

### About the Book

When Jessica comes to stay with her cousin James for the summer half term, they pass a creepy old house on their way to the town museum. James rescues Maddie Quedgley, a girl their age, from being run over by a speeding truck, but when James and Jessica, known as the Two Jays, insist on taking Maddie home, it is to a house where she seems to be living on her own. From down in the basement they hear footsteps walking around above them. When the door to the basement is suddenly locked, things become dangerous. Someone is very keen to get hold of a valuable item Maddie's father is guarding. So who is the man watching them in the museum, and who is the mysterious Ethan?

This is the fifth Two Jays adventure story. They can be read in any order, although each one moves forward slightly in time. You can write to me if you like, but please get your parents' permission first.

The Old House

### Adventure

### by

### Chris Wright

© Chris Wright 2018

e-Book ISBN: 978-1-912529-07-0

also available as a paperback

ISBN: 978-1-912529-06-3

Published by

White Tree Publishing

Bristol

UNITED KINGDOM

Website: www.whitetreepublishing.com

Email: wtpbristol@gmail.com

The Old House Adventure is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

### Table of Contents

Cover

About the Book

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

About White Tree Publishing

About the author

More books for young readers

### Chapter 1

"That," James said, "is one creepy old house. Stop here a moment and look at it, Jessica."

Jessica Green had come to stay with her cousin, James Cooper, for the summer half term. James's parents were working, and unable to take the time off that week. So instead of going away as they usually did, Jessica had come on the train on Friday evening to stay with James and his parents. It was now Saturday morning.

James had planned to take Jessica for a walk on the common, but Jessica insisted they went to the museum in town. She said it was much larger than the one where she lived, and she wanted to look at some of the Roman exhibits for a school project she was working on.

"Well, at least it's not the shops," James had said, before they set off.

They were making their way down a wide road in what had once been a well-to-do part of town, but now most of the houses had been turned into low-cost apartments, and seemed to be badly cared for. Many of the gardens were overgrown.

James frowned. "I've got a weird feeling I've been inside that house. A long time ago." He gave a pretend shiver. "The creepy creeper growing up the walls doesn't help."

This was not a part of the town he knew, but it was a fairly direct route to the museum. The old house was built mostly of brick, with tall narrow windows with stone surrounds. The windows looked in need of urgent replacement. The strangest feature of all was a turret room high up on one corner, with narrow windows that looked out in three directions.

Jessica pointed up to it. "It can't be all that creepy," she said. "There's a small wooden cross hanging in one of the windows."

James gave an even bigger shiver. "That's there because the house was built over a mediaeval burial vault. Deep down in the basement there will be skeletons and spiders. You wouldn't like it down there at all."

Jessica laughed. "And tight squeezy passages where _you'd_ probably get stuck," she said, remembering James's dislike of being underground.

James shrugged. "Well, one thing's for certain, _we're_ never going to find out what's down there. Just look at that front door. It could do with a new coat of paint. The doorknocker is like a hand. It would probably grab hold of you if you tried to knock on it."

"I think we'd better go on," Jessica said. "I've just seen someone moving about in the turret. It's rude to stare into people's houses."

James was already walking away. "Especially staring into creepy ones," he called back over his shoulder. "You might see some ghastly face staring out at you from the window."

Jessica hurried to catch up with him. "The problem with you, James, is that you've got too vivid an imagination. Anyway, whoever it was didn't see me. You're right, fortunately we're never going to find out what's in the basement. Are you sure the museum is open all day on Saturdays?"

"Bound to be. If not, we can always go on the common, which is what I planned. You'd like it there."

Jessica shook her head. "I know it's the holidays, but I really do need to have a look at the Roman bits and pieces. I hope they let me take photographs. Most museums do nowadays. How much further is it?"

"The museum? About half a mile. We have to cross the main road and then we're right in the middle of town."

Known as the Two Jays, the cousins had been involved in several adventures together when on holiday, but James didn't expect anything especially exciting to happen on this holiday.

When they reached the main road James looked both ways. It seemed to be busy. "We'd better use the underpass," he said. "You never know when ... Hey, _look out!_ "

A girl with unruly dark hair was walking in front of them, wearing earphones. She had bright blue leggings, a short yellow and black striped dress, and a bright red top, and was about to step into the road. James reached forward and grabbed hold of her top, pulling her to safety as a large truck almost brushed against her, its horn blaring.

The girl turned quickly and stared angrily at James.

Jessica came forward. "My cousin saved your life," she said. "Didn't you see the truck coming?"

The girl pulled her earphones away. "I thought I was being mugged, or kidnapped. I was miles away. Yes, thanks, James."

James shook his head as he stared at the girl. Her brightly coloured clothing reminded him of an exotic bird, probably a parrot, but he certainly wasn't going to comment on it. Although the girl was quite small, she had an older looking face, and was probably about their age. But he'd never seen her before. Well, not that he could think of. She certainly didn't go to his school. "Glad to help," he said. "But how do you know my name?"

"I'm...." The girl stopped, and began to shake. "I'm.... I need to.... That was so stupid of me stepping out without looking.... I need to sit down for a few minutes."

Jessica pointed to the other side of the main road. "I can see a café there. We'd better go with you. A hot drink might help. You look really shaken up."

"And we take the underpass," James said decisively. "Okay?"

Five minutes later they were sitting in what called itself a coffee shop, although it served a range of hot and cold drinks, and hot and cold snacks. The girl had opted for a fruit smoothie instead of a hot drink, but Jessica and James, feeling equally shaken now, had gone for hot chocolate, with James opting for added cream on top.

"You know my name," James said when everyone had settled down. "But I don't know you. At least, I don't think I do."

"I'm Maddie," the girl said. "Maddie Quedgley. Our mums knew each other, years ago. I used to come round to your house. You had a paddling pool in the back garden."

"Maddie Quedgley." James repeated slowly. He nodded. "Yes, of course. I'm surprised you can remember me. We must have being really small at the time. You had a knitted rabbit called Mr Binks that you took everywhere with you."

Mr. Binks' mouth was crooked, and his eyes were at a strange angle. James remembered being frightened the first time he saw the toy rabbit, and running to hide. He felt himself going red as he recalled a little girl in a bright red swimsuit playing in the water, while he wore skimpy swimming trunks. He remembered Maddie splashing water in his face as they giggled like two silly little children, which he realised is what they were at the time. He hoped Maddie wasn't going to mention that embarrassing scene.

"Your swimming trunks were blue," Maddie said thoughtfully, winking at Jessica. "And your hair was shorter then. I called your mother Aunty Amy, although she wasn't really my aunt. Who's your friend, James?"

"Sorry. This is Jessica Green, my cousin. She calls my mum Aunty Amy, as she really _is_ her aunt. Jessica's come to stay for the half term. We're on our way to the museum."

Jessica shook her head. "Not yet, James. We can't let Maddie leave here on her own. Where do you live, Maddie? You ought to go home. We'll make sure you get back safely. You look really shaken up."

Maddie Quedgley pointed vaguely back across the main road. "It's only a few minutes. You're right though, I'm still feeling a bit shaky. But please don't bother about me. I can manage okay."

Jessica was insistent. "The museum can wait. I'm here for the whole of next week."

James sipped his chocolate. "We can't go yet. I want to finish this. It's still a bit hot. Yes, Maddie, it's all coming back to me now. Your mum and mine were friends. I seem to remember your mother is French. I haven't seen you or your mother for ages. What happened?"

Maddie shook her head. "Didn't you know? Maman died five years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," James said quietly, guessing maman was French for mum. "No, I don't think I did know. It was our mothers who were friends, not you and me. I don't think I'd have recognised you if you hadn't recognised me."

"So who are you living with?" Jessica asked gently.

Maddie looked surprised. "With my papa of course. You're right, my maman was French. Maman used to speak to me in French, and Papa spoke to me in English, so I was bilingual." She frowned. "I've forgotten most of the French now, as Papa only speaks English. Maman wanted me to call my father papa, which as I'm sure you know is French for dad." She thought for a moment. "And sometimes it's just me, when Papa is away. He's a Professor of archaeology, but I can't go with him on excavations and conventions in term time."

James stared at Maddie in amazement. "You don't mean you stay in the house on your own?"

Maddie shrugged. "It's no big deal. Papa's only ever away for a few days at a time. I have my own bank card. Even when Papa is home, I buy all the food for the week, and buy my own clothes and school uniform when I need things like that. Papa makes sure I have plenty of money in the account. He trusts me with it. Anyway, Papa is coming home today. He said he's taking me to a dig on a Roman site next week. A village called Happlett Parva. It's my half term too."

"A Roman excavation sounds great," Jessica said, her eyes lighting up. "Just the sort of thing that would help me with my school project."

"You could come as well," Maddie said. She seemed much calmer now.

Jessica shook her head. "I don't think I'd be allowed. I've come to stay with James and his parents. Do you really stay in the house all on your own when your father is away? It sounds a bit scary to me."

Maddie pulled a face. "It can sometimes be a bit scary. It's a large house, and it's old. The floors creak at night, all by themselves." She laughed. "Well, I always hope they're doing it by themselves! No, I don't really mind. Not too much, anyway."

"Talking about creaking floorboards," James said, finishing his hot chocolate and wiping the brown moustache from his mouth, "we passed the creepiest of creepy houses on our way here. It had stuff growing up the walls, and a weird turret thing with a pointed roof. The front door had a brass knocker like a hand, ready to grab hold of anyone using it. We wondered who on earth would live in a house like that."

Jessica laughed. "And James thought the basement would be full of skeletons."

"And spiders," James added, then he caught the expression on Maddie's face. "Oh."

"I'll take you down to the basement if you like," Maddie said, getting to her feet. "That sounds like my house."

### Chapter 2

James stared at Maddie, trying to see a hint of a smile. She seemed to be serious. "You're not kidding?"

Maddie clearly wasn't kidding. "I know what you mean," she said quietly, "but it's my home. And if Papa is back from London, please don't tell him I nearly got run over."

James shook his head. "Of course not."

"I suggest you don't wear your earphones when crossing busy roads!" Jessica added.

Maddie shook her head. "Never again. Big lesson there."

As Maddie shook her head, her long curly hair flew everywhere. James thought his mum would probably call it wild hair, but it looked okay on Maddie. "That room in the turret must be interesting," he said, trying to cover up his comments about the house being so creepy. "What's up there?"

Maddie smiled as she pushed back her chair and stood up. "That's my bedroom, and I love it. James, don't worry about what you said about the house. You're right, it does look creepy, but it's the only home I've ever known, and I love it."

"Isn't the house a bit big for just two of you?" James said.

Maddie opened the coffee shop door to leave. "Not really. Papa works from home and he needs somewhere big. Come on, I'll show you round. Believe me, there aren't any spiders in the basement."

"What about skeletons?" James asked, as they went into the street.

Maddie smiled. "Papa sometimes brings a few bones back to examine, but never a complete skeleton. You could be in luck, we might find one there today!"

Maddie's house was indeed the one they had passed on their way into town. Even knowing that Maddie Quedgley lived there didn't seem to make it any less creepy. James caught Jessica's eye and gave one of his pretend shivers. "Where did that brass doorknocker come from?" he asked.

"It's great," Maddie said. "It was here when Papa and Maman bought the house. The previous owner was eccentric, Papa says. It came from an old manor house."

James thought the knocker would be the first thing he'd change if he ever bought the house. He looked up at the creeper-infested wall. Not that he ever would be buying a house like this, even if he had a billion pounds. "We'll just see you to the bottom of the front steps, Maddie," he said. "I don't fancy being grabbed by that hand."

"We'll make sure you're safely _inside_ ," Jessica said firmly.

Maddie was in front and stopped at the large entrance door, painted dark red, and in need of repainting. It was slightly open. She turned, frowning. "That's strange. The lock's been damaged. It was okay when I went out."

"Perhaps your father did it, if he's back" Jessica suggested.

Maddie was examining the lock. "It looks as though it's been forced. We'd better go inside and investigate."

"I think I saw your father, your papa, up in the turret," Jessica said. "I saw someone moving around up there, so I expect he's back early."

"It might be him," Maddie said, frowning, "although he doesn't usually go up there."

"In that case, perhaps we should stay out here and phone the police," Jessica said firmly. "Your father wouldn't have damaged the lock."

Maddie managed to laugh, although it sounded rather forced. "I'm not scared, if you're not. Let's go in and see."

She pushed the old front door cautiously. It squeaked on its hinges.

James put his fingers under the brass hand. "Help, it's caught me, it's caught me! It won't let go!"

Jessica pulled him away. "Stop messing about and come in."

Maddie led the way into the large, dark hallway. Several doors led off it, and a wide staircase faced them. They stood in the hallway, listening.

" _Papa!_ _Papa!_ " Maddie called loudly, making Jessica and James jump.

No one answered.

"Right," Maddie said with decision, "we'll start in the dining room."

She pushed open a white painted door that also squeaked on its hinges, making James wonder if there was a shortage of oil in town. He knew his mum would never put up with squeaking hinges at home.

The dining room had a huge mahogany table and dark wooden dining chairs with brown leather seats. There was a long sideboard and several bookcases, and everything looked a bit of a mess. James turned to Jessica and shrugged. Perhaps it always looked like this. An absent-minded Professor and a girl living on their own might not be as tidy as his parents were. One of the dining chairs lay on its back on the carpet.

"At least there's not any blood," James whispered. "I'm glad about that."

Jessica told him to be quiet. He wasn't helping at all.

On the table several small cardboard boxes had their contents scattered around, and some bits and pieces were even on the floor. "Then this isn't how it usually looks?" James asked cautiously, not wanting to sound critical.

"Of course not," Maddie said. She started to look through the scattered items on the table. There were broken bits of pottery, small metal items like rings and brooches, and what looked like ancient coins.

"Anything missing?" Jessica asked.

Maddie turned to her. "This is Papa's stuff, not mine. Most of it isn't worth much anyway, but how should I know what's missing?" she said sharply.

Jessica tried not to show how hurt she was by Maddie's response. After all, coming back and finding things like this must be upsetting, so she let it go. "How about the person I saw upstairs when we came by earlier," she said. "Maybe your father didn't hear us call out."

Before either Jessica or James could stop her, Maddie was out of the room and running up the wide staircase, her clothing a flash of bright colours.

"Come back," Jessica called. "It might not be your father. It might be whoever broke into the house, and they might still be here."

"If anyone really _has_ broken in," James whispered to his cousin. "I remember now, my mum used to say Professor Quedgley was completely scatterbrained. It probably runs in the family."

Jessica gave him a shush, and hurried up the stairs after Maddie. "Come on, James, Maddie might need our help," she said, her long legs taking the stairs two at a time, with her blonde hair streaming out behind. James had a job to keep up.

On the landing, as they looked for the staircase up to the turret room, they heard Maddie shout out. It didn't sound as though she was being attacked, it was more a cry of distress.

Maddie hurried down the winding stairs from the turret, her phone in her hand. "I'm calling the police. Papa isn't back, but someone's been in here. They've taken my laptop!"

She raised a finger as her phone call was answered. With surprising calm and clarity Maddie explained exactly why she wanted the police, gave her name and address, and looked at the Two Jays. "They'll be here in a few minutes, and we are to go outside and wait. And ... Oh no, someone could be down in the basement. We'll have to check."

The Two Jays followed Maddie down the main staircase to the hallway.

"I think we ought to go and wait outside, if that's what the police told you to do," Jessica said.

"If there's someone in the basement, we can lock them down there," Maddie said. "This is the door."

James looked at the substantial lock on the substantial door at the end of the gloomy hallway, and wondered who or what was down there. Maybe the substantial door and lock were to stop someone or something dangerous from escaping. In which case he was staying up.

Maddie tried the handle and shook her head. "It's locked." She reached into a large stone vase on the coat-stand. "That's good, the key is still here. It means all Papa's equipment is safe."

James shook his head. To think that only an hour ago he had told Jessica he was glad they would never have to go inside the house and into the basement. Well, he was now in the house, but at least he was spared a trip to the dungeons.

"What's down there?" he asked.

Maddie raised a finger. "That sounds like the police."

Jessica caught hold of Maddie and pulled her towards the front door. "Then we'd better wait outside, as they told you to. And you too, James."

There were two police officers in the car, a man and a woman. The woman officer took Maddie into the large sitting room which also showed signs of having been searched by an intruder, assuming it wasn't always in a mess. James was unsure what to think. He looked at his watch. "I'll phone home. I know Mum is there. Not sure about Dad. One of them ought to come round. They need to know we've managed to get mixed up in some sort of incident. Again."

While James made the call and spoke to his mother, Maddie was explaining to the woman officer that her father was out, but would probably be back later in the afternoon.

"Probably? Have you tried phoning him?" the officer asked. Up until now she had sounded comforting and reassuring, but her smiley face seemed to be slipping.

"Good idea," Maddie said. She pulled a phone from a pocket in her red top, and keyed in a number on speed dial. She looked up, frowning. "It was switched straight off, as soon as it starting ringing. I'll try again in a few minutes."

The woman made a sort of grunting sound. "Well, you can't stay in this house on your own, Miss Quedgley. Not after there's been an intruder. We'll see what safe accommodation we can arrange for you, just until your father comes back." She turned to Jessica and James who were standing in the doorway. "Are you friends, or family?"

"Family friends," James said quickly, guessing where this was going. "Maddie is a family friend. I don't live far away, so Maddie's coming back with us. My mum is on her way, so she can sort it out with you. She'll be here in a few minutes."

James noticed Maddie give a sigh of relief. She obviously hadn't liked the idea of strangers being involved.

Maddie nodded. "So you don't have to worry about me."

The male officer said he'd made a complete search of the upstairs and ground floor, and asked Maddie if anything was missing.

"My laptop. It was up in my room in the turret. I don't know about anything else. I've had a quick look round, but my father may have lost some of his things. You probably noticed all sorts of antiquities in little boxes on the dining table. I don't think any of them are valuable. He keeps the valuable things in his laboratory."

"Which is where?" the male officer asked. "I didn't see a laboratory in my search."

"It's down in the basement, through the door at the end of the hall," Maddie said. "I'll get the key."

The officer opened the heavy door and stood at the top of a flight of stairs that went down into the darkness. He found the light switch and started down. "I want you all to stay up here," he told them.

"I hadn't thought of doing anything else," James whispered to Jessica. "Good luck down there with the skeletons."

The woman officer must have overheard. She turned to him. "There are skeletons down there?"

"It's one of his silly jokes," Jessica explained. "He's my cousin, so I have to keep apologising for him."

The woman smiled with what Jessica thought could either be understanding, or sympathy. Perhaps both.

The male officer came back up the stairs. "You'd better come down, Miss Quedgley," he said. "It all looks shipshape. I doubt if the intruder came this far, but we need to be certain before we secure the house."

As Maddie went down the staircase, Jessica gave James a nudge. "You're next," she said firmly.

James stood in the doorway and gasped in surprise. Down below was not some mediaeval burial vault filled with skeletons, spiders and rats, but an advanced laboratory with all sorts of technical equipment on benches. "No problem," he said.

### Chapter 3

"I'll stop up here," the woman officer said. "Just in case your intruder returns and locks us all down there."

James wondered if she was serious or not, but it was a sensible suggestion anyway. A couple of minutes ago, staying up was a job he would willingly have undertaken, but the sight of the laboratory was far more attractive than remaining in the hallway.

James looked around. There were no windows, but bright overhead electric lights showed an advanced array of scientific equipment.

"Just as well the door was locked," the officer said. "This lot must be worth a few bob. What exactly does your father do, Miss Quedgley?"

"He's an archaeological scientist," Maddie said proudly. "Private collectors send him ancient artefacts and things to check for authenticity."

The officer frowned. "Artefacts?"

"Things like tools and ornaments made by people, but ancient. The big museums have their own laboratories, but private buyers and smaller museums need to be certain about what they're buying. There are lots of fakes and forgeries around, and people are asking thousands of pounds for some of them. He's just written a book about it with lots of photographs. The book's due out in ten days, and he's taking me out tonight for a meal to celebrate, so he _must_ be on his way home."

James was examining a high-powered microscope when the woman officer called down the stairs.

"There's a Mrs Cooper here to see one of you."

"That's my mum," James said, as he made his way up the stairs to find his mother standing in the hallway looking extremely worried.

"You didn't tell me the police were here," his mother said, sounding as concerned as she looked. "What have you two been up to now? I thought you and Jessica were going to the museum."

Jessica now joined them. "It's nothing to do with us, Aunty Amy" she said. "We're only here to help one of James's friends. Her house has been broken into."

James led his mother out of the front door so they could talk in private. "You remember Maddie Quedgley," he said. "This is her house."

"You mean Ammadine Quedgley," his mother said, frowning. "I thought I recognised the house. We only came here once or twice. I found it a bit ... well, a bit creepy I suppose."

"She's called Maddie," James said, "but, yes, you're right, her name is Quedgley."

His mother smiled. "You started calling her Maddie, because you couldn't say Ammadine."

James put his hands to his face. "If I really did, I could only have been two or three at the time. So stop embarrassing me in front of Jessica. Anyway, I probably did her a favour, because the name seems to have stuck. Now listen, Mum, Maddie's in trouble. Her father's been away, and he's not back yet. He's not answering his phone, and the police might be putting her into residential care or something."

His mother looked up at the house. The creepy house. "You can't expect Maddie to stay here on her _own_. Her father might not come back today, and then what would happen?"

"I told the police we're family friends, and Maddie is coming back to stay with us until her father returns."

His mother looked horrified. "You surely can't think I'm going to lie to the police."

"No, Mum, Maddie really _is_ going to stay with us. It will probably only be for a few hours, at the most. Or maybe until tomorrow. Or next week. Or next month. "

"Maddie can sleep with me in the spare room," Jessica said. "One of us will have to sleep on the floor. I don't mind doing that."

"We'll see," Mrs Cooper said. "It's true, Maddie's mother and I were good friends, but I've not seen Maddie or her father since her mother died. Let's go in and see what the police have to say."

Maddie was in the hallway with her phone to her ear. "You're speaking too quietly, Papa. I can't hear you properly. When are you back? Wait, I need to know." She put her phone down in despair, and turned to the woman police officer. "I'm going to have to phone him back in a few minutes. He says he's somewhere where he's not supposed to make phone calls. That's why he blocked the call just now. I don't understand it. He said the meal will have to wait until he's back. He says he's on the Jerusalem excavation we were both working on last summer. He's never gone away that far without me before. He needs to be around for interviews when his book comes out."

The officer said, "That settles it then. We have to sort out where you're going to stay. We'll get in touch with Social Services, but try phoning your father again, Miss Quedgley, and let me speak to him. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind for being so irresponsible."

Maddie rang the number again, tears in her eyes. "It's gone to voicemail," she said.

The officer got her own phone out. Before she could dial, James nudged his mother. "Go on," he said. "Tell her."

Mrs Cooper nodded. "It's all right, officer, we're family friends, and Maddie will be perfectly safe with us. I'll take full responsibility for her. She'll be coming back with us now. I know her father would agree to that."

After a bit of discussion and argument, Mrs Cooper gave her address, and agreed that Social Services should contact her if they wanted to check that Maddie was being properly cared for, which they almost certainly would do on Monday, if not before.

The police arranged for someone to come and repair the damaged lock, but said the Professor would have to pay. They thought he could recover the money on his insurance.

