Dead Ball by Tom Palmer (best novels in english .TXT) 📗

an exclusive interview about his performance last night.’

Danny grinned. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

‘How did you manage that?’ he said to Holt.

‘It wasn’t me,’ Holt said, looking sheepish. ‘The editor of the paper is in the same golf club as Finn’s dad. That’s how.’

After Danny had phoned his dad to check it was OK to be home late, he got to work. If he was going to meet Alex Finn he wanted to know as much about him as he could.

He typed ‘Alex Finn’ into the Internet browser on Holt’s laptop, while the journalist was busy elsewhere.

This was the sort of thing Danny did in his spare time anyway. At home Danny’s bedroom was not so much a bedroom, but an office. A private detective’s office. He had a desk, a swivel chair – and a huge map of his city on the wall.

From his office he would track crimes. He’d scour the local paper, following them from their first reports in the news section to the court cases. He even went to watch the court cases sometimes. Gathering information to see if he could work out the clues to solve the crimes.

He read the results on Alex Finn:

Alex Finn

keeps England World Cup hopes alive

The England keeper,

Alex Finn

… series of saves against Russia… frustrated Russians… one of the great goalkeeping performances in an England shirt in modern times…

www.soccerdaily.co.uk

Finn

signs for City

Alex Finn

, United’s long-time keeper, has switched to City… twelve-million-pound deal… three-year contract… ‘I am thrilled to be at City. I’ve supported them since I was a…’

www.footballnews.co.uk

Alex Finn

-ishes books

Alex Finn

launched a literacy programme, helping boys to enjoy reading… about football. His favourite book is a novel called

Keeper

by Mal Peet…

www.literacyengland.org.uk

McGee in counterfeit scandal

Understudy to England keeper

Alex Finn

, Matt McGee was fined £500 for handling counterfeit money at City Court on 20 August. Found to be handling the money, he refused to say… Although McGee is not thought to be a counterfeiter himself, he is alleged to have connections with organized crime… He was defended by his sister, Ruth McGee, the famous ballet dancer…

www.footballtittletattle.com

Danny was transfixed.

It was very interesting that Finn enjoyed books. Danny thought he’d ask him about what books he’d read, whether he liked crime books.

Danny was into crime books as well as crime. Well into them. That was why he’d got involved in the Sam Roberts kidnap. And that was why he wanted to be a detective.

Danny had read crime stories to his dad and had since become obsessed with crime. And, although he was enjoying the work experience at the newspaper, pretending that he was a journalist, what he really wanted to be was a detective. He wanted to know about crimes, find out all the details, then solve them. Like he had with Sam Roberts.

Reading up on Alex Finn to help with the interview was a bit like finding out details about a crime, so he could be better informed to solve it. The more facts he had for either job, the better prepared he’d be.

But Danny knew that Matt McGee was a much more interesting character than Alex Finn. All the stuff about McGee and the counterfeit money was no surprise. In fact, Danny had known there was something different about McGee since the moment he’d seen him. A few weeks ago.

Danny had been watching a trial at the courts. A well-known criminal from a neighbouring town was on trial for being involved in selling drugs. Gavin Barnes. He’d got off like he always did, because no one would ever dare to testify against him. But, during the lunch break of the trial, Danny had gone for a sandwich in a small park quite a way from the court house. Just to clear his mind. And there – to his disbelief – he’d seen the criminal who was on trial. With Matt McGee. Talking. Laughing. Then shaking hands.

Danny had done nothing with the information. It meant nothing. Not yet.

LUNCH BREAK

Danny was nervous going into the café. It was full of adults. White shirts. Black jackets slung over the backs of their chairs. Three people tapping away on laptops. Others talking about their lives in loud voices. All with a background soundtrack of jazz music.

Danny wished he was somewhere else. He hated jazz music.

But he changed his mind when he saw who he’d come to meet. Her hair was a bit longer now, falling down to her shoulders.

Charlotte Duncan. Her mouth wrapped round a panini.

Danny got himself a sandwich and a cup of tea. He liked coffee too. But listening to all the people in the queue asking for decaf skinny lattes with extra shots of blah-blah-blah made him want to ask for tea. No fuss. Just a mug of tea.

He was pleased Charlotte had bagged a corner table. Somewhere relatively quiet. And comfy seats too. He put his tea and sandwich down and perched on the seat opposite her. His heart was beating fast. He could feel his face going pink.

‘How’s it going at the paper?’ Charlotte asked, smiling.

Danny grimaced.

‘What?’ Charlotte said, bemused.

‘This is just weird, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘Like we’ve got jobs or something.’

‘But we have.’

‘Yeah, but it’s still weird.’

That was what had been bothering Danny coming in here. Why he was feeling so uncomfortable. It wasn’t the jazz music or the white shirts or the hundred kinds of coffee. It was that they were here on their lunch break. Like they really worked in the centre of town.

‘So how is it?’ Charlotte said, still with a puzzled look on her face.

‘What?’

‘The paper. You and Anton what’s-his-name?’

‘Great.’ Danny leaned forward. ‘And guess what?’

‘What?’

‘We’re only going to interview Alex Finn this afternoon. In a pub in the countryside!’

Charlotte nodded.

‘Who’s Alex Finn?’ she said.

Danny and Charlotte went to the same school. Four months ago they had become friends. Around the time the Sam Roberts stuff was going on. Danny had wanted them to be more than friends, but so far nothing had happened.

They’d been to the cinema.