The Case of the Vanished Sea Dragon Read Online Free

regulation.
    Buchanan, founder of Global Sands, the worldwide corporation with an annual turnover of over £10 billion, dismissed the allegations as ‘ill informed’.
    The animal activists have threatened legal action but they have quite a fight on their hands. Famed for his ruthless business tactics, Buchanan is generally acknowledged to be one of the most powerful men in the world.
    Holly flicked through some of the other articles. There were lots of boring business pieces on Buchanan’s plan to buy a major insurance company, but Holly was more interested in reading about allegations of animal cruelty. She followed links to animal-activist sites speculating on what experiments Global Sands was involved in. It was horrible. She saw pictures of monkeys and rabbits in laboratories, dissected rats and mice. Willow miaowed at Holly’s ankle, and Holly picked her up.
    A motor engine stopped outside the house. She looked through the window and saw an extremely expensive silver car. The driver, dressed entirely in grey, leapt out and opened the back door in one smooth movement. A silver-haired man in a black suit emerged from the car and walked towards Holly’sfront door.
    The doorbell rang. She looked back at the pictures on the computer screen. She could hear Big Hair answer the front door and her dad say, ‘Mr Buchanan, it’s such a great pleasure. Please come in.’
    â€˜Thank you,’ replied a soft voice. ‘Please call me Brant.’

Chapter Five

    Downstairs, Big Hair was laughing loudly and saying, ‘Tell me, Brant, do you really own three islands?’
    â€˜Four, actually. It sounds impressive but if you could see them, they’re just lumps of rock really.’
    Big Hair laughed loudly. Holly could think of nothing worse than joining them, but the food smells proved too tempting for Willow. She wriggled out of Holly’s arms and ran downstairs.
    â€˜Willow,’ whispered Holly. ‘Willow.’
    The cat ignored her, disappearing into the front room.
    â€˜Get away, you awful feline,’ squawked Big Hair.
    Holly darted down the stairs, into the room afterher. ‘Leave her alone,’ she said.
    Big Hair was shooing Willow away with her foot. Dad was sitting next to her on the sofa. Opposite was Mr Buchanan. Up close, he was older than in the photograph on the website, his hair was more silver, his forehead more lined. And the picture hadn’t done justice to his penetrating grey-green eyes, which descended upon Holly. She felt herself take a step backwards, as though his gaze was too intense to stand so close. She knocked a table behind her. A wine glass fell and smashed on the wooden floor. Willow jumped out of the way of the broken glass.
    â€˜I must apologise, Mr Buchanan,’ said Big Hair. ‘The creature isn’t house-trained.’
    Holly didn’t know whether she was referring to Willow or her. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, kneeling down to pick up the shards.
    â€˜Leave it,’ barked her dad.
    â€˜Yes, get away,’ said Big Hair, grabbing her hand, causing the sharp piece of glass that Holly had been carefully holding with her fingertips to slip. The edge was so fine that Holly didn’t feel it cut into her skin, but a red slash appeared across her palm.
    â€˜Holly, you’ve cut yourself,’ said her dad, sounding concerned.
    â€˜Look what you’ve done now,’ scolded Big Hair.
    Mr Buchanan, who had been watching with an air of detachment, seemed to get interested at the sight of blood. He leant forward. ‘That will take some time to heal,’ he said eagerly.
    The fine red line thickened as blood oozed out. The sight of it made Holly feel faint. The pain was beginning to register.
    â€˜Don’t drip on the furniture,’ squawked Big Hair, grabbing a bowl from the sideboard and handing it to Holly. ‘Hold this under it.’
    Holly took the bowl in time to catch the first