"But the locksmith may want to be paid on the spot," the woman officer said. "How are you fixed?"

"It's all right," Maddie said, "I'll use my bank card. There's plenty of money in the account."

"You have a bank card?" the officer asked in surprise.

James was afraid that Maddie was about to explain how her father often went away and left her on her own, which in the circumstances wouldn't be a wise thing to say.

"It's just my papa and me living here," Maddie said. "He lets me do the housekeeping and pay the bills. Some people say he's a bit absent-minded, but he isn't. It's just that he gets so involved in his work that it helps us both if I get the food. I pay the bills for the heating and other things. Papa says it's good training for me in later life."

James noticed his mother nodding. She turned to the officer. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Young people need to get some idea of how family expenses work." She looked at James. "I hope you're listening, my lad."

"You're giving me my own bank card?" James said. "Excellent."

His mother shook her head. "I don't think we have to go that far. Now, Maddie, we don't need to keep the police any longer. If you've got food in the fridge or larder, perhaps we can get some lunch ready for the four of us, while we wait for the locksmith to come."

"Great idea, Mum," James said, laughing. "And if there isn't any food, you can lend me your bank card, and Jessica and I can go out and buy something."

"Dream on," his mother said, as she followed Maddie into a tidy kitchen. Clearly the person who broke in had not bothered to search in there.

As soon as the police had gone, Maddie and Mrs Cooper found enough cold food to keep even James from starvation. Maddie looked up in surprise as Mrs Cooper said grace. "Mrs. Cooper, can I call you Aunty Amy again, like I used to?"

"Of course you can, dear. It will be just like the old days. Now eat up."

They had only just started on the selection of cheese and ham sandwiches when Maddie jumped up. "You must excuse me," she said. "I've been wondering why the thief took my laptop. It might be connected with Papa's work. Not that I have anything of his work on it, but I do have access to the cloud. All my father's papers are on the cloud. I'm going down to the laboratory to log in and change the password. I just hope I'm in time."

"Jessica will go with you," Mrs Cooper said. "And take your sandwiches. You ought not to go anywhere in this house on your own. I know the police said there's no one here, but I think we should put something to keep the front door closed until the locksmith has been."

"Good idea, Aunty Amy" Maddie said. "We can put the coat-stand in front of it."

"I'll help you," James said, "but it's not heavy enough to stop someone pushing their way in."

"That's not a problem," Maddie said, as she and James struggled to move it in front of the door. "If anyone tries to get in, we'll hear it crashing over."

"And then what do we do?" James asked.

Maddie laughed. "We'll worry about that when it happens. Come on, Jessica, grab some sandwiches and come with me to the basement. Your Aunty Amy is right, and we shouldn't go down there on our own."

Downstairs in the laboratory Jessica watched while Maddie switched on an expensive-looking desktop computer. It sprang into life quickly.

"It's much faster than mine at home," Jessica said. "And the large monitor is so sharp."

Maddie was typing on the keyboard. She frowned, and typed something again. She looked up in alarm. "I can't log into the cloud."

"Try it again," Jessica suggested. "It's easy to make mistakes with long passwords, especially when you're feeling upset."

Maddie shook her head. "That's the problem, it _isn't_ a long password. I keep telling Papa he needs long passwords, but he says he'll never remember them unless they're short."

"Well, try it again, anyway."

"It's no good, Jessica. What do you think has happened?"

Jessica didn't like to say what she thought had happened, but it had to be said. "It looks as though someone has changed the password. If your father didn't do it, it has to be whoever broke in!"

### Chapter 4

Maddie kept typing, her hands getting more and more shaky. "It says I can't change the password unless I log in first. And I can't log in because the password doesn't work. I'm going round in circles."

"Did you have any passwords written on your laptop?"

Maddie sighed, and flung herself back in the chair, a bundle of bright colours. " _I've_ got no more clue than Papa about security. Yes, I had some of them on there." Then she smiled. "But you need a password when you boot up. So how did the thief manage to get into the cloud?"

"Your father can contact the cloud company. He'll have arranged a secret question and the answer with them, in case he ever loses his password."

Maddie looked a bit more cheerful, then she sighed again. "But he's not here to do it. In the meantime someone could delete every file. His book is on there for a start."

"I thought you said it was with a publisher," Jessica said.

"His second book. He's got much of it written already." Maddie tapped the main computer unit gently. Then her eyes lit up. "What am I talking about? The cloud is only Papa's backup. _All_ his files are on here, so we don't need to worry." She thought for a moment. "Or do we?"

"What are you suggesting?" Jessica asked, feeling relief that the files were safe.

"Papa has enemies. There are people who make a lot of money selling fake antiquities. If someone really _has_ logged into his cloud account, they'll be able to read _all_ his research. They'll find out exactly how he goes about identifying fakes and forgeries, and make sure they don't make the same mistakes again. He's not put all his techniques in the book, I know that for certain. Oh, this is terrible."

"What are you two up to down there?" Mrs Cooper called from the top of the stairs. "I think the locksmith is at the door. You'd better come up and help James move the coat-stand."

"Coming, Mrs Cooper," Maddie called. "I mean, Aunty Amy." She turned to Jessica. "Don't say anything to your aunt. Not yet. We don't need her worrying as well. After all, Papa might have changed the password without telling me."

While the locksmith went about his work, Jessica and James went down to the laboratory in the basement with Maddie, leaving Mrs Cooper to tidy the place up a bit. The police had said they had taken all the evidence they needed, but were doubtful about finding the identity of whoever had broken in.

"So all your father's work is on the hard drive of his computer?" James said, when he had been told of the situation. "Does he have any other backup, apart from the cloud?"

Maddie broke into a smile as she followed a cable from the back of the computer to a drawer in the desk. "Brilliant, James. There's a four-terabyte drive in here. Everything will be on it, right up to date. There's an automatic backup made every six hours."

"Then why use the cloud?" James asked.

"In case the house burns down," Maddie said simply. "What? It could happen. Better safe than sorry."

"Makes sense," Jessica said. "And what about your laptop? Do you have your class work on the cloud as well?"

"I do, but I always back it up on a USB drive. It was in the drawer in my bedroom, and I'm keeping it with me from now on." She pulled the miniature drive from her pocket. "As soon as I get another laptop, or get the stolen one back, I can easily carry on with my school work, even if I can't get back onto the cloud."

"Bring it with you to my house," James said. "My dad has an old laptop which I'm sure you can use until you get a replacement. We'll check you can open your files on there, and then you can get on with your class work." He began thinking to himself. Cloud backup, USB backup, a four terabytes drive. Great. But a simple password to everything on the cloud? A strange way to go about security!

Maddie disconnected the backup drive and took it up to the hall, saying it was wise to take it away from the house now someone had managed to break in. Mrs Cooper told her to pack her things, because it sounded as though her father was going to be away for quite some time if he was in Jerusalem.

"I don't understand why he's gone back to Jerusalem," Maddie said, frowning. "We spent the whole summer holiday at the dig last year, but Papa never said anything about going back. He could be there for ages. He's never gone away for more than four or five nights before, and he promised to take me out tonight to celebrate the forthcoming launch of his book. But it's not the first time he's gone off like this, so perhaps I should have expected it."

Mrs Cooper looked surprised. "Where do you stay when your father is away, Maddie?"

"Mum," James said quickly, "you don't want to know. Not yet. So don't ask."

"If it's what I'm thinking, James...."

"I don't know what you're thinking, Mum, but it doesn't matter at the moment. Maddie's come to no harm, and she's going to be safe with us until her father comes back."

"We'll leave it for now," his mother said, "but I knew Maddie's mother well. I feel some responsibility for Maddie's safety. She should never be in this big house on her own overnight. It has to be against the law. Now, Maddie, you must keep phoning your father, and be sure to bring the phone to me when he answers. I need to speak to him. Jessica, you'd better go up and help Maddie pack."

"I'll stay down here with you, Mum," James said, feeling unexpectedly embarrassed at the thought of going into a girl's bedroom. He'd often been in Jessica's room when visiting her house, but this was different. Mr Binks the knitted rabbit might be there! That rabbit was the thing of nightmares.

Jessica and Maddie were soon downstairs with some overnight things in a backpack. Maddie put the Professor's backup drive carefully in amongst the clothes so it wouldn't get knocked.

James watched as Maddie paid the locksmith with her card. The power of plastic. He wondered when he would be allowed one. Presumably he would need money in the bank first!

"I'm leaving you two new keys," the locksmith said. "You can always get more from me, and I'm keeping one in our safe for emergencies. The lock is different from the old one, and it's a lot stronger. It's part of the door handle now. You need to lift the handle to lock it, but make sure you use the key for added security. My advice is to call me to look at the security of your whole house as soon as your father gets back. Always use the key when you go out, or at night when you're in. Don't just slam it like you used to. It will latch, but not lock. Unless you lift the handle to set the lock, anyone could get in."

As soon as he had gone, Mrs Cooper said, "You all look knocked for six. We'll get a taxi."

James shook his head. "We can take it in turns with the backpack. Let's walk. It will do us good."

On the way home, Maddie started to look upset. "Don't worry, Maddie," Jessica said, putting an arm around her shoulder, "you'll feel much better as soon as you can contact your father."

"Poor Papa," Maddie said. "I hope he won't be in trouble with the police. If it hadn't been for someone breaking in, the police wouldn't have been involved. I can look after myself for weeks on my own."

When James's father heard what had happened, he said, "Now, Maddie, you can stay here with us until your father returns, no matter how long it is. That's a promise. Have you tried phoning him again?"

"Lots of times, Mr Cooper, but it keeps going to voicemail. Can I call you Uncle Clive? I know we didn't see each other a lot, but Mrs Cooper still lets me call her Aunty Amy. It sounds much more friendly."

"Of course you can, Maddie. Jessica calls me Uncle Clive because I'm her real uncle, and I want you to feel part of this family."

Jessica reached forward and put her arm round Maddie. "Hey, don't cry," she said.

Maddie wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm sorry," she said brokenly. "Maman died five years ago, and I thought I'd got used to being just with my father. And now seeing you altogether as a family, like in the old days when I used to come here with Maman, it's ... so lovely." She rushed from the room and hurried up the stairs to the spare room she was sharing with Jessica.

Jessica got up from the sofa. "I'd better go up and see if she's all right," she said.

Her mother caught hold of her hand and pulled her back. "Leave Maddie for a few minutes, Jessica. She needs time on her own. It's not just the break-in, it's all the memories that will have come back of being here with her mother when she was small."

A few minutes later a faint call came from the top of the stairs. "Jessica, can you come up?"

Jessica looked at Mrs Cooper. "Should I, Aunty Amy?"

Mrs Cooper nodded. "It sounds like Maddie needs some girl-time with you. Just let her talk, and listen to what she has to say. She might have years of emotion bottled up. Maddie must really miss her mother."

Jessica went cautiously into the spare room Maddie was sharing with her. Aunty Amy had put a camp bed with a duvet on the floor, but Maddie was sitting on Jessica's bed with tearstained eyes.

"You've got a Bible by your bed," Maddie said. "Do you read it?"

Jessica sat beside Maddie and held her hand. Maddie didn't pull away. "I try to read it, every day. I'm a Christian."

Maddie nodded. "Me too. Did you see the wooden cross in my window?"

"James noticed it first."

Maddie took a couple of deep breaths, followed by a moment of silence. "Can I share with you?"

"Share what, Maddie?"

"Maman was a Christian. Before she died, she taught me to love Jesus. She said she was happy knowing we were both going to be with Jesus in heaven."

Jessica squeezed Maddie's shoulder. "That's good." She couldn't think of anything more to say.

"You and James are Christians. I can tell. The thing is, I'm not a very good Christian. Not anymore. I know _about_ Jesus, but I don't really _know_ Him. Not like I used to. I didn't think it would be so tough at times, especially at school. I thought it would be easy. What went wrong?"

Jessica took hold of Maddie's hand again. "Becoming a Christian isn't like getting on a train and sitting comfortably until you get to the end of the line," she said. "That's what my minister told us in church a couple of weeks ago. He said the Christian life is a long _walk_ with Jesus, and it has to be lived every minute of every day, in hard times as well as good ones. And you already know all about hard times, losing your mum."

Maddie took a deep breath. "I think I've stopped walking. I only go to church because I think I ought to go. Will you come with me tomorrow? It's a noisy sort of church with a small band. We can pray there. Are you okay with noisy churches?"

"Love them," Jessica said. "It sounds like my church at home. But why wait until tomorrow? Let's pray together now, just the two of us. If you're okay with that."

### Chapter 5

When Jessica woke up the next morning, the digital clock on her chest of drawers said it was nearly six. Too early to get up. She lay in bed trying to recall something special that had happened. Yes, it came back to her now. Maddie was on the camp bed on the floor. She couldn't hear her snoring, so it probably wasn't the sound of snoring that had woken her. But something had.

Jessica remembered waking up a couple of times in the night and hearing Maddie breathing. She propped herself up and looked down at the floor. The camp bed was empty. "Probably gone to the loo," Jessica thought. "That must be what woke me."

Although Maddie had tried several times to phone her father during the evening, the call had always gone to voicemail. Jessica lay on her back with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. Maddie had really opened up to her yesterday evening, and seemed to have become more relaxed. But where was Maddie now? She'd been gone for ages.

Jessica leaned across and turned on the bedside light. Not only was the camp bed empty, but the duvet had been folded neatly on it. It seemed unlikely that Maddie was a tidiness fanatic, judging by her bedroom in the turret. Not that her room was a mess, but it definitely looked lived in. But this was the sign of someone who had got out of bed, not intending to come back to it.

She then noticed that all of Maddie's brightly coloured clothing had gone, and she knew Maddie wouldn't have dressed just to go to the bathroom.

"Where are you, Maddie?" Jessica said quietly.

She slipped out of bed and put on her slippers. Perhaps Maddie was in the kitchen having an early breakfast. But there was no one downstairs. As Jessica went back into the hall she saw the front door key lying on the doormat.

"Oh Maddie, Maddie, what have you done?" She hurried upstairs to James's room.

"Maddie's gone off somewhere," Jessica told her sleepy cousin who only wanted to get back to sleep.

"It's much too early," James said with a groan. "How do you know she's gone?"

"Because she let herself out with the key, and locked the door behind her. She's put the key back through the letterbox so we can get out."

James rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Well, at least she was thoughtful. So what are we going to do about it? My mum and dad won't thank us for waking them up this early. Has she left a note?"

"Couldn't see one."

"She's bound to have gone home. Where else would she go?"

"She was talking yesterday evening about going to church, but there wouldn't be a service this early." Jessica gave a shrug. "Yes, I'm guessing she's gone home. Perhaps her father has turned up unexpectedly, although I didn't hear her phone."

"Back from Jerusalem? Impossible. What do you want to do? Go round to her house and see if she's there?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Jessica said. "Get dressed and we'll go there now. I'll write a note for your mum and dad. Let's behave responsibly about this."

"We'll probably be there and back before they wake up," James said, dragging himself slowly out of bed. "Okay, go downstairs and write the note, and I'll get dressed. And try to be quiet."

" _Me_ , be quiet? You should be talking to yourself about that." Jessica slipped out of the room before James could think of a suitable reply.

Ten minutes later they went out of the front door, leaving the note prominently on the kitchen table. James had his own key, and they locked the front door behind them.

They walked quickly, and within fifteen minutes they were approaching the creepy old house. Jessica pointed to a light in the front room. "Either Maddie is here, or someone has broken in and they're searching the place. I don't want to ring the bell or touch that knocker. What are we going to do?"

"I've got an idea," James said, making his way into the bushes by the side of the front door. He came out with a long stick.

"That's not going to be much protection if there's an intruder in there," Jessica said.

James shook his head. "Stand back and watch. See who comes to the window."

He reached up and tapped the end of the stick gently on the window of the room that had the light on.

Nothing.

He tried again, tapping harder this time.

In a few seconds later Maddie came to the window, cupped her hands around her eyes and looked out. Jessica, who was standing further back, waved to her, noticing the look of relief on Maddie's face.

Maddie disappeared from the window, and almost immediately the front door opened and Maddie, wearing her bright blue leggings, the short yellow and black striped dress and red top, beckoned them in.

"You scared me," she said, accusingly. "You shouldn't have done that."

"And you shouldn't have gone off without leaving a note," Jessica said. "You're supposed to stay with us all the time. Someone has already broken into your house, and they could come back at any time."

Maddie shrugged. "I don't see how. The locksmith made the front door much more secure. He fitted a better lock, and I'm going to make sure I lift the handle and lock it when we leave."

"So how will your father get in?" James asked.

"That's not a problem," Maddie said brightly. "When he phones to say he's back in England, I'll be here waiting for him and I can give him the spare key. Look, you don't have to worry about me, either of you. I've done what I came to do, and I'll go back with you to yours now, James."

"You should have left a note to say where you were," Jessica said. "We were really worried about you."

Maddie shrugged. "I didn't think you were going to be up so early. I was planning to be back before any of you found out."

"And how were you going to get back in?" James asked. "You dropped the key through the letterbox."

Maddie laughed. "You're right, I hadn't thought about that. Oh well, no harm done. I'm ready to go if you are."

While Maddie was locking the front door, James shook his head. The girl clearly _was_ scatterbrained. Staying here alone some nights, it was amazing she'd come to no harm.

"What were you looking for, anyway?" Jessica asked. "Spare clothes?"

Maddie was walking on ahead, and Jessica and James were having to hurry to keep up with her. "I came to put an encryption on Papa's files. I've done it, and made an immediate backup to the cloud. It still works for uploads, even with the changed password. Now, if they haven't already looked, they won't be able to see what's on any of Papa's files. I woke early, thinking about it, and you were fast asleep and snoring loudly. I didn't want to worry you."

"I _don't_ snore," Jessica said, noticing James laughing. "And you _did_ worry both of us. This isn't a game, Maddie. Someone has been in your house and tried to find out what your father is working on. It could get dangerous. Uncle Clive told you that if you go back to your house, we have to go with you. For your own safety."

Maddie slowed down. "Okay, okay, sorry. It won't happen again." She pulled a face. "I'll do anything James's father wants, to avoid being put into some sort of care while Papa is away. He could be away for weeks if he's in Jerusalem. Look, look over there on the garden shed."

All James could see was a small bird. "What are we supposed to be looking at?"

"The pied wagtail, of course." Maddie said it as though James had asked a question that didn't need an answer.

James shook his head. "That sparrow with the long tail?"

Maddie looked annoyed. "It's nothing like a sparrow. It's the wrong colour. It's a pied wagtail."

"Well, it looks like a sparrow with a long tail to me."

"Do you know a lot about birds?" Jessica asked Maddie, trying to cool down the situation.

"I'm not exactly an expert, but I like to try to find the name of every bird I see. It all started when I was small, and I heard woodpigeons cooing in the apple tree in the back garden. I told Maman they were owls, and she explained what they really were. That's when I made up my mind not to make the same mistake again."

"Have you seen any rare birds?" James asked. "Eagles and things?"

"Eagles, yes, but not here. In Israel you can see them in some areas. The one bird I've heard but never seen is a woodpecker."

"What does a woodpecker look like?" James asked. "Just in case I ever see one."

Maddie smiled, clearly at peace with him again. "There are two sorts of woodpecker in this country. The great spotted and the green. The great spotted is mostly black with a red head, and the green is, well, green, also with a red head. I don't mind which one I see. I know it sounds silly, but either one is top of my list of must-see birds. I think there's something very romantic about woodpeckers."

James watched the "sparrow with the long tail" fly off, and they continued their journey. He stopped dead as they approached his house. Jessica and Maddie were walking close behind, talking away, and nearly bumped into him.

"What's the matter, James?" Jessica asked. "Oh. Oh no. Let's hope it's good news."

Parked in front of James's house was a police car. And ringing the doorbell was a uniformed policeman.

Mr Cooper, wearing a blue dressing gown, opened the front door just as Maddie and the Two Jays got there. He looked first at the police officer and then at the three of them.

"Are you three in trouble?" he asked.

James said, "No, Dad, we've all arrived at the same time. The officer isn't here for us." At least, I hope not, he thought to himself.

Jessica turned to James and whispered, "It might be bad news about Maddie's father."

### Chapter 6

"Mr Cooper, I need to come in," the police officer said.

James's mother had now come to the door too. "What's happening, Clive?"

The officer said, "I have come about Maddie Quedgley," he said. "I understand she is staying here with you. I take it you are Mr Clive Cooper." He turned and pointed to Maddie, Jessica and James. "We all need to talk. Inside."

James didn't like the man's attitude, and his concern that this was bad news grew stronger. "Come on, Jessica, Maddie, we have to go in."

His mother frowned. "I didn't realise you were all out so early."

"We left you a note, Aunty Amy. We've been to Maddie's house. We've not done anything wrong. This policeman isn't here because of us."

The officer shook his head and removed his hat as he went into the house. "I am here to see Miss Ammadine Quedgley." He turned to Maddie. "I take it that's you. You told my colleagues yesterday that your father had gone to Jerusalem. Yes?"

Maddie looked pale. "That's what he told me on the phone."

"We've checked with all the airport authorities, and there is no record of your father leaving the country."

"It's what he told me on the phone," Maddie repeated. "Can we all sit down? I feel frightened. So where is he?"

"We think he's in London," the officer said. "We were trying to track down his exact location from his mobile phone, but it's now been switched off."

"London?" Maddie gasped. "That's where I thought he'd gone, anyway. So why did he tell me he was in Jerusalem? Do you think someone has kidnapped him?"

"Now, Miss Quedgley, let's not get carried away. Do you have any reason to believe someone might have kidnapped your father?"

Maddie took a deep breath. "Well...."

"Yes?"

"Well," Maddie said, "my father has written a book about fakes and forgeries of ancient antiquities, and I'm sure he's made quite a few enemies along the way. Exposing their techniques."

The officer sniffed, as though he didn't believe that was a possibility. "Sounds unlikely. A book about fake antiques isn't something that's going to get you kidnapped."

_"Antiquities_!" Maddie said angrily. "Antiques and antiquities aren't the same thing at all. My papa investigates ancient _artefacts_ and relics from all over the world. There's a big trade on the black market. I'm sure he's upset lots of people."

"Well, Miss Quedgley, it seems that your father has misled you, and for some reason he has been prevented from returning. We can't expect Mr and Mrs Cooper to care for you, so the woman officer you met yesterday will be calling here this afternoon to discuss with you and Mr and Mrs Cooper about finding a place where you will be secure and safe."

Maddie put her hands to her face to hide her tears.

The officer smiled. "Maddie, you're not in any sort of trouble, but as a minor we have a responsibility to make sure you're safe until we know exactly what is happening with your father."

"Maddie is safe here with us," James said, unable to stay quiet. "She can stay here, can't she, Mum, Dad?"

His mother turned to the officer. "Officer.... Sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Roberts. Constable David Roberts. Yes, if you're happy about it I'm sure it will be all right on a temporary basis, seeing as you are friends of the family. But we need to be sure that Miss Quedgley can be contacted by us."

"I want to go to church this morning," Maddie said. "And I want Jessica and James to go with me. I promise not to run away. Why would I run away, anyway?"

"Miss Quedgley," the officer said, "it's not against the law for you to live on your own even at your age, but Social Services and the police have to make a judgement as to whether you are at risk. I am here to tell you that you cannot return to your house alone, and you would be unwise to go anywhere on your own for now."

