by Paul Moxham
~
The children strolled along the beach where the caves were and stayed on the edge of the wood as the shoreline became more jagged and dangerous looking.
Waves pounded the area and, as they rounded a corner, everyone stopped as they caught sight of a lighthouse. Sitting at the end of a row of rocks that jutted out to sea, it looked as though it would be a hair-raising experience to get to the building.
“I wonder why we didn’t see this from the hill,” Amy said.
“We were too distracted with the church. Anyway, it doesn’t look as though it’s still operating. It probably closed down when they built the new one on Lighthouse Island,” Will said. “It was probably built more than a hundred years ago anyway, so I’m not sure what condition it would be in now.”
They were silent for a moment as they watched a wave break over the rocks in the middle. Joe looked at his watch. “If we came here when it was low tide, we would be able to hop over the rocks.”
“But if it’s deserted, I don’t see much point,” Amy said as she gazed out at the towering structure. “Hey, I wonder if we could call for help using the lamp.” After taking the binoculars from Will, she put them to her eyes and looked at the lamp room.
“What can you see?” Sarah asked.
“Some of the windows are cracked in parts, and the lamp also looks to be cracked, so I would be very surprised if it still worked.” Amy let the binoculars hang around her neck. “We can’t cross now even if we wanted to, so let’s move on.”
Leaving the noise of the crashing waves behind them, the children walked along the shoreline where there were fewer rocks and the water was much calmer.
After seeing nothing of interest, they decided to explore inland for a bit and, while they were walking past some trees, Joe caught sight of some birds on the ground.
They flew upwards and Joe followed them with his eyes up into the trees. He paused as something caught his eye. “Hey, look up there.”
The others looked up and saw that high above, in the branches of a massive oak tree, was a tree house.
“Golly,” Amy said. “Is that the tree house that Quigley made?”
Will shook his head. “I doubt it. The wood would have rotted away by now.”
Sarah stared at the tree trunk. “Look, there are pieces of wood attached to the tree.”
“That must be how you get up to it.” Will walked forward and started climbing. The others watched on as he went past the first three pieces of wood. As he stepped onto the fourth one, it broke away from the tree.
Chapter 10: A Stranger In Need
The others looked on anxiously as Will steadied himself. “Are you all right?” Amy said.
Will nodded. “But I’d better come down now.”
“It’s a pity that happened.” Joe looked up at the tree house. “That would have been a good place to hide from the men.”
From what Joe could see, some of the timber had rotted away and, as he walked around the tree, he saw that there were only a few planks of wood remaining on three of the four sides. It was quite a distance up.
“We could have been like the Swiss Family Robinson,” Amy said. “You know, the ones that got shipwrecked and built a tree house on an island.”
“But they got attacked by pirates,” Will pointed out.
“Well, we have the men,” Amy said.
“I guess so, but why would we need to defend ourselves from them?” Will said. “Anyway, let’s keep on moving.”
They resumed walking, but stopped a moment later as they caught sight of some old planks next to some bushes.
Bending down, Joe picked one up. “I wonder what these are doing here?”
“The person who made the tree house probably left them there,” Amy said.
“That’s a possibility,” Joe said. “They probably brought some planks to the island and these are the ones that were left over.”
They continued walking. Apart from a few rabbits and birds, they didn’t encounter anything of interest before arriving back at the inlet into which they had sailed into on the Lazy Lucy.
Stopping for a rest, the children sat down on the cliff. They had only been there for about two minutes when they caught sight of a craft as it came into view from around the rocks on the side closest to the mainland.
Sarah stood up. “Hey, what’s that?”
Will, who was now carrying the binoculars, peered through them. “It’s a rowboat. I can see one person in it.”
“Why would a person come to this island alone?” Joe wondered.
“Perhaps he’s connected with the men?” Amy said.
“I say we keep out of sight until we know the answer,” Will said.
As the others agreed, all four of them moved back a bit into the bushes and lay down on their stomachs. Gazing out towards the boat, they waited for it to come ashore.
“I wonder if he knows the way through the rocks,” Amy said.
“We’ll soon see,” Joe said. “If he does, I reckon he’s been to this island before.”
“He could be like us,” Will said.
“Yes, but to do what we did with just one person is a bit trickier, though it is a smaller boat. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Joe said.
The craft had no trouble making it through the rocks and was soon beached on the sand. The person climbed out and gazed around.
Peering through the binoculars, Amy saw with surprise that it wasn’t a man but a youngish looking woman. After grabbing a rucksack from the rowboat, she walked up the path.
Studying her more closely, Amy saw that she was wearing khaki shorts and t-shirt. A pair of binoculars hung around her neck. “Do we follow her?”
“Yes,” Joe replied. “We need to see if she’s a local, tourist, or a crook.”
“She doesn’t look like a crook,” Sarah said. “She looks nice.”
“I agree,” Amy said, “but I guess we had better be sure.”
