The inspector giggled with delight. ‘Attention, passengers,’ she said, pretending to speak into a microphone, ‘we have a Code Brown in the toilets. I repeat, a Code Brown.’

  The man’s face pinched with indignation. ‘Madam, I don’t know what you think is so funny. It’s a disgrace and I will be writing a letter to Eurostar.’

  The two women were now howling with laughter and attracting a good deal of attention.

  ‘We have to get out of here before we catch it as well,’ Max said.

  ‘Catch it?!’ Autumn glared at him. ‘You forgot to mention that bit.’

  The man who had complained about the toilets stalked off back towards his seat, although, by the time he sat down, he was chortling to himself.

  Another woman entered the carriage. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, and approached the inspector, who was still sniggering like a schoolgirl, ‘I’m afraid my little boy has been sick on the seat. Do you have something I could clean it up with?’

  The woman snorted. ‘Sick on the seat! That’s hilarious. Are there carrots?’

  The girl at the counter was laughing so hard there were tears rolling down her cheeks. Carlos snorted. They really couldn’t stay there any longer or they’d be in danger of losing the plot too.

  Autumn donned a blonde wig while Max pulled on a black beanie. Carlos wound a scarf around his neck, partly covering his mouth so that he didn’t breathe in any of the fumes. The children emerged from their hiding spot and hurried around the side of the kiosk.

  As they walked past the inspector, she turned and looked at them. ‘Have I checked your tickets?’ she hiccuped.

  Autumn nodded. Carlos’s nerves got the best of him and he let out a loud rip of wind.

  ‘Did you just pop off?’ the woman roared, clutching her sides.

  Carlos’s face was the colour of an overripe tomato and he wanted to sink through the floor.

  ‘He farted!’ The inspector pointed at him, then let one rip herself. We could start our own brass band down here. Anyone else want to contribute?’ She could barely speak for laughing.

  Autumn tittered, then clamped her hands over her mouth. ‘Uh-oh, time to go,’ she mumbled.

  The children hurried back to their seats and no one bothered them for the rest of the journey.

  The train pulled into Gare du Nord just after quarter past eight. The children hopped off quickly and hurried down the platform towards one of the exits. Suddenly, none of this seemed like a very good idea at all.

  ‘What if we can’t find Kensy?’ Max said. ‘What if they take her somewhere different to the address you heard?’

  ‘We’re here now – we can’t just get back on the train and go home. Kensy needs us,’ Autumn said. ‘And if I’m right about The Hand of God, then we know what they’re planning to steal tonight. If the gang is caught in the act, we’ll have blown them apart. Kensy can claim that she was on to them and that’s why she helped – or she could just tell the truth and see what your grandmother says.’

  It was Carlos who spotted something – or rather someone. ‘Come with me – quickly,’ he said. The urgency in his voice told them there wasn’t time for questions. Without a word, Autumn and Max followed him to an alcove where they were hidden from view.

  ‘What is it?’ Max whispered.

  ‘Look.’ Carlos pointed into the crowd of passengers walking down the platform.

  ‘Mr Richardson! Do you think he followed us?’ Max said.

  Autumn shrugged. ‘Remember he told whoever he was talking to on the phone that he was coming to see his daughter tonight? He didn’t say where, so she must be close by.’

  Once the ticket inspector had been taken care of, Autumn had relayed what she’d heard Mr Richardson saying on the phone as they were leaving the theatre. None of them had any idea he had a daughter.

  Max looked at his watch. ‘Kensy won’t arrive for at least another two hours – and that’s if those guys drive straight here. We might as well follow Mr Richardson and see where he goes. I mean, he was the one who had Kensy steal the goods, so he’s in the thick of all this anyway. He might lead us to the mastermind – or maybe he is the mastermind.’

  The children moved through the crowd, edging ever closer to the man. At one point he turned around and all three of them did too, hoping against hope that he hadn’t spotted them.

  ‘We need to split up. We’re too obvious together,’ Carlos said. ‘Let’s meet up outside the entrance.’

  ‘We might lose him,’ Autumn said, and she was worried that they might lose each other as well.