"But she's staying with _us_ ," James said. "She's not on her own."

The officer spread his hands as though he had no control over the situation. "I'm sorry, but that's all I can say. Miss Ammadine Quedgley, Constable Laura Evans will be here to have a further discussion with you and Mr and Mrs Cooper at two o'clock." He turned to James's parents. "Whatever happens, I'm sure it will all be for the best."

Mrs Cooper put her hand on James's shoulder. "Calm down, James, we've got the whole morning to sort out what's best for Maddie. Perhaps Maddie can contact her father in the meantime, or it's possible he'll come back. At least we know he's not in Jerusalem. Can you think where your father might be out of contact, Maddie?"

Maddie was looking too upset to reply. She just shook her head.

"Is it all right if we go with Maddie to her church this morning?" Jessica asked, looking from her uncle to the police officer. "She wants us to go."

The officer seemed surprised. "I'm sure none of you are intending to do a runner. Just as long as Miss Quedgley is here at two o'clock for interview."

As soon as the police officer had been shown out, Mr Cooper came back to the sitting room where everyone sat in stunned silence.

"Maddie," he said, "you need to tell us the truth. The absolute truth. Did your father really tell you on the phone yesterday that he was in Jerusalem?"

Maddie sat dabbing her eyes with a tissue Mrs Cooper had given her. "He was talking very quietly, but I'm sure that's what he said. The dig, in Jerusalem. We were there last summer for five weeks, but I don't know why he's gone back. I can't think anyone will still be working there."

"Perhaps he's after a gang of forgers of antiquities," James suggested.

"James," his father said, "you've said more than enough already. Please, let's not have any stupid suggestions."

"I don't think there are gangs," Maddie said, "but I know he's made a lot of enemies."

"He's probably in London, not Jerusalem," Jessica said. "That's what the police said, and that's what you thought in the first place. I know they can track you down by your phone, even if you're not using it, as long as it's switched on."

"I think it's switched off now," Maddie said. "It's not going to voicemail anymore. It says the number is unobtainable."

"I think you're right," Jessica said. "It goes to voicemail if it's switched on and you don't answer it. But if it's switched off, or you don't have a signal, you get the message that the number is unobtainable. That's right isn't it?"

After a brief discussion everyone agreed that it probably was so.

"If Papa's been kidnapped, I expect they'd make him switch his phone off. I just don't understand it."

"Right," Mr Cooper said firmly, "let's have no more talk about kidnapping. I don't believe for one minute that your father has been kidnapped, Maddie. There will be some perfectly good reason why Professor Quedgley is in London----"

"If he _is_ in London," James said.

"Please don't interrupt, James. Yes, if Professor Quedgley _is_ in London, there may be some perfectly good reason why he isn't answering his phone. I expect the battery has gone flat, that's all. When did you last try phoning him, Maddie?"

"Loads of times, Mr Cooper ... sorry, I mean, Uncle Clive, and now it always says the number is unobtainable. You have to help me. You're my friends."

"Maddie," Mrs Cooper said, "think carefully. Is there anyone in your family you could stay with until this is all sorted out?"

Maddie shook her head. "I don't think my father has anyone. Not anyone I've met. My mother came from France. She and Papa met at University. I've got a couple of aunts in France, in the Auvergne. I went to stay with them once. I didn't like them very much. Would they count? I hope not. I don't want to stay with them again."

"Then don't mention them in that case," James said.

Mrs Cooper clapped her hands. "Right, let's have some breakfast, and we can pray about this. We definitely want you to stay here with us for now, Maddie. I have a friend at the clinic whose husband is a lawyer, and I've met him several times. We can give him a call and ask him for advice. I know it's Sunday, but that's what friends are for. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that you will be as safe here as with anyone else, and I'm sure your father cares for you a lot."

Maddie nodded. "Thank you, Aunty Amy. But I still want to go to my church this morning with Jessica and James."

"I don't see why not. As long as you promise to come straight back. James, Jessica, are you happy to go to church with Maddie? We can't let her go on her own."

"I thought you'd all be coming with me and Mum to our church this morning," Mr Cooper said. "Which church do you go to, Maddie?"

When Maddie told him, he said, "That's fine. I've met your Pastor. It's Peter Griffiths, isn't it?"

Maddie nodded. "I'm quite friendly with his daughter, Sarah. She's older than me, and she helps lead the young people's group."

"That's sorted then," Mr Cooper said. "Come on, Amy, these three need feeding after all the upset. What do you all want for breakfast?"

### Chapter 7

"I told you it was noisy," Maddie said as the service ended.

"I wouldn't call it noisy," Jessica told her. "Lively, yes, but in a good way."

They stayed in their seats until people started to leave, although with coffee being served at the back it would probably be a long time before the church was empty. Maddie said she wanted to introduce them to the Pastor, but he was busy talking with church members and visitors.

"We don't mind waiting," James said, "but I don't want coffee. Jessica, see if they've got cold drinks."

"Go yourself, James," Jessica said, laughing. "And don't get me a biscuit, if there are any there."

James was about to make his way to the back. "I'll have your biscuit," he said. "What about you, Maddie?"

Maddie shook her head. "I'm going to have a word with Sarah Griffiths, the Pastor's daughter. I told you about her. She helps with the young people's group. I want to let her know what's happening. You can both come, if you like. Yes, really, I'd like you to, if that's okay."

James took a lingering look at the refreshment table, nodded, and made his way with Jessica and Maddie to the front where an older teen had just finished talking with another girl. He assumed correctly that the older teen, with long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, was Sarah Griffiths. She had sung a solo with the band in the first part of the service, but at the time he hadn't realised the connection with the Pastor.

Maddie started to introduce the Two Jays, and then she burst into tears. Sarah looked from Jessica to James and then back to Maddie. "What is it, Maddie?"

Between tears, and with help from Jessica, the story of her father's disappearance and the possibility of being taken into care came out.

"Maddie," Sarah said, "for many children being placed in care is a very welcome move. They're protected from abuse, as well as being loved, properly fed and clothed for perhaps the first time in their lives. It isn't a punishment. William who's in our group is with a foster family, after his parents split up and neither of them wanted him. He says he feels wanted for the first time in his life. He's no longer being told to keep out of the way because he's a nuisance."

"And it's not as though Maddie's father isn't coming back," Jessica said. "The police think he's in London. He could be back any day now."

"And it's not as though he's in Jerusalem," James added, realising as he said it that it wasn't a particularly helpful comment.

"And James's mum is going to talk to a lawyer this morning to see what can be done," Jessica added.

Sarah nodded with understanding. She smiled. "Anyway, Maddie, I'm sure you're not going to be taken away from your father. You get on well together. You need each other, but he's been wrong to leave you alone in the house at night. That's what's worried the authorities. I'm sure something good will be worked out, for you and for your father. At this very moment your father might be trying to phone you to say he's home. Anyway, let's pray about it before you go."

Maddie smiled, just for a moment. "If he's home, he won't be able to get in. I had to get the lock changed on the front door, and he won't have a key. And he won't be able to phone me, because I think his battery is flat. He made me put this app on my phone so he can see where I am, but that won't work with a flat battery."

"Cheer up," James said, "your father may have recharged his phone. You never know. Does the app work the other way round? Can you tell where _he_ is?"

Maddie shook her head. "Anyway, Papa will do his best to phone me somehow. Oh." She pulled her phone from her pocket. "I had it switched off. I always do in the service, except the time I forgot and it went off during the Pastor's talk." She turned to Jessica. "I panicked and couldn't switch it off for ages, and everyone was turning to look. A bit of an embarrassing disaster, that." She studied her phone. "No, no missed calls."

"Perhaps your father has gone to church in London, and his phone is turned off," Sarah suggested.

"He doesn't go to church," Maddie said. "He specialises in Biblical archaeology, and knows everything about the Old and New Testaments, but he doesn't see it as the word of God. Just as history. He sometimes came with me and Maman, but not any more. I keep praying for him."

Sarah took hold of Maddie's hands. "And you're not the only one doing that, Maddie. But the church isn't the only place where people turn their phones off. Libraries, museums, places like that."

"Yes, he'd do that, as long as he remembered. And he'd probably forget to switch it back on again." She giggled. "That's Papa all over. But I don't understand. If he's only in London, why did he tell me on the phone he was working on the Jerusalem excavation? It doesn't make any sense."

James had been thinking, and hoped he'd come up with a sensible suggestion. "But he didn't actually say he was _in_ Jerusalem, did he? Might he really be in London, as he originally told you? Maybe he's been examining the finds from the Jerusalem dig, and you didn't hear what he said properly."

Maddie shook her head. "Every single find we made was carefully catalogued, and has stayed in Jerusalem. Finds can't leave the country. That's the law."

James still had a feeling that Jerusalem and London must have some connection. "Does everything get photographed?"

"Of course it does," Maddie said in surprise. "Everything gets photographed, drawings are made, and the exact location in the ground of every find is recorded. There will be copies at the Institute in London." Light seemed to dawn on Maddie's face. "That's where he's gone! Of course, he's checking up on something to do with that excavation. Perhaps something to do with a similar find that he's examining for a client. He wouldn't be able to use his phone there, so he put it on silent after I spoke to him, and he's forgotten to turn it on again. And now the battery must have gone flat. His phone is quite old. It all makes sense now."

The three stayed in the church for quite a while. James helped himself to refreshments, while Sarah and Pastor Griffiths discussed the situation with Maddie. Maddie now looked much more relaxed, and agreed that whatever happened next, she would know that she was in the Lord's hands.

"I could come and stay with you when your father goes away," Sarah said. "I'm seventeen, and I'm sure that would be okay. Next year I'm going to college in town, so I'll be around for ages." She turned to her father. "That would be all right, wouldn't it, Dad?"

Pastor Griffiths said he needed to think about it, and wasn't going to agree to anything immediately.

"We ought to be getting back for lunch," James said. "My phone was on silent. I've just found a text from Mum telling us to be back no later than one o'clock."

"No problem," Jessica said. "And there may be some news from the lawyer, if your mum's been able to contact him."

As they left the church building, Maddie tried her phone again, with her father's number still being unobtainable. "Can we go past my house? It's sort of on the way," she said. "Papa might be sitting on the front step wondering why his key doesn't fit the lock. Anyway, I need to get a few more things, in case I have to stay with you another night."

James thought it was extremely unlikely that Maddie's father would have turned up unannounced, but aloud he said he could see no harm in going that way, as long as they hurried.

### Chapter 8

As they approached the creepy old house, which is how James still thought of it, Maddie slowed down. "There's a man standing by the gateway. I don't know him, but he might be here to see Papa."

As they got closer, the young man, who had fair hair, stood more or less to attention. "Do you know if Professor Quedgley is in?" he asked.

"He's not," Maddie said. "Why do you want him?"

"I've been ringing the doorbell," the young man said. "Do you live here?"

James felt they ought to be wary of this man, especially as Maddie's father had gone missing. "What d'you want?" he asked, more or less repeating Maddie's question, which hadn't been answered.

"I want to collect something," the man said. "The Professor should have left some papers out for me. I said I'd collect them next time I was passing. Do any of you live here? If so, perhaps you'd be good enough to let me in so I can hunt have a look for them. They might be in a large brown envelope."

"My father isn't around right now, and you'd better come back later," Maddie said, walking towards the front door with the new key in her hand. "He didn't tell me anything about you calling in. When did he tell you?"

"A couple of weeks ago. He said he'd looked the papers out for me, and there was no hurry for me to come. But I was this way today, and it seemed a good time. So if you let me in, I'm sure I can find them."

James looked at Jessica who was shaking her head. Maddie must have noticed.

"Do you know where my father is?" Maddie asked.

"Sorry, no idea. I guess you're the prof's daughter. I won't be this way again for some time. I'm helping out at a dig at the moment. It's interesting work." He drew himself up proudly. "I've been given the responsibility for unearthing a grave."

Maddie told the young man to come in. James caught Jessica's eye again, and noticed she looked as unhappy about it as he felt.

By this time Maddie had the front door open and the man stepped inside.

"How big an envelope is it?" Maddie asked.

"More of a folder I think," the man said, making his way straight into the dining room where the finds on the table had now been tidied. "Do you mind if I take a look round?"

James watched the man closely as he began to pick up various pieces of old pottery and bronze artefacts from the table. "Quite a collection. Is it all genuine?"

"You're supposed to be looking for the envelope, or folder," James said. "Can you see anything like it in here?"

The young man shook his head. "Seems I've had a wasted journey. Never mind, I'll get in touch with the Professor when he's back. I can pick it up next time I'm passing. I'll let myself out."

"Hold on a minute," Maddie said as she made her way to the door to the basement laboratory. She unlocked the door and the three made their way down the staircase. "I've just thought," she called back, "there are several large folders down here. What's your name?"

At that moment they heard the front door bang shut.

"He's gone," James said

"Shall I run after him?" Jessica asked.

Maddie shook her head. "Let's not raise his hopes. It didn't seem particularly urgent, or he'd have waited. Didn't he hear me say I was going to look down here?"

James turned his head as they heard footsteps in the hall. "Don't worry, I think he's back."

"We're down here!" Jessica called.

The high security door at the top of the stairs slammed shut, followed by a rattling sound.

"Did you leave the key in the door?" James asked.

"Of course I did," Maddie said. "Why?"

"I think we're locked in," James said quietly.

Maddie laughed. "That was just the wind blowing it shut. I'll show you."

She ran briskly up the stairs and turned the handle on the door. The door stayed closed. She tried again, then put her shoulder to the door. It didn't move.

"Who could have done it?" Maddie asked.

"I didn't trust that young man," James said. "We didn't really see him leave."

"Yes we did," Jessica insisted. "He pulled the door shut behind him. We heard it."

"But it doesn't lock itself. Not with the new lock," Maddie said quietly. "Not unless he lifted the handle. And now we're trapped."

James smiled and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Not to worry, I'll phone home."

Maddie shook her head. "You won't get a signal down here. It doesn't matter what network you're on."

Jessica tried her phone, and Maddie tried hers, although she said there was no point in doing it. None of them could get a signal.

They could hear footsteps moving about up above, going from room to room.

"The computer," James said, pointing to the large desktop machine. "I can send my dad an urgent email. Of course, he might not bother to check his emails today. I mean, why would he?"

"I'm sure we can think of something," Maddie said. "I'll switch the computer on and get online."

The fan came on in the main control unit, and the screen flashed into life. Within a few seconds the machine was ready.

James sat in front of the keyboard. "I'll try my dad first, and he can contact the police."

"Talking about the police," Maddie said slowly, "I'm supposed to be at your house for two o'clock today to see Constable Laura Evans."

"We'll be rescued long before them," James said confidently. "Right, let me just get used to this keyboard for a moment."

As he began to type, the laboratory was plunged into darkness, lit only by the screen on the monitor.

"It's a power cut," Maddie said. "Or someone has turned the mains off upstairs."

"It's not going to stop us using the computer," James said. "The monitor is still working.

"Yes, why _is_ it still working?" Jessica asked, not liking this one little bit.

"It's Papa's security," Maddie explained. "He has a power supply backup, just in case he loses power while he's working on something important, and can't save it."

James continued typing. "Right, let's get this email off straight away."

"I think we need to pray again," Maddie said quietly. "You won't be able to send it."

James looked up from the keyboard, his emergency message ready to go. "Of course I can. Watch."

The email stayed in the outbox, and a warning message came up that there was a connection failure.

"That's what I was going to tell you," Maddie said, pulling out a chair next to James and sitting in it. "There's a power backup for the computer, but not for the modem. There's no internet!"

"Do you have an ordinary phone?" James asked. "It won't need the mains."

Maddie shook her head. "Papa won't have one. He hates being disturbed when he's working."

James tried to sound cheerful. "It's not so bad. My dad will come round here soon, when we don't come back for lunch."

"Why will he, James?" Maddie asked, her voice sounding shaky.

"Because he knows we've gone to...."

"Because he knows we've gone to church," Jessica finished.

"Yes, that's a good point," James said. "We'll probably be here for hours, days, or even weeks before we get rescued," he said, trying to lift the gloom by sounding cheerful and light-hearted.

By the light from the monitor James could see Jessica put her arm round Maddie's shoulders. "Take no notice of him," Jessica said. "I'm sure someone will come very soon. Listen, I can still hear footsteps upstairs. Go and bang on the door, James, and call for help. He may have locked us down here by accident."

Even before James could get to the bottom of the stairs, they heard the front door bang shut. "There goes the young man," James said, returning to the computer desk. "I wonder if he got what he came for. I hate being underground, especially in the dark. Isn't there another way out of here?"

### Chapter 9

Maddie explained that the walls had been completely sealed, and they would need a pickaxe to break out through one of the small windows that had been bricked in. The basement had been damp proofed and the walls lined with plasterboard. Maddie said even if they had a pickaxe they wouldn't know where to start.

"We might starve down here," James said. "I don't suppose there's a kitchen here as well."

"There is," Maddie said. "If he's working on something important, Papa comes down here after breakfast and stays until late in the evening. He says if he has to go upstairs for something, he'll never get started again down here. But there's no food kept down here. Papa brings just enough down for the day. There's no fridge."

"Perhaps we'll never be found," James said thoughtfully. "In hundreds of years time, when they knock this house down, archaeologists will find three skeletons in the basement. We'll probably be put on display in a museum somewhere."

"That's enough, James," Jessica said sharply. "Maddie isn't used to your strange sense of humour. Don't worry, Maddie, we're going to be rescued very soon, when we don't get back for lunch."

James shook his head. "We've already been through this. My parents will wait, and after a bit they'll phone one of us, but there's no signal down here."

"They might still come round, as this is the only likely place where we'll be," Jessica said. "You're worrying Maddie by all this silly talk."

"We've got to be realistic about this," James said. "Even if they do come round, they'll ring the doorbell and no one will go to the door, so they'll think we're not here. And if the young man lifted the handle as he left, it will be locked anyway."

"Well, they'll contact the police to see if there's been an accident. Then the police will start looking for us."

James nodded. "The police will come here after dark, and there will be no lights on in the house. So this will be the last place they think of looking for us. And how long do you think the air is going to last down here?"

By the glow from the monitor James could see Maddie breaking into a smile. "That won't be a problem. There's an air duct in the ceiling."

"Good," James said. "We can climb through there."

"No good," Maddie said, sounding remarkably calm. "We'd have to be skeletons ourselves first. There it is, above the bench. It's only a few inches across."

As she spoke, Maddie reached over and switched off the computer, plunging the place into darkness. "We might need the computer later, and the backup supply only lasts twenty minutes. It's meant to give enough time to save your work and shut the computer down safely."

"Anyone got any bright ideas then?" James said.

"Possibly," Maddie said. "I've been thinking. If Papa comes back looking for me, he can use the app on the phone I was telling you about. At least he'll know I'm in the house."

"We can't get a signal," Jessica reminded her.

Maddie tapped her phone. "It uses GPS, and I've already checked. I've got GPS down here. Oh, it needs a network signal too. So that's no good."

The basement seemed to be the size of the whole upstairs floor, with the laboratory taking up most of the space. At one end, Maddie said, there was a small bathroom with a shower and toilet, and a room that served as a kitchen.

James switched on the flashlight on his phone. "I'm off to the bathroom. I shouldn't have had two glasses of squash at church. Which way is it?"

Maddie pointed to the far end of the laboratory.

"And leave the lights on your phones off," he called back. "We need to save the batteries. Just one flashlight on at a time. Won't be long."

Outside the bathroom door a long cord hung from a switch in the ceiling. Without thinking, James pulled the cord, forgetting the power was off and expecting the bathroom light to come on. Suddenly lights came on in the laboratory ceiling.

"Great," he called. "The power's back on. Quick, Maddie, fire up the computer and let's get the urgent email off to my parents."

"It's good news and bad news," Maddie said. "That's the emergency lighting switch. The emergency lighting should come on automatically if the power goes out, but that's a switch to override the automatic setting. It must have been off. I forgot all about it, but it's a separate circuit to the mains."

"Can we connect the modem to it?" Jessica asked.

Maddie shook her head. "That's the bad news. It's low voltage LED lighting from a large battery. But it will last for days."

"Well, _that's_ good news I suppose," Jessica said. "And it's really bright down here, which is even better news."

James came back from the bathroom. He looked around at the laboratory workbenches. On one bench he could see four small blocks of brown shiny clay, covered in some sort of ancient writing. A clay pot was in the process of restoration, and pieces of clay with black writing on them were arranged on sheets of white paper.

"Are all these fakes?" he asked, trying to pass the time in the calmest way possible.

"I've no idea," Maddie said. "That's what Papa is finding out."

Jessica pointed to a piece of ivory, or perhaps bone that had been engraved with pictures of horses and ancient warriors. "How does your father start?"

"You'd better not touch it without cotton gloves on," Maddie said. "But if you look closely you'll see some small cracks in the ivory. That always happens with age."

"So your father can use the cracks to check the ivory is old," Jessica said, leaning forward to look closely.

Maddie handed her a high power magnifying glass with very small LED lights in it. "That's only part of it," Maddie said. "An old piece of ivory on its own isn't worth much. It's what's on it that makes it valuable, plus where it was found. It's called provenance. In other words, was it definitely found by professional archaeologists on a controlled excavation?"

"So if I found an old piece of ivory and scratched a picture on it," James said, "...not that I would ... but would it fool your father?"

"No way," Maddie said. "The cracks would already be in the ivory if it was old, and the sharp tool you used to scratch the lines would drop very slightly into the cracks as you crossed over them. But if the ivory had been engraved _before_ it cracked, and you examined the crack with a microscope, you'd see a clean break in the lines."

"I hadn't thought of that," James said. "Perhaps I ought to fake pottery instead. With black paint."

"I think I know you well enough now to see you're joking," Maddie said, "but the same goes for paint on a fine brush. Paint is even more likely to drop slightly into an existing crack."

"Sounds like it's impossible then," James said. "I need to look for another choice of career. But seriously, Maddie, forgers must be much more clever than that, or they'd never get away with anything."

"It's called faking," Maddie said. "Not forgery."

"What's the difference between a fake and a forgery?" Jessica asked. "I thought they were the same thing."

### "Completely different," Maddie said. "A forgery is something modern made to look old. You might find a modern belt buckle, knock it about a bit, soak it in various chemicals, and give it the appearance of something ancient, and try to sell it as medieval."

### "So it would be a fake," James said.

### "No it wouldn't," Maddie said, sounding patient. "A fake is something old that's been changed to make it much more valuable. So it passes any tests that are carried out to find out how old it is."

### "Is that against the law?" Jessica asked. "Only I bought a small replica of a Roman lamp from my museum as part of my school project. How are they allowed to sell it?"

### "That's a reproduction," Maddie said. "If you look at it closely, you'll find the name of a modern maker or a museum in the moulding, or engraved into it. If you tried to file it off or chip it out, it would be obvious, and of course it's not made of the right materials."

### James frowned. "I'm still not sure I get it."

### "And you with your brilliant brain," Jessica said. "Can you explain it to James more simply?" she asked.

### "For yourself you mean," James said, laughing.

### "Think of it like a painting," Maddie said. "If I found a really old landscape painting and put Gainsborough's signature on the bottom and tried to sell it as a genuine Gainsborough, that would be a fake. Yes?"

### James nodded. "So far so good. But when would it be a forgery?"

### "Well, if you painted a landscape today in the style of Gainsborough, using very old paint and canvas, put Gainsborough's signature on it and tried to sell it as genuine, that would be a forgery."

