Charlotte and the Starlet Read online

  She leapt for the fence. The dog shot up like a missile, missed her backside by a millimetre and snagged her plush toy horse in its vicious mouth. She and the dog fought a tug of war. When the dog let go for a split second to get a better grip, Charlotte took her chance, heaved the saddle over the fence and then scampered over herself. As soon as her feet hit dirt, she grabbed the saddle and ran, failing to realise that her special little horse had fallen off. All she could think about was putting as much space as possible between her and that vicious dog, which was still trapped behind the fence, barking loudly.

  The saddle was heavy on her shoulder as she ran down a pitted bitumen road flanked by broken buildings. Judging from the faded sign writing on their brick walls, she guessed they must have been factories. Apart from the barking of the dog, thankfully growing more distant by the second, it was very quiet here. Not even the sound of traffic from the main road reached her. Then all of a sudden the sky lit up and there was an enormous clap of thunder. Big drops of rain began falling. She headed for the nearest building, an old brick warehouse. Its front door was padlocked. The rain was becoming heavier now. She looked up and saw a window on the first floor. If she could just make it up there ...

  She reached up and grabbed a drainpipe above her head. Would it hold her weight? There was no way to be sure but with the saddle still slung over her shoulder she grabbed the pipe with both hands and hauled up with all her strength, wrapping her knees around the pipe. Slowly she pulled herself higher. Eventually she could see the window above her.

  Please, be open! She was nearly there when the pipe gave an ominous creak and began to pull away from the wall. It was a long way down to the ground below. Her hand shot out and reached the window sill. The window was closed. The pipe felt rickety, as if it could collapse any second. She got her fingers under the sill and pushed up. To her immense relief the window lifted. She heaved the saddle inside and rolled in after it.

  The place smelled bad. It was pitch dark once you moved away from the window. Nervous, Charlotte swallowed hard. Could she spend the next eight hours here? Yes, she told herself, she could. Just then another huge clap of thunder sounded and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She quelled the urge to run. Where could she go anyway? She wished she had a light. She wished her father were there. But she didn't, and he wasn't, and she had learned a long time ago that it was no use trying to change what you couldn't. She'd just have to make do. Outside she heard a whoosh of rain. She was pleased she wasn't in the park.

  Just as she was about to lie down she had the feeling someone was watching her from the dark interior of the bare room. Her skin crawled.

  'Is anyone there?' she called out, trying to sound brave. Nobody answered. She strained to hear anything, remaining motionless for a long time. Not a sound came to her except for the rain and the rumble of thunder outside. Maybe she'd imagined it? Trying to relax, she stretched out on the floor. As she turned her head to the side she saw two little red dots in the dark close to the floor, drawing closer. She gasped and sat up. For a moment she was too scared to breathe. Then the red dots zoomed towards her, revealing a fat rat baring its sharp teeth. Charlotte relaxed and stifled a yawn.

  'I've been dealing with poisonous snakes since I was five. You think I'm scared of a mouse? BOO!'

  She moved her head suddenly at the rat, which turned tail and ran. Now maybe she could get some sleep! She lay on her back, closed her eyes and dozed.

  Perhaps Charlotte would not have slept quite so well if she had been able to see the sign that had fallen off the building and landed in the dirt. It read, DANGER, DEMOLITION SITE. DO NOT ENTER.

  Leila did not like rain. She couldn't think of the last time she'd got wet from anything other than a spa or shower ... well, if you didn't count that pool party at Britney's. But what choice did she have? She needed to find Charlie. She'd lost track of how long she'd been walking but she knew it was hours since the sun had gone down. She was starting to wonder if this whole expedition was a ridiculous waste of time when she caught a break.

  She was in a park with a lot of hobos scattered about. Most were snoring their heads off but there was one guy sitting up on top of a rotunda who seemed promising. Leila figured if the guy was sitting up on the roof of a rotunda in a storm, he wasn't going to be fazed by a talking horse.

