Kidnap Island (11 page)

Will
couldn
’
t be bothered to argue and, actually, he was tired but
he wasn
’
t about to admit it.
“OK,
let
’
s get the beds made up then.
”
He began to unroll his
sleeping mat.

“
We
’
d better move all this rubbish
first,
”
Louisa started to clear up the leftovers from their
meal.
“
Eric, where do you put your litter?
”

“
We
’
ve a roll of garbage bags and we take it all
ashore and dump it in the trash each time we go
over,
”
Eric explained as he went through to the kitchen and
returned with a bin bag and an electric camping lantern which he
lit and placed on the windowsill. It was starting to get dark so
the friends appreciated the extra light as they got ready for
bed.

“
Do
you want to sleep in the other room?
”
Eric asked
Louisa.

The girl shivered
inside at the thought of being alone in this dingy old house with
its fusty smell and dark rooms. No, she
’
d rather take
her chances with the boys
’
smelly feet.
“
Er, thanks
but I think it
’
s better for us to
all stick together just in case the men come
back.
”

Will was just about to
say that wasn
’
t likely in the
middle of the night when he caught Jonny frowning at him and
twigged the reason for Louisa
’s comment.
“
OK, you can sleep in with us so long as you
don
’
t
snore,” he joked.

“
Me snore?
You
’
re the snorer around here; when we sleep on the yacht,
you can be heard a mile off. Dad reckons we don
’
t need a
foghorn when you
’
re on
board.
”

“
Well the way you two keep bickering, maybe Eric and I will
sleep in the next room,
”
laughed Jonny.

“
Next country more like,
”
grinned Eric, enjoying the banter of
his new English friends.
“No,
let
’
s all sleep in here.
”
With all that had happened, the boy
was secretly glad of the company and support. Indeed, after they
had all crawled into their sleeping bags and turned off the light,
Eric lay there in the dark listening to the comforting sound of the
others
’
breathing
–
yes, Will did snore
–
and felt
quietly confident that the four of them would, somehow, sort out
all this mess and get things back to normal. What he
didn
’
t know, though, as he drifted off to sleep, was just
how hard that was going to be.

Chapter
Twelve

Jonny was first to
awaken the next morning, squinting at the bright sunlight streaming
through the uncurtained window, dappled by the trees surrounding
the house. He reached sleepily for his phone
–
6am, that was early
even for him! Jonny wasn
’
t one for lying in,
though, so he crawled quietly out of his sleeping bag, pulled on
his shorts and teeshirt and slipped out into the garden, barefoot.
Ainslie was already out there and he gave the boy a friendly lick.
The ground was wet with dew and there was a chill in the air. Jonny
shivered but, as always, enjoyed the quietness of a new day.
Feeling an urge to see the water, he made his way through the trees
and undergrowth and came out by the shore.

The previous day
they
’
d carried Will
’
s dinghy up into the
trees, out of sight of curious eyes
–
namely the
harbourmaster
–
and the boy quickly checked that it was ok. It was, so
he sat down on the beach to take in the beauty of the harbour at
daybreak. There was no wind and a light mist hung over the water.
In the distance the spire of the cathedral on the mainland was
catching the morning sun and, overhead, a lone aircraft was
silently leaving a trail across the blue sky. It was just perfect,
thought Jonny with a smile.

As he took it all in,
he mindlessly kicked at the cool gravelly sand
beneath
him
when he spotted something half buried in it. He stopped to pick it
up; it was a mobile phone, a cheap basic model like
Eric
’
s, the sort of thing you wouldn
’
t dare turn up
to school with. Heck, even Jonny
’
s parents let him
have a smartphone, albeit an old one. Eric had explained that his
dad had bought him a cheap phone to use in the UK so maybe
they
’
d got one each.

Jonny looked at the
phone
’
s small screen. It was in text mode and someone had
typed one word
– “Jenny”
and the recipient was
“
Eric
UK
”
but the text hadn
’
t been sent.
Eric
’
s dad had obviously been trying to send his son a
message as he was being kidnapped, but what did it mean? He ran
back to the house.