### "Got it," James said.

### Jessica said, "And if I copied an old one to hang on the wall at home, and didn't pretend it was an original, that would be a reproduction, just like the oil lamp I bought in the shop in my museum at home."

### "Okay," James said, "so are there any fakes here you can show us? What about those clay things on the bench over there?"

### "They are almost certainly genuine," Maddie said. "They're called tablets. It's very difficult to bake a clay tablet and make it look old. You could mould one out of resin, and it might fool a few people, but not a serious collector. Over the years, old objects and furniture develop a thin layer on their surfaces due to ageing. It's called patina. That's very hard to fake."

### James pointed to some pieces of broken pottery. "What about these?"

### "They're called shards, or sometimes sherds. Pieces of broken pots and jugs, that sort of thing. Papa has exposed some very clever fakes," Maddie said. "Someone got hold of a large piece of broken pottery and wrote an amazing inscription on it that would make it extremely valuable if it was genuine. The piece of pottery was over two and a half thousand years old, and the person made the black ink from soot from an old lamp he found in an Ancient Egyptian tomb, mixed it with distilled water, and wrote on it with an old reed pen that had also come from Ancient Egypt."

"Brilliant," Jessica said. "Everything would test old. But why the reed pen?"

"Because if the person used a steel nib, microscopic particles of steel would come off on the surface of the pottery. And steel is a modern invention. Papa has imaging devices that are powerful enough to detect and analyse them."

"Wow, that really _is_ tricky," James said. "So how did your father prove it was a fake?"

"The faker slipped up in the writing. It was supposed to be a receipt for something sold to the prophet Isaiah. But Papa could prove that the actual style of the Hebrew letters was from a much later period. This came from a small museum for his expert opinion. Although the fake had probably been done a hundred years ago, he told them not to buy it."

"Why would someone want to do that?" James asked.

"For money, of course. That's one example of what Papa gets paid for. It's all in his book that's about to be published."

James looked up at the rows of LED emergency lights in the ceiling. They seemed unnecessarily bright. "Can we switch some of them off?" he asked. "We may need to make the battery last a very long time. If you don't mind me saying so."

Maddie jumped up on the laboratory bench. "I think I can do it. There, that's switched off half of them, and it's still plenty bright enough in here."

James reached up to help Maddie jump down safely. The last thing they needed now was a broken leg and no way to get help. He could feel a slight draught of air around the vent in the ceiling. "Where does the other end of this come out?" he asked, as soon as Maddie was safely down.

"James, you weren't listening to Maddie. It's only narrow."

"Yes I was listening," James protested. "I know we can't climb up it to escape, obviously, but it's in the back of my mind that we might be able to make use of it. But I can't see how. Well, let's settle down to days and weeks of starvation."

" _James_ ," Jessica said, "it's not funny. Please stop joking."

James shook his head. "What makes you think I'm joking?"

### Chapter 10

Lunchtime came and went, and then two o'clock passed, which was when Constable Laura Evans was coming to see Maddie. "Well," Jessica said, "that should start the ball rolling. Uncle Clive and Aunty Amy will know by now that something is very wrong."

"If they come round and ring the doorbell, do you think they'd hear us shouting down here?" James asked.

Maddie pointed up to the secure door at the top of the stairs that led to the hallway. "Papa wanted it made soundproof. Maman used to bring her friends round sometimes, and he said they disturbed him. He says he can only work in complete silence. But I suppose we could try shouting really loudly."

"Anyway, we'd have to hear the bell," James said, "and I don't think we'll hear it down here."

Maddie thought for a moment. "That's okay, it rings down here as well. Good thinking, James."

"I suppose it runs from a battery, not the mains," James said.

Maddie pulled a face. "I hadn't thought of that. It runs off the mains, with a transformer. But unless the man lifted the handle, the front door will open if anyone tries it. I'm starting to get worried. Is there anything else we can do?"

Jessica said, "I think we're like the man in serious trouble who said he'd tried everything he could think of, and he was really desperate. His friend said, 'When you've tried everything else, try prayer.' But we should have prayed _first_ , not last."

"Yes, I get the point," James said. "I feel really bad that we didn't think about praying as soon as we got trapped down here. Mind you, I've not been a Christian, a real Christian, for very long. Not that that's any excuse. I'll start praying if you like."

They took it in turns to pray for rescue, and for peace while waiting. Jessica found verse nine from Psalm 69 by David, on one of the Bible versions she had on her phone.

_"Do not hide Your face from_ **Your servant** _; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me_. _"_

Jessica said King David's problems might not have been the same as theirs, but a prayer was a prayer. Then the mood lightened.

By eight o'clock there had been no sound of anyone coming to their rescue, although it was possible that James's parents had knocked on the front door with the large brass hand. But Maddie said even that wouldn't have been loud enough to be heard in the laboratory, which was why the extension to the doorbell had been installed.

"Let's stay relaxed about it," Maddie said. "We prayed about it, and I'm sure we're not going to die down here, even if we really do have to wait for a few days. Papa will be back some time, and when he can't get in with his key, if the young man lifted the handle, he'll get the locksmith to open the front door. But if he isn't coming back just yet, let's think if there really is a way we can get out of here."

James kept looking up at the air vent in the ceiling. "There's got to be something we can do with that vent. I just don't know what it is. Where does it come out, Maddie?"

"In the kitchen, directly above here. It goes on up into the main extractor vent in the kitchen ceiling. That's where the fan is. Why?"

"And what's the pipe made from?"

"Plastic, I think. Is that important?"

James looked at the time on his phone. "Everyone will be frantic by now. They'll know something serious has happened. Even though it's too small to climb up through, that vent seems to be the only way out of here. Yes?"

The others nodded.

"So is there something we could poke up there that would make a signal for anyone out looking for us?"

"James," Jessica said, "you are allowed to go crazy when we've been down here for a few days, but not yet."

"Quiet, Jessica. Let my brilliant brain work for a moment. We can't get a phone signal down here. Right? But we _could_ get one if we were in the kitchen."

Jessica shook her head. "Are you serious or are you joking? I can't tell."

"Serious," James said. "Is there a sweeping brush down here with a long handle, Maddie?"

"A broom? There's one in the little kitchen."

"And some sticky tape?"

Maddie pointed to a roll of silver duct tape on the bench. "I'll get the broom, but I don't see how it will help."

"Do as he says," Jessica said. "James has been known to have the _occasional_ bright idea. Let's hope this is one of them."

"Maddie," James said, when Maddie returned with the broom, "jump up on the bench again and pull the grill off the vent."

Maddie jumped up without questioning his instructions. She pulled the square grill free, and a small cloud of dust fell to the bench, making James and Jessica move away quickly.

As soon as Maddie was down, James looked up at the circular grey pipe that led up into the kitchen.

He switched his phone on and typed a long text message, using capital letters to make it look important.

HELP. WE'RE TRAPPED IN MADDIE'S HOUSE IN THE BASEMENT. WE ARE OKAY. THE FRONT DOOR MAY NOT BE LOCKED, TRY THE HANDLE, BUT THE POLICE KNOW THE NAME OF THE LOCKSMITH WHO HAS A SPARE KEY. YOU MAY HAVE TO BREAK DOWN THE DOOR TO THE BASEMENT IF THE LOCKSMITH IS NOT THERE. PLEASE REPLY.

The girls looked over his shoulder and read the message. "Now what?" Jessica asked. "Are you going to tie the phone to the leg of a pigeon and launch it up the pipe?"

"I might, if you can find me a pigeon. Assuming you can't, I'm going to tape it to the end of the broom pole. Then I press Send, and push it up the pipe as far as it goes. If we're lucky, there'll be a phone signal in the kitchen."

"The boy really _is_ a genius," Maddie said in admiration. "But how will you know if the message has gone?"

"Thanks for appreciating my brilliance, Maddie. The phone might take a minute or so to get a signal. As soon as it does, or _if_ it does, the message will be sent automatically, and the screen will show it's been sent. So every couple of minutes we bring it down and check. Now, tear off a couple of lengths of tape, and tape the phone to the pole. Then we'll see what happens."

Maddie climbed back onto the laboratory bench below the vent hole, and James passed her the broom. With the message activated, she gently raised the phone on the end of the pole. James looked on anxiously, hoping there were no sharp bends in the piping to stop it going into the kitchen.

"That's it," Maddie said, when the head of the broom reached the laboratory ceiling and stopped the pole going any higher.

"If there's no signal we could take the head off the broom and tape it to something else to make it longer," Jessica suggested. She looked at her own phone. "Let's give it three minutes before we check it, just to be sure. I have the timer on here."

The seconds seemed to tick down far too slowly, and Maddie began to complain that her arm was aching. She nearly let go of the broom when a loud jingle sounded. "Is that it?" she asked.

"That's it," James said. "They've answered quickly. Bring it down. Slowly. Now pass me the end of the broom with the phone."

The three bent over to read the screen.

WHAT WAS MUM'S MAIDEN NAME?

"Are they serious?" James asked. "We've been missing all day, and they're asking me some silly question about my mother!"

"I know what's happened," Maddie said. "It's like when you forget your password, and they want to check it really is you. Like the cloud company. They ask you to register a secret question and share the answer with them, so that they can use it to check it's really you when needed."

"It still doesn't make sense," James protested. "Who else would be using my phone?"

"Just type the name on there and put the phone back up the pipe," Jessica said. "Then I'll tell you why."

Once again Maddie had to climb onto the bench, but she seemed to be getting better at it and did it easily this time. James had already pressed Send, and Maddie raised the phone as far as the head of the broom would let her.

"Go on then, Jessica, tell me," James said.

"I'm guessing your parents think we may have been kidnapped, and the police are with them, perhaps waiting for the kidnappers to contact them. So they want to make sure it really is you, and not the kidnappers setting a trap in the house. Does that make sense?"

James nodded. "Perfect sense. Brilliant. Let's hope they take it seriously now."

Once again the phone rang out its jingle, and the three read the screen.

ON OUR WAY WITH THE POLICE. STAY PUT.

"Stay put?" James said. "As if we could do anything else! Let's hope they hurry. I'm starving."

"They may not be here just yet," Jessica said. "It's Sunday, and if the front door is locked they'll have to find the locksmith and he'll have to go into work and open the safe for the spare key."

"Or maybe they won't bother," James said. "If the young man lifted the handle and locked the door when he left, they'll probably break it down to save time."

"Quick," Maddie said, "send another text. Tell them to try the handle first!"

### Chapter 11

"Are you sure it was the young man who locked you in the basement?" the police officer asked, when eventually they were free.

It had been necessary to involve the locksmith, who insisted on charging for an emergency call-out. Fortunately, the key had been left in the security lock to the basement door. The mains electricity had been switched off at the fuse box, and was now on again.

"It _must_ have been him," Maddie said. "We heard him slam the front door, but he came back and locked us down here. We could hear him walking about upstairs. He must have been looking for something." She went to the large table in the dining room with open boxes of various small archaeological finds. "Probably something on here, but I've no idea if anything has gone. Papa would know. Have you heard from him?"

Nobody had, and when Maddie tried her father's phone again, his number was still unobtainable.

"Maddie," Mrs Cooper said, "the police have agreed you can stay with us for the night. It's too late now for them to arrange anything else. We'll lock up your house and it will be secure."

Maddie shook her head. "I'm going to stay here tonight. Someone might break in again."

The police officer laughed. "That's one reason why you _won't_ be staying here, Miss Quedgley," he said.

"Jessica and James can stay with me."

"Absolutely out of the question," Mrs Cooper said. "The police will keep an eye on the place. Now, it's back home with you all, and you can have an early night. You must be exhausted."

"More hungry than exhausted," James said. "I hope you've kept some food for us. You have, haven't you?"

The officer said, "Constable Laura Evans will be round to take a full statement some time tomorrow. Make sure you're there this time, and you can give her a description of the young man you think locked you in."

"We don't _think_ he locked us in, we _know_ he locked us in," Maddie said fiercely. "And you need to find him!"

As soon as they were back at James's house, Mr Cooper suggested that Jessica went up with Maddie to the spare bedroom for a few minutes.

"James, we had a brief talk with the lawyer this afternoon," his father said quietly, when Maddie had gone. "I don't want to worry Maddie, but we're not her family, and the lawyer said that makes it very difficult to do anything in the long term. Anyway, we can't expect Maddie to move in with us permanently if her father doesn't reappear."

"The police think Professor Quedgley is in London, not Jerusalem," James said. "If they're right, he'll be back soon, I'm sure of it. He's probably so wrapped up in his research that he's forgotten about Maddie for the moment. You said he was scatterbrained."

"James, that's not scatterbrained," his mother said. "That's called irresponsible. It might keep happening."

"I'm sure it won't, Mum. Anyway, the Pastor's daughter, Sarah Griffiths, has agreed that she'll stay with Maddie whenever her father is away overnight. Well, sort of agreed. And if Maddie's father is away on a dig in the holidays, Maddie says she goes with him, like she did to Jerusalem last summer. It's an exciting life. I envy her, in a way."

"Would you want to stay here overnight by yourself?" his mother asked.

"Perhaps. But then this isn't a creepy old house with creaking floorboards like Maddie's. Let's talk about it tomorrow, Mum. Jessica still wants to go to the museum as part of her school project. Is it okay if we take Maddie with us?"

His father looked serious. "Perhaps. However, you would have to promise to stay together at all times. Will Maddie need to go to her house? That seems to be where it all goes wrong."

"I think she'll want to call in there. She wants to photograph everything on the dining room table, just in case someone comes back for whatever they were looking for, so then her father will know what's been taken. If they didn't already find it. If you see what I mean."

"Absolutely no way."

"Oh, Dad, nothing's going to happen."

"That's what you said when we let you go to church this morning."

"But, Dad, Maddie thinks it's _ever_ so important that she gets these photographs. Mum, could you come with us if Dad has to be at work?"

"Well, I might be able to spare an hour. Maybe two, if I can get someone to cover for me when the clinic opens. But I need to be there by eleven tomorrow, and I definitely don't want to be late. I suppose Maddie isn't going to take all day doing the photographs."

"Oh, Aunty Amy, _please_ let me take them." Maddie had appeared silently in the doorway. "We won't be long. Then the three of us are going on to the museum to do some research for Jessica's school project. We'll be safe there."

Mrs Cooper told Maddie to come in and sit down. "The best thing you can do tomorrow morning, Maddie, is to collect everything of value in your house and take it down to the laboratory. The front door has a new lock now, and there's a high security lock on door down to the basement. Everything will be safe enough down there, I'm sure."

Maddie nodded. "That's a really good idea, Aunty Amy. But I still want to photograph everything first. I'll be really quick. Promise. I've got a really great camera. There are hundreds of items, and there's room for hundreds of photographs on the memory card."

"I hope you won't be taking hundreds of photographs," Mrs Cooper said in alarm. "As you probably overheard, none of you, and I really do mean that, are to go back to that house unaccompanied by an adult. Is that clear?"

James was listening with interest. "You really _mean_ hundreds?" he asked. " _Hundreds_?"

Maddie shook her head. "I'll photograph them in batches. Say fifty photographs maximum. Can you spare half an hour, Aunty Amy?"

Mrs Cooper smiled as she nodded agreement. "An early night for you all, I think. Do you have your camera with you, Maddie?"

"It's in my bag in my room. Why?"

"Just make sure the battery is fully charged. I won't be able to wait around if you have to stop to recharge it."

"And keep trying to phone your father," Mr Cooper said. "He may have charged his phone by now, or switched it back on. And before you go to sleep, make sure you leave your phone where it can get a GPS signal. James was telling me about that app you have."

"But Professor Quedgley might track Maddie here on the app," James pointed out, "and come round in the middle of the night if he can't get into his house."

"Don't worry, James," his father said. "I don't want to sound unwelcoming, but it really would be better for Maddie if she was back with her father in her own house." He caught the expression on Maddie's face. "In the meantime, of course you're very welcome here, Maddie," he added.

"What time is Constable Evans coming?" James asked.

"I'd forgotten all about her," his father said. "Sometime tomorrow. The officer didn't give a time. Why do you ask, James?"

"I was thinking, Dad. The sooner we get out of our house in the morning and wait at Maddie's house, the better. We need to give Maddie's father a chance to turn up."

His father nodded thoughtfully. "If we'd been given an exact time to be here, that would be different. We'll see in the morning. Now, do as your mother says, and off to bed. And you, Maddie and Jessica, don't keep talking until the early hours. We've all had a tiring and stressful day. I intend to sleep soundly."

"Unless Professor Quedgley turns up and rings the bell at three o'clock in the morning," James added.

His father clapped his hands. "Goodnight, James."

### Chapter 12

The next morning everyone had an early breakfast. No one from the police station had phoned to make a new appointment, and the Two Jays and Maddie were anxious to get out of the house as soon as possible. Mrs Cooper phoned the clinic and arranged coverage for the first couple of hours, and James's father left for work.

"And I _don't_ want to get a call from the police to say that all _four_ of you are missing," Mr Cooper said as he left the house. But he didn't sound particularly serious as he said it.

"Come on, Maddie," Jessica said. "Get sorted, and then we'll be off. Make sure you bring your camera and the new key to the front door."

"And make sure you bring whatever you need for the Roman stuff in the museum," Maddie said, as she and Jessica scampered up the stairs. "I know you want to photograph some of the exhibits. You can use my camera if you like. It will be much better than your phone, especially on close-ups."

"The camera on my phone works really well," Jessica said, "although I'm sure a camera like yours will be even better. You'd better take it off the charger. We don't want to forget it. That's the main reason for going."

Maddie's house was still securely locked, and there was no sign that anyone had been inside in the night.

"You need a house alarm," Mrs Cooper said as she went into the dining room. "There must be some valuable stuff on this table."

"Interesting, rather than valuable," Maddie said.

Maddie worked away quickly through all the items on the table, taking photographs of them in small groups. She had an SLR digital camera that looked worth a lot of money. She didn't use the flash, because she said she needed the light coming sideways from the window to highlight the texture on the surfaces.

Suddenly Maddie put her hand to her mouth. "I forgot all about my coins. Let's hope they're still here."

She went to the sideboard and opened a cupboard at one end. With a sigh of relief she pulled out a small wooden cabinet full of flat trays. She drew out one of the trays. Lying in small recesses covered in red felt they could see rows of old coins, mostly bronze and silver.

"You mustn't touch them," Maddie said. She pointed to two very coins, smaller than anything used today. "These are Greek coins that were used in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. Does a widow's mite mean anything to you?"

"Widows might what?" James asked.

Jessica hit him playfully on the arm. "Stop messing around, James. You know perfectly well what Maddie means."

His mother sighed. "Yes, James, just listen to Maddie."

"Don't blame me," James said. "Maddie asked the question."

Maddie ignored him. "These are the two coins Jesus saw a widow drop into the temple treasury. That's why we call it a widow's mite, but its proper name is a prutah. It was the lowest value coin of all their coins, but Jesus said the widow's gift was worth much more than the money the rich people were putting in, because they had plenty left, but the two mites were all the widow had."

"Wow." James looked closely at the coins. "And these are the actual two?"

"James," his mother said, lifting a warning finger.

Everyone bent over and stared at the tiny coins closely. James said it was just as well they were of very low value, because they would be so easy to lose! They had small green speckles where they had corroded slightly.

"Pilate's name is on there," Maddie said.

James pulled a face. "You don't really mean it. Not Pontius Pilate who tried Jesus?"

"Yes, honestly," Maddie said, looking rather upset at being doubted.

"Wow, and these are the actual two Jesus saw the widow dropping into the collection box."

"Of course they're not," Jessica said. "They're not, are they, Maddie?"

"They could be," James said, looking closely while being taken back in his mind to the time of Jesus as he pictured the scene at the temple. "You can't _prove_ they're not."

Maddie turned to James, her eyes shining. "James, that's what I like to think, too. Coins make history come alive. This is my own collection. Everything comes from the New Testament and early Christian times. Papa's collections of antiquities are to do with the Old Testament, mostly from the times of the kings who ruled Judah and Israel."

She reached into the sideboard cupboard again, and took out a broken, brownish red pottery oil lamp. "I don't only collect coins. This is early Christian. See the cross on it? That's called a Chi-Rho."

"I know what a Chi-Rho is," Jessica said quickly, determined to get a word in. At first she had laughed at James's suggestion that the widow's mites could be the actual coins Jesus had talked about. But, like Maddie, she now supposed it _could_ be true.

"Go on then," James challenged her. "What is a Chi-Rho? Enlighten us."

"It's an early Christian symbol," Jessica said. "The cross is shaped like the letter X, with a tall letter P running through it."

"What does that mean? How can a letter P be a Christian symbol?" James asked.

"I'm sure Jessica knows," Maddie said quickly, "but I expect she'd like me to explain."

Jessica nodded, glad to be rescued from an embarrassing situation.

"It's spelt C-h-i-R-h-o, but you pronounce it Ky-Roe. The Greek letter for Ch is a Chi. The Greek letter Rho is our letter R, but it looks like a capital letter P. Together, they make what's called a Chi-Rho."

Suddenly it all made sense to Jessica, and she was now determined to show off. "It's the first two letters of the name Christ. That's Christos in Greek."

Maddie nodded. "This lamp came from a Roman tomb in North Africa, from an early Christian burial."

Mrs Cooper was looking at it closely. "How early, Maddie?"

"It's unlikely to be earlier than 312 AD. That's when the Emperor Constantine officially adopted the Chi-Rho, although earlier examples have been found. This lamp probably comes from around 400 AD."

"Amazing," James said. "And I mean it. Just think, some early Christian handled this lamp. May I touch it, Maddie? Just so I can feel a connection with the early Christians."

"No problem. It won't corrode like bronze coins do."

James turned to his mother. "A real Christian lamp with a Chi-Rho. I can't get over it."

His mother said, "You've got some good things here, Maddie. And you have a way of making them sound exciting. I'd love to see more, but I have to be off to the clinic. Now get your things together. I'm not leaving you three alone in the house. I want to make sure everything is securely locked up before we go. And I think you should lock your coins in the basement with anything on the table you think is worth locking away, Maddie. Just to be sure they're safe. We'll help you down with them."

Down in the laboratory, Maddie switched on her father's desktop computer, using the encryption key she had put on earlier. "Just checking for emails," she explained. "Quicker than my phone."

She tapped at the keyboard and looked up in excitement. "It's from Papa. Oh good, good, good." She started to cry. "Papa is safe and well. He wants me to photograph the sour grapes." She put her hand to her mouth and said, "Oh dear, I forgot all about it. I hope it's still here."

"Sour grapes?" James said, sharing in Maddie's relief. Perhaps the Professor wasn't so scatterbrained after all. "What on earth are you talking about, Maddie?"

Maddie went to the wall and took down a large photograph of an excavation, revealing a small safe in the wall. "The sour grapes and the teeth should be in here. I can hardly believe it. Papa says he's coming back today."

James and Jessica looked at each other and shook their heads. This was a safe, not a fridge. Was Maddie losing it?

Jessica put a finger to her lips. "Don't say anything, James. Let's see what's in there."

Maddie tapped in the code on the keypad, and swung the door open. Then she put on a pair of white cotton gloves and carefully removed a small tray from inside the safe. She turned to the others. "It's still here."

"That doesn't look much like a bunch of grapes to me," James said, going forward to look at a large piece of broken pottery with black writing on it. "Or teeth. Is that what you call a shard?"

