“Be careful,” Riley said as she helped Noah from the boat.
Noah hopped on a tree root and balanced himself. Then he skipped from dry spot to dry spot, tentatively making his way over to Anthony and his dad.
A wail pierced the silence. Noah stopped mid-step.
“Who’s there?” Frank shouted. He glanced around uneasily. “That sounded close.” He poked his head into the fireplace. “I wonder if it’s coming down the flue.” He ducked back into the fireplace and stood up. He placed a foot on a stone and climbed up a couple of feet.
“Come on, it’s okay,” Anthony beckoned for Noah to move forward.
Noah gulped and then bounded quickly over to him.
“Whoa.” Noah stumbled. He threw out a hand and grabbed Anthony. “How did anyone ever live here?”
“It was probably much drier a long time ago,” Anthony said.
“I’ll get stuck if I go any farther. My shoulders are too wide,” Frank’s voice came from inside the chimney. “Anthony, where’s the flashlight?”
Anthony reddened. “I didn’t bring it.”
“Well, go get it,” Frank said, exasperated.
Anthony rushed as quickly as he could back to the boat.
“Noah, Anthony and I will lift you up into the chimney,” Frank said. “Check for loose stones, just be careful not to drop any on us.”
“Okay.”
Noah backed up, trying to see the top of the chimney. He lost his balance and tumbled back into the underbrush. He got to his knees and started to stand up. But something tugged at his leg. It jerked him and Noah fell facedown into muddy water. Noah pushed himself to his knees again, gasping. He wiped at his face and looked down.
A Burmese python the size of a telephone pole had wrapped itself around his leg! Noah saw the python’s skin, which was covered in brown blotches bordered in black. It had to be over ten feet long!
“Dad!” Noah screamed as the python curled around his waist.
Frank ducked down, staring out of the fireplace opening. His jaw dropped when he saw Noah with the snake wrapped around him.
“Noah!” Frank stood up quickly and whacked his head on the stone fireplace. He dropped backward, momentarily dazed.
“Help!” Noah pulled at the thick snake’s body as it squeezed him. He knew that a python killed its prey by constricting its strong muscles until its victim couldn’t breathe. Noah pushed helplessly at the snake’s body. It was too big and too strong. He could feel the snake crushing his ribs.
“Hey!” Anthony leaped at them.
He grabbed the snake’s head and pulled it backward. But the python continued to wrap around Noah.
“Can’t…get…out,” Noah wheezed.
Anthony fell to the side as the snake whipped its head around. Its muscles relaxed momentarily and Noah slid toward the ground. But then the snake constricted again.
“We have to unwind it!” Frank yelled.
He raced over and pulled at the python’s tail. The snake thrashed, but the two men overpowered the snake and it quickly unwound from Noah’s waist. Noah twisted himself a bit, finally tumbling out of the python’s grip.
“Oof.” Noah landed hard in the brush and backed away from them.
“I’ve got its head,” Anthony yelled. The snake calmed a bit. “Get his lower body.”
Frank grabbed the snake’s middle. The two men hauled the snake to the other side of the island, grunting and lurching in the uneven soil. With a heave, they threw the python into the brush. It slithered away.
Frank rushed back to Noah. “Are you okay?” he said as he pulled Noah into his arms. Riley ran up, her jeans muddy from tumbling in the swamp.
“I’m okay,” Noah said, fighting not to tremble.
“That was too close,” Anthony said, breathing heavily. “You must’ve stepped on it.”
Noah nodded. “I knew they lived in the ’Glades, but I’ve never seen one.”
“Frank, this is too much,” Riley said. “We need to go back.”
“No!” Noah protested. “We’ve come this far, we can’t stop.”
Frank looked over at Juan Carlo. He was sitting in the boat, relief etched on his face. “Noah should come back to the boat,” Juan Carlo said.
“We can do this,” Noah ignored Juan Carlo. “Dad, you hoist me up into the chimney and I’ll check the higher stones. Mom, you and Anthony watch for that snake…or any others.”
