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CHAPTER 1
The ball flew clean over the Atlantic Ocean and dropped – plop – into the hole by the Statue of Liberty’s sizetwelve feet. ‘A hole-in-one!’ Jack cried. ‘Hole-in-one, hole-inone, hole-in-one!’ He lifted the club and twirled it as though he were leading a brass band down the High Street. ‘Did you see that?’ he asked. Lauren looked up from her magazine. ‘Nope,’ she grinned. ‘I wasn’t watching. You’ll have to do it again.’ ‘I want a go of the stick,’ Ruby said. ‘It’s called a club,’ Jack said. ‘I want a go of the club,’ Ruby said. There was a determined crease between her eyebrows. Sometimes Ruby looked just like Mum. ‘Let her have a go,’ Lauren said, and looked back at Teen Thing. 1
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‘I was going to. I just wanted her to learn the right name, that’s all. Come on, Ruby, it’s a par-three hole. That means you should be able to get it in three hits. Or, if you’re a genius like me, you might do it in one.’ Jack handed the club over to Ruby. He fished the ball out of the hole and wiped it on his jeans; it left a green slug-trail on his leg. Yuck! In winter, it would be his job to scrub all the crud out of the holes. And glue down curling greens. And nail up wobbly fences. And a hundred and one other odd jobs that needed doing once all the visitors went home. But now it was summer and he was allowed to play for free at William’s World of Wonders Golf Tour. Jack smiled a secret smile. A hole-in-one. ‘My go, my go,’ Ruby said. ‘I know. Hold your horses.’ He teed up the ball, balancing it on its plastic holder. It was all set for Ruby to swing. The club was too big for her; it waved from side to side, like jelly in a high wind. She tried to steady herself, then gave the ball a good hard shove towards the Statue of Liberty. It rolled forward along the causeway to the island, then veered left and dropped, with a splash, into the miniature Atlantic Ocean, where it bobbed gently up and down as though it were enjoying the swim. 2
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‘Hey!’ Ruby yelled indignantly. ‘It went in the water.’ Jack couldn’t help himself – he laughed. Lauren looked up and even she smiled. ‘You want a go?’ Jack asked her. Lauren sucked her teeth in a way that meant, ‘I’d rather roll in horse poo than play adventure golf,’ and lifted Teen Thing in front of her face. Last year she would have played. Last summer, when Paul was still around and it was his job to look after them and Lauren wasn’t quite so grown-up, then she would have taken a turn. Jack reached into the miniature ocean and grabbed the ball. He gave it a few shakes to get rid of some of the water, then put it back on the causeway. ‘Have another go,’ he said to Ruby. She tried again. This time the ball rolled in a straight line towards Ellis Island, but slowed too soon, as though its batteries had run down. ‘You do it,’ Ruby said, handing him the club. ‘Make it go in the hole.’ ‘OK, if you’re sure. He held the club with a firm grip but with loose wrists, just like Dad had taught him. Then he gave the ball a gentle tap. It rolled steadily up the slope towards the three-metre-high statue and dropped neatly into the hole with a soft puttering sound. 3
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Ruby clapped her hands together, her dark curls bouncing. ‘I got it in the hole!’ she yelled. ‘Did you?’ Jack asked. ‘Yes. If I hadn’t got it to there,’ Ruby pointed to Ellis Island, ‘then you wouldn’t have got it in like that.’ ‘I see.’ Jack grinned. ‘Do you want to do a harder one, then? The Eiffel Tower is tricky.’ ‘We need to get back,’ Lauren said. ‘Mum will be wondering where we’ve got to.’ Jack sighed. ‘One more go?’ Ruby asked hopefully. Lauren paused, then shook her head. ‘No.’ Jack retrieved the ball. He squeezed it in his palm. He liked the feel of its hard dimpled shell. He threw it up and caught it. ‘Jack,’ Lauren said, ‘come on.’ She got up off the bench and closed her magazine. The girl on the cover had a wide lipstick smile, as though nothing bad could ever happen in the world. Jack nodded slowly. Lauren was right – it was time to go back. He just wished they didn’t have to. Near the exit, William, owner of William’s World of Wonders, sat in his booth. Jack handed back the club and dropped the ball into a glass dish on the counter top. ‘See you tomorrow,’ he said. 4
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‘Jack.’ William nodded curtly. ‘Something’s up with the Niagara pump. It’s more of a Stumble than a Falls today. Come and give us a hand in the morning.’ ‘OK.’ The baking-hot pavement was crowded with tourists, toddlers with buckets and spades, kids with bodyboards. A horse and carriage trotted past carrying a dark-haired woman and a tattooed man towards the prom. Near the beach steps a busker played Beatles songs. Jack and Ruby weaved their way around holdalls and windbreaks, trying to keep up with Lauren. But Lauren kept her head down and walked fast. Ruby’s steps slowed. ‘Ja-ack,’ she said, almost singing his name. Jack sighed as Lauren disappeared completely from view. Ruby stopped dead outside the amusement arcade. ‘Ja-ack, can I have twenty pence?’ ‘I haven’t got twenty pence,’ he said. ‘Yes you have. This morning you gave Mrs Khalid a pound when you bought a comic and she gave you fifty pence change. Two twenties and a ten.’ ‘When did you get so good at maths?’ ‘Pwease can I? Pwetty pwease with bells on?’ Jack grinned. ‘Don’t put on a baby voice. It won’t work with me.’ Then he handed over twenty pence. 5