Maddie grinned. "This is called an ostracon." She looked at James and shook her head. "And before you say anything, James, it has nothing to do with ostriches."

Jessica laughed when she saw James's expression. "Maddie certainly has the measure of you!" she said. "So pay attention, boy, and learn something for once."

"I'm listening, girl," James said. "I'm dying to hear all about ostracons."

"I like the way you two work together," Maddie said. "It makes me wish I had a brother to joke with." She sighed. "Oh well.... Anyway, a shard is a piece of broken pottery, but it's called an ostracon if it has writing or pictures painted on it, or maybe an engraving. If this one is genuine, it will be worth a fortune. But Papa has serious doubts, although so far everything tests out okay."

"So how can that be grapes and teeth?" James persisted. "And I'm trying to be sensible, honest I am."

Maddie placed the tray containing the piece of pottery carefully on the laboratory bench. Then she stood back. "You mustn't touch it."

Jessica said, "Is there some poison on it?"

"No, but even the smallest contamination from our hands could spoil any more tests that Papa still has to carry out. Teeth and sour grapes," Maddie added, as though that made perfect sense.

Mrs Cooper now came forward for a closer look. Light dawned on her face. "It's a quote from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah."

Maddie smiled. "Well done, Aunty Amy. _And_ from the book of Ezekiel."

James frowned and shook his head. "I still don't get it."

His mother said, "You know who Jeremiah and Ezekiel were, I hope."

"Of course, Mum, they were Old Testament prophets."

"And?"

"They prophesied. That's what prophets do."

Jessica laughed. "Brilliant, James, I didn't realise you had such a wealth of Bible knowledge. The world's top theologians would be jealous of you."

"What did you expect me to say?" James felt himself going red, but he joined in the laughter.

"I was expecting you to tell me a bit about them," his mother said.

"Can I tell him?" Maddie asked.

Everyone seemed relieved to make use of her expertise. "Yes, go on," James said.

Maddie smiled. The first proper smile they'd seen from her since arriving at the house. "The Jews were being taken to Babylon as prisoners. You'll see something about that when we get to the museum. The Babylonians had laid siege to Jerusalem and were destroying it. We're going back more than two and a half thousand years to 597 BC, but the people wouldn't listen to the warnings that God spoke through the prophets."

She paused for a moment, realising everyone was staring at her.

"Please go on, Maddie," Mrs Cooper said.

Maddie smiled again. "The prophet Jeremiah was in Jerusalem, warning the people to turn back to God if they wanted Him to protect them. But they took no notice. Anyway, Ezekiel was taken prisoner, and the Babylonians took him away to Babylon with loads of other Jewish prisoners. When he got there, he had visions of what was happening back in Jerusalem."

"What, like it was being destroyed?"

"Try to be quiet, James," his mother said. "Let Maddie tell us."

Maddie sat in front of the computer and leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. James could imagine something of what her father must be like, carried away by ancient history, although he probably didn't wear such bright clothes!

"Not completely destroyed," Maddie said thoughtfully. "Jerusalem was badly damaged in the siege, and it was only the more intelligent citizens who were rounded up and taken away to Babylon. The people who were left were the poor ones who wouldn't cause any trouble."

"What sort of trouble?" Jessica asked. "Sorry to interrupt."

"Like trying to rebuild and fortify the city," Maddie said. "But they weren't worshipping God."

James felt impatient. "What's this got to do with sour grapes?"

"I'm coming to that," Maddie said. "The Jews who went to Babylon, well, quite a lot of them did worship God, even though their parents had worshipped idols in Jerusalem. Ezekiel said the people were complaining that it was their parents who ate the sour grapes, but it was the children who got their teeth set on edge. The original Hebrew words literally mean unripe fruit. One paraphrase of the Bible says the parents ate green apples, and their children got the stomach ache! That's not an exact translation, but it makes the point."

"I still don't get it," James said. He looked at Jessica and his mother. "Well, do you?"

Neither of them answered.

"Go on, Maddie," James said. "We're listening."

"It seems to have been a popular saying at the time," Maddie explained. "It was Jeremiah who quoted it first. The captives in Babylon felt they were suffering for something their parents had done. Get it?"

"Got it," James said. "So this piece of pottery is part of the Old Testament?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Maddie said. "That's why Papa has been sent it. It's like graffiti, a popular saying written on a piece of broken pot. Papa thinks it's a modern fake on an old piece of pottery, but he can't prove it yet. If it _is_ a fake, he wants to track down the man behind it. I suppose that's why he wants a photograph, to see some small detail."

She retrieved her camera from the bag. "I'd better do as he says."

Maddie mounted the camera on a tripod and ran off several shots, lighting it in different ways with a couple of bench lights.

Jessica was looking at the email on the screen. "Did you notice your father has spelt your name wrong?" she asked. "It's spelt M-a-d-d-y."

Maddie came across and looked. Then she laughed. "That's Papa all over. He always calls me Ammadine, but maybe he thought it sounded a bit formal in an email. Probably wasn't sure how to spell Maddie. Now, move aside please. I need to download a couple of these pics."

"Don't do it, Maddie," James said. "It might not be from your father. It might be from the forger, or faker, or whatever he is."

"James is right," Mrs Cooper said. "You need to be absolutely certain the email is from your father."

"How do I do that?" Maddie asked.

"I know," James said. "Ask him the registration number of your car."

Maddie shook her head and laughed. "We don't have a car, and even if we did, Papa probably wouldn't remember the registration. So he'd just say he didn't know, and that wouldn't prove anything. Any other suggestions?"

"Ask him the name of your dog," James said.

Maddie looked surprised. "We don't have a dog, either."

"Exactly," James said. "You know that, and your father knows that. Try it, and see what he says."

Maddie typed out the message. " _I've taken the photographs. I need to know it's really you, Papa. What is the name of our dog?_ "

She looked up at the others. "I'm sure it's not necessary, but yes, it would be bad if I sent the pictures to someone else."

Two minutes later the reply pinged. It said, " _You know the name of our dog. Please remember to feed it. Don't waste time, and send me the photographs of the ostracon._ "

Mrs Cooper pointed to the screen. "He hasn't said you don't have a dog. And he's even telling you to feed it. Look in the Properties box and see who the sender is."

"Fancy you knowing about that, Mum," James said. "I thought everyone born in the Stone Age didn't know anything about computers."

"Stop being rude," his mother said, laughing. "Who is it from, Maddie?"

"I don't recognise the sender's address," Maddie said, "but Papa could be sending it from someone else's computer. He might not have remembered how to log into his own account. What do you think I should do, Aunty Amy?"

Mrs Cooper looked serious. "Maddie, I think you should send one more email, asking your father to find a phone and phone you immediately, then switch off the computer to keep it safe. And, no, I don't think you should send the photographs. Ask yourself, why didn't your father phone you instead of sending the email? You'd know his voice straight away."

Jessica sent the brief email, and said, "I'll go upstairs where I can get a phone signal. If Papa hasn't phoned in ten minutes, then I don't send the photographs."

Fifteen minutes later the ostracon was back in the safe. They locked the house up securely and left. There had been no phone call.

### Chapter 13

"The museum at last," James said, as the large building came into sight. "It was two days ago that we set out for here. Not that I'm complaining, Maddie. It's been great meeting you."

"Thanks," Maddie said. "I know I got a bit upset when I first came to your house, with all the memories and things, but you and Jessica have really helped me sort myself out. And so have your parents, James." She laughed, and said, " _And_ you saved my life. That's the last time I'm listening to music when I'm walking into town."

The attendant at the museum desk exchanged a few pleasantries with Maddie. They obviously knew each other. "And it's still okay to take photographs?" Maddie asked.

Rather to James's surprise, not only was it all right to take photographs, they could even use flash. Maddie explained to the Two Jays that flash wouldn't be much help. Even if it didn't reflect back from the glass of the display cabinets, it would remove a lot of the detail that came from the carefully arranged lighting for each display.

"The Roman stuff is on the next floor up," she said. "But let me show you some Assyrian objects first."

James stared in amazement at two massive statues of what seemed to be horses with men's faces, guarding the entrance to the exhibition hall. "Objects?" he said. "I thought you meant bits and pieces like your coins. What are they? They look frightening to me." He was going to add that they were almost as scary as Mr. Binks, but he didn't want to upset Maddie.

Maddie pointed to them. "They're men with the bodies of bulls. They've come from Assyria. Well, not these exact ones. These are replicas, modern reproductions."

"Which aren't the same as fakes and forgeries," James added. "I never understood the difference before."

Maddie smiled in appreciation. "You probably remember from your Old Testament that the tribes were taken captive first in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Well, they'd have seen these."

Jessica frowned. This didn't seem right. "I thought you said they were captured by the Babylonians," she said. "I'm confused."

"Not as confused as I am," James said under his breath. He could see no point in making a fool of himself by taking part in the discussion.

"If you know your Old Testament history, you'll know that after King Solomon, the country split into two separate kingdoms, Israel and Judah, each with their own kings. The Assyrians were the first to attack the northern cities in Israel, and take the Jews captive. Then the Babylonians conquered the Assyrians and took over the main power base." Maddie looked at James and smiled. "Just checking you're listening. A hundred years later, the Babylonians finished off Jerusalem and the other towns in the Southern Kingdom of Judah."

"So Babylonia is a real place," James said half aloud, not wanting to admit to his lack of knowledge of the two kingdoms. "Where is it?"

Maddie heard him. "It's called Iraq now. Well, the borders aren't the same. Babylonia was larger than modern Iraq. Parts of Iran and the surrounding countries are now part of what was Babylonia."

The walls were decorated with a continuous row of highly detailed photographs of a huge plaster relief showing battle scenes. Maddie explained that the real relief was in the British Museum in London. A notice said that the photographs were quarter scale.

"This is the Assyrian attack on the hill city of Lachish," Maddie explained. "It happened in 701 BC. King Sennacherib was on his way to attack Jerusalem when he came across Lachish on a high hill. You can read about these attacks in your Bible, mostly in the books of Kings and Chronicles. He captured Lachish, but he failed to capture Jerusalem."

As they walked along the continuous row of photographs, James pointed to soldiers climbing walls, and the people of Lachish responding by tipping burning oil on them and shooting arrows as they were attacked. But they seemed to be losing out, as the Assyrians were using huge siege engines to break down the walls. Further along, like in a strip cartoon, the Jews were shown being led away captive.

"It's amazing," James said. "I'm going to get Dad to take me to London to see the original. It must be huge."

Maddie stopped and pointed to a scene. "This is a bit gruesome. Here's King Sennacherib having two prisoners beaten to death. And here he is again, receiving prisoners and deciding which ones to kill."

"I prefer to think he's eyeing up the looted treasure by their side," Jessica said, screwing up her face. "But like your coins, it helps make the Bible real. You're right though, Maddie, it _is_ a bit gruesome."

Maddie nodded. "Okay, let's go upstairs and see the Roman exhibits. It's what we came for, but I just wanted to show you this display first."

In the Roman exhibition hall they could see full size marble statues of men and women, most of them with arms and even heads missing, some large flat stones carved with Latin words, and several display cabinets of smaller items.

While James went to wander around the exhibition hall, Maddie started photographing some domestic items that Jessica particularly wanted to write about in her school project on everyday life in Britain under Roman occupation.

James used his phone to take a few photographs of some helmets and swords found in various excavations, but the results weren't particularly good due to the strange colours from the display lighting mixing with the natural daylight. He'd seen enough of items of death, particularly after examining the photographs of the plaster relief downstairs, and he made his way to discover what the two girls were doing.

"What's the matter?" he asked, noticing that Maddie was fidgeting uncomfortably.

She pointed at the display case they were examining. "Don't turn round, James. There's a man behind us who.... No, _don't_ turn round."

James had found the temptation to turn irresistible. "Sorry. Okay, what's the problem? We're not doing anything wrong. We were told we could take photographs."

"You can see him reflected in the glass," Maddie said. "I noticed him as we were coming into the museum. He's been hanging around ever since we came up here." Maddie pointed to the display and pretended to be interested in the contents. "Every time we move to another cabinet, he moves so he can still see us."

James could see him in the reflection now, a small man carrying what was probably a museum catalogue or guide. He was studying it. Or pretending to.

"Okay," Maddie said, "we're safe enough here. We might as well take the photographs we came for." She checked the camera settings, and said she needed to change the colour balance to match the lighting in the cabinet.

"Get a move on, _please_ ," Jessica said anxiously. "It doesn't matter about the colour balance. If I need to, I can change it in Photoshop when I get home."

Maddie was clearly a perfectionist. "You get better results if you can make the pictures as good as possible when you take them. I took most of the photographs for Papa's book, so I know what I'm doing. But okay, just show me the rest of the things you want photographing."

Most of the items Jessica wanted recorded were earthenware vessels, and other items that would be used in the home. Judging by the cracks, most of them had been stuck back together from hundreds of broken fragments.

"Are these fakes or forgeries or reproductions?" James asked. "There seem to be far too many broken Roman bits and pieces here."

"Almost certainly they're all genuine," Maddie explained, as she checked the camera settings for yet another picture. "But you'd be surprised how many fakes and forgeries get into museums. Papa believes many exhibits have been faked and even forged, but the museums don't want to test them with modern scientific techniques."

"Why not?" James asked.

"Because it would spoil their displays," Maddie said, checking the screen on the back of her camera.

"Look," Jessica said impatiently, "it doesn't matter about that now. All I want are some photographs for my project. Here, Maddie, can you take a few photographs of the Roman jewellery in the cabinet over here? Everything was found in local excavations of graves, so it says on the card."

Using the cabinet glass as a mirror, James noticed the man moving with them. "If we go round the back of this cabinet," he said quietly, "we can pretend to be looking in it, but look straight through at the man. Maddie might recognise him."

Jessica looked worried. "Do you think it could be someone you know, Maddie?"

Maddie shook her head. "I've never seen him before."

James said, "He might have followed us from your house. We didn't think to check we weren't being followed. There's some Egyptian stuff in the hall across the way. If you've finished here, let's see if he stays with us."

Once in the Egyptian Hall, they stopped to look at some scarab beetles in a display case. Their wing cases glowed with a metallic green.

"I know what these are for," James said. "We did it at school. The Egyptians wrapped scarab beetles up with the mummies, to stop the gods finding out what they'd done wrong in this life."

Maddie stared at him. "You don't believe that would work, do you, James?"

James laughed. "Perhaps they believed it, but I don't believe God can be fooled about the things we've done. I'm glad we've all come to the Cross for forgiveness."

Maddie put her arm round Jessica. "Jessica, thanks ever so much for praying with me."

James raised his eyebrows, expecting to be told more, but realised this was something between Maddie and Jessica.

The man had wandered into the Egyptian Hall with them, but this time he kept much further away. He was bending down, pretending to examine the base of a large statue.

"I think he's guessed we've seen him," James said. "We could tell one of the attendants that we think he's taking too much interest in us."

Maddie pulled her red top tightly across her front. "I don't like him looking at us. I once had to tell someone's mother on the common about a man who was watching me all the time, and she phoned the police. But he disappeared before they came. We'll get taken seriously, I know we will."

"Let's not involve the police again," James said. "We've done everything we came for. We can easily lose him outside. The street will be busy."

They went down the white marble staircase and out through the main doors. James turned to see if they were being followed. As he turned, a large group of Japanese tourists coming up the steps almost knocked into him.

Maddie felt a snatch from behind as someone caught hold of the camera bag she had over her shoulder, but she held it tightly and shouted out.

As the Japanese tourists stopped to look, the man from the museum slipped away empty-handed. Maddie put the strap of her camera bag over her head and let it hang on the other side, as she remembered her mother doing years ago with her bag when they went abroad.

"Come on," Maddie said. "I think we should go back to yours, James, and forget about lunch in town."

The Two Jays agreed. At the next road junction there was no sign of the man.

"Perhaps it was all a mistake," Maddie said. "Perhaps he was only interested in the same exhibits as we were. He might have stumbled coming down the steps and only reached out to prevent himself falling."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" James said. "Did you get a photograph of him?"

Maddie slapped herself on the side of her head. "Daft, or what! Sorry, I didn't think of it. How stupid can I be!"

"None of us thought of it," Jessica said, anxious to defend Maddie. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, because he's gone now."

"He might be the man who broke into Maddie's house," James suggested.

"Well," Jessica said, putting a friendly arm round Maddie, "if we ever need to, I'm sure the three of us can give the police a good description of him."

"Hang on a minute," James said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and examined the screen. "Got him!" he said triumphantly. "I was photographing some displays of Roman swords and things. I didn't notice him at the time, but look, here he is in the background, looking at both of you. Clever, eh?"

"What do you suggest we do with the picture?" Maddie said. "It's not very clear."

"We could show it to the police," James suggested. "We could stop at the police station on the way home. They'll have the record of the break-in at your house. The man might be known to them."

Maddie shook her head. "Let's not. Even if he _is_ known to the police, it doesn't put him at the scene of the break-in. Besides, we should let sleeping dogs lie."

James frowned. "Sleeping dogs? What are you talking about, Maddie?"

"It's a saying, James," Jessica said. "It means don't go stirring up trouble unnecessarily. The dogs might wake up and bite you. You never know, the police might forget all about Maddie and her father, and then Maddie will be able to stay with us for the rest of the week."

"That," Maddie said, "is the best idea I've heard all day."

"I've been thinking," Jessica said. "Quiet, James. Thinking is something you probably know little about. It needs a superior brain."

"Okay," James said, "what crazy thought has your superior brain come up with?"

"I think the person who tried to snatch Maddie's camera is the person who sent the email asking for the pictures. Or an associate, anyway." Jessica paused for breath. "He may have followed us to see if we were taking the ostracon to the museum for safekeeping. And now he's worried that Maddie may have taken his photograph."

Maddie nodded. "But he won't know about James's phone. We need to get his picture printed. Then we can show it to the police, but only if we have to. There's a photo shop just round the corner. Really clever idea, Jessica. And I'm thinking the sooner we get the picture printed the better."

In the shop, James connected his phone to the monitor with Bluetooth, and as soon as the set of pictures was larger he could see much more detail. The man appeared in three separate photographs, not just the one he had seen originally, although the one taken through two display cabinets was hardly worth printing.

The woman behind the counter explained she was busy, and asked them to call back in an hour, when the pictures would be ready.

After some pleading by Jessica and Maddie, she agreed to give them a bit of priority, and they could call back in thirty minutes.

"I'm hungry anyway," James said. "Let's go and get something to eat."

The nearby coffee shop had various cakes and pastries, which Jessica declined, opting for a fruit smoothie and a baguette with Maddie. James had hot chocolate again, without added cream on top this time, as instructed by Jessica, and a large oatmeal bar with some sort of nuts inside, and a sweet gooey mess on top.

They chatted away, wondering whether there really was something sinister going on, or if it was all in their imaginations. Certainly Maddie's father hadn't phoned, and Maddie kept worrying that he was still waiting desperately for the pictures of the sour grapes ostracon, and hadn't realised the reason behind the test question, and the need to phone.

Maddie showed Jessica the photographs of the Roman pottery on her camera, and got so carried away talking about her father's work that Jessica suddenly realised that the time had gone on.

"We asked the woman to do them in thirty minutes, and now we're late. She's not going to be happy. Oh dear, I feel bad about it."

The woman in the photo shop frowned when Maddie handed over the slip with their reference number on it. "I thought you were in a rush," she said sharply. "Here they are. Not very good quality, but that's not my fault. You need a better camera."

They ignored the woman's rudeness and left the shop. Outside, Maddie said, "I just wish Papa was here. He probably knows who this man is. We need to go straight back to your house, James."

"This ought to be exciting," James said, "but I have to admit I'm worried. First Maddie's house gets broken into, and then we get locked down in the laboratory while someone up above seems to be searching for something."

"And I'm sure the man in your photos was watching us in the museum," Jessica added.

"Don't forget the email I got this morning, asking for photographs of the ostracon," Maddie added. "Oh, I do wish Papa was here." There were no tears this time, just genuine anxiety.

"Maybe the police have forgotten all about you," Jessica said. "Surely they know you're safe with us."

As they approached James's house, Maddie stopped and gave a little cry of alarm. "They haven't forgotten," she said. "There's a police car outside. And look, there's Papa sitting in the back!"

### Chapter 14

Constable Evans must have seen the three of them approaching, because she jumped quickly from the car as though she might lose them. "Miss Quedgley," she said crossly, "you were supposed to be here to see me."

"I'm sorry," Maddie said, "but we thought you were going to make an appointment. We've been into town to the museum. What's happening?"

"What's happening," the officer said, "is that I've had to call Mrs Cooper back from work, and she's not happy about it. She'll be here soon."

"What's Papa doing here?" Maddie asked.

"You mean Professor Quedgley?"

Maddie nodded. "Yes, Professor Quedgley _is_ my papa." She went to the car and looked in through the back window which was closed. "Papa, what's happened?" she said loudly. "Why are you here?"

James took his door key from his pocket and watched as Maddie helped her father out of the car. The Professor was a tall, thin man with curly silver hair that looked a bit of a mess. James wondered if it was always like that, but perhaps he had arrived in a bit of a rush, "Let's not wait for my mother," he said. "Let's go inside. I can see some of our neighbours looking out of their windows."

"Excellent idea," the officer said. "We can certainly wait for Mrs Cooper indoors. I take it she's your mother, er, James, isn't it?"

James said Mrs Cooper was his mother, and opened the front door, letting everyone come in, including Maddie who was holding closely onto her father's arm as though she hadn't seen him for months. Which, James thought, might actually be possible, but surely not this time.

James's mother arrived almost immediately, breathless and looking troubled. "What have you three been up to now?" she said. Then she noticed Maddie's father. "Oh, I didn't realise you were here, Professor Quedgley. Are you all right?"

"Perfectly all right thank you, Mrs Cooper," he said politely. "I couldn't get into my house and noticed that the lock was different. I had no idea what was going on, so I thought I would contact the police. Unfortunately the battery in my phone is dead, and I had to go to a public call box. And there aren't many of those around anymore. I was unable to phone Ammadine, as her number is on my phone, which of course I couldn't access. The police explained about the break-in at my house, and...." He spread his hands in a gesture of despair. "They told me Ammadine would be here, and, well, here I am. I'm just so glad my daughter is safe."

Police Constable Evans raised a hand as she tried to restore some order. "I was intending to come here to discuss your daughter's future, Professor Quedgley, due to your sudden disappearance. However, since you have now turned up unexpectedly, the situation will have to be reviewed. I have been in touch with Social Services, and they are insistent that Ammadine Quedgley, to use her full name, is not to be returned into your keeping yet."

"She can stay here with us for the rest of the week, can't she?" James said.

The officer raised her hand again. James wondered if perhaps she'd been used to controlling traffic. "Yes, while the situation is reviewed long term."

"But I want my daughter with me," Professor Quedgley protested. "I've been invited to the Roman excavation tomorrow at the village of Happlett Parva. Ammadine is coming with me for a few days."

The police officer shook her head. "Absolutely out of the question, until the whole situation has been reviewed."

"Roman?" Jessica said, looking up in excitement. "Can James and I take Maddie just for the day? It would really help me with my school project."

"Absolutely out of the question," the officer repeated.

"Would it be all right if Aunty Amy, that's Mrs Cooper, came with us?"

