Hidden Hollow Five--The Secret of Annabelle

by James R. Lewis

  Kim stayed below as Erin had instructed her to do. She was supposed to be the lookout. She didn’t see anyone, but then again, she was too busy watching Erin climb up into the tree to be a good lookout in the first place.

  Erin placed the cell phone on a tree branch and propped it against a couple of sticks she wedged into the bark. The phone was aimed at the boathouse door. She checked the angle one more time and then started recording. She gave Kim the ‘thumbs up’ sign and then carefully climbed back down.

  “That’s it,” she whispered. “We’ve only got a couple of hours before the battery runs out, so we need to hurry.”

  Kim nodded and the two of them retraced their footsteps back to the main path.

  “Come on, Kim! Let’s explore the boathouse again,” she said loudly, as they emerged from the woods and headed toward the river front. “It’s a good thing Dad came down at lunch and let us out of there, or we would still be locked in!”

  Erin hoped that if someone was listening, they would believe her little fib. She had no idea if someone was watching them or not, but she was not about to take any chances. That tunnel was their only escape.

  Erin took the key from her pocket as they approached the boathouse door. She quickly unlocked the padlock and took a moment to glance around the area before entering. Although she couldn’t see anybody watching them, she felt an eerie chill run down her spine.

  “Come on, Kim. Let’s get started!”

  The girls entered the boathouse and walked toward the back wall. They immediately began to empty the cabinet and place the tools and equipment neatly on the floor in front of the doors.

  From the corner of her eye, Erin thought she could see the bushes on the far side of the boathouse part ever so slightly, but she wasn’t so sure. Unbeknownst to her and her sister, a pair of dark, sinister eyes peered at them until the girls were completely out of sight. After a short time, a person emerged from the woods and crept silently toward the side of the boathouse.

  “Did you see anybody?” asked Erin after a short time.

  “Nope,” answered Kim. She had just placed an old screwdriver on the floor. “How long do you suppose we will have to wait?”

  “If I’m right, not long at all,” Erin whispered.

  As soon as the words left her lips, the door to the boathouse swung shut with a bang, startling the two of them. “See!” exclaimed Erin. She got up and ran over to the door, just in time to hear the lock clicking shut.

  “You let us out of here!” she screamed as she pounded on the door.

  The only sound outside was a sinister laugh that sent shivers up her back and goosebumps down her arms. It was definitely a man’s laugh. Although terrified, Erin immediately felt reassured that the villain wasn’t Annabelle.

  “I’m scared,” whispered Kim as she came over to Erin’s side. “Who would do a thing like that?” She had heard the laugh, too, and it was scary.

  Erin held her finger to her lips and listened intently. There were no sounds coming from immediately outside the door. Further away, she could faintly hear the rustling of bushes as the man disappeared into the woods.

  “I hope he didn’t see us put my cell phone up in the tree,” she whispered. “If he didn’t, then we’ll have a clear picture of him.”

  Erin turned to Kim and led her back to the rear of the boathouse. “Come on,” she urged. “Give me a hand.”

  Kicking the tools out of the way, she and Kim pulled the cabinet from the tunnel entrance.

  “Let’s get out of here!” she said, stepping into the tunnel and turning on the flashlight.

  The two of them went only a few feet before Erin went back into the boathouse and retrieved the screwdriver that Kim had laid on the floor. “For protection,” she whispered as she returned to Kim’s side.

  Chapter 9 Discussion Questions

  K – 2nd Grade

  What do you think will happen in the tunnel this time?

  If you were Erin and Kim, how would you feel going into the tunnel?

  3rd & 4th Grade

  Think about a time you were brave. How did you feel and act? Is that similar or different to how you feel Kim and Erin are thinking and acting in this chapter?

  Make a prediction: Do you think the girls will figure out who locked them in the boathouse?

  5th & 6th Grade

  The girls didn’t tell anyone (including Miss Peterson) about their plan. Why do you think they kept their plan a secret?

