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- Herausgeber: Crown House Publishing
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Serie: Don't Doubt the Rainbow
- Sprache: Englisch
It is the school summer holiday, three months after Edie Marble faced off with the eco-terrorists. Grandpa David is unwell and has asked his son, Edie's dad, to bring the family to Canada to see him - possibly for the last time - although he doesn't mention that he's already secretly reached out to Edie. In Toronto, Edie uncovers a dark secret from her family's past that has been buried and seemingly forgotten about, but when Grandpa David starts receiving strange messages from an unknown number, the truth finally comes out... Yet again, Edie sets off on an exciting adventure, this time to discover who has been contacting her grandpa and why. Along the way, she visits Washington DC and the Outer Banks of North Carolina before a dramatic climax in Dartmoor. Can Edie uncover a hidden crime and bring the perpetrators to justice once agai Throughout the book and the series, Anthony explores how things are not always what they seem - how our 'thinking' often represents our imagined reality rather than what is necessarily true - and examines the nature of the link between thoughts and feelings. In so doing he gives readers the tools they need to understand their thoughts and emotions better and to connect with their inner wellbeing so that they can live happier, more fulfilled lives. Reading age 11+.,/p>
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Seitenzahl: 408
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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A
CPrevious books in the Don’t Doubt the Rainbow series have won the following awards:
Derbyshire Schools’ Book Award 2023
National Bank of Indiana Author Award 2023
MadeForMums Toy Award 2023 (bronze award)
And have been shortlisted for:
Lancashire Book of the Year 2023
CrimeFest Best Crime Fiction Novel for Children 2023
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2022 (finalist)
Hampshire Book Awards 2022
The People’s Book Prize 2022
The Dudley Children’s Book Award 2021
Praise for The Five Clues
A tense murder mystery. The story is a thrilling ‘David versus Goliath’ battle, threatening to engulf Edie and her family.
Simon Barrett, Armadillo Magazine
The Five Clues is a timely and welcome addition to school and public library YA Mystery/Suspense collections, highly recommended.
Midwest Book Review
Dotted with North London landmarks, this page-turning thriller incorporates puzzles that enlist the reader as co-detective. To stretch the brain further, Kessel offers an extra psychological/spiritual dimension.
Angela Kiverstein, The Jewish Chronicle
The story is fast-paced and dramatic, with constant twists and turns as Edie attempts to solve each clue and complete the investigation her mother started, drawing the reader in and capturing their attention for all seventeen chapters.
Eve Foley, Children’s Books Ireland
It’s not often that a book well and truly stops me in my tracks – in a good way – and then I end up thinking about it at night, in the morning and when I’m supposed to be cooking dinner. Mesmerising from start to finish and a pacey page-turner.
Helen Heaton, reviewer for Mendip Children’s Book Group
DWell, what a dark, delightful treat! I love the London setting and the troubled, yet upbeat main character. The Five Clues is perfectly pitched for readers who enjoy puzzles but are also curious about the world and life. A page-turning mystery with a positive, uplifting message that’s relevant to readers young and old. I’m a firm fan of Edie Marble!
Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal and The Twyford Code
This is my new favourite book, and I will be recommending it to all my friends. It is an exciting read and kept me gripped throughout, trying to work out the clues as I went along. I can’t wait for the next one.
GirlsRule, age 13, via toppsta.com
A compelling and captivating thriller of a story about sadness, loss, acceptance, endurance and empathy.
S. Kaur, via lovereading4kids.co.uk
Praise for Outside Chance
I really loved this second instalment in the Don’t Doubt the Rainbow series as I can guarantee that, 1) you won’t put it down until you finish it and 2) you’ll get sucked straight into a world of mysteries (that are believable and so well thought-out). This brings a mystery story to the next level – and, with the promise of two more books to follow in the near future, you can bet anything that I will be recommending this book to everyone!
Compassionate, compulsive and complex – a cracking read for those aged 11+.
Mendip Children’s Book Group
I read this book very quickly and I loved it! The plot was fast-paced, and Eddie was a very inspiring character who I really liked.
A great storyline, I loved the way it was written.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is into crime and mystery books.
I liked how Edie was a detective in our modern day and was our age, it made her a lot more relatable than main characters in other detective fiction.
Student judges, Lancashire Book of the Year Award 2023
EThe author weaves detective strategy and psychological theories into the story and the school-based course for well-being and resilience sounded so good I wish it was available for all students. I will definitely recommend this book to all my secondary students and eagerly await the next one in the series.
Ruth Cornish, school librarian, via ReadingZone
I found this series really different, very offbeat and, although it tackles grief, anxiety and other mental health issues, it’s still so much fun to read and the plot kept me turning the pages. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to kids aged 11–13 who want to read more YA. Edie is a gutsy, brave character with a will of iron and a stubborn streak that gets her into a whole lot of trouble – I could really relate to her.
Andreina Cordani, author of Dead Lucky
Another compelling adventure for Edie Marble and her community! It was really lovely to spend time with Edie and her gutsy, curious and resourceful ways again. She’s a protagonist who I feel sure will give readers a sense that they can affect change in a difficult world.
The often-bumpy rites of passage of teenage years are underpinned in Outside Chance by strong foundation stones of belonging, identity, curiosity and the power of friendship, family and community to help navigate the journey.
Sita Brahmachari, author of Kite Spirit and When Shadows Fall
Outside Chance follows Edie’s newly blossoming career as a supersleuth and her reluctant rise to fame. A contemporary detective novel with a twist of real emotional intelligence, I couldn’t put it down – it’s a pacey read!
