by Ron Roy
Here’s what kids, parents, and teachers have to say to Ron Roy, author of the series:
“I just love reading your A to Z Mysteries. I can’t get through them all fast enough!”
—Hannah S.
“Sometimes I wish I was your next-door neighbor. We could exchange stories just by knocking on the door!”
—Daphne F.
“I live in Budapest, Hungary. My daddy ordered all the A to Z books, and we read them every night to improve my English.”
—Cari Ann K.
“My partner and I chose you over J. K. Rowling because of your excellent children’s books.”
—Tom M.
“Josh, Dink, and Ruth Rose are so C.O.O.L.!”
—Mikaela S.
“Thank you for creating a series of creative, exciting books that has made my child an avid reader.”
—Jennifer L.
“[My] second graders include Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose as their personal friends.”
—Diane B.
This is for John Gurney.
Thanks for your wonderful art!
—R.R.
To Molly
—J.S.G.
“I’m going to miss you!” Dink’s mother said as she pulled her car up to the airport. “Give Sammi a hug for me, will you?”
Dink’s parents had named him Donald David Duncan, but now almost everyone called him Dink.
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were on their way to visit their friend Samir Bin Oz for his birthday. Sammi lived in a small island country in the Indian Ocean called Costra, where his father and mother were the king and queen.
The kids hugged and said good-bye to Dink’s mother. Then a man in a white shirt and dark trousers helped them stack their luggage on a cart.
“I’m Carl, your flight attendant on this trip,” the man said. He guided the kids through security, then outside to the landing field. Off to one side sat a sleek jet. When the kids boarded, they discovered that they were the only passengers!
“Please choose your seats, then you can decide what you want for lunch,” Carl said. He handed them menu cards.
“I love being treated like royalty!” Ruth Rose said. She liked to dress all in one color. For this trip to Costra, she had chosen royal blue.
While the kids were reading their menus, a redheaded woman stepped out of the cockpit.
“Hi, I’m Captain Rusty Dollar, your pilot,” she said. “Our flight to Costra should take about fifteen hours. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you’ll be there. If you’ll please buckle up, I’ll take off in a few minutes!”
Five minutes later, the small jet roared into the air. The kids watched the ground become smaller and smaller. Then they saw only white clouds and blue sky.
When the plane had leveled off, Carl appeared at their seats. “What would you like for lunch?” he asked.
The kids all chose chocolate milk, cheeseburgers, and apple pie for dessert.
After they finished lunch, the kids played checkers, read, and listened to music through their headsets.
When it grew dark outside the small windows, Carl gave them each a blanket and pillow. He dimmed the cabin lights and turned on soft music.
“Pleasant dreams,” Carl said, then he disappeared to the rear of the plane.
Dink woke up when he felt a slight bump. He sat up and looked out the window. He saw palm trees and blue skies. “We’re here!” he said to Josh and Ruth Rose.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Sammi stepped inside the plane. He was wearing a ruby-red tunic and black pointed shoes.
“Sammi!” all three kids cried.
They all high-fived each other.
“Okay, you’re free to deplane!” Captain Dollar said from the cockpit.
The kids thanked her and Carl, then walked off the plane to a small landing field. Warm air kissed their skin. A sweet smell came from flowers growing in nearby fields.
“Now where do we go?” Dink asked Sammi. “How do we get to your castle?”
Sammi grinned and pointed up at the sky. Just then the kids heard a whirring noise. A silver helicopter appeared above them. The rotating blades created a stiff wind, blowing the kids’ hair every which way.
“We’re going in a helicopter?” Josh cried. “This is the coolest thing that ever happened to me!”
The chopper landed, then the pilot helped the kids climb aboard and buckle up. As the chopper rose, it was too noisy to talk. Instead, the kids just watched the scenery down below.
Dink saw a deep blue ocean and boats of every size, shape, and color. Sunlight bounced off the water, turning everything to gold.
Five minutes later, the chopper started downward. Sammi poked Dink on the arm. “There’s our house!” he shouted.
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose looked down at a small castle.
The chopper hovered for a few seconds, then landed on the castle roof. The pilot helped the kids climb out. He handed out their packs, waved, and took the chopper back up.
Dink squinted to keep dust and his hair out of his eyes. When he could see again, there was a tall man with bright blue eyes walking toward them. He wore a brilliant green robe with a yellow sash around his waist.
The man gave a slight bow to Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose.
“I am King Farhad,” he said in a deep voice.
Dink gulped, then bowed to the king.
“And I am Queen Grace,” said a woman who stepped out from behind the king.
The queen wore a long white gown. The tips of blue shoes showed under the gown’s hem. Around her neck she wore a gold chain suspending a large ruby.
All three kids murmured “Hello” and bowed.
“These are my parents,” Sammi said proudly.
“Welcome to our home,” Queen Grace said. “Sammi, why don’t you show your friends their rooms now?”
The king and queen walked to a door, where a servant waited to open it. They disappeared down some stairs.
“This is so awesome,” Josh said, gazing from the rooftop. The castle stood at the edge of a small town surrounded on three sides by an ancient wall. The fourth side was the ocean.
