The Secret of Skull Island (2 page)

“You're still using the same old
half-baked
joke,” Otis replied with a pun that
he'd
used over and over again. Otis liked puns as much as Cody liked palindromes. And the two brothers loved to kid each other.

“Chill,” Cody said, still grinning at his old joke. “Here's something new,” he added hurriedly. “The rumor is that the pirate, Black Heart, hid his trea-sure somewhere on the island. But he forgot where he stashed it, so he comes back to search for it. He also has sword fights with other pirates who are looking for it, too. People swear they have seen and heard him.”

His eyes were shining. “Isn't that
great
? Maybe we'll get to meet him while we're on the island. Maybe he'll lead us to the treasure.” He frowned. “But the legend says that he'll kill anyone who takes it from him.”

“He can't lead you to the treasure if he can't find it himself,” Rae pointed out.

Otis laughed. “Yeah, that's kind of obvious.”

Cody knitted his brows. “Yeah, I guess you're right.” Then his face brightened. “Maybe he'll find it while we're there.”

Otis let out a long sigh. “Come on, Cody, grow up. Ghosts? Pirate treasure?”

“You know as well as I do that pirate treasure has been found. They dug up some of Captain Kidd's buried treasure in New York, on Gardiners Island,” Cody pointed out. “I'd never even heard of Gardiners Island before I read about Captain Kidd.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Otis. “But do you
really
still believe in ghosts?”

“Why not?” Cody snapped. “Like Rae said, there are lots of legends about haunted places. And you've seen some of those ghost-hunting shows on TV.”

“Those shows are always so lame,” Otis scoffed. “Ever notice how they never really find anything? Somehow the ghost never shows up on the videotape.”

Mr. Carson held out his sketchbook and studied his drawing. “Well, if there
is
a pirate ghost wandering around, you have a good chance of running into him while we're visiting Aunt Edith,” he said. “I was waiting to tell you that your aunt's inn is where the pirate lived years ago. And a hundred or so years before that, the house was part of a sugar plantation. It was the owner's mansion.”

“Awesome!” Cody breathed.

“Well, that's pretty interesting,” Otis said. “But I still don't believe in ghosts.”

From a nearby chair came the sound of a newspaper rustling. “It's nothing but crime, crime, crime in the headlines today,” said Maxim Chatterton in a tone that dripped with disdain. He peered from behind the pages and curled his lip.

The worldly and dignified Maxim was the family's all-around friend and helper. He was Mr. Carson's agent, arranging all of his shows and handling his publicity. He was also general overseer of all the household affairs.

“Two bank robberies in downtown Manhattan,” Maxim went on, perusing the front page. He shifted his lanky frame. “And here's a story about that Las Vegas gangster Moe Kleese. He got his picture in the paper again. It looks like he's at a party at one of his casinos.” He tossed the paper down.

The picture showed a short, round man with a bald head. He had his arms crossed, with one hand showing a huge pinkie ring in the shape of a horseshoe. Around his neck was a showy gold chain with a gold playing card. He was standing underneath the brightly lit sign for one of his casinos—THE LAUGHING GECKO.

“Kleese the sleaze,” Maxim muttered, pointing to the picture. “That guy is into everything—theft, smuggling, counterfeiting, you name it. They've never been able to pin anything on him that stuck, though. No wonder he's having a party.”

Otis glanced at the paper. “Hey—that's the guy who was on the news last night. I remember him because of the weird way he never made eye contact with the reporter. My book says people who aren't telling the truth don't look you in the eye. They fidget.”

“Oh, Otis.” Rae crossed her arms. “That book is making you crazy. You're going to start seeing liars everywhere. You get so carried away when something interests you.”

“Do not,” Otis shot back.

“Um, do
too
,” insisted Cody. “A couple of months ago you were into rocks, and that's all you ever talked about. Before that it was insects, and you
bugged
everybody all the time. Now you're going to think every time somebody scratches his nose or shakes his foot, he's lying.”

Otis grimaced. “The bugs were Rae's fault. She made that remark, ‘Every bug is an insect, but every insect is not a bug,' and I was hooked. I had to find out more. Besides,
you're
pretty fixated on that ghost pirate and his treasure.”

“I'm not as bad as you are,” Cody retorted. “With you it's always something.”

“
Yap, yap, yap
.” Otis laughed.

“Enough, you two,” Maxim said sternly. He picked up the paper and rattled it in disgust. “Here's
more
crime. That con artist is still on the loose. Hmm … it says he's got a wife somewhere. I wonder if she's a criminal, too. Anyway, he duped some gullible people into buying the Museum of Modern Art. Twice!”

He scanned the article. “Now he's going by a new name—he has about twenty aliases and he's disguised himself as a salesman, a lawyer, a dentist … you name it, he's done it. Oh, and listen to this: a thief stole a painting from the museum.”

Mr. Carson, who had been sketching quietly, looked up. “It wasn't one of mine, was it?” he asked with a laugh.

“No, no. Van Gogh.”

“Terrible.” Mr. Carson went back to sketching. “Imagine—Deerville is only a couple of hours from New York City, and it's a different world.”

Mr. Carson loved to travel and had painted scenes from Tucson to Tokyo. He was looking forward to taking his family along with him to Calavera Island. It was so small that it was not even on most maps. It was dwarfed by the larger and more developed nearby island of Tacayno.

Just then a command screeched through the air. “Roll over!”

Dude instantly pricked up his ears, dropped, and rolled.

“Ha-ha,” scoffed the parrot.

Dude snarled and lay down again, casting an angry eye at Pauly.

Otis went back to his book. Cody went back to researching Calavera Island online, and Rae went back to her paper. Suddenly she gasped.