I love Edie’s determination and increasing resilience. Her struggle to balance gritty detective work with friendships, school and preparing for her bat mitzvah feels very real. I’d recommend it to competent readers who enjoy a real page-turner.
Tamsin Mori, award-winning author of The Weather Weaver
Edie is a very headstrong character and deals with intense situations so calmly. She never gives up.
Ac20, aged 12, via toppsta.com
FSome YA readers might not read MGLIT [middle-grade literature] because they think it’ll be viewed as too easy or not intelligent. OutsideChance is one of those rare books that MGLIT people can read, feel super smart whilst doing so, enjoy the process, and genuinely be left guessing as to the book’s ending. It benefits from the fact that Edie is not some superspy that’s been bred in the basement of MI6. She’s a normal thirteen-year-old kid who needs help from time to time, which does show up in a way that’s natural, without robbing the story of her wits or its charm. This is a fun book to read for ages 11 and up.
Daddy Mojo, via daddymojo.net
A brilliant book! I loved Edie and the adventures she gets into – fantastically described by Anthony Kessel. The plot is really engaging and exciting with lots of twists and turns as well as being understandable.
Ellen, via lovereading4kids.co.uk
G
H
I
To Leone Le one and only The inspiration behind EdieJ
Contents
Prologue: Whirlpool
Edie was alone in the canoe, paddling leisurely down a river.
The serenity of the water mirrored the feeling inside her, a feeling of the calm after a storm. With the sun blazing overhead in a cloudless azure sky, Edie was warm in her sleeveless life jacket despite being splashed by water.
Right arm after left, Edie arced each end of the double paddle into the water, the blade cutting easily, followed by a backward pull to propel the canoe slowly forwards. The appearance of the river reminded her of Colorado, and the family white-water rafting adventure of a few years back. Edie and Mum had loved the adrenaline rush, as had Dad and her younger brother, Eli, to a lesser degree – Eli’s fun tempered by struggling to hang on to the grips and stay in the raft whilst Dad-the-medic worried about injuries.
The scenery beside the river now didn’t resemble the vertical cliffs of Colorado, however, which were covered with birds nesting in cracks reachable only by wing. Instead, spreading into the distance from the riverbanks lay the arid, desert-like expanse of Utah, scattered with gigantic, red-rock boulders. Both landscapes, though, were from the same magical holiday, road-tripping in a huge eSUV around the Four Corners states of the south-west USA listening to Mum’s long-worked-on ‘Musical Education’ playlist.
Edie lifted the paddle out of the water, allowing the canoe to drift gently on the residual current whilst rotating 2ever-so-slowly anticlockwise. Through the 360-degree turn, Edie realised there were several other small tributaries – as well as the main one she had come from – all feeding into the central pool at which she had arrived. It was as if everything had been leading here – waterways coalescing, paths meeting – and this was exactly where she was supposed to be, at this very point in time.
Yet something didn’t feel right. Something was missing.
The sensation of peacefulness was being replaced by a sense of inevitability. An opposing force to the tranquillity. Maybe the calm was actually beforea storm? Then Edie noticed that the tributaries were no longer gentle rivulets; the flow of water to the central pool was increasing steadily, the result of which was a speeding up of the anticlockwise rotation of her canoe.
The sky darkened menacingly. A storm was indeed gathering.
Using her paddle, Edie first tried to resist the spinning of her canoe, pushing back forcibly against the current of water. But her effort was fruitless, the strength of the flow too much for her slim arms.
Looking around, Edie established that she was now at the centre of a sort of whirlpool, the tributaries combining like cogs to turn her around and around, as if stuck in a vortex. Nauseated, she shouted for help, but there wasn’t a person in sight. Deep down, Edie knew no assistance would be forthcoming. That was part of the inevitability – she was alone again against the forces of the universe.
Fear escalated as Edie felt water lapping against her 3thighs. The canoe was starting to sink, swallowed by the vortex. Her tummy was underwater and then it was up to her waist. Twisting and tumbling, the canoe was submerging further by the second, the swell of water soon at Edie’s chest. Now her neck. In the grip of terror, Edie saw the surrounding landscape had changed, the parched red plains replaced by those very Colorado cliffs, swallows circling overhead as if wanting to help but not knowing quite how.
Drowning was the worst way to go, Edie had long imagined, the horrid powerlessness of suffocating as water is inhaled into the lungs. Out of nowhere a new thought came to her: maybe our worst fears reflect how we died in a previous existence, a former life. Such fear made sense, as a warning against remaking past mistakes.
Just as quickly the thought dissolved, and Edie was filled with fresh determination. This had to be a dream, she told herself, and if it was, she needed to get out of it. ‘Wake up,’ Edie urged herself firmly. Nothing. The chill water was now at her lips and then her nostrils. ‘Wake up! This is just a dream!’ she insisted with all the power she could muster.
Still no change.
She took a deep breath, maybe her last, and reluctantly closed her eyes. Everything was worse in the dark, and she wished she had her diving mask.
Suddenly, Edie jolted upright, twisted her neck and gasped for air. She reached up with a hand to find her face was cold and clammy with sweat. As she opened her eyes, a loud voice boomed that they’d be landing in thirty minutes. Passengers should fasten their seat belts.
