“You’re the one who broke in!” Isla argued.
Jay’s smile was pure evil. “I don’t think the police will see it that way. I’m an upstanding businessman. You are children. Who do you think they’ll believe?”
“Us!” Marly said, summoning courage she didn’t know she had. “Because Ms. Lovelace will tell the police she gave us this letter.” She patted the tote bag that hung from her shoulder. “We’re on another treasure hunt, and we can show the police how we got in here. We didn’t have to break a window to get in like you did.”
“Unfortunately, Stella Lovelace is gone,” Jay said.
“What do you mean gone?” Sai asked. He shifted the rock from one hand to the other.
“She’s not gone,” Isla said. “We were just in her office a couple hours ago.”
“Oh, I know.” Jay moved toward them. “I saw you from my own office down the street. I wanted to know what you were up to, so when you left her office, I watched you. Then I followed you. I waited while you went inside the house next door, and then I watched you go in here. I rang the bell. When you didn’t answer, I went back to Ms. Lovelace’s office to find out what was going on. But her office was all locked up. There was a note on the window that says, ‘Out for the rest of the summer.’”
“What?” Isla said, confused.
“Out where?” Marly asked. Why would Ms. Lovelace have suddenly closed up her office in two hours? It didn’t make any sense.
“I don’t know,” Jay said. “And her phone goes right to voice mail. Speaking of phones . . .” He raised his phone. “Are you going to show me the treasure or am I going to call the police?”
Marly, Isla and Sai exchanged nervous looks. They hadn’t actually found the treasure yet. It was probably in that hidden room behind the painting upstairs, but they weren’t absolutely certain of it. Either way, they sure didn’t want Jay Summerling tagging along while they found out. And they were pretty sure Mr. Summerling wouldn’t have wanted that, either.
“Fine. We’ll show you where the treasure is,” Isla said finally.
Marly gaped at Isla. Is she out of her mind?
“Oh, no, we won’t!” Sai argued, blocking the entrance to the hallway and stairs.
Isla got right up in Sai’s face and said, “We don’t want him to call the police.” Then, ever so slightly, she tilted her head toward the fireplace. “I bet you didn’t know there’s a hidden room behind the fireplace,” she said to Jay.
Ah. Now Marly knew what Isla was up to. Isla was so smart!
Curiously, Jay walked over to the fireplace. He scanned the mantel and touched all the bricks. Just like Marly and Isla had done. “How do you get in there?” he asked. He stood with one foot on the marble half circle in front of the fireplace and one foot off.
Isla pointed. “You have to have both feet on the marble.”
Jay narrowed his eyes. “What are you trying to pull?” He still had one foot on the marble and one foot off.
“No, Isla! Don’t tell him. We don’t want him to know where the treasure is,” Marly said. She hoped she sounded convincing. She hoped Jay would think there was treasure hidden behind the fireplace.
“That’s right,” Sai said, walking over to Jay. “It’s our treasure. Not his!”
Jay shoved him out of the way, then stepped back onto the marble. This time with both feet. “How do you get in there?” he asked Isla.
“Like this!” Isla lunged for the underside of a shelf by the fireplace and jabbed something with the palm of her hand. The whole fireplace wall immediately swung around, taking Jay with it.
“So cool!” Sai breathed.
The fireplace wall that faced them now looked exactly like the other one. You’d never know anything had changed. Or that there was a hidden room behind that fireplace.
“Good thinking, Isla!” Marly patted her friend on the back.
Isla beamed.
“I’m glad we locked the metal door in there that leads to the hidden stairway,” Sai said.
Marly nodded. She was glad they’d done that now, too.
“I meant it when I said we don’t want him to call the police,” Isla said. “But we should call them. Should we go over to your house and do that?” She looked at Marly.
“Not yet,” Sai said. “Jay isn’t going anywhere. So let’s go back upstairs and see what’s in that room behind the painting first.”
The kids raced back up the stairs. Quickly, they pulled the painting away from the wall and unlocked the hidden door. Then they grabbed hands and clomped up this brand-new set of stairs.
“Oh, wow,” Marly said as they entered a small, square room with windows all around. It was the tower room!
“This is it,” Isla said, rushing to one of the windows. “The hidden room that looks out over the city.” The whole town of Sandford lay below them, looking small from this height.
“So, where’s the treasure?” Sai looked around. There wasn’t much in here. Just a couple of boxes beside the stairs and an overstuffed green chair by one of the windows.
Sai crouched down in front of one of the boxes and searched through it. “Just old clothes in here,” he said.
Marly checked the next box. “Looks like photo albums in this box,” she said. She took the top album out. “Maybe our next clue is in one of the photos.” As she sat down with the album, something on the wall caught her eye: a picture of a telephone.
She quickly stood back up. “Uh, you guys?” she said, turning in a slow circle. There were also pictures of a bear and a globe and a vase of daisies on the walls. “Where else have we seen pictures of a telephone, a bear, a globe, and daisies?”
“The tree house!” Isla and Sai exclaimed.
“That can’t be a coincidence,” Isla said.
Marly agreed. There had to be a reason Mr. Summerling had the same pictures on the walls in the tree house and in this hidden room. She moved to the center of the room. “I don’t think the treasure is in the boxes,” she said.
