She saw the scissors on the bench and cut herself loose.

  ‘Max! It’s not Song!’ the girl cried out as she charged back to help her brother.

  ‘Yeah, no kidding,’ Max shouted.

  All the while the man was puffing and panting, but he didn’t say a word.

  He flung Max against the shelves, causing a row of flour-filled canisters to clatter to the ground – some losing their contents on the way. Covered in the white powder, the fellow raced out of the butler’s pantry and into the main part of the kitchen with Kensy hot on his heels. He turned and lunged towards her, but Kensy raced around to the far side of the island bench. He watched her every move. It was like a game of cat and mouse as she stepped to the left, then to the right, the man mirroring her movements each time until he took off and ran two laps, barely gaining anything on her at all. By now he was completely out of breath.

  Kensy saw Max emerge from the pantry with an iron skillet in his hands. He tiptoed around the back of the man while Kensy continued dancing about keeping the fellow’s attention on her. Suddenly Max ran forward and donged him over the head – the echoing vibration an indication of just how hard he’d been hit. The man’s eyes rolled in their sockets before he fell to the floor, out cold.

  ‘Is he dead?’ Kensy exclaimed, horrified that might be the case.

  Max picked up his wrist and checked his pulse. ‘No, but he’s going to have a nasty headache.’

  ‘I only let him in because I thought it was Song,’ Kensy puffed. ‘And before you remind me that Song has his own code for the front door and would never need anyone to open it for him, I feel stupid enough already. I’m sorry I called for you too – he said he’d kill me if I didn’t, and I figured we’d have a better chance overpowering him together.’

  Max reached out and hugged his sister, just glad that they were both okay.

  ‘We need to find out who he is and what he’s doing here,’ Max said. He knelt down and began to go through the man’s pockets, but there was nothing in them.

  ‘Take his face off,’ Kensy said. The words almost caught in her throat – the idea of it was utterly disgusting but, having seen the fake Sister Maria Regina gouge a latex mask from her own face in Rome last year, it had to be done. ‘We need to know who he is.’

  Max dug his fingers into the man’s jaw. The mask was surprisingly sturdy and very convincing. It wasn’t his looks that had given him away to Max, but rather that Song had long slender fingers and this man’s were like chubby sausages. When he had grabbed Max’s arm, the boy had known something was wrong.

  ‘Ugh.’ Max tore at the phoney flesh, which finally began to pull free. ‘I wish Pharos would get on with that scanner they’re supposedly developing to penetrate these disguises. This feels disgusting.’

  ‘Hurry!’ Kensy said. ‘I’m going to call Dad and let him know someone needs to come and get this guy.’

  But as she disappeared upstairs to retrieve her phone, the man’s eyelids fluttered open.

  He realised what Max was doing and grabbed the boy’s arm, flinging him across the room.

  Max landed hard against the fridge. He scrambled to his feet just as the intruder did too, but this time, instead of attacking Max, the man ran straight for the stairs that led up to the street level of the house.

  ‘Kensy!’ Max called. ‘He’s on the move.’

  Max realised he had exactly what he needed in his school shoes. He quickly extricated one of his laces and charged after the fellow.

  But by the time he reached the top of the stairs, the front door was open and the man was gone. Max raced onto the footpath only to see a black cab turning left at the end of the street.

  ‘It’s my fault, Dad,’ Kensy said into the phone. ‘I let him in the house. I thought it was Song. No, we’re not hurt.’

  Kensy joined her brother outside.

  ‘Okay, we’ll stay here until you come home,’ the girl said. She clicked off the call. ‘Max, Dad will be here in a few minutes.’

  Max turned and nodded.

  ‘Let’s go and take a look in the kitchen to see what evidence he’s left behind,’ the boy said. ‘We know he touched the cable ties. Hopefully we’ll be able to get some prints.’

  The twins walked back inside and Kensy closed the door. That she had opened it in the first place would haunt her for days, but there was something else bugging her too.