  'Say, Mac. You see a girl about thirteen come through here today carrying a saddle?'

  The man nodded. 'Just before the storm. She went that-a-way.' He pointed.

  'Thanks and God bless,' said Leila, excited by the information.

  'Hey horse, can I ask you something?'

  Leila stopped. One good turn deserved another.

  'Are you really a talking horse or am I delirious?'

  Leila lifted an eyebrow.

  'If you were delirious, could you have imagined a horse this good-looking?'

  The homeless man shook his head.

  'There's your answer.'

  At Thornton Downs Miss Strudworth spent another sleepless night. She was very distressed about the possibility of Charlotte Richards being alone at night in the city. Anything could happen to her. The police hadn't found her yet but they knew she hadn't boarded the train so she was there somewhere with the horse. The fact that she must have hidden in the bush near the stables and then come and taken the horse didn't endear Richards to Strudworth but even so, she could see the child must have been desperate. And now radio reports were coming in of a large electrical storm in the city. Miss Strudworth had tried to reach Charlotte's father but was told he was already on his way down for the trials. He was going to give Charlotte a surprise. He'd be the one on the receiving end of the surprise when Strudworth had to give him the horrible news that his only child was missing.

  Miss Strudworth looked out of the window. Soon it would be light. They would be holding the dressage trials today. Normally she would be excited at this but not today. She just prayed Richards was safe for she couldn't help but feel that she had failed the child in some way. Life was harsh and Strudworth liked to prepare her charges for that reality rather than mollycoddle them and leave them vulnerable when they had to make their own way in life. But perhaps she could have and should have done more. After all, one was always learning. Strudworth prayed this lesson would not be too harsh a one for all concerned.

  The truckload of men arrived at the demolition site as dawn was breaking. The foreman jumped out and told his men he expected them to be very careful, as they were dealing with dynamite.

  'Lay the charges around the building and then take cover behind the truck,' he ordered.

  The good part about the sun coming up was that it made it easier for Leila to try to spy Charlotte. Even so, thought Leila, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Uggh, she shuddered at the thought. Chomping into a bale of hay and getting a needle in your mouth, what could be worse?

  Ah choo! The sneeze came out of nowhere. It had stopped raining a while ago but ... Ah choo! There was another one. Oh, and her nose was all sniffly. Just what she needed.

  She had been trotting alongside a chain link fence, which isolated a block of bare ground inside it. Now she came to a point where a section of fence had been flattened. She stepped over it for a sticky-beak and saw what looked like a rubbish tip about a hundred metres in. Drawing closer, she saw somebody had made a shelter with tin sheets. She noticed something on the ground by the fence on the other side that gave her a jolt. It was the plush toy from Charlie's saddle. Leila's heart skipped a beat. She looked around. The kid must be here somewhere. 'Hey, Char-lie,' she yelled out. But her voice just echoed around the deserted buildings.

  The foreman's name was Charlie too.

  'You call me?' he asked his explosives man as he appeared at the truck rolling out a long explosives fuse that stretched all the way to a deserted factory.

  'Nope,' said the explosives man.

  'Okay then,' said the foreman. 'Let's start the countdown.'

  Charlotte woke and stretc
hed. Thanks to the sunlight streaming through the window she could now see her surroundings a lot better. It was simply a big bare room with a concrete floor and pockmarked brick walls. She checked her watch. Just after six a.m. Plenty of time to make the train. As she lay there hungry, she envisaged the other girls back at Thornton, full from a big breakfast, just leaving the stables now, getting ready for the dressage trials. She felt a pang of regret but put it out of her head. Sometimes it didn't matter how hard you tried, you didn't succeed. Look at her mum. She'd fought with

  every ounce of strength she'd had to beat the cancer that had put her in hospital but she didn't succeed. She wished her mum were here. She wished she could hold her and feel her heart beating next to hers. Automatically her gaze travelled to her saddle, looking for the plush toy, but there was just a piece of ribbon dangling there now. She sank even lower, recalling the fight with the dog. It must have fallen off along the way. And then she started to cry. She had told herself she would never ever cry again. After her mum died she had cried for weeks. Sometimes it had seemed she would never be able to stop. But she had. Up until now. And here, out of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, she was bawling her eyes out again.