4Everything was okay, Edie told herself, as her breathing began to calm down. She was safe on an Air Canada plane, the elderly woman on her right engrossed in a movie, headphones on and oblivious to Edie’s plight.
Edie sighed, with both relief and excitement.
Hope I remembered to pack my swimming costume, she thought. And goggles.
Chapter 1
A Secret
From the bedroom doorway, Edie did a final check of her room. The cupboard doors were closed, curtains drawn, chair tucked under the desk, duvet wrinkle-free, and the whole space looked generally neat and tidy. Good, she didn’t like the idea of coming back home to a mess. She’d miss her room – her personal space where she found solace – but the thrill of what lay ahead made the absence more than worthwhile.
Edie closed the door firmly, and then lugged her suitcase by the pull-up handle down the stairs, clunk by juddering clunk. Dad had advised her repeatedly not to over-pack, but she’d failed miserably and now the bag was too heavy to lift – but still half a kilo under the airline’s weight allowance according to the bathroom scales. Dad had threatened a deduction from her allowance to cover any extra cost if the bag was too heavy at check-in. He always said stuff like that but was far too soft to follow through. Most of the time.
‘I want you to be responsible for your own passport,’ Dad insisted when Edie reached the hallway. ‘So you’re familiar with looking out for yourself during the rest of the trip – when I’m not around.’ Edie accepted the travel document, although she felt that her reputation as a successful young detective was well established and meant that she’d shown 6she was more than capable of looking after herself. ‘Thanks, Dad, I’ll be careful,’ she replied with a smile.
‘Eli,’ Dad screamed up the stairs. ‘The cab will be here in ten! Come down, please.’
‘Coming!’ Eli shrieked back.
Edie had a flashback to a previous time they’d all taken a cab together for Mum’s stone-setting ceremony at the cemetery six months earlier. It seemed longer ago as so much had happened since. She let go of the memory immediately, though. Now was not the time to be morose. It was August, school summer holidays, and she was excited about the trip.
‘Are you completely ready, luv?’ Dad returned his attention to his daughter.
‘Yes, but I need to check on Günther. One last time.’
‘Go on then. Quickly.’
After grabbing an extra piece of broccoli from the fridge, Edie unlocked the playroom back door and found her beloved guinea pig waiting eagerly by the bars of his deluxe garden hutch. She remembered anxiously his close shave with a fox three months earlier. A horrible moment. Extra locks had precluded a repeat episode: she quickly removed them and cradled Günther lovingly to her chest.
Edie was sure that Günther was one of those animals who could sense when something is amiss. He could pick up on her emotions and ignored the broccoli in favour of being stroked. After a couple of minutes, Edie gave him a soft kiss on the top of his head and placed him back in his hutch.
‘See you soon, my little friend.’
As Edie carefully locked the back door and hid the key, 7she noticed the note on the playroom table that she’d left for Grace. Titled ‘Instructions for Günther’, the two-page document contained all the information that Grace – the housekeeper when they were away – would need to look after the guinea pig’s food and water needs, hutch cleaning and disinfection, and safe run-around spaces in the house. Kind-mannered Grace was a safe pair of hands, Edie knew.
Back in the hallway, Edie watched as Eli stumbled awkwardly down the stairs with his own suitcase, Dad eventually intervening to avoid an accident. She then helped Dad to move all the suitcases onto the path outside the front door.
‘Right,’ said Dad, taking his house keys from the jade bowl on the console table in the hallway. ‘All ready?’
Both children nodded.
‘Got everything?’
They nodded again.
‘Anybody need the loo? Last chance.’
Edie and Eli shook their heads.
‘What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!’
In the cab to Heathrow, Edie leant against the window until walloping her temple when the car stopped abruptly at traffic lights on the North Circular Road, and just as abruptly Dad ended a call on his mobile. Eli sniggered; Edie scowled back. She’d been thinking about Mama and Papa, her mum’s parents, triggered by seeing Brent Cross from the flyover, 8and how she’d really miss them both.
Mama and Papa had been amazing since Edie had averted a national catastrophe a few months earlier. Just like they’d been after Edie had solved Mum’s murder. Both proud and astonished. She felt so close to them, in contrast to her connection with Grandfather David, whom she didn’t know well and had last seen in the flesh several years ago. Yet, here they all were, on their way overseas to see Grandpa, as he preferred to be called, possibly for the final time.
‘Everything alright?’ Edie asked Dad, who looked forlorn after taking a call from his partner, the Highgate Hill teacher Miss Watson.
‘Is everything okay, Dad?’ Edie repeated a few seconds later.
‘Sorry, luv.’ Dad shook himself from his stupor. ‘Yes, fine, nothing to worry …’
‘You know you can tell me, Dad, if things aren’t okay. If something’s wrong. I don’t mind. Maybe I can even help.’
Edie was unsure whether Dad’s dazed look was due to her sympathetic maturity or because he wanted his daughter to mind her own business. ‘That’s very sweet of you to ask, luv,’ he eventually responded. ‘I appreciate that. There’s actually not much to tell, to be honest. It’s Emmeline … she’s just not been herself recently. I’m not sure what’s going on exactly, but it’s been a bit difficult.’
‘What do you mean by “not herself”?’
Dad took a moment, as if unsure whether to elaborate. Headphones on, Eli was completely oblivious to the conversation.
9‘She’s been getting easily upset over the past few weeks. With little things. Something’s going on, but she doesn’t tell me much. And then her irritability spills over – she snaps at me, she’s less considerate than normal. That kind of thing.’
