The Mystery of Smugglers Cove (The Mystery Series, Book 1)

by Paul Moxham

  They were almost there when the heavens opened up and it began to rain. They ran down the dirt road, flung open the front gate, and raced down the path.

  Their mother opened the door as they were kicking off their muddy shoes.

  Soon, they had dried themselves off and were tucking into freshly made scones.

  “Just as well you were close to home,” their mother remarked as she passed the jam across the table.

  “Yes,” Amy replied. “We would have been drenched if we had been any farther away.”

  “I think the wet weather has set in for today,” Joe said, looking out of the window. It was still raining quite heavily, and there were a lot of dark clouds scattered across the sky.

  Deciding to paint some pictures, they got the brushes and paint out and began painting. After cleaning up, they played some games before it was time to eat.

  After a lovely meal, the children decided to have an early night. This was partly because Joe wanted to go exploring the following night and he didn’t want to be tired. Even though the girls were not sure if they were going to go, they decided to go to bed as well.

  ~

  The following morning, the children went shopping with their mother. Arriving back shortly after midday, they had just entered the house when the phone rang.

  Their mother answered it. After listening and nodding her head for a few minutes, she hung up.

  “Who was that?” Joe asked.

  “It was Grandma. She’s hurt her back and can’t get around by herself. She wants me to go and stay with her for a few days and help her, but I don’t really want to leave you three alone.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Joe said. “Go and help Grandma.”

  “If only there was someone to keep an eye on you,” his mother answered.

  “What about Will’s father? I’m sure he would agree to that,” Amy suggested. “Besides, what could possibly happen to us in two or three days?”

  “Well, okay,” their mother said. “I’ll ring up Mr Spencer and see if he can look in on you each day.” She picked up the telephone and dialled. She was soon talking to him. She nodded a few times, then smiled and said goodbye. She looked at the others. “He’s busy working on his novel, but he’ll check up on you from time to time.”

  “Can Will come over and stay tonight?” Joe asked.

  “I suppose so, as long as his father agrees,” his mother replied.

  “Thanks,” Joe said. He hugged his mother.

  “Are you leaving now?” Sarah asked.

  Their mother looked at her watch. “If I hurry, I should be able to catch the two o’ clock bus.” She went upstairs, packed her bag, and then left, waving to the children as she hurried down the garden path.

  ~

  The children went over to Will’s to see if he wanted to stay the night. He did, and after his father agreed, Will quickly packed a rucksack.

  The children then headed down to the beach to see if there was a place near the caves where they could hide and not be seen by the crooks. They knew that the boat was going to be coming at midnight, so tonight was the night to explore.

  After splashing playfully in the knee-high water, they headed to the rocks near the caves and began to search for a good hiding place.

  They hadn’t been searching for too long when Will, who was climbing part of the rock face, suddenly yelled out. As the others hurried over, he pointed to what he had seen.

  It was the cave window! The one that they had peered from the other day. After climbing the last few feet to the window, Joe looked in. He couldn’t see much, as it was dark inside, but there was enough light to see that it was the same cave.

  Ten feet to the right of the window was a small alcove that appeared to have been made by the wind and the rain over the years. It would suit their purpose nicely. By being near the window, they would be able to see, and possibly hear, the men if they came into the cave. They would also be able to see the boat come in.

  Everyone agreed that it was the perfect location, and so they left the caves and made a sandcastle. After that, they decided to have some running races on the sand. It was a happy group of children that made their way back to Rose Cottage in the late afternoon.

  ~

  At midnight, Joe and Will grabbed their torches, binoculars, and a few snacks before leaving the house. Fortunately, there was a full moon, so they didn’t need to use their torches.

  As they walked along the sandy beach, Joe thought things over. According to the conversation that he had overheard, the boat would be coming a week from tonight. That would be the ideal time to launch a raid. If the police raided the manor too soon, there would be the danger of someone getting away and alerting the crooks on board the boat.

  It was nearly midnight when the two of them reached the rocks and climbed up to the cave. Joe turned the torch on for a few moments. Even with the moonlight, it was tricky to climb the rocks in the darkness. As they passed the hole in the cave, Joe looked in but couldn’t see anything. That could only mean that the boat hadn’t arrived yet. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Let’s have a midnight snack while we’re waiting,” Joe said. He pulled two bars out of his pocket and, after handing one to Will, started munching on the other. He stared out into the darkness as he ate. Without the binoculars, he could make out the beach, but beyond that it was a sea of black.

  Finishing off the snack, Joe took hold of the binoculars and did a thorough search of their surroundings. Other than the gentle lapping of the waves, he heard nothing.

  Suddenly, Will tapped him on the shoulder and pointed. “I think I just saw something.”

  Joe looked through the binoculars. “You’re right, there’s a dinghy approaching.” He watched as the small craft reached the beach.

  The binoculars were so powerful, and the men so close, that he was able to see every move they made. After dragging the craft up the beach, the men threw the oars into the dinghy. This done, two of them began to walk towards the cliffs below.