  Do you think the person who locked the girls in the boathouse knows about Erin’s cell phone? Why or why not?

  Chapter 10:

  The Discovery

  The girls headed in the direction of Annabelle’s basement, continuing down the tunnel until they reached the spot on the wall beyond the bend where the ‘A’ was carved. At that point, they paused to inspect the wall and floor.

  “Look,” whispered Erin, pointing down. The floor of the tunnel had been made up of huge, flat stones tightly fitted together.

  Kim closely inspected the spot where Erin was shining the beam of light. There, the stones appeared to be a bit looser. A person could easily pry them up. It was all cleverly hidden, and only someone who was looking for something would even notice the difference. Someone had gone great lengths to hide the fact that something was buried there.

  “Could this be where the treasure is hidden? Should we dig it up now?” asked Kim. She knelt down next to the wall and pried at one of the stones. Even though it was looser than the others, it was still pretty difficult to move. It had been there for a long time and the heavy stones had settled firmly in the damp earth. There was a thin layer of green moss covering each of the stones’ surface.

  “Let’s do it,” Erin answered. She took the screwdriver and dug down, loosening the earth around the first stone. Then she took the screwdriver, wedged it under the stone, and pried it up. After prying for a few moments more, it finally gave way and popped free from the earth. It took both of the girls’ strength to lift the stone and slide it to the side.

  After nearly ten minutes, they had removed enough of the stones to reveal a small metal box buried in the soft sand beneath. Erin reached in and slowly tugged the metal box from its hiding place and onto the tunnel floor.

  “Let’s put the stones back just like we found them,” suggested Erin.

  For the next few minutes, they busied themselves replacing the earth and the stones to look as undisturbed and as natural as possible. When they finished, they stood back and inspected their handiwork. Except for the missing moss, no one would guess that anyone had been digging in the area.

  “Looks good enough to me,” said Erin, rubbing the dirt from her hands. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

  “Wait!” Kim grabbed her sweatshirt. “Aren’t we going to open the treasure box?”

  “Not here,” cautioned Erin. “Now that we know Annabelle wasn’t the one who locked us in the boathouse, we have to give this back to her.” She held up the treasure chest. “It’s hers you know.”

  Even though Kim didn’t want to admit it, she nodded her head in agreement. “I guess you’re right.”

  The girls continued down the tunnel and entered Annabelle’s basement. They quickly went up the steps and knocked on the basement door. Annabelle was surprised to find the two girls locked in the boathouse twice in the same day.

  “My, my,” she exclaimed, “disturbing an old woman’s peace is becoming a habit with you two, isn’t it?” She stood there with her hands on her hips staring down at the girls. They could tell that she wasn’t really mad, although she was trying to make them believe that she was.

  “You’re Annabelle,” accused Kim, pulling the handkerchief out of her pocket and holding it up. “We have proof.”

  “So what if I am,” answered Annabelle. “Anyway, what business is it of two young, cheeky girls?”

>   “What does cheeky mean?” asked Kim with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

  “It means bold, sassy, or mischievous,” answered Annabelle, “which, at the moment, you are being.”

  Kim smiled sheepishly and took a step back behind Erin.

  Erin held up the treasure box. “We found your treasure.” She put the box down on the floor and pulled the note from her pocket. “We followed all of your clues in this note and dug up the treasure in the tunnel.”

  “Treasure? Note?” Annabelle looked confused. “Let me see that.” She held out her hand and Erin placed the note in it.

  After reading the note, once, and then again, she looked up at Erin and Kim. “I was a silly, young girl then,” she said. “I never put treasure in the boathouse all those years ago.”

  “Then what is this?” asked Kim, picking up the treasure box from the floor and placing it gently on the kitchen counter. She tried to open it, but the box was locked and the clasp held tight.