  ‘Just keep sight of him and make sure he doesn’t see you,’ Max said. He gave Autumn a reassuring smile. For a fleeting moment, she allowed herself to appreciate the fact that she was here in Paris with Max – how romantic.

  Carlos was right about them separating. They had much more chance of being spotted together, especially as Theo was looking around constantly, as if he suspected someone was tailing him. At one point he stared right at Autumn, who had snatched a cap from a sleeping boy and jammed it on her head, then lowered her face to look like a moody teenager.

  Max borrowed a beanie from a rack outside a newsagency and snaffled a scarf that had been draped on the back of a woman’s chair. His spine tingled when Mr Richardson stopped and he almost ran straight into the back of him, but the man didn’t seem to have a clue it was him. Max couldn’t help thinking Mr Richardson would have been impressed with their artful quick changes.

  The children regrouped in time to see Theo hail a taxi and climb into the back seat. Autumn dashed to the kerb to flag down the one behind it, but the driver ignored her and drove on. Carlos and Max tried their luck, but it soon became apparent that the taxis were snubbing them deliberately.

  Carlos grunted in frustration. ‘We’re going to lose him.’

  ‘Come on, I’ve got an idea,’ Max said, and raced along the street after Theo’s taxi. Fortunately, the evening traffic was heavy and they could still see the vehicle’s taillights up ahead. Max stopped at a bank of Vespas lined up in a parking bay.

  ‘This one,’ Autumn said, running to a pink scooter. It was the vehicle most closely resembling the machine they’d been practising on downstairs last week. She whipped out her hairclip and unscrewed the light from the front of the bike. ‘Sorry, Vespa owner, we need this more than you do.’

  Max dug around in his backpack and pulled out his Pharos-issue Swiss Army knife, from which he retrieved a length of copper wire. He passed it to Autumn, who held it for a few seconds before counting the red, green and black wires and deciding where she needed to put everything.

  Carlos leaned in to examine her handiwork. ‘Are you sure that’s how it goes? I thought the green one went with that one there.’

  Autumn turned and glared at him. ‘Don’t confuse me, Carlos.’ She connected the wires, then jumped on the machine and gave it a kickstart. It faltered. ‘Darn it!’ The girl re-examined the wiring, but it all seemed to be in order.

  ‘Hurry, we’ve got to get out of here before someone notices what we’re doing,’ Carlos said nervously.

  A man walked past, eyeing them curiously. Autumn and Max pretended that it was their bike, with Max complaining loudly that it was broken again while Carlos shielded them from view. Autumn kicked it over for a second time. Miraculously, it sputtered to life.

  ‘Woohoo!’ Autumn pumped a fist into the air. ‘Mrs VB would be proud!’

  The three of them piled on.

  ‘Voleur!’ a man shouted. ‘Get back ’ere!’

  But there was no stopping the girl now. The scooter lurched into gear and Autumn twisted the throttle, winding her way through the stationary traffic. ‘Where did the taxi go?’ she called, scanning the roadway.

  Max poked his head under Autumn’s arm and pointed to the left. ‘There they are!’ His words were barely audible above the noise of beeping horns and angry motorists.

  Autumn revved the engine and the boys clung on as she took off. Once they cleared the main intersection, the traffic thinned and was moving freely. She wished the little pink beast had a faster top speed. It would only take one set of red traffic lights and there would be no chance of finding Theo again.

  ‘Look out!’ Carlos called as a truck turned a corner into their path.

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Autumn veered up onto the footpath, weaving through pedestrians while shouting at them to get out of the way. Carlos squeezed his eyes shut.

  ‘Get back on the road!’ Max yelled.

  Autumn did as he bid, jumping off the gutter and onto the bitumen. Carlos almost fell off and only just managed to right himself in time. The wail of a police siren could be heard not far behind them. Carlos turned and saw the Peugeot swing out of a side street. It was racing towards them, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

  ‘Where’s the taxi gone?’ Max yelled.

  ‘There!’ Carlos shouted, and Autumn followed it past rows of elegant shopfronts housing all the prestige fashion labels.