  Joe lowered the binoculars and whispered, “It will be interesting to see which cave they enter to get to the tunnel.” He put the binoculars up to his eyes again and searched the beach for the men. They were nowhere to be found. He checked to see if the guard was still there. Thankfully, he hadn’t disappeared from view.

  “I can’t find them,” Joe muttered. Not getting a response, he turned his head to see what Will was doing and got a shock. Will wasn’t there!

  Surprised and scared, Joe hurriedly looked around. Where could he be? He had been with him a minute ago. Careful not to trip over anything, he made his way slowly back to the cave window. Light was streaming through the hole. He glanced down the way that they had come earlier, in case the group of men had returned to the beach.

  That’s when he saw it. Halfway down the path, a dark shape lay against the rocks. He knew that whatever it was, it couldn’t have been there when they had come up earlier. He raised the binoculars to his eyes.

  He stiffened. He saw that the dark shape was a person lying face down. From the clothes he wore, Joe realised that the motionless figure was Will.

  Chapter 10: Dangerous Times

  Joe scrambled down the rocks, taking care not to slip, and in a few moments he was beside his friend. He let out a gasp of relief as Will slowly turned around and put a finger to his lips, motioning for him to be quiet.

  Wondering what was going on, but realising that he wasn’t going to get an answer, Joe stayed still.

  A minute later, Will stood up. “Let’s get back to the alcove,” he whispered.

  Joe nodded and followed Will as he climbed up the rocks once more. They passed the cave and sat down.

  Will gulped down some lemonade before he spoke. “Did you wonder where I was?”

  “Of course. One moment you were there, and the next moment you were gone.”

  “Well, while you were looking through the binoculars I thought I heard a noise coming from the cave. You were busy, so I thou
ght I’d check it out by myself. I saw that the cave was still in darkness but, just as I was about to return, I heard a faint noise coming from the beach.”

  Will paused as he took another sip of his lemonade. “I was scrambling down to investigate and had nearly got to the bottom when my foot slipped on some loose rocks. I tumbled down. I wasn’t sure if anyone had heard me, so I lay still for a moment or two. It was lucky that I did that, because the next thing I heard was two men talking. They were discussing whether they should go and investigate. Luckily, they didn’t. And then you arrived a minute or two after that.”

  “Thank goodness I didn’t arrive any earlier,” Joe said.

  “Yes. I wasn’t sure if the men were still about, and that’s why I wanted you to be quiet. So, what do we do now?”

  “We should see if we can hear what the men are talking about. We might find out some information that the police would be interested in.”

  Will followed Joe as they made their way along the ledge to the cave window. They peered through the opening, but were disappointed.

  They had hoped to find a meeting in place, but there was nothing of the sort. A lamp sat on the table while several men walked back and forth lowering boxes down the hole.

  “Well, this doesn’t help,” Will whispered, as they slowly headed back.

  Joe didn’t answer. A thought had just occurred to him, and he was wondering if it could possibly work. If it did, it would solve all of their problems. “Has the guard gone from the dinghy?”

  “I’m not sure. Let me have a look.” Will peered through the binoculars. “I only see boxes.”

  “Good,” Joe replied. “Why don’t we see if the dinghy has a name on the side of it? If it does, the police will be able to track the boat.”

  “Well, I guess we could,” Will said. “But if we see any sign of the crooks we should make a run for it.”

  After grabbing the torch, they set off down the rocks and onto the beach. They continued down the beach, hugging the rocks so they would blend into the shadows.

  Soon, they were near the dinghy. Luckily, clouds now covered the moon, meaning there was just enough light to see where they were going, but not enough for the crooks to spot them if they happened to come out of the cave.

  “I’ll go since I thought up the plan,” Joe offered.

  “Okay,” Will said. “Just be careful.”

  Joe nodded and stepped forward, but he didn’t get any farther than that as, a moment later, Will grabbed him and pulled him to the ground.

  “The men are coming,” Will quickly whispered.

  Slowly getting up, Joe joined Will in peering around the rocks to see what the men were doing. There were five of them and they were putting the boxes that they had brought from the tunnel into the dinghy.

  When they had finished, the dinghy was almost full. In fact, it looked as though there was only enough room for two people, as the back part of the craft was filled with boxes. The men then pulled a big sheet of plastic over the boxes, tying it at all of the corners except one. This done, they moved back up the beach and were soon out of sight.

  “Phew, that was a close call,” Joe muttered. “Thanks, Will. If it hadn’t been for you, they might have caught me.”

  “Just as well I had my eyes open,” Will replied.

  “It looks to me as though the men have almost finished. They’ve probably gone back to get one or two more boxes, or maybe some final instructions.”

  “I think you’re right,” Will said. “If so, you’ll have about seven minutes. That’s how long it should take to go to the tunnel and come back.”

  “All right, time me,” Joe said. “As soon as there’s a minute left, give me a hoot. Also, give me a hoot if you hear someone coming. That will let me know that I had better get out of there quickly.”

  Joe hurried towards the dinghy and arrived in good time. Now that he was actually standing next to it, he could see that it was actually a bit bigger than he had first thought. He quickly checked the craft for any names. In doing so, he discovered that the whole of the dinghy had been painted over in black.

