*all ages

TERRI WEBB

The Missing Key

Chapter 1

"I can’t wait till we get there!" said Terri Webb age 14.

"Either can I," her best friend, Susan Maple, agreed. "I bet your grandmother is very nice."

"She sure is!" said Terri’s brother Dave who had just came in. "You’ll like her a lot. Maybe you and Terri could find something to do there instead of being pests."

"Shut up!" Terri yelled angrily. (I’m not sure Trixie would have used that exact phrasing) "You know we’re better than you and your (ouch) jealous."

Before David could say something Susan’s brother, Tom, burst into the kitchen "Hi guys! You all packed? Robin’s waiting in the van."

Robin was an attractive 17 year old brunette with blue eyes. (I am subtle with those descriptions!) Though she didn’t look anything like Terri she was her sister. (See, instead of Brian, there’s Robin)

"Yes, we’re ready," Susan replied. "In fact your timing is perfect! Terri and David were having a fight."

"Which we never finished. Now see here Terri," Dave began. But Tom interrupted him. "We have to leave now. It’s already 10:00." He picked up the luggauge (yes, I really spelled it that way) and went outside. Dave followed him.

"Tom’s a lifesaver!" said Terri. "Your so lucky to have him for a brother." She sighed.

Susan nodded. "I know. Come on he’s starting the engine!" She ran outside. Terri followed.

"How long will it take to get there?" (who’s saying this?)

"About a half hour. Try to relax!" (phantom replier)

"I can’t help!" said Susan excitedly (ah, so it was Susan who asked). "My grandmother died years ago."

"She was rotten to us!" Tom practically yelled. (not sure why I made their late grandmother psychotic—perhaps she was a Jonesy substitute)

"She was not!" Susan protested.

"She was so! She told me when I was only six she hated children. She almost gave dad up for adoption!"

"I’m suprised (ouch again) you can remember so far back," Terri chuckled. (yes, Terri, it was such an amusing anecdote)

"What about your other grandmother?" Dave asked.

"She died when our mother was ten," Susan told him.

"She died from cancer," Tom added. (in case you wondered)

"What time is it?" Terri asked hastily. (as you will see, I was quite interested in time)

"It’s 10:13," Dave anserwed. (another word I hadn’t mastered) "We still have 20 more minutes."

Robin, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly spoke up. "I’m awfully hungry," she said. "I ate breakfast early this morning." (explanation for hunger at 10:13 am is that breakfast was eaten early—brilliant!)

"You’ve finally said something!" Terri looked at her pretending to be amazed.

"Stop it Terri!" she yelled. "At least I’m not a chatterbox! (13 minutes into their half hour drive and tempers are flaring) Besides," she added, "I’m starving."

"So am I," Terri admitted. (they left home less than fifteen minutes ago!) "Look Tom there’s a small café (there were many words that troubled me, but I always put the accent mark on café!) Pull over to the parking lot."

"Okay," Tom agreed, "But we can only spare 10 minutes." (So they’re going to order and eat in ten minutes? Obviously, I had no grasp of time. This is really just a weak plot device, as you’ll discover)

The café’s parking lot was full.

"Wow!" exclaimed Robin, "For a small café it sure is crowded!"

"Park by that old warehouse Tom," Susan begged, "Please." (I guess Susan is also starving)

Tom parked the van in a space and they walked into the café.

"I guess half those cars out there aren’t parked for this café," Susan said as she glanced around the practically empty café.

"That’s odd," Tom said in a puzzled voice.

"I admit it’s very strange alright." Dave agreed.

"I don’t care if it’s strange!" Robin said impatiently. (okay, maybe she isn’t a female Brian) "I just want to eat!"

"Me too," said Susan. "Let’s sit down and order something." (sensible girl)

"I’m for that," Terri agreed.

"May I seat you Madmosille Terrica," Dave asked and then burst into laughter. (I guess at this point café was the only French word I could handle)

Terri frowned at him. He knew she hated her real name Terrica. (where did I get this from? One guess)

"Oh do stop frowning Terri," said Susan, "I think Terrica is a lovely name!" (she’s so tactful—a real "honey" of a friend)

"You can have it," said Terri crossly. "Let’s order."