‘Maybe she doesn’t want to bother you with her own stuff, given everything she knows you’ve been through? Especially if it’s to do with her family.’
‘Possibly,’ Dad pondered. ‘But I’m not sure. I haven’t even met her family. Anyway,’ he turned from Edie to look out the window, ‘we’re on the M4 now. Be at the airport soon.’
Edie took out her phone and checked her WhatsApp messages. First, one from her best friend.
Lizzie: Have fun on the flight and can’t wait to see you in Washington!
In truth, Edie was far more excited about the Washington part of the trip than about Toronto, apart from her intrigue about what else Grandpa wanted to secretly share with her. But Canada was part of the deal. A Franklin family visit to see Grandpa first, then Edie would travel by herself to spend two weeks with Lizzie and her family in the US capital. And, as if that wasn’t enough, once back home there was still the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award camping trip to Dartmoor before school restarted.
Edie’s mind wandered to her best friend’s family problem. According to Lizzie, the relationship between her mum and dad was improving; they were even smiling and laughing again. Although they’d only been away for a 10few weeks – since the end of the summer term at Highgate Hill School – the break from London seemed to be doing everyone good. Lizzie’s mum, a journalist, was enjoying her part-time secondment with the press team at the White House; her dad, a university historian, was spending more time with Lizzie and her younger sister, Ava, whilst catching up on writing academic papers.
Edie: Can’t wait to see you too! Will be SOOO much fun.
Lizzie: It will. But NO detective cases whilst you’re here! Promise!
In the three months since the eco-terrorism case, Edie had deliberately allowed calm to settle in her investigative world. Initially, there had been significant media attention on her exploits, even more than after her first case, but interest waned after a few weeks. Requests for TV and radio appearances, podcast interviews, and newspaper and magazine articles all fell away. Edie preferred it that way, allowing her to carry on with her life normally, or as normally as was now possible. To help, she’d ignored all approaches about possible new cases.
But could Edie really promiseLizzie there’d be no detective activity? And did she even want to? Edie deliberated for half a minute before responding.
Edie: I’ll do my best! X
11Next, Edie switched her attention to her school friend, Harry, who’d messaged her in the morning. He’d asked Edie to ensure she’d visit his dad, Heath, in hospital in the United States after he’d finished his latest round of chemotherapy – experimental, potentially life-saving treatment made possible by one girl’s incredible act of generosity. Edie was then expected to report back to Harry about Heath’s condition.
Edie: Yes, I promise I’ll let you know how your dad is doing. Really. Just try not to worry. X
‘We’re here,’ Dad announced as the cab pulled into the drop-off zone in front of Heathrow Terminal 3. Edie’s other messages would have to wait.
As Dad had already checked them all in online, the bag drop was quick. Security took longer, Eli having to go back through the scanning machine twice because of metal items in his pockets: first his spare headphones and then a pound coin.
After lunch at Pret, they bought flight snacks and went to the gate, where Edie and Eli argued over who’d get the window seat. They eventually agreed half the flight each. On the plane, Edie picked at a tasteless chicken dinner and then put on a Harry Potter film. Partway through, during a scene where the pupils at Hogwarts were being taught how to cast spells, she fell asleep. Two hours later she jolted upright out of a nightmare, her forehead sweaty.
Professor McGonagall had turned evil – against Harry.
The world was clearly not in order. 12
At Toronto Pearson Airport, Dad’s suitcase didn’t appear on the baggage carousel. They waited until all the other passengers from the plane had retrieved their bags before searching for the lost luggage office. It took another half an hour for Dad to fill out the forms, including where they were staying, so the bag could be sent there. According to the electronic records, Dad’s suitcase was now on its way to Miami, but the service agent was confident that he would have it back quickly.
‘Hope so,’ Dad responded dejectedly as he turned towards the office exit. ‘I’m only in the city for a few days before going to the Niagara Falls.’
‘I’m surethe bag will arrive very soon,’ the airport official replied with fake certainty. ‘And Niagara Falls will be wonderful! Have a great day!’
Outside the terminal building, they waited in the taxi line for twenty minutes before reaching the front.
‘Where to, Sir?’ asked the driver, leaning out of his window.
‘King Edward Hotel, please,’ Dad replied. The driver said nothing and pushed a button to click open the car doors.
‘Can you open the boot too?’ Dad asked.
‘What?’
‘The boot.’ Dad pointed to the back of the car.
‘Oh,’ the driver acknowledged, raising his eyebrows. ‘You mean the trunk.’
13‘Yes, the trunk,’ said Dad. Another click enabled him to load up their suitcases. The driver clearly wasn’t going to help.
‘Cool car,’ Eli remarked as he clambered into the orange and candyfloss blue coloured taxi. ‘Why aren’t they yellow?’
‘That’s New York,’ said Dad. ‘Some are yellow here, and some red and yellow. It’s confusing in Toronto – hard to tell what’s a taxi and what isn’t.’
Edie observed her dad, who looked particularly bothered. On top of the lost bag, he was probably just tired from the journey. After all, it was now six o’clock in the evening in Toronto, meaning it was eleven o’clock on London time. But maybe it was something else? Miss Watson? Or Grandpa David, whom Dad hadn’t seen for quite a while?
