The Trouble with Perfect Read online

  Boy’s not bad – is he?

  Strange things are happening in the town that used to be Perfect. Things are being stolen…then children start going missing too. And everyone is blaming Violet’s best friend, Boy.

  To find out what’s going on, Violet must uncover secrets from the past and battle a gruesome zombie monster. Town is in trouble – double trouble – and it’s up to Violet to save it.

  “Your heart is in your mouth and you’re knee-deep in adventure…” M.G. Leonard, author of Beetle Boy on A Place Called Perfect

  Praise for Violet and Boy’s first adventure

  Winner of the Crimefest Book Awards Best Crime Novel for Children (8-12)

  Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards

  “A creepy, magical tale of bravery and self-belief.” Sunday Express

  “This is one of those books that you think about when you’re not reading it and can’t wait to find out what happens next.” Tom Fletcher

  “A perfect choice for Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month and I will be recommending it to everyone, including adults, that I can!” Kelly Macdonald, Waterstones bookseller

  “Helena Duggan builds an intriguing world and tells a gripping story…” The Scotsman

  “A creepy adventure story full of twists and turns that will hook you in from the start and keep you guessing into the final pages.” Scoop magazine

  To Dad, for everything

  CONTENTS

  ABOUT THIS BOOK

  A HISTORY OF PERFECT

  CHAPTER 1. HOME

  CHAPTER 2. TROUBLE WITH THE BRAIN

  CHAPTER 3. IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

  CHAPTER 4. CHILDISH TRICKS

  CHAPTER 5. LIES

  CHAPTER 6. NEW FRIENDS

  CHAPTER 7. MORE LIES

  CHAPTER 8. WHISPERINGS

  CHAPTER 9. A MAGPIE FOR DETAIL

  CHAPTER 10. THE CHILD SNATCHER

  CHAPTER 11. ILL OMENS

  CHAPTER 12. THE NIGHT VISITOR

  CHAPTER 13. A LITTLE HELPER

  CHAPTER 14. NURSE POWICK

  CHAPTER 15. THE TUNNELLED TOMB

  CHAPTER 16. THE WHITE ROOM

  CHAPTER 17. FALLING FOUL

  CHAPTER 18. THE RETURN

  CHAPTER 19. THE PRODIGAL SON

  CHAPTER 20. CLOUD NINE

  CHAPTER 21. THE EMERGENCY MEETING

  CHAPTER 22. GEORGE’S RELEASE

  CHAPTER 23. TAKING PRISONERS

  CHAPTER 24. THE WHITE-EYED BOY

  CHAPTER 25. MACULA’S SECRET

  CHAPTER 26. A CONCERNED CITIZEN

  CHAPTER 27. UP

  CHAPTER 28. EYE SPY

  CHAPTER 29. POWICK’S PASSIONS

  CHAPTER 30. THE DECEIT

  CHAPTER 31. THE TRIBUNE’S TRIBUTE

  CHAPTER 32. A GOOD PAIN

  CHAPTER 33. THE WITNESS

  CHAPTER 34. THE SWAP

  CHAPTER 35. THE UNWANTED GUEST

  CHAPTER 36. THE BEST MEDICINE

  CHAPTER 37. A SIMPLE TRUTH

  CHAPTER 38. BEARING WITNESS

  CHAPTER 39. A MOTHER’S LOVE

  CHAPTER 40. THE RAVEN

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  “I feel like we’re spying on everyone, Boy,” Violet said, as she took in the masses of tiny TV screens in front of her. She was sitting inside the Brain.

  The Brain was William Archer’s newest invention. Well, it wasn’t that new, it had been around since just after Perfect fell, which was nearly a year ago. It looked like a black box from the outside and was around the same size as a garden shed. The Brain had black shutters on the sides, that could be lifted up to give easy access to the cramped space inside, for repairs. Hundreds of small black and red cone-shapes covered the flat roof.

  It was situated just off the steps of the Town Hall, on Edward Street. The Town Hall was the centre of Town, William said, and so this was the best place for the Brain to receive signals from all the eye-plant beds.