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Ruby rested her hands on the grab-a-bear machine, looking in. It was a teddy bear explosion inside – bear faces, bear arms, bear legs and bear bums all pushed up against the glass. Jack grinned. Above the hundreds of bears a mechanical arm hung down, its three claws closed in a trap. ‘I want that one,’ Ruby said, pointing to a pink smiley bear and pushing Jack’s coin into the slot. The mechanical arm whirred into action as Ruby pressed the controls. It juddered one way, then the other. Finally it came down, claws open, and snatched. At thin air. The claws came back up empty. For a change. ‘Oh!’ Ruby said. ‘Never mind,’ Jack said. ‘There’s always tomorrow.’ They moved away from the arcade. Ruby scuffed her feet against the pavement. When they got to the launderette, Lauren was standing outside. Jack could see Mum inside, talking to Auntie Joyce. Billy was in his pushchair by Mum’s side. He was asleep, cuddling Teddy Volvo. Mum whipped off her tabard and handed it to Auntie Joyce. That meant her shift was officially over. She smiled and waved at Jack and Ruby. Now they could all go home. Jack felt his heart sink. 6
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CHAPTER 2
As soon as they were home, Jack ran up to his room and closed the door. Whatever they were doing downstairs, he didn’t care. In the room next door, Lauren had turned her music up loud; she was keeping out of the way too. Jack switched on his computer. An email from Paul. Jack let himself smile. To: jack.dempsey23@hotmail.co.uk From: fulldinnerjacket@gmail.com Subject: News for my Lil’ Crew Hey Jack, Are you all missing me? Or is Lauren stepping up OK? I miss you all, little man. No one here will listen to my jokes like you do. Here’s a new one for you: Knock knock. 7
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Who’s there? Soldier. Soldier who? Soldier granny on eBay! LOL! I’d better be careful not to split your sides with these instant classics. But I guess you really want to know about how awful everything is and how hard they make us work. Well, let me tell you. This morning I ran thirty miles carrying forty kilos in my rucksack. Don’t you believe me? You’re right not to. It was fifty miles with sixty kilos on my back. Still think I’m lying? You’re right. It was a hundred miles with a small elephant on my back. You don’t believe me, do you? Well, you were always good at reading my poker face. Let’s just say that the lectures in week one of training were much easier than the exercises in week two. My feet are ragged. Seriously gross. They’re all lumpy and flakey like Cornflake cakes. Yum. I’d send you a picture, but I don’t want to give you nightmares. God bless, little bro. Say hello to your mum and dad, Ruby and Billy. And tell Lauren from me to turn her music down. Paul (Private Grant these days!) 8
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Jack smiled. Even though Paul was a long way away, it felt as though he was close by. He’d print out the email to show to Auntie Joyce. Jack banged on the wall that separated his room from Lauren and Ruby’s. ‘Paul says turn your music down.’ Not that Lauren would be able to hear. The music stayed loud. ‘She’s in a world of her own. Well, a world of Black Eyed Peas’s own, anyway.’ Dad’s voice came from the doorway. Jack turned. Dad stood leaning up against the doorpost. He was still in his work clothes and Jack could see little flakes of plaster in his hair. He must have been doing someone’s ceiling. He looked tired, but he was smiling. ‘Is that an email from Paul?’ he asked. ‘Yes. He sent a joke. He sounds OK.’ Dad nodded. ‘Don’t worry about him. He’s safe as houses in Yorkshire. It’ll be a long time before he sees any action. I came to see if you want some food. I’m making a sandwich.’ Jack looked down at his hands. If he went downstairs with Dad, he’d have to sit at the kitchen table, watching Mum and Dad not looking at each other. He’d have to tell Paul’s new joke into the silence, or pretend to laugh about Ruby not grabbing a bear again, or pretend to 9
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moan about how Lauren wouldn’t play any more. He sighed. ‘It’s all right, thanks. I’m not hungry.’ ‘I’m making your favourite,’ Dad said. ‘Cheese and tiny-weeny-chunk pickle, cut so small it looks more like gravy.’ ‘No, I’m OK.’ Dad frowned. ‘Oh well, if you’re sure.’ Then he was gone. Half an hour later Jack heard shouts from downstairs, then something smashed – a plate or a cup probably. Then the front door slammed and there was silence. It was nearly dark when the front door opened again. Dad had come back. Jack was still in his room, chewing the end of a sausage roll. He turned the volume up on his computer game. Bang, bang, bang! He shot at the shaking zombie figures that lurched towards him. Their heads lolled above their dead shoulders, but they still kept coming. He slotted in another round of ammunition and fired again. Mum was downstairs in the hallway. Jack heard her say something. He couldn’t make out the words, but he could hear that she was still angry. Dad snapped back. They both moved into the kitchen, below Jack’s room. 10