  Leila stood at the perimeter of the fence, scanning for any sign of life.

  'Char-lie!' she called again. Nothing. She would have to find a way through the high fence on this side before she could investigate those buildings. As she was about to start off she heard a man's voice in the distance call out.

  'Dynamite set.'

  DYNAMITE! Leila looked over and saw the explosives crew donning earmuffs and taking shelter behind the truck. She noticed the foreman nod to another man who then lit a long fuse. The little sparking star began its snaking journey towards the derelict buildings.

  Charlotte forced herself to stop crying. It didn't help one bit. She was looking for something to dry her eyes with when she imagined she heard somebody calling her name. She shrugged it off. Then, there it was again. It sounded like ...

  No, it couldn't be! Leila?

  Charlotte got to her feet and poked her head out of the window. In the distance was some sort of truck but there, just a few hundred metres away, Leila stood behind the wire fence. Charlotte blinked, suspecting she might be dreaming. But when she opened her eyes Leila was still there.

  Charlotte felt warm inside. Low-down sneak or not, she'd missed her. She waved out the window and yelled.

  Leila followed the sound. Her eyes bulged from her head. There was Charlie! Waving from the building that was about to be blown up. A hollow fear gripped her. No point yelling at the crew, they were all wearing earmuffs. Leila's eyes travelled to the top of the high wire fence. It looked sharp. She would have to jump the fence but if she landed on it she'd be horse kebab.

  Okay, it wasn't cardboard but nor was she some useless Hollywood bimbo. She was Leila, a star, descended from the greatest stunt horse and most athletic mare the world had ever seen, and she was the only chance Charlie had. Leila felt she had been born for this moment. She had to save Charlotte. If she could do that then maybe her selfish and shallow life wouldn't have been a complete waste.

  She galloped fast at the fence, the fuse growing shorter by the millisecond, the fence looming massively ahead. Closing her eyes, she made herself think Tinkerbell, just like Charlotte had taught her. She pushed off with her back legs. Up, up, up she flew. The top of the fence passed under her, grazing her belly, but she cleared it and landed in full stride on the other side.

  Her eyes flashed open. The moving spark was still running ahead of her. She reached it, trying to stamp it out, but with this darn cold her reactions were a fraction slow and she kept missing ... and the fuse kept burning.

  She yelled at the window for Charlie to jump but the kid had disappeared. The lit fuse was at her feet. The dynamite would blow any second. Leila tried the left hoof, missed, the right hoof, missed ...

  There was nothing for it. She sat her backside down on the fuse.

  OUCH! That hurt.

  She smelt burning flesh – hers! But finally the hissing stopped. She got up and confirmed the fuse had been extinguished. Phew.

  Now Leila could see that the door was padlocked. Big deal. She turned and battered the door in with her sore rump. She found Charlotte waiting for her with a dopey expression on her face.

  'Leila, what are you doing here?'

  'Stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your – ah choo – life. Listen, I'm sorry about the pizza ...'

  Suddenly Leila was having trouble talking. In fact she was having trouble even breathing. She sounded like she'd swallowed a piano accordion.

  Charlotte's face registered concern.

  'That's a bad wheeze.'

  Leila brushed it off. She couldn't afford to soak up the sympathy right now. 'Listen, we have to get back to Thornton. The trials will be starting in a few hours.'

  'No. You're not well.'

  'Hey, it's just a cold. It'll take more than that to kill me.'

  From behind the truck the foreman and his explosives man scanned for a reason as to why the dynamite hadn't triggered. The dynamite man pointed.

  'Fuse has gone out.'

  The foreman was annoyed. He remarked that they would have to re-lay another fuse. But the dynamite guy smiled and held up a small gadget like a TV remote. 'No we don't. This is a radio remote. I can detonate by pressing this button.'