After they had eaten Tom said they had stayed much too long. "It’s already past 10:30," he said (gasp! And they have that long seventeen minute drive ahead of them!), "Let’s go."

About two minutes later they were back on the highway.

"Oof! I’m full!" Robin said lazily.

"So am I," Susan said. She nestled in a corner of the van and fell asleep. (????)

(And now for the battle of the sexes)

"You two are next!" Dave laughed. "Girls are known to do things like that!" (uh, sure)

"It’s also known boys get jealous of girls very easily," Robin said sharply. (what a comeback)

David’s face turned red and Terri laughed. "Sock it to him Robin!" she yelled.

"Now look!" Dave said angrily. "You’ve woken up Sue!"

"Please don’t call me Sue, David," Susan said tartly. "It’s awful!" (I’m not sure why this is)

"Just like Terrica," Terri teased.

"Would you guys be quiet!" Robin said harshly.

"Yes please be quiet," Tom agreed. "Besides we’re here!"

He pulled up to an old house. "This is where she lives isn’t it? 5002 W. Pershing Dr.?"

"Yes, this is it!" Robin said excitedly. (Grandma only lives thirty minutes away, but it looks like the Webbs don’t visit much)

"Well then what are we waiting for?" asked Susan. "Let’s go!" she cried.

They went up the walk and knocked on the door. The door opened and they faced an awful looking man (how descriptive) who was red with anger. Susan went pale and Robin stood there open mouthed.

"Whata ya kids want?!" he growled his face angry as ever. (this is the first time they’ve seen him!)

Dave spoke up. "Please sir…." He began.

"Don’t sir me kid! He yelled. "Get to the point!"

Robin suddenly said, "We’d like to see our grandmother."

"Hmph!" he said crossly. He turned around and yelled," Hey Sandy! Your grandy kids are here"

"He certainly is a rude person," whispered Susan. "Who is he anyway?"

"Be quiet and we’ll find out," Terri whispered back.

Just then an elderly woman appeared at the door.

"David and Terrica!" she cried. (she totally ignores her oldest grandchild) She gave both of them a short hug.

"Hello Granny!" Terri said smiling.

"And these two must be Suzanne and Thomas," she said turning to Susan and Tom.

"Please Mrs. Mackens (I have no idea how or why I came up with this name) call us Tom and Susan," said Tom.

"Fine," she said smiling. "Also Terri I won’t call you Terrica."

"Thank you!" Terri anserwed. (I second that!)

The man, who had been standing queitly (another ouch), said, "Sandy, you better pay up! And quick!" With that last remark he left and hopped into a green chevy.

Terri watched the car drive off then turned to her grandmother. "Who, may I ask, was he?"

"That was Ben Cotton. He’s the one who gets this place if I don’t pay my debts. (maybe Grandma has a gambling problem?) Of course if I had the key to my husband’s bank I could."

"What bank?" Suan asked curiously.

"Come inside and I’ll tell you."

They went inside and sat down while she went into the kitchen.

"I like this place," Susan said, "It has comfortable furniture."

Just then a big red dog came bounding in. (a red dog….could it be an Irish Setter?)

"Hi there Ferris old boy!" Dave called out. (I can’t imagine why I named the dog Ferris—this was long before Ferris Bueller) The dog playfully ran by his side and barked.

"That’s right Ferris," Terri laughed, "He’s a real barkhead!" (barkhead?)

Mrs. Mackens entered the room with tea and cookies. (She’s serving them tea?)

"Now tell us about the bank!" Terri begged.

"Well, about 10 years ago my husband, Sam, made a handcarved bank. He stashed about $400 in it. Now if I could open it everything would be fine. The problem is I don’t know where the key is."

(Okay, a few comments: Grandma owes $400 or she’ll lose her home. Terri’s parents can’t help her out? There’s money in a bank made by her late husband, but she doesn’t have the key. Um, maybe a screwdriver or hammer would help. The bank is not even made of metal for pete’s sake)

"Have you searched at all?" Terri asked getting more excited by the minute. (No, Terri, Grandma hasn’t bothered looking even though she’ll lose her home without that key)

"Every place but the trapdoor room," her grandmother replied.