“He’s right,” Anthony said. “We’ve come too far to give up now.”
“Okay.” Frank strode back to the fireplace, followed by the others. “Where’s the flashlight?”
Anthony hurried to where he had dropped it when he helped rescue Noah from the snake.
“Here.” He handed it to Noah. It was small and lightweight, perfect for Noah’s smaller hands. “Hurry.”
Frank and Noah crawled into the fireplace. Noah turned on the light as Frank wrapped his arms around Noah’s knees. Frank raised Noah up into the narrow part of the chimney.
“Can you move?” Frank asked.
“Yes.” Noah had about six inches all around his body. He shone the light around, searching for any loose stones. He saw one and reached up for it with one hand. He worked at the stone until it came out. Putting the flashlight in his mouth, he felt around with his other hand. Nothing. He put the stone back and repeated the process a few times. His shoulder began to ache.
“Anything?” Frank asked. He shifted and Noah bumped his elbow on a stone.
“No,” Noah mumbled around the flashlight.
“Oooooohhh,” a low wail sounded right in Noah’s ear. He stiffened.
“Dad,” Noah whispered. “It’s right here.”
“It’s okay,” Frank said. “There are no ghosts around.”
The moan sounded again.
“It’s coming from right above me.” Noah peeked above him. “It’s too dark to see.”
“Shine your flashlight where you hear the sound,” Frank instructed him.
Noah pulled his arm up, took the flashlight from his mouth, and shone it above him. He spied a crack in the stones. He reached up to feel in it, then stopped. What if something’s in there? he thought. Then he took a deep breath and poked his hand in the crack. Nothing bit at his hands. But Noah could feel air coming through the crack. Then the wail startled him. This time, Noah covered the crack with his hand. The wailing stopped. He moved his hand and the sound returned. He put his hand over it again, and the sound stopped.
“What is it?” Frank asked.
“The breeze is blowing through a crack in the chimney,” Noah said. “That’s what’s causing the noise!”
Frank laughed. “There’s your ghost.”
Relieved to know what was making the sound, Noah continued his search. He couldn’t see any other loose stones so he started pushing at them one by one with his hand. Dust and ash filtered down around him. He sneezed and coughed.
“Anything?” Frank repeated.
“Push me higher.”
Frank shoved him upward. Noah banged his sore shoulder. “Ow!”
“What?” There was fear in Frank’s voice.
“Nothing. My shoulder.”
Noah kept on, but he was growing discouraged. Had he brought everyone out here on a wild goose chase? He was the one who thought the emerald could be hidden in the chimney.
“What a dumb thought,” he murmured, slamming a fist against a stone.
It moved slightly. Noah pushed with his fingers. The stone was loose, much looser than the others he’d checked. It didn’t fit snugly with the other stones. He pulled at it and it suddenly popped out completely.
“Watch out!” he yelled, trying to catch it. He caught it momentarily by pressing it between his body and the chimney wall, but then it slid down.
“Ouch! It hit my foot,” Frank yelped.
“Sorry.” Noah reached into the empty space where the stone was. He felt something metal. He barely breathed as his fingers closed around what felt like a small bo
x.
“I’ve got something,” he said excitedly.
Frank lowered him down. Noah’s feet touched the ground and he scrambled out of the fireplace. Frank ducked out after him and everyone stood around Noah.
“Open it,” Riley said.
Noah unclasped a tiny lock and opened the box. Inside was something covered in tattered leather. Noah dumped the contents out of the box. A large green gem tumbled into his hand. Noah held the gem up to a ray of sunlight. It glinted brilliantly.
“It’s beautiful,” Riley said softly.
“Wow,” Anthony said.
“Is that it?” Juan Carlo shouted from the boat. “Did you find it?”
“Yes!” Frank picked up the emerald and held it up for Juan Carlo to see. “We’ve got it!” he yelled jubilantly.
“And now I will take it from you.”
Max Scheff emerged from behind the stone fireplace.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
GREAT CATCH!
