Charlie Bone and the Blue Boa. Jenny Nimmo

his protests, Benjamin quickly explained that the Hong Kong visit had been a complete surprise. A Chinese billionaire had asked his parents to trace a priceless necklace that had been stolen from his Hong Kong apartment. The Browns couldn’t resist such a well-paid and challenging case but as it might take several months, they did not want to leave Benjamin behind. Unfortunately this didn’t apply to Runner Bean.

      Charlie slumped at the kitchen table and scratched his head. His bushy hair was even more tangled than usual. ‘Oh,’ was all he could say.

      ‘Thanks, Charlie.’ Benjamin shoved a large piece of toast into his mouth. ‘I’ll let myself out.’ At the kitchen door he looked back guiltily. ‘I’m sorry. I hope you’ll be all right, Charlie.’ And then he was gone.

      Benjamin was so excited he had forgotten to tell Charlie about his uncle and the wand, or the visit of his three aunts.

      From the kitchen window Charlie watched his friend dash across the street and jump into the Browns’ large green car. Charlie lifted his hand to wave, but the car drove off before Benjamin had seen him.

      ‘Now what?’ mumbled Charlie.

      As if in answer, Runner Bean growled from beneath the table. Benjamin hadn’t thought to leave any dog food for him, and Mr and Mrs Brown were obviously far too busy to think of such mundane items.

      ‘Detectives!’ he muttered.

      For five minutes Charlie struggled to think how he was going to keep Runner Bean a secret from Grandma Bone. But thinking was exhausting so early in the day. Charlie laid his head on the table and fell asleep.

      As luck would have it, Grandma Bone was the first person downstairs that morning. ‘What’s this?’ Her shrill voice woke Charlie with a start. ‘Sleeping in the kitchen? You’re lucky it’s Saturday. You’d have missed the school bus.’

      ‘Um.’ Charlie blinked up at the tall, stringy woman in her grey dressing-gown. A snowy pigtail hung down her back and it swung from side to side as she began to march about the kitchen, banging on the kettle, slamming the fridge door and plonking hard butter on the counter. Suddenly she swivelled round and stared at Charlie. ‘I smell dog,’ she said accusingly.

      Charlie remembered Runner Bean. ‘D-dog?’ he stammered. Luckily, the heavy tablecloth hung almost to the ground and his grandmother couldn’t see Runner Bean.

      ‘Has that friend of yours been here? He always smells of dog.’

      ‘Benjamin? Er – yes,’ said Charlie. ‘He came to say goodbye. He’s going to Hong Kong.’

      ‘Good riddance,’ she grunted.

      When Grandma Bone went into the larder, Charlie grabbed Runner Bean’s collar and dragged him upstairs.

      ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,’ sighed Charlie. ‘I’ve got to go to school on Monday, and I won’t be back till Friday. I have to sleep there, you know.’

      Runner Bean jumped on to Charlie’s bed wagging his tail. He’d spent many happy hours in Charlie’s bedroom.

      Charlie decided to ask his Uncle Paton for help. Slipping out of his room he crept along the landing until he came to his uncle’s door. A DO NOT DISTURB sign hung just above Charlie’s eye level. He knocked.

      There was no reply.

      Charlie cautiously opened the door and looked in. Paton wasn’t there. It was unlike him to leave the house in the morning. Charlie went over to a big desk covered with books and scraps of paper. On the tallest pile of books there was an envelope with Charlie’s name on it.

      Charlie withdrew a sheet of paper from the envelope and read his uncle’s large scrawly handwriting.

       Charlie, dear boy,

       My sisters are up to no good. Heard them plotting in the small hours. Have decided to go and put a stop to things. If I don’t, someone very dangerous will arrive. No time to explain. Will be back in a few days – I hope!

      Yours affectionately, Uncle P. P. S. Have taken wand.

      ‘Oh no,’ Charlie groaned. ‘When are things going to stop going wrong today?’

      Unfortunately they had only just begun.

      With a long sigh, Charlie left his uncle’s room, and walked straight into a pile of towels.

      His other grandmother, Maisie Jones, who was carrying the towels, staggered backwards and then sat down with a bang.

      ‘Watch out, Charlie!’ she shouted.

      Charlie pulled his rather overweight grandmother to her feet and, while he helped to gather up the towels, he told Maisie about Paton’s note and the problem of Runner Bean.

      ‘Don’t worry, Charlie,’ said Maisie. Her voice sank to a whisper as Grandma Bone came up the stairs. ‘I’ll look after the poor pooch. As for Uncle P– I’m sure it’ll all turn out for the best.’

      Charlie went back to his room, dressed quickly and told Runner Bean that food would be coming, if not directly, then as soon as Grandma Bone went out. This could be any time of day, or not at all, but Runner Bean wasn’t bothered. He curled up on the bed and closed his eyes. Charlie went downstairs.

      Maisie was filling the washing machine and Amy Bone, Charlie’s mother, was gulping down her second coffee. She told Charlie to have a good day, pecked him on the cheek and rushed off to the greengrocer’s where she worked. Charlie thought she looked rather too chic for a day weighing vegetables. Her golden brown hair was tied back with a velvet ribbon, and she was wearing a brand new corn-coloured coat. Charlie wondered if she’d got a boyfriend. He hoped not, for his vanished father’s sake.

      Five minutes after his mother had left, Grandma Bone came downstairs in a black coat, her white hair now bundled up under a black hat. She told Charlie to brush his hair and then walked out with an odd smile on her pinched face.

      As soon as she’d gone, Charlie ran to the fridge and pulled out a bowl of leftovers: last night’s lamb stew. Maisie grinned and shook her head, but she let Charlie take some of it to Runner Bean in a saucer. ‘That dog should be exercised before Grandma Bone comes back,’ she called.

      Charlie took her advice. When Runner Bean had wolfed down the stew, Charlie took him out into the back garden, where they had a great game of hunt the slipper: a slipper that Charlie despised because it had his name embroidered in blue across the front.

      Runner Bean was just chewing up the last bit of slipper, when Maisie flung open an upstairs window and called, ‘Look out, Charlie. The Yewbeams are coming!’

      ‘Stay here, Runner,’ Charlie commanded. ‘And be quiet, if you can.’

      He leapt up the steps to the back door and ran to the kitchen, where he sat at the table and picked up a magazine. The aunts’ voices could be heard as they climbed the front steps. A key turned in the lock and then they were in the hall: Grandma Bone and her three sisters, all talking at once.

      The great-aunts marched into the kitchen in new spring outfits. Lucretia and Eustacia had exchanged their usual black suits for charcoal grey but in Aunt Venetia’s case, it was purple. She also wore high-heeled purple shoes with golden tassels dangling from the laces. All three sisters had sinister smiles, and a threatening look in their dark eyes.

      Aunt Lucretia said, ‘So here you are, Charlie!’ She was the eldest apart from Grandma Bone, and a matron at Charlie’s school.

      ‘Yes, here I am,’ said Charlie nervously.

      ‘Same hair, I see,’ said Aunt Eustacia, sitting opposite Charlie.

      ‘Yes, same hair,’ said Charlie. ‘Same hair for you too, I see.’

      ‘Don’t be cheeky.’ Eustacia patted her abundant grey hair. ‘Why haven’t you brushed it today?’

      ‘Haven’t