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Bang! A palm slammed on the kitchen table. Jack’s bedroom door was ajar. When twilight faded to darkness outside he didn’t turn on his lamp but let light spill in from the landing. From outside it made the room look empty. But tonight he preferred darkness. He paused the game and got up to close the door. There was someone outside his bedroom: Ruby. She was sitting at the top of the stairs with her chin resting on her knees, her nightie pulled down low over her shins. Jack could see the bumps of her spine pushing against the cloth. She sat still, listening to the noises from downstairs. ‘Hey,’ Jack whispered. Ruby looked round. She didn’t answer. ‘What are you doing?’ Jack asked. ‘Shh,’ Ruby whispered. ‘I can’t hear.’ ‘You don’t want to,’ Jack said. ‘Come in here.’ Ruby sighed and stood up. She came into his room and sat down on his bed. She switched on his bedside light. On the computer screen, the zombies growled and bobbed up and down in the weird way that they did when they were on pause. Like they were happy to wait for ever for a chance to get to their prey. 11
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Jack pushed his door closed and sat back down on his chair. ‘You should be in bed,’ he said. ‘So should you,’ Ruby said. ‘And Lauren.’ Jack nodded. He noticed that Ruby didn’t have any slippers on and her feet had a cold, blueish tinge. ‘You can get under the duvet if you want,’ he said. ‘OK.’ Ruby climbed into Jack’s bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She slipped her thumb into her mouth – something she would never, ever do in the daytime. She watched him, saying nothing. Her eyes were wide and glassy. Tomorrow, Jack knew, they would have dark circles under them. ‘What do you call a soldier crossed with a fish?’ Jack asked. Ruby shrugged. ‘Sturgeon Major.’ She smiled weakly. Jack turned back to the game. The shots on the screen drowned out the shouts from downstairs. More or less. ‘Jack?’ she whispered. ‘Hmm?’ ‘Why are they fighting?’ ‘Well, they’re zombies. They’re not just going to let me shoot them without a fight.’ 12
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‘Not them. I mean Mum and Dad.’ Jack’s thumb pushed down on the shoot button again and again. He had known what she meant really. ‘I don’t know,’ he said finally. ‘Usual stuff: work, money, which one of them was supposed to buy milk.’ ‘Are they fighting because of us?’ Ruby asked. ‘No. Not us. Don’t worry.’ Ruby jammed her thumb back into her mouth and stroked her nose with her index finger. ‘Is it because there are lots of us?’ she mumbled. ‘We didn’t ask to be born, did we?’ Jack said. It was something he’d heard Lauren say quite often and it made sense to him. The kitchen door slammed and there were quick footsteps coming up the stairs. Jack heard Mum outside his door. ‘Jack, turn that game off. You’ll keep everyone awake.’ Then she went into her room. Jack scowled at his closed door, but he turned down the volume. ‘You should go back to your own bed now,’ he told Ruby. Ruby sighed and pushed back the duvet. ‘I don’t like sharing with Lauren. I want to share with you.’ ‘Well, you can’t. Billy will be coming in here soon. Mum said. He’s too big for their room now. What’s wrong with Lauren, anyway?’ 13
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Ruby pulled a face. Jack had to laugh; Ruby had caught Lauren’s bored, disgusted look exactly. ‘She loves you really,’ Jack said. He ruffled Ruby’s curls. She glared at him and pulled away. ‘Don’t!’ ‘Go on,’ Jack smiled. ‘Get out of here, go get some beauty sleep. You need it.’ Ruby stuck out her tongue and gave Jack a quick hug. Then she was gone.
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Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney First published in Great Britain in July 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY Copyright Š Elen Caldecott 2011 The moral right of the author has been asserted All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 4088 0573 2
Typeset by Hewer Text UK Ltd, Edinburgh Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives Plc, Bungay, Suffolk 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 www.bloomsbury.com
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OUT NOW
“Perfect for Jacqueline Wilson fans” The Bookseller “I was inspired to read Elen Caldecott’s Operation Eiffel Tower when I saw her talk about it at the Edinburgh book festival and was as entranced as all the eight-to-twelves . . . some scenes are funny (the children’s attempted forgery is hilarious); others are poignant” Guardian online “Warm, funny and bittersweet” Teach Primary
Operation Eiffel Tower Elen Caldecott