in the area. So I devised
this little scheme - fake my own kidnapping, invite the five pests to come and
investigate, and also hire four of you ‘bad guys’ to capture them. What none of you knew was my intention was to
take you all and make sure none of you would ever get in my way. With that accomplished, I would be free to
carry out my schemes, and you - all of you - would be on your way to a new
life.
“Mind you, I
had not counted on a fly in the ointment, isn’t that right Officer
Strong?” Dorothy walked over to where
Amy was securely bound and gagged in the chair.
“I nearly failed to spot you, but when you sent the girls off we had to
make sure you were kept out of the way as well.”
She reached
down and pulled the scarf out of Amy’s mouth, as Anne walked back into the room
and looked at all that was happening. “Silly
of you to try and call your contact after that - my friend her had to bring you
up and make sure you were kept out of the way, didn’t you Miss Duncombe?”
“Miss
Duncombe?”
“Nice monologue,
lady - now shut up and get on your knees.”
Dorothy tuned
to see both Suzanne and Anne on their knees, white tape over their mouths and
their hands pulled behind their back, as Heidi and Jannifer stood with their
hands on their captive’s shoulders.
“How... How
did you...”
“You were so
busy gloating you didn’t keep an eye on us,” Heidi said very quietly, “and we
have plenty of practice of getting out of knots, isn’t that right Kim?”
“That’s right
Nancy - and we had a little help as well.”
Dorothy felt
a gloved hand on her shoulder, as Andrea purred “I do not like been tricked, my
dear- and I have the most purrfect plan for how to punish you for this. As for you, Miss Kant, I think I must
introduce you to my good friends,” she said as she waved her gloved fingers in
front of her, Chloe’s eyes widening as she looked on.
Heidi walked
over and removed the ropes holding her mother in place, as Amy said “Well done
girls - we’ve been after this woman for months.”
“Is she even
a real lady?”
Dorothy
actually snorted as Andrea bound her hands behind her back. “Of course I am - my breeding is
impecbbmgmmgfmdfm.”
“Yeah, yeah,”
Andrea said as she stuffed a cloth in Dorothy’s mouth and picked up the tape
roll. “Just remember I helped you out
when the police arrive.”
“Do you
know,” Heidi said as she looked round, “I don’t think you were even in the
room.” Andrea smiled as she pushed
Dorothy forward, having secured her hands behind her back with rope as
well. “Why don’t we take these three
downstairs and make sure they’re all comfortable with their friends,” she said
as Suzanne and Anne were helped up, “we can get all the answers we need from
them down there.”
“Hang on,”
Jannifer said as she looked round, “where are Joanne and Alexa?”
“I’ll take
care of them later,” Andrea said as they headed for the door, “I don’t think
they would appreciate been disturbed right now.”
Saturday, 6 pm
“HAPPY
BIRTHDAY, CINDY!!!”
The room
cheered as Cindy cut into her birthday cake, then clapped as Dorothy handed
them all a drink - cola for the younger girls, and champagne for the adults.
“So how does
it feel to be as old as me again,” Heidi said as she put her arm round Cindy’s
shoulder.
“No different
to when I was younger,” Cindy said as she saw Natalie sitting with
Veronica. “So, Nats is your cousin?”
“Yup - came
as a bit of a shock to me as well. Until
today, the only other person outside of the family who knew was Chloe - and she
kept it a secret at our request.”
Cindy took a
sip from her glass as she looked round the room. “So, any more secrets you need to tell me
about?”
“Not that I
know of - you?”
Cindy looked
at where Joanne and Alexa were sitting, talking in low whispers. “No - not for
the moment,” she said as she turned back.
“So, what are we going to do about this assignment?”
“Oh the
play? Well, Aunt Veronica has been
taking notes all day, and tomorrow she’ll help me write them up. If we get together before school starts on
Monday, then we can do this....”
Monday, 10 am
Miss Markham
stood up as Heidi, Natalie, Alice and Chloe finished reading their play.
“Most
impressive girls - good use of dramatic language and some good plot twists in
there. I had not thought of the Nancy
Drew novels as classic literature, but I will forgive you that this once. You may sit down.”
The rest of
the lesson passed quickly, but as the bell went and the girls filed out of the
class Heidi felt a vibration in her pocket.
“Text message,”
Cindy said as she looked at Heidi.
“Hmmm - just
a minute,” Heidi said as she looked at the screen, her eyes narrowing and
widening as she did so. Eventually, she
put her phone back in her pocket and motioned Cindy to one side.
“You know I
have this pen friend in England - Alicia?”
Cindy
nodded. “What about her?”
“Well, Mum
has just had a letter from her mother, inviting me to visit for a few weeks
during the summer.”
Cindy dropped
her books and put her hands to her mouth.
“You’re going to England? Wish I
could come too. If nothing else, you
know what this means?”
“In my case,
getting a passport and some new clothes.
What did you have in mind?”
“PARTY!!!”