Dad’s last visit had been when Edie was nine: Mum and Dad had gone for a week whilst Grace looked after Edie and Eli at home. Edie remembered missing her parents, which was offset by Grace’s allowance of late nights watching TV and eating chocolate. Edie also recalled Mum and Dad returning with the smiles and stories of a fabulous trip. Returning to Toronto now might be a tough reminder for Dad.
Edie got out her phone, remembering her close friend from school, Yasmina, who, along with Charlie and Lizzie, formed the chat group named ‘Zulus 1–4’.
Edie: Just landed, in taxi from airport, will message later from hotel. X
14Keeping up with everybody was hard but also felt important. Not just as a detective but as a friend. Yasmina had messaged Edie yesterday wishing her a great holiday. Responding today was already too late, but if Edie didn’t she risked upsetting a good friend.
Yasmina replied instantly, as if she’d been waiting.
Yasmina: Hope the holiday is going well. Sounds brilliant! Message me later. xxx
Wednesday evening rush hour meant the journey was slow. Edie put on a Spotify playlist that seventeen-year-old Ethan – who’d stayed close since helping Edie uncover the truth behind his father’s death in relation to Creation Pharmaceuticals – had sent her recently. She watched the freeway traffic through the window until the vista was replaced by the busy streets of downtown Toronto, the heart of the city. Edie was thrilled by the atmosphere: vibrant shopfronts, yellow traffic lights mounted over the roads, the ceaseless honking of car horns, and abundant ice cream and doughnut stores.
On King Street, the taxi pulled up to the King Edward Hotel, where a concierge opened the door.
‘Looks like America,’ Eli observed as he shuffled out.
‘It is America,’ corrected Dad. ‘Canada is part of North America.’
‘I mean … it’s like America on TV … in the films.’
‘Yes, well, they often use Toronto as a stand-in for American cities in movies. Cheaper to film here.’ 15
‘Eighty-five dollars,’ the taxi driver demanded.
Inside the giant ornate atrium, where huge bowls of flowers adorned every table, Dad led the way to reception.
‘Are we seeing Grandpa today?’ Eli asked as the receptionist handed over two key cards for the room.
‘No, not today. Too late. We’ll go tomorrow.’
On the fifth floor, Edie was the first to locate room 523. Not just a room, though; Dad had booked a suite. Edie grinned as she took in the luxury super-modern space.
‘There’s three TVs!’ Eli exclaimed. ‘One in the bedroom, one in the lounge and one in that … other sort of room, next to the lounge, with the little bed.’
‘My room!’ Edie voiced. ‘I need privacy for … like … changing.’
‘Me too!’ said Eli.
‘Well, I’m older,’ Edie trumped.
‘Enough, guys!’ Dad intervened. ‘We’re all tired, so let’s start the first night with Edie in that space … the annexe … and discuss properly tomorrow.’
Edie smirked.
‘But …’ Eli tried to interrupt but Dad stepped in. ‘How about some room service dinner?’
A look through the menu lifted everybody’s spirits. Half an hour later, after Edie and Eli had unpacked, burgers and fries for three arrived at the door.
By quarter past eight, Canadian time, Edie was fast asleep. 16
Jet lag meant that Edie woke up at four o’clock the next morning. At first, she tried to get back to sleep, but it was impossible, so she turned to her phone. After sending a bunch of update messages and posting a few photos (all selfies: in the cab to Heathrow, at the airport, on the plane, in the Toronto taxi, standing on King Street, lying on the hotel bed), she hauled herself up and tried the TV. Quietly. Mainly news channels, so she switched it off and got out her laptop.
Fascinated by Grandpa David’s secret problem, Edie had created a Word document containing the key passages from her correspondence with him. Aware of Edie’s detective skills, Grandpa had contacted her by email initially, but over the past month or two, they’d had several further exchanges, all of which he’d insisted she keep strictly to herself. She’d inspected the document many times but couldn’t resist another look.
June 2nd
Here’s the thing. I’ve got a bit of a problem of my own and could do with your help. Your dad doesn’t know about it, so please don’t say anything.
June 19th
… an important family issue and I don’t want to say much more right now. I’ll explain when I see you.
17July 23rd
… as I’ve mentioned before, it’s a very personal matter but also of importance to others. And I don’t want to upset your dad. That’s really crucial.
August 7th
I’m very much looking forward to seeing you next week, Edie. Finally, we’ll get a chance to talk. I’m glad as the issue is pressing, and I’m not sure how much longer we can wait.
‘What are you looking at?’ Eli asked from the doorway.
Edie jumped in surprise. ‘Nothing.’ She quickly closed the tab and shut the laptop. ‘Just browsing … killing time.’
‘No, you weren’t. I saw Grandpa’s name … on a document. It wasn’t the internet.’
‘It was nothing,’ Edie defended firmly. ‘And leave me alone. What are you doing, anyway, looking over my shoulder?’
‘I wasn’t. I just saw it.’
‘No, you were spying, don’t …’
‘What’s all the noise?’ Dad shouted from his bedroom.
‘Nothing,’ Edie yelled back. ‘We’re just awake. Jet lag.’
Looking unconvinced, Eli sloped back to his sofa-bed in the lounge and took out the book he was reading.
‘Might as well get up,’ Dad announced a few minutes later, sleepy-eyed in boxer shorts and a T-shirt. ‘Get showered 18and dressed, then let’s go and have some breakfast.’
On the dot of seven, Edie, Eli and Dad entered the restaurant. Edie thought they’d be the first, but there were a few other early birds.