“I bet it’s like the tree house,” Sai said. “We have to figure out where imaginary lines between all the pictures make a T, and that’s where we’ll find the treasure!”
Marly was already standing on that spot. But unlike in the tree house, there was no rug beneath her feet here. Just plain wood slats.
They all knelt down and pushed their fingers into the gaps between the slats.
“Here we go,” Isla said as she lifted the first piece of wood from the floor. There was something metal and blue tucked in there.
“Another secret compartment!” Sai cried. He pulled two more boards up, then Isla lifted the box out and set it on the floor between her and Marly. It was identical to the other two boxes they’d found on the first treasure hunt.
Sai was practically bursting with excitement. “What’s in there?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.
Isla unlocked the clips and lifted the lid. A brown envelope lay inside the box.
Marly grabbed it and tore it open. Inside was a folded sheet of paper From the Desk of Harry P. Summerling, three plane tickets to Seattle, Washington, and three tickets to Summer Island. “What the—?” she said, holding them up.
“Where’s Summer Island?” Sai asked.
“Probably near Seattle?” Marly guessed. “There’s a map of it in the dining room.”
“Those tickets are for us,” Isla said. “They have our names on them.”
“And they’re dated August 25,” Marly pointed out. “That must be why the letter Ms. Lovelace gave us said we had until August 25 or the treasure would be lost forever. These tickets will probably expire if we don’t use them.” She waved the tickets in the air.
“Read the letter!” Isla nudged Marly.
Marly unfolded it, and Isla and Sai leaned in while she read it out loud. “‘Dear Treasure Troop. Congratulations
! You are one step closer to the buried treasure. Please call Stella Lovelace on her private phone (219-555-0155). She will be your guide on your next adventure. Pack your digging clothes. And whatever you do, don’t let my son know where you’re going. Sincerely, Harry P. Summerling.’”
“So . . . that’s our treasure?” Sai said. “A trip to a place called Summer Island?” Marly couldn’t tell if he was happy or disappointed.
But Isla’s feelings were clear. “I’ve never been on a plane before,” she said with delight.
“I’ve only been on one once,” Marly said.
Finally, Sai leaped to his feet. “We’re going on a trip! We’re going on a trip!” he said, jumping up and down.
“I wonder what we’re going to do on Summer Island,” Marly said.
“Duh,” Sai said. “We’re probably going to go on another treasure hunt!”
Another treasure hunt, Marly thought. Really?
* * *
“You’ll be hearing from my attorney,” Jay Summerling grumbled. His hands were handcuffed behind his back.
“Yeah, yeah,” the police officer said as she pushed Jay’s head down and helped him into a squad car. Then they drove away.
Marly, Isla, Sai, and all of their parents stood around on the sidewalk.
“We should never have let you all go into that house by yourselves,” Isla’s mom said as she bounced the baby in her arms.
“Yes, you should have,” Sai argued. “We caught a bad guy!”
“And we found the treasure,” Marly said, holding up the envelope they’d discovered hidden in the floor.
“Right. Now, what’s this about a trip?” Marly’s mom asked.
Marly handed the envelope over. Her mom opened it while the other parents moved in closer to see what was inside.
“Before you say anything, can we just call Ms. Lovelace?” Sai asked. “Please?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Marly’s mom said, passing the tickets to the other parents. “We need to see what this is all about.”
They all went over to Marly’s house and sat down on the front porch. Marly’s mom pulled out her phone and punched in Ms. Lovelace’s number. Then she put her phone on speaker and set it down where everyone could hear it.
“Hello?” Ms. Lovelace said.
“Hi! It’s us! Marly, Isla, and Sai! The Treasure Troop!” They all spoke over one another.
Ms. Lovelace laughed. “Well, hello, Treasure Troop! Are you ready for your next adventure?”
“Yes!” they shouted.
“Wait a minute.” Sai’s dad rested a hand on Sai’s shoulder. “What do you mean by ‘next adventure’? How many adventures and treasure hunts are there?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Isla’s mom said with some concern. “Our children have already been on two treasure hunts. How many more are there?”
Marly’s excitement fizzled just a bit. Were the parents going to say no to this trip? They couldn’t do that. They couldn’t!
“I can’t answer that,” Ms. Lovelace said. “But you must allow your children to come on this next one. Please! It’s the most important one yet!”
The most important one yet? Marly, Isla, and Sai eyed each other curiously. What did that mean?
Marly couldn’t wait to find out!
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
Dori Hillestad Butler's books have appeared on children's choice award lists in 18 different states. Trading Places with Tank Talbott won the Maryland Children's Choice Award in 2007, and The Buddy Files: Case of the Lost Boy won the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery. She is the author of the successful Haunted Library series, and has also been a ghostwriter for the Sweet Valley Twins, Unicorn Club, and Boxcar Children series. She's published numerous short stories, plays, and educational materials, and has served as the Iowa Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators' Regional Advisor. She grew up in southern Minnesota and now lives in Seattle with her husband, son, dog, and cat. She visits schools and leads writing workshops all over the country.
Tim Budgen is an illustrator and art teacher. For much of his life he has been scribbling down ideas and can usually be found with a pencil in one hand and a sketchbook in the other! He lives by the sea on Hayling Island, England, with his wife, Julia.
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