2 an Evil Plan.pdf

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AN EVIL PLANBy Liv Crouch

1 A millionaire disappears

Charles Hatfield Baker III was a veryrich man. There wasn’t a richer man inall of New York City. He was the headof a large number of importantcompanies. He had land and buildingsand houses in the country. He hadboats and horses and an aeroplane. Buthe was a simple man. He liked thesimple things of life: a good cup ofcoffee, a kiss from a pretty girl, a walkthrough the park on a fine autumn day.He had all these things on thisWednesday morning. He drank twocups of very good Italian coffee forbreakfast. His daughter, Julia, kissedhim goodbye. “Have a nice day, daddy,”she said. And he left his apartment towalk to his office. He always walkedthrough Central Park to his office onColumbus Avenue. He took the elevatordown forty floors to the street door.“Good morning, Mr Baker,” said Angelothe doorman. “Have a good day.”“Thank you, Angelo. You too,” heanswered. “See you this evening.”But Angelo didn’t see him that evening.In fact, he never saw him again.Because Mr Baker never arrived at his

office. Between the south-east entrance to Central Park and the offices of HatfieldInternational Investments, Charles Hatfield Baker III simply disappeared.

The police tried to find him. They looked for him in every corner of the park. They moved everystone and every brown and yellow leaf, but there was nothing. They couldn’t find anything.They gave three big police dogs his old blue sweater. The dogs smelled it once or twice,then they raced across the street to Central Park.But inside the entrance, they stopped. They ran up and down, up and down, this way and thatway. Again, nothing.

Detectives went to the airports, to the train stations, to the bus stations. They showedphotographs. “Have you seen this man? A tall man with white hair. He was probably wearing anexpensive grey suit. Did he come through here last Wednesday or Thursday?”“No,” they all said. “I don’t remember a man like that.”The detectives asked Julia, the grey men at the office, the secretaries and the doormen thesame questions again and again. “Where do you think Mr Baler is? Why did he disappear?Perhaps he wanted to disappear! Why?”The answer was always the same: “I don’t know. I don’t understand. I can’t explain it.”

There were telephone calls between the United States FBI and Scotland Yard. In the end, theyall said the same things: “Kidnappers! That must be it! He’s a very rich man, you know.They’ve kidnapped him to get money.”They waited and waited. They expected a message or a letter or a telephone call.

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“The kid nappers will probably ask for millions of dollars,” They said.Nothing came. Not a word.The newspapers were ready to pay $ 10,000 for information.Nothing happened.Julia sat near the telephone all day and all night. She never went out. She didn’t cry: she wasn’tthat kind of person. But she grew thinner, and her eyes were red because she needed sleep.She loved her father very dearly. In her heart, she knew that he was alive.“Is his disappearance a message to me?” she thought. “But what does it mean? What is hetrying to tell me?”

2 Julia takes charge

For days, and then weeks, Juliahoped for news. But there was nonews of Charles Hatfield Baker III.After a time the newspapers weretired of the disappearance story.Their reporters wrote about otherthings. The police stopped askingquestions.The weeks passed. The monthscame and went. Julia saw the firstsnow of winter through thewindows of the twelve-roomapartment that she called home.In one hour Manhattan was whitewith snow – white and quiet likea mountain village.

“But it’s New York,” she thought. “It’s not ususally quiet like this. I know New York. It’s myhome. I’m eighteen, and I’ve lived here all my life.”