  Frustrated that he had achieved nothing, he attempted to see if he could find out anything from the boxes. Finding a few nails that hadn’t been pushed down fully, he attempted to open a crate to get some of the fake money, which he imagined would be in there.

  ~

  Will, who was keeping an eye on the time, failed to see that fog was rapidly swirling in from the sea. When he did glance up to see if any of the men were about, he was shocked. The whole beachhead was covered in thick, white, mist that was getting thicker every second.

  Disgusted with himself for not noticing it sooner, he hooted to Joe. He did this three times. Hopefully, Joe would get the message and come back. It was too dangerous to stay there with the fog rolling in. It would be almost impossible to spot the men before they reached the dinghy. As it was, Will couldn’t even be sure that they hadn’t reached it yet.

  ~

  Upon hearing the hoots, Joe stopped what he was doing. He couldn’t understand why there had been three hoots as they had only agreed on one.

  Deciding to wait a little longer, and dismissing the hoots as a real owl, he continued what he was doing. He had nearly managed to break open a box. A few moments more and he would have it, and then he could go back.

  ~

  Will was in a state of distress. He had imagined that Joe would run back as soon as he had hooted, but there was no sign of him. And now the fog was so thick that he couldn’t see five feet in front of him.

  Giving another hoot, Will was about to set out for the dinghy when he heard voices. He glanced at his watch. He’d thought the men would be at least another two minutes before they came back, but this was not the case.

  The men’s voices became louder and the light from a strong torch penetrated through the fog. There was no doubt about it. The men had returned!

  ~

  Joe was still working on getting the box open when he heard voices. He quickly pulled back the plastic that he had been working underneath and stopped in shock.

  All around him was a thick blanket of fog. He realised that it must have been Will hooting earlier to warn him of the fog rolling in. Surprised, he climbed out of the dinghy just as a torch light stabbed through the fog and landed on him.

  Moving as quickly as he could, Joe tumbled back into the dinghy. He wasn’t sure if he had been spotted or not, but he wasn’t going to wait and see. He moved over to the other side and climbed out.

  He paused as another torch light appeared in front of him. He could hear voices up ahead. He only had one option.

  He scrambled back into the dinghy and crawled underneath the plastic near the back of the boat. He manoeuvred himself in-between two boxes.

  There was a chance that the men would tie the plastic down without looking at it too closely, and thus he would not be noticed. It was a slim chance, but it was better than nothing.

  If he could remain unseen until the craft started moving, then his chances would improve greatly. He could hear the men getting into the dinghy. Two of them were having a conversation, but he couldn’t understand anything they said because it was in a foreign language.

  Hoping that they would forget to tie the plastic down, Joe was disappointed when he heard footsteps right next to him. He tried holding his breath for as long as he could. He was relieved when the crook pushed the last box only partly underneath the plastic. The man then moved away and Joe let out his breath.

  The man called goodbye to the others and Joe heard the men push the dinghy into the water and start rowing.

  Chapter 11: Adventure On The High Seas

  Will peered through the binoculars, trying to spot the dinghy that he knew must be out there. He had gone back to the alcove to gather up their belongings and had hoped that, as it was higher up, the fog wouldn’t be as thick as it was down on the beach.

  Fortunately, it wasn’t. Due to a fresh breeze blowing in from the s
ea, he could make out patches of water. But it was still hard to see. Almost as soon as the wind had pushed a clump of fog away, a new batch floated in.

  He was about to stop looking when he saw the dinghy going slowly out to the mouth of the cove. He was able to see that three people were on board before the fog covered them.

  Relieved, Will removed the binoculars from his eyes and hung them around his neck. He had only seen three people and hadn’t heard a scuffle, so he believed that Joe had gone undiscovered. It would still mean that Joe was in a desperate position, but Will knew that if there was chance to escape, his new friend would find it.

  Not wanting to give up so easily, Will decided to give the beach a thorough going over. If Joe was somewhere nearby, he was going to find him. He spent the next hour tediously going over every stretch of beach within a mile of where he was.

  But he couldn’t find Joe. In his heart, he knew that if Joe had escaped, he certainly wasn’t on the beach. Otherwise, he would have found him. With these thoughts in his head, he headed back to Rose Cottage.

  ~

  As the black dinghy travelled across the water, Joe tried to think of a plan that he could put into action as soon as it stopped. He would have to do something quickly. The men would start unloading the goods immediately.

  Try as he might, he couldn’t think of anything. Behind him sat a number of boxes, so there was no chance of getting out that way. And in front of him sat the crooks, so that way was also useless. It looked as though he would have to wait until the dinghy reached the boat.

  Before long, one of the men called out and, a voice that he hadn’t heard before, answered. Joe knew that they must have arrived. This was confirmed by the grating of a chain being released from a small crane.

  Moments later, the dinghy started to rise up. Joe stayed quiet and didn’t move. Now wasn’t the time to be discovered.

  He could feel the dinghy swaying, and in a few moments it stopped with a slight bump. He guessed that the dinghy was now on the deck of the boat. After releasing the chain, the men climbed out and walked away.