"What’s the trapdoor room?" asked Tom.

"It’s a small room upstairs. The reason it’s called a trapdoor room is because you have to go through a trapdoor to get into it." (logical)

Terri’s eyes sparkled. She loved any kind of mystery. (sound a little familiar?)

Dave asked if they could see their rooms. (who cares about Grandma’s problems?)

Mrs. Mackens had given Dave and Tom a room with bunk beds.

Susan and Terri shared a yellow room while Robin (remember her?) occupied a white one by herself. (I really knew how to describe the decor, didn’t I?)

Susan opened the closet and started taking out some dresses. (I presume from her suitcase, not the closet)

Just then Mrs. Mackens opened the door. "I invited some other children to have lunch with you," she said.

"Thank you," Susan anserwed.

Mrs. Mackens left to tell Robin and the boys.

After they finished unpacking they changed their clothes. Susan put on a peach dress that looked wonderful with her light brown hair and gray eyes. Short-haired Terri put on a blue dress that looked good with her short red hair and green eyes. (Did ya think her eyes would be blue and her hair blonde? Nah! Notice I mentioned twice in the same sentence that her hair was short. Why are they wearing dresses for lunch at Grandma’s?)

As Susan fixed up her hair Terri sat on one of the beds. The instant she sat down there was a ripping sound. "Oh dear!" Terri said nervously. "What ripped?" She bent down to examine the bed. (I think I stole this mattress bit from Jane-Emily, a book I really loved)

"Oh no!" she cried. "The seam has ripped."

"Let me see," said Susan. She walked over to Terri.

"Hey!" Terri said excitedly. "There’s something in this mattress!" She stuck her hand in and pulled out a small iron turtle.

"Oh just a piece of junk!" Susan said disappointedly.

"Wait Susan! There’s a note on the bottom!" Terri cried happily.

"What does it say?" Susan asked.

"It says, ‘PURPLE POT’!"

"Well that just doesn’t make sense," said Susan in a puzzled voice.

"I know," Terri agreed glancing out the window. "Oops! The others are in the garden already! Hurry!"

They left the room and went into the garden.

As they came outside a tall, dark, handsome boy (very original) rose to greet them. "Hi!" he said. "I’m Frank and this is Tiffany and Mike." He pointed to a tall blond girl and a good-looking boy.

Susan smiled. "I am Susan Maple and this is my friend Terri Webb."

Mrs. Mackens came into the garden with a tray of thick turkey sandwiches, potatoe (no Dan Quayle jokes, please) salad, and lemonade.

"Oh Granny!" Robin squealed with delight. "Your the best!"

After they had eaten Frank asked Susan if she’d like to take a stroll around. (around….the block? The garden?) Mike asked Robin the same thing. (obviously, I’m trying to get rid of them—and just where are Dave and Tom?) Both girls accepted eagerly.

Tiffany turned to Terri. "Which room did you get?" she asked.

"The yellow one on the second floor," Terri anserwed. She saw that Tiffany seemed startled by her anserw.

"Well I better be going," she said quickly. She stood up and ran down the street.

Terri looked curiously after her.

I wonder why she seemed startled by my anserw, Terri wondered. (I wonder, she wondered!)

She suddenly realized the boys (Tom and Dave!) had gone into the house. She stood up and walked inside, then she ran up the stairs to her room.

Susan was there wearing a bathing suit and putting on a bathing cap. (short stroll) "There’s a swimming pool in the back and Robin and I thought we’d go swimming." The she giggled. "Did you know that there’s a bathroom connecting our room with Robin’s? And it’s purple!"

Terri opened the bathroom door and burst out laughing. It was true everything was purple. A purple floor, a purple sink, a purple bathtub, purple soap, and purple walls. There was even a purple pot with purple flowers in it.

Susan came in the bathroom. "Aren’t those flowers in that purple pot pretty?" she asked dreamily.

Purple pot! (ah-ha!) Those words were famillar (ouch!!) Suddenly Terri remembered. (after all it wasn’t that long ago)

"Susan!" she cried excitedly. "Those words on that note I found said ‘Purple Pot’."

"Your right Terri!" she exclaimed.

