Free Operation Gadgetman! by Malorie Blackman Page A

snorted. ‘I don’t need to be told that!’
    And with that they separated.
    The nearest phone kiosk was in the shopping precinct. Beans and Louisa weren’t keen on losing sight of Ann, but they had no choice. Beans opened the telephone directory and began to flick through its pages.
    â€˜Yaahoo! He’s here!’ she shouted, before remembering where she was.
Moynahan, L. Mrs
47 Upper Crescent, Cleevesdon 5927070
Moynahan, Lucas
Oak House, Berryfield, Nr Cleevesdon 2694252
    â€˜Louisa, have you got a pen?’ Beans asked.
    â€˜Yeah, here you are,’ Louisa said excitedly.
    She handed it over, and Beans wrote the address and phone number down on the back of her hand.
    â€˜I would have brought my spy kit along, but I thought it’d get in the way,’ Beans said.
    â€˜Same here. I’m sorry I didn’t now,’ Louisa said.
    Beans studied what she had written. ‘Oak House, Berryfield . . . He lives quite a way out.’
    â€˜The perfect place to keep someone you’ve snatched,’ Louisa said. ‘An out-of-the-way spot, surrounded by fields and trees . . .’
    â€˜And not too many nosy neighbours,’ Beans finished. ‘Come on. Let’s get back to Ann.’
    â€˜Hang on. How about if we tried phoning his home first?’ Louisa suggested. ‘We know from your dad’s letter that there’s at least one other man involved in all this somewhere. Maybe the second man is at Lucas Moynahan’s house right this second.’
    â€˜But what good will phoning him up do?’ Beans asked.
    Louisa shrugged. ‘We’ll know for definite if another person is there. If someone is there, tell them you’re from a charity or something, but in the meantime listen out to see if you can hear any background noises. You might even hear your dad.’
    â€˜It’s a bit unlikely,’ Beans said doubtfully.
    â€˜But it’s worth a try. You’ve got nothing to lose,’ Louisa said.
    And Beans couldn’t argue with that. After dialling the number, she held the phone between her right ear and Louisa’s left. It had barely rung once before the phone at the other end was picked up.
    â€˜For God’s sake, Lucas, I’m moving as fast as I can. Stop phoning me. You’re panicking.’ The man’s voice at the other end of the line was angry, impatient.
    Beans’s heart leapt up to her throat. She struggled to find something to say. The words of the man at the other end of the line had thrown her.
    â€˜Hello. I’m from . . . I’m from . . .’ Beans’s voice dried up. Her mind went blank. The silence at the other end of the line was deafening.
    â€˜Who is that?’ the man said at last, the wariness in his voice crackling down the phone.
    Louisa nodded frantically at Beans. ‘Go on!’ she mouthed.
    Beans’s mouth was bone dry, her tongue stuck to her palette. She swallowed hard, then swallowed again. It didn’t help.
    â€˜Can I . . . can I speak to M-Mr Conran, please?’ Beans’s whispered words came out in a rush. At the other end of the phone, the man gasped.
    â€˜Who is this? Who is this? ’ he asked furiously.
    Then the phone was slammed down.

Chapter Nine
    That Was Dad!
    â€˜Beans, are you crazy? What did you say that for?’ Louisa asked, appalled.
    Beans stared at the receiver in her hand. The continuous purr it made, showing that the connection had been broken, mocked her.
    â€˜Beans!’ snapped Louisa.
    â€˜It was your idea to phone in the first place,’ Beans argued.
    â€˜I never told you to ask that ,’ Louisa fumed. ‘Now they’re on to us. They know we think your dad is there.’
    â€˜It . . . it just slipped out,’ Beans said miserably. ‘Besides, they don’t know it was me.’
    â€˜Talk sense. Who else would it be?’ said Louisa.
    Deep