Edie surveyed all the delicious breakfast treats laid out. She grabbed juice, a cereal that looked like Coco Pops and a strawberry yoghurt, and deposited them on their allocated table. But the best was still to come. A waitress, Colette, from her name tag, arrived to ask for orders off the menu. Edie knew exactly what she wanted.
‘Pancakes, please,’ she requested.
‘Maple syrup and cream?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘Same for you, young man?’
‘Yes. With maple syrup but ice cream instead of cream, please. And no blueberries. Thank you.’
Dad ordered the vegetarian omelette, and ten minutes later Colette returned with a tray of dishes. She placed a plate in front of Edie, pancakes piled triple-decker high, and the same for her brother.
As was often the case, Dad sniffed at his food before eating it, a habit that both children found unpleasant. But, today, even that failed to affect Edie.
She was in pancake heaven.
To kill time, all three had a fun swim in the hotel pool. By half past nine, Edie was leading the way out of the revolving 19hotel doors and into the busy city centre. Shops were starting to open. After striding down King Street, Edie turned into Yonge Street and steered the family a few blocks over to Urban Outfitters.
With the airline providing no further update on Dad’s bag, replacement clothes were needed. Terrible at colour coordination (Mum used to choose his clothes), Edie helped Dad to find a white T-shirt and blue hoodie suitable for his age (not easy), a couple of pairs of boxer shorts and some socks. A few doors down, Edie located a drugstore – which she knew from movies was the American for a pharmacy – and Dad bought a toothbrush, toothpaste and some deodorant.
After wandering around the downtown shopping streets for another half hour, followed by a jet-lag-induced drink-and-snack break in Starbucks, they dropped off Dad’s purchases in the hotel and waited outside for a cab.
To Eli’s amusement, this time the taxi was red and yellow. Dad gave the driver an address in Forest Hill and jumped into the rear seat. Dad winked at Edie, but she noticed an anxious grin beneath the gesture. He still seemed troubled.
From downtown, they drove past Toronto General Hospital and the University of Toronto in Yorkville, until urban intensity was replaced by a more serene, midtown environment. Through the window, Edie noticed the strangely named Spadina Road. As the blocks rolled by, Edie realised how eager she was to finally be seeing Grandpa. So many weeks had passed and she was now closer to finding out about his big secret, which she’d wondered about 20endlessly. A lost fortune? Buried treasure? Maybe he’d killed somebody and wanted to make amends? Or perhaps Dad wasn’t actually his son?
The car finally entered the greener spaces of Toronto’s suburbia.
‘Rosemary Road,’ Dad announced as the driver made a right turn. ‘Grandpa’s road. Almost here. Recognise anything?’
Eli grunted negatively; Edie checked the surroundings carefully before shaking her head. Seven years since their last family visit, so it wasn’t surprising that Eli remembered nothing – he was only three – but Edie thought she might recall something. But no. Nothing familiar.
The taxi stopped outside number 11. Dad paid, careful to include a decent tip, and then Edie led the way up a short, paved path to the small bungalow. At the door, she waited apprehensively until Dad nodded. She rang the bell. Eli lurked behind them.
Half a minute later, the door was opened by a middle-aged woman in a nursing uniform.
‘Well, hi there – welcome. I’m Janice, the district nurse, and you must be Dr Franklin’s family. He’s so excited to see you.’ The accent sounded somewhere between American and Irish, but Edie couldn’t place it precisely.
‘You’re Mark, obviously,’ Janice looked directly at Dad before turning to the children. ‘You must be Eli,’ to which Eli nodded. ‘And you most definitely must be Edie. Gosh, I’ve heard so much about all your detective stuff … read lots on the internet too. Amazing. Your grandfather is so proud of you.’
21Edie blushed. ‘Come on in,’ Janice beckoned. ‘Can’t keep you on the doorstep.’
Inside, the bungalow was modern but spartan. At first, Edie felt it was somewhat unloved. As she acclimatised, however, she realised that the place was just incredibly orderly, everything unused put away rather than occupying floor space or lying on chairs. On each shelf of the bookcases, for instance, the books were impeccably aligned. Not a single spine sticking out even by a centimetre.
‘Is that them?’ came a yell from down the hallway. ‘Are they here?’
‘Yes,’ Janice hollered back. ‘It’s them. I’m just going to offer them a dr …’
‘Bring them down then! What are you waiting for?’
Janice raised her eyebrows. ‘Okay. Coming!’ Lowering her voice, she directed a comment at Dad, although it was easily within Edie’s earshot: ‘He’s not as ill as he thinks he is.’
Edie followed Janice to the end of the narrow hall. At the doorway to the bedroom on the right, Janice stopped, indicated with a tilt of her head that they should enter and then retreated back towards the lounge.
Expecting to see Grandpa in bed, Edie was surprised to find him smartly dressed, sitting in an armchair and staring out the window into a pretty garden.
‘Edie!’ Grandpa greeted warmly, turning to face her. ‘How lovely to see you. And, wow, you look so grown up! Come over here and give me a hug.’
Edie obliged, followed by her brother. ‘And you’ve got a lot bigger, young man, since I last saw you.’
22‘So good to see you too, Mark,’ Grandpa added as Dad completed the round of leaning-over hugs.
‘Can we have some tea please, Janice!’ Grandpa shouted suddenly, the volume taking Edie aback. ‘Bring the chairs around, Mark,’ he instructed. ‘Let’s all have a nice chat.’
