October (9 page)

We piled cartons into the boat until the
water-line
was only a few centimetres below the prow. I steadied the small craft while Repro climbed on
board, then I hopped in and used one of the oars to push off. I picked up the other oar and soon developed a steady rhythm, cutting through the dark and silent lake. Repro sat at the bow, shining the torch ahead.

‘OK, navigator. Where to?’ I asked.

‘Straight ahead. To the other side. I’ll give you plenty of warning before landfall.’

Repro’s torch cut a narrow swathe of light ahead of us. It was an eerie trip, gliding across the black water, dipping the creaking oars into the surface and propelling us along.

I realised Repro was smiling proudly and
looking
at me as I took our surroundings in. ‘You like it?’ he asked.

‘It’s amazing,’ I said. ‘I’ve heard stories about a lake under the city, but never believed them!’

Repro insisted on transporting everything over before he’d let me check out his new place. It took five trips there and back before we’d shifted all his stuff, and by that time, my arms were
aching
, my clothes were soaked and my sneakers were squelching, filled with water … but still, I couldn’t wait to look around.

‘I’ve been working on this site for a while now,’ said Repro, hanging up a lamp, ‘and already
bought the conduit for the wiring down here. Another day or two and I’ll have full power again. There’s a sewer line just over there,’ he said pointing to the side of the lake, ‘and I’ll build my bathroom on top of that. I’ll add my little pipe in. No-one will even notice.’

We were in the dead end of a tunnel, that no-one else would probably ever realise existed. I looked around at the weird set-up, the harsh shadows cast over the walls and the water by the lamp.

‘Another few weeks and you won’t know the place,’ Repro chuckled. ‘There’s plenty of air here and I’m even planning an open fireplace with the chimney running up one of those shafts. Imagine an open fire in the winter. With a bit of luck, Santa Claus might even visit me!’

It took a bit of imagination, but I was starting to picture some pretty cosy living quarters.

‘I’ll build a nice rock wall here,’ Repro
continued
, pointing to the open end of the tunnel, ‘and make another secret door.’

He dug out a packet of chocolate biscuits from a washing basket of stuff. ‘Now, take a seat and have a break. No, not on that one. That’s the box of track detonators. Don’t want to set off an explosion!’

I kicked off my sneakers, rolled up my wet
jeans, and sat on another one of the upturned boxes. I grabbed a couple of biscuits and tucked into them.

‘What’s that?’ Repro suddenly asked, looking at my legs.

‘What’s what?’

‘The numbers. On the inside of your ankle?’

‘I wish I knew,’ I said.

Repro stared intently at the marks.

‘How did they get there? Did
you
write them?’

‘I’m pretty sure Kelvin put them there last month, after he dumped me in the desert. He’d been ordered to kill me, but he couldn’t do it, and when I woke up I found them there. Won’t rub off.’

Repro looked again at the fading numbers and letters. ‘You know what it is, don’t you?’ he said. ‘You know what those numbers mean, right?’ He made it sound like only an idiot wouldn’t know exactly what he was talking about. ‘I suppose,’ he said, rubbing his fingers together, ‘the question is,
what’s inside?
’

‘I don’t get it.’

Repro laughed, his eyes wide in disbelief.

‘I wasn’t the only lucky one today, my boy!’ he said. ‘You’re just as lucky you ran into me!’

‘Please,’ I urged, ‘just tell me what you’re talking about.’

‘Why would someone write the number of a safety deposit box on
your
ankle?’

‘The number of a
what
?’ I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. ‘Did you say “safety deposit box”?’

‘Sure did. That’s what that is. SDB stands for “safety deposit box”, and that’s the PIN following it. Whose is it? Obviously not yours!’ He cackled again with laughter.

The PIN! It had been with me, staring me in the face, all this time! Kelvin, who’d been told to kill me, not only spared my life but gave me access to Oriana’s treasures!

Kelvin whom I’d saved from a bashing. Kelvin who was sick of Oriana’s orders. Kelvin who’d informed the police of Oriana’s involvement in Gabbi’s kidnapping!

Did Kelvin hate her enough to betray her like this? Had he handed over her PIN to me in revenge? Or was it all part of an elaborate trap?

‘Are you sure?’ I asked.

‘Of course I’m sure. I have an SDB myself at Zürich Bank. That surprises you, doesn’t it?’

I jumped to my feet. ‘Repro! I have to go!’

He looked up at me, his big, warm eyes
shining
by the light of the lamp.

‘Repro, I could kiss you! Now how do I get out of here?’

18 OCTOBER

75 days to go …

 boges, winter! this is HUGE! I have the PIN!

