by Paul Moxham
A young police officer raised his hand. “Just after I had spoken with Sergeant Wilmore. I was coming inside just like you had instructed when I saw him. He told me that he wanted to check up on something before seeing you.”
“Check up on what?”
The man shook his head. “I don’t know. But that was the last time I saw him.”
Will ran to the front door and flung it open. He called out in his loudest voice. “Dad!” He waited for an answer.
There wasn’t any. Will looked back as the inspector and the others walked up. “He must be in trouble.”
Inspector Price nodded as he suddenly thought of something. He looked towards the police van that was parked by the garage. He called out to the sergeant. “Did you leave anyone guarding the van?”
“Yes, two men,” the sergeant answered. “Why?”
“Follow me with some men,” the inspector yelled as he pulled out his pistol and rushed towards the van.
Chapter 18: The Disappearing Men
Upon reaching the vehicle, Inspector Price hurried to the back and opened the door.
Two unconscious police officers were inside. He punched the door in frustration. He paced back and forth in anger as three police officers and the children rushed up.
Sergeant Wilmore took one look at the back of the police van. “How could they escape?”
Inspector Price shook his head. “I don’t know. But one thing is certain.”
“What?” the sergeant said.
“They didn’t get out of the van by themselves. They might be counterfeiters, but they’re not magicians. And you would have to be a magician to unlock those handcuffs and knock out two police officers. But they won’t get far. Radio the neighbouring police stations and tell them to set up roadblocks.”
As Sergeant Wilmore hurried to one of the police cars, the inspector turned to an officer. “Tell the men inside to get out here pronto.”
“Yes, sir.” The man hurried away as the inspector and the remaining officer carried the unconscious men out of the van and onto the nearby grass.
Will, like the other children, was shocked. “How many crooks were in this van?”
“Five,” the inspector answered as he laid a motionless police officer upon the ground. He tried to revive him, but it was no use.
He stood up as the rest of the police officers hurried up and grouped around him. “Listen up,” he began. “The men who were locked up in this van have now escaped. We don’t know where they are, but I suspect that they will be armed. So be careful. Search the surrounding woods. If you don’t find anything, start door knocking. Any questions?”
There were none. As the children watched, the police officers departed. Some on foot, some in cars.
The inspector bent down as one of the unconscious men suddenly stirred. “Can you hear me?”
The man slowly nodded.
“Who knocked you out?”
“Don’t know. One minute I was standing next to the van, and then, bam, out like a light.”
The inspector nodded. “Okay, better get someone to have a look at that bump on your head. It looks pretty nasty.”
The inspector looked up as Sergeant Wilmore approached. “Constable Howard is still waiting down at the beach with a couple of men. What shall I tell him to do?”
“To join us. We need all the help we can get.”
As Sergeant Wilmore left, Will spoke up. “What about my dad?”
The inspector glanced towards the four children and then walked over to them. He placed his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Go home and get some rest. All of you.”
“But what about my dad? Aren’t you going to search for him?”
“No.”
“But you can’t just leave him!” Will yelled. “After all, if it wasn’t for him you wouldn’t have caught those crooks in the first place.”
The inspector paused and Joe said, “You think that Mr Spencer helped the crooks escape, don’t you?”
Inspector Price nodded. “I did think of that.”
“My dad is not a crook!” Will yelled.
“Then where is he?”
“Maybe the crooks kidnapped him,” Amy suggested.
“Why would they clutter themselves up with a hostage when they are planning on getting as far as away from here as possible as quickly as they can?”
“Maybe he saw something,” Sarah said.
“Who knows? All I know is that I have five men on the run that will do anything to avoid capture. They are not here at Chandler Manor, so I must put my men elsewhere. You are free to look anywhere you want for Mr Spencer, but I doubt he’s here. For all I know, he could be on his way to France by now.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Will said, his eyes burning with defiance.
“Money does strange things to a person. Being an author isn’t an easy way to make a living and—”
“My dad is not a crook and I’ll prove it!” Will glared at the inspector before he turned and raced back inside the manor.
Inspector Price turned to the others. “As a police officer I have to face the facts. And the facts are that someone helped the crooks escape. It’s also a fact that Mr Spencer is missing. So, though I find it hard to believe, the obvious conclusion is that Mr Spencer is in league with the crooks.”
There was a stunned silence as the children took this in.
Amy decided to voice her opinion. “Just because it’s the obvious answer doesn’t make it the right one.”
“No, it doesn’t,” the inspector said. “And I’ll be happy to accept what Will said, but only if you find Mr Spencer.”
Joe glanced at the girls who nodded. “We’ll find him.”
“Okay. Now, there will be a police officer guarding the gate of Chandler Manor at all times so, if you do find anything, let him know. Good luck. I must get going now.”
The children watched in silence as the inspector climbed into his police car and drove down the driveway.
Amy voiced her thoughts first. “Is it possible that Will’s dad’s a crook?”