  Since Perfect had fallen, William Archer had planted numerous beds of eye plants on the streets around Town. They acted as lookouts. “A Town security system,” William said, when he first proposed the idea. The eye plants were living eyes and sent signals of what they saw back to the Brain, which converted those signals to pictures.

  Boy looked at the screens too. “Maybe that’s because we are spying, Violet,” he joked.

  “You know what I mean!”

  “What are we really going to see in Town? Nobody ever does anything exciting around here – well, nothing they wouldn’t want us to see, anyway. Though maybe you’re right, Violet…I mean, we might see Mrs Moody putting out her washing, or what if we see Mr Bloom plucking his weeds!” Boy mocked. “Anyway, the eye plants spy on people all the time and you’re fine with that!”

  “Yeah, but they’re doing it for a good reason – they’re looking out for Edward, in case he ever comes back.”

  “And we’re doing this to fix the eye plants. They won’t be able to look out for Edward if they’re broken, will they?”

  “What’s wrong with them anyway?”

  “Well, Dad says they’re acting up a bit. He’s fixed the rods and cones on the roof, and wants to see if that has worked. The electromagnetic sig—”

  “Boy, I haven’t a clue what any of that stuff means. Just say it in plain English!”

  “I forgot you’re not half as intelligent as me,” he teased.

  “Whatever. If it makes you feel better, you can tell yourself that,” Violet said impatiently. “So what does your dad want us to do?”

  “We’ve to look at the screens and check they’re all working. Make sure none of them are blank or blinking on and off.”

  Violet jumped from her chair and began to walk around. Inside the Brain were lots of tiny TV screens, all clustered in the centre of the space like a giant spider’s eyes. They were surrounded by a narrow walkway to inspect them from.

  “Each screen is connected to an eye plant in one of the flower beds around Town,” Boy continued. “The number on the top corner of the screen will tell you which bed. If you see a screen blinking, write down its number.”

  “They all look fine here.” Violet’s stomach churned as she watched Mr Hatchet pick his nose outside his butcher’s shop on one of the tiny TVs. “It’s a bit weird looking at people when they don’t know, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, there’s a new train in Merrill’s toyshop window,” Boy said excitedly, moving closer to the screen in front of him.

  “Why do boys love boring things like trains?” Violet sighed, shaking her head.

  “Why do girls love boring things like…talking?” Boy smirked.

  “Any problems?” William Archer asked, poking his bearded face round the main door of the Brain.

  “No, Dad,” Boy replied. “Maybe the adjustments you made worked.”

  “Wouldn’t that be great?” William smiled, ruffling his son’s unruly hair. “It’d get Vincent Crooked off my back, anyway.”

  “Is the Committee meeting finished, then?” Violet asked.

  “Yes, your dad is on the way, Violet. He was just having a word with Vincent.”

  “What happened this time?” she asked.

  Her dad and Mr Crooked were always “having words”, and most of the words weren’t nice, her mam said. Her dad called it “a difference of opinion”, but Violet knew that meant he just didn’t like the man. She kind of agreed with her dad, though. If Mr Crooked was anything like his son Conor, then she wouldn’t like him either.

  “Nothing, Violet,” William replied. “Vincent was just questioning how secure the eye plants are, after the recent problems. Your dad was trying to persuade him that everythin
g is fine.” He smiled.

  “Right, Violet, are you ready?” Her dad stepped into the doorway, looking red-faced.

  “Did you convince Vincent?” William asked.

  “No,” Eugene replied, “but I had fun trying. I don’t know what it is about that man, but I just can’t warm to him. He was saying something about robberies and how if the eyes weren’t working properly, we wouldn’t be safe in Town.”

  “Robberies in Town?” William laughed. “I wonder what he’ll come up with next!”

  “Anyway,” Eugene said, stepping back out onto Edward Street, “it’s Sunday night, time for your bed, Violet. Your mother will be wondering where we’ve gone to.”

  “But, Dad, can’t I stay a bit longer?” Violet pleaded, looking at Boy.

  “No, it’s school tomorrow. Mrs Moody won’t be happy if you fall asleep in class.”

  “Mrs Moody is never happy anyway, Dad!”

