The children helped the driver pack their bags under the bus, then jumped on board. Kensy was still thinking about what had happened with Autumn and why she’d acted so strangely on the plane. They’d barely said a word since then. Kensy certainly wasn’t going to apologise. It hadn’t really been an argument and there was nothing to apologise for. After all – hadn’t she been concerned about her friend? It was Autumn who was grumpy. If only the other girl knew what had happened to Granny – then perhaps she’d realise that Kensy was the one who had every reason to be upset.

  Autumn sat down near the back of the bus, but by the time Kensy hopped on board Max was already beside her. She took the vacant spot next to Curtis.

  ‘Long flight,’ Curtis said.

  ‘Yeah,’ Kensy replied.

  ‘Are you excited to be here?’ The boy grinned.

  ‘Yeah,’ Kensy said. She was aware of her watch vibrating and looked down to see there was a message.

  ‘Sorry, I need to check this,’ the girl said, turning her back to Curtis.

  Max’s watch had also buzzed, and he stared at his wrist too. ‘Hello, darlings. Mum here. Just wanted to say I miss you both and I’m sorry I haven’t been around the past few days. No change with Granny but still hopeful. Love you and speak to you soon. Call me when you get to your hotel.’

  Kensy’s stomach lurched. She wondered whether it had really been such a good idea to come after all, because at the moment she wanted to turn the bus around and get on the first flight back to London. It was clear from the look on her brother’s face that Max was thinking the same thing. Surely by now there should be some signs of improvement.

  ‘You okay?’ Curtis asked.

  Kensy nodded but didn’t say anything.

  ‘Wow, look at that.’ The boy pointed at an apartment building that had cars parked in the front windows on several levels. ‘Sky garages – that’s a bit James Bond.’ He thought Kensy could do with some distractions and chuckled at the irony of what he’d just said, considering their lives were a bit James Bond these days too.

  Kensy spotted a red Ferrari halfway up the building, and a Porsche the next level down, but didn’t comment.

  ‘It’s so lush and green – and did you see back there on the freeway? All the colourful bougainvillea planted in the centre of the road? Singapore is unbelievably neat and clean. I bet Max and Autumn will love it,’ Curtis said. ‘There were people trimming the hedges – can you imagine that happening at this time of night anywhere else in the world?’

  He kept on talking and pointing things out until the bus pulled into the driveway of their hotel on Orchard Road. Kensy nodded a lot, but in reality she hadn’t taken in much of what he’d said – and she suspected he knew it too. She wasn’t meaning to be rude, it was just that she felt a bit discombobulated, as if her mind and her body were slightly separate. Maybe it was jet lag even though she had slept like a baby.

  The children collected their bags and headed into the foyer, where Mr MacGregor was supposed to have their rooms organised.

  The children milled about, while Romilly spoke to a young man on the reception desk, waiting for their next instructions. Alfie spied a splendid display of cakes in glass cabinets on the left side of the lobby.

  The shop, called Cakery, had some of the most gorgeous treats the boy had ever clapped eyes on and before anyone noticed, he’d managed to purchase and scoff an éclair, a citrus tart and a cake that looked exactly like a cherry.

  Romilly turned to the group, having learned that the headmaster and his wife had checked in an hour ago and hadn’t been seen since.

  ‘I knew he wouldn’t be any help at all,’ the woman seethed to herself, then plastered a smile on her face and asked the children and other staff to get out their passports. It was protocol when checking into a hotel in a foreign country to have a copy made. With the help of trademark Singaporean efficiency, she soon had a list of rooms and keycards – no thanks to her boss. Romilly wondered why Alfie’s mouth seemed to be smeared in chocolate, but she didn’t have the energy to ask and if Nutting and Reffell couldn’t be bothered keeping an eye on things then why should she.

  Romilly allocated the rooms. Max was sharing with Curtis, while Carlos was with Sachin, and Dante and Alfie were together. Kensy and Autumn had been paired up, Misha was with Amelie and there was one room of three with Harper, Yasmina and Inez.

