Zach whistled. 'Do I even want to know?'

'I don't need-' Gregor's face turned a deeper shade of purple as he tried to squeeze himself out.

'Stop moving!' Amy growled.

'I told you, I'm not a qualified first aider.'

She shook her head. 'We've called the Fire Brigade, Zach; I only want you to talk to the guy while I keep an eye out for them.'

Zach wasn't in a position to refuse, so he crouched beside Gregor and tried not to laugh. At least he managed to hold it in until Amy was gone.

Gregor glared back in defiance. 'You're a bastard.'

'Say that again, and I'll let the visitors use your head for a game of 'Whac-A-Mole.''

The Bulchville lad gulped and kept quiet. 

'Okay,' continued Zach. 'How did you get stuck in here?'

'I came with my nephew, and for some reason, I followed the seven-year-old brat in here when he threatened to run away,' Gregor started breathing heavily. 'Please don't tell my mother; she'll kill me.'

Zach frowned. 'She's probably worried sick about you two.'

'Worried about her grandkid, maybe, but me? Not a chance. Speaking of which, where is Rupert?'

Zach glanced beyond the playground to the rest of the park, where dozens of chirping birds were pecking at the grass to snag wriggling insects while others were boldly raiding full rubbish bins for scraps. Then he looked from one empty bench to the next and realised that Amy must have already cleared the visitors away.

Suddenly, something struck his head, and he was ready to lay it down to his imagination until he spotted a little swinging leg coming at him again.

Zach stepped backwards at the right moment. 'Rupert?'

'Nope.' The child giggled.

'It's him,' groaned Gregor. 'I'd recognise that whiney voice anywhere.'

Rupert started kicking the tube. 'Shut up, block face.'

'Knock it off, the pair of you.'

There was a silence. 'Did you hear that?'

'I didn't hear anything, Gregor.'

'Zach, there was a car door slamming!'

'In the middle of the playground? There's no one out here but us.'

'Somewhere else in the park then. I'm telling you, I heard something.'

Gregor had been right. The double doors on the opposite side of the park suddenly shot open, and two firefighters charged through, with a paramedic following behind.

The paramedic wore silver-stripped coveralls and had a bag slung over one shoulder while carrying a backboard with her free hand. One firefighter hauled a yellow strap bag presumably packed with tools, and the second called for attention.

Zach knew he'd be in the way, so he reached to pull Rupert from the topside of the tube before the kid could escape, then pointed down. 'He's in there.'

'What's his name?' The lead firefighter asked with a broad Scottish accent.

'Dumpling.'

'Enough,' whispered Zach to Rupert. 'His name's Gregor.'

The lead firefighter cleared his throat, dropped his tool bag to the floor and shone a torch inside. 'Gregor, how are you doing, buddy?'

'I've been better.'

The Bulchville lad's voice echoed, and he sounded as though he was underwater, but Zach didn't laugh. Instead, he shuffled further away from the scene with Rupert in tow.

Amy returned with Hilton two minutes later, and the second firefighter turned on the pair. 'Can you tell me why one side of this children's tube is narrower than the other?'

Zach's eyes shot open; he wasn't an expert, but he knew what the consequences of such an error might be. The whole museum could close for failure to meet safety standards, and it'd happen sooner if Gregor chose to sue them into oblivion.

Amy looked at Hilton to answer, but the Museum Manager looked elsewhere as though he were trying to find someone else to blame.

The firefighter shook his head in disgust. 'Close this park immediately.'

Zach had been so enthralled in the drama that he hadn't even noticed the lead firefighter carefully sliding Gregor out the other end of the tube.

'Get me the backboard.'

The paramedic had been waiting behind, so they quickly aligned the device with the tube opening, then lowered Gregor onto it and fastened the straps.

'I don't need it; I can walk.'

'Begging your pardon,' the paramedic said in a gentle yet secure tone. 'You might have tweaked something in there, and we can't take any chances. We'll take you to Hershaw Medical Centre for a checkup. Can we call anyone to meet you there?'

Gregor's sigh carried across the entire park. 'My mother; I'm sure she'll be worried about my nephew over there.'

'He can ride with us in the engine.'

The second firefighter nodded to his commander and levelled a finger at Hilton. 'Close the park, or we'll close it for you.'

A few minutes later, they were gone, but Hilton still had a thundercloud hanging over his head. 'I suppose I should print some signs to let our visitors know we're closing this place.'

'Does the museum have a website? You might reach more people.'

Hilton frowned at Zach. 'Nobody pays attention to what's written on it, so why should we bother?'

'We'll get it fixed in no time, boss.'

'Amy, you've seen our income lately. Do you honestly think we can afford something like this? And before you start, don't mention fundraising. You know we'll never get it.'

'Fifth times the charm...' Amy teased with a grin.

The Museum Manager and Supervisor continued talking as though Zach weren't even there.

'We're in survival mode, and I don't know how to get us out.'

'We could raise gift shop and cafe prices.'

Hilton laughed. 'Your sister would murder us both.'

'She'd certainly try. What the-' Amy almost jumped out of her skin when Zach tapped her on the shoulder.

'Sorry.'

'Sorry?' She repeated. 'Why aren't you back in the cafe helping Lana?'

Zach felt sick. 'You never said-'

'Well, I am now.'

Zach started walking but knew he'd regret it if he didn't say anything. 'You should put everything you have left into one big event.'

Amy was amused. 'You've barely worked here one day, and you think you know how this place runs?'

'No, of course not,' Zach said, wiping the sweat from his brow. 'I just mean, you can-'

'Yes?' Hilton pressed.

The pair were making fun of him, but he didn't care. He knew that he'd be the first to go if it came to sacking staff. 'Host a pop-up farm. You already own enough land to facilitate it, and as much as it pains me to say, visitors would love to see those llamas outside.'

'You want us to work with Loftus? You've met the man. How would you rate his customer service skills?'

They were listening, so Zach felt the confidence to bull ahead with his pitch. 'Keep the old goat out of sight; pay him a percentage of the profits. We only need his animals after all.'

'This could work.'

Hilton wasn't so sure. 'What about staffing? We can't afford to bring in more casuals.'

'We can use the volunteers! The good ones, I mean.'

Zach smirked. 'We could ask Clifford.'

Amy clipped the back of his head, but Hilton hugged him. 'Thank you.'

'So, you want me back in the cafe?'

'Yes,' Hilton answered. 'But don't tell Lana about any of this. Not yet anyway.'

Zach sighed and turned toward the half-opened door he'd used earlier. 'Wish me luck.'

While he didn't hear Amy's response, he knew what it would have been. Keeping a secret from her sister would be the biggest challenge he'd face today, but an order was an order. So, with every slow step, he considered what he would say.

When Zach finally returned to the cafe, he was shocked to see that the lights were off. Chairs were stacked on tables, and a still-steaming bucket of dirty mop water sat in the centre of the hall. Lana had closed the place despite it being the middle of the day.