Read Online How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini by Elen Caldecott - Free Book Online

hat covering his face. He wasn’t moving.
    â€˜Is he asleep?’ Ali whispered.
    â€˜Perhaps he’s dead,’ Gez said. ‘Perhaps he’s a victim, not a suspect.’
    The man groaned and lifted the hat off his face. ‘Perhaps he’s just trying to get some rest,’ he said.
    Ali jumped back. Caitlin too.
    â€˜Let DI Brown handle this one,’ Gez whispered. He stepped forward. ‘Are you a fisherman? Do you work here?’
    â€˜Aye,’ the man said. ‘Here and all over. There aren’t many places I haven’t sailed.’
    Gez’s eyes lit up. ‘Have you ever seen any sharks?’ he asked.
    The man grinned. ‘One or two. Basking sharks round here.’
    â€˜What about octopus and giant squid?’
    â€˜Aye. I’ve seen some strange things at sea.’
    â€˜Like what?’ Gez stepped forward eagerly.
    The man sat up and reached for a cord that hung around his neck. He pulled it out; a tooth, pointed and fierce, hung from it. ‘Here. I saw the shark that this came from. It was in Australia. It hunted along the Great Barrier Reef. It was the size of a bus, with teeth like razors.’
    â€˜Cool!’ Gez grinned again.
    The man shrugged. Then he tucked the tooth away again under his clothes.
    Caitlin tutted. She stepped forward, pushing Gez out of the way. ‘Do people still use the docks?’ she asked. Ali snapped to attention. Caitlin was right: they were here to investigate and Gez was getting distracted.
    â€˜Of course. I’m here, aren’t I?’
    â€˜Yes, but –’
    â€˜She means, is it still busy here?’ Ali interrupted. ‘Or would this be a good place to choose if you were doing something secret?’
    â€˜Secret?’ The man frowned.
    â€˜Yes,’ Gez said. ‘You know, smuggling guns, or bringing in drugs. That sort of thing.’
    â€˜Smuggling? You’ve been watching too many films.’
    â€˜Doesn’t it happen any more?’ Caitlin asked.
    â€˜No. No, it doesn’t,’ the man said. ‘And if it did, it isn’t the sort of thing you should go asking about. You’ll get yourselves into trouble. We might not have great white sharks here, but there are other dangerous things that travel these waters. Some nights, you can smell them in the air. You want to stay well clear.’ The man stretched up and pulled the mooring rope free. He threw it down into the boat, without bothering to coil it. Then he pushed off the dock wall with the end of an oar.
    The words Deep Ocean were painted in curly letters on the side. On the hull , Ali corrected himself. The Deep Ocean edged away from them. The man clearly wasn’t going to tell them whatever it was he knew.
    â€˜What’s the name of that boat?’ Gez whispered. ‘Seep? Qeep something?’
    â€˜It’s Deep Ocean,’ Ali said, surprised.
    â€˜I told you,’ Caitlin said. ‘He’s not that bright.’
    â€˜That’s not true!’ Gez said sharply. ‘I just can’t read that silly swirly writing. It’s stupid, not me!’
    Caitlin was ready to answer. This was headed towards a proper row, Ali thought. And just because of some daft lettering.
    Ali’s eyes widened. He had thought of something. ‘Gez,’ he said, ‘the writing on the van – did it look like this?’ He drew quickly in the dust by their feet.
    .
    Jones
    .
    â€˜Yeh,’ Gez said slowly. ‘It did a bit.’
    Ali grinned. Even Caitlin smiled a bit.
    â€˜Gez,’ Ali said, ‘it isn’t a “T”, it’s a “J”. It’s Jones and Sons.’
    Gez’s face fell. Ali couldn’t stand to see him look so unhappy. ‘Don’t worry. It’s an easy mistake to make, especially in the dark. Especially when it had been painted over.’
    â€˜And especially when the gangsters were chasing after me!’ Gez said, more