Julia’s life was like the lives of other rich men’s daughters. She could read and write, and dance,and play a little Chopin on the piano. She spent money in the best stores, and she atechocolate cake in expensive cafés. She travelled through the city streets in shiny bullet-proofcars.She knew nothing about the real New York, and she knew less than nothing about the peoplewho lived in it.She moved from the window to the big mirror beside it. The mirror showed her a tall girl withdark hair and green eyes. The face was good-looking but not pretty; it was too strong to bepretty.“Look,” she said to the Julia in the mirror. “You know your father isn’t coming back. Why areyou sitting here and waiting? Who’s going to help you? Grow up! Take charge of things! Ithink that’s his message. You are Julia Ann Hatfiel Baker, the first!”She put on her coat, her hat, her boots, and went out, in clothes that cost thousands of dollars.For the next three hours, Julia travelled through those streets of New York that she didn’tknow. She didn’t go in any of the shiny bullet-proof cars that belonged to her father. She tooktaxis, and she walked. She looked at buildings, and she looked at people. She looked intowindows, and she saw people in their cold rooms – people who didn’t have enough food ontheir table for their evening meal. She looked at women in the streets. Their faces told herabout hungry children in their homes. She looked at men, men without a job and withouthope.She saw all this, and she slowly understood.“I know now,” she thought. “I know some of the things that I must do with my father’smoney.”

Next morning, she arrived at the offices of Hatfield International Investments at exactlynine o’clock.

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“I want to see the directors of the company in the boardroom at ten o’clock,” she said to MissBentley, her father’s secretary.At ten, she looked at the five grey men around the shiny boardroom table.“I know these men,” she thought. “I probably pulled their noses when I was a baby. I dancedwith them at Christmas when I was a little girl. Yes, I know them. Or do I? Perhaps they thinkthey know me. They’re going to be surprised.”She looked around them again. Their faces told her nothing.“Good morning, gentlemen,” she said. “Gentlemen, you’re probably surprised because I’veasked you to come here.”Yes, they agreed, they were surprised – very surprised.“I think you know that 55 per cent of all Hatfield International shares are mine.”Yes, they knew. But they weren’t very happy to say so.“Well, I want to make some changes. But first I would like to see all the company accounts. Iwant to look at all the books, the accounts of money coming in and money going out. I want tosee the files about all our investments, and, very important, about our plans for the future.”The eyes of the grey men met.Then, slowly, they pushed buttons and spoke to secretaries and accountants.“Miss Baker would like to see all our accounts.”“But why?” they all wanted to know. “What changes does she want? Why does she want toknow our plans for the future? What does she know about business?”

3 Power

For two days, Julia looked at long lists offigures and read long reports. The figureswere in thousands and millions, and thereports were heavy and full of facts.Julia learnt a lot. She learnt that HatfieldInternational owned great parts of theworld: cattle ranches in Texas, sheepfarms in Australia, diamond mines inAfrica, oil wells in the Arctic, pine forestsin Canada… She learnt that HatfieldInternational had very great power – almostunbelievable power.“This power,” she thought, “is enough toturn great deserts into rich farmlands. It’senough to make wonderful changes inpeople’s lives, enough to give themmachines to work the land, enough to givethem hospitals, schools, teachers.”But she saw, too, that Hatfield Internationalhad the power to do other things – wrongthings. And sometimes they used this powerto get more power.This was the great company that her great-grandfather, her father’s grandfather,

started.“And now I have to take charge of all this,” Julia thought.Julia’s mother died when Julia was only a baby. She didn’t remember her, but she knew fromold photographs that she had her mother’s dark hair and eyes.She had her father’s wonderful head for business. Julia understood money. Some peopleunderstand art, or music, or plants. These things are simple for them. For Julia, money wassimple. She spent two days with the accounts and reports of Hatfield International, and theytaught her a lot. They were two interesting days for her.

