The Key to Finding Jack by Ewa Jozefkowicz (i can read books TXT) 📗

As I walked to the entrance, I had a sudden flashback to when Jack and I had first discovered the magic of the estate. We were helping Dad bring the shopping home, and we had heard shouting above our heads.

‘It’s just some kids playing,’ said Dad dismissively, but Jack was clearly intrigued. He kept glancing back at the estate building long after we’d passed it.

‘There must be a playground or something up there on the roof,’ he told me, amazed. ‘I could hear them playing football.’

We checked it out after school the very next day. The Fairwick Estate was six floors high, with an arch instead of a front door, which was lucky for us as we could go in without anyone asking questions.

The alleyway that led to the building from the main road was dark, winding and uninviting. But Jack convinced me that there was more to the place than what you saw at first glance. Although the walls were greying concrete, they somehow held different hues of orange and yellow when the sunshine hit them at the right angle. The corridors and stairwells could definitely use a lick of paint, but walking along them we got the distinct sense that they would lead somewhere special – and they did.

When I opened the door to the rooftop my legs ached from walking up six flights, but I was so relieved to be there. The air was different on the roof – lighter somehow and fresher. Jack told me that it was further from the pollution caused by the buses, taxis and other cars on the high street.

I imagined the pollution particles, small, spiky urchins. If I strained my eyes enough I could almost see them; each detaching from its cluster, emerging slowly from an exhaust pipe or office window and floating up into the charcoal sky.

I was pleased to see that nothing had changed. My mind felt clear for the first time in ages. I perched in my usual spot on the old roundabout. It had been some architect’s grand design – a playground on a rooftop. There was fencing all around and a sturdy sheltered area for rainy days. But what this big thinker was not aware of was that Fairwickers were not the sort to be told what to do. Give them a playground and they’d turn it into a football pitch or an open-air recording studio.

I loved the roof of the estate. I’d decided that I loved it the very first time that Jack had brought me here. There were possibilities on the roof that existed nowhere else. Possibilities for brain space and clearer thoughts, or more precisely a thought, that ran in circles through my head.

I took out my phone and looked at the photo I’d taken of Jack’s tree. It had five branches now – Sutty, Manfy, Grandma, Finny and Sol, although this last branch needed to be replaced with Simon.

‘What are the facts, Flick?’ I heard Jack’s voice in my ear.

‘These are the facts, Jack,’ I said aloud into the cold winter air.

‘One: You’ve been missing for five days.

Two: You’re somewhere in Peru.

Three: You didn’t go on the trip to Lima, which is a really good thing.

Four: You love playing guitar.

Five: You like teaching. It’s something I didn’t know.

Six: You can’t speak Spanish, or at least not very well, so if you wanted to do voluntary teaching, you would probably teach English. (This had just occurred to me. It meant that the pool of schools to call would be smaller than I had originally thought.)

Seven: You are very kind, kinder than most people know.

Eight: You have a key that used to belong to Grandma, which was given to her by Grandpa when they were in Peru, long before Mum was born, but you left it behind.

Nine: I have found five people with the initials S.F. which you left with the key, but none of them seem to think it was meant for them.’

‘Although we haven’t spoken to one of them yet…’ said a voice behind me, ‘and maybe we should because he could have something interesting to say.’

Keira sat down next to me and gave me a tight hug. I squeezed her back.

‘I miss him,’ I whispered, ‘I really miss him.’

‘I know,’ she said. ‘You’ve been incredibly brave. Try not to cry. You won’t be able to think properly if you cry. And your brain needs to be working to solve Jack’s riddle.’

I put my hands to my face and noticed that they were wet. I hadn’t even realised that I’d been crying.

‘How did you know I would be here?’

‘I remembered you telling me how much you and Jack used to love this place.’

‘Yeah, he really enjoyed coming here and looking at the view. Look, you can see our house and he knew every building on the horizon.’

‘Mmm… I know.’

‘Keira, I’m scared it’s not Simon either,’ I blurted out. Had that been my real reason for coming here? A way to avoid going to find Simon?

‘What do you mean? That he’s not who the key is meant for?’

I nodded.

‘Well even if that’s true, he’s not the last S.F. in the world, is he?’

‘He’s the last one we know.’

‘At the moment, yes. But we’ll keep searching until we find the right one. You can’t avoid one of our top leads though, because you’re scared he might not be as useful as you think. Imagine what Jack would say.’

She was right of course. I forced myself up.

‘Are we going to Sutty’s?’ I asked her.

‘No. Simon wasn’t there when I dropped in on the way here. Sutty says that he’s taken the rest of the week off. I messaged Manfy to ask if she knew where he lived. She sent me his address. It’s less than a ten-minute walk. If we hurry, we should be able to speak to him and still get home before six.’