  'Then do it,' said the foreman, taking his position behind the truck.

  The explosives man pushed the button and dived for cover as a loud explosion ripped the building apart.

  Chapter 14

  Ralph and Bobby were driven away, handcuffed, in a police car. Joel Gold looked after them sadly. So they'd got the bad guys. The trouble was, these klutzes didn't have any idea where Leila was. He'd been able to locate the property where Ralph and Bobby said they had left Leila but from there the trail went cold. The owners of the property shipped horses all over the world. That day alone there had been fifteen different shipments. Leila could be anywhere.

  'She might even be dead, Feathers,' he said morbidly.

  Feathers knew exactly how he felt. He felt the same way. All his good work had come to nothing.

  Inside the building where Leila and Charlotte had been standing was nothing but a sea of broken plaster and a cloud of dust. Of the girl and horse there was not a trace. Then a mound of plaster on the floor started to move and, like a crab emerging from the sand, Charlotte stood, caked in white plaster dust.

  Her first thought was for Leila.

  'Leila! Leila!'

  She began clawing at the pile of debris.

  A hoarse wheeze was followed by a spluttered reply. 'Over here.'

  The voice came from behind her. She looked through the swirling mist to find Leila resembling a grey statue. Charlotte was so relieved. 'Oh, Leila.' She threw her arms around her.

  Charlotte went to the ground floor window and looked out to find the cause of the explosion. There had been a building next door a moment ago and now there was just a pile of bricks.

  'They've demolished the place next door,' she said.

  She watched the workmen inspecting the hole in the ground. Looking satisfied, they climbed into their truck and drove off.

  'We better split, and pronto,' Leila said.

  'You're right. I've got a train to catch.'

  Leila shook her head. 'No, no, no, no. The only place you're going is back to Thornton Downs.'

  Charlotte folded her arms. 'I'm never going near that horrid place again.'

  'Kill that attitude, sister. You belong in the JOES as much as any of those princesses. And if I'd been a better horse you'd be kicking their butt right now.'

  'It doesn't matter what you say. It's too late.'

  'It's never too late. We've got a few hours yet.'

  But Charlotte was shaking her head. 'The police are looking for me. If they find me, they'll put me in jail.'

  Leila shook her head. 'I'll confess.
'

  'Electrodes in the butt?' Charlotte reminded her.

  Leila thought about that. 'I'll call Strudworth anonymously. Say The Evil Three made me do it.'

  Charlotte shook her head firmly. 'No. The Evil Three might be spoilt conniving snakes but they're not thieves. Anyway, you've had a long trip. You need to rest.'

  'Rest? I'm a Hollywood star. The only time I rest is on set. Let's go.'

  'No way. I'm through with that place.'

  Leila blew out through her nostrils. 'I can't believe you're scared.'

  'I've killed snakes with my bare hands. I'm not scared.'

  'You might be fine with snakes that slither along the ground but there are also snakes in designer frocks. You can't let a few spoilt brats take away what should be yours.'

  Leila was annoying Charlotte. Possibly because deep down Charlotte knew there was some truth in what she said.

  'You're the expert, are you?'

  'I am ashamed to say I am. I've spent my life doing the same thing as them. When new actors turn up that might threaten me, I slip the hoof in. They're giving you a hard time because you're good. Maybe even better than them, and they want the JOES all to themselves. I believe in you, now you have to believe in you.'

  Charlotte folded her arms. 'Nice speech. I guess you adapted it from one of your movies. Sorry, but I'm not going to be part of the JOES. It was a mistake. End of story.'

  'Is that what you would tell your mom right now, if she were here with you in this room? That you couldn't stand the heat and wanted the easy way out?'

  She sensed Charlotte's resolve wilting. Leila played her trump card. She dropped the plush toy down in front of Charlotte.

  'Your mom led me to you because she knows you can't throw this chance away. Now shut up and climb on.'