Max held an assault rifle. Behind him stood Dave ‘The Wrench’ Dixon. He had a bump the size of a crabapple on his forehead.
“How did you find us?” Frank asked Max.
“We put a bug in the spyglass,” Max replied. “Just in case you did escape. We’ve tracked your location since you left the Copper Key. I know you, Frank.” He nodded at Riley. “And you, too. We’ve worked against each other for so many years, searching after the same treasures. I could tell you what you’d do before you even think of it. I knew you’d keep the spyglass with you at all times.”
“Ever since you stole the French Diamond from us, we’ve had to be extra careful,” Frank said.
“But you’ve never resorted to threatening us,” Riley said. “Or kidnapping.”
“That wasn’t me,” Max snapped. “That was Isaiah Wright.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Frank said. “We have the emerald.”
“Not anymore.” Max took a step forward. “Give it to me.”
Noah clutched it in his hand. “No. We found it. It belongs to Juan Carlo.”
Max turned and looked at Frank. “Do you want to tell him to give me the emerald, or should I? I guarantee that I’ll be much more persuasive.”
“Let him have it, Noah,” Frank said.
Off to the left, something rustled in the brush. Dave whirled around, gun pointed at the disturbance. Max kept his gun trained on the Winters and Anthony.
“Relax, Dave,” Max said. “Frank here just threw something over there to distract us.”
Frank raised an eyebrow. “No, I didn’t.”
Uncertainty crossed Max’s face.
“You think you know all my moves, but that’s one I didn’t make,” Frank said.
“We had a fight with a python a few minute ago,” Anthony said. “Maybe it’s come back.”
Max laughed. “You’re not going to scare us.” He pointed the rifle at Noah. “Give me the emerald.”
Noah stepped forward and handed the jewel to Max. Max held it up, twisting it in his fingers.
“Stunning,” he said. “I can’t believe it’s real.”
A crunching sound came again, but this time a long, steel-gray body slithered out of the underbrush. Its long tail whipped to the side, crushing sawgrass. It snapped its jaw, teeth flashing dangerously.
“Max,” Dave said fearfully.
An alligator stared at them all. Then he inched toward Max and Dave.
“Shoot it,” Max ordered Dave.
Dave lifted his rifle, but before he could fire, the alligator stormed at him. It seemed to Noah as if everything was happening in slow motion. He saw Dave jerk backward, bumping into Max. Max stumbled, his hands flailing. The rifle butt hit the ground near the alligator. It stuck in the mud, with the stock pointing skyward. The gator paused and stared at the rifle. The emerald flew out of Max’s hand, high into the air, where it circled around, catching the beams of sunlight. Green sparkles danced around them. Then the emerald dropped toward the ground.
“No!” Riley cried out.
Noah reached out and caught the emerald.
“Great catch!” Anthony pumped his fist.
Everything sped up. The gator raced at Max and Dave. Dave snatched a tree branch and hauled himself up into the cypress. Max did the same, only he couldn’t quite pull himself up. He clung to a branch, his legs dangling precariously close to the gator’s snapping its jaws.
“Run!” Frank yelled. But Riley, Noah, and Anthony were already racing through the muck to the airboat. They all leaped aboard and Frank jumped in the elevated seat. Juan Carlo and Anthony grabbed the oars and they pushed away from the island.
Anthony looked back. “The gator’s leaving them,” he said, pushing with all his strength.
The boat crept agonizingly slowly out into the marsh. Noah stared back. Max and Dave dropped out of the tree and disappeared.
“Just a little farther,” Juan Carlo said, helping Anthony push.
The boat slid into deeper water.
“Now, Frank,” Riley hollered.
Frank pivoted the rudders. Just as he was about to fire up the engine, Noah heard the roar of another airboat engine.
“Max is coming,” he shouted.
Frank nodded and the airboat powered to life. He worked the rudders as the boat picked up speed. They cut through the mucky water and into the sunshine. A sawgrass prairie surrounded them.
“There they are!” Noah pointed.