  They rounded the back of Palais Garnier, its gilt copper statues shining in the lamplight, and reached Place de la Concorde. As they crossed the Champs-Élysées, Max felt a rush of excitement at the realisation they weren’t far from the Arc de Triomphe. While he and Kensy had never been to Paris before, their mother had taught them much about the capital over the years and he’d recently taken to studying the atlas she’d gifted him every night to calm his nerves over the impending Pharos review. Max’s heart skipped a beat. ‘The Eiffel Tower!’ he gasped. But there was no time to play tourist. They raced over Pont Alexandre III towards Les Invalides, where Napoleon was buried. The taxi continued through cobblestoned streets lined with ornate townhouses and elegant shopfronts, past leafy parks and towering churches until it came to a stop opposite a primary school.

  Autumn hung back, as Esmerelda had taught them to do in such situations, and pulled in behind a row of parked cars. Theo Richardson hopped out of the taxi and stood on the pavement before a residence that was completely shielded from view by a high stone fence. There was a cast-iron gate at the far end, which afforded the children a glimpse of a roofline set quite a way back from the road. It appeared somewhat out of place among the other buildings, which fronted directly onto the footpath.

  ‘Look!’ Carlos pointed up at the cameras on the top of the pillars. One swivelled in their direction and the children ducked down to hide their faces.

  ‘Whoever lives there wants to guard their privacy, that’s for sure,’ Max said. He stole a peek from around a car tyre as Autumn lifted the Vespa onto its stand. Theo spoke into the intercom and was promptly buzzed through the gate.

  ‘Now what?’ Carlos said.

  ‘Seeing as we can’t get in without being seen, we need to familiarise ourselves with the area. Did anyone see a street sign?’ Autumn asked.

  ‘This is Rue las Cases,’ Max said.

  ‘Have you been memorising maps again?’ Carlos said, raising an eyebrow.

  Max grinned. ‘Guilty.’

  ‘That’s the address the men said they were coming to.’ Autumn nodded. ‘But there’s no driveway or access for a car. There must be something around the back.’

  ‘It must be on Rue St Dominique,’ Max said.

  The children decided to get a feel for their surroundings. They left the scooter and walked towards Saint Clotilde, a towering neo-gothic basilica with twin spires, when Max felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and stared at the screen. ‘It’s Dad,’ he said and swallowed hard. ‘He’s going to be so mad – and worried.’

  ‘You tried to call him before,’ Carlos reasoned. ‘It’s not your fault all the adults were busy – we had to come and rescue Kensy.’

  Max let it ring out, then listened to the voicemail message. A frown appeared on his brow. ‘That’s weird,’ he said, hanging up. ‘Granny said that Song left a message for Fitz to pick us up, but he mustn’t have got it because Dad just left a message saying that he’s pursuing a lead tonight with Fitz and Peter, and that he’s left a message with Song to take care of us. I’m glad Mum’s in Durham with no idea of what’s going on because, honestly, the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing in our family tonight.’

  ‘I mean, it could be a good thing. If we play our cards right, we’ll be home before anyone realises we’re gone,’ Autumn said. ‘And if we take down the ring of thieves, imagine how happy they’ll all be then.’

  ‘Let’s just find Kensy first and then we can think about what comes next,’ Carlos said.

  Autumn and Max nodded soberly. He was absolutely right.

  Max, Carlos and Autumn walked through the park and turned left into Rue St Dominique. A row of surveillance cameras soon helped them pinpoint the building they were looking for.

  ‘Keep your heads down and don’t stop until we’re all the way past,’ Max instructed.

  They scampered along the road and crouched behind the parked car, cataloguing the number of cameras that were visible, keeping in mind that there were likely more that weren’t obvious. Max unzipped his backpack and took out Kensy’s remote-controlled bee. He hadn’t ever used it himself as Kensy was very protective of her inventions, but given she wasn’t there and they needed to find out more about that building and its occupants, he figured she wouldn’t mind.

  ‘Do you know how that works?’ Autumn asked.