“No,” Sarah said. “He’s a nice man. I like him.”
“That doesn’t make him not a crook,” Amy said.
“But that doesn’t make him a crook either,” Joe said. “I find it hard to believe that he’s working with those crooks. But something doesn’t add up. How do five crooks escape from a locked van that has two guards right outside it?”
“They must have had help,” Sarah said.
“Yes, but from who?” Joe questioned.
“I don’t know, but we should find Will,” Sarah replied.
Joe nodded and led the others back into the manor. They found an unhappy Will sitting on the staircase.
They sat next to him and Amy put her arm around him. “It’s going to be all right.”
Will shook his head. “How can you say that? I know my dad isn’t guilty, but that doesn’t matter to that stupid police officer.”
“He’s just doing his job,” Joe said.
“Then why can’t he do his job somewhere else?” Will cried, angry and hurt. “Why does he have to ruin my life?” He stood up. “My dad’s a good man. And I’m going to prove it. Are you with me or not?”
Sarah stood up. “I’m in.”
Amy stood up. “Count me as well.”
Joe also stood up and patted Will on the shoulder. “Together we’ll find some answers. First we’ll search the building from top to bottom.”
“But the police have already searched it,” Sarah said.
“Yes, but they may have missed something,” Joe said. “Either way, we don’t have any other leads to go on, so let’s split up and meet back here in half an hour.”
The others agreed that this was a good plan, so they started searching. It was a long and tiring task, but it was one that they knew that they had to do if they were going to solve this mystery.
Amy knew how hard it must be for Will as his father had been accused of being a crook, and she didn’t w
ant him to suffer for any longer than was necessary. She might not be the best judge of character, but she couldn’t believe that Mr Spencer was a bad person. It just didn’t make sense. There was no reason that he, a former policemen, would have switched to being a crook.
Dismissing these thoughts from her head, she made her way down the staircase and met the others. They all had gloomy faces, which meant that they hadn’t found anything.
“So, what do we do now?” Amy asked.
“Search outside,” Joe said. “Maybe there’s something outside that will lead us to Mr Spencer or the crooks.”
The three children searched the grounds. They climbed trees, searched in the bushes, went along the edge of the stone wall, but nothing could be seen.
Seeing the garden shed, Amy left the others and hurried over to the building. Hoping that there would be something in interest in it, she opened the door.
Suddenly, three German Shepherd’s rushed towards her, barking savagely.
Chapter 19: Searching
Amy hurriedly slammed the door shut. Luckily, the animals were tied up so they couldn’t break the door down, but it was still a nerve racking experience. The commotion was so loud that the others, as well as the police officer who was standing guard at the gate, hurried towards her.
“What happened?” Joe asked.
Amy pointed to the shed. “The dogs attacked me. Fortunately for me they were tied up, but for a moment or two I thought I might have had it.”
“What’s the problem?” the police officer asked as he joined them.
“Did you know that there were German Shepherd’s in that shed?” Joe said.
The police officer shook his head. “No, but with the men escaping—”
“Have they been caught yet?” Amy asked.
“No. Inspector Price just reported in and said that no one has seen any sign of them. It’s as though they have disappeared into thin air. But we’ll catch them. It might not be today, or tomorrow, but, rest assured, they will be caught and brought to justice.”
“What about Mr Spencer?” Will asked.
The police officer peered at Will. “You must be his son.”
“Yes. And I don’t care what you say, but my dad is not a crook.”
The police officer nodded. “I believe you. But, just like the other men, there has been no sign of Mr Spencer. Inspector Price sent someone to his house in case he was there, but they couldn’t see any sign of him. But I must stop talking and get back to my post. I’ll put out a call for the dogs to be picked up.”
The children sat down on the grass. They were exhausted from searching the inside and outside of Chandler Manor, but they were not ready to give up. Not when Mr Spencer’s life was on the line.
“Why don’t we think like a crook?” Joe said.
“What do you mean?” Sarah said.
“Just pretend that you’re one of them,” Joe said. “You’re sitting in that police van when someone comes and sets you free. What do you do?”
“Make a run for it?” Sarah suggested.
“Get away as far as possible before the escape is discovered?” Amy said.
“Yes, that might work,” Joe said. “But these are smart men.”
Sarah snorted. “If they were smart, they wouldn’t be crooks.”
“Well, no, but you know what I mean,” Joe replied. “If the crooks did have someone to help them escape, and it wasn’t Mr Spencer, then it must have been one of the police officers.”
“Last night, my dad told me that there was a leak in the police force,” Will said. “He thought they might be close to Constable Howard. But that doesn’t make sense.”
“What do you mean?” Amy questioned.
“He was down at the beach,” Will said. “So how could he, or someone close to him, have helped the men escape from Chandler Manor?”
“Your dad must have been wrong,” Joe said. “The leak must come from someone close to Inspector Price.”
“Does it really matter who the leak is?” Sarah said. “In fact, maybe the crooks did escape by themselves. Either way, how is that going to help us find Will’s dad?”