Winter opened the door and her eyes searched mine, waiting for me to explain myself. She was wearing that oversized T-shirt she often wore to bed, and her hair was all over the place. Her eyes looked red, like she’d been rubbing them.

‘Well?’ she urged.

I sat down on the couch and lifted up my jeans, showing her my ankle.

Her mouth opened wide as she gasped. ‘S. D. B,’ Winter said slowly. ‘Safety Deposit Box—and then the PIN! No way! Kelvin? He must despise that woman as much as we do to betray her like that!’

‘I ran into Repro,’ I explained. ‘As soon as he
saw it, he identified it. He has a safety deposit box too!’

‘So that’s it! We have the fingerprint and now we have the PIN!’

‘I have it all figured out,’ I said. ‘
You’re
going to impersonate Oriana.’

‘
Me?
You’re joking. I look about as much like Oriana de la Force as you look like that scrawny Griff Kirby.’

‘Don’t worry. We can fix that. Big, red hair, purple sunglasses. Bright lipstick. A stuffy suit. I know you can pull off that kind of staggering, leaning walk thing she does on her high heels.’

Winter went to her dressing-table drawer and pulled out a pair of huge sunglasses, putting them on. They hid the top half of her face.

‘See, you’re halfway there already! We’re going to get into Zürich Bank and we’re going to get back the Ormond Riddle and the Ormond Jewel!’

It was when Winter sat down beside me that I realised there were scrunched-up tissues all over the couch and floor.

‘Hayfever,’ she said.

‘Since when do you suffer from hayfever?’

‘Oh,’ she sighed. ‘I told you I can never get away with crying. It’s just … I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Mum and Dad’s car at the car yard. I snuck back there the other day, to
have a closer look at the wreck, but Zombie Two was on patrol.’

‘We’ll do it together,’ I promised. ‘I’m here to help you solve your mysteries, too, remember?’

‘Thanks, Cal,’ she said, standing up and kissing me on the forehead.

We hadn’t been awake long but Winter had already pulled out some potential ‘Oriana’ clothes from her wardrobe. She skipped around and draped them over a chair, popping different pairs of shoes on the floor.

When we heard Boges puffing on the doorstep, we both looked at each other and wordlessly agreed. Winter disappeared into the bathroom, taking the clothes with her.

Boges knocked. ‘Wakey wakey, you two,’ he called.

‘Hang on!’ I said, waiting by the door for Winter to emerge. Her hand snaked around the wall, reaching for a lipstick from a small make-up bag.

‘Almost ready,’ she whispered.

She stepped out and did a little twirl. She was wearing a white blazer, a straight, knee-length black skirt, white high heels, a red scarf around her head to give the effect of Oriana’s hair, bright lipstick, and huge sunglasses.

I gave her the thumbs up and opened the door.

Boges stood in the doorway, his face white with shock.

Then he had a closer look at the tall red-head with the sunglasses and purple lipstick who stood in Winter’s flat, and cracked up laughing. ‘
Awesome
!’ he said.

I slapped him on the back. ‘That’s how we’re getting into Zürich Bank. That’s how we’re going to get the Riddle and the Jewel back! And this,’ I said, kicking my ankle out into his view, ‘is the magic PIN we thought we were missing!’

‘I’ve always wanted to impersonate a
homicidal
criminal lawyer,’ said Winter, posing with a pencil, sucking on it dramatically like it was one of Oriana’s cigarillos. She leaned back and almost fell over, balancing awkwardly in the high heels. ‘Oops!’ she said, kicking them off. ‘They were my mum’s—I’m not used to wearing heels!’

Boges and Winter watched the video from Zürich Bank on my phone. ‘The thing that really stands out,’ I said, ‘is how nobody gives them a second glance. They are obviously a very familiar sight at the bank.’

‘So I guess you’re about to tell me I’ll be
playing
the role of the sumo wrestler?’ Boges asked.

‘You won’t even have to shave your head!’ I pleaded.

Boges stood still, tolerating me while I began stuffing his football jersey with some of Winter’s shawls and scarves.

‘Now put your jacket back on,’ Winter ordered in a loud, intimidating voice—she was already impersonating Oriana.

With his jacket back on, over the padding, Boges looked seriously round. He checked himself out in the mirror.

‘Cool,’ I said. ‘Now all you have to do is borrow a suit jacket from one of your uncles, and put on your mirrored sunglasses.’

Boges looked thoughtful all of a sudden. ‘I think I can rig up a sound system that will keep us in contact with you. Leave it with me. Anyway, help me get this stuff out will you?’ he said, pulling a long cashmere scarf out from his sleeve. ‘There’s no way I can rock up to school like this.’