For the next half an hour or so, the questions flowed. Grandpa asked Edie all about her detective cases – not just the major ones but also the smaller problems people wanted her to investigate – as well as school and her friends. She told him about her trip to see Lizzie in Washington after Toronto. ‘That’s very bold, Edie, travelling alone,’ Grandpa declared. ‘Not that I’m at all surprised after everything you’ve done.’
Eli got a grilling too, about school life and what it was like having an older sister who’d become quite famous. ‘I don’t mind,’ Eli responded sweetly. ‘She’s still my sister, and it’s pretty cool with my friends.’
Eventually, Grandpa shifted from the children. ‘And how are things with you, Mark? How’s work and … well … how are things generally?’ This might be as close, Edie imagined, as Grandpa would get to actually mentioning Mum’s death or touching on anything emotionally significant. All of which could explain his stilted messages to her.
‘Yes, well, it’s been very difficult since Alex’s …’ Dad gesticulated towards the children, ‘… since their mum died. But we’re coping. Doing the best we can. And I’m proud of the kids. They’re incredible.’ Edie noticed that Emmeline Watson wasn’t mentioned.
‘That’s good. Resilience is important. Anyway, you lot must be hungry. Shall we have some lunch? Janice!’
23Edie sighed. She was desperate to find out what Grandpa’s mysterious communication with her was all about. Janice arrived and helped Grandpa up from his chair, and with the aid of a walking stick he shuffled slowly down the hall to the lounge, where the dining table was now adorned with plates, cutlery, drinks, sandwiches, salad and crisps. Edie sighed again – her eagerness for answers would take time – until suddenly she remembered something PC Jessica Brearley had told her: never waste opportunities; there is always information to be gathered.
‘What’s actually wrong with you, Grandpa?’ Edie asked gently once they were seated. ‘I mean, medically. If you don’t mind my asking.’
‘Can I have some more of those Twiglets please, Eli?’ Grandpa requested, delaying his response until Eli obliged. ‘No, I don’t mind you asking, Edie, though I’m not sure where to start. I’m a walking medical textbook.’
‘What do you mean?’ Eli questioned as Dad grimaced.
‘Well, let me go through my conditions. I’ve got osteoarthritis in both hips, to start – painful to walk. Left is the worst. The right hip was replaced eight years ago but is also playing up now. I’ve got hypertension – that’s high blood pressure – and diabetes and …’
‘Type 1 or Type 2?’ Edie interrupted, having learned in a previous case about the functions of the pancreas. ‘Do you have insulin injections?’
‘I’m impressed,’ said Grandpa. ‘Type 2, just the tablets. And a good diet,’ he added, smiling as he noticed the crisps on his plate. ‘Well, I try with the diet, at least.’
24Edie smiled back.
‘I’ve got a stent in my heart, I’m almost blind in one eye, macular degeneration, and I have a disorder of the platelets in my blood – idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP – which explains the bruising you can see, and also makes me prone to strokes.’ He paused to look down at the purple blotches on his hands.
‘Wow!’ Edie exclaimed sympathetically. ‘That’s a lot.’
‘Yes, I know.’
‘What about the prostate cancer?’ Dad asked quizzically.
‘Oh, yes,’ Grandpa said dismissively. ‘That seems to be fine now. With the medication and radiotherapy.’
Edie recognised when Dad looked puzzled. ‘But you said the cancer was bad … had spread?’
‘False alarm. They redid the tests. Seems it’s under control.’
Now Dad looked perplexed. Irritated even.
The chit-chat continued for a while until Grandpa abruptly announced, ‘Right, I’m rather tired. Need my after-lunch rest, if you don’t mind.’
Janice grabbed the walking stick from a nook by the wall and accompanied Grandpa back down the hallway towards his bedroom.
Unaffected by what was happening around him, Eli took another chicken sandwich from the platter on the table. Dad did the same but didn’t look happy.
‘Aren’t you pleased Grandpa’s cancer hasn’t spread?’ Edie broke the silence.
‘Yes, of course I am, luv. It’s just that Grandpa suggested 25to me that things were … worse than they actually are. I know he’s got a lot of medical problems, but it sounded like the prostate cancer was … well … life-threatening. And Grandpa, as a doctor, would understand that. So, I guess I feel a bit misled. I’m not sure why he’d do that.’
Edie kept quiet and took some salad.
‘He’s all settled,’ Janice reported back after a few minutes. She took a seat at the table. ‘Reading his book in bed, then he’ll have a nap.’
‘How do you think he is in general?’ Dad asked softly. ‘I mean, he doesn’t seem too bad.’
‘He’s not too bad at all. He’s lost his mobility a bit and got various ailments, but no major problems. And he could do much more than he does, like going back to the club. Not for golf – that’s too much for him now – but he used to play bridge, have lunch, socialise. Enjoyed it, but he’s … I don’t know … lost interest.’
‘Hmm,’ Dad muttered as Edie stood up. ‘I’m going to check on Grandpa,’ she said. ‘He’s so sweet.’
As the words came out, Edie worried that they sounded too obvious. She left her napkin on the table and walked back up the short hall and entered the bedroom.
‘Ah, good to see you, Edie.’ Grandpa closed IAm Pilgrim and placed the book on his bedside table. ‘Best spy thriller I’ve ever read,’ he said. ‘Worth reading. You might learn something.’
Edie stayed quiet and Grandpa continued: ‘I do need to speak to you, Edie, but I’m so tired right now. Might we try later?’