“What I’m thinking,” Joe said, “is why would the crooks run away when they could hide nearby?”
“Of course!” Will’s face lit up. “Why didn’t we think of it earlier?”
Amy glanced back and forth between the two boys. “What?”
Sarah smiled. “The tunnels!”
“How could we be so stupid?” Amy grinned. “That’s the perfect place to hide out. Especially since the police don’t even know about them.”
Joe stood up. “We don’t know where the tunnel entrance is inside the manor is, but we can get into the tunnel via the other entrance.”
“Should we tell the police?” Amy asked as she stood up.
Joe shook his head as they hurried down the driveway and headed for the gate. “We don’t know for certain. So let’s just go down it ourselves and see if we find anything.”
The children eagerly raced up the hill, but they were in for a shock. They all came to a stop a moment later. The hole was no longer there!
Joe rushed forward and tried to move the rocks that were blocking the entrance, but it was impossible. The others joined him, but they all stopped a few minutes later.
Will kicked the ground in frustration. “We’ll never move all those rocks.”
Joe nodded and sat down on the grass. “There are only two ways that these rocks could have got here. Either there was a natural rock collapse, or the men put them there.”
“My guess is that it was the crooks,” Amy said. “This makes me believe even more that they are hiding in the tunnels.”
Will nodded. “That would make sense. If only we knew where the other exit is located in the manor.”
“We know it’s in the basement,” Sarah said.
“Yes, but where exactly?” Joe asked. “And who is to say that they haven’t blocked that exit as well?”
“Let’s go where we know we can get in,” Will said.
“Where?” Amy queried.
Will grinned. “The beach.”
“Of course. Let’s tell that police officer now,” Joe said. “They wouldn’t have blocked that exit since that would trap them in the tunnels.” He got to his feet and hurried down the hill.
If the police officer was startled to see the children tearing down the hill towards him, he didn’t say so. He just smiled. “Having fun? I remember when I was a child—”
“We know where the crooks are!” Joe yelled.
The police officer stopped speaking and his face took on an expression of astonishment. “You do? Where?”
“There’s a tunnel that goes from Chandler Manor to the beach,” Joe said.
“Did you tell this to Inspector Price?”
“No,” Joe said. “We thought the crooks had fled the area. But since they haven’t been found, they must be in the tunnel.”
The police officer nodded. “I’ll contact the inspector.” He hurried to his car as the children waited. It wasn’t long before he came back. “I can’t seem to reach him. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll go down to the station, okay?”
The children nodded and followed him back to his car. After they had climbed in, the officer started the vehicle and headed down the road.
The children grinned at each other as the car drove past the woods and headed into Smugglers Cove.
“If the crooks are caught, it will be because of us,” Joe said.
“I can’t see them being anywhere else,” Will smiled. “My dad must be in one of the caves.”
“Well, we shall soon see,” Amy replied, as the car parked next to the police station.
It was a hive of activity. As the children climbed out, Inspector Price exited the station and headed to his car.
“Inspector!” Joe called.
The inspector paused as the children and the officer rushed up.
“The children think they know wh
ere the crooks are,” the police officer said.
“You do?” Inspector Price said.
“There’s a tunnel that connects Chandler Manor to the beach,” Will said. “The crooks must be there.”
Inspector Price nodded. “That’s a good theory, but the crooks have just been spotted on the outskirts of Rockford.”
“But that’s miles from here!” Will spluttered.
“Exactly. This means that if they’re there, they can’t be in those tunnels.”
“How do you know that these men are the same men?” Joe queried.
“A person just contacted the station and told us that his vehicle had been hijacked by five men. Men that match the description of the crooks. He saw them drive down the road, heading towards Rockford. I’m on my way there now. So, as you can see, they can’t be in those tunnels if they are heading towards Rockford, can they?”
Will shook his head. “I guess not.”
“Once we catch those men, we’ll see if they can give us any news about your dad. And, if we learn anything, you’ll be the first to know.”
Will nodded as the inspector climbed into his car and drove away.
The police officer patted Will on the shoulder. “It was a good idea while it lasted.” He turned and walked back to his car.
The children watched as the remaining police officers climbed into their vehicles and drove away.
Disheartened, the children sat on the curb as silence descended upon the area.
The station door opened and out walked Constable Howard. He stared at them through his thick-rimmed spectacles. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Joe glanced up. “Why didn’t you go with Inspector Price?”
“Someone has to stay and keep an eye on Chandler Manor. Besides, he has plenty of men to deal with the situation.” He looked towards Will. “I heard about Mr Spencer. I’m sorry. He seemed like a good man.”
“My dad’s not a crook,” Will said.
The constable nodded. “Well, if I hear anything, I’ll let you know.” He left them and climbed into his police vehicle.
Joe looked at his watch. “Hey, it’s nearly noon. We must have been spent ages searching Chandler Manor.”
