Kidnap Island (7 page)

“
They had a mighty
struggle carrying pops down the path but they eventually dumped him
in their boat and motored off towards the harbour entrance. I was
able to watch from the woods without them knowing I was
there.

“
Now
I dunno what to do.
”
Eric was crying again.
“
My
dad
’
s the only person I know in this country, and I
can
’
t call my mum cos this stupid phone
doesn
’
t allow international calls
–
dad reckoned
I
’
d use up all the credit if he let me call home so we
always used his phone.
”

Eric looked
appealingly at Jonny:
“
Please help me Jonny, you and the others are my
only buddies here. You are my buddies, aren
’
t you? I know we
only met each other today but
…”

“
Hey, of course we
’
re your mates,
Eric,
”
said Jonny in a soothing voice, wondering whether he should
give his new friend a hug but decided he couldn
’
t. “
We should really call the police,
shouldn
’
t we?
”

“
No, we
can
’
t,”
Eric insisted,
rubbing his hand over his red hair.
“
You see, my
dad
’
s wants to keep the island and the house a secret
otherwise we
’
ll get no privacy.
His lawyer said it would make a great news story if it got out that
an American kid had inherited a long-forgotten English island. If
we throw a kidnapping into the mix, it
’
ll be even bigger
news. Also, my dad
’
s, well, kinda famous
back home. He
’
s a politician, you
see.
”

“
Er,
OK then, if you insist. I just dunno what we can do ourselves to
sort all this out. Look, I need to get home before it gets light. I
was in trouble for being late back last night and I
don
’
t want to be grounded. How about I come back in the
morning with Will and Louisa, and we can come up with a
plan?
”
Will you be all right on your own?
”

“
Sure, I guess.
”
Eric sounded doubtful.

“
Look mate, it
’
s four
o
’
clock so it
’
ll be light soon,
then everything will feel better. Hang on in there and
I
’
ll be back as soon as I can.
”

The boys and the dog
walked back to the shore, using Eric
’
s torch to guide
themselves through the trees.
“
You gonna be able to
find your way back
”

“
Yeah, no problem. Look, the moon
’
s up and
there
’
s a bit of light appearing in the sky already. I can
see the outline of the clubhouse from here
already.
”

Jonny pulled his canoe
into the water, slipped into it with Ainslie and put on his best
Terminator voice:
“I
’
ll be
back!
”
And with that, he paddled silently away leaving Eric
standing alone on the shore. The American boy watched Jonny until
he could no longer see him in the dim early morning light. He then
turned and walked back to the empty house, feeling scared and
lonely on the island which, just a few hours before, had seemed
exciting and fun. Without bothering to undress, Eric crawled into
his sleeping bag and shut his eyes tight, willing himself to be
somewhere else. Eventually he drifted off into a fitful
sleep.

Jonny, meanwhile, got
back to the sailing club, put his canoe back in its place, and
pedalled home as fast as he could, a very puzzled Ainslie in tow.
It was 5am and fast becoming light. He dropped his bike on the back
lawn and sneaked back into the house and up to his room. He quickly
stripped off his clothes and snuggled under his duvet, figuring he
was unlikely to get to sleep but guessing his mum may stick her
head through the door before she left for work. As it happened, he
was asleep within minutes and didn
’
t
wake
n until after 9am
–
late for
Jonny.

Chapter
s
even

Jonny opened his eyes
and lay there, still half asleep. Then he suddenly remembered his
night-time adventure and sat up in bed. He had to think of a way to
help Eric. He wanted to talk to his new friends Will and Louisa but
he realised he didn
’
t have their phone
numbers; after Will
’
s dad had made such a
fuss about them being late home the other night,
they
’
d forgotten to exchange numbers as
they
’
d planned to.