Terri ran to the lovely pot. She searched it but could find nothing. Then an idea came to her. She got up all her courage and broke the pot.

Susan looked shocked as she (Terri) bent down to pick up a piece of paper. It said: Look for the Black Snake!

(Comment on Chapter 1: What can I say? It stunk.)

 

Chapter 2

"Oh Terri," Susan cried fearfully, "I hate snakes!" Frightened, she glanced around.

"Oh don’t be silly!" Terri said. "Can’t you see this is our next clue?"

"But what does it mean?" Susan asked, still a little shaken.

"Just what it says!" Terri cried out impatiently. "We look for a black snake. It’s simple."

"But I don’t like snakes!"

"Oh Susan, it’s not a real one!"

"Oh that’s good," Susan said in a relieved voice.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Robin poked her head in. "Hey Susan!" she said, "Are you ready for a swim yet?"

"Yes I am," Susan replied. Turning to Terri she said, "You better sweep up that glass. Somebody could hurt himself."

"Alright," Terri agreed. "Have a good swim."

After Susan left with Robin Terri sat on the bed thinking about the mystery.

She was sure the notes she found were going to somehow lead her to the key of her grandfather’s carved bank.

Just then the phone rang. She got up and picked up the reciever. (*groan* I before E except after C!) "Hello?"

Nobody anserwed.

"Hello?" she asked again. This time a man’s deep voice said," Black snakes are for witches only. Stay far from them. I warn you!" There was a click. Apparently the man had hung up.

Terri replaced the reciever. Thoughts were racing through her mind. How did the man know about the black snake? Had he somehow seen the note before? (maybe he's psychic?) Even so, why did he say to stay far away from snakes?

"Hey! Are you deaf? Why isn’t the glass picked up?"

"Huh?" Terri looked up. "Oh, sorry Susan. I forgot."

Susan took out a dustpan and broom. (I presume not from her suitcase) She started to sweep the broken glass up.

Should I tell her about the call? Terri asked herself. No I don’t want to scare her.

"Your grandmother told me to tell you supper is almost ready," Susan said. "She also said Frank and Tiffany are joining us. Mike can’t make it." She took off her suit and changed into a honey-colored dress with light brown sandals.

Terri got up and took a green dress out of the closet. (what’s wrong with the blue one?) After she had changed she walked with Susan down the stairs.

Dinner was a feast! There was fried chicken, salad, beans, fruit, and cake. After dinner everyone went outside onto the front porch.

Terri walked over to Tiffany who sat alone. She plopped into the chair next to Tiffany.

"Why were you upset when I said I had the yellow room?" Terri asked.

Tiffany glared at her and stood up.

Just at that moment a car stopped in front of the house. Tiffany ran down the step and the walk and got into the car.

Terri gasped as the car drove away. The car was a green chevy. Just like Ben Cotton’s car!

(Some comments: Chapter 2 was thankfully shorter than Chapter 1. What I learned from Trixie Belden: Eat lots of good food; eat often. Describe dress colors. )

 

Chapter 3

"Are you sure it was a green chevy, Terri?" Susan asked.

Terri had just finished telling Susan about Tiffany and the car. (nobody but Terri witnessed this?)

"I’m positive!" Terri anserwed, "It had to be Ben Cotton’s car!"

"But how does Tiffany know him? She’s so sweet and so kind!" Susan protested.

"Well I just know what I saw."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Susan called.

Tom opened the door and walked in. "Hey! Do you guys want to explore the attic?"

"But it’s so late!" Susan exclaimed.

Tom grinned. "It’s only nine o’clock."

"We’d love to!" Terri said. "But isn’t it dark up there?"

"Nope!" Tom replied. "There’s an electric light in it. So?"

"Okay," Susan agreed. "But let us put on some jeans first."

After they had changed their clothes they went up to the attic.

Dave and Tom were looking through some old magazines while Robin was busy looking in an old trunk.

Susan spotted a clothes rack with old-fashioned dresses hanging on it. "Oh look!" she cried running to the rack. "Aren’t these dresses lovely?"

Terri joined her and they both looked at the beautiful dresses.

"Hey look at what I found," Robin said. "Isn’t this scary?" She held up a ceramic snake that was painted all black except for a red tongue and its green eyes.