“A crowd attacked Jamal Mason!” she said, her face pale. “He was making a personal appearance in Hollywood, signing autographs, when the fans got so crazy they rushed at him. Bodyguards got him into a van and drove away.”

Fourteen-year-old Jamal Mason was a teen idol, and every kid over four years old followed his movies. He played a brilliant young detective in a series of action-adventure films. The most recent was
The Curse of the Green Dragon
.

Unlike the twins, Rae wasn't a fan of mysteries or action adventure. She preferred drama and comedy—except when it came to Jamal Mason. The twins suspected she had a crush on him, but she always denied it.

“I'll bet Jamal wasn't scared,” Cody said. His attention shifted back to Calavera Island.

Rae got to her feet. “I have to be getting home to get ready for the trip,” she said. “I'm so glad my parents are letting me come along. See you in the morning.”

After everyone said good-bye to Rae, the boys decided to go to bed. They had to get up early for karate class, and then they were all leaving for Calavera Island.

“Why don't you clean up that mess on your side of the room before we go, Cody?” Otis muttered as they headed upstairs.

“I will if you will,” Cody replied, giving his brother a little shove. They always argued about which one was messier. Both knew that it was all a joke, though, since they were equally sloppy.

Later on, lying in bed on either side of their messy room, they talked about the trip. Neither one was thrilled that where they were going had no cell phone towers and no Internet access.

“It will be cool to go swimming and explore the island, though,” said Otis. “I'm taking my skateboard, too. I'm gonna practice until I get the pop shove-it right. But …”

Cody pushed himself up onto his elbows. “You're going to take your
skateboard
? I like to skateboard, too … but we'll be on a Caribbean island. I don't think they'll have a lot of places to skate.”

“Maybe you're right,” Otis said. Then he put a finger to his lips and whispered, “
Shh
.”

Outside their door they could hear their father talking with Maxim. Both of the men were speaking in hushed voices. The boys could just make out what they were saying.

“You know Aunt Edith isn't the type to get scared over nothing,” Mr. Carson said.

“I know, I know, but things happen,” Maxim replied. “Did she really sound worried?”

“Yes. I didn't want to say so in front of the boys, but she sounded
very
worried. The chandelier in the lobby fell down the other day. Nobody was hurt, but still …” Mr. Carson clicked his tongue against his teeth.

“Well, did someone tamper with it?” Maxim asked. “Or was it an accident?”

“She said it
looked
like an accident. But then somebody ruined a bunch of plants in her garden.”

“Oh, well, that could have been an animal, right?” Maxim asked.

“I don't think there are any animals on the island that could do that,” Mr. Carson replied. “Mostly there are birds and frogs and iguanas and geckos. I can't imagine one of them stampeding through a garden and ripping up plants the way she described. The garden was a wreck.”

“But people on the island keep dogs as pets, don't they? It could have been a dog that got loose,” Maxim pointed out.

“Oh, you're right. I didn't think of that,” Mr. Carson said sheepishly.

The men stopped talking. Their footsteps grew fainter as they walked away.

“Weird,” said Cody. “Maybe that falling chandelier wasn't an accident. So many things have gone wrong at the inn …”

“You think the pirate ghost is causing trouble?” Otis snorted. “Aunt Edith is just stressed. She's worried about nothing.”

He couldn't have been more wrong. At the inn on Calavera Island, there was
plenty
to worry about.

[Chapter Three]

R
ae and the twins were still yawning when Maxim dropped them off at the dojo. They were all so excited about the trip to Calavera Island that they had hardly slept. As they took off their shoes, Cody and Otis filled Rae in on what they had overheard.

“Poor Aunt Edith,” she said. “It's hard enough just starting a new business, but all those accidents must have her really frazzled.” She shook her head.

“Then you don't think it's the pirate's ghost?” Cody asked.

“Not really,” she said, while Otis let out an exasperated sigh. Rae smoothed the front of her
gi
. Wearing the karate uniform always made her feel proud. “Anyway, we can't think about it now. We've got to focus on class.”

The three of them had learned that the mental part of karate was more important than learning to fight. In fact, the sensei had taught them to avoid a fight whenever possible. But learning to focus and breathe under stress was something they could apply to any situation in life. Now, as junior black belts, they knew it well.

The three waited for the sensei to enter. Soon the master appeared and instructed them to line up. Then he gave the command, “
Mokuso
,” meaning, “close your eyes and meditate.”

Otis, Cody, and Rae closed their eyes. All thoughts of the upcoming trip and pirate treasure left their minds. The class had begun.

Time passed quickly as they moved through their warm-up exercises. Next, they practiced their stances and then the
katas
—sequences of moves that imitated fighting. Then they paired up to practice techniques of blocking and kicking. Soon they were bowing their good-byes at the closing ceremony.

After class, Maxim and Mr. Carson whisked every-one to the airport. On the plane, Rae and the twins told the two men that they wouldn't be able to relax until they finally got to the island. Then they promptly fell asleep and stayed asleep until the plane landed.

*

As the Carsons, Maxim, and Rae struggled up the walkway toward the inn through the pouring rain, they didn't know that someone was watching them with binoculars. When Bobo saw Cody, Otis, and Rae he gritted his teeth.

Kids. That's just great
, he thought. He tossed the binoculars on the bed and began pacing furiously.
Always gotta poke their runny little noses into everything. Why? They're always asking, “Why, why, why?” It's not enough that I've got to get rid of adults, now I've got to pay attention to kids, too. Who would have thought anyone would bring kids?

He clenched his fists at his sides. He'd have to be nice to them. They mustn't suspect a thing.