Read Online The Crystal Code by Richard Newsome - Free Book Online Page B

noise. No torch. Look, further down there.’
    As their eyes adjusted to the gloom they could make out ribbons of light at floor level, marking a path.
    â€˜The power must have come back on,’ Felicity said. ‘That light is shining under the doors of every room we have to pass.’
    â€˜Felicity’s right,’ Gerald said. ‘We can’t let anyone know we’re here.’
    â€˜How do you know all this stuff, Flicka?’ Ox asked.
    Felicity took a tentative step down the corridor. ‘Boarding school brats in old buildings learn a lot.’
    They picked their way along the passage. Ruby kicked off her shoes and continued in bare feet. They’d been going for a minute when voices sounded from the room they were passing.
    â€˜All jewellery! Everything in your pockets! Put it on the table.’
    Felicity froze. Everyone behind her stopped in the narrow walkway, banked up like a traffic jam.
    Gerald looked down at the strip of light beneath the door.
    â€˜Hurry up!’ The voice was rough and urgent.
    â€˜Listen, we’re doing everything you ask.’ It was the voice of Francis Valentine. Calm. Rational. ‘There’s no need to—’
    The sound of a slap sliced through the door, followed by a chorus of shocked cries.
    Ruby clung to Gerald’s arm. A gasp caught in her throat. It was just light enough for Gerald to see Sam’s jaw tighten. Sam was reaching for the door handle when Ox grabbed him by the wrist and whispered a single word.
    â€˜Guns.’
    Sam allowed his hand to be lowered to his side, but his face glowed red in the gloom.
    None of them dared move.
    Then Gerald noticed the peephole in the door. A tight pencil of light poked through it into the passageway. The hole must have been there so servants could check that it was appropriate to enter the room.
    Gerald pressed his eye to the opening. What he saw on the other side made him sick to his stomach.
    At least ten guests were huddled in one of the chalet’s many drawing rooms. Gerald could make out Francis and Alice Valentine as well as Ox’s parents. But he couldn’t see his own mother and father. Francis Valentine was holding a hand to his jaw.
    There were three intruders—thick-set, dressed in black, wearing balaclavas. Each had a rifle slung over a shoulder and a handgun at the ready. They looked like heavily armed bears. Gerald could see a low coffee table near the guests. It was covered in necklaces and rings and strings of pearls and watches and wallets. But still the bandits were demanding more.
    â€˜Everything!’ one of them yelled. ‘Earrings, pinkie rings. The lot.’ He held his pistol at one woman’s face. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she tried to remove a diamond brooch from her gown.
    Then the main door to the room was thrown open and another man stepped in. He was enormous—broad- shouldered and hulking. Coarse whiskers from a dark beard poked through his balaclava. Judging by the reaction from the other bandits, this man was in charge.
    â€˜Well?’ he demanded. His voice was like a roll of thunder across the plains just before a twister touches down.
    The bandits pointed to the haul of diamonds, silver and gold on the coffee table. The man swept a gloved hand through the trove.
    â€˜It’s not here,’ he rumbled. ‘Radio the others to search the bedrooms. Turn the place upside down. The Falcon came through with one side of the deal. I’m not leaving here without the other.’
    The thug coughed heavily into his fist and swore. He moved across to Francis Valentine. ‘Where are the children?’
    Francis stood tall and stared the man directly in the eye. ‘You can leave the children alone. Whatever it is you’re looking for, they don’t have it.’
    Gerald could feel Ruby tensing at the sound of her father’s voice. He kept his eye to the peephole.
    The bandit pulled his fist