Taking the Chequered Flag by Pam Harvey Page B

ineligible to participate at the Inter Club Meeting next week. No further penalty shall be invoked. Let it also be known that Emilio De Lugio will be granted an advancement of one placing, thus giving him sixth placing and therefore making him eligible to participate at the Inter Club Meeting next week.’
    Gabby grinned. She liked the way he’d said eligible.
    ‘You guys are awesome!’ E.D. yelled, rushing over to Gabby and Hannah and hugging them both. They watched as the three officials trooped upstairs.
    ‘Well done for bringing your camera, Gab,’ Mario said, squeezing her arm.
    ‘And for taping the race,’ Hannah added.
    ‘And for finding the rewind button in the nick of time.’ Angus smiled.
    ‘Well, I did get a bit of help with that last part.’ Gabby tucked the camera in her bag as they made their way through puddles and mud to Mario’s van. But none of them ran, and for once Gabby barely noticed the rain drenching her.
    ‘Look out!’ Mario screamed suddenly, jumping to his right. The others followed, but not before an enormous black and green van shot past them, saturating them all with a wall of water as its wheels churned through an enormous puddle.
    ‘Temper, temper!’ E.D. shouted and grinned at Jack’s face staring out of the car. ‘Got you now, Jack Proctor.’

Chapter 11
Gabby’s Secret Plan
Monday, 17 January
    ‘This is the best idea we’ve had for a long time,’ said Hannah as she trudged up the long driveway to Gabby’s house. ‘No dust, no dirt, no noise, just peace and quiet, and a swimming pool.’
    ‘It wasn’t our idea, remember,’ said Angus.
    ‘Sometimes, Gabby has the best ideas.’ E.D. ran the last 20 metres to the front door and rang the bell.
    No one had answered the door by the time they reached E.D. He was standing with his nose almost on the wood.
    ‘What are you doing?’ Angus said, pushing his friend away from the door.
    There was a note pinned to it, and the writing was in Gabby’s small, neat hand. Had to go out for a moment. Back soon. Help yourself to drinks and chips around the back. Please turn the filter off before going in the pool. No T-shirts, E.D.
    ‘She just likes my manly chest,’ said E.D. as they walked around the back.
    ‘In your dreams, E.D.,’ said Hannah. ‘She doesn’t want your black T-shirt leaving dye in the water.’
    ‘Believe what you like, Han.’ E.D. grinned. ‘That girl is always thinking of me.’
    Gabby wasn’t thinking of E.D. at all. She was thinking of Tony. And she was on her way to speak to him—without the others, which was what she’d planned.
    E.D. won’t mind, she reasoned. After all, it’s for Tony’s sake. She didn’t let herself think that E.D. might have wanted to be included in helping his brother.
    Gabby arrived at E.D.’s house and checked the driveway for cars. She wasn’t expecting Mario to be there; he would be at work. Mr De Lugio worked at a hardware store in town and Mrs De Lugio would be out shopping. She always said that on Mondays she had to stock up because her boys had eaten everything inthe house by the end of the weekend. And E.D. was at Gabby’s place. That only left Tony.
    She knocked at the back door and heard a faint ‘Come in’ from the depths of the house. Nervous now, and wondering what she was really doing, she pushed the door open and went inside. ‘Hello,’ she called. ‘It’s Gabby.’
    ‘Gabby? I’m in the lounge room.’
    She walked through the kitchen to the lounge. A big ceiling fan was slowly swooshing around but the room was still hot. And dark. The curtains were drawn against the sun. It took her a moment to see Tony but there he was; his leg up on a chair. In the dull light, his leg was pale. It shocked Gabby until she realised that his leg was encased in a white stocking.
    ‘Hey, Gab,’ said Tony. ‘E.D.’s not here. He said he was going around to your place. Didn’t you know?’
    ‘Oh,’ said Gabby, ‘well, yes. I did know. I invited