Tunnels

'Oh, I thought they were official undertakings,' the detective said.

'They were real digs,' Will said firmly. 'We found the site of a Roman villa once, but mostly it was eighteenth— and nineteenth-century stuff we were after.

'Just how extensive… I mean, how deep were the holes you dug?'

'Oh, just pits, really,' Will said evasively, willing the detective not to pursue this line of questioning.

'And were you engaged in any such activities around the time of his disappearance?'

'No, we weren't,' Will said, very aware of Rebecca's eyes burning into him.

'You're sure he wasn't working on anything, maybe without your knowledge?'

'No, I don't think so.'

'OK, then,' the detective said, putting away his notebook. 'That's enough for now.'

* * * * *

The next day, Chester and Will didn't hang around outside school for long. They spotted Speed and one of his faithful followers, Bloggsy, loitering a little distance beyond the gates.

'I think he's looking for a rematch,' Will said, glancing over at Speed, who glared straight back at him until Chester caught his eye. At this point, Speed contemptuously turned his back on them, muttering something under his breath to Bloggsy, who simply sneered in their direction and gave a harsh, derogatory laugh.

'Couple of jerks,' Chester growled as he and Will set off, deciding to take the shortcut home.

Leaving their school behind them, a sprawling modern yellow-brick-and-glass job, they sauntered across the road and entered the adjoining housing projects. Built in the 1970s, the projects were known locally as Roach City, for obvious reasons, and the infested blocks that made up the development were in a constant state of disrepair, with many of the apartments abandoned or burned out. This in itself didn't cause the boys any hesitation, but the trouble with the route was that it took them right through the home turf of the Click, who made Spped and his gang look like Girl Scouts.

As they walked side by side through the projects, the weak rays of the sun glinting off broken glass on the blacktop and in the gutters, Will slackened his pace almost imperceptibly, but enough that Chester noticed.

'What's up?'

'I don't know,' Will said, glancing up and down the road and peering apprehensively into a side street as they passed by.

'Come on, tell me,' Chester asked, looking quickly around. 'I really don't fancy getting jumped in here.'

'It's just a feeling; it's nothing,' Will insisted.

'Speed's got you all paranoid, hasn’t he?' Chester replied with a smile, but nevertheless he sped up, forcing Will to do likewise.

As they left the projects behind them, they resumed a more normal pace. Very soon they reached the start of Main Street, which was marked by the museum. As Will did every evening, he glanced at it in the vain hope that the lights would be burning, the doors open, and his father back in attendance. Will just wanted everything to be normal again — whatever that was — but once again the museum was closed, its windows dark and unfriendly. The town council had evidently made the decision that for now it was cheaper to simply shut it rather than look for a temporary stand-in for Dr. Burrows.

Will looked up at the sky; heavy clouds were beginning to pull across and blank out the sun.

'Should go well tonight,' he said, his mood lifting. 'It's getting dark earlier, so we won't have to wait as long to start tipping.'

Chester had begun to talk about how much faster the proceedings would be if they could do away with all this cloak-and-dagger subterfuge when Will mumbled something under his breath.

'Didn't catch that, Will.'

'I said: Don't look now, but I think there's somebody following us.'

'You what?' Chester replied and, not being able to stop himself, immediately turned around to look behind.

' Chester, you prat!' Will snapped.

Sure enough, thirty feet or so behind them was a short, stocky man in a trilby, black glasses, and a dark, tentlike overcoat that reached almost to his ankles. His head was facing in their direction, although it was difficult to tell if he was actually looking at them.

'Rats!' Chester whispered. 'I think you're right. He's just like the ones your dad wrote about in his journal.'

Despite Will's previous instruction to Chester not to look at the man, he now couldn't stop himself from peering back for another glimpse.

'A 'man-in-a-hat'?' Will said with a mixture of wonder and apprehension.

'But he's not after us, is he?' Chester asked. 'Why should he be?'

'Let's slow down a little and see what he does,' Will suggested.

As they reduced their speed, the mysterious man did likewise. 'OK,' Will said, 'how about if we cross the road?'

Again the man mirrored their actions, and when they increased their pace again, he quickened his, to maintain the distance between them.

'He's definitely following us,' Chester said, the panic audible in his voice for the first time. 'Why, though? What does he want? I don't like this — I think we should take the next right and make a run for it.'

'I don't know,' Will said, deep in thought. 'I think we should confront him.'

'You've got to be joking! Your dad disappeared off the face of the planet not long after seeing these people and, for all we know, this man could be responsible. He might be part of the gang or something. I say we get out of here and call the police. Or get help from someone.'

They were silent for a moment as they looked around.

'No, I've got a better idea,' Will said. 'What if we turn th tables? Trap him. If we split up, he can only follow one of us, and when he does, the other can come up behind him and…'

'And what?'

'Like a pincer movement — sneak up from behind and nobble him.' Will was getting well into his stride now as the plan of action firmed up in his mind.

'He could be dangerous, totally postal for all we know. And what are we going to nobble him with? Our school bags?'

'Come on, there's two of us and only one of him,' Will said as the shops on Main Street came into view. 'I'll distract him while you tackle him — you can do that, can't you?'

'Oh, great, thanks,' Chester said, shaking his head. 'He's freakin' huge — he'll make hamburger meat of me!'

Will looked into Chester 's eyes and smiled mischievously.

'All right, all right.' Chester sighed. 'The things I do…,' he said as he looked quickly back and then made to cross the road.

'Whoa! Scratch that,' Will said. 'I think they've got the jump on us!'

'They?' Chester gasped as he rejoined his friend. 'What do you mean, they? ' he asked, following Will's gaze to a point farther up the street.

There in front of them, some twenty paces ahead, was another of the men. He was almost identical to the first one, except that he sported a flat cap pulled down low over his forehead so that his dark glasses were only just visible under its peak. He also wore a long, voluminous coat, which was flapping gently in the wind as he stood in the middle of the sidewalk.

There was now no question in Will's mind that these two men were after them.

As Will and Chester drew level with the first of the shops on Main Street, they both stopped and peered around. On the opposite side of the street two old ladies were chatting to each other as they bundled along with their wicker shopping carts creaking on their wheels. One was dragging behind her a recalcitrant Scottish terrier decked out in a tartan dog coat. Apart from that, there were only a few people, off in the distance.

Their minds were racing with thoughts of shouting for help or flagging down a car if one happened to pass by when the man in front started toward them. As the two men closed in, Will and Chester both realized they were rapidly running out of options.

'This is too weird, we're well and truly snookered, who the heck are these guys?'