  ‘Max, if there’s a fake Song, maybe there’s a fake Sidney,’ Kensy said.

  The boy looked at his sister. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I didn’t tell you, but the other day when I was with Granny she mentioned that Sidney had been off his game. She was annoyed at him because he’d made her scrambled eggs for breakfast instead of poached and he hadn’t picked up the dry cleaning. She made a bit of a joke of it that they were both getting old, but think about it – that’s not like Sidney at all. He never forgets anything.’

  ‘You’re right. You need to tell Dad that,’ Max said as they heard their father’s voice calling them from the kitchen. He’d come in via the basement car park.

  ‘That was quick.’ Kensy looked at her brother. Their father must have come from the Beacon office just around the corner.

  The twins raced downstairs. Fitz was there too, and Song.

  Kensy raced into the butler’s arms and gave him a tight squeeze then looked up into his dark eyes. ‘Thank goodness it’s really you, because it’s not Sidney!’

  ‘What are you talking about, Miss Kensington?’ Song asked.

  She quickly explained what she’d just told Max.

  Song took a deep breath. ‘Oh my word. Now that I think of it I have noticed a few things at the townhouse that were out of place.’

  ‘Have you spoken to Sidney?’ Kensy asked the butler.

  The man shook his head. ‘Your father and Fitz thought it better for Sidney if I stayed out of things until they had completed their investigations.’

  ‘Where is he now?’ Max asked. He knew that Sidney had been taken to a secure location for questioning.

  But Fitz was already on it. He walked to the corner of the family room and turned around. The look on his face was telling.

  ‘What’s happened?’ Kensy asked.

  Fitz slipped his phone back into his pocket. ‘He’s gone.’

  ‘What?’ the others chorused.

  ‘And he left his face behind – though there is not a single shot of him on any of the cameras,’ Fitz said.

  Kensy paced across the room, spun around and looked at Song. ‘If that man isn’t your brother, then where is Sidney?’

  They were all thinking the same thing.

  ‘He will be fine,’ Song said. ‘Sidney can take care of himself.’

  The others could only hope that Song was right.

  Curtis nudged Max as Mr MacGregor called the STEM team to the stage.

  ‘Please welcome our National Champions,’ the man said loudly, his words drowned out by clapping, cheering and the stamping of feet.

  Max hesitated for a moment then stood up and followed his friend. He felt as if he was an observer, watching something that was happening to him rather than being part of it; there were other, more important things on his mind. The man who had attacked them had left no fingerprints despite not appearing to wear any gloves, the CCTV footage from the street outside their front door had been interfered with remotely and Sidney was missing. At least they knew for sure that Sidney hadn’t tried to poison Cordelia, but someone else had and, whoever it was, they were still out there. Who knew if the rest of the family was also in danger?

  The din in the auditorium began to die down and Max’s attention was drawn back to the headmaster as the man introduced each of the team members, with an accompanying commentary on their particular proficiencies.

  ‘Maxim Spencer, coding skills beyond compare,’ Mr MacGregor said, as Max walked across the stage to shake his hand. ‘Are you all right?’ Magoo whispered to the boy. ‘You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.’

  ‘I’m fine, sir,’ Max replied, though in reality he was far from it. He was angry about the attack and worried sick about his grandmother and Sidney. Not to mention that given the intruder’s penchant for disguises, everyone was a suspect. Max even found himself studying Magoo’s jawline for a second.

  Kensy and Max had arrived at school just in time for the assembly. Their father had called the office and asked Mrs Potts to let Mrs Vanden Boom know the twins wouldn’t make her early meeting but they’d be there soon. Daphne didn’t ask questions. She’d always been reliable like that.

  Now, the STEM team were lined up across the stage. Harper was holding the trophy and she had made a special point of asking Mrs Vanden Boom to join them onstage. The woman had turned bright pink, but it was nice that the children thought to include her – unlike her boss, who hadn’t even made mention of what a good job she’d done. When Dante and Sachin held hands and raised their arms in victory the crowd went wild again, stamping their feet, clapping and cheering.