James's mother shook her head. "Sorry, Jessica, but I can't take the time off work. I shouldn't really have come here this afternoon, but my supervisor agreed it was an emergency."

At that moment the doorbell rang. Constable Evans looked up. "I wasn't expecting them," she said, "but that might be someone from Social Services."

"Then don't go to the door, Mum," James said. "They might go away."

His mother made a tutting noise of disapproval as she went to answer the door. "Yes, come in," everyone heard her say.

James, Jessica and Maddie looked at each other as they heard a man's voice in the hall. Then Maddie caught hold of Jessica's arm. "It's Pastor Griffiths," she said. "I'm sure it is."

Mrs Cooper showed the Pastor into the room. "I'm sorry to intrude," he said, "but news gets around. I've heard that Maddie could be in a spot of bother, and I've come to offer a solution."

"And you are?" Constable Laura Evans asked, sounding annoyed at the interruption.

"Pastor Peter Griffiths." He went forward to shake her hand as he introduced himself.

The officer refused his handshake. "I don't think there's much you can do just now, Pastor."

"Then I ask you to hear me out," the Pastor said. "In church yesterday, Maddie asked if my daughter Sarah could stay with her on any occasion her father has to go away. Sarah is seventeen and a very responsible girl."

"I don't think that would work," Police Constable Evans said, sounding a little more reasonable. "Technically, they are both minors if they are under eighteen."

Pastor Griffiths nodded. "And I don't think it would work either, and that's why I'm here."

Maddie frowned as she squeezed Jessica's arm tightly, but she said nothing.

"I've discussed the matter with my wife," the Pastor continued, "and the solution is obvious. We agreed that it would not be right for our daughter to stay in a large house overnight with Maddie, but the manse is open to Maddie whenever her father is away."

"Manse?" Constable Evans said, frowning.

"The manse is our family home. It's like a vicarage. We will care for her, make sure she attends school, is safe and properly fed. I trust that will be a satisfactory arrangement."

The officer was making notes on a pad. She looked up. "Yes, that _might_ be satisfactory. I will certainly make sure it gets considered by the authorities. They will of course need to come and review the accommodation. It is certainly something that I would support." She thought for a moment. "In the meantime, now that we've managed to locate Miss Quedgley's father and know that he is safe, I'm sure there will be no difficulties in Ammadine staying here with Mr and Mrs Cooper for a few more nights. That will give us time to evaluate all the possibilities."

Maddie stood up and gave her father a hug. "Does that mean I can go with Papa on the Roman dig?"

Police Constable Evans shook her head. "I'm sorry, but you must stay in town until everything is sorted. Just imagine what would happen if your father went off from the excavation without saying anything...." She paused. "Went off without warning, as he has just done, and become completely out of touch by phone again? There's no way we could risk such a situation happening, so far away from home."

"It's only twenty miles," Professor Quedgley said, as though that would make a difference.

"It simply isn't going to happen," the officer said. "This is a serious situation we have to resolve. You and your daughter are not to go out of town on your own. Go to your Roman excavation by all means, Professor Quedgley, but your daughter must stay here with Mr and Mrs Cooper. I have been told to inform you that she needs to be accompanied by a known adult at all times, or by both of you together." She pointed to James and Jessica. "Do you all understand?"

Professor Quedgley nodded, not looking at all happy.

"I'll be on my way now," Constable Evans said, snapping her notebook shut. "I have a full report to make, and I need to set up a meeting with Social Services." She turned to Maddie. "I'm sorry, Miss Quedgley, I know you're upset, but one day I'm sure you will look back and see that whatever decision we come to has been made for your own good. Believe me, I am on your side."

Everyone sat in stunned silence as Mrs Cooper showed the officer out.

"But I want to go with you to the dig, Papa," Maddie said quietly, as Mrs Cooper returned to the room. "It's not fair. And even if you don't go, I can't stay with you on my own." Tears started to form in her eyes. "No, Papa, it's not fair."

"And I wanted to see a real Roman excavation," Jessica said. "It would be great to write about it in my project, and I could take photographs and things."

"You can't take things," Maddie said, brightening up. "Everything that's found on a dig has to be carefully logged. Some quite valuable things turn up."

"I meant take photographs and notes," Jessica explained. "Fat chance of that now."

Pastor Griffiths turned to Mrs Cooper. "You'd better be going back to work," he said. "I can keep Maddie company here with her father."

James started frowning, and tried to speak. "I ... I ... it's ... you know...."

"Spit it out, James," Jessica said. "Is this another of your brilliant ideas?"

James nodded. "It might be. How about this? Maddie can be with her father, as long as Jessica and I are with her. Right? So how about we go to the Happlett Parva Roman excavation with Maddie and her father tomorrow? I think that's _fairly_ brilliant."

"And how are you going to get there?" his mother asked.

"Professor Quedgley can take us in his car. No, that's no good. The Professor doesn't have a car."

"Even if he did, Professor Quedgley is going to stay at the excavation site for the rest of the week," Mrs Cooper said. "How are the three of you going to get back here? There's no direct bus. You would have to change buses at least twice. No, sorry, it's not going to work. I'm sure the three of you will have a good time together for the rest of the half term. And don't forget, Maddie has to be with you at all times." She thought for a moment and smiled. "Jessica, I'm guessing you and Maddie can keep James in order."

James groaned. "Thanks, Mum. You really know how to hurt someone."

"If I may make a suggestion, Mrs Cooper," Pastor Griffiths said, "it was more or less agreed that my family would be suitable company for Maddie. Well, not exactly agreed, but it wasn't turned down."

"I'm sure the manse is a nice house," Jessica said, "but we don't want to stay indoors there for the rest of the week."

"Nor would I want you to, Jessica. I have a minibus for shipping people around for church needs. I could drop you at the excavation for a few hours, and pick you up later in the day."

Mrs Cooper was getting ready to go. "I'm not sure," she said. "It's one thing for the three of them to be on their own here, but in a strange place...." She shook her head. "No."

Pastor Griffiths smiled. "You didn't let me finish, Mrs Cooper. I'm going to let my daughter Sarah go with them. Believe me, she's well able to look after them. She works with the young people in church, she's full of common sense, and of course DBS checked."

"What's BDS checked?" James asked.

The Pastor nodded. "It's a police check for someone doing voluntary work with young people, to make sure they don't have a criminal record. I'm quite prepared to stay on the site all day, if you and your husband think it advisable."

Maddie jumped up in excitement. "Oh please, Aunty Amy, please say yes. I promise not to get lost or kidnapped."

Mrs Cooper nodded slowly. "I'm not saying yes, Maddie, but I'll talk it over with Uncle Clive this evening. Now, I really must be getting back to work. Goodbye, Pastor Griffiths, and thank you so much for calling in. I really believe God led you here this afternoon."

The Pastor nodded. "I think I have to agree."

Jessica clapped her hands. " _If_ we're going to the Roman excavation tomorrow, I'll make sure my phone is fully charged, so I can take loads of photographs."

"Talking of photographs," James said, feeling inside his jacket pocket for the prints they had just made, "Professor Quedgley, do you recognise this man?"

The Professor glanced at the photograph. "Where did you take this?" he asked quickly.

James was a bit taken aback by the tone Professor Quedgley used. "He was watching us in the museum, and we think he tried to grab Maddie's camera, although that might have been an accident."

Maddie explained about the email asking for photographs of the ostracon, and how her name had been spelt incorrectly.

"How would you spell Maddie, Papa?"

The Professor smiled. "Ammadine, I have no idea. I have never thought about it. I have never called you Maddie, and I certainly didn't send you that email."

"So what's going on, Professor Quedgley?" James asked. "Someone breaks into your house, someone sends a spoof email, and someone follows us in the museum. Is it the same person doing it? If so, why?"

Professor Quedgley shook his head. "This is bad," he said. "Very bad. I need to get straight back to my house."

### Chapter 15

Professor Quedgley got to his feet a little unsteadily. "Ammadine, I want you to come with me. You have the key."

"I can't, Papa. You heard what the police officer said."

"You can, if we go with you," Jessica said.

"And I'll take you all in the minibus," Pastor Griffiths added. "I'm parked opposite here."

Professor Quedgley nodded. "Much appreciated, Pastor. It's all been a bit hectic today, what with coming home and finding the lock changed and no sign of Maddie. Oh dear, I am sorry to see that man is here."

"The man in the photograph, Papa?" Maddie asked, helping her father on with his coat. "He didn't do anything to us. He was just watching."

"And are you sure he wasn't the man who locked you in the laboratory?"

"Definitely not him, Professor Quedgley," James and Jessica said at exactly the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

"It's not funny," Maddie said. "We might have been locked down there for days. But no, Papa, the man who came to the house had short fair hair, and he was much younger. Who is the man in the museum?"

Professor Quedgley took a deep breath. "It's all to do with the sour grapes ostracon. I strongly suspect he's closely connected to the man who's forging these things by altering old shards to make them potentially valuable. Possibly his brother."

Jessica put her hand up, out of habit from school, to ask a question. "Professor Quedgley, why would he need it back before you finished your tests?"

"Young lady," the Professor said, "that is a very good question indeed. He knows that as soon as I officially pronounce it a fake, there will be no market for it, apart from as a small value curio. If he can get it back, he might be able to find someone else to authenticate it as genuine. Someone less well qualified than I am. So, Pastor Griffiths, the sooner we get to my house the better. I need to know it is still there."

The house looked as creepy as ever to James as they drew up outside, even though he'd been inside and knew there were no bodies in the basement. Everyone was relieved to see the front door was still locked.

"Papa," Maddie said, returning from a quick look round at the back of the house to make sure there were no open windows, "as soon as you get back from the excavation, I want you to fit an alarm. If I'm going to be staying with Sarah Griffiths at the manse when you're away, I want to know that the house is secure, for your sake and mine. Do you understand?"

"Ammadine," Professor Quedgley said, "I understand exactly. Until now I had never thought anyone would want to get in here. And I don't think anybody would, if someone wasn't trying to recover the ostracon. Open the door, Maddie, and please give me the spare key, or I won't be able to come and go without bothering the locksmith."

After a long check in every room, including Maddie's bedroom in the turret, Professor Quedgley seemed satisfied that they were alone. He said he wanted to go though an inventory of every item of importance, so Maddie had better be running along with James, Jessica, Sarah and Pastor Griffiths.

"I'm just going up to my room to get a few more things," Maddie said.

"I'm surprised there are any more things still to get from her room," James commented to Jessica as Maddie ran up the wide stairs that led to the spiral staircase to the turret. "It must be ever so small. How did she even get a bed in there?"

"It's not as small as it looks from the garden," Jessica explained. "It goes back into the roof space a bit, so it's more like a proper room, with the turret windows at the front. But it's still small."

"It doesn't sound as though I'd get all _my_ stuff in there then," James said. "And it must be freezing in the winter."

"I'm sure Maddie is able to move down to the middle floor if she's cold," Jessica said. "Stop worrying about her."

"Well I _do_ worry about her." James pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. "If it wasn't for my quick reactions at the main road, she would have been.... Well, you know. And then she let us get locked down in the laboratory by leaving the key in the basement door. That girl is a walking liability. I know she was only joking about being kidnapped when I caught hold of her and pulled her back, but I can see it happening. I really can."

Maddie came jumping down the stairs, three steps at a time, a large bag in each hand.

James turned away. He didn't want to witness a catastrophe if Maddie fell headlong down the stairs. He heard her land safely in the hallway and he breathed a sigh of relief. And to think he and Jessica were going to be responsible for her sometimes!

### Chapter 16

Jessica woke early again the next morning, relieved to hear Maddie breathing steadily on the folding camp bed. It would have been bad if she'd gone off on her own again, especially if the police found out.

She smiled to herself as she recalled how Uncle Clive had read the riot act to Maddie last evening. He had pointed out that Maddie could end up in serious trouble if she disobeyed any instructions from him or Aunty Amy, or from the police, or from anybody else in authority.

Maddie had almost been reduced to tears, although Jessica knew her uncle well enough to see that he was only putting on a show of strictness to make sure Maddie understood how serious things were. She loved her uncle and aunt, and of course enjoyed sharing holidays with them and with James. She and James had certainly been through a few adventures, getting stuck in a cave or a tunnel or somewhere unpleasant. And now in a basement laboratory with the power off and no means of escape!

Meanwhile, Maddie continued her steady breathing, her head almost hidden under the duvet. It was time to wake her. They could talk together quietly, without James butting in, or making what he thought were helpful suggestions. She had a feeling that Maddie, being an only child with just one parent, didn't really understand families joking together. Especially not James's idea of humour.

"Maddie," Jessica whispered. Then much louder, " _Maddie!_ "

There was no sign of movement under the duvet, so Jessica put a leg out from under her own duvet and gave the camp bed a shake.

"What?" Maddie sat up quickly, her dark hair over her eyes like a sheepdog. "What is it? Who's coming?"

"It's okay," Jessica said soothingly, realising she had woken Maddie a bit too quickly. "I thought we could talk for a bit. We won't be having breakfast for ages."

Maddie groaned and lay down again, pulling the duvet right over her head. "Okay, but give me five."

In his own room, James was already awake, and had finished reading a short passage in his Bible. It was amazing how they'd met Maddie on what could have been a rather boring half term here at home with Jessica. No dark caves to explore, no tight passages to get caught in, and no Hound of the Baskervilles. [See _The Midnight Farm Adventure_ and the other _Two Jays Stories_.] Instead, it was agreed that they could go to Happlett Parva for the day, because it was right out in the open and completely safe.

"It's been good meeting Maddie," he prayed aloud. "I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't met her -- assuming she hadn't been flattened by the truck. Would someone have broken into her house when she was there sleeping on her own? Thank You, Jesus, for using us to help protect her."

He heard a bump from the spare room which was next to his, and guessed that Jessica and Maddie were now awake. He finished praying and slipped out of bed and got dressed in old clothes, ready for the excavation at the Roman site. He felt glad for Jessica, that she would be able to get real hands-on material for her school project.

He sat on the side of the bed again. "And please, Lord, please let us all be safe today in everything we do."

He wasn't sure why he said that. Perhaps something dangerous was going to happen again. Well, they were now in the Lord's hands.

In spite of waking early, breakfast seemed to be a bit of a rush. Maddie was wearing old jeans and a dark green top, and James almost didn't recognise her without her bright colours. It was clear she had been on excavations before. Jessica would have done the same, but hadn't brought any old clothes with her.

Jessica watched with interest to see if James would use the butter knife to get the marmalade out of the jar, but he winked at her as he used the spoon. She smiled to herself. Perhaps James was trying to impress Maddie with his good manners.

Pastor Griffiths drove up at nine on the dot in the church minibus, as promised. Sarah was already in the back. All they had to do now was collect Professor Quedgley, and they would be on their way to Happlett Parva, not much more than a forty minute drive away.

James waved goodbye to his mother, who had stayed home until they were safely on their way. He smiled to the others. He felt happy. Maddie was still free, Jessica was going to get her photographs and take notes at a Roman excavation, and he was just going to watch. Or maybe do a bit of digging. Maybe even find a Roman hoard of gold. What could possibly go wrong?

Professor Quedgley was ready on time, perhaps surprisingly, James thought. He had a suitcase with him. Apparently he wasn't camping at Happlett Parva, but staying in the village.

James rubbed his hands in excitement. "Come on, Happlett Parva, let's hope we dig up some huge dinosaur skeletons!" He realised everyone in the back was staring at him. "What? It's a Roman site. That was a joke."

"Just ignore him, Maddie," Jessica said quietly. "It's better that way."

The excavation was in a large field on level ground above a steep valley. Dense woodland and undergrowth covered the side of the valley below the field, leading down to a small river far below. A farm track led to the field, which Pastor Griffiths was confident the minibus would manage easily, and it indeed did, although everyone got thrown around in the back..

After the bumpy ride, they arrived safely at the excavation site. Professor Quedgley jumped out from the front passenger seat and began to shake hands with some of the people there. He was obviously well known.

The Two Jays, with Maddie and Sarah, stood by the side of the minibus, taking in the site. There were tents of all shapes and sizes at the far end of the field. Nearer, was a large enclosure with a shower, and two portable toilets called Portaloos. Maddie explained that two of the older team members who didn't like camping would be staying in the village with her father.

A large rectangle had been marked out, and in several parts of the ground the grass and topsoil had been removed. The young men and women who had greeted Professor Quedgley had returned to work and were busy on their hands and knees, clearing areas that had been marked out inside small squares using tape and pegs.

James was surprised to see how painfully slow the work must be. Thin layers of the soil were being carefully scraped away and brushed, and the occasional piece of broken pottery photographed before being removed and logged on a clipboard.

As he looked up at the clouds, he noticed two large birds circling high above. "Are they eagles?" he asked Maddie. "You know a lot about birds."

Maddie shook her head. "There aren't any eagles around here. They're buzzards. You can tell by the pale band under their wings. But they're still large birds of prey, although not as big as eagles. As soon as one of them sees a mouse or any small mammal or bird moving in the grass, it will drop onto it like a stone."

Jessica pulled a face. "That's not nice."

Professor Quedgley had been listening. "It is, if you're a buzzard and you're hungry," he said. "If you're very quiet, you can sometimes hear they make a mewing noise like a cat."

"You're just in time, Professor," one of the team said, coming up to Professor Quedgley before he could say anything more about the buzzards. "Last week we unearthed a burial, and Ethan has already exposed much of the skeleton. My guess is it's a member of the household from the building we've discovered. Come and see."

James wasn't sure if the invitation was for all of them, or just for the Professor. He turned to Jessica. "There you are, I told you there'd be skeletons this holiday. Let's go and see."

Jessica hung back. "You said the skeletons would be in the basement of Maddie's house. So you're wrong."

James dragged his cousin by the hand to where the Professor was staring into a shallow trench. "Anyway, how do you know there _aren't_ any skeletons in Maddie's basement? We haven't looked properly yet."

The bones of an intact adult lay exposed to the light. Whoever it was, the body must have been deliberately buried there, judging by the way the skeleton was laid out. The skull had its mouth wide open, revealing missing teeth. The hands and much of the arms were still lightly covered in brown soil, but the ribs and legs had been completely cleared.

"Over here, Maddie," James called out. "And you too, Sarah. This is amazing."

A young man with short fair hair had his back to them. He was on his hands and knees in the shallow grave, brushing loose soil from the ribs. He turned and looked up. "Don't I know you?" he said, scrambling to his feet. Then his face fell. "Oh."

Maddie pointed at him. " _You!_ "

"Yes, _you!_ " Jessica said. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Sorry?"

Jessica pointed a finger at the young man. "You locked us in the basement in Professor Quedgley's house on Sunday!" she said loudly, bringing everyone to that part of the excavation to see what all the noise was about.

### Chapter 17

"You've got a nerve, coming here," Maddie said.

Professor Quedgley put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "What's going on, Ammadine?"

"Get the police," Maddie told him. "Quickly, Papa. This is the man who came to search our house, and locked us down in the laboratory."

The Professor shook his head and smiled. "This is Ethan," he said. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ammadine, but I am quite sure you're mistaken."

The young fair-haired man, now known as Ethan, climbed out of the grave and brushed his hands on the coveralls he was wearing. "Your daughter is partly right, sir. I did indeed call at your house on Sunday morning."

"I know you did," Maddie said. " _And_ you were up to no good, so don't deny it."

Ethan shook his head. "I think you're confused. As I told you at the time, I came to see if Professor Quedgley was there."

Professor Quedgley frowned. "I don't understand, Ethan. Why were you hoping to see me?"

Maddie nodded. "Yes, why were you there?"

Ethan laughed, a slightly uneasy laugh. "I'm sorry, Professor Quedgley, but I was in the area, and was hoping to discuss a case with you. I should have made an appointment first."

Maddie hadn't finished. "You said you were looking for a folder."

The young man shrugged. "I think you are confused. I was hoping to see the Professor."

James had been listening, looking for signs of guilt in Ethan's eyes. Time to take the plunge. "And when we were in the basement, you slammed the front door pretending to leave, and then we heard you come back and you locked us downstairs. You can't deny that."

Ethan looked puzzled, or perhaps pretended to look puzzled. James wasn't sure which. The young man broke into a sort of smile. "You're wrong. I left as soon as I knew the Professor wasn't there. But I can guess what happened. Just as I was going out of the door a woman was coming up the steps. She had a bucket of cleaning stuff with her. She said she was the cleaner. The door wasn't locked, and she pushed it open and went in. And I went on my way."

"But we don't have a cleaner," Maddie protested. "You're lying."

"Ammadine, that's quite enough. I'm sure I can trust Ethan, although it does seem strange that he was there expecting to see me."

"Papa, he said he'd come to collect a folder, not to see you. He's definitely lying."

Ethan had gone red in the face. "You surely can't hold me responsible for anything the cleaner did after I left."

"We don't _have_ a cleaner," Maddie repeated. "We could hear your heavy footsteps moving around overhead. It was you!"

Ethan seemed to have control of the situation. "The cleaner, or the woman claiming to be the cleaner, was quite large. I'm sure her feet would have sounded heavy. My only regret is that I didn't go back in to make sure you were safe."

The Professor laid a hand gently on his daughter's shoulder. "Calm down, Ammadine. Ethan's account sounds perfectly sensible to me. What I have to do now is to think of a woman who answers that description, who might have reason to search my house. It will be to do with the sour grapes ostracon, I'm certain. Now leave Ethan alone. He has important work to do here, excavating this grave. The wind is getting up, and it may rain later. He needs to get on with it."

Jessica signalled to James and Maddie to go with her to a small barn, roofed with corrugated sheeting. Inside, she could see trestle tables with various finds laid out on them. Cards showed a grid reference indicating the exact spot in which each one was found.

"A barn like this is really handy on a dig," Maddie said as they went inside. "Just the place to keep the finds safe from the weather, and to come to shelter if it rains."

"No gold," James said, scanning the tables quickly. "That's a shame."

Maddie shook her head. "Archaeology is about discovering the past, not treasure. You're confusing it with treasure hunting. This is a professional dig."

"Never mind that," Jessica said impatiently. "What are we going to do about Ethan? Hands up if you think he's guilty."

James's hands hovered halfway up and halfway down.

Jessica looked at him in amazement. "It _has_ to be Ethan. Didn't you see how red he was in the face with embarrassment at seeing us here? This is probably the last place he expected to bump into us."

"Oh, I think he's guilty," Maddie said. "I didn't bother to put my hand up, because it seemed so obvious that he locked us in the laboratory. How about you, James?"

"I'd be red in the face if I was on my hands and knees digging away. Probably guilty, but his story of the cleaner did sound convincing."

"No it didn't," Maddie said. "We don't _have_ a cleaner."

"Yes," James said, thinking hard, "but he wouldn't have known that. A cleaner would be perfect cover for someone who wanted to search the house. Although I have to admit it was a pretty clever excuse to make up on the spot."

"Huh," Maddie said, "he's had two days to think of it. Anyway, I'm not going to let him out of my sight. I just _know_ the man is guilty. Folder, my foot! He was looking for that ostracon."

"What about the man in the museum?" James asked. "I thought you said _he_ was the guilty one."

"James," Jessica said, "don't be so argumentative. What do we do next, Maddie?"

"I told you, I'm going to keep an eye on Ethan. That man has guilt written all over him."

"Just be careful," Jessica warned. "We don't want archaeologists digging up _your_ skeleton in this field in two thousand years from now!"