The four children waited until she had passed them and was far enough in front before they followed her. She headed straight for the hill and, as she walked past the stream and into some trees, the children lost sight of her.
Will, who was in the lead, raced forward. As he came to the stream and looked around, he frowned. “She’s disappeared.”
“But she was right here,” Amy said. “She must have walked faster.”
Following Amy, the others raced up the slope. As they arrived at the top, they all looked around. The mysterious woman couldn’t be seen.
“Where did she go?” Joe grabbed the binoculars from Will and peered through them as he scanned the surrounding area. No movement could be seen.
Suddenly, they all heard a noise behind them. Turning around, Joe saw the woman standing at the base of an oak tree.
She walked up to them. “Playing cowboys and Indians are we?” she said in an amused voice.
Amy frowned. “What?”
The woman smiled, her bright blue eyes shining as looked at each of them in turn. “You were following me.”
“We weren’t,” Will lied. “We—”
“Have you by any chance seen three men about?” the woman asked.
“Ah, maybe. Why do you ask?” Joe said.
The woman reached into her pocket and took out a badge which she held out for the others to see. It was official looking, just like a police officer would have. There was a name on it. It read: Nancy Allen.
The woman smiled. “I’m Detective Allen and, as you might have guessed, I’m a police officer. I’m trying to find three men—”
“We’ve seen three men,” Sarah interrupted.
Nancy looked at her. “Really? Here, on this island?”
Sarah nodded. “They say they are birdwatchers, but they’re bad people.”
“Really?” Nancy turned to Joe. “Is that true?”
Joe explained how they had met the men earlier. Once he had done so, he looked curiously at the woman. “Why did you come here?”
&
nbsp; “I heard a rumour that the men were here,” Nancy said. “Now, would you be able to describe the men so I can see if they are the three that I’m trying to find?” As Will did so, the woman nodded. “Yes, it’s them. Do you know where they are staying?”
“There’s a cabin in the woods on the far side of the island,” Amy said.
“Okay. Well, I’m trying to find something that the men have stolen, so—” Nancy said.
“What?” Sarah interrupted.
The woman hesitated. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this—”
“We’ll keep it a secret,” Joe interrupted.
“Well, those men are wanted for stealing paintings,” Nancy said.
“Paintings?” Will questioned.
“Yes,” Nancy said. “They’ve stolen them from museums. Do you have any idea of where they could be?”
The children shook their heads. “We haven’t seen much,” Joe said, “we assumed they were not up to any good, but I didn’t realise that they had stolen paintings.”
“It’s very important that they be found, so can you help me locate them?” Nancy said.
“Why don’t you arrest them now?” Will said. “If they’re thieves—”
“I need the paintings as proof, so I want to make sure that they are with the men before I arrest them.” The woman gazed around at the island before looking at her watch. “It’s such a big island, so I need your help. The paintings have to be somewhere close by. Once I find them, I can contact headquarters.”
“Golly, another mystery,” Amy said.
The woman frowned. “Another mystery? What do you mean?”
Amy smiled. “We, ah, seem to have a habit of attracting mysteries. This will be our fourth one this summer.”
“Did you solve the rest of them?” Nancy asked.
Joe nodded. “Yes.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that I stumbled onto you lot.” Nancy smiled. “So, who can help me solve the mystery of the missing paintings?”
Will looked at the others. “I’m sure everyone will agree with me when I say that we will do all we can to put those men in jail.”
“Good. Now, any ideas of where the paintings could be?” the woman asked.
Amy spoke first. “There’s a cabin that the men use in the woods. We haven’t searched it, but—”
“That sounds like a good spot. Is there anything else on this island?” The woman pointed towards the church. “What’s down there?”
“Oh, nothing much. It’s a ruin,” Joe said, “so I don’t think the paintings would be in there. There are some caves though, but we explored all of them and couldn’t find anything.”
“There’s also a lighthouse, but it was high tide so we couldn’t get across and see what it was like,” Will said.
Nancy nodded. “The one that sounds the most promising is the cabin. Do you want to lead the way?”
“Okay, but we’ll have to keep watch for the men.” Will headed down the hill. There was no sign of the men as the group walked past a group of oak trees and neared the church, but as they came in sight of the inlet, Will held up his hand. “I think I hear something.”
The group stopped and listened. Angry voices came from the direction of the wood. As they huddled behind two bushes, they spotted the men emerge from the trees. They were talking loudly but not loud enough to hear the exact words.
However, it was clear that two of the three men were not happy. They walked onto the beach and disappeared from view a minute later as they went behind the cliff.
Will was tempted to follow them to see where they were going, but he knew that this was the perfect time to explore the cabin. He looked at the woman. “The cabin is in the middle of that wood.”
“What are we waiting for then?” Nancy asked.
The children knew that the men could return at any minute, so they raced to the wood and hurriedly walked through it until they reached the building.
The woman went to the door and swung it open. But before she went inside, she turned to the children. “Keep an eye out for the men while I search.”
