144-The Secret of Skeleton Reef by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T15:15:08+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Green Gold and Real Gold

"Who is planning to kill us?" Joe said, plopping onto the sofa, "or at least threatening to? And why?"

"I don't know who is after us, but I can guess why. Someone knows we're investigating the attempted murder of Chrissy Peters," Frank said, running a hand through his brown hair. "And that someone is telling us to back off."

"Because the person who sent us the black spot," Jamal said, picking up the brown bottle, "is probably the same person who tried to kill Chrissy Peters.

"Right," Frank said.

"How about we get something to eat?" Joe said, bouncing up from the sofa. "I always get hungry when someone threatens my life."

After the boys showered and changed into long pants and fresh T-shirts, Jamal took the Hardys to the Parrot's Paradise, a small restaurant in Soufriere. Colorful murals were painted on the walls, and fishing nets hung from the ceiling. The place was crowded and loud with chatter.

"Let's review everything we've got so far," Frank said, examining his bowl of Creole goat stew. "Then we'll figure out what the next step should be."

"Our two leading suspects," Joe said, glancing warily at Frank's bowl, "are Pierre Montclare and Peg Riley. We don't have a motive on Montclare, but he was supposedly the last person to see Chrissy before she disappeared. On top of that, he didn't seem to want us on the boat today, and he might have even injured Frank to make his point."

"And don't forget," Frank said after tasting the stew, "he was the one who didn't want to look for Chrissy this morning. He said he didn't want to waste valuable time, but that could have been a lie. This goat stew is delicious, by the way."

"Here's a possible motive," Jamal said, spreading coconut sauce over his grilled fish. "Chrissy was helping Montclare with his books last night. Maybe she found something questionable in his financial records, and Montclare needed to stop her from telling anybody."

"It's not impossible," Joe said, slicing into his jerk chicken, a Caribbean favorite.

"Next suspect," Frank said, "is Peg Riley. She seems nice enough, but we definitely have a motive for her. She's stealing relics from the Laughing Moon. Also, Chrissy is Peg's roommate and could easily have found out about this. How's the chicken, Joe?"

"Spicy!" Joe gasped, fanning his mouth.

"Would that alone prompt Peg to kill Chrissy?" Jamal asked.

"It might," Frank answered. "Not only could Peg go to jail, but those items she's stealing are valuable. She could be hoarding thousands of dollars' worth of stuff. People have killed for much less."

"What about Rob and Davy?" Jamal said. "Do they go on the suspect list?"

"They sure do," Frank said. "They asked Flask if they could join the crew if something happened to any of the crew members. Maybe they figured the Laughing Moon site was too well guarded for them to get a chance at raiding it. Maybe they saw joining the crew as the only way to get close enough to steal some pirate treasure.

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