Julia

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Outside, winter held New York, and the air grew colder and colder. Inside the Hatfieldbuilding, Julia sat and read – words and figures, words and figures. People came and went,but she saw only the papers in front of her.Late in the afternoon of the second day, she came to the last file on the table. It was a red file.The covers of the files were of different colours. Red files were all about future plans – projectsfor the future.On the cover of this red file Julia read: PROJECT OMEGA.Julia opened it. It was empty. But on the inside of the cover, in the left-hand corner, there wasone word: “Never!”It was her father’s writing. She pushed a button and put the telephone to her ear. After amoment, a voice answered. Julia said, “Miss Bentley?”“Miss Bentley has gone home. They’ve all gone. Can I help you?” It was a girl’s voice.“I’m looking for the papers about Project Omega.”For a few seconds the girl’s voice said nothing. Then: “I… I’m sorry. I don’t know anythingabout it.”It wasn’t true. It was clear to Julia that the girl was lying. She was afraid of something.Julia put down the telephone. She walked along Miss Bentley’s office.A girl was still standing near the telephone there. She was about Julia’s age, small and pretty.Julia could see that she was frightened.“I want to see the papers about Project Omega,” Julia said.“I’m sorry, Miss Baker. I don’t know anything about it – really I don’t.”Julia read something in the girl’s frightened eyes. And she heard more than the words when thegirl spoke. There was something in the eyes and in the voice – in the breaks between thewords. Was it the beginning of her father’s message to her? She still didn’t understand it, butshe began to see that there was a connection between his disappearance and Project Omega.“But what is the connection?” she thought. “Am I building too much on the word “Never!” andthe eyes and voice of a frightened girl?. No! There is a connection.”

4 Danger

Julia stood and looked at the girl. Suddenly she felt very tired.“It doesn’t matter,” she said. She was sorry for the unhappy – and clearly frightened – girl.“Those papers probably belong to an old file, I’m sorry if I…”“Is something wrong, Julia?” It was Mr Berger. He was one of the grey men, a director of herfather’s company – one of his partners.“Did I hear you say “Project Omega”?”Julia turned. “How long has he been here – in thisroom?” she thought.“Yes, Mr Berger. I said I wanted to see the papersfrom the Project Omega file.”“Did you really, Julia?” He laughed – a false laugh,Julia thought. He had a smile like a kind uncle – likeFather Christmas – but his eyes were cold. He said,“Why are you worrying about Hatfield’s problems, mydear? You shouldn’t let them enter your pretty head.Do you need money? Just ask, and you can have allthe money you want. Why not? You’re Charles Baker’sdaughter.”Julia was so angry that she could only be polite withdifficulty.“I’m not only Charles Baker’s daughter, Mr Berger. Iown 55 per cent of all Hatfield International shares.And now I must tell you: I want to see those papers!”“But of course, my dear.” He turned to the girl andsaid, “Miss Harper, please get the papers that MissBaker wants to see. They’re in the safe.”

Julia

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Miss Harper said nothing, but she went to one wall of the office. There was a large picturethere of Julia’s great-grandfather. Miss Harper moved the picture. Behind it, there was a small,very strong metal door. Her lips moved to shape the numbers, and her fingers turned a smallwheel on the door. The safe opened.“Here you are, Miss Baker,” she said. She didn’t look at Julia, but turned back to close the safeand move the picture back.Julia took the papers, put them in her briefcase, and left the office. The door of the elevatorwas closing when she heard Mr Berger’s voice. He was beginning to shout at Miss Harper.She went home in a taxi.The apartment was warm and quiet. She sat down in her father’s favourite chair, and openedher briefcase.“No,” she thought. “Imust have some foodfirst.”She put the file on thefloor and went into thekitchen. She expected tofind a meal ready there,and she saw it on a trayon the kitchen table.Usually she didn’t eatvery much, but tonightshe was hungry. Therewas a nice-looking soup,some chicken, a fruitsalad. She tasted thesoup. It was cold, ofcourse, but very good.And it was her first real food for almost two days. She didn’t carry the tray into the living room,but sat down at the kitchen table. She finished the soup, and she was starting on the chicken,when the telephone rang. There was a telephone in the kitchen, and she went to it.“Yes?” she said.“Julia… I mean Miss Baker?” It was a girl’s voice. Miss Harper. “Please don’t be angry with me. Ihad to call you. Please listen to me. You’re in terrible danger.”“Miss Harper? Is that you? What do you mean?”“They don’t want you to know about Project Omega. I think they… they’re going to kill you!Oh, please, you must believe me!”“But who? Who wants to kill me? … Miss Harper? Are you still there?”No sound came from the telephone. The line was silent.Julia sat with the telephone in a cold hand. At the other end of the line, there was silence. Aterrible silence that meant danger.“What has happened?” she thought. “What has happened to that poor little Miss Harper? HasProject Omega brought danger to her?”

