Half Moon Investigations - Eoin Colfer [62]
I rolled my eyes. ‘I can spell, you know.’
‘Really? Then G-E-T L-O-S-T.’
Red squeezed his head between Genie and the screen. ‘Where is he? I need to know.’
Genie sighed. ‘Very well, my annoying little brother. He’s at the vending-machine warehouse. Papa’s been scoping it for a few days now.’
Vending. That was the second time I had heard that word recently. It was unusual to hear such an uncommon word twice. Murt had said it earlier tonight. He had promised to check the vending warehouse. Someone had been hanging around. A prowler. Murt could very well catch Papa in the act.
‘We have to stop them.’ Should I have said that? Papa was committing a crime. I was on the side of law and order, wasn’t I? But Red was my friend. And his family was in danger.
I tugged Red’s sleeve. ‘We need to go now and stop him.’
Genie folded her arms. ‘Here we go. Time for the piglet detective to deliver a lecture. The world is not black and white, Half Moon. Some of us do just fine in the grey areas.’
‘Murt Hourihan, Sergeant Murt Hourihan, is on his way to check out the vending warehouse right now. Remember?’
Suddenly Red did remember. The memory turned him whiter than a nervous ghost.
‘We have to go,’ he said. ‘Right now.’
*
The quickest route to the Lock Industrial Estate was across country. We sprinted through several gardens and a wasteland of discarded machine parts, heading for the orange glow of the estate’s streetlamps. The further we went, the further Red pulled away from me. He was fit, a sportsman. Running flat out for a mile didn’t seem to bother him. Me, I thought I was going to die. And after I died, possibly throw up. I didn’t call Red back though; speed was more important than brains in this instance.
The estate was U-shaped. Three rows of buildings with an entrance on to the main road. The entire place was lit up like a flying-saucer landing site. I imagine they would light those up pretty well. I saw Red tearing across a parking lot, surrounded by several of his own shadows.
By the time I caught up, he had located Papa behind the vending-machine warehouse. He was wedged into a ditch overlooking the loading yard.
‘Would you like to tell me why I shouldn’t go in there?’ Papa was saying. It was obvious that he was not happy with Red’s sudden appearance. Then he noticed me.
‘You brought Half Moon? On a job? I know you don’t exactly think like the rest of us, Red, but you’re still family.’
Red’s bottom lip jutted out about a metre. ‘You just can’t go in there,’ he said stubbornly. ‘That’s all.’
Papa emerged from the bush. Quite a bit of it stayed in his hair. With the orange glow behind him, he looked like a caveman emerging from a hole in time.
‘Listen, son. We all know how you feel. But I’m the way I am. Stop fighting it. Just accept it. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’ve never been caught. You know that. I’m too clever for the police.’
‘Can’t we talk about this at home?’ asked Red. ‘We need to go home.’
‘Why do we have to go home tonight?’ asked Papa suspiciously. ‘You never came after me before.’
I thought I would fill in the details.
‘Murt Hourihan is on his way –’
That was as far as I got because Papa’s eyes were wide and his voice grew loud. ‘Murt Hourihan. Sergeant Hourihan? You’ve gone over to the other side, then, Red? Did you turn me in?’
Red rolled his eyes at me. Well done, Half Moon, said the eyes.
‘No. Of course not. I would never do that. We’re here to save you.’ Red stood his ground. ‘Don’t do it, Papa. Trust me. You go in there, and you’re in prison and we’re in care. Is that what you want? It’s not what Mammy wanted.’
Papa was quietly furious. ‘That’s it!’ he said, pointing a finger bigger than a hot dog. ‘The line is crossed. Don’t you throw your mother at me. You were barely five.’
‘I know what she wanted,’ insisted Red.
‘You know nothing!’ shouted Papa. ‘This is me, Red. In front of you. I am your family. Not our unwelcome guest. No offence, Half Moon.’
‘None taken,’ I mumbled.
‘This is my life,’ said Papa, spreading his arms. ‘What do you want me to do about