Terri rushed forward and took it from Robin. "The…the Black Snake," she gasped.

Dave looked at her. "What do you mean by the black snake?" he asked.

Terri glanced at Susan. She nodded.

"Alright," Terri said. "It’s time you knew."

So Terri, with Susan’s help, told them about their clues, Tiffany, and the green chevy.

"Wow!" Dave said after they had finished telling their story. "You did and found all that right under our noses!"

"But still," Tom said, "what has those notes got to do with Ben Cotton and Tiffany?"

Terri explained she thought the notes were going to lead her to the missing key of her grandfather’s carved bank. Also that she thought Ben Cotton would like to own the house.

"But that still doesn’t explain about Tiffany," Robin said.

"Oh, don’t you see?" Terri cried out impatiently. "She and Cotton work together."

"In other words," said Tom, "you think they’re in cahoots together."

"I don’t think it," Terri said exsaperdtly (I’m fairly sure that I meant exasperatedly…*blush*), "I know it!"

"What she means," Dave said, "is she thinks it. He turned to Terri. "Listen Terri," he said, "think what you want to. But I really think your making a mountain out of a molehill."

"So do I," Tom agreed.

Terri turned to Robin. "What about you?" she asked.

Robin hesitated. "I must say I agree with the boys," she admitted. Abruptly she changed the subject. "Hey what time is it?"

Susan looked at her wristwatch. "Oh my goodness," she exclaimed. "It’s eleven o’clock!"

"I suggest we go to bed," Tom said. He and Dave went to their rooms (but they’re sharing a room!). Robin followed.

"Don’t worry Terri," Susan said to her friend. "We can solve this mystery without their help."

Terri looked up suprised. "You don’t agree with them? Boy that’s super!"

Susan smiled. "You know what I think would be super?" she asked. "To get some sleep."

Terri agreed that sleep would be nice and a good sleep would have them alert for some sleuthing in the morning.

They shut off the light and walked to their room.

"Oh no!" Terri said. "I lost my watch in the attic. I’ll be right back." She ran off towards the attic.

Susan opened the door to the bedroom. Then she gasped. Someone had torn the room apart! Just as she was going to call the boys she heard a noise.

Suddenly a hand was clamped over her mouth and nose. In the hand was a cloth. Susan smelled a sickish odor. (sickish???)

Just before she blacked out she heard a man sneer (she heard a sneer?) and say: "Your friend should have taken my warning and stayed away from snakes. But now…now it’s too late!"

And the voice was that of Ben Cotton!

(Oh boy. I’m still not clear on how Ben knew that Terri had found the first clue. Amazing. It’s equally amazing that Terri found two clues on her first day at Grandma’s, though as you’ll see a lot can happen to Terri Webb in one day….)

 

Chapter 4

In the meantime Terri had found her watch and was on her way back to the bedroom. She stooped short suprised at seeing the room dark and the door opened. Puzzled she went in. Then she turned around and ran to the boys room.

"Tom! Dave!" she yelled as she burst into the room.

Dave looked up from the book he was reading. "What is the matter?" he asked.

"Our room’s been ransacked and Susan’s not in it!" Terri replied out of breath.

Tom turned away from the sketch he was drawing. "What?" he exclaimed.

"You heard me! Someone tore apart our room and I think Susan’s been kidnapped!"

Tom looked at Dave. "I think we’d better investigate," he said finally.

The boys got up and followed Terri to her room.

Dave turned the light on. The boys stared at the debris.

"Wow!" Dave got out. "It sure looks as though Susan has been kidnapped!"

Tom walked to the phone to call the police. He talked to Captain Tatting of the Wickerville Police. (I guess you’ve noticed that thinking up names was not my strong suit)

"We’ll do all we can to find your sister," the captain said to Tom.

"Thank you sir," Tom said. He hung up. He turned to Dave who had just finished helping Terri clean the room. (destroying all possible evidence in the process—not that Wickerville’s finest seem anxious to check out the crime scene) "Well Dave," he said, "you go back to our room and get some sleep. I’ll tell Robin about the kidnapping." He left the room. (shouldn’t someone tell Grandma?)