5 An evil plan

Julia put the telephone down. For the first time, she felt very lonely. She wasn’t frightened, justlonely. “I haven’t been lonely before,” she thought. “Alone sometimes, yes. But not lonely. Notwithout a friend to be there in a time of difficulty or danger. What does danger mean? My lifehas been so safe that the word doesn’t mean anything.”She thought about Miss Harper.“Miss Harper said that they’re going to kill me. Who are “they”? Did they kill my father? What isProject Omega, and why don’t they want me to know about it?”She went back to the living room. The file of papers was still on the floor. She sat down andbegan to read. She read to the end, and then closed the file. She was trembling.“It’s terrible!” she thought. “Terrible!”

Julia

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Project Omega was a plan to get millions of dollars. To make it possible, millions of peoplehad to lose their freedom. It was a plan to buy great power in other countries – in countrieswith free people. Project Omega would rob them of their freedom. The plan was to giveHatfield International more power than any other great company – more power than thegovernments of a lot of countries had. But it was a cruel plan, the plan of men without aheart. There was only one word for it: evil. It was a truly evil plan.“They were the other directors of her father’s company. She had to stop them.

In the beginning – was it reallyonly two days ago? – Julia had aplan for her father’s money. Shewanted to help the poor people ofNew York. She wanted to givethem better homes, more jobs, ahappier life.“I went to Hatfield’s offices towork for that,” she thought. “Inever expected to find somethinglike this. What must I do? Howcan I stop it?. I must tell thepolice… and the newspapers. Ihave to tell the world aboutProject Omega. Yes, tell theworld. That – and only that – willstop it. I must do that in themorning.”

Julia was soon asleep. For the first time, she dreamed about her father. They were in a smallboat in terrible weather. They were in great danger. But he put his arms round her.“It’s all right,” he said in her dream. “I’m here. You mustn’t be afraid. We must be brave. Weneed courage, that’s all.”When Julia woke up, she felt strong after her sleep. She remembered her dream very clearly.“Perhaps daddy is dead,” she thought, “but he’s still with me. I believe the power of good isstronger than the power of evil. In my dream daddy said that we needed courage. So that’s allright.”Julia had courage – a lot of courage.She heard Clara in the kitchen. Clara was the woman who looked after the apartment. Shelooked after Julia, too, and Julia loved her. Clara was like a mother to her. Julia walked into thekitchen, and into a rich smell of fresh coffeee.“Good morning, Clara.”“Morning, Miss Julia. Your coffee is ready. It’s cold outside – very cold. You’ll be surprised. Onlya week to Christmas! I hope you’re not going to spend the holiday here, alone! A young girl likeyou should have friends of the same age.”“Dear Clara. She’s worried about me,” Julia thought. She said, “I’ll think about Christmas later,Clara. This morning, there’s something I must do, something that can’t wait.”She got dressed very quickly. Then she put the Omega file in her briefcase, and hurried out.She opened the elevator door – and screamed. There was no elevator there. Only cold, blacknothing. Only death – death was waiting for her forty floors down. She was falling.

6 A friend

Julia didn’t fall. Two strong arms took hold of her, and pulled her back from dark death –back to life.For a few seconds, she lay there, on the floor, outside her apartment. She could still smellClara’s coffee. She could hear her heart; it was racing. She knew she was trembling. She couldsee only a blue jacket.“Thank you,” she said to the blue jacket.

