David and the Great Detective

(Written by Martyn Hobbs)

Chapter 1: Monday Morning in Westbourne

It’s the first day of summer.
The twenty-first of June, like so many days of the year in England, is often cloudy, or wet, or windy, or
‘not too bad’.
But today is a lovely summer’s day. The sun is shining. The fields are bright green and yellow in the
morning light. And birds are singing in the trees.
In the distance, on both sides of the river, the red and grey town of Westbourne is getting ready for a new
day.
It’s a perfect day for staying at home, for going swimming, playing football, or listening to music in the
shade of a tree. Unfortunately, today isn’t a holiday. It’s Monday. And it’s seven thirty.
Lorries and cars are rushing around the ring road that circles the town.
On one side of the ring road are fields, car parks, some new houses, and a few old farms. On the other side
are housing estates, business parks, a few apartment blocks from the 1960s, and lots of old terraced
houses.
Some cars are driving into the centre. Some are going to the business parks with their new offices, new
roads, and tidy bushes. Other cars are heading out to the motorway, and the long drive to London.
It’s early, but in the parks some people are taking their dogs for a walk. Or rather, the dogs are taking their
owners for a walk. The dogs look happy and full of energy. Their owners look very tired. Other people are
jogging and listening to their MP3s, doing some exercise before the working day begins.
Buses are taking some early workers into the town centre. Street cleaners are picking up the litter from last
night’s takeaways. And in the town centre, the clock on the tower of the old Town Hall shows five to eight.

(To be continued after the comic)

And in a second-floor flat near the park, a boy is lying in bed.
He has long fair hair and a thin pale face. His eyes are closed.
He’s dreaming.
It’s a cold dark night in New York. The snow is falling on the tall buildings and the streets.
The streets are empty and white.
Then a shape moves in the darkness, and a man steps into the street. The yellow light from a streetlamp
shows his face.
It is David Delgado, the Great Detective.
David Delgado is tall and thin with fair hair. He is wearing a black jumper, a long dark coat, and black
leather boots. He looks up and down the street, then holds his hand up to the light. His watch says 1:30. He
has an appointment with Harry, but Harry’s late.
Where is he?
Then David hears a sound – it’s a car! A white limo comes round the corner and stops about 30 metres
away. The door opens … and a huge man gets out. This isn’t Harry. It’s Mickey Malone, the King of
Crime! Mickey looks at David then takes something from his pocket.
What is it?
‘David!’ (Continue after the comic)

not too bad: not very good and not very bad. litter: rubbish in a street.
shade: not in the sun. takeaways: food cooked in a restaurant and eaten
ring road: big road around a town. in another place.
housing estates: area with lots of houses. rattling: making noise.
business parks: areas with lots of factories. pale: white.
heading out: going towards. shape: form.
jogging: running. huge: very big.
David Delgado is confused.
Who is calling his name?
‘David! It’s late!’
It’s a woman’s voice.
It’s a voice he knows.
David opens his eyes.
His mother is standing at the door of his bedroom.
‘Do you know what time it is?’ she asks.
‘Erm …’ says David.
‘It’s eight o’ clock! You’re late for school! Now hurry up!’
His mother goes back to the kitchen. David doesn’t want to leave David Delgado in a dangerous situation,
but he has no choice. So, he gets up. There are books and comics all around his room. David loves reading,
but he loves writing, too. He writes stories about a lot of different characters. And his favourite character is
David Delgado, the Great Detective.
David lives alone with his mother. He hasn’t got a father. He hasn’t got any brothers or sisters. And he
hasn’t got a pet. He likes cats, but his mother says he can’t have one. She says they can’t have a cat because
they haven’t got a garden. David thinks his mother simply doesn’t want a cat. A boy in his class lives in a
flat and he has a cat. And David knows that pirates have cats, and they haven’t got gardens! But in a way he
doesn’t mind. He doesn’t feel lonely. His head is full of explorers, gangsters, astronauts, cowboys, Native
Americans and secret agents.
‘Eat your breakfast quickly, love,’ says his mum.
She is making his lunch. She works at the hospital, and she is wearing her nurse’s uniform. She starts work
in half an hour, and she is in a hurry.
‘OK,’ David replies, starting to eat his cereal. His mother looks quite serious. He knows she worries about
him a lot. ‘Sorry I’m late, Mum.’
‘That’s all right,’ she says, and smiles.
‘Now don’t forget your sandwiches,’ she says.
‘Don’t worry.’
But ten minutes later, when David runs out of the front door to catch the bus, his lunch is still on the table.
And then, David misses the bus.
He waits another fifteen minutes for the next one.
When it arrives, he gets on, and goes up the stairs to sit on the top floor. He sees that he is the only person
on the bus wearing a blue sweatshirt and grey trousers – the uniform of Westbourne High School. He’s very
late.
David likes looking out of the window at the cars, the people, the shops, and houses. He soon sees two
boys.
They aren’t wearing school uniforms. A boy with red hair is riding a bicycle, the other one is running
beside him. They are laughing.
‘That’s odd,’ thinks David. ‘They aren’t going towards a school.
Maybe they have a day off … Lucky them!’
But David soon forgets them …
The snow is falling on the streets and buildings of New York.
It is falling on a long white limo.
It is falling on David Delgado, the Great Detective.
It is falling on Mickey Malone, the King of Crime.
And it is falling on the object Mickey is holding in his hand.
He moves it into the light of the streetlamp.
It’s a gun!
David Delgado doesn’t change his expression.

odd: strange. a day off: a holiday.

