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they were on to the next. Rich could hear the thump of heavy footsteps on the wooden jetty behind them. He did not look back.
    On the third gondola, Jade sprawled forwards and Rich grabbed her, dragged her to her feet. He was breathing heavily. “Nearly there.”
    â€œYou think?”
    Rich turned to see what she meant. There were two more gondolas to go. The next one was decked out with garlands of white flowers. A black coffin lay in the middle of it – right in their path. On themiddle of the coffin, there was a single wet footprint.
    â€œOh, great,” said Rich. He took Jade’s hand and together they jumped again.
    The coffin was polished and slippery and Rich felt his foot slide from under him. He pushed off as best he could. But he knew at once that he wasn’t going to make it across the next gap. The final gondola was moving. It wasn’t moored like the others – there was a man in black trousers and a striped shirt sitting back in the boat close to the single large oar. He was staring in open-mouthed astonishment at Rich and Jade as they flailed in the air.
    The gondolier grabbed the oar and heaved hard. The boat swung sideways. Somehow Rich was almost on it. His foot caught on the side and he was flung forward into the boat. His wrist cracked painfully on the side of the boat. Jade landed heavily beside him. A moment later two large, heavy feet landed squarely between them. A familiar voice shouted in Italian at the gondolier.
    Dad hauled Rich and Jade to their feet. “Good idea,” he said.
    The gondolier was on his feet now and working the oar like his life depended on it. Maybe Dad had told him that it did. The gondola moved surprisinglyfast through the water. The skull-faced man was on the boat next to them and, with a shout of rage, launched himself across the canal straight at Rich.
    Again the gondolier heaved sideways on the oar. Skull-face landed on the boat, and the whole gondola tipped under his weight. The gondolier heaved again, and Skull-face, off balance from his landing, staggered backwards. He fell over the side with a stream of angry Italian followed by a loud splash.
    â€œOh, yuck!” Jade wiped her sleeve across her wet face.
    The gondolier laughed and shouted something to Dad, who laughed back. “Grazie, Giuseppe,” he said.
    â€œYou know him?” Rich asked in surprise. He rubbed at his wrist, annoyed to see the impact had cracked the glass of his watch.
    â€œI do now.”
    Two angry men in suits were standing on the jetty watching them as the gondola moved lazily away. A third was helping Skull-face out of the water into one of the moored gondolas.
    â€œWhere are the others?” Jade wondered.
    â€œWell, it was curtains for Ralph,” Rich said. “Don’t know about the other guy.”
    â€œI do,” Dad said. He was pointing to a steeply-arched bridge in front of them. On it stood a tall thin man in a dark suit. Next to him was Ralph, slowly clapping his hands.
    â€œI think you can drop us just here, Giuseppe,” Dad said to the gondolier, indicating a point at the side of the canal before the bridge.
    But Ralph and the Mafia man with him had realised where they were heading and were already running from the bridge.
    Dad thrust a few Euro notes at the gondolier as they all three leaped off.
    â€œKeep the change,” Rich told him.
    The point where the Grand Canal doubles back on itself is called the Volta. Cutting between high, impressive buildings they found that they were in the area inside the curve of the canal.
    â€œThis way,” Dad yelled, leading them between yet more buildings.
    They passed a line of dustbins and Jade paused to pull several over. Dead flowers and old chicken bones strewed across the passageway, but the bins themselves would slow down their pursuers.
    Rich could hear Ralph shouting somewhere behind them. “We need to lose ourselves in the crowds!” he said. The heat was