  “I’ve never seen that box before in my life,” answered Annabelle. “Where did you two find this?” She crossed the room and inspected the box. It was old and solidly built. She rubbed the dirt off the top. Under the layer of grime was a hand-painted ‘A’, just like the others.

  “See!” exclaimed Erin. “It has the same ‘A’ that was carved on the door of the playroom, the wall of the tunnel, and your handkerchief! It has to be your treasure.”

  Annabelle closely studied the ‘A’ and nodded her head. It was identical to all of the monograms that she had seen throughout her life. “You’re right,” she finally said. “It is identical to all of the other letters from my past, but those letters were made by my father. Not me. I did not bury any treasure all those years ago.” She paused for a moment and then added, “He must have buried it there before he went on his trip to Europe.”

  “But what about the money we found up in the playroom?” asked Kim. “And Kristina’s tea set?”

  When Kim said Kristina’s name, tears formed in the corners of Annabelle’s eyes. They could tell that even after all these years, Kristina’s death still bothered her.

  “I couldn’t take that money with me,” Annabelle said, looking down at the floor. “It was the money that Kristina and I were saving to take a trip to Europe to try and find my father. We had been planning the trip since we were very young and that money was as much hers as it was mine. I just couldn’t take it and use it for myself, so I left it for someone else to discover.”

  She suddenly felt overcome by all the emotions forced to the surface and started to cry. Both Erin and Kim walked over to her and gave her a hug. When she finally composed herself, she looked at the two girls and squeezed each of their hands.

  “Thank you for letting an old, silly woman cry,” she said wiping her eyes. She picked up the box and shook it for a moment. The box wasn’t very heavy and whatever was inside didn’t make much sound.

  “What do you think is in there?” asked Erin. “Maybe this will open it.” She took the boathouse key from her pocket and handed it to Annabelle.

  Annabelle took the key and turned it slowly over in her hand. “I haven’t seen this old key for many years.” She tried it in the keyhole, but it didn’t fit. The hole on the chest was much too small for the boathouse key to fit. Handing the key back to Erin, she took the screwdriver. “I’ll get it open.”

  It only took one good twist to release the latch. The lid flew back and the three of them stared at the contents of the box.

  “What is this stuff?” asked Kim, reaching in and pulling out some official-looking papers. They were large sheets of paper with writing all over them and a beautiful, floral border around the edge. “What do these say, Erin?”

  Erin tried to read the words that were printed on the papers that Kim had handed her. “This certifies that John A. Peterson is the owner of one hundred thousand fully-paid and non-assessable shares of common stock...” She looked up in confusion. “What does all this mean, Miss Annabelle?”

  “It means that my father had quite a bit of money,” she answered. “Girls, these are stock certificates of shares in a company. To put it simply, shares are small pieces of a company. Shares can be bought by people. When buying shares in a company, the buyer owns a small part of that company.” She shuffled through the papers to the bottom of the chest and pulled out a handful. “And they all belonged to my father.”

  Erin took a couple of the stock certificates out of the chest and studied them closely. “Are these still good?” she asked. She was looking at the dates on all of them. “The dates on all of these are from a long time ago.”

  “Well, they wouldn’t be dated any later,” Annabelle answered. “My father disappeared on a business trip to Europe a very long time ago.” She looked out the window beyond the two girls, sadly remembering the past.

  Erin walked over to Annabelle and put her hand on top of Annabelle’s hand. She gently squeezed and smiled up at the old woman. She had no idea what it must have been like for Annabelle to lose her dad like that, but she was sure it must have been awful.

  Annabelle looked down at Erin and sadly smiled. “Thank you for caring, young lady. I think about my father almost every day and wonder about how different my life might have been if he hadn’t disappeared that way.”

  “Well…” Erin smiled. “Maybe we can help make your life a little different, or at least a little better. Would these stocks still be any good?”

  “Why, I really don’t know,” sighed Annabelle. She wiped away a tear. “But we’re going to find out.”

