Take a Good Look Read online

‘Look, my eyes might be funny, but they’re not boss or cross or anything, so shut up calling me that.’

  ‘What’s your name then?’ said the girl.

  ‘Mary.’

  ‘OK. I’ll call you Mary. I’m Sue and this is Mick. Come on, we’ve got to get back to school. See you, Mary.’

  ‘See you,’ said Mary.

  She waved in their direction and she thought they waved back, though she couldn’t be sure. She was so pleased with herself she forgot to be cautious going into the shop and barged right into some wire baskets, banging her knee.

  ‘Oh dear, are you all right, miss?’ came Mr Soli’s voice from behind his post office cage.

  Mrs Soli rustled from behind the food counter. She seemed to have two faces, but when she was near enough to rub the sore knee Mary could see she was carrying a little Soli on her hip.

  ‘It’s OK, really, it doesn’t even hurt,’ said Mary. ‘Can I have a can of coke, please? And a packet of crisps – salt and vinegar, I think. And I want some chocolate.’

  ‘Chocolate is this way, on the counter. I’ll show you,’ said Mrs Soli, gently leading Mary by the elbow.

  She held up bar after bar right in front of Mary’s eyes so that she could see what was on offer. The baby Soli did his best to grab for the chocolate, making them all laugh. An old lady came into the shop for a loaf of bread.

  ‘I’ve left my specs at home,’ she said to Mary. ‘Have I got the right packet, dear? Small sliced wholemeal?’

  Mary laughed at the idea of anyone asking her to look for them.

  ‘This little girl can’t see so well herself,’ said Mrs Soli.

  ‘I can a bit,’ said Mary, and she brought the packet of bread right in front of her eyes. ‘Yes, that’s a small sliced wholemeal,’ she said proudly.

  She still couldn’t decide whether she wanted a Mars or a Kit Kat. Well, why not have both, seeing as this was such a special day?

  She paid for the coke, crisps and the two bars of chocolate.

  ‘You are a clever girl, managing so well,’ said the old lady with the bread.

  ‘Shall I help you out of the door, dear?’ said Mrs Soli.

  ‘No, thank you, I can manage,’ said Mary.

  ‘Well, mind those baskets,’ Mr Soli called.

  ‘I’m minding them,’ said Mary, moving cautiously forward towards the door.

  And then she was knocked right over by two people rushing madly into the shop. She went sprawling on the floor, dropping her coke and crisps and chocolate.

  ‘Watch the little girl!’ Mrs Soli cried indignantly.

  ‘Don’t move! This is a hold-up!’ a man shouted.

  The other man pushed past Mary. He was close enough for her to see the long knife in his hand.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Mary crouched on the floor, terrified. She couldn’t see what was going on, but she could hear.

  ‘Hand over the money!’ one man shouted, banging on the post office counter.

  The other man had got Mrs Soli over by the window. He took hold of her by the hair. She cried out in her own language, and Mr Soli answered her.

  ‘Don’t jabber like that!’ the man shouted. ‘Don’t play games with us. And you can leave that alarm bell alone. One stupid move and we’ll hurt your wife and kid.’

  The baby Soli started wailing in a high-pitched panicky way, as if he understood.

  Mary crouched down even smaller, wanting to cry too. The old lady with the wholemeal bread was stumbling about, making little whimpering noises.

  ‘You there! Keep still and shut up,’ the man shouted. ‘Come on, give us the money. All of it. Don’t try messing with us.’

  ‘I’ll give you all the money. Just don’t hurt anybody. Get away from my wife, my baby. You’re frightening them.’

  ‘We give the orders round here. Now hurry!’

  Hurry! Mary begged silently, her head almost on the floor.

  She still couldn’t believe it was actually happening. One minute she’d been so happy and proud and confident, buying chocolate at the corner shop like any other girl. And the next minute she was part of this nightmare robbery, and it was all so quick, so cruel, so frightening.

  ‘Hurry him up!’ the man called from the window. ‘There’s kids running round outside. They look as if they’re up to something. Quick!’

  ‘Hear that? Hand it all over now or I’m telling you, your wife gets it, and your kid.’