  ‘Please take your bags up to your rooms and then I want to see you back here in fifteen minutes; hair brushed, faces washed, looking spick and span,’ Romilly said, staring at Kensy, who felt she was being unfairly targeted with that comment. Alfie was a bigger mess than she was and Misha Thornhill looked as if she’d been dragged through a bush backwards. ‘Girls, you’re all on the eighteenth floor with me, while boys, you will be staying on the nineteenth floor with Mr Nutting and Mr Reffell.’

  ‘Where’s Mr MacGregor?’ Dante asked, hoping the man and his wife weren’t next door to him and Alfie.

  ‘That’s a very good question.’ Romilly smiled tightly, then mumbled, ‘He’s probably managed a penthouse upgrade if I know Magoo.’

  She thought she’d spoken quietly, but given the giggles from several of her charges the words had been far louder than she’d intended.

  The group turned to head to the lifts, whose bells were tinging almost constantly in the background, just as the headmaster strode into the foyer, resplendent in a taupe linen suit with navy boat shoes and a cream straw fedora atop his head. Dante nudged Carlos, who chuckled at the sight of the man’s tufty white hair poking out from under his hat. He was carrying a pair of sunglasses even though it was dark outside.

  ‘Ah, there you all are,’ he said. ‘I just came down to organise the rooms – don’t tell me I’m too late.’

  ‘You’re too late.’ Romilly could barely suppress the sneer on her lips.

  He looked at her with a sad face, though there wasn’t a hint of sincerity on it.

  ‘Never mind. Looks like you’ve got things in hand as always, Mrs Vanden Boom,’ the man said.

  The lift bell tinged again and Tippie MacGregor floated out in a mint green dress and strappy sandals. She certainly hadn’t been wearing the outfit on the plane, and looked as if she’d had her hair done too.

  ‘Oh, Romilly dear, you look exhausted,’ Tippie said, pouting her pink lips and tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

  ‘Funny that,’ she quipped, plastering a smile on her face. It troubled her often that, since becoming part of the Pharos Inventions Team, both Tippie and Magoo were her bosses – which was a truly disconcerting thought.

  When Dame Spencer had advised that Romilly was to join the Pharos Inventions Team in a part-time capacity, the Science teacher had wondered how Tippie, who headed up the division, would react. The two women had always been polite, but Romilly felt there was something uneasy between them. So far, Tippie had been extremely amenable, friendly even. She’d been incredibly impressed by Romilly’s mind-reading device, which had come in handy on the Spencer family’s recent mission to Switzerland. It was just that Tippie was prone to offhand comments – passive aggressive asides that made Romilly feel she would never really be good enough.

  ‘We’ll see you all in the morning,’ Magoo said as he took Tippie’s hand. ‘Dear Henry over there on reception somehow managed to get us a last-minute booking at Les Amis – three Michelin stars. I’m sure the chap had to pull some strings to get us in, so it’s lucky it’s just across the road in the Shaw Centre. Isn’t that where you’re taking the children?’

  ‘To the food court in the basement,’ Romilly said with a pinched smile.

  The woman could hardly believe her ears. Magoo and Tippie certainly weren’t here to help – they were going to have a lovely holiday and then likely take all the credit should the children win.

  ‘Les Amis!’ Monty Reffell exclaimed. ‘How wonderful. I’d love to go there. What do you think, Rom – do you need me tonight, or perhaps I can tag along?’

  The headmaster blanched and Romilly gave Monty a glare. ‘You’re staying right here, Mr Reffell.’ She turned to the MacGregors. ‘Don’t let us keep you.’ Magoo and Tippie quickly scurried to the front doors. ‘Right, everyone, let’s meet back here in ten.’

  ‘You said we had fifteen minutes, Mrs Vanden Boom,’ Yasmina said. ‘I thought there would be time for a shower.’

  ‘You can have one afterwards,’ the woman grouched.

  The group trundled their bags to the lift bay. Romilly had insisted the children take care of their own luggage; it didn’t seem fair to trouble the porters when the kids were perfectly able bodied.

  Most of the group charged into the first two lifts that arrived, but Kensy and Autumn couldn’t fit and waited for the next one. They still hadn’t spoken since the plane and the silence that stretched between them was now deafening.

  Sedgewick Koh folded the newspaper and placed it on the side of the table, a frown settling on his forehead.

  ‘Good morning, sir,’ Mae Lyn said as she placed his breakfast plate down in front of him.

