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Chapter 1
1. What information are we given about Susan and Jack’s parents?
Mary and Bob were both died. Their mother had died tragically in a road accident when Susan was a little girl and Jack was a baby. Their father death was a lot more mysterious.
2. What do we learn about Susan and Jack’s normal routines?
Susan was working as a lawyer in a law office in London. Jack worked in a garage as a motor mechanic. Every morning, Susan would get up early to go to work, while Jack was still asleep: she worked late and was usually tired by the time she got home, so she and Jack didn’t spend much time together. It was only on Sundays that they really saw and spoke to each other. After working hard all week, Sunday was always a lazy day for Jack and Susan. They would lie in their beds until one of them decided to get up and look breakfast, and then the smell of bacon and eggs would be too delicious to resist.
3. Why did Jack react so strongly when he saw the photograph in the newspaper?
It was a photo of a man smiling and waving his hand. Under the photo was written: “Mr. Laurence Forrester announcer his candidacy for the next election”. He might had changed his name, but Jack said he would recognize him anywhere. Jack remembered the day when he had first met Mr. Forrester, only then was known as Frankie Lewis.
Chapter 2
1. What were the attitudes of Bob, Jack and Susan to motorcycles and motocross racing?
Jack loved motorcycling; it was in his blood. Susan had never shown as much interect in motocross racing as Jack had. She preferred to read and study. Her dream had always been to become a famous lawyer when she was older. Bob loved motorcycles so much. He told Susan that she needed to get the feel of oil under her fingernails and smell the burnt oil and dust as the likes race round the track to understand him. He worked in a garage.
2. What would Jack do when Susan didn’t accompany him to the races?
Bob would allow Jack to help in the garage; Jack would pass his father tools and would clean oil that fallen on the garage floor. Getting his hands dirty made Jack feel like a real mechanic.
Chapter 3
1. Why did Bob feel responsible for helping his family financially when he was young?
Bob had grown up in a very poor part of London known as the East End. He had lived in a small house with his mother and four brothers, one of whom, Tommy, was his twin. Tommy had been born lame and had difficulty working. The boys’ father died when Bob and Tommy were fourteen and a half, and had left the family with no money. Because of Tommy’s disability, Bob had decided that it was his responsibility to take care of his younger brothers and help his mother financially.
2. What did Harry propose to Bob one day and what was Bob’s initial reaction?
Harry told him that his brother’s friend sold drugs and that he needed kids like them to deliver the drugs to his clients. At first, Bob said he didn’t want to get involved with drugs, and that he’d better tell his friend to find another kid to deliver his drugs.
3. Who was Frankie Lewis and how did he persuade Bob to start using drugs?
He was a local drug dealer. Sometimes he purposely wouldn’t give Bob any drugs to deliver until he agreed to take drugs himself. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise!”. Frankie would say and laugh. Frankie also told him that he didn’t have to be an addict to enjoy drugs, and that maybe he could get his brother Tommy to start using drugs.
4. How did Tommy discover that Bob was involved with drugs?
One evening Tommy was on his way home from a friend’s house when he saw Bob talking to a man. As Tommy get closer, he saw the man giving something to Bob, and Bob quickly put ir in his pocket. “What did that man gave you?” – Tommy asked Bob later that evening, when the two brothers were alone in the bedroom they shared. “And don’t tell me that he didn’t gave you anything, Bob, because I saw you put it in your pocket”. Bob knew he had no choice but to confide in Tommy how he earned his money.
Chapter 4
1. How did Tommy help Bob after Bob quit heroin?
Tommy’s boss agreed to give Bob a temporary job. Bob made a pact that he would never take drugs again and Tommy helped him as much he could, teaching him everything he knew about being a mechanic.
2. Describe the two men who came to visit Bob in his garage.
The first one was of average weight and mean-looking. He had short, brown-grey hair and a thin moustache and he was wearing an expensive suit. The second man was shorter, with big hands and long, oily hair. He was dressed in torn jeans and a dirty t-shirt.
3. Why did Frankie want Bob to sabotage the favourite’s bike?
Because the big race was coming soon, the British Motocross Championship, and Frankie was certain Bob was going to be there. He wanted Bob to did him a favour: add oil to the petrol mixture, because extra oil makes the engine dirty and that makes the bike go slower. It’s because Frankie was betting a lot of money on one of the riders to win the race, but he was no the favourite to win. So he wanted Bob to sabotage the favourite’s bike to win the bet.
Chapter 5
1. How did Bob react to Frankie’s phone call?
“I thought I told you never to phone me at home!” Bob shouted, putting the phone down angrily.
2. Why was Bob worried about Jack and Susan?
Bob worried about Jack and Susan and how they would feel if they learned their father had been a drug addict. If Frankie told them about his past life, he just hoped they could forgive him.
3. Who did Susan meet in the pits at the race track and what did they talk about?
She met a rider called Mario, and they talked about Enduro Championships and many motocross championships he had ridden in.
Chapter 6
1. Why didn’t Jack and Susan go to the big race?
Because Susan and Jack had got chickenpox and it was very contagious, so his father told them to stay at home and not to scratch.