Beyond the wall were fields and woods. Dink saw a wide gate in the wall. A winding road snaked through the fields and disappeared into the mountains.
“Is that your father’s boat?” Ruth Rose asked. She was pointing to a long yellow sailboat in the harbor. The yacht had a tall mast and neatly stowed sails.
“No, we only have a small fishing boat,” Sammi said. He shielded his eyes and peered at the yacht. “I don’t know who owns that one.”
The kids followed Sammi down stone stairs to a carpeted hallway. A man stepped into their path. His eyes were fierce under thick black eyebrows. He wore a white turban, a black tunic, and red trousers.
The man smiled and nodded to Sammi. “May I help, young prince?”
“No, thanks, I’m just showing my friends their rooms,” Sammi said. “Guys, this is Fin, my servant.”
Fin glanced at the kids, then backed away. “As you wish, young prince.”
“He’s scary!” Josh whispered.
Sammi grinned. “Fin is cool,” he said. “He practices looking scary to keep kidnappers away. All the bedrooms are here.” He pointed to a double set of doors at the end of the hall. “My parents sleep there, and our rooms are this way.”
Sammi led them around a corner and stopped at the first door on the right. “This is my room. You guys can pick yours.”
Dink counted eight closed doors. “These are all bedrooms?” he asked.
Sammi nodded. “Sometimes we have a lot of guests,” he said.
Dink looked at Josh. “You want to share?” he asked.
“Sure. I know you’re afraid of the dark,” Josh teased. H
e opened the door of the room next to Sammi’s and stepped inside.
“I’ll take the one across the hall from you guys,” Ruth Rose said.
“Okay I’ll see you in about ten minutes,” Sammi said before he went into his room.
“Knock after you unpack,” Ruth Rose told Dink. She went into her room and closed the door.
Before Dink had a chance to follow Josh, he heard a door open. A face peeked out of a room a few yards away. Dark eyes stared at Dink before the face disappeared and the door slammed shut.
Dink shrugged, wondering who else was staying in the castle.
Ten minutes later, Sammi led the kids into the town of Nere. They trekked along a cobblestone road under tall shade trees. Most of the old buildings were made of stone. Everybody they passed smiled and greeted Sammi.
At the harbor, they walked along a stone pier that led to a wide aluminum dock. The water was calm, and several boats and yachts were under sail or motor.
The yellow yacht seemed even bigger now that they were close. Dink noticed that it was not all yellow. There was a green stripe just above the waterline. The name Sundown was painted on the side.
“Maybe it belongs to a movie star!” Josh said.
As they gazed across the water, two men in scuba-diving gear appeared on Sundown’s deck. They splashed over the side and disappeared.
“What’re they doing?” Josh asked.
Sammi shrugged. “Maybe my dad knows,” he said. “I’ll ask him later.”
Sammi led the kids farther along the harbor, then stopped where a huge, square hole had been carved out of the earth. Crisscrossing the bare earth was a maze of pipes and cables.
A row of boulders lined one wall of the hole. A green backhoe stood off to one side, like a sleeping dinosaur.
Two men stood together talking. One wore jeans and a T-shirt, with a red bandanna tied around his black hair. The other man was older with gray hair. He wore white pants and a blue shirt.
The man in the red bandanna waved at Sammi.
“That’s Riko. He’s the job foreman,” Sammi said, with a wave back.
“What is this place, anyway?” Ruth Rose asked.
Sammi spread his arms. “It’s going to be an aquarium!” he said. He pointed to the empty space behind the hole. “Up there will be a school for kids who want to learn about the ocean.”
Sammi grinned at his guests. “Pretty soon, this will be filled with ocean water and plants and fish!” he said.
“What’s that for?” Josh asked. He pointed to a long, wide pipe, half in the water and half out. A machine was attached to the end that was on dry land.
“A motor will pump ocean water up through that pipe,” Sammi explained. “Other pipes will take the water out again, so it’s always clean.”
Dink pictured the finished aquarium with fish and other sea creatures swimming among those boulders.
Josh whistled. “And your dad is paying for all this!” he said.
Sammi pointed to a stone building next door. A small brass sign said NERE BANK.
“My grandfather left my father a lot of gold bars,” Sammi said quietly. “They’re in the bank, and that’s what my father is using to pay for the aquarium.”
“That’s great,” Dink said. “So when will the aquarium and school open?”
Sammi shrugged. “My dad says in a few months,” he said. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Riko.”
The kids followed Sammi down a sloping bank into the bottom of the pit.
Riko shook hands with all four kids. He greeted Sammi in Costran, a language Dink had never heard before.
“These are my American friends, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose,” Sammi said.
“Hello, and welcome,” Riko said in perfect English. His eyes sparkled like black marbles and his teeth gleamed.
Riko turned to the gray-haired man. “This is Dr. Leopold Skor,” he said. “He’s giving me some great ideas for the project.”
Dr. Skor bowed. “I am a marine biologist,” he told the kids. “I am doing research nearby, and I heard about King Farhad’s wonderful aquarium.”
“Would you like to meet the king?” Sammi asked.
“You know him?” Dr. Skor asked, looking surprised.
