The Invisible Island (3 page)

“What is it?” Dink and Ruth Rose asked at the same time.

“It looks like a cement refrigerator!” Josh said.

Ruth Rose laughed. “Gee, Josh, I wonder if there’s food in it!”

“Very funny!” Josh climbed up on some smaller rocks and hoisted himself to the top of the slab.

“It’s flat up here, too,” he said. “This thing is a big cement box!”

“Is this front part a door?” Ruth Rose asked. She poked the flat slab with the shovel.

Dink ran his fingers along the sides. “I can’t find any hinges,” he said. He tugged at it, but it didn’t budge.

“Maybe there’s a secret lock somewhere,” Ruth Rose suggested. She began digging around the bottom of the slab. All she found was stones and poison ivy roots.

“Ouch!” Josh said, still on top. “There’s something sharp up here!”

He poked his head over the top. “Climb up here, guys. I think I found the key to this thing!”

Dink and Ruth Rose scrambled up next to Josh.

“Look at this,” Josh said. He pointed to a metal rod poking out of the cement.

“Try pulling on it,” Dink suggested.

Josh grabbed the rod and yanked.

“Doesn’t come out,” he muttered.

“Does it wiggle back and forth?” Ruth Rose asked.

She put her foot against the rod and shoved. It still didn’t budge.

“Well, it has to do
something,”
Dink said.

He climbed down off the cement box, grabbed the shovel, and handed it up to Josh.

“Try hitting it with that,” he said.

Josh held the shovel over his head, braced himself, and gave the rod a good smack.

Suddenly they heard a scratchy noise, like fingernails on a chalkboard.

“Whoa, that did it!” Dink yelled, jumping back. “It’s moving!”

The cement door swung open, revealing a damp, musty closet.

Dink took a step forward, then stopped. His jaw dropped.

“What’s in there?” Josh asked, staring down at Dink.

Dink didn’t answer.

“Dink?” Ruth Rose said. “What’s going on?”

Dink gulped and tried to speak. “Muh-muh-muh…”

“What the heck is ‘muh’?” Josh said. “Mud? Mummies? Muffins?”

Dink could barely breathe, let alone talk.

“Money!” he finally said.

Josh and Ruth Rose scrambled down and stared into the opening.

Inside, it was like a vault. Metal shelves had been attached to the cement walls with thick bolts. And every shelf held money.

Stacks of green bills were piled one on top of another. Everywhere Dink looked, he saw wads and wads of money.

“There must be millions of dollars
in here!” Josh said. He closed his eyes. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

“But whose money is it?” Ruth Rose asked. “Who put it here?”

Dink stepped inside the vault. On the bottom shelves were cardboard boxes with HAPPY HEART DOG FOOD written on the sides.

“Dog food?” he said.

Josh and Ruth Rose crowded into the vault. Ruth Rose peeked into two of the boxes.

“More money,” she said.

Suddenly Dink looked back over his shoulder. “Shhh!” he whispered. “I think I heard something!”

The kids stood perfectly still and listened.

“There it is again!” Dink said.

A muffled squeaking sound came through the fog. Then there was silence, then another squeak.

Dink gulped, frozen to the spot. “It’s coming closer!” he whispered.

“M-maybe it’s the p-pirate!” Josh said.

“It could be the guy with big feet!” said Ruth Rose. “Maybe this is
his
treasure!”

“Let’s get out of here!” Dink said.
“Help me close this thing!”

The kids swung the cement door shut. Josh grabbed his shovel while Dink and Ruth Rose lifted the plastic poison ivy back into place. Now the cement safe was hidden again.

Dink quickly led the way back through the boulders to the water.

On the narrow beach, they stood in the fog and listened.

Dink heard the squeaking sound again, then a soft thud, then silence.

Slowly, a small boat drifted out of the fog. A large, dark figure sat hunched in the stern. Dink didn’t dare move or say anything. It looked as if the figure was staring at them!

After what seemed like a year, the figure began to row away. Dink heard the oars squeak as the boat vanished back into the fog.

“Wh-who was that?” Josh croaked.

“I don’t know,” Dink said.

“Whoever it was, let’s get off this island!” Ruth Rose said.

The kids quietly stepped into the shallow water. Trying not to splash, they waded to shore. Dink kept watch for the boat and its silent passenger. But he couldn’t see anything through the fog.

Behind them, Squaw Island became invisible once more.

Ten minutes later, they flung open the door to Officer Fallon’s office.

Officer Fallon looked up from his computer. “What’s wrong, kids? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

He stared at their soggy sneakers. “And you’re all wet!”

“We found more money,” Ruth Rose said. “Millions of dollars!”

Officer Fallon raised one eyebrow.

“Really, we did!” Josh said.

“Okay, sit down and talk to me,” Officer Fallon said, switching off his computer.

The kids perched on the edges of their chairs.

“We went back to the island,” Dink explained, “and found a cement safe. It had stacks of money in it!”

They told Officer Fallon about the secret path, the plastic poison ivy, and the hidden cement vault.

