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to say he’d foiled the criminal to save the kids.
Concentrate. I’m a cat
, he thought.
A pretty cool one, but I’m not quite in the James Bond league. Or Lara’s, come to think of it.
Shakespeare hadn’t attended any of the neighbourhood-watch meetings but he’d observed a few. And
he knew the safety of the children was the most important thing.
That’s why I’m here!
He crept low towards the children, who were chattering and jabbing their fingers towards the mine. He crouched in the tall grass and listened to what they planned to do next so that he could formulate his own plan.
    ‘Who has a phone?’ asked Jess.
    ‘I have,’ said Sophie, rummaging in her coat pocket. She handed it over to the adult. ‘OK,’ said Jess, a little calmer. ‘The escaped prisoner is down the mine. I’ll ring the police and we can just walk away.’ She tapped 999 into the mobile and put her finger to her lips to signify
shush
. ‘Hello,’ she stammered. ‘Police, please … yes, of course it’s an emergency.’
    The children stared at Jess in hope as they waited for the call to be put through. ‘Hello, police,’ hissed Jess, trying to keep her voice down. ‘I’d like to report an escaped prisoner. The one off the TV this morning.’
    All eyes had gone from hope to relief. ‘Yes,’ she said frantically. ‘He had tattoos and a gun!’
    Ollie nodded enthusiastically. ‘Probably with real bullets,’ he said.
    ‘Where are we?’ she asked aloud. Ben pointed
to the map, jabbing his finger at the X that marked the mine. ‘We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere,’ said the lady. ‘But the nearest village is Coombeshead,’ she said, squinting at the map. ‘We’re just south of there.’
    ‘That’s where our mum and dad are staying,’ said Sophie.
    Jess smiled and gave her the thumbs-up to show she’d heard.
    Ben nodded in relief. He was glad of the mobile phone.
    ‘It’s me and three children,’ Jess continued, the phone glued tightly to her ear. ‘Where are we staying?’
    ‘We’re camping,’ whispered Sophie, making a triangle with her hands, her eyes focused on the hole in the ground, silently praying the man’s head wouldn’t reappear.
    Jess listened to the phone for a while. ‘Yes, we’ll go back to the tent and stay put,’ she said. ‘Thank you, officer. It’s such a relief to know you’re on your way.’ Jess ended the call and looked a little less nervous. ‘You heard that,’ she said, slipping the mobile into her pocket. ‘We need to get back to the tent and stay put. The police will do the rest.’
    ‘Probably send another helicopter,’ suggested Ollie. ‘That’d be quickest.’
    The small group hurried past the hole, Ben leading the way towards the tent.
    Shakespeare was satisfied that the police would sort things out now.
But
, he thought,
I think we’re missing an obvious trick. The baddie is down the big hole. And the rope is tied to the fence at the top of the hole. So,
he considered,
wouldn’t it be a smart idea to trap him in the hole? After all, we don’t want the cops turning up and finding the villain has escaped. Again!
He pondered for a moment, Lara’s words echoing in his head. ‘
The children must be safe.
’
Well, they’ll be a whole lot safer if the baddie stays underground
, thought the cat. He waded through the wet grass, under the fence, and sat at the edge of the hole. He patted the rope with his paw and it was slack.
So he’s reached the bottom and is exploring the mine
, thought the cat. Shakespeare looked at his paws. He extended his claws.
Being a cat is great
, he thought.
Night-vision, razor teeth, nine lives … but I’d kill for fingers and thumbs!
He tried to grab the rope between his front paws and haul it up, but it was no good. The rope kept slipping. He
padded over to the fence and examined the knot.
Only one thing for it
, he thought as he started to chew his way through the fibres.
    The rain had started. Shakespeare’s mouth was aching