  Magoo MacGregor rolled his eyes, but his grin was wide and he was obviously enjoying the team’s success.

  ‘Well done, everyone. And let’s hope that next time you’re all back up here I’m introducing you as World Champions,’ Magoo said. The assembly erupted again and the children were ushered off the stage and back to their seats. ‘Let’s wish them all the best of luck in Singapore!’

  ‘Max,’ Curtis nudged his friend. ‘Are you okay? I called over at your place this morning but no one answered.’

  ‘We had to go into the office early with Dad – there were some papers Granny needed us to sign,’ Max said. At least the second part was true. A few weeks ago, their grandmother had had him and Kensy sign some documents for the Spencer family trust. ‘Everything’s fine,’ he continued, and regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Curtis would know that everything most certainly wasn’t fine the minute he and Kensy pulled out of the team.

  ‘Oh, okay,’ Curtis said, though there was something about the way his friend spoke that made Max wonder if he’d been very convincing.

  Max was aware of Curtis giving him sneaky sideways glances more than once during the rest of the assembly. He couldn’t tell his friend the truth – the twins were under strict instructions.

  The assembly finished and the children were dismissed to their next classes, but as they were leaving the hall, Mrs Potts appeared and asked that they go with her.

  Max’s stomach lurched. Maybe there was news about their grandmother. He looked at his sister, and simultaneously they tugged at their left earlobes – their secret symbol that everything would be okay. Except the sick feeling in his stomach reminded him that they couldn’t guarantee that at all.

  Kensy sat on the end of the bed in the MacGregors’ spare room, willing herself not to cry. Mrs Potts had taken them to wait for Mr MacGregor in his office after assembly, but he hadn’t had any news about their grandmother. Instead, the man wanted to know exactly what had happened after Tippie had dropped them at home that morning. He asked them all about the intruder – what he looked like, how he’d behaved (very badly as far as Kensy was concerned) and if they’d managed to get a look at him under the mask.

  They’d already told their father and Fitz everything, so they weren’t quite sure why Mr MacGregor was so intent on his own interrogation. They hadn’t told him about Sidney because, frankly, that was none of his business.

  It had been so hard to keep up the pretence of everything being normal at school – but it had to be done. No one was allowed to know about Cordelia, or the man who had attacked them that morning or that Sidney was missing.

  Then after school Magoo had taken them to the clinic to visit their grandmother, where they’d found she was still in exactly the same state as she’d been the day before. At least they managed a few minutes alone with their mother, who had emerged from Cordelia’s isolation ward to take a break just as they arrived.

  Kensy blinked again to stop the tears that threatened to come as Max walked into the room. He’d been followed by Mr Pippin, who jumped up onto the bed beside Kensy. The girl reached out and patted the feline, who began to purr loudly.

  ‘You okay?’ Max asked his sister.

  Kensy shrugged. Max sat down next to her on the bed and put his arm around her shoulder.

  ‘Oh, Max.’ Kensy sniffed, then began to cry. ‘I want to go home. I want to be with Mum and Dad and Fitz and for everything to go back to normal.’ She turned and hugged her brother tightly. He blinked away tears of his own. Mr Pippin wanted in on the action too and forced his way between the pair.

  ‘I just can’t stop thinking about everything – about Granny and Sidney,’ Kensy said as Max stood up and handed her a clean tissue from the box on top of the chest of drawers. She blew her nose loudly.

  ‘I know what you mean,’ Max said. ‘It seems like a bad dream, doesn’t it? At least Granny hasn’t got any worse. And Mum said that novichok can take weeks to overcome. Remember there was that Russian politician who was poisoned not long ago, but he’s made a full recovery. We just have to be positive.’

  Kensy nodded.

  ‘There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,’ Max said.

  He pushed himself back on the bed and crossed his legs. Mr Pippin immediately changed allegiances and nestled down on Max’s lap.