### Chapter 18

"Drop it, Buster!"

They turned in surprise to see an older woman chasing after a small white dog with brown patches on its ears and back.

"Drop it, I said, Buster. Drop it!"

The dog had a black knitted hat in its mouth, and was starting to chew it.

"Bad dog, Buster," the woman said.

The dog dropped the hat and tipped its head on one side, managing to look completely innocent.

The woman retrieved the hat, laughing as she turned and saw Maddie and the Two Jays watching. "Go off with anything, Buster would. Never saw a dog like him. He's a Jack Russell Terrier. This one's good at taking things, but not always good at bringing them back."

James laughed. "Keep him away from the skeleton, then. Dogs love bones. I'm James. This is my cousin Jessica, and this is Professor Quedgley's daughter, Maddie."

"Welcome to the Happlett Parva dig. Your father phoned me here yesterday evening, Maddie, and told me you were coming. I'm Lucy, by the way. Dr Lucy Grainger. I'm in charge of this dig. At least, I'm supposed to be. Buster seems to have other ideas." And she laughed. She sounded pleasant and welcoming. She smiled and pointed at them. "How did you all get here? I know Professor Quedgley doesn't have a car."

"We came in the minibus with my Pastor and his daughter Sarah," Maddie explained. She looked around. "Hey, where is Sarah? She ought to come and look at these finds with us."

"I was hoping to see gold," James said. "Didn't the Romans bury gold with the dead?"

Dr Grainger nodded. "Quite often, James. We're expecting to find a few items of jewellery with the body in the grave. Most burials contain some prized possessions. But that's not what archaeology is all about."

"See?" Jessica said. "That's what Maddie told you. You weren't listening."

"Yes I was," James protested, "but it's always worth asking the question. I think we ought to find Sarah. She's supposed to be looking after us, not us looking after her."

Jessica was bending down, patting Buster on the head. "Keep away from the bones, Buster," she said. Then she looked up. "You're right, we ought to get Sarah to come to the barn and look at the finds. I'm sure she'll find them interesting."

They found Sarah behind the minibus, deep in conversation with her father and Professor Quedgley. The Professor was pointing to various parts of the dig, and seemed to be really enjoying himself as he explained things.

He looked up as the three approached. "Finding it interesting here, I trust."

Jessica nodded, then turned to Sarah. "Come and see what's in the barn," she said. "I don't know much about it, but it's amazing to think it was all hidden in the ground for nearly two thousand years. Is it all right if I take photographs for my project, Professor Quedgley? This will be something amazing to include. I've already taken photographs at the Roman exhibition in the museum in town. Well, Maddie took them actually, but that won't matter."

The Professor seemed interested to hear of Jessica's project. "You'll have to check with Lucy Grainger."

"We've already met her. I'll go and ask."

Dr Grainger listened to Jessica, and said, "Sorry, I can't let you put anything online without permission. Especially not photographs of people."

"This isn't an illegal dig, is it?" The words came out of Jessica's mouth before she could stop them.

Lucy Grainger laughed. "No, of course not, Jessica. We have full permission from the landowner and all the relevant authorities. It's just that most people on the dig want to have some control over where their pictures are published. And when we do publish the official report, we want to do it exclusively."

"Oh, I'm not publishing them, I'm putting them in my project book. Not actually sticking them on paper, but pasting them onto the pages in my computer."

Dr Grainger laughed. "I'm sorry, I overreacted. Yes, of course you can take as many photographs as you want, and I'm sure no one is going to mind being in the pictures in your project. I'll let them know what's happening."

Jessica pulled her phone from the pocket of her jeans. "I'm going to start with the skeleton. I might be able to get another photograph before we leave, showing a before-and-after part of the excavation."

Jessica was proud of the camera on her phone. The high resolution had already helped them catch two people committing a crime. [See _The Midnight Farm Adventure_.]

Her first photograph of the excavation showed James and Sarah watching a young woman sifting soil with a metal sieve. The camera was set to make a small electronic click to show that the picture had been taken, but the wind was now blowing quite strongly, and they didn't hear.

She went past them to where the skeleton was being excavated. Without saying anything, she took a picture of the back of Ethan who was gently clearing more earth from the bones.

Ethan must have heard the click, because he turned angrily and jumped to his feet. "No photographs," he said, trying to block Jessica's view. "You and your friends are trying to make trouble for me. You surely don't think I locked you down in the laboratory. I've told you, it must have been your cleaner."

Sarah Griffiths had been attracted by the shouting. Professor Quedgley came with her.

"Please," the Professor said, "I do hope you young people are going to behave yourselves. Leave Ethan alone to get on with his work. I've already told you, it may rain later and he needs to get as much work done as he can before we have to cover the grave."

Sarah took Maddie by the hand and signalled to James and Jessica to go with her. "I still haven't looked in the old barn, Maddie. I'm sure you'll be able to tell me much more about the finds. That's what comes of having a famous archaeologist for a father."

Jessica seemed reluctant to go with them. "I'd like to stay here and watch for a bit," she said, her phone still in her hand. "Won't be long."

"We'll wait with you," Sarah said. "Let's stay together."

James watched with interest as his cousin held the phone, used her fingers to zoom in on the screen, and took a couple of quick pictures. The electronic clicks from the camera alerted Ethan who had gone back to unearthing the arms and hands of the skeleton. He spun round quickly in the trench, and his knee pressed on one of the ribs. It broke with a sharp crack.

"Now look what you've made me do," he shouted. "Just keep away and mind your own business."

Dr Grainger heard Ethan. She hurried over. "Now look, all four of you, this is a serious archaeological dig. Please, if you are to remain here, you must not interfere with any of my team. Do you understand?"

They all nodded. Sarah Griffiths, being the oldest in the group, turned red with embarrassment. Jessica felt sorry for her. After all, she was the one who was being shouted at, not Sarah. She linked arms with Sarah. "Please, you don't need to feel bad about it, but I especially wanted to take those photographs."

The three looked at her in interest, but Jessica shook her head. "Later," she promised. "I need to go somewhere out of the bright light and enlarge the pictures on my screen."

"The barn," James said. "Come on, share. You're up to something. I can tell."

Jessica shook her head. "Not yet. I don't want to accuse Ethan of something again."

Maddie tried to look at the phone, but Jessica was already slipping it back into her jeans.

"Come on, Jessica, tell us," Maddie said pleadingly. "Have you suddenly got proof that Ethan is the one who locked us down in the laboratory?"

James shook his head. "How could a picture of Ethan working on the skeleton possibly be proof that he locked us down in the laboratory?"

"I didn't say it could," Jessica said, turning away to go to the old barn.

"Then what's on the photographs you've just taken?" James demanded.

Jessica gave a mysterious and infuriating grin. "I don't know yet. Come on, Maddie, tell us more about these things they've dug up, and I can use my phone to record what you say, and type it up later."

### Chapter 19

James watched Maddie laughing and joking with Jessica and Sarah in the barn. The closest he had to a sister was Jessica, and as far as he knew Maddie didn't have any young female relatives at all. Although Sarah was a lot older than Maddie, it looked as though Maddie had found the nearest thing to a sister she was likely to get.

He thought of Philip at school who had an older sister, and he was always complaining she was a nightmare. He wondered if girls got on better together, and Sarah did seem to be particularly friendly. And there was no family tie between Maddie and Sarah, which probably made a difference.

He watched while Maddie pointed to various bits of pottery, and to small pieces of metal that looked like dirty bronze. Most of the pottery was broken into what Maddie referred to as shards. Jessica kept taking photographs on her phone, and getting Maddie to speak into it.

James clenched his fists. If only he could get a look at the pictures Jessica had taken of Ethan. Or was it the skeleton that Jessica wanted in the pictures? Or both?

He left the three girls alone, and wandered back to the dig. To his surprise, Ethan had disappeared. He walked over to have another look at the skeleton, and took out his own phone. His friends at school would be interested in seeing the bones.

He frowned as he looked at the grave. Something was different. Yes, he knew what it was. Why had Ethan done that? He stood back and took a couple of photographs on his phone, realising that he was looking at what had once been a real person. Was it rude to stare? Was this a father? A mother? This person had probably started life as a little baby right here in Happlett Parva, or whatever it was called back then, living under the Roman rule in England. He or she had grown up, and somehow had ended up----

"Are you coming or not, James?" Jessica called from the barn. "Maddie knows ever such a lot about all these things, and you're missing it all."

James walked back towards the barn. "I don't understand it. Ethan had nearly uncovered both arms and hands when we looked earlier, and now they're covered up again. And he's disappeared."

"Disappeared where?" Jessica asked. "That's very mysterious."

Maddie had come out of the barn and joined them. When she heard how the hands and arms had been covered again, she glanced up at the sky. "The wind is stronger now, but it still doesn't look as though it's about the rain, but you never know. They can cover the important parts of the dig with large tarpaulins to keep the rain off, like they do with a cricket pitch. Archaeology is all about preserving the past, not poking around at it for fun."

James slipped his phone back into his pocket. Ethan suddenly disappearing had obviously made Jessica suspicious, but he might only have gone to one of the Portaloos. After all, archaeologists were people with natural needs. And thinking about natural needs, he said, "I'm hungry. I can't see a refreshment tent. What happens here at lunchtime?"

Without him seeing, Dr Grainger had come up behind. "Hungry already, James? If you want to eat here, young man, you've got to earn it."

James grinned. "Happy to help. What d'you want us to do?"

"Us?" Jessica said. "James, you're the one who's hungry." She looked up at Dr Grainger. "Yes, of course we'll help. It will be great to say in my project that I've had practical experience on an excavation. What do you suggest?"

"I'm afraid I can't give you any skilled work to do," Dr Grainger said. "Most of my team are university students, and they understand the basics. I'm sure you appreciate that information can easily be lost through enthusiastic work by untrained workers. A hundred years ago archaeologists used to turn up with pickaxes and spades, and just dig down to see what they could find. Much of their work wasn't even written up, and many valuable finds disappeared into private collections. Important sites were ruined and information lost for ever, although they went about their work with the best of intentions of course."

"Then what can I do?" Jessica asked.

"I suggest you carry on as you are with your school project, and Maddie here will be able to fill you in with some of the details of what you're photographing. Don't forget to make notes as you go. You can't have a famous archaeologist as a father without knowledge and enthusiasm rubbing off on you. Isn't that right, Maddie?"

Maddie nodded, and smiled proudly. "Papa has taught me a lot about archaeology, especially about fakes and forgeries. That's what he does most of the time." She laughed. "Investigating them, I mean, not making them!"

Jessica bit her bottom lip, wondering whether to say anything. At last she made up her mind. "Dr Grainger, Ethan was really cross when I took a photograph of him with the skeleton. Is he part of your team?"

"Ethan? He's not at the University, but he's very keen to help. Tags along at excavations all over the country, I believe. He's a willing worker, but not a trained archaeologist, although his work is meticulous. I'm sorry to admit that we tend to take advantage of his willingness, and give him some of the more arduous jobs to do. I'll have a word."

"Thank you," Jessica said. "It wasn't very nice being shouted at, but I don't want to make a fuss about it."

"I'll make it clear to him that I've given you full permission to take photographs around the site for a school project, but not for publication. Don't forget, if you want to share anything online, you'll need to send me the pictures you want to use." She turned around to where the skeleton was being excavated. "I've not seen Ethan for some time. Have any of you seen him?"

James said, "I went back to the grave a few minutes ago, and he wasn't there then."

"Not to worry," Dr Grainger said cheerfully. "Everyone is entitled to a break. It's hard work being on your hands and knees all day. I should know, I've done a lot of it in my time. Still do, when necessity calls. Oh, and James, lunch will be here soon. The café in the village brings it up promptly at twelve thirty. And don't look so worried. As soon I heard you were all coming today with Professor Quedgley, we ordered enough for everyone. Ah, here comes Ethan. Ethan, how's things?"

"Okay," Ethan muttered. "I had something to do. I'm going to carry on now. I'll soon have the left hand uncovered. Come and watch, Dr Grainger. I'm sure you'll find it interesting."

Ethan turned to Jessica, "Sorry I shouted at you just now, girl. My back was aching. Come and take all the pictures you want." He laughed, but pulled a face as though in pain. "As long as you don't expect me to be smiling in them. My back's been playing up rotten all morning. Yes, carry on, girl. Feel free to take as many pictures as you want."

Jessica didn't like Ethan calling her "girl", but she let it go. It was okay when James did it in fun. "Thanks." She looked around. "Has anybody seen Buster lately?"

"He'll be down in the woods," Dr Grainger said. "Chasing after rabbits probably. Spends most of his time down there. One of the students brought him, and it's not really a good idea to have a dog when you're digging in the ground. Well, not a good idea if he wants to join in."

Maddie called Sarah across. "It looks as though your father and mine are having a deep discussion about something. Come with us and watch Ethan uncover more of the skeleton. And he's said I can take photographs."

Ethan was already kneeling in the grave by the time they got there. "It's definitely a woman," he said. "You can tell by the shape of the pelvis now I've uncovered more of it."

"If it's a woman," James said, "does that mean she'll be wearing jewellery?"

Ethan looked surprised. "I expect so. Not found any yet. Just a few small items of pottery which were buried with her. Let's see if she's got anything in her hand." He looked up at Jessica. "Ready with the camera, girl?"

Jessica muttered in annoyance at being addressed like that again, but she crouched down and took a couple of pictures as Ethan began to brush soil from the left hand. It came off surprisingly easily.

She walked round to the feet and took vertical photographs showing the whole length of the grave, with Ethan holding his brush. He now seemed happy to pose.

Jessica noticed Maddie standing in silence, staring at the skeleton of the woman, deep in thought. She wondered what was going through Maddie's mind. Perhaps she was wondering if this woman had been a mother, too, and maybe had brought up a small girl, but like her own mother had died before the girl had grown up. She noticed tears in the corners of Maddie's eyes, and decided to leave her alone for now.

Ethan soon unearthed the whole hand, exposing a bronze ring with a red stone on the long finger. He pointed to it as he posed for a picture. "I have to leave it there for the moment, until it's been properly recorded. Let's see what's on the other side." He moved across, being careful this time not to kneel on any of the ribs. Once again he cleared the soil, revealing a wrist with a bronze bangle, and two bronze rings on the fingers.

Ethan smiled. "Not gold, but that's not what we're here for. Jewellery made of any metal can tell us a lot about the household and the status of the woman wearing it."

The Two Jays, Maddie and Sarah watched in fascination, although James felt progress was disappointingly slow. Half an hour later, an estate car came bumping along the track, and Dr Grainger called out, "Lunch in ten minutes, everyone. Time to get cleaned up."

James started towards the old barn where he guessed the food would be served, but Jessica held him back. "And where do you think you're going?"

"For food, of course."

Jessica tutted and shook her head. "I think we should be last in line. Everyone else has been working hard all morning. They deserve to eat. All we've been doing is hanging around, watching everyone else working."

"It's the fresh air that's made me hungry, not work. Now where are you going, Jessica?" James said, as Jessica made her way towards the barn. "No pushing in."

Jessica turned. "I just want to have another look at the photographs on my screen out of the daylight. I want to compare the pictures I've just taken with the one I took when we arrived. There's something odd going on, but I don't know what. There's something Ethan didn't want me to see earlier. You hold on out here."

"She's checking her pictures," James explained to Maddie and Sarah. "That's a really good camera on her phone. She took some amazing pictures at Easter when we were down in Cornwall staying at Midnight Farm. She never could have done that with a phone like mine. But she's up to something. I can always tell when Jessica has some harebrained idea in her head. Right, I think it's time for us to join the back of the queue for lunch."

### Chapter 20

Dr Grainger was right when she said she'd ordered plenty of food. There were enough baguettes, individual meat and vegetarian pies, crisps and fresh fruit for everyone, with plenty left over for anyone who felt hungry during the afternoon. James thought he might be one of them.

Jessica was surprised Ethan had not bothered to wash his hands before eating. Although the grave was nearly two thousand years old, it was surely a good idea to clean up before handling food. Well, it was Ethan's problem.

The four sat together on one of the benches in the barn, and Jessica noticed that Maddie's father and Pastor Griffiths were still deep in conversation. She hoped they were sorting out something good for Maddie's future, something that would satisfy the police and Social Services and allow her to remain with her father when he was home, and stay at the manse when he was away.

She wished she had an older sister like Sarah, but it was okay being an only child. The nearest she had to a sibling was James, and although they got on really well, they only saw each other in the holidays, and on family occasions. Her hope was that one day the families would live much closer together.

Maddie leaned over. "Can I have a look at the pictures you've taken?" she asked.

"Of course."

Maddie took the phone and switched to the photo gallery. She looked closely at the screen, pulling up the photographs of the grave and examining each one closely. Shaking her head, she switched it off and handed it back to Jessica.

"What's the mystery?" Maddie asked. "It's something to do with Ethan, isn't it?"

Jessica nodded. "I have a feeling there's something significant on those pictures, but for the life of me I can't see what it is." She slipped the phone into her pocket. "I'll be back soon," she said. "Going to have another look at the grave, while Ethan is busy eating his lunch."

"Don't fall in," James said. "One body down there is quite enough for anyone to look at."

Jessica didn't turn round as she walked away, although she obviously heard. She lifted her right hand and waved backwards. Then she was out of sight.

James turned to the others. "I've been asked to sift through the soil they've been digging out. Although everything should be examined as each layer is removed, odd things slip through." He smiled. "But they won't slip through the sieve."

Maddie and Sarah were deep in conversation, and seemed to have missed his attempt at humour. "Oh well, I'll leave you to it. Some of us have to work off our lunch."

The two girls nodded, and carried on talking. James guessed they had a lot to talk about, with the future to be planned. Then he noticed Sarah place a hand on Maddie's shoulder, and they bowed their heads and closed their eyes.

James smiled to himself. Jessica had already told him how she'd prayed with Maddie the first night, and now it looked as though Maddie was opening up with one of the youth leaders from her church.

The afternoon passed surprisingly quickly for James. He sieved through a small mountain of excavated soil without finding anything other than small stones. When he'd finished, he went to have another look at the skeleton, but Ethan wasn't there. Well, he'd seen enough bones for the day, and it was time to move on.

On one of the larger excavated areas, two young women were clearing the outline of what had once been a building.

James watched in fascination as they gently brushed soil from part of a mosaic pavement. Many of the small coloured tiles were missing, but enough remained to show the figure of a woman standing with her hands held out.

"Is this a picture of the woman who's in the grave?" he asked, and then he realised that he'd asked a stupid question, as though this was some ancient form of photography.

The older of the two students smiled, but it was surely an understanding smile. "We think this could have been her house, but this looks like the representation of a Roman goddess. There was no big settlement here, we're sure of that. We've done ground penetrating radar scans. The only building we could find was the house we're excavating here."

"Any more graves?"

"Possibly. We'll be back for the whole summer vacation. The radar scan has shown up a few more areas of interest, but no more buildings. So it's more than likely that the woman in the grave lived right here, and had often walked across this mosaic."

"So the woman was a Roman?"

"Not necessarily," the older student said. "The Romans first occupied Britain in 43 AD, under Emperor Claudius. Over time the inhabitants of the country would have adopted Roman ways of living. This site probably dates from three hundred years or so after the invasion. We're hoping to determine a more accurate date when we've done carbon dating on the bones in the grave."

James looked around, trying to imagine what this area looked like nearly two thousand years ago. The woodland on the steep side of the hill, all the way down to the river, would have been the same, although it was unlikely that any of the trees would be that old. They probably kept seeding themselves. The woodland didn't look to be cared for, even today, with lots of undergrowth. The field would have been part of a farm that the family used to support themselves. It must have been a hard life back then, although he knew that in many parts of the world life was still hard today.

"We'll be leaving soon," Pastor Griffiths called to James. "Can you get everyone together?"

James looked around. He could see Jessica and Sarah talking. No sign of Maddie. "Have you seen Maddie?" he called to them.

Jessica shook her head. "She was around here after lunch. I thought she might be with you."

"Probably in the barn," Sarah said. "I expect she's examining the finds again."

"She's not in here," Dr Lucy Grainger called from the entrance. "Just Ethan, having a rest."

Pastor Griffiths came across to where they were standing. "Let's not be worried at this stage," he said calmly, "but when did any of you last see Maddie?"

"Not recently," James said. "I sieved some soil, then I went to see what was happening with the skeleton. Ethan wasn't there, so I moved on to some of the other excavations. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Maddie for ages."

Jessica said, "Last time I saw Maddie she was with you in the barn, Sarah. You were talking together on one of the benches."

"We didn't talk for long," Sarah said. "Maddie saw some large bird circling around near the woods. I think she went to investigate. She thought it might be a raven. No idea where she went after that. Sorry. We'd better check all the excavations. And the Portaloos."

"She won't have gone far," Pastor Griffiths said. "Professor, you and I were together most of the afternoon, but you might have seen your daughter talking to someone."

Professor Quedgley shook his head. "I'm sure she's come to no harm."

Dr Lucy Grainger must have heard what they were discussing, because she came across. "I've not seen Maddie for some time, either." She sounded worried. "But she can't have simply disappeared. This is an open field. I'll ask Ethan if he's seen Maddie."

Ethan was sitting on one of the benches, his backpack by his feet. "Dr Grainger, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be much more use to anyone. I think I've twisted my back. So if it's all the same to you, I'll be on my way. I'm happy to have helped out, and if you need any help on your next excavation, you know how to contact me."

"Have you seen Maddie?" Professor Quedgley asked. "We can't find her at the moment."

Ethan shrugged. "Not since lunch. Anyway, I need to be going. I can catch a bus in the village at five if I leave now. I don't want any of you to disrupt your work and take me to the village in the car."

"You must stay here until Maddie has been found," Dr Grainger insisted. "It won't be long, I'm sure, and I can take you down in plenty of time for the bus."

James felt sick as he looked around at the empty field. The team of workers were discussing what could have happened to Maddie. It seemed that no one had seen her for at least an hour.

James moved close to Jessica and whispered to her, making sure no one else heard him. "When I caught hold of Maddie to save her from being run over by that truck, she said she thought she was being kidnapped. Perhaps she really has been!"

"That's so stupid," Jessica said. "Just stop imagining things!"

### Chapter 21

Ethan picked up his backpack and began nursing it. "I'd like to help, honest I would, but I need to sit here in the barn. It's my back. Come and get me if you need me."

"Yes, stay here by all means," Pastor Griffiths said, "and the rest of us will start searching for Maddie. Anyone have any ideas where we should start?"

"I've got a better idea," Jessica said, as her mind cleared rapidly. James's suggestion that Maddie had been kidnapped sort of made a lot of sense, and she tried not to panic.

She was aware that everyone was looking at her, and felt herself going red. But it was too good an idea to pass up. "Professor Quedgley, Maddie said you've put an app on her phone so you can find out where she is. Yes?"

Professor Quedgley nodded as he felt in his pockets. After a bit of fumbling around he produced his phone. "Thank you, Jessica, a very good suggestion. I charged the battery last night, but it's old and I'm afraid it doesn't last long. I just hope there's enough life in it."

James groaned inwardly, wondering if Jessica's genius idea was actually going to work. They should have found a way for Maddie to share the app with him and Jessica, even if it meant opening a new account. But then, how were they to know it would be needed?

Everyone watched patiently while Professor Quedgley opened the app on his phone. "Good news, the battery is only down to fifty percent. Now let's see where that daughter of mine is. Yes, got her."