  ‘Here! This is all, I swear. Take it. But for pity’s sake, don’t hurt anyone,’ said Mr Soli desperately.

  The baby cried harder. Mary clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.

  The other man suddenly swore. ‘Those kids, they’ve fetched the copper from the school crossing. Come on, mate, we’ve got to get out of here!’

  ‘Right, here’s the cash. Quick, catch! Let’s go.’

  ‘The copper! He’s coming, he’s coming!’

  The man with the knife started running. Mary cowered away from him. He seemed to have a strange green face that made him even more frightening. He suddenly stopped, reached down and grabbed her by the shoulder.

  ‘Get up, kid.’

  ‘No!’ Mary whispered.

  ‘Just do as you’re told,’ said the man, and he yanked her to her feet. He thrust the knife right in her face. ‘No silly tricks now. Come on, move it.’

  He pushed her and she blundered helplessly, knocking into the shelves. The man grabbed her round the chest and hauled her along so quickly that the tips of her boots barely scuffed the floor.

  ‘Leave the poor kid alone!’ the old woman shouted, and she tried to waddle after them.

  ‘Get out the way, you silly old bag,’ yelled the other man.

  He must have given her a push because the old woman grunted and then hit the floor with a bump. There was a series of soft thuds as a pile of toilet rolls fell on top of her. The man stumbled through them and got to the door. Then he yelled as a big burly shape loomed up. There was a bang, more thuds, and a gasp for help as they struggled.

  ‘Leave him, copper!’ shouted Mary’s man. ‘Let him go or the kid gets it.’

  The scuffling stopped. The two indistinct figures seemed to freeze.

  ‘Now, come on, lads. I’ve put a call out, the place will be crawling with police by now. There’s no point in any silly stuff. Let the little girl go.’

  ‘Oh no! She’s coming with us. And you’d better stand out of our way or she’ll get cut.’

  He waved the knife wildly and then stuck the blade right under Mary’s chin, so close she could feel the cold steel.

  ‘All right! All right, just don’t hurt her,’ the policeman called.

  ‘Let my mate go.’

  ‘OK. There. See, he’s free now.’

  ‘Come on, quick!’ yelled Mary’s man, and he picked her right up and ran with her. The knife bobbed up and down in front of her and she stared at the terrible gleam of it.

  There were shouts and gasps and running feet. She was suspended helplessly, not daring to move or speak or even cry, not while the knife was an inch from her face.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ gasped the other man.

  ‘We’re going to get out of here, that’s what we’re going to do,’ Mary’s man panted. ‘The car, let’s get in the car.’

  They ran wildly across the road, although the man was gasping for breath now and his grip wasn’t as tight. As he got across the road he tripped on the kerb and very nearly dropped Mary. She tensed, ready for the sharp slap of the pavement, desperately determined to run for it no matter how much it hurt.

  But it was no use. He clutched at her, the knife slipping for a moment, but then he clasped it again, and he had Mary in a new fierce grip too, her head jerked right back.

  ‘Get the car, get the door open, get it going!’ he gabbled to his friend.

  He stayed still, one leg up against the car to take some of the weight. His arm was so hard against her throat she could hardly swallow. The hairs on hi
s arm were standing out. There were ugly blue tattoos patterning his skin: a skull and crossbones, a snake winding right round his wrist, and a distorted gorilla beating its chest.

  There was a bang from the other side of the car. The friend had got the door open, was in, starting up the engine. He had a green face too, another alien.

  ‘Right,’ said the man with the knife, grappling with his own door, jerking Mary up and down. The skull and the snake and the gorilla danced crazily in and out of Mary’s vision but the knife stayed steely still, constantly before her eyes.

  ‘What you doing?’ the other man said. ‘Come on, drop the kid and we’ll get out of here.’

  Yes, drop me, drop me, please drop me! Mary begged inside her head.

  ‘Oh no, the kid’s coming with us,’ said the man with the knife, and he pushed Mary into the car and got in after her.

  ‘Are you crazy?’ the other man said.

  ‘Just start the car and get us out of here.’