  “Come on, Violet,” Eugene said, squeezing her shoulders affectionately.

  Violet sighed and said goodbye to William and Boy, then walked with her dad through the quiet streets of Town.

  On the nights her mam went to cooking classes, Violet’s dad brought her to Committee meetings. The Committee was formed after Perfect fell, as a way to rule Town. It was made up of ten people. Her dad called it a demoncrosity or demoncr-something. Anyway, it just meant all decisions in Town were voted on, so everything was fair.

  The meetings were boring and – unlike tonight when she helped with the Brain – normally Violet would have to sit through two hours of adults talking. The walk home with her dad always made up for it, though.

  The skies in Town were usually clear, and Eugene Brown would point to the stars and ask her to name them. They’d done it so many times now that Violet knew them all by heart. Sometimes she forgot one on purpose, because Mam said her dad loved to show off all the stuff he knew about science.

  “There’s the Plough,” Eugene said, pointing, as they neared their house.

  She was following his finger, when all of a sudden something flew out of the bushes in front of her. Violet jumped, almost landing on her father’s foot.

  “It’s okay, pet,” he soothed, looking skywards. “It’s only a bird. Strange it’s out at this time of night.”

  Violet steadied her breath as they walked up their gravel drive.

  “Do you think Town would be safe if the eye plants really stopped working, Dad?”

  “Pet, Town is one of the safest places I’ve ever been. Perhaps one of the safest places in the world. We don’t need the eyes, but they’re William’s indulgence. I think he wants to turn something bad into something good.”

  “But what about Edward Archer? What if he comes back and tries to steal everyone’s imaginations again?”

  “He’s not coming back, pet. That man’s long gone from here.”

  Eugene Brown opened the front door, flooding the yard with light as he walked into their house. Violet stopped on the steps for a moment, looking out at the clear dark night.

  She used to hate this place, when it was called Perfect and everyone was controlled by the Archer brothers. But now, Town really did feel like home.

  Violet’s heart was beating loudly. She was following Edward Archer, the shorter, stocky twin, as he staggered up the hill, past the lamp post.

  Her vision was foggy, as though a mist clouded the edges of her eyes.

  She pushed open the turnstile to the graveyard, and shivered as the iron gate screeched.

  Headstones lined the path that divided the cemetery. She couldn’t see Edward in the thick, black night and ducked down behind a standing stone for cover.

  “I know you’re in here, Edward Archer!” she shouted.

  His laughter echoed round her. Sweat pimpled Violet’s brow.

  Suddenly, a figure darted out from behind a grave. She tried to give chase but stumbled to the ground, bloodying her palms.

  A sound like scraping stone filled the air, and her breath caught.

  Violet rose and raced to where she’d seen the figure moments before. He’d vanished.

  Where had he gone? She couldn’t let Edward Archer get away.

  She was standing by a tombstone, and rubbed moss from its surface, trying to read the engravings. Then a big black bird swooped down from the skies, its claws open, grasping.

  Violet cowered, covering her face. Her screams pierced the night as the bird’s wings beat the air above her.

  “Violet, Violet, Violet,” a voice called out in the distance.

  Violet opened her eyes, her chest pounding. Where was she? Relief flooded her body as she took in the ceiling light in her bedroom.

  She’d had that dream again. The one where Edward disappeared. Only this time it was slightly different. She’d been attacked by a bird.

  “Violet, Violet…”

  Somebody was calling her name. She bolted up. Something rattled against the glass in her bedroom window. Cautiously, she crawled out of bed and over to her curtains, pulling them open just a little.

  The large silver moon lit the night.

  In the gravel yard below was a figure, his legs straddling a bike. Boy. What was he doing here now?

  The bike was new, given to Boy by his parents, William and Macula Archer, as an early birthday present – though Boy’s parents didn’t need an excuse. Since they’d found their long-lost son, the Archers – including Iris, his granny – were always giving him gifts. Violet sometimes wished she’d grown up in an orphanage and then found her parents, at least that way she might get more than fleecy pyjamas and pink slippers for her birthday.

  “Why are you standing in my yard this late? I only saw you a few hours ago,” she whispered, after sliding open the window.

