Ann guessed that Mark Logan must have been spying on her on the night that had just passed and that he had attempted the reconnaissance of her bedroom while she had been travelling in Wildstar. She saw no need at this stage, to tell him that Wildstar was the name of the spaceship, and that Butler One was the robot computer who piloted the ship.

"We could be a team, or maybe I could print a story about you and make you famous. We could do whatever you wanted to do Ann, and I'll go along with it, but you have got to trust me now, because I know your secrets. Think of the adventures that we could have. You could help people and save lives, and even catch criminals. You could lead me to the scenes of the action, and I could get some great stories out of it."

"What if I don't want to do any of those things with him? What if I don't like teaming up with a nosey parker who cannot even climb trees properly like I first did when I snuck out and found Wildstar in May?" thought Ann, "If I don't pretend to be grateful for his ice cream and thrilled by his idea of us as a team, he'll cause a lot of trouble. That would make life a real mess for me. Why did he have to be such a pig and go creeping about in Freedom Fields like... like I do?" she admitted to herself, "Well maybe I am as sneaky as he is, but I still cannot trust him. There has to be another way to get myself out of this mess."

"Well, any ideas Ann?" he asked, "When you have finished your ice cream, I would like to hear what you think about all this."

"I won't ask him where he thinks that he has seen me before, because I know that he saw me after the fire, last night in the forest. I need to let this foolish man think that I do trust him," she thought.

"You've got some flashy ideas!" she exclaimed, "So I had better let you have a look inside Butler One. Actually, the spaceship is called Wildstar. Butler One is the robot who works the controls from inside it."

She had to tell him that, and it would let him think that she had taken him into her confidence.

"I can meet your Butler One tonight, if you like," suggested Mark with an eager look appearing on his face.

"Well I cannot stay up late tonight, because I did it last night. I will need a good night's sleep to catch up. Tomorrow is a Friday night. How about then?"

"That sounds fine. A growing girl does need her sleep, but you can sleep in on Saturdays, can't you?"

"Yes, well can I land Wildstar in the park? No, actually, how about St Ives Golf Course? Nobody would be there late at night. I will try to be there at eleven o'clock tomorrow night, Mark."

"I'm looking forward to it already," said Mark, "Well I had better drive you home. Where do you live, by the way?"

"Freedom Fields Orphanage," said Ann, thinking that there was no harm in giving away an address that was already known, probably to the precise details of the location of her bedroom window.

They returned to Mark's car, which he had parked around the corner from the bus stop, and the reporter opened his passenger door for Ann.

"So how long have you had your secret spaceship and flying bracelets?" asked Mark, as they drove along Mona Vale Road.

"About two months, I think," said Ann, pleased at the opportunity to start misleading him.

"Where did you get hold of such toys?"

"I found the spaceship on a beach one day, when I was there early on a Sunday morning. I was spending a weekend at a beach house with some friends from school. Well they had their curtains closed, so they slept in until eight o'clock, but I was woken up by the early sunshine at half past five. We didn't have daylight saving then, you see."

"Sure," encouraged Mark.

"So I went down to the beach. There was nobody else up and about, but I found the spaceship. Butler One the robot pilot had crashed it and was making repairs. We became friends. He's a friendly robot. Now he takes me for rides and lets me use his flying bracelets," said Ann, proud of the speed with which she manufactured the incorrect story. She knew that Mark would have seen her boarding Wildstar the previous night, but avoided telling him the true origin of her secrets, in order to divert his attention away from Freedom Fields. If there was no sign of a burglar during the night ahead - and she knew that Mark would be unlikely to return now - then she could confidently slip out and meet Butler One in the forest on Friday night.