  ‘OK, OK, but I’m telling you, you’ve flipped your lid. You can’t take the kid. There’ll be thousands of coppers after us if we take the kid.’

  ‘They’re after us anyway. She’s our insurance. The kid stays with us.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘Please,’ Mary begged, but the man with the knife pressed her down on to the floor of the car.

  ‘Keep still and shut up,’ he said.

  Mary couldn’t see the knife any more but she knew it was there. She had to do as she was told.

  The car swerved violently round a corner and hurtled forward. Then the brakes were slammed suddenly and the man swore.

  ‘Out of the way, you fool!’ the driver shouted.

  ‘Drive through them, Micky. Come on, the police might be right on our back.’

  The car took off again, swerving, screeching, almost out of control. Mary juddered up and down on the dusty floor. She started to feel sick. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wanted her mum, her dad, her gran.

  If only she’d stayed tucked up in bed at home! It was so unfair. If these hateful robbers hadn’t come along she’d have managed perfectly. She’d got to the shop all by herself. She’d have got back again, no bother, and she’d be tucking into her coke and crisps and chocolate right this minute. Gran would still be snoring away none the wiser.

  But what would happen now when she woke up? She’d hunt the house for Mary and then phone Mum, phone Dad, out of her mind with worry.

  They’ll be so cross with me when I get back, thought Mary. And then she had another thought. A worse one. What if I don’t ever get back?

  It was as if someone had thrown icy water all over her, making her shiver. But it cleared her head a little.

  I’ve got to get back, she thought. She looked at the dirty trainers in front of her face. She was going to get away from this horrible man somehow. She was going to get back to Mum and Dad and Gran. So she had to be as clever as she could. She had to try to work out where they were taking her.

  How long had they been driving? Time seemed to have gone crazy. It seemed hours and hours since the robbers burst into the corner shop but that couldn’t be right. They’d only been driving a few minutes. That meant they were still pretty close to home.

  Mary was used to riding around in cars. She was driven to her special school and back every day. On Saturdays Dad drove them to the big supermarket. On Sundays they often went for a drive into the countryside. Mary could never just peer out the window to see where they were going. She could only see a blur of moving shapes. But she’d worked out all sorts of ways of guessing where they were. So now it was time to start concentrating properly.

  The car suddenly veered right round, making Mary’s tummy churn. That was a roundabout. And then there was a new vibration as they sped along a different road surface. Simple. They were going along the bypass. And then after a few minutes they veered to the left. Was that the turning Dad took when they were going to the supermarket? They’d maybe have to slow down soon because there were often queues of cars trying to turn into the supermarket car-park.

  ‘Come on!’ yelled the driver, sounding his horn.

  Mary gritted her teeth triumphantly. She was right. She knew exactly where they were.

  ‘Overtake them!’ the knife man shouted.

  ‘How can I? There’s no room.’

  ‘Listen. Is that a police siren?’

  ‘It is! OK, sit tight.’

  The car shot forward, weaving wildly. There was a sudden bump, a scraping sound, furious hooting horns, but the car didn’t stop. It was going at such a crazy speed that the floor vibrated violently. Mary moaned to get up but the man had his hand on her back, holding her down.

  You pig, she thought. She felt sicker than ever. She was getting bumped and bruised, and her knees were sore anyway from falling over in the shop. But she was tougher than anyone thought. She often fell over things so she was used to bits hurting. She wasn’t going to let them distract her. She had to keep on thinking where they were going so that somehow she’d be able to find her way back.

  The car shot off to the right, rocketing up on the pavement and down again, jerking them about.

  ‘Watch it!’ shouted the knife man.

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to do!’

  The siren wailed.

  ‘Just get a move on. Quick!’

  ‘We can’t go any quicker. What are we going to do? They’re getting nearer!’

  Yes, come on, get nearer. Come and catch them, Mary urged inside her head. Rescue me!

  The man’s hand pressed hard on her back.

  ‘We’ve got the kid. They can’t try anything too clever, not when we’ve got her.’

  Mary’s tummy lurched. What would they do to her if the police tried to ambush them?

  Help! Mary shouted silently.