  Kensy looked at him. ‘What now? Is there something else wrong?’

  Max shook his head. ‘I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page before I told Mrs Vanden Boom.’

  ‘Told her what?’ Kensy said, with an involuntary arch of her left eyebrow.

  ‘That we’re not going to Singapore on Saturday,’ the boy said.

  Kensy frowned. ‘Why would you do that? Of course we’re going. We’re part of a team and we can’t let them down.’

  Max stared at his sister. There was an awkward silence. ‘You’re serious? You still think we should go? Even with Granny so ill and knowing that someone is after us.’

  ‘Yes.’ Kensy nodded. ‘Singapore is one of the safest places on earth. There is virtually no crime there at all and we don’t know if fake Song was really after us. He didn’t say anything – well except that he’d kill me if I didn’t call you.’

  ‘That’s exactly my point,’ Max said. ‘We don’t know. We could end up sitting ducks.’ The boy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and dug it out. It was their father.

  ‘Hi, Dad,’ Max said. ‘Yes, she’s right next to me.’

  He put the phone on speaker.

  ‘Hello, Kensy,’ Ed said.

  Kensy greeted her father and asked if there was any news. He reported that Granny was still unconscious but her vital signs were strong.

  ‘Dad, Max says we shouldn’t go to Singapore for the championship,’ Kensy said.

  ‘Mmm, I thought that might be the case,’ Ed replied.

  ‘Exactly, Dad,’ Max said, glad to hear that his father was on his side.

  ‘But we have to. It’s not fair on the rest of the team if we pull out now,’ Kensy said. ‘There’s only one official reserve and it would be really hard to get someone new.’

  Max rolled his eyes and shook his head, but was shocked by what his father said next.

  ‘Your sister is right, Max. You’re going. Please don’t argue. Your grandmother wouldn’t want you letting everyone down and I’ll keep you updated daily,’ Ed said.

  ‘I bet Mum doesn’t agree,’ Max snapped.

  ‘Your mother, Fitz and I all had a long talk. I’ve asked Gordon Nutting to accompany the trip and Magoo has volunteered himself and Tippie too, so you’ll basically have a crack protection team along for the ride. Romilly and Monty are up to speed on all of their training as well. Your mother agrees it’s better for you to be away until we find out who broke into the house and what they want,’ Ed explained.

  ‘Exactly what I was thinking, Dad,’ Kensy said.

  ‘Well, I don’t agree and I don’t like it one bit,’ Max retorted, but he knew when he was beaten. ‘Fine then.’

  Today, Mae Lyn could have been anyone. In her pink sun dress and pretty silver sandals, she blended into the crowd of tourists snapping photographs and listening to the driver’s commentary.

  The tram made its way through the grounds, stopping to let visitors on and off. Despite the park housing over three and a half thousand birds, Mae Lyn was yet to see an African grey parrot. Surely Miss Polly would have been a treasured attraction in a place like this.

  Mae Lyn had seen her boss conversing with the creature on the terrace by the pool this morning while eating his breakfast. As it was Sunday, Mae Lyn’s day off, Vera was on duty looking after Mr Koh. The older woman took Saturdays as her official day of rest but – given Mr Koh disappeared into the city immediately after breakfast every Sunday morning and frequently didn’t return until after midnight – Vera tended to wind up with almost the entire weekend to herself.

  Mae Lyn had often spied her at the Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road, where hundreds of helpers congregated, hanging out and swapping stories about their week. Some of them formed dance groups, learning and performing the latest crazes, while others practised elaborate hairstyles on one another or simply chatted and ate. Vera sat in the same place every week with her posse of older maids, whispering behind their hands about the other girls – though sometimes their remarks were intentionally loud enough for everyone to hear and they were mostly very unkind.

  The comment Vera had given Mae Lyn this morning had been of the latter kind. When Mae Lyn had ignored her as usual, Vera’s tongue became more poisonous, speculating that Mae Lyn was off to meet a boyfriend. If only the older woman knew.