  Max turned it over in his hands, trying to find the ‘on’ switch. ‘Not exactly, but it can’t be too hard to work out, right?’

  ‘You’re braver than me,’ Carlos said with a grin. ‘Kensy’s going to kill you.’

  Max put on the special glasses and earphones and took out the remote, then, after a few missteps, sent the creature soaring into the air. Except that it almost hit the stone wall and then slammed straight into a window. He eventually managed to regain control and propel it up over the gables.

  ‘What can you see?’ Carlos whispered.

  Max scanned the grounds greedily. ‘There are cameras on the roof and there’s a large courtyard on the other side of the building. The house is big – really big – and there are some lights on. There’s an open window. I’m going in. Wish me luck – this could get ugly.’

  The creature flitted into an empty sitting room. He hovered the bee as high as possible to get a proper view. It was elaborately furnished with antiques and curiosities. Nothing terribly interesting caught the eye, although a man dressed in a black suit was stationed at the end of the hall. Max flew the bee through an open doorway and into a large modern kitchen, which was completely at odds with the rest of the decor.

  The transmitter in his ear crackled with static and there was a screech of feedback. ‘Ouch!’ Max exclaimed, and pulled out the earpiece. He shook his head before screwing it back in, then continued on a few metres before noticing two figures by the island bench. He needed to get close so the bee’s audio system could pick up what they were saying. Max had to get this landing right or they would miss a perfect opportunity. He hovered the bee, then gently landed it on a cupboard, hopefully high enough that no one would try to take a swipe.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Autumn asked.

  Max frowned and fiddled with the remote. ‘Mr Richardson’s there. He’s sitting in the kitchen and there’s a woman … but I can only see her back.’

  ‘What about the baby?’ Carlos said.

  Max shook his head. ‘No sign.’

  ‘Have you got another earpiece?’ Autumn rummaged through Max’s backpack and found the second pair of glasses and earphones. ‘Perfect!’

  Voices crackled through the line. ‘Is she here? Or have you spirited her away to the countryside again just to spite me?’ Theo demanded.

  The woman walked around to the other side of the table, her face obscured from view. ‘First, we have work to do. You can see her after we’re done.’

  ‘But I’m her father! If we get caught, we’ll both go to prison and then what? Who’ll look after her?’ Theo cradled his head in his hands. ‘For once, think about someone other than yourself.’

  ‘So he is part of the gang of thieves,’ Autumn gasped.

  ‘And it sounds like he’s doing it for his daughter,’ Max added. ‘The woman must be blackmailing him. But I still don’t get why he wouldn’t go to Granny for help.’

  ‘Maybe she’s made threats against the child,’ Carlos suggested. ‘My parents have always said that, if someone tried to harm me, they’d do whatever was necessary to make sure I was okay.’

  Autumn nodded to herself. ‘Mr Richardson could have dug himself a hole so deep he can’t see a way out of it.’

  Max hushed the pair of them. The woman had begun talking again.

  ‘There’s a job tonight – our biggest one yet and, now that you’re here, you’d better make yourself useful,’ she said with a hint of amusement.

  Theo sat back, defeated. ‘What is it this time?’

  ‘One of our best customers has requested The Hand of God. He has the perfect place for it in his study and we’re going to get it for him. At least you and the team are, as soon as those imbeciles get here.’

  Theo laughed. ‘You can’t be serious. The security will be insane. There’s no way we’re getting anyone in and out of there without being caught. A job like this takes months of research and training. I can’t do anything with those two oafs. They’re more of a liability than any help to me.’

  The woman stroked his cheek tenderly. ‘Oh, darling Theo, you’re so naïve. We have someone on the inside. All you need to do is pick up the loot and deliver it.’

  Max inched the bee closer to take a better look at the woman. She must have heard the faint buzzing, because she turned and looked straight at Max.

  ‘Victoria De la Vega!’ he exclaimed.

  ‘Where did you come from?’ The woman’s eyes narrowed. She snatched a newspaper from the bench and hastily rolled it up then took a swipe. But Max was faster. The bee took off and sailed right into her face.