"What are you thinking about Terri?" Dave asked her.

Terri said, "Who would kidnap Susan."

"And who do you think did?" Dave questioned her because he wanted to know in case the police should know.

"I think," Terri began, "that Susan was kidnapped by Ben Cotton!"

"Ben Cotton!" Dave exclaimed. "Boy are you nuts! Why do you think he did it?"

Terri told him about the phone call she had received telling her to steer clear from black snakes. She also said it was from a man.

"Hey!" she said suddenly. "Where is the black snake? Susan brought it down here in our room." (she did?) Then she gasped. "Oh no!" she moaned. "Dave I’m afraid Ben Cotton has the snake. And our clue!"

"Don’t feel so bad Terri," Dave said. "Susan probably forgot to bring the snake down."

Terri’s troubled green eyes looked straight into his own worried green eyes. "I wish that was true," Terri said sadly. "But I walked with her and she had the snake in her arms."

Dave hesitated. "Well," he said, "I’d better get back to get some sleep. Good night." He left the room.

Terri changed for bed and turned off the light. Then she slipped into bed.

Terri couldn’t get to sleep. So much had happened on their first day here! (yeah, like your best friend being kidnapped)

She thought she heard someone downstairs.

Probably someone having a midnight snack, she thought, I think I’ll join him.

No one had turned on a light. That’s strange, Terri thought. Why didn’t he put a light on?

For a minute she though no one was downstairs. But then she heard a cupboard being opened.

Well, she thought, someone is in the kitchen.

Even though she was sure that whoever was in the kitchen was getting a midnight snack, a feeling of uneasiness came over her as she opened the kitchen door.

The moment she walked in she was grabbed. Before she could scream a hand was clamped over her mouth. In front of her a girl was looking through a cabinet. As the girl turned to look at her Terri knew who it was. The girl was Tiffany!

(Comments: Susan has been kidnapped. Nobody bothers to tell the only adult in the house and the police don’t seem too concerned. But then, the victim’s own brother doesn’t seem terribly shaken up by the news. This story seems to be on fast forward—I really wanted to finish it!)

 

Chapter 5

Tiffany sneered at Terri then said to her companion: "Come on Ben. There is no pink plate here. Besides," she added, "we now have Miss Snoop."

Terri stood petrified. Was the ‘Ben’ Tiffany had referred to Ben Cotton? And what did Tiffany mean by pink plate?

Ben gave Terri a push. "Get movin’ Miss Nosey!" he snarled.

Terri didn’t move. How could she escape?

Ben gave her another push. Terri started walking. As the back door shut behind them, Terri gave a sigh of relief. A figure was coming toward them, and it was Frank!

But to Terri’s disgust he seemed to be with Tiffany and Ben.

"Did you find the plate?" he asked anxiously. Then he saw Terri. A worried look crossed his face.

Tiffany saw it. She looked at Frank with disgust. "Hey Frank," she said, "are you gonna be like Mike?" She snorted. "Ever since he met that brunette he’s been crazy. Well I’ll fix him and that other girl. Also," she added, "I’ll fix Miss Snoop here too." She gave a wicked laugh. "And I’ll fix you too Frank. That is if you back out like Mike." She turned to Ben. "Tie Miss Snoop up," she ordered, "Then stick her in the trunk."

As Ben did as he was told, Frank and Tiffany went into the car. Terri was shoved into the trunk. As the trunk door was shut Terri knew she had no hope left.

The engine started and the car pulled out and headed for the highway. In the trunk Terri could barely breathe. Finally the car stopped. The trunk was opened and Ben pulled Terri out.

As she got out she gasped. They were at the small café! Tiffany unlocked the café’s door. They went inside and walked into the manager’s office.

Again Terri gasped. Inside the office Susan and Mike were bound and gagged sitting on chairs.

Ben shoved Terri onto a chair. The he shut and locked the door of the office.

