Read Online The Case of the Wayward Professor by Gareth P. Jones - Free Book Online Page A

was cold. She was muddy. She felt lonelyand humiliated. Then she heard a voice say, ‘Stay where you are. Let the stragglers pass.’
    On the other side of the fence two large yellow eyes were staring at her.
    â€˜Dirk?’ she gasped. ‘Is it really you?’

Chapter Eleven

    Holly let the last few runners pass. None stopped to ask if she was all right or if she needed a hand up.
    Once they were gone, she said, ‘What are you doing here?’
    â€˜I was in the neighbourhood,’ said Dirk, before adding, ‘I can see you’re as popular as ever.’
    â€˜I’m so glad to see you,’ said Holly. ‘Not that I can see you really.’
    She could just about make out Dirk’s outline, although his skin was perfectly blended with his surroundings. He shifted and the colour returned to his body.
    â€˜How’s that?’ he asked.
    â€˜Be careful. They have cameras everywhere.’
    â€˜It’s a blind spot,’ replied Dirk.
    Holly checked. It was true. A large tree overhanging the fence blocked the nearest camera, and a high hedgerow stood between them and the school building. Holly saw that he had slipped his tail through a hole in the fence to trip her up. Patches of dark green liquid oozed from Dirk’s tail and legs. Some of it had rubbed off on her shin when he tripped her. She touched it. It was sticky and thick. Instinctively, she put it to her tongue and, in spite of its colour, recognised the metallic taste as blood.
    â€˜You’re bleeding,’ she said. ‘What happened?’
    â€˜I ran into another one of Vainclaw’s little armies.’ Dirk sounded tired, his breathing was heavy and the smoke from his nostril had an unhealthy yellow hue. ‘Tree Dragons. Vicious creatures.’
    Holly heard a dog barking nearby.
    â€˜Did you make that hole?’ she asked.
    â€˜Yep, bit straight through.’
    â€˜We haven’t got much time. The guards are coming. They can tell when the fence has been cut.’
    â€˜I should get out of here,’ said Dirk.
    â€˜What are you going to do?’ said Holly, worried. She hadn’t seen Dirk look so bad since he was knockedunconscious after swallowing poisonous Amphiptere blood.
    â€˜Don’t worry about me. I’ve looked worse than this. Dragon skin is tough stuff. It’ll heal as I sleep. There are some caves on the other side of the forest where I can lie low long enough to heal up. A good night’s rest and I’ll be fine. Why don’t you come with me, help me solve this case?’
    Holly wanted nothing more than to go with him, but she touched her wristband, sighed and said, ‘I can’t. They’ll track me down. Come to Little Hope on Thursday. There’s a big concert and I’m going to escape then.’
    The barking dog was getting nearer.
    Holly said, ‘I did write to you, but they stopped the letters.’
    Dirk smiled. ‘I thought you’d forgotten about me.’
    â€˜Forgotten about you?’ said Holly. ‘You’re a red-backed, green-bellied, urban-based Mountain Dragon, who works as a detective. How could I forget you? Besides, we’re friends, aren’t we?’
    â€˜Sure we are,’ replied Dirk.
    They could hear the static crackle from the guard’s radio.
    â€˜Hide,’ urged Holly and Dirk’s skin blended with the ground.
    â€˜Hey, lassie, what are you doing?’ shouted a voice.
    Holly looked up to see a thickset man with a black bushy moustache in a security uniform.
    â€˜I fell over while running and sprained my ankle,’ she said.
    In one hand, the guard had a walkie-talkie. In the other, he held back a rather angry-looking poodle, which barked at the invisible dragon he could smell on the other side of the fence.
    â€˜Did you make this hole?’ asked the guard.
    â€˜Aren’t guard dogs usually German Shepherds or Rottweilers?’ said Holly, looking at the