  The siren wailed continuously, getting nearer now.

  ‘Move it!’ the knife man shouted, craning round to see out of the back window.

  Then he gave a weird yelp of laughter.

  ‘It’s not a police car at all, it’s an ambulance. We’ve been scared witless by an ambulance!’

  ‘It’s me that’ll be needing an ambulance soon,’ said the driver, ‘the way my heart’s pounding.’

  ‘Never mind your heart. Just use your head. We’ve still got to get clear. I don’t know if that copper read the number plate of the car or not. They could still be after us. So come on, make for the flat, sharpish. But take the balaclava off now, try and look natural.’

  The knife man peeled off his own balaclava and dropped it down beside Mary. She peered at the green wool and understood the strange faces. But they were still acting like aliens.

  ‘Why does it have to be my flat?’

  ‘It’s nearest.’

  ‘Why can’t we go to your place?’

  ‘Just drive, will you! I’ll make the decisions.’

  ‘What about the kid? How’s she doing down there? She is all right? You haven’t hurt her?’

  ‘You’ll be the one to get hurt if you don’t shut up and concentrate on getting us out of here!’

  Mary was trying hard to concentrate too. She tried to sort out all the roads in her head, but she’d got in a bit of a muddle. They turned left, and left again… She was lost now. She tried to remember the left and right turns but there were too many. How would she ever find her way back?

  They suddenly swerved to a halt.

  ‘Don’t park right outside, you berk! Put the car round the back and shove some tarpaulins over it. We don’t want to take any chances,’ said the knife man.

  The car was driven slowly down an alleyway. The man switched off the engine. There was a sudden silence.

  ‘Well, we made it!’ said the knife man.

  ‘Maybe,’ said the driver. ‘I still don’t like it. It all turned ugly – and it was a mistake getting the kid involved.’

  ‘Oh shut up. If it hadn’t been for the kid we’d never have got you away.’

  ‘An
yway, better let her toddle off now,’ said the driver, leaning over his seat. ‘You all right, kid?’ he asked Mary.

  She gave a little gulp.

  ‘What are you playing at, Bob, squashing her down on the floor like that? Come on, Tuppenny, out you come.’

  ‘Leave her be. I’ll see to her. We didn’t want her seeing where we were going, did we?’

  ‘Come off it. She doesn’t have a clue where she is. She’s only little. Look at her face, she’s been crying. Don’t you fret, kid, we’ll get you back to your mum now.’

  ‘No. We’re keeping her.’

  Mary quivered.

  ‘Are you mad? Robbing post offices not enough for you? Going in for kidnapping now? You fancy doing a ten- or twenty-year stretch in the nick?’

  ‘We’ll keep her just for a bit. In case the coppers trace the car and come nosing round here.’

  ‘We can’t keep her! Look at her, she’s doing her nut as it is. Here, dry your eyes, girlie,’ he said, offering her a rag. ‘What’s up with them, eh? They look all funny.’

  Mary sniffed and scrubbed at her face with the cloth.

  ‘We can’t keep her, Bob.’

  ‘Will you shut it? We don’t want her blabbing our names to the coppers, do we?’

  ‘Well, why keep her hanging round us any longer? She’s copping a good look at us, isn’t she?’

  ‘Oh no she’s not!’ said the knife man, snatching the cloth away from Mary’s face and staring at her. ‘Take a good look at her. She’s useless as a witness. What a piece of luck! She can’t see. She’s blind as a bat!’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Mary always hated being called blind. It wasn’t true for a start. She could see, even if it was only a few inches in front of her face. But she had enough sense to keep her mouth shut now.

  The hateful knife man waved his hand in front of her face. The knife went horribly near her nose but Mary managed not to flinch.

  ‘See that? You’re blind, aren’t you, kid? So you don’t have a clue who we are or what we look like, that’s right, isn’t it?’

  Mary nodded. It wasn’t true. She was adding up all sorts of things about the man inside her head.

  ‘Let’s get her indoors quick. Give us the keys, Micky. And the money. You deal with the car. I’d get those number plates changed, sharpish. Or nick another car.’