2. Why was the day of the big race always a busy one for Bob?
Because there are many likes waiting for a final check-up. It was his job to make sure that everything was perfect.
Chapter 7
1. What happened when Frankie began to clean his nails with his penknife?
The knife cut one of his fingers and it started to bleed. Monty hit Bob on the nose and he was sure Monty had broken it. Then grabbed him by the hair and pulled him towards Frankie, who showed him a bottle that contained liquid heroin.
2. What was Frankie planning to do with the liquid heroin and why?
Frankie had the idea to pour it into the petrol tank of that like bob was working on and start the Bike. The heroin mixture would mix with the air and he would breath it all in, to make him die. Everyone would think Bob had commited suicide.
3. What mistake did Bob make during his fight with Frankie and Monty and what was the result of this?
As Frankie turned to leave, he looked over his shoulder at Bob and saw that he had lowered the spanner to his side. Immediately, Frankie ran to Bob and knocked the spanner from his hand. While Monty was caughting bob very tightly, Frankie stuck the needle deep into a vein in Bob’s arm. The heroin flowed easily and quickly. When the syringe was empty, Frankie threw it on the floor and putted Bob’s Sleeve down. Then Monty poured the liquid heroin in the petrol tank. Finally, Frankie and Monty got out of the garage running and laughing as smoke from the bike filled the air. Bob was laying on the ground next to the bike hoping someone would came into the garage and find him.
4. How did Frankie make sure that the police wouldn’t find out what he and Monty had done?
Frankie cleaned the syringe and the bottle and then pressed Bob’s fingertips against them. Bob was too weak to do anything.
Chapter 8
1. How did Jack and Susan find out about their father’s accident?
Mario came into the garage because he wanted to know why Susan hadn’t come to see the race. He found Bob lying on the ground, hardly breathing and unconscious, so he called Susan. Jack answered and Mario told him about their father’s accident and that the ambulance was taking him to Northwick Hospital. Then Jack told Susan.
2. Before the autopsy, what did the police think was the cause of Bob’s death and how did Jack react to this news?
The policeman said it seemed that their father may had committed suicide. Jack jumped up and shouted: “My dad would never commit suicide. You’re wrong!”. “Dad would never kill himself!”, Jack repeated.
3. After the autopsy, why did the police decide that the cause of Bob’s death had been an overdose of heroin?
Because the first thing that the doctors discovered was the fresh mark on Bob’s arm. This was soon identified as the kind of mark that drug addicts have from injecting themselves. After further examination, the doctors found that Bob’s body contained a massive amount of heroin.
4. What job did Jack get when he finished school and why?
He decided to do the same kind of work that his father had done; he started working in a garage, checking and repairing motorcycles. Because of his father. He’d learnt a lot about bikes from watching and helping his father Bob.
5. How did Tommy try to justify Bob’s decision to get involved in the drug business?
Tommy said that it was wrong, but that their dad thought it was the only way he could get money to feed them. “Life in those days was hard”. “It wasn’t easy living in the East End of London”, he said.
Chapter 9
1. Why did Jack think that Frankie had something to do with his father’s death?
Because Frankie and Monty came to visit his dad several weeks before the Motocross Championship. His dad sent him out of the garage to get something to eat and when he came back, they were arguing. Bob looked upset and angry. A few weeks later he was dead.
2. What did Jack want to find out and why?
He’d like to know what his Dad, Frankie and Monty were arguing about. He didn’t know how but he’d find a way.
Chapter 10
1. Why did Jack think that Tommy would be able to help him?
Because Tommy was sure to have known Frankie, specially as he, Jack’s dad and Frankie had all lived in the same neighbourhood.
2. Why did Jack refuse Tommy’s offer of a drink?
Because he wanted some answers and he didn’t want to waste any time. Jack wanted to talk about his dad.
3. What helpful information did Tommy five Jack about Frankie?
Tommy told Jack that Frankie was a dangerous man and hi shouldn’t have anything to do with him. Frankie had a brother, Sydney, who had a very bad accident, and maybe Frankie had something to do with his brother’s accident. Tommy told Jack that Sydney lived in the East End back in the old days in Emest Street, Whitechapel, but he didn’t know if he still lived there.
4. Why did Tommy think it would be a waste of time going to visit Sydney?
From what he heard, Sydney didn’t see on speak to anyone those days, so if he were Jack he wouldn’t waste his time going to visit him. He probably wouldn’t agree to see Jack.
Chapter 11
1. How did the man with the cigarette react to Jack when Jack asked him if he knew Sydney Lewis? The man shook his head and quickly walked away, withought lighting his cigarette. He was standing in another doorway as soon as he noticed Jack he turned away.
2. Who helped Jack find Sydney Lewis and how did this person help him?
A woman who was cleaning tables in a bar. As Jack turned to leave, the woman followed him to the door. She made certain that Charlie (the barman) couldn’t see what she was doing and then she pushed a piece of paper into Jack’s hand. There was an address written on it: Sydney Lewis’ address, the same one Tommy told him.
3. What was strange about Sydney Lewis’ house?
Number 7 was an old, dirty-looking house with a short path leading to the front door. There were broken likes, empty bottles and a lot of newspapers lying everywhere. Jack could hardly see the path. He wondered how sidney managed to walk along it each day without falling over something.