Everyone gathered round, although the screen on the phone was too small for everyone to be able to see properly. Jessica was closest, and she pointed to a flashing red dot on the white screen.

"That's not much use," she said. "There's no map on there."

"There will be in a moment," Maddie's father said. "These things take time. There, you can see the map overlay now. She's in the woods. Down near the river, I think."

"She must have fallen," Jessica said. "Let's go down quickly."

The Professor raised a finger. "Hold on a minute, she's moving. Quite fast."

"At least she's not badly injured," Jessica said with relief. "Perhaps something is chasing her."

"Or someone," James said under his breath.

The Professor was examining the screen on his phone closely. "She stopped again. Now, she's moving. She's coming this way. Hold on, she's going back again."

"Perhaps there's a problem with the app," Pastor Griffiths suggested. "Have you ever used it seriously before?"

"Of course not," the Professor said. "Amandine has never disappeared before. I only put it on for emergencies. Emergencies like this. She's coming this way again. Fast. What a relief. She'll be out of the woods any moment now."

"Look," Jessica called out, "I can see movement in the trees. _Come on, Maddie_ ," she called out. " _We're over here_. Oh no!"

Buster bounded out from the woodland, and hurried to where they were standing. He stopped in front of them and dropped a mobile phone at their feet. Panting with excitement, he looked up and tipped his head to one side, as though to say, "Aren't I a clever dog!"

### Chapter 22

"We can be pretty certain Maddie is in the woods," Pastor Griffiths said. "Buster came out of there with Maddie's phone. I don't think he would have taken it into the woods first, which means he found it there."

"I don't see why Maddie didn't phone us, if she had the phone," Jessica said, frowning. "Maddie is used to looking after herself, so I'm sure she'd be sensible and think of that."

"It's likely that Maddie dropped it, or threw it away for some reason. I think we should see Ethan again, and ask him if he knows anything," Pastor Griffiths said quietly. "I detected something guarded about his whole manner. Surely he'd want to start looking for Maddie, just the same as we do, even if his back _is_ painful. After all, he was planning to walk to the village to get a bus."

"I vote we start searching the woods," James said impatiently. "No matter what Ethan has done, Maddie has to be somewhere. He might have hurt her." He turned to Pastor Griffiths. "You ought to stay here and make sure Ethan doesn't leave."

"That's a very good suggestion, James," the Pastor said. "Lucy, I'm sure some of your team will have explored parts of the woods already, looking for possible Roman remains. Perhaps you could get a search team going. Sarah, you can take Jessica and James with you, but you must all stay together. I mean it. I don't want another one of you getting lost."

Professor Quedgley stood in a daze, his phone in his hand, looking down at Buster. "Where is Ammadine?" he said to the dog. "Go find."

Buster sat back on his haunches, turning his head from side to side, whining quietly as though trying to understand English.

James said, "Come on, Jessica, Sarah, we know Buster must have already had the phone when Professor Quedgley tracked it with the app. So Maddie isn't going to be anywhere on the route back to here. We saw Buster carry the phone more or less straight ahead and then he went to our left, and then back to our right a bit, and came out of the woods almost straight ahead. So we go straight ahead, halfway down to the river, and then go to the right."

Jessica said she couldn't quite understand what James meant, but they had to start somewhere, and that sounded good enough.

Dr Grainger and her team said they were going to the left, which certainly made sense, if he and Jessica and Sarah were going in the other direction.

"Have you all got your phones with you?" Dr Grainger asked. "We need to keep in contact as soon as we have any news."

Jessica and Sarah checked that theirs were on, and had a reasonably strong network signal as they made their way to the start of the steep woodland that ran down to the river far below. A boundary marked by three strands of barbed wire on wooden posts slowed them down slightly, and in his rush to get through, James caught his jacket on one of the barbs and tore it.

"All in a good cause," he said, not even bothering to check the damage.

" _Maddie, Maddie_ ," Sarah shouted out as loudly as she could. " _Maddie, Maddie, where are you?_ "

The wind in the tops if the trees made a rushing sound, but for a moment they thought they heard an answer, but it was Dr Grainger's team way over to the left also calling out for Maddie.

James said he thought it would help if Maddie was wearing her bright clothes. Dressed for the dig, she was well camouflaged.

The ground underfoot was covered in wet, slippery leaves. It was clear that no one looked after the wood, and dense holly bushes grew everywhere, making it difficult to see far in any direction. Fallen branches were scattered around, and the occasional rotten tree lay propped at an angle against its more healthy neighbour.

"Don't start running," Sarah warned. "If you do, you won't be able to stop and you'll run slap bang into a tree. So be warned. But first, let's stop for a moment and pray."

A few minutes later, holding onto the stems of saplings to steady themselves, they slipped and slid their way down to what they estimated was halfway between the field and the river.

Sarah wiped her face where a small branch had sprung back and hit her.

"Are you all right?" Jessica asked.

Sarah nodded. "Fine. Now, I'm going to call out again. Don't join in. If Maddie hears me, she might call back while you're still shouting. So I shout and you listen. That's the plan."

They stood absolutely still. A strong gust of wind stirred the leaves overhead, making mysterious whispering noises as Sarah cupped her hands round her mouth and shouted Maddie's name twice. Then she raised a finger for silence as they listened.

"It's her," Jessica said. "It's Maddie."

James had heard something too. "Call again, Sarah. We need to work out the direction."

The answering call sounded something like, "Over here." Exactly where "over here" was, it was impossible to tell.

"It must be the way we were going," James said, "but I don't know if it's coming from higher or lower. The voice moves around like an echo."

" _Coming, Maddie!_ " Jessica shouted, but she didn't think she was doing it nearly as loudly as Sarah could. "Try again, Sarah."

Every ten metres or so they stopped for Sarah to shout out Maddie's name. From the answering call they were clearly going in the right direction, but maybe they were a bit too low down the side of the hill.

"I can see her!" Jessica suddenly shouted, making the others jump. "Up there."

They could indeed see her, and Jessica scrambled ahead of the others to where Maddie was waving frantically.

James stopped for a moment, to offer a short prayer of thanks. He'd been wrong. Maddie hadn't been kidnapped.

"It's my knee," Maddie said, her face pale, and her hair looking to James as though she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. "I slipped and fell into the undergrowth. I'll be all right. One of you has to get straight back to the site. You've got to stop Ethan. He's a thief!"

James already had his phone out. Then his face fell. "I don't know anyone's number, apart from yours and Jessica's."

"Give me your phone, James," Maddie said. "I'll phone Papa. I know his number. Where is everyone else?"

"They're in the woods searching for you," Jessica said. "Apart from Pastor Griffiths. He's in the old barn with Ethan. Did Ethan attack you?"

"Ethan doesn't even know where I am," Maddie said. "He didn't see me, but I saw what he was up to. Did he have his backpack with him?"

James nodded.

Maddie moved, and she looked in pain. "Phone your father, Sarah, and tell him it's vital he doesn't let Ethan out of his sight."

James felt desperate to know what the mystery was, but he let Maddie and Sarah make their phone calls.

Maddie stood up, wincing in pain. "I'll try to make it to the top, if two of you help me. I've twisted my knee, not broken anything. Let's try, anyway."

"If you're sure nothing's broken," Sarah said. "The worst thing you can do is move someone with a broken bone."

Maddie said she'd been there for a long time, feeling and trying to move her leg, and was sure nothing was broken. So with Sarah standing one side and Jessica the other, they took hold of Maddie's arms and she hobbled painfully up the steep hill for a short way, then she lay down again.

"It's no good, I'm not going to make it. James, get back to the site as quickly as you can, and tell Sarah's father that he has to take the backpack from Ethan. Even if Ethan runs away, he mustn't take the backpack with him. Do you understand?"

James would have loved to know the reason, but he sensed the situation was urgent. "Sarah," he said, "phone your father and get him to call an ambulance. Explain that Maddie will need to be carried out of the woods and checked over. She's hurt her knee and can't walk. Yes, okay, I'm on my way," he added, in response to Jessica's orders telling him not to waste any more time and get going.

"And all because of a stupid old woodpecker," he heard Maddie say as he started up the slippery ground, trying not to end up with a twisted or broken leg himself.

### Chapter 23

An hour later Maddie was strapped to a stretcher, and two ambulance workers carried her up through the trees and slid her safely under the barbed wire fencing.

"What happened to you, Ammadine?" her father asked, being the first one to get to her. "I was really worried about you."

James wondered if Maddie's father would now show a bit more concern for his daughter's welfare. He seemed to be a caring parent, but surely not a very responsible one if he left his daughter alone in that creepy old house for days at a time.

"Where's Ethan?" Maddie asked anxiously.

"It's all right, Maddie. We've looked in his backpack. You were absolutely right. The man _is_ a thief."

"I knew it," Maddie said, shifting her position slightly. She was sitting with her leg resting along one of the benches in the old barn. The ambulance workers had applied a cold compress and fitted a neoprene brace in the back of the ambulance, and Sarah had borrowed a pair of shorts from one of the students, as Maddie's jeans were too tight to give room for the brace. "I don't know whether to thank the woodpecker or be angry with it."

"Ammadine, you're going to have to explain," her father said. "Whatever does a woodpecker have to do with what we found in Ethan's backpack? It's magpies that take gold rings, not woodpeckers."

Maddie kept silent for a moment, as one of the ambulance workers sat down beside her. "Am I going to hospital?" she asked. "Is it bad?"

"You'll survive," the female ambulance worker said with a friendly smile. "Nothing broken. It's a stretched ligament in your knee, as far as we can tell. The painkillers will kick in soon. We're not taking you to hospital, but we've arranged for you to see your GP as soon as you get back. The doctor can sort out a new neoprene brace and a crutch for you if necessary, but I'm sure you'll be walking about on your own very soon without any help. Remember, you need to rest it for now. Don't try to walk on it yet."

"Ammadine," her father said, after the ambulance had driven away to another emergency call, its blue light flashing, "I'd like to look after you at home, but Pastor Griffiths has offered his hospitality for the rest of the week. You will be better off with Sarah and Mrs Griffiths looking after you, rather than your father. But I've cancelled my accommodation in the village. I need to be close to you until you're better. I'll be coming to see you at the manse every day, and I promise I'll not be leaving town again in a hurry. I've not forgotten our meal out to celebrate my book. Maybe tomorrow, if you're up to it."

"Will you come to church with me, Papa, like I used to go with Maman?"

The Professor frowned. "I'll think about it, Ammadine. I know it meant a lot to Maman."

"It means a lot to me too, Papa. Please come."

James looked around, and saw Ethan sitting in the back of one of the cars, which he presumed was Dr Grainger's vehicle. "I don't understand what's been going on," he said. "Can someone please tell me?"

"Yes, put us out of our misery," Jessica said. "If Ethan didn't attack you, Maddie, why is he involved?"

Maddie took a deep breath as she moved her leg. She closed her eyes for a moment, as though dealing with a spasm of pain, and then she looked brighter. "It's all to do with that stupid woodpecker. I was looking around at the various excavation areas, and I saw a large raven flying over the woods. A smaller crow, a jackdaw I think, was mobbing it. Diving at it, trying to chase it away. I expect it had a nest and was afraid the raven would take the young birds. As I was watching, I heard a rapid tapping from what was definitely a woodpecker. You remember how I told you I'd never seen one?"

"I'm guessing you went to look for it," Jessica said. "But what has Ethan got to do with a woodpecker?"

"Well, I crawled under the wire fence and made my way down through the woods, trying not to slip as I hurried, following the tap tap tap noise. And it kept moving, further and further down the hill, trying different trees. And then, there it was, not a great spotted woodpecker, but a green woodpecker, a large green bird with a bright red head. It hadn't seen me, so I stayed absolutely still and watched it for ages as it searched for insects in the bark. Then it suddenly flew away as though in fright. I turned round to see the reason, and noticed Ethan making his way down through the trees to a rocky outcrop. He didn't see me, but he picked up a backpack that was hidden beneath the rock and started back up. Then it all made sense."

"Well, it doesn't make sense to us," Jessica said. "So what was in the backpack?"

Maddie took another deep breath, held it for a moment, then breathed out slowly. "It still hurts a lot," she said, more to herself than to the others. "Oh yes, the backpack. You put me onto it, Jessica, when you showed me the pictures on your phone. When you first took the pictures of the skeleton, with Ethan in the picture, he was really angry. And then after lunch he seemed just a bit too keen for you to take more pictures, and for you, Dr Grainger, to come and watch him uncover the skeleton's hands."

"I remember," Jessica said. "It was a bit odd, I suppose. So why did he do it?"

"After lunch, there was more soil on the arms and hands than there had been when we first got there. For some reason he'd covered them up. Your phone has a great camera, Jessica. I'm sorry I was a bit snooty about it in the museum. When I enlarged your first pictures on the screen, especially the one where you'd already zoomed in on the skeleton's left arm, I could see a glint from something. I didn't realise what it was a time. It was only when I was in the woods that I realised that old bronze doesn't glint, and it could be gold."

"And was it?" James asked. "Is that what's in Ethan's backpack?"

Maddie nodded, and gave a sharp yelp as she tried to move her leg. "Ouch. I think Ethan suspected you might have spotted the gold on the hand and wrist, and he certainly wasn't going to declare it on the finds sheet. That's why he was angry with you."

Maddie's father was looking on anxiously. "And not just what was on the hand. He'd found several large pieces of Roman jewellery in the grave. Every time he found something valuable, he slipped it into his backpack, making sure no one was watching. But he was afraid you might have seen what he was doing, Jessica, when you took your first photographs. So he hurried down into the woods to hide the backpack, just in case his things were searched."

"But I didn't know he was doing anything wrong," Jessica said.

Pastor Griffiths nodded. "When he pretended to find the bronze rings and bangle on the hands, and no one was suspicious, he guessed he was safe. So he went down to retrieve his backpack, and when he got back he told Dr Grainger his back was hurting and he'd had enough, and was on his way home. Imagine his dismay, Maddie, when we realised you were missing and Dr Grainger said no one could leave the site. So I sat there with him in the barn, but had no idea why he was clinging to his backpack as though it contained a fortune."

"Which it did," Maddie said. "And in my rush to get back up to tell you what I'd seen, I fell. I slipped and slipped, and ended up catching my foot in a root and twisting my leg."

"You should have called out for help," James said.

"I was worried in case Ethan heard me and came back. Then he'd have guessed I'd seen him collect his backpack."

"Anyway, we probably wouldn't have heard you," James said. "The wind was making too much noise in the trees. We didn't even realise you were missing. You could have phoned. Why did you give your phone to Buster?"

Maddie wriggled around, trying to get comfortable. "Buster was the only one who heard me. I saw some movement in the undergrowth, and thought it might be Ethan. As I turned round to look, the phone slipped from my muddy hand and tumbled down the hill out of reach."

"Go on," James said, trying to picture the scene in his mind. Maddie's phone out of reach and Buster ready to retrieve it for her.

"I can guess what you're thinking, James," Maddie said, "but Buster thought it was a game. He fetched it, but kept dropping it just a bit too far away for me to reach it. Even though it hurt, I tried to slide down to where he was, but he kept picking up the phone and running away a short distance. I think he wanted me to get it from him and throw it for him to find. In the end he got fed up because I wasn't joining in his game, and he ran off with the phone in his mouth. I hoped he'd take it back to the camp."

"Which is exactly what he did," Jessica said. "I think we should leave Maddie alone, James. Can't you see she's in pain?"

Maddie nodded, her face pale. "I'd like to be going back soon, Pastor Griffiths, if everyone else is ready to leave. The ambulance team have phoned my GP. I'm to call in to have my knee checked as soon as we get back. I'll show you the way to the surgery."

"Of course," the Pastor said. He stopped as the Professor's phone rang.

"Yes, this is Professor Quedgley. What's happened? ... Yes, I see. ... Is there much damage? ... Right, I'm on my way. ... Yes, please call the locksmith."

He looked up at a row of concerned faces. "What's happened, Papa?" Maddie asked.

"That was the police. A neighbour had kindly phoned them to report someone behaving suspiciously in the back garden. There's been another break-in at home. The lock on the back door this time. I'm really going to have to look into the whole security issue."

"Do they know if anything has been taken?" Maddie asked.

"The police say whoever broke in doesn't seem to have been able to get down into the laboratory, which is good news. Even better news is that I left the sour grapes ostracon on the dining room table." The Professor smiled. "With a bit of luck they'll have taken it!"

### Chapter 24

The next morning, when Jessica woke up, she looked down at the empty floor where Maddie's camp bed had been. Maddie had only been there for two nights, but she'd been good company. Anyway, it was better that the Pastor's family should be looking after her.

While she was wondering how Maddie was getting on, her phone sounded the short tune indicating a text message had arrived.

_"Feeling good. Papa wants us all at the house at ten. Important. Sarah and the Pastor will take me. I have a wheelchair now. See you. Love Maddie."_ She'd added three smiley faces.

Jessica smiled to herself, pleased to know that Maddie's injury wasn't serious. Maddie had seen her doctor as soon as they got back from the dig, and the doctor had confirmed the diagnosis of a stretched, not torn, ligament in the right knee.

Down at breakfast, Jessica told James about the text message. Her aunt and uncle both wanted to be assured that they would be safe if they were going to the Professor's house.

"Don't go out of town without letting me or Aunty Amy know," Mr Cooper said. "Do you both understand?"

Jessica nodded. "It wasn't our fault that Maddie needed the ambulance," she said. "Maddie went chasing after a woodpecker in the woods."

"That's right," James added, "and if she hadn't, Ethan would have carried on robbing the site. He's in trouble now with the police. Professor Quedgley says Ethan has admitted he's been robbing archaeological sites for the past five years. No wonder he was so keen to get invited to help on digs. And he admitted that he'd hoped to get into Maddie's house on Sunday and pick up a few artefacts that wouldn't be missed. He thought Professor Quedgley would be there, and was surprised to find us instead. That's why he panicked and locked us in."

"He'd already looked through the window and seen the bronze rings on the table," Jessica said, "and realised he could swap them for the gold ones he'd seen on the skeleton he was excavating, if he covered the hands and arms up again. So he took them. He was about to swap them in the grave when I caught him by surprise with my camera. Then after he'd hidden the gold jewellery in his backpack, he made a great pretence of finding the bronze rings and jewellery while we all watched."

"I wonder what Professor Quedgley wants," James said, taking a slice of toast from the rack, spreading butter on it, and reaching for the marmalade jar with his knife in his hand. "Ten o'clock is ages to wait. Perhaps we should go round early."

Jessica moved the marmalade out of reach. "Use the spoon, boy. Like you did when Maddie was here."

Mrs Cooper nodded. "Thank you, Jessica. And I don't think you should go early. It would be rude. Dad and I are off to work now. Have a good day, make sure you all stay together, and enjoy yourselves with Maddie."

In spite of thinking that ten o'clock would be a long time to wait, they ended up having to hurry to Maddie's house. A large builders van with a ladder on the roof was parked in the entrance drive. Pastor Griffiths must have only just arrived, because he was helping Maddie out of the minibus.

James smiled to see Maddie dressed brightly again. Yellow trainers, lime-green shorts above the blue neoprene knee brace, and her bright red top, looking more than ever like an Amazonian parrot. Somehow it had seemed wrong to see Maddie in her old jeans and a dark top yesterday at the Happlett Parva dig. The colourful clothes were so right on Maddie, but he couldn't imagine Jessica dressing like that!

Sarah removed a wheelchair from the back of the minibus, took Maddie's arm and helped her into it, keeping her right leg propped up straight in front.

"We keep a wheelchair in the church," Pastor Griffiths explained. "You never know when one will come in handy."

"How are you today, Maddie?" Jessica asked.

Maddie smiled. "Not too bad. Mrs Griffiths knows a lot about nursing, and she says I should be okay for school on Monday if I use crutches." She looked up as the front door opened. "Papa!" she called out. She pointed to the van. "Is the builder here for us?"

Professor Quedgley helped pull the wheelchair up the steps to the front door, with Maddie clinging anxiously onto the arms. "Come in, everyone, and I'll explain."

He gave Maddie a kiss on the cheek. James noticed Jessica nod in satisfaction. There certainly seemed to be a good bond between father and daughter, and hopefully the authorities would leave the present arrangement alone.

"Come into the dining room," the Professor said. "It's not very tidy I'm afraid."

James could see that it certainly wasn't very tidy. "Is this the result of the latest break-in?" he asked.

"Only partly. As Maddie will admit, we're not the tidiest of families. But I want to tell you about the ostracon. It was a little trap I set, and they fell for it."

"Papa," Maddie said, frowning, "how can it possibly be good news? The person who sent it to you will want it back, whether it's genuine or not. And now you won't be able to prove it's a fake, so you'll have to pay him the full value."

"I still have it, and I'll be giving it back to him as soon as I've completed my tests, so don't worry, Maddie. Your papa isn't that foolish."

Pastor Griffiths had been examining several items on the table. He looked puzzled. "How can the ostracon possibly be in two places at once?"

Professor Quedgley looked pleased with himself. "When I got back from London and heard about the break-in, I suspected it might be for the ostracon, I looked out a large shard of almost identical shape," he explained with a satisfied smile. "Using some black paint I copied the Hebrew inscription exactly. Only an expert would be able to tell the difference, just by looking, although of course the paint is modern and would fail scientific tests."

"Why would you do that?" Maddie asked.

"Once I saw the photographs of the man your young friend had taken in the museum," the Professor said, pointing to James, "I recognised him immediately. I was sure he sent the email asking you to photograph the ostracon."

"But I didn't send him any photographs," Maddie said. "So how would he know for sure it was still here?"

"Because you said he had to answer a test question before you sent them. So he knew you'd already taken them."

Maddie put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Papa, I'm so sorry. We didn't think of that. And now that man has broken in."

"That's what I was hoping for," Professor Quedgley said. "I put the fake ostracon half hidden by a piece of paper on the table here. When I got back, everything had been disturbed, and the ostracon had gone. And that's why I'm happy."

"But, Papa, he'll be able to pass it off as genuine."

"I hope he tries, Maddie. I really do. You see, on the underside of the ostracon I engraved another inscription in Hebrew, and rubbed dirt into it to make it look old. And I engraved it deeply, so it can't be removed without destroying the whole ostracon."

Pastor Griffiths looked up from the artefacts he was examining on the table. "And I guess it was something that would make it unsalable to an expert," he said, laughing. "Very clever, Professor."

"What was it, Papa?" Maddie said, trying to lift herself from the wheelchair, and sitting down again quickly. "Ouch, I think I might have to stay in here for the rest of my life."

"I'm sure it will only be for a few days, Ammadine. You're a brave girl," the Professor said, giving her another gentle kiss.

"You still haven't said what you engraved on the back, Papa."

"I engraved in Hebrew the words, 'This is a fake, made by me, Professor Quedgley,' and I put this year in Hebrew numerals. It's unlikely the thief will be able to read Hebrew, and if he tries again to sell it as a genuine artefact, he'll be in trouble. I have already given his name to the police, and it seems he's already known to them. That should lead them to the man making the fakes. Rest assured, Ammadine, the ostracon I've been sent to examine is securely locked away in the safe in the laboratory."

Maddie smiled and turned to the others. "Papa has gone very security conscious. He's already changed all his passwords. He started by changing the simple password for the cloud when he was up in London, on the advice of a colleague there