“
Guys, wake up!
”
Jonny burst into the house shouting with Ainslie
barking excitedly .

“
Urgh, wassup?
”
asked Eric groggily as Ainslie licked his face.
Will and Louisa also sat up groaning and rubbing their
eyes.

“
I
’
ve found your dad
’
s phone and
there
’
s a text on it
–
look.
”
Jonny passed the phone to
Eric.

“
Jenny?”
That
’
s our
housekeeper
’
s
name,
”
said Eric puzzled.
“
Why would dad have been
texting her name.
”

“
It
’
s obviously a clue of some
sort,
”
said Louisa.
“Maybe
Jenny
’
s involved with the kidnappers.
”

“
Er,
I don’
t think
so,
”
replied Eric.
“She
’
s about a hundred years old and has been with us
since before I was born. She
’
s like one of the
family. I
’
d trust her as much as I trust my own
mum.
”

“
Maybe
it
’
s another Jenny,
”
suggested Will.
“my sister
’
s piano teacher is
called Jenny too.
”

“
And
is she a kidnapper
?
”
joked Jonny.

“
No,
but I wish she would kidnap my sister!
”

“
I
reckon your dad was trying to send a longer message but
wasn
’
t able to, so he dropped his phone on purpose to leave
a clue,
”
said Louisa.

“
Pretty rubbish
clue,”
frowned
Will.

“
No
it
’
s not! It
’
s a great
clue,
”
Jonny yelled excitedly.
“It
’
s the name of a boat – we know
Eric
’
s dad
’
s being kept on a
boat.
”

“
Of
course!
”
Louisa got it.
“
All we need to do is find a boat called Jenny and
we
’
ve found his dad.
”

“
Right, that
’
ll be
easy,
”
said Will in a typically sarcastic tone.

“
We
could ask old Bert at the sailing club,
”
suggested Jonny.
“
He knows
everything that
’
s going
on.
”

“
Won
’
t he want to know why we
’
re looking for
it?
”
asked Eric.

“
We
could say we
’
re doing a treasure
hunt which, in a way, we are. Come on, let
’
s get the boat
out and sail over.
”

“
What about breakfast?
”
asked Will.

“
Pot
Noodle?
”
Eric suggested hopefully.

“
Ergh,
no!”
replied three
children.

Chapter
Thirteen

In the end, the
children breakfasted
healthily
on
the
muesli
which Jonny
’
s mum had packed them
and, an hour later, they were back at the sailing club, pulling the
boat up the slipway. Eric had never sailed before and was a bit
nervous at first but soon enjoyed the gentle sensation of gliding
through the still water in the slight breeze.
“
This is
cool,
” he
’
d said with a
smile

“
Wait
‘
til you get a windy day, then it
’
s really
fun,
”
Jonny had insisted, but Eric looked doubtful. This was a
world away from his New York life.

They
’
d just got the boat
pulled up out of the water when they heard a cheery voice:
“
That
’
s an early sail lads.
Oh, and lass.
”
it was Bert, the sailing club
’
s oldest member
and unofficial odd
-
job man. “
Ah, it
’
s you Jonny. I might
have guessed.
”

“
Bert, just the person we need. Do you know a boat called
Jenny
?
”

“
Well now, there was a Merlin Rocket called that here back
in the sixties. Sailed it myself a few times, now that was a
boat...
”
Bert was a modest sort but Jonny knew he
’
d been a
world champion sailor in his day.

“
No,
we
’
re looking for a larger boat with a cabin
that
’
s around here now. We
’
re doing a treasure
hunt, you see, and it
’
s one of the
clues.
”

Bert looked keenly at
Jonny and ruffled Ainslie
’
s soft ears. He knew
the boy wasn
’
t telling the whole
story but didn
’
t pry.

“
Umm, I don’
t know of
any other Jennys, apart from a pretty girl I once dated. You should
ask at the harbourmaster
’
s office,
they
’
ve a record of all boats moored in the
harbour.
”

“
Great idea. Thanks, Bert.
”
and with that Jonny was off in the
direction of the marina where the harbourmaster was based, the
others following in his quick footsteps.