“Just before we left, we saw someone in a rowboat,” Josh said. “I think he was coming to the island, but then he turned around and left!”

Officer Fallon sat up. “Did you get a good look at him?” he asked.

“It was too foggy,” Dink said.

Officer Fallon frowned and nodded.

“Why would anyone keep money on Squaw Island?” Ruth Rose asked. “Why wouldn’t they just keep it in a regular bank?”

Officer Fallon looked at Ruth Rose. “Because it’s not real money” he said.

“It’s
not?”
Ruth Rose asked. “What is it, then?”

“I guess there’s no reason not to tell you,” Officer Fallon said. “After you left yesterday I remembered something I read a few weeks ago about counterfeit money. I took a closer look at the bill you found.”

He pulled the envelope from his drawer and removed the hundred-dollar bill. “This is counterfeit, kids. And I’m guessing the money in your cement safe is counterfeit, too.”

“Counterfeit?” Josh gasped. “You mean it’s all fake?”

Officer Fallon smiled. “Sorry, Josh.”

“But who put it there?” Dink asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Officer Fallon said.

He stood and walked the kids to the door. “Officer Keene and I will go out there for a look today. Starting now, we’ll be keeping an eye on that island.”

Officer Fallon opened his office door. “Off you go now. And promise me you’ll stay away from that island. Counterfeiters can be dangerous!”

The kids thanked Officer Fallon and left. As they walked up Main Street, Dink thought about the mysterious figure he’d seen in the boat. Was it the counterfeiter? Had he seen the three of them standing on the beach?

Dink swallowed. Were he and Josh and Ruth Rose in danger?

Josh scratched his knee, then his neck, then his left elbow.

“Guess I’d better buy some calamine lotion,” he said.

“We’re almost at the supermarket,” Dink said. He glanced over his shoulder.

“What’re you looking at?” Ruth Rose asked.

Dink shrugged. “Nothing, I guess. I just keep thinking about that creepy guy in the boat.”

“Do you think he recognized us?” Josh asked. “I mean, if we couldn’t see his face, maybe he couldn’t see ours.”

“I hope you’re right,” Dink said. “If the guy in the boat was the counterfeiter, he could be anyone, even someone we know!”

“Oh, great, Dinkus,” Josh said. “Now I’m going to have nightmares!”

The kids walked into the supermarket and headed for the pharmacy. Mrs. Hernandez looked up and smiled.

“Hi, kids, what do you need?” she asked.

Josh scratched his knee. “Do you have any calamine lotion?” he asked.

Mrs. Hernandez came out from behind her counter. She gave Josh a once-over.

“That’s poison ivy all right,” she said. She took a pink bottle from a shelf and handed it to Josh. “That’s my last bottle. Ron Pinkowski came in yesterday and bought up my other three.”

Josh paid Mrs. Hernandez and thanked her. Then the kids left the
store. They sat on a bench while Josh dabbed calamine lotion on his itchy spots.

“I wonder why Mr. P needs this stuff,” Ruth Rose said. “Didn’t he tell us he stays away from poison ivy?”

“He wasn’t scratching when we saw him yesterday,” Dink said.

Suddenly Josh jumped to his feet. “Oh, my gosh! It’s him!”

Dink looked around. “Who’s him?”

“Mr. Pinkowski!” Josh said. “He bought the calamine lotion because he’s got poison ivy. And he’s got poison ivy because he was on Squaw Island hiding his counterfeit money!”

Dink shook his head. “If Mr. P has poison ivy, he could’ve gotten it anywhere.”

“Maybe he’s hiding a printing press in one of his empty fish tanks!” Josh said.

“Josh, what are you talking about?” Ruth Rose asked.

“It’s perfect!” Josh said. “He sells bait to fool people, but he’s really getting rich making phony money!”

“That’s crazy,” Dink said. “Just because Mr. P bought calamine lotion doesn’t mean he’s a counterfeiter.”

Josh screwed the bottle cap on and shoved the lotion into a pocket. “I’m not crazy!” he said. “He’s tall, so he’s probably got big feet, right?”

Ruth Rose opened her mouth, but Josh cut her off.

“And he lives right on the river,” Josh went on. “He’s got boats! He knows Squaw Island is the perfect place to stash money. It
has
to be him!”

Dink looked at Ruth Rose. “What do you think?” he asked her.

“It could have been Mr. Pinkowski in the boat,” Ruth Rose said. “But he’s
our friend. I can’t believe he’s a counterfeiter!”

“I can’t either,” Dink said.

“Well, I can!” Josh said. He scratched his stomach. “Let’s go back to the bait shop and see if he has poison ivy.”

“But how will we know?” Ruth Rose asked.

Josh grinned. “He bought three bottles of calamine lotion,” he reminded her. “He’ll be pink!”

Dink laughed. “Okay, let’s go back to the bait shop,” he said. “You look for poison ivy. I want to see if Mr. P’s feet are as big as those footprints!”