  ‘Good morning, sir,’ Miss Polly parroted from her perch in the corner, but the man didn’t say a word.

  ‘Rude, rude, rude!’ Miss Polly chirped. That got his attention.

  Sedgewick looked up and realised his oversight. ‘My apologies, Mae Lyn, Miss Polly. I have a lot on my mind.’

  ‘The robbery?’ Mae Lyn said. She’d read the story on the front page of The Straits Times earlier. Having been at the bird park when the discovery was made, she wondered how much she should say. At this stage probably not a lot.

  ‘We are still hopeful that the pigeons have simply escaped their enclosure and someone will locate them,’ Sedgewick said.

  As a member of the board that oversaw the running of the bird park and the zoo, as well as a number of Singapore’s other wildlife attractions, Sedgewick was horrified at the thought of theft – at least as far as Mae Lyn could tell. Given the recent disappearances of a rare Vietnamese Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and a highly prized albino pangolin from the zoo, however, the idea that the birds simply escaped seemed unlikely.

  Last night Mr Koh had not returned from his outing until after midnight. Mae Lyn had still been awake when she heard the car.

  Vera appeared on the terrace. ‘Mr Koh, the police are here to see you,’ she said. ‘I have just buzzed them through the gates.’ The older woman’s face seemed even more pinched than usual this morning.

  Sedgewick stiffened and pushed his untouched plate away as they heard tyres crunching on the gravel driveway. ‘Bring them to the terrace,’ he said.

  Vera gave a nod and hurried off, leaving Mae Lyn wondering whether she should clear the breakfast dishes.

  ‘Sir?’ she asked, motioning at his plate.

  ‘Take it,’ he said.

  ‘Would you like me to bring some tea for your guests?’ she asked.

  Sedgewick nodded.

  The woman quickly took the plate to the kitchen, returning with a fresh pot of tea, then stood to the side of the room in case Mr Koh required anything.

  Sedgewick was seated at the table with a man and woman. Mae Lyn knew that the older fellow was the Deputy Commissioner of Police responsible for investigation and intelligence – a chap by the name of Winston Yu. Mae Lyn had never sighted the woman before, though her uniform indicated she was a member of Special Operations Command and according to the badge on her chest her name was Lily Lo. She couldn’t have been much older than thirty.

  ‘Mr Koh,’ the man began. ‘We must ask you some questions, please. It is merely routine and we are in the process of speaking to everyone on the board of the bird park.’

  ‘Of course,’ Sedgewick said.

  ‘Where were you yesterday?’ Winston Yu asked. The woman took out a notepad and pen. She was obviously tasked with recording their enquiries.

  ‘I was at home until mid-morning and then I went to work,’ Sedgewick said.

  ‘Work? On Sunday?’ the man said.

  ‘And on Tuesday and Thursday,’ Miss Polly piped up from her perch.

  Winston Yu frowned. ‘Your bird talks.’ The man stood up and walked over to the creature, leaning down to get a better look.

  ‘What else can you say?’ the man asked the parrot, who started bobbing up and down.

  ‘What else can you say?’ Miss Polly repeated in almost exactly the same tone.

  Winston grinned. ‘He’s a parrot in the true sense of the word.’

  ‘I am a she and you are a baldy head in the true sense of the word,’ Miss Polly said.

  Winston’s jaw dropped. ‘I did not come here to be insulted by a bird.’

  ‘Better to be insulted by the bird than by the host,’ Miss Polly said, then screeched loudly.

  ‘Miss Polly, stop,’ Sedgewick ordered, but it was clear that she was having fun.

  ‘I do not like this man,’ she said. ‘He has a broomstick –’

  ‘Miss Polly,’ Sedgewick growled, cutting the bird off before she could get both of them into trouble.

  Mae Lyn had to turn away and stuff her hand in her mouth to stop laughing.

  It was clear the young policewoman was trying not to laugh too. Miss Polly wasn’t wrong: her boss was a pompous man. He had recently lost out on the position of Commissioner of Police and was still smarting over it.

  ‘So,’ Winston walked back to the table and sat down, ignoring the bird. ‘Where do you attend this work?’

  Sedgewick sniffed.

  ‘Chips,’ Miss Polly said cryptically. ‘Chips, chips, chips.’