Tiffany faced her prisonors. (oops! But now get ready for some very clever plot developments and brilliant writing…try not too laugh too hard)

"I am now going to tell you everything," she said. She sat down on a chair and began. "As you can see there are a lot of cars parked in this café’s parking lot. You see, we use this place as a hideout. We put those cars out there so no one would come here. Still a few people did. Anyways, Ben knew about a missing key to some bank at your grandma’s house. Well we want to find it so she can’t pay her debts." Tiffany paused. "I guess your wondering why we don’t want her to pay her debts. (do tell!) Well, you see, Sam Mackens was supposed to have some great treasure in that house. So if Ben owns it we can try to find the treasure."

Terri glared at her and stared at a pink plate hanging on the wall. It was very pretty with tiny painted keys all over it and a real key in the center.

"Hey Miss Snoop," Ben snarled. "Whatcha lookin’ at?"

Terri turned her stare from the plate to him. "Nothing," she said coolly.

"Well," Tiffany said, "we are going to now stick you in our meat freezer for the rest of the night." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "You’ll get out of the freezer in about 3 hours," she said.

Ben and Frank picked up the prisoners and put them in the freezer. They also untied them because Frank had said they couldn’t get out anyways.

Ben went to the door. He turned and said in a cackling voice, "Well Miss Snoop you shouldn’t snoop. And you never will again." With those last words of his he went out and slammed the door!

(I sure do appreciate the way Tiffany spilled her guts. How thoughtful. But Frank gets the prize for untying the prisoners since they couldn’t escape anyhow. The café is a hideout. Wow. Still, a few people did come in to eat. Who works at this café? Don’t bother me with details! Grandma said she was inviting some kids to lunch. Which means Tiffany isn’t very old, and yet she bosses Ben around!)

 

Chapter 6

As soon as the door was shut Terri turned to Mike. "Mike," she asked anxiously, "is there a way out of here?"

Before Mike could anserw Susan spoke up. "The only way out is the door and window. But we’ll be dead before we could open the window!"

"Nonsense!" Mike said. "We could use that crowbar there!" He pointed toward a corner.

"Perfect!" Terri cried. She picked up the crowbar and tried to pry open the window. It was hard work but she finally pried it open. She scrambled through it followed by Mike and Susan.

Susan gratefully breathed in the fresh air. "Oh, how wonderful this is!" she remarked happily.

"We must go into the café again!" Terri cried.

"What?" Susan asked. "Are you crazy?"

"No," Terri anserwed, "But I found the missing key!"

"How do you know?" asked Mike.

"Well," Terri explained, "our last clue was ‘pink plate’ and in the café is a pink plate with a real key in the center of it."

"You think it’s the missing key?" Susan asked.

"Of course she does!" Mike said.

"Well then," Terri said, "let’s go!" She ran into the café followed by Mike and Susan.

Terri walked right to the manager’s office and went in. Susan went in and then Mike.

"There!" Terri said triumphiatly. (oops)

Susan and Mike stared. Terri looked at the wall. The pink plate was missing!

(Comments: There’s a window in the meat freezer that leads outdoors? Lucky that there was a crowbar handy. deus ex machina)

 

Chapter 7

"Oh no!" Terri cried.

Then Mike laughed.

Susan and Terri looked at him as if he’d gone crazy.

"Don’t you see it?" Mike asked. "Look hard."

They turned and looked around.

Susan giggled. The plate had fallen off the wall onto a cushioned seat.

"Lucky the seat was soft," Mike remarked.

"Yes," Terri agreed. But she took the plate and broke it.

"Why did you do that?" Susan asked suprised.

"So I could get the key out," Terri anserwed.

A door opened somewhere. The three didn’t notice anything until they heard voices.

Susan looked at the clock. "Oh! It’s five o’clock in the morning!"

Jus then they heard voices. (again?) They looked up startled that voices should be heard when the café was supposed to be empty.

The voices were coming closer now and they could hear footsteps. There was a creak and the door slowly opened.

The three stood frozen in terror and horror as the door opened wider and wider until it was completely opened. There in the doorway stood Tom and Dave!  

Sorry to say that’s all there is. There were one or two more chapters. I did finish this story, but those pages became separated from the rest. Someday, I’ll probably find them. Here’s a challenge: Anyone who wants to try and write an ending to this incredible mystery, go ahead. I’ll post any endings that are sent in (short or long). In any case, I hope you enjoyed what there was.  

Read Eric's ending to this story!

 Trixie Belden Homepage