Julia

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The man in the blue jacket helped her to get up.“You’re very welcome. I’m glad I play a lot of football and so I can move fast. I’d like to movelike that on the football field. Then I’d be a top player.”He was young, maybe about twenty-five. His face was open and friendly.“My name’s Julia Baker. You saved my life.”“Oh, I do that kind of thing when I get the chance,” laughed the young man. “I’m EdwardWest.”“Well, how can I thank you, Edward? Why don’t you come in and have some cofee? I think Ineed a cup too, after that.”They went into the apartment. Clara brought them two cups of coffee, very good Italian coffee.“The elevator,” Julia said. “It wasn’t there.”“I know.”“But you were there. Was that bychance?”Edward looked at her. She saw thathe was thinking.“Yes,” he said slowly. “I think itwas.”“I think they broke the elevatordoor.”“Yes. That’s clear.”“You don’t think it was anaccident?”“No, I don’t think so.”Julia drank the hot, sweet, blackcoffee. When she put the cupdown, she began to cry. For thefirst time in her eighteen years oflife, she knew she needed a friend.She knew it because she was withthis young man – this young man with the clear, friendly eyes.“It’s all right,” he said. “You’re safe now.”“No, I’m not, Julia answered. “I’m in terrible danger.” And she told him the story – every part ofit, from her father’s disappearance to Miss Harper’s telephone call. She told him about ProjectOmega. “So you see,” she ended. “I really am in danger, and there’s a connection betweenOmega and the elevator.”He said again, “It’s all right.” And, “I’m here now.” Just like her father in her dream. “I can helpyou. There are two of us now. We’ll let the world see the Omega file. We’ll take it straight tothe New York Times. I’ve got some friends who work there. We’ll stop this evil plan. Don’tworry.”Julia now knew she had a friend who was ready to help her. It was like a return to a warmroom after hours in the cold air outside alone.“Yes,” she said. “We’ll take the file to the newspaper. I’ll get my briefcase. It has all theOmega papers in it.”But where was the briefcase? It wasn’t in the apartment. It wasn’t between the apartment andthe elevator. She looked for it. Clara looked for it.“It has disappeared,” Julia told Edward at last. “And now I don’t have anything to show to thenewspapers. There’s nothing to prove that there is a Project Omega. Who will believe that it’sso evil? They won’t believe it if I can’t show them the papers.”

7 Betrayed

“What are we going to do?” Julia asked. She was glad, so glad, that she could say “we.”“We have to get another copy of the file,” replied Edward.“Of course. But how? I don’t want to go back to Hatfield and ask for one. Wait… Miss Harper!”“Could she get us a copy?”“Its our only hope.” Julia went to the telephone.

Julia

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“Good morning. This is Julia Baker. I’d like to speak to Miss Harper.”She listened for a minute. “I see. Thank you.” She put the telephone and walked over to thewindow. In a very small voice she said: “She didn’t come into work this morning, Edward… shehas disappeared. Just like my father. Oh, Edward! You don’t think they have…”Edward went to Julia and put his arm around her.“No. No, I don’t think they’ve done anything to Miss Harper. She’s a clever girl. She hasprobably gone away. She’s safe, I’m sure of it. Now come and sit down.”Edward and Julia sat down on one of the long white sofas. He took her hand.“Julia, I want you to believe in me.”“What else can I do?” thought Julia. “I believe in you,” she said.“We have to work together. I think you should go to Hatfield’s offices. Ask to see other files.They must think you’ve forgotten about Project Omega. Or that you didn’t understand. Orthat you have nothing agains it… anything. But you must go back there and try to get anothercopy of the Omega file.”“Yes,” said Julia. “I’ll go now.”“I’ll call you every hour, just to see that you’re OK. And don’t worry. Nothing can happen toyou. I’m here.”

Julia arrived at Hatfield International half an hour later. Allmorning she looked through personnel reports. She looked atMiss Harper’s file and saw that her family lived in Atlanta.“I’m sure she has gone home to her parents,” she thought.“She’ll be all right. They can’t do anything to her there.”All morning Julia waited for a chance to be alone in the office.She knew where she had to look. She knew that they kept allthe future project files on a shelf near the door.At one o’clock, Edward rang for the third time.“Meet me in ten minutes at the entrance to the building,” hesaid. “And please don’t be late. It’s very important.”Ten minutes later, Julia was waiting outside the frontentrance on Columbus Avenue. The streets were full ofpeople. It was nearly Christmas, and the people looked happyand busy. Julia remembered Christmas the year before. Shewas with her father then, and…Two very tall men were coming through the crowd. Theyhad long red coats of Father Christmas, and they werecalling: “Happy Christmas to you all! Happy Christmas!”Suddenly they were beside her. They took her arms andhurried her across the sidewalk.“What are you doing?” she shouted. “Take your hands offme! No, no!”