26Disappointed, Edie sat on the bed and held Grandpa’s hand. ‘Whatever you want. But I’m not sure how easy it’ll be to have time alone.’ She glanced over her shoulder towards the door for effect.
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Grandpa agreed, ‘though it might take a little time to explain.’
‘Well, why don’t you tell me the main part now, then we can speak again when we have a chance?’
Edie heard the grating of chairs on the wooden floor in the dining area as the others began getting up from the table. Grandpa didn’t appear to have noticed: poor hearing could be added to his list of ailments.
‘Here’s the thing,’ Grandpa started. ‘Forty-eight years ago …’
He paused and Edie detected the sound of footsteps heading towards the bedroom. ‘Yes,’ she urged, her heart thumping. ‘Forty-eight years ago …’
‘Yes. Forty-eight years ago, when your father was born …’
Whoever was walking in the direction of the bedroom was getting closer. Mentally, Edie implored him to speed up.
Grandpa beckoned Edie closer, touched her arm and lowered his tone.
‘When your father was born … he had …’
Grandpa stalled again, seemingly lost in memories.
‘Yes, Grandpa,’ Edie pressed. ‘What did my father have?’
‘He had …’ Grandpa swallowed as if choking on his words. ‘He had … a twin sister.’
27Edie gasped noisily.
There was a sudden shuffling sound from behind the door. Instinctively, they both looked up at the figure now in the doorway.
‘Everything okay in here?’ Dad asked innocently.28
Chapter 2
Top of the World
Lying on the sofa-bed in the hotel suite that night, Edie’s mind was churning.
She’d tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Eli that she merited the privacy of the annexe room more than he did, her brother’s steadfastness reminding her of his strong negotiation skills. Obliged to agree to alternate days meant that this was her turn on the less comfortable sleeping option, metal springs poking into her back through the thin mattress.
Discomfort, however, wasn’t the root cause of Edie’s sleeplessness, and nor was the transatlantic jet lag. She could usually sleep anywhere, anytime. No, Grandpa’s revelation was responsible for her being wide awake at two in the morning. Edie was still in shock. Wow, Dad has a twin sister!
To be more accurate, Dad hada twin sister forty-eight years ago, as Edie still had no idea what else Grandpa was going to tell her or what had happened since. After Dad’s untimely arrival in the doorway, Grandpa had initially feigned sleep to cut the conversation short. Dad steered Edie out of the room, after which Grandpa fell into a genuine afternoon nap, during which Dad had insisted they head back to the city centre as he’d made evening plans.
30Those plans included a delicious meal in Chinatown and then seeing the latest James Bond film on a massive downtown 3D screen. After the movie, they’d walked back to the King Edward Hotel, where everyone was now asleep, except for Edie.
Possibilities whirred inside Edie’s head. What happened to the twin sister? Did she survive childbirth? If so, what did Grandpa and Grandma do with her? Maybe she was lost or stolen as a baby? Edie had read tragic stories about infants who’d gone missing in shopping malls when unattended. Another possibility was that Dad’s twin sister had a serious illness or accident early in her life, and Dad simply had no recollection of her existence.
Next issue: whatever had happened in those early days or years, why was Grandpa so troubled about it all now? Was it because he feared he was approaching the end of his life and didn’t want to depart with secrets? If that was the case, why didn’t he just tell Dad directly? Edie’s involvement wasn’t really necessary.
No, from the tone of Grandpa’s messages Edie sensed there was more to the story, and it was more dramatic. She couldn’t ask Dad, but something must have happened recently which had catalysed Grandpa into action.
‘Up we get!’ Dad announced assertively as he tugged open the living room curtains. ‘It’s quarter to ten and we’ll miss breakfast!’
31Bleary-eyed, Edie checked the wall clock, then reluctantly pushed off the covers and hauled herself upright. Less than five hours of sleep: not great. As Dad submitted Eli to the same wake-up treatment, she threw on jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. No way she wanted to miss pancakes.
‘What time do we need to be there?’ Eli asked half an hour later as he washed down a huge mouthful of carbs with a sip of chocolate milkshake. Waffles this morning, laced with Canadian maple syrup. He looked ecstatic.
‘Two-thirty on the tickets,’ Dad answered. ‘But we need to get there early. Queues apparently. Excited?’
‘Sort of,’ Eli responded, although the waffles seemed far more alluring.
Although Edie was looking forward to their Toronto highlights outing, she was mentally fixated on when she might get more private time with Grandpa. ‘Have you decided what we’re doing later today?’ she asked Dad. ‘After the CN Tower?’
‘Well, I’ve got us tickets to Cirque de Soleil, back down in this part of town, but Grandpa texted and wants us to go to synagogue with him. Friday night Shabbat service. Bit strange. He’s never been that interested in Jewish stuff, or going to shul, but that’s what he’s requested.’
‘Isn’t that normal?’ Edie posed a little clumsily. ‘Older people getting more into religion. Happened to Lizzie’s grandparents.’ Deep down, she hoped there was another reason for Grandpa’s suggestion.
‘Sure. Anyway, we can squeeze in an hour – just about – after the CN Tower and before the show. And tomorrow 32we’ve got some more time with Grandpa before you head off to Washington on Sunday.’
Edie’s stomach clenched on hearing about the limited opportunities with Grandpa, coupled with some deep-seated anxiety over travelling alone.
‘Not finishing your pancakes?’ said Dad, as Edie laid down her fork on the half-finished plate.
‘Feeling full.’