  Her meaning was clear to Lily Lo. ‘I believe that Mr Koh “works”,’ she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers, ‘at the same place my mother does. Now that I think about it, I have seen him there.’

  ‘Oh,’ Winston said. ‘You gamble on the blackjack tables at the casino.’

  ‘Yes,’ Sedgewick said. ‘And it is not against the law. I do it professionally. It is my paid work.’

  ‘He’s a winner,’ Miss Polly said. ‘Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Except when he’s a loser, loser, loser.’ The bird lifted her left leg and made an L on her forehead with her claws.

  ‘Mae Lyn, would you mind taking Miss Polly inside?’ Sedgewick said. He loved the bird with all his heart, but today she was not being helpful in the least. The woman walked over and held up her arm. Miss Polly jumped onto it and quickly hopped up onto Mae Lyn’s head, digging her claws into the woman’s scalp.

  ‘And can anyone verify your whereabouts?’ Winston asked.

  Mae Lyn heard the question and hesitated at the door. Miss Polly had now decided to climb down onto her shoulder.

  ‘I believe that there are many cameras at the Marina Bay Sands complex. I am sure that you will get corroboration of my story from those – although there are plenty of staff who saw me too,’ Sedgwick said.

  ‘I can ask my mother,’ Lily said. ‘She was working all day and half the night. She lost very badly yesterday – she was in such a terrible mood I was glad to leave early this morning. Perhaps you saw her? Her name is Eleanor and she is very glamorous and a bit bossy.’

  Sedgewick nodded. He knew exactly who Eleanor was. She had asked him once if he was married then told him she had a very beautiful daughter. He assumed that was the young woman sitting here now.

  ‘Sorry,’ Lily apologised. ‘I don’t know why I said that.’ Although in truth she knew exactly the reason. Her mother had arrived home just after midnight and ranted about Lily’s job being beneath her and why couldn’t she find herself a rich husband and give Eleanor grandchildren. Lily shook the memory off.

  ‘Miss Lo, we are not here to talk about your mother and her bad moods,’ Winston Yu snarled. He turned to Sedgewick. ‘May I ask if you were on the winning side of the table yesterday?’

  ‘It was not my best day,’ Sedgewick said.

  ‘And how often do you have days like that?’ Winston Yu asked.

  Sedgewick swallowed hard. He would have preferred not to say. For over a year now it seemed that losing was the only thing he did well, and it was destroying him in every way. He still had the house and its considerable collection of antiques as well as his father’s watch – which was securely tucked away in the safe in his bedroom – but he had made some dubious alliances and very poor decisions of late, and if he didn’t hit a purple patch soon, who knew what might happen.

  Sedgewick glanced towards the door and realised that Mae Lyn was still standing there with Miss Polly. ‘Is something the matter, Mae Lyn?’ he asked.

  ‘No, sir,’ the woman said, shaking her head. She turned quickly and walked into the house, depositing Miss Polly onto another perch. Mae Lyn almost jumped out of her skin when Vera appeared like a ghost from around the corner.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ the woman sneered.

  ‘Mr Koh asked me to bring Miss Polly inside,’ Mae Lyn said, wondering what the woman was getting at.

  ‘I do not mean that. I mean why are you here? Living with Mr Koh? What are you playing at?’ Vera asked.

  ‘I am employed as a maid – a helper – just like you, Vera. Except that I am twenty years younger and so I will not be required to leave on my next birthday,’ Mae Lyn said. ‘I’m sure that you will enjoy the simple life back in your village.’

  Mae Lyn shouldn’t have said it. She’d known her words would touch a nerve, and she was only asking for trouble, raising the woman’s hackles.

  ‘No, you are up to something and I will make sure that I find out what it is before I go anywhere,’ Vera said. ‘Mr Koh is a good man – he is like a perfect son to me, no matter what he does, and he doesn’t need the likes of you making trouble for him.’

  The woman turned and charged out the door, leaving Mae Lyn with Miss Polly.

  ‘She hates you,’ the bird said.

  ‘Thank you for stating the obvious.’ Mae Lyn grimaced at the creature.

  But Vera was beginning to pose a problem. Mae Lyn needed to work faster – for so many reasons.