She disappeared inside the cabin. The children wanted to peep into the building, but instead they obeyed her instructions and kept watch. Three minutes ticked by and still she didn’t come out.
Joe turned to Amy who was nearest to him. “I’m going to see what she’s up to.” He moved off and was just reaching to open the door when it opened and the woman appeared. “What took you so long?”
“It takes time to examine everything without making a mess,” Nancy replied. “I couldn’t have the men suspect that someone had been through their stuff. The men are—”
Suddenly, one of the men yelled out. Joe turned to Nancy. “We need to go!” He turned and raced back to Amy.
Chapter 11: The Plan
As Joe reached Amy, he followed her gaze and saw Will and Sarah running towards them. Behind them, they saw the thin fellow with beady eyes. As soon as the others reached them, the group raced off down the path. As the man pursued them, Joe saw that he was gaining ground.
“We have to split up!” Joe yelled. “Let’s meet back at the campsite.” He turned to the woman. “Come with us.” Up ahead, as the path veered left, he went right, followed by Nancy and Sarah, leaving Will and Amy to head left.
~
As Will and Amy arrived at the campsite, they saw that the others were already there.
“Did the man chase you?” Will said.
Joe nodded. “Yes, but we were able to lose him. You should have been there. It—”
“Look!” Sarah interrupted as she suddenly spotted a boat.
The others stared across the water, watching as the boat cruised past the island.
“What type of boat is it?” Amy asked.
Putting the binoculars to his eyes, Joe peered towards the craft. His face broke into a smile. “It’s a police boat!”
“Let’s wave like mad,” Amy exclaimed. “If the police—”
“No!” the woman interrupted.
“What?” Will said, surprised. “But they can help round up the men.”
Nancy shook her head. “Headquarters believe that a local police officer is involved in the thefts.”
“Why do they think that?” Joe asked.
“I can’t go into the details,” Nancy said. “Just trust me. Besides, what we really need is to discover where the paintings are. Once we know that, I’ll contact headquarters, and they’ll send along plenty of men.”
The children fell silent as the boat passed by. Will looked at Nancy. “Can we go back with you?”
Nancy frowned. “Why?”
“Out boat got damaged on some rocks, and I’m not sure if it will get us to the mainland,” Will replied.
The woman hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. But enough talk. Does anyone have any idea where else we can search?”
“We could search the church and storehouse,” Joe said.
“Okay, let’s go there now,” the woman replied.
The group moved off, heading towards the ruined buildings. Arriving at the church, Joe was the last one to enter the building and, as he did so, he thought he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.
Turning around, he spotted Luke, the one with the ponytail, heading in their direction. He rushed over to the others. “One of the men is coming this way!”
Everyone stopped what they were doing as they peered out of the doorway.
“Do you think he saw us?” Nancy said.
“I don’t know, but if we stand here for much longer he will.” Joe leaned against the wall. “We need to hide.”
Nancy shook her head. “I need to find those paintings now. So, instead of us running all over the island, why don’t we ask that man?”
Will looked at the woman. “What? Why would he tell us anything.”
Nancy reached into her pocket and pulled out a pistol. “This can be a very persuasive tool if you use it right.”
Joe stared at the gu
n. “Why are you carrying that?”
“I’m a police officer, remember?” Nancy said. “Don’t worry, it isn’t as though I’m going to shoot him. I just want to find out about the paintings.”
“So what do you suggest we do?” Amy said.
“If you can make some noises, he’ll come and investigate, and I’ll use the weapon as motivation for him to tell us,” Nancy said.
“I can make a noise like a cat,” Sarah suggested.
Nancy nodded. “That should do it. If only we could trip him up as well.” She glanced around, trying to spot something that would do the job. But there was nothing.
“We’ll have to trip him up using our legs,” Joe said.
“Let’s get into position then.” Nancy and Will stood by the door while the girls hid below the window. Joe kept his eye on the man from another window. As Luke walked closer, the girls started their performance.
“Meow,” Amy said.
“Meow, meow,” Sarah said.
Joe saw Luke stop and stare in the direction of the storehouse. He then walked on, but stopped once more as the girls continued to make cat noises. Frowning, he turned and walked towards the storehouse. Joe motioned to the others that the man was coming and everyone fell silent.
The footsteps got louder as the man approached. He stepped through the open door and glanced around. His eyes caught sight of the girls and his facial expression turned from one of amazement to one of anger. He strode towards them.
Luke didn’t see the foot that tripped him and he fell to the ground. But he did see the pistol that was pointed at him as he attempted to get up. This was evident by the way he raised his hands straight away. “Don’t shoot!”
“On your feet now!” the woman said.
As the man stood up, a thin smile flickered across his face. “Long time no see, Julie.”
Will frowned and glanced at Nancy. “Do you know this man?”
Nancy shook her head. “Never seen him in my life. Now, about the—”
Luke spat on the ground as he heard Nancy’s response. “You haven’t changed, have you, Julie?”
