Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock. Jenny Nimmo

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      The melting dog

      A few minutes after Charlie had travelled into Badlock, his best friend, Benjamin Brown, a small, tow-haired, anxious-looking boy, left his house at number twelve, Filbert Street, and crossed the road to number nine. His dog, Runner Bean, trotted behind him.

      When Benjamin rang the bell at number nine, the door was immediately opened by Charlie’s grandmother, Maisie.

      ‘Benjamin, love,’ cried Maisie, drawing him into the hall. ‘I hope you can do something. Charlie’s gone.’

      ‘Gone, Mrs Jones? Gone where?’ Benjamin dutifully wiped his shoes on the doormat.

      ‘If I knew that I wouldn’t be standing here asking you to do something, would I?’ Maisie closed her eyes and scratched the back of her neck. ‘Whatever am I going to tell his parents?’

      ‘I don’t expect you’ll have to tell them anything,’ said Benjamin. ‘Perhaps my mum and dad can help, being detectives.’

      Benjamin instantly regretted saying this. His parents were working on a very important case. They had just left the house, Mrs Brown disguised as a man, and Mr Brown disguised as a woman. Benjamin didn’t much like it when his parents dressed like this; they hadn’t even explained the circumstances that demanded the fake moustache (for Mrs Brown) and the blonde wig (for Mr Brown), they had just told Benjamin to go over to Charlie’s house, where Maisie would give him lunch.

      ‘I’m sorry, I don’t think my parents can help,’ Benjamin apologised.

      ‘I’m pretty sure they can’t.’ Maisie turned away and led Benjamin down a dim passage. ‘This is one of those disappearances that normal people couldn’t hope to solve.’

      ‘But I’m normal,’ Benjamin reminded her.

      Maisie sighed. ‘Well, I know. But you’re a friend, and you could get one of the others: the endowed ones – or whatever they call themselves.’

      ‘Children of the Red King,’ Benjamin said quietly.

      They had reached the cellar door, which stood wide open. Maisie beckoned to Benjamin and pointed into the cellar. Benjamin looked down into the murky underground room. Maisie nodded encouragingly. Benjamin didn’t like cellars, nor did Runner Bean. The big dog began to whine.

      ‘Do I have to?’ Benjamin asked.

      ‘It’s down there,’ said Maisie in a hushed voice.

      ‘What is?’

      ‘The painting, dear.’

      Benjamin uttered a very slow ‘Ooooh’ as he realised that Charlie must be travelling. ‘He hasn’t really disappeared then.’

      ‘This time he has,’ said Maisie solemnly.

      Benjamin stared into the cellar. He descended three, four steps until he could see the whole room. A dim light, hanging from the ceiling, showed him a disused cupboard, broken chairs, curtain poles, piles of newspapers and magazines and large black plastic bags filled with bulging objects. And then he saw the painting. It was standing against one of the walls, beside an old rolled-up mattress.

      A small shadow flickered over it, and Benjamin saw that a white moth was hovering round the light bulb. All at once, the moth swung away and vanished. Benjamin went to the bottom of the steps and walked over to the painting. Runner Bean scrabbled down after him. He was panting very heavily and occasionally emitted a nervous whine.

      The painting gave Benjamin the shivers. He was, as Maisie had admitted, a normal boy, so he experienced none of the insistent tugs that Charlie had felt, nor did he feel or hear the moaning Badlock winds. He did, however, get the impression that the almost photographic reality of the painting showed a place that had not been imagined but copied faithfully. It existed. Or did, once. With its dark towers, sunless sky and looming mountains it was certainly a hostile, sinister country.

      There was a green scrawl in the bottom right-hand corner of the painting. ‘Badlock.’ If Badlock really was a place, it was not somewhere that Benjamin would have wanted to visit. So why did Charlie ‘go in’? It was deserted and, as far as Benjamin could remember, Charlie had always needed first to hear a voice, and then to focus on a face, before he entered a picture. And in all the time Benjamin had known about his friend’s endowment, Charlie had never actually disappeared. His physical presence had always remained in the present, while his mind roamed the world behind the pictures.

      ‘What d’you think’s going on, Ben?’ asked Maisie from the top of the steps.

      Benjamin shook his head. ‘Don’t know, Mrs Jones. Where’s Charlie’s uncle?’

      ‘Paton? Bookshop,’ said Maisie. ‘Where else?’

      ‘Think I’ll go over there. Mr Yewbeam will know what to do.’ Benjamin turned towards the steps.

      Runner Bean didn’t follow his master, but stood before the painting in an odd attitude, his head on one side, as though he were listening to something. He gave a low, mournful howl. And then, before Benjamin’s very eyes, the yellow dog became a smaller, paler version of himself.

      ‘Runner?’ Benjamin leapt towards his dog. He touched the tip of Runner Bean’s tail, which was standing out, as stiff as a broom, but in less than a second the tail had melted away and with it the whole of Benjamin’s beloved dog.

      Benjamin shrieked, ‘RUNNER!’ just as the front door slammed.

      ‘Oh, my giddy aunt!’ Maisie clapped a hand over her mouth.

      She was roughly pushed aside by Grandma Bone, who had suddenly appeared beside her.

      ‘What on earth is going on?’ demanded Grandma Bone.

      Benjamin stared up at the two woman. Maisie was shaking her head, her eyes were very wide and her eyebrows were working furiously up and down. She seemed to be warning him. Distraught as he was, Benjamin began to think, fast. It was always understood by Charlie and himself that Grandma Bone must know absolutely nothing about what went on, especially if it had anything at all to do with Charlie’s travelling.

      Grandma Bone had caught sight of Maisie’s eyebrow-wriggling. ‘What’s the matter with you, woman?’ she snarled.

      ‘Surprise,’ said Maisie. ‘So surprised. Thought we heard a rat, didn’t we, Benjamin?’

      Benjamin nodded vehemently.