A car door opened, and they tried to push her inside. Strong arms took hold of her arms. Shetried to scream, and as she fought she hit her head on the car door. Her world began to godark…She remembered one last thing. There was an arm round her. It was an arm in a blue jacket.“Edward West – Edward West has betrayed me!”

8 Father and daughter

Julia opened her eyes. The world was going round and round. And there were noises in herhead. No. Not in her head. The noises were engine noises. She was on a plane. Edward wasbeside her.“Edward, I trusted you!”“And you were right to trust me. I’ve saved your life again, I’m glad to say.”“You’ve done what?”“Mr Berger and his friends planned another little accident for you. I had to get you away fromNew York.”

Julia

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“Where am I?”“Now? Well, probably flying over Florida. We’re on our way to a small island off the coast.”Julia looked round. “But this – this is my father’s plane. What are you doing with my father’splane?”“It’s a long story. Give me time and I’llexplain it all.”“Start now.”“First, I think you need a drink.”“I don’t want a drink. I want anexplanation.”Edward smiled. “That’s the sad thingabout rich girls. They always wanteverything on a silver plate – at once.Oh. OK.”He started to explain. Julia listened andwatched his face.“I wasn’t wrong,” she thought. “He’s agood person. He’s good-looking, too.”“First,” he said, “I must tell you that Iwork for your father. I’ve watched you all the time since his disappearance. He was veryworried about you, so he told me that I must look after you. He told me to guard you, but thatyou mustn’t see me.”“Where is my father?”“Ill tell you that in a minute. First you must know that your father had to leave New York in ahurry. He learnt about Project Omega, and he wanted to stop his partners. They tried to killhim. Twice. He had to disappear.”“My father knew about Project Omega? So why didn’t he do the thing that we planned to do?Why didn’t he let the world know about it?”“He knew that it would be the end of Hatfield International. It would finish the company – yourcompany. “It isn’t fair to do that to her,” he told me. “If she wants to finish it, then that’sdifferent.” So you make your future; he doesn’t make it.”“What do you mean?”“He knew you would learn about Project Omega, sooner or later. He told me to wait and helpyou, when that time came.”“OK Maybe I believe you. But where are you taking me?”“To your father. He’s waiting on the island. Oh, and I found Miss Harper. She’s safe. She’sstaying with her aunt outside Atlanta.”“Oh, I’m glad about that. I was worried about her. She was very brave.”“Brave and clever! She has another copy of the Omega file!”The small plane landed on a narrow runway in the middle of a thick forest. Edward openedthe door, and jumped down. Julia followed him. It was hot, and she could smell the flowers andtrees. Such a long way from winter in New York!Then she saw him. A tall man with a lot of white hair, his face brown from the sun.“Daddy!”

Later that evening they sat out in a garden, under a big silver moon. They talked about thefuture.“You know, Julia my darling. I don’t want to go back to New York. I think I’d like to be poorhere in the sun,” said Charles Hatfield Baker III. “I enjoy this life.”Julia smiled at him, her eyes full of understanding and love. “Perhaps when I’m seventy, I’llcome and enjoy it with you. But at the moment I’ve got too much to do. Hatfield Internationalis going to disappear, but there’s still an awful lot of money. I want to make that money workfor good projects. Projects to help people.”She looked at Edward. Edward looked at her.“I’d like to help you with that,” he said.

THE END

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BEFORE YOU READ AND WHILE YOU’RE READING.Work with a dictionary the meaning of the words in bold letters. Write a list

Word or phrase Meaning Word or phrase Meaning

company

land

doorman

entrance

disappear

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Word or phrase Meaning Word or phrase Meaning