“He’s my father!” Sammi answered.
Suddenly they heard the sound of distant chimes.
“Come on!” Sammi said to his friends. “That’s Fin ringing the dinner bell!”
The kids spent the next couple of days exploring Nere.
Sammi showed the kids a small park where parrots lived in the trees. He took them to a glass-blowing factory, where they watched a man blow red molten glass into delicate animals. They stopped at a food stall and ate hot meat sandwiches and drank lemon-flavored drinks.
Once or twice, Dink noticed the man he’d seen peeking out of his bedroom in the castle. Dink asked Sammi about the man, but Sammi just shrugged.
“He must be a friend of my father” was all Sammi would say.
On the third day of their visit, the kids were relaxing on a small beach. They sat in the sand and took off their sandals. The sun, puffy clouds, and boats made a beautiful picture.
Out in the harbor, the yellow yacht sat peacefully in the turquoise water. Every now and then, men wearing scuba gear would either jump off the boat or climb aboard. They carried mesh bags and wore long black flippers on their feet.
The kids recognized Dr. Skor as he walked about on the deck.
“Maybe they’re looking at the fish,” Josh suggested.
“Dr. Skor told my father he’s studying coral,” Sammi said. “But there’s a lot more coral outside the harbor,” he said.
“His boat looks so cool. I wish we could go aboard,” Ruth Rose said as she put her feet in the water.
“My father will arrange it,” Sammi said.
Josh looked at him. “He can do that?”
Sammi grinned. “He is the king, Josh.”
Just then Fin showed up with a few other servants, each carrying a large basket.
A few minutes later, they had set up a table and loaded it with food.
“Lunch is served!” Fin announced in Costran, and Sammi translated.
The kids loaded up plates and sat in folding chairs. The servants handed them cold drinks and cloth napkins.
“Oh my gosh, I just remembered!” Ruth Rose cried. “Today is your birthday, Sammi! Happy birthday!”
Sammi blushed. “My parents are giving me a party tonight,” he said.
“Cool,” Josh said. “Will there be a cake?”
Before Sammi could answer, they heard a shrieking whistle. The noise was coming from town.
“What is that?” Dink asked Sammi.
“It’s an alarm!” Sammi said. He stood up and looked toward town. “It sounds like it’s coming from the aquarium site.”
Fin leaned over and spoke urgently to Sammi in their language.
“Fin says he thinks it’s the bank!” Sammi said. “Come on!”
The kids left their plates on their seats and raced toward the bank. Fin ran beside Sammi.
When they reached the bank, the door opened and a man burst outside.
“That’s Mr. Lees Baz, the manager of the bank,” Sammi said.
He ran over to Mr. Baz, who began speaking in rapid Costran. His eyes were bulging and he waved his hands in the air as he spoke.
Fin dug out a cell phone from inside his robe and dialed a number. People came out of nearby shops to see what was the matter.
Sammi returned to the kids. His face was pale. “Mr. Baz said the bank vault has been broken into!”
“Did they take anything?” Ruth Rose asked.
Sammi gulped. “Yes, all my father’s gold is gone!”
Sammi said something to Mr. Baz, and the man nodded. He walked back into the bank, with Fin and the kids at his heels.
Mr. Baz took them to the vault. The door was wide open. Inside they could see a hole in the vault floor. Chunks of stone and concrete lay next
to the opening.
Mr. Baz spoke excitedly to Sammi, then hurried away.
The kids peered down inside the hole. “There’s a tunnel down there!”
Ruth Rose said. “The crooks dug their way in from outside somewhere.”
Dink looked around the empty vault. The only thing he saw was a wide wooden platform. “Where was the gold kept?” he asked.
Sammi pointed to the pallet. “It was stacked there,” he said glumly. “Fifty-two bars.”
Dink knew that much gold would be very heavy. He wondered how anyone could carry it away.
Just then Sammi’s father rushed into the bank vault, followed by a man and a woman wearing police uniforms. Mr. Baz stood beside them.
It was cool in the vault, but Dink noticed that Mr. Baz was sweating.
The king got on his knees to examine the hole, then stood up. “The tunnel was dug from the aquarium pit,” he said. “Please check it, officers!”
The king turned to Mr. Baz. “Let’s go into your office, Lees,” he said. “Fin, will you come, too, please? I’d like a witness to our conversation.”
After the three men left, Sammi leaned close to Dink. “Let’s follow the cops!” he whispered.
The four kids scooted out of the bank and walked to the edge of the construction site. Down in the pit, the officers were already talking to Riko and two other workers.
The kids moved closer so they could hear what was going on. They saw the policeman checking out the boulders lined up near the edge of the pit. He gave one of the boulders a tug.
“Hey, these things are fake!” he shouted in English. “They hardly weigh anything!”
To prove it, the man rolled the boulder out of line. It was as tall as him, but he moved it easily.
“They’re all artificial,” Riko said.
“They’ll be used inside the aquarium when it’s finished. Real boulders would be too heavy.”
“Let’s move them,” the policewoman said.
Riko and his workers helped roll the boulders aside. It took only a few minutes to find the tunnel opening.