‘Where’s Harry?’ asks the Great Detective.
‘Harry’s fine,’ says Mickey. ‘He’s in the back of the limo.’
‘Can I see him?’
‘Not now,’ says Mickey. ‘He doesn’t feel very well.’
And then Mickey points the gun at David Delgado …

Chapter 2: David’s Two Worlds

David doesn’t know what happens next to the Great Detective. He hasn’t got time to continue the story. The
bus stops outside his school. David runs down the stairs, jumps off the bus, and rushes through the school
gates. The playground is empty and silent.
David runs to the entrance.
Inside, the school is empty and silent, too. David walks quickly along the corridors. He can hear teachers
talking in the classrooms. He looks through the windows and sees the students at their desks.
He is the only student not in a class.
Finally, David stops outside a classroom. He takes a deep breath, knocks at the door, and walks in.

deep breath: he takes a lot of air into his lungs.

At lunchtime, David looks for his sandwiches in his bag … but they aren’t there. They are still sitting on the
table in the kitchen at home. He only finds an open bag of crisps and an old apple.
The apple is very old and the crisps are cheese and onion – NOT his favourite flavour. But he eats them
and then goes out to the playground. Some girls are talking in small groups, some boys are playing football,
and a small group of his classmates are sitting on a bench.
‘Hey! Dave! Dave the Dreamer!’ Jack calls out and the others laugh.
Jack’s gang, Liam and Tareq start chanting:
‘Dave the Dreamer! Dave the Dreamer!’
Then a girl says loudly, ‘Leave him alone, Jack!’
And another girl says. ‘Why don’t you grow up? You’re pathetic!’
David, Jack and his gang all look at Zadie and Holly. Zadie is holding a football.
‘It’s your fault David’s in trouble,’ says Zadie.
‘No, it isn’t,’ says Jack.
‘Yes, it is,’ says Holly.
David feels a bit silly. He looks at Zadie and Holly, and then he thinks of the Great Detective. Girls never
save David Delgado!
‘Ooooh, I’m really scared,’ says Jack, pretending to be frightened.
‘Come on, let’s go inside. This is getting boring.’ And Jack leads his gang into the school.
‘Do you want a game?’ Zadie asks David, bouncing the ball.
‘Er, no, that’s OK,’ David says.
‘Cool,’ says Zadie, and she and Holly run away, kicking the ball.
After the last lesson, Mr Johnson makes David stay behind at school. He has to write ‘I must not talk in
class’ a hundred times.
First of all, David writes the sentences carefully on separate lines in his notebook:
I must not talk in class.
I must not talk in class.
I must not talk in class.
But it’s too boring. So, he writes the words in columns:
I must not talk in
I must not talk
I must not talk
I must not talk
Then he tries writing them from right to left:

flavour: taste pretending: making others think something is

true in a playful way.
I must not talk in class.
I must not talk in class.
talk in class.

And then he starts thinking of a cold New York night, a white limo, Mickey Malone, the King of Crime,
and David Delgado . . .
. . . the Great Detective!
David Delgado doesn’t move. He doesn’t say a word. He is watching Mickey Malone. And Mickey Malone
is pointing a gun at him. ‘You know, it isn’t easy being a gangster,’ says Mickey. ‘I have a lot of problems.
There’s the police. There are the judges. And there are people like Harry. But that’s OK. You see, I’m
clever and they’re stupid. But I have another problem. And that problem’s you, Delgado. You always
follow me. You always try to stop me. And I don’t like that. In fact, I hate it. But tonight, my problem is
over. Goodbye, Delgado.’
But David Delgado takes a stone from his pocket and throws it.
He hits the streetlamp – the street goes black – then Mickey fires his gun. The bullet hits a wall. David
Delgado isn’t there!
‘Where are you, Delgado?’ shouts Mickey. ‘Come back!’
But David is running away down the street.
‘Hey, boys!’ shouts Mickey again. And three big men in dark suits get out of the white limo.
‘Get that man!’ says Mickey.
‘Yes, boss!’ the three big men say together.
And then the three gangsters start running … running after the Great Detective!
After the hundred sentences and another conversation with Mr Johnson, David decides to walk home. It’s a
sunny afternoon and he’s happy to be out of school at last. He goes into a charity shop and looks at the
books. He finds some detective stories he really likes – but he hasn’t got enough money. ‘Maybe
tomorrow,’ he thinks.
So, he goes back outside into the sun. The sky is a brilliant blue.
He walks down the road and turns a corner… and sees Jack.
Jack is standing in the road, looking in the other direction.
David doesn’t want to talk to Jack. He doesn’t want to hear ‘Dave the Dreamer’ again. He is thinking of
walking away … when Jack turns, and sees him.
David can’t walk away. Jack is looking at him. His face is quite red.
Is he angry? David feels nervous. Jack can be quite rough. Does he want to fight? Then David sees that
Jack isn’t angry with him.
He isn’t thinking about lunchtime or the lesson at school. Jack is upset.
‘What’s wrong?’ David asks.
‘It’s my bike,’ says Jack. ‘It’s missing.’
He points at the front of a council house.
‘I always leave it there.’
David looks at the front of the house. No bike.
‘Do you usually lock it?’ asks David.
‘Of course I do!’ says Jack.
David hates losing things and he understands how Jack feels.
‘Maybe I can help,’ he says.
David looks in the front garden.
He finds a metal chain under a bush.
‘Look at this,’ he says.
Then he sees another metal object in the long grass.

judges: people, in a law court, who decide what charity shop: shop where the profits are used to
happens to criminals. help others.
rough: not gentle
‘And here’s the lock. You know what this means,’ says David.
Jack nods.
‘Bicycle thieves!’
And then David remembers his bus journey to school that morning, and the two boys – one on a bike, the
other running beside him.
David tells Jack about them, and then he starts thinking.
‘I’ve got an idea,’ David says.
‘What’s that?’
‘Let’s look for those boys … and find your bike!’
hopeless: (here) impossible.
Hang on: wait