Max and Dave were in a similar airboat, barreling down on Noah and the others.
“Hang on!” Frank turned the boat. It tipped precariously, but continued on. Behind them, Max kept pace.
“Head toward that island,” Anthony screamed over din of the fan.
Frank saw the island and some mangrove trees. He jerked the rudder and the boat careened to the right of the mangrove. The screeching sound of metal scraping the tree roots shuddered through the boat.
Noah glanced over his shoulder. Max tried to turn his airboat. It tipped toward the right. Then the airboat’s portside clunked against the mangrove roots and jerked to a halt. The impact threw Max and Dave out of the boat. They tumbled head-over-heels into the marsh. Max stood up, dripping wet. He shook his fist at Noah and the others.
“He’ll never catch us now!” Frank yelled.
The airboat flew through the sawgrass, heading back to Everglades City.
“Ha.” Juan Carlo smiled triumphantly. “The emerald is back with my family.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
VIAL OF POISON
Later that night, Noah was dozing on the couch when Chief Burton came over for a visit.
“Don’t get up,” he said to Noah.
Riley led Chief Burton into the kitchen, where she and Frank were reliving the day’s events. Anthony was asleep in his room, and Juan Carlo had already flown his private jet back to New York. But Juan Carlo promised that he would return in a couple of days to take the Winters and Anthony out for a celebratory dinner.
Noah yawned. Now that all the excitement was over, he was exhausted. But just hearing his parents talking made him happy. They were back safe at home again. And he had helped with that.
He rolled on his side and looked into the kitchen. Chief Burton was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. Frank and Riley sat at the table.
“I got a warrant and this morning we searched Isaiah Wright’s house and the island,” Chief Burton said.
“And?” Riley asked.
Chief Burton shrugged. “We didn’t find anything that would indicate you’d been held there.”
“What about the motorcycle that Noah ran into the water?” Frank said.
“We searched along the coast, but it wasn’t there,” Chief Burton said. “We took Wright in for questioning, too. I talked to him for hours, but I couldn’t get anything out of him. He denies any wrongdoing, and he says he’s never heard of Max Scheff or Dave ‘The Wrench’ Dixon. Not only that, Wright said that you all had trespassed on his island and that he caught yo
u. When he confronted you both, you stole the Slingshot and left the island. He and Chang were following so they could get their boat back.”
“You know that’s a lie,” Frank said.
“Of course,” Chief Burton said. “But it’s because you’re the ones telling me the story. If someone walked into the station and told me Wright had kidnapped them, I’d have my doubts. Isaiah Wright is eccentric, but he’s never broken the law, and he’s never been suspected of breaking the law.”
“He’s too rich to get caught,” Riley snorted.
“That may be so,” Chief Burton continued. “But until I can prove anything, I can’t do any more. A man like Wright is too smart to have any evidence lying around. Although I don’t know how much that will help. And Wright made an interesting comment right before Detective Shaw and I left.”
Riley rubbed her eyes in frustration. “What’s that?”
“Wright said that he could press charges against you for stealing his boat –”
“But that’s preposterous!” Riley interrupted.
Chief Burton held up a hand to stop her. “No, Wright could do that. But he looked me square in the face and said that he wasn’t going to do that because he didn’t want any problems. He was clearly sending me a message. The police leave him alone, and he’ll leave us alone.”
“So Wright gets away,” Riley said angrily.
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Chief Burton said. “He’ll have to be extra careful about what he does now. If he so much as jaywalks, I’ll arrest him.”
Riley frowned.
Chief Burton looked from Frank to Riley. “And there’s another thing.”
“What?” Frank asked.
“Say we did find something and we charged Wright. You would have to testify, and so would Noah. And then it would be Wright’s word against Noah’s. It could get ugly in court. And after all that Noah’s been through, do you want to see him endure more from Wright?”
Frank crossed his arms. “You’re probably right. I just hate to see Wright get away with this.”
“I do, too,” Chief Burton said. “But there’s one thing I believe after twenty years of law enforcement.”
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