  She carefully folded four of the certificates and placed them in her purse. She put the remaining certificates back into the chest and then placed the chest in the cabinet under her kitchen sink. Patting her purse, she asked, “Do you suppose your parents will let you go to town with me to check these out? I’ll treat you to a nice ice cream fizz. I haven’t had a good ice cream fizz in many years.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had an ice cream fizz,” said Kim, wrinkling her nose. “But, I am hungry.”

  “Well then, it’s time you do.”

  Annabelle led them into the parlor where she showed them the phone. Erin picked up the receiver and dialed her mom’s cell. When her mom answered, she was surprised to find that they were back at the old woman’s house for the second time in one day.

  “Where’s your phone? And are you sure you aren’t bothering that poor old woman?” she asked.

  “In my room,” Erin said, glancing nervously at Kim at the mention of the cell phone. “But no, Mom, we’re not bothering her. She wants us to come with her – for real! Please, can we go?”

  Annabelle came over and took the phone from Erin. “This is Annabelle Peterson, your next-door neighbor. I think your children are just delightful and I would be pleased if they would accompany me to town for an ice cream fizz.”

  To Erin, she sounded very convincing. Erin crossed her fingers and then held them up for Kim to see. Kim did the same.

  “An ice cream what?” asked Mom.

  “An ice cream fizz, of course,” answered Annabelle. “Haven’t you people ever heard of ice cream fizzes where you come from?”

  Laurie ignored the question. “Before I give permission to my girls to go with you, I’d like to come over and meet you.”

  “I agree,” said Annabelle. “Can you come over right away?”

  “Yes. I’ll be right over.”

  The doorbell rang and the girls rushed to open it. Both Mom and Dad stood on the porch. Annabelle invited them in for coffee and cookies. After a pleasant conversation, Laurie and Jim gave permission for the girls to accompany Annabelle into town.

  The moment Annabelle said goodbye and closed the front door, the girls gave each other a high-five.

  “Yes!”

  “Miss Peterson,” Erin said, “how come you didn’t tell our p
arents about the certificates?”

  “No sense sharing if they don’t have any value!” she said. “Besides, this is our little secret.”

  The girls winked back at Annabelle and trailed behind her to the car.

  Annabelle’s car was a shiny blue and the interior was big and roomy. Erin and Kim slid into the back seat and put on their seat belts.

  After they backed out of the driveway and started toward the heart of town, Erin looked over at Annabelle and asked, “Why didn’t you hide the treasure like your note said?”

  Annabelle thought for a moment. “I never ran away.” She paused again, and then added, “I really had nowhere to go. My father was all the family I had left in this country. He told me once that I had an aunt who lived in England, but I still have no idea where she lived.”

  “What happened to your Mommy?” asked Kim, changing the topic.

  “I never knew my mother. She died giving birth to me.” Annabelle reached into her purse and pulled out her pocket book. She opened it and brought out an old picture. It was a picture of a young, beautiful woman with dark hair. The woman was wearing a long dress.

  “Is this you?” asked Kim, holding the picture up to get a better look at it.

  “No, she was my mother. Her name was Annabelle just like me.”

  “But why did you leave all of those toys up in your playroom?” asked Erin.

  “My, my,” said Annabelle. “You two are full of questions, aren’t you?”

  “Yup,” said Erin with a huge grin. “My mom and dad say I’m a Nosey-Rosy!” Erin had always been proud of the fact that she was curious. She was the ‘Guess what?!’ person of the Lewis family.

  Kim jutted out her lower lip, “Me too!”

  “Well?” asked Erin again. “Why did you leave all your stuff up there?”

  “I already told you that I had nowhere to go, so the Smiths took me in to live with them.” Annabelle paused and glanced back at the two girls to see if they were really interested. They seemed to be, so she continued. For the next few minutes she gave them a quick description of her life with the Smiths.