  “You’re such a moaner, Violet! It’s not late,” he replied, his breath sending small white puffs into the air. “It’s early, nearly sunrise!”

  “That’s the same thing, Boy. I’m trying to sleep! Are you ever going to get used to proper hours, not the ones you kept in No-Man’s-Land? Normal people sleep at night.”

  “Normal is boring. Now come on, get up. Dad needs us!”

  “Again? For what? Can’t it wait?”

  “Too many questions… Come on!”

  Violet huffed as she dressed. Then, as quietly as possible, she slipped out of her room and down the stairs. In a matter of moments, she’d opened the front door and was standing on the steps of her house.

  “What took you so long?” Boy asked, as he turned and pedalled off. “Come on!” he called over his shoulder, heading quickly down the driveway.

  Boys! They never wait around for anyone, Violet fumed, as she walked round the side of the house and pulled the bike she’d been given for Christmas away from the pebble-dashed wall.

  What was up with Boy, that he had to drag her out of bed for?

  She was just cycling out of her driveway when a big black bird flew down from a tree, right across her path, just as one had done earlier when she was with her dad.

  Violet swerved, releasing an involuntary squeal.

  “You’re such a girly girl!” Boy teased, waiting by the bench just ahead.

  “No I’m not,” she puffed, catching her breath.

  “It was just a bird, Violet.”

  “I know…” She fell silent as she pushed off once more. “It’s just…well…I had that dream again. Only this time there was a bird in it, as well as Edward – so it scared me, that’s all.”

  “I told you, Edward Archer won’t hurt you or any of us again,” Boy said, pedalling up beside her. “You shouldn’t be having those dreams any more.”

  “It’s not like I have them on purpose,” Violet replied. “I haven’t had one in ages, either. I think it’s because I was talking to Dad about Edward when we were walking home, and a bird frightened me then too. That’s all. I can’t exactly control what my head does at night, can I?”

  “You can’t control what your head does ever, Violet!” Boy teased. “C
ome on, Dad wants us at the Brain, ASAP.”

  “What does ASAP mean, anyway?” Violet panted, pedalling after him.

  “It means hurry up!” Boy replied, taking a sharp angle onto Splendid Road and almost careening into a bed of eye plants.

  “Well why didn’t you just say that?” Violet laughed, as they whistled by what was once the Archer Brothers’ Spectacle Makers’ Emporium.

  The Archers’ Emporium had been at the heart of Perfect, and was where twins Edward and George had plotted and run their empire. When Perfect fell, Eugene Brown, Violet’s dad, and William Archer had set up their own optician’s business in the shop and it was now known as Archer and Brown.

  The pair did normal optician stuff, like sell glasses and fix people’s eyes, but they had a cool space too, where Violet’s dad – who was an ophthalmologist, which is like a surgeon for eyes – did experiments that helped blind people see again. This research had been a passion of his since Perfect fell and it meant he got published in Eye Spy, a magazine about eyes, a lot more. Violet’s mother, Rose, was very proud of her husband and told everyone about his “ambitious” plans for Archer and Brown.

  Violet and Boy pulled on their brakes, stopping outside the Brain.

  William Archer was muttering to himself as he rolled up one of the metal sides of the Brain, revealing the hundreds of small TV screens. “I’ve checked the cones, the wiring… What is it, what’s going wrong? Some are blank on this side too.” He tutted, tapping the glass. William seemed oblivious to Violet and Boy. “This just doesn’t make any sense!”

  “Erm…Dad…” Boy coughed.

  “Great! You made it,” William said, whirling around on the spot. “Hate to bring you back here so soon, Violet. Now off you go, be back here before light please. I don’t want to alert all of Town to the fact this little beauty isn’t doing her best again. We’ll really have Crooked on our backs then. I told him everything was working fine after the meeting.”

  “What do you want us to do, Dad?” Boy asked, confused. “You haven’t explained anything to us yet.”

  “Oh right, silly me.”

  He strode forward and awkwardly shook Violet’s hand in hello. William Archer always treated kids the same as adults, which was why Violet liked him so much.