4. Why was Jack shocked when he saw Sydney Lewis?
Because when the man opened the curtain Jack saw the man’s face was completely deformed and he was sitting in a wheelchair. Jack hadn’t expected to see an invalid.
Chapter 12
1. What was Sydney’s attitude towards life and how do we know this?
He’s depressed and rendered because of his disability. We know this because he says that cigarettes are the only good thing in life these days. He doesn’t go out and he has given up on everything. He’s always closed at his home and he doesn’t want to speak to anyone. He’s alone.
2. Why had Frankie hurt Sydney?
Because Bob refused to sabotage the favourite’s bike and when Frankie had arrived home that day after visiting Bob, he was drunk, like a madman. He had to take his anger out on someone and he took it out on Sydney.
Chapter 13
1. What was Frankie’s motive for killing Bob?
Frankie had a good reason for wanting Bob dead: Bob didn’t want to sabotage the favourite’s bike, so Frankie lost the bet.
2. How was Susan going to find evidence that Frankie had killed her father?
Speaking to one of the officers that work on the police station, where there were the archives collecting evidence for the investigation she was working on. She would speak to Police Constable William Winters and find out if there was anything that would help them.
3. How did Susan get the opportunity to put the bag with the penknife into her bag?
When she opened one of the plastic bags that contained the thing taken from the scene of the crime, she could see quite clearly that it contained the clothes his father had been wearing the day he died. She suddenly felt ill. When William saw how white Susan’s face had became, he told her he would get her a drink of water, so when he had gone, Susan opened one of the paper bags and there was a penknife inside. She thought it was strange, because her dad never used a penknife. She wondered whose it was and before William had returned, she put the bag with the penknife into her handbag.
4. Why do you think Susan took the penknife?
Because she knew that if she didn’t do that then, she’d never get another opportunity to prove the murder done by Frankie
5. What did Jack and Susan see on the penknife?
They saw a small brown mark at the end of the penknife. It looked like rust.
Chapter 14
1. Why was William angry with Susan?
Because Susan stole the penknife, so he could have lost his job because of her.
2. Describe what Dr. Robinson did with the knife.
The first thing he had to do was to remove the mark from the knife. He moistened a piece of cloth and wiped the knife with it. The mark came off easily and was transferred to the cloth. Then he used a certain chemical to do a test on the mark. Just as he’d thought, the brown mark slowly turned red.
3. Why was it important that the knife had been in a paper bag and not a plastic one?
Because if it had been stored in a plastic bag, after five years the humidity inside the bag would have made the test useless.
4. What was the result of the test?
The test showed that the mark on the knife was blood.
Chapter 15
1. Why did Jack think that the knife hadn’t been lying in the garage for a long time?
Because his dad always left the garage neat and tidy every day. He’d always make sure that nothing was left lying on the floor before he went home. Jack was sure that knife was on the floor the same day his father died.
2. What would Jack and Susan have to do to prove that the knife was Frankie’s?
Go and ask Sydney. He’d know for sure if Frankie carried a penknife with him or not. Then see if Frankie’s blood type matched the type of blood found on the knife. They had to get something with his blood on it.
3. In what way did Jack and Susan think that William could help them get the last piece of evidence they needed?
If the police arrested Frankie for some other reason, maybe they could get a sample of blood from him then. Maybe William could be able to help them getting it.
Chapter 16
1. What important information did Sydney give Jack?
Sydney told jack that Frankie was diabetic. He had to inject himself with insulin twice a day. If Jack could find a needle that he would have all the evidence he needs. Sydney didn’t know where Frankie lived those days, so Jack would have to find out.
2. What caused Jack to make a noise that somebody heard, and how did he escape from this person?
As Jack reached for the wineglass, he disturbed a cat that was looking for food in the rubbish bin. The cat made a loud “Miaow!” and jumped onto Jack’s arm, scratching it till it bled. “Get off me!” cried Jack, the blood running down his arm. It was very painful, but Jack tried hard not to shout out. The last thing he wanted was Frankie to hear him. The cat jumped on Jack and scratched his face. As Jack was trying to push the cat off him, he fell, and the rubbish bin fell with him. The cat ran away, just as the back door of Frankie’s house opened. Someone came out and ran in the direction of the noise. Jack pushed the rubbish bin hard and it rolled towards the person who had said “Who’s out there?”. The person fell, his arms and legs in the air. Jack didn’t wait to see who it was. He jumped up and ran away as fast as he could, stopping only once to make sure he wasn’t being followed. He escaped without being caught or seen, because when he layed on the ground he was behind the rubbish bin. So the person couldn’t have seen him.
3. What did the forensic test on the blood on the needle show?
The blood on the needle was the same blood type as the blood on the knife.
4. What happened to Frankie and Monty in the end?
They were arrested and not long after that, there was a trial. They were sent to prison for a very long time.
5. In what way were Jack and Susan ‘compensated’ for Bob’s death?
A few days after the trial, they received a letter from the manager of the racing circuit telling then that the next race would take place in honour of Bob.
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