He did, though, have
Eric
’
s number so he rang him. The phone was answered on the
first ring.
“
Eric, it
’
s Jonny, how
ya
doing?
”

“
I
’
m OK, thanks. Are you coming over?
”

“
I
will when the tide
’
s in a bit further. I
need to find Will and Louisa. You didn
’
t want me to speak to
anyone else, but it
’
s OK to tell them
what
’
s happened, isn
’
t
it?
”

“
Sure, I guess. Say, what if those men come back? What shall
I do?
”

“
Hide somewhere. In the woods maybe. Just keep a good ear
out for them; you
’
ll hear their
motorboat a mile off.
”

“
OK,
will do. Come over quickly won
’
t you? And
Jonny?
”

“
What?
”

“
Thanks, buddy.
”

“
No problem mate.
Now, I
’
m off to find the others. Catch you
later.
”
And with that Jonny rang off.

Half an hour later,
Jonny was back at the sailing club in the hope of finding Will and
Louisa there. But then he remembered that Will had been grounded.
Damn! Why oh why hadn
’
t he taken their
phone numbers? Maybe he could get Will
’
s home number from
the club office. He went inside to the small office which was run
by Gladys, a lovely old lady who knew everyone at the
club.

“
Hello Jonny, what can we do for you,
”
she smiled.
“
Here, have a
biscuit.
”

Jonny took one of the
chocolate digestives and Gladys quietly slipped one to Ainslie
too.
“I
’
m trying to get hold
of a friend, Will. Do you have his number?
”

“
Will? What
’
s his
surname?
”

“
I
dunno, I only met him the other day. His dad
’
s an architect
and drives a cool yellow Porsche.
”

“
Ah,
that
’
ll be Richard Turner. The family
’
s only
joined the club this year, lovely people.
”
Jonny
couldn
’
t help grinning; everyone was lovely in
Gladys
’
eyes, which is what made
her
so lovely.
“We
’
re not really meant
to give out personal information, though, love.
”

Jonny gave her his
best winning smile, which he often used to get out of trouble at
school.
“
We were hoping to go sailing together again today but
he
’
s not here so I just wanted to ring him to check
he
’
s
OK.”
Which was sort of the
truth, he thought.

Gladys
didn
’
t have to give Jonny a special smile because she was
always smiling anyway.
“
OK love, seeing that it
’
s
you,
”
she said as she tapped away on her computer. I know you
youngsters like mobile numbers but we
’
ve only got the
Turner
’
s home number.
”
She scribbled it down on a sticky
note and handed it to Jonny.
“
Now off you go and
don
’
t tell anyone I gave this to you.
”

“
Thanks Gladys, you
’
re the
best,
”
grinned Jonny and ran out of the clubhouse, leaving the
lady smiling after him.

The phone rang and
rang, and Jonny was just about to give up when a sleepy voice
answered.
“
Hello?
”

“
Will, it
’
s Jonny, are you
coming down the club?
”

“
Nah,
I
’
m grounded remember? You
’
ve just woken me
up.
”
Will didn
’
t sound
happy.

“
Sorry, but I need your help. Eric
’
s in
trouble.
”
Jonny quickly related the story of what happened last
night.

“
I
can
’
t see what we can do, though. Surely Eric needs to
call the police?
”

“
I
told you, he can
’
t. We
’
re his only friends
in England so we need to do something. Is Louisa
around?
”

“
She
lives out in the sticks
,
I
’
ll
ring
her. I
can
’
t go out though or my dad
’
ll kill me. How about
you both come here and we can talk about what to
do?
”

“
OK,
what
’
s your address? I
’
ll come straight
over, and get Louisa there too. Oh and give me your mobile
number.
”

Will passed on his
details and Jonny jumped straight on his bike. He knew the village
Will lived in
–
it was just along the harbour where his mum said
the
‘posh
’
people lived; she
was always grumbling that the rich didn
’
t pay enough
tax.

Ten minutes later
Jonny was ringing the bell of a beautiful New England style house
overlooking the water. It was clad with blue-painted wood and had a
huge double garage next to it. Eventually, the door opened and Will
stood there dripping wet, with just a towel round his waist.
“
Sorry, I was
in the shower. Come and watch TV while I get
dressed.
”
Jonny was led into a large room with an equally large
television dominating one wall. There were beanbags on the floor,
controllers for various games consoles scattered about and the far
wall had coloured blocks running up it and ropes hanging down it,
which Ainslie immediately started jumping up at and
nipping.

“
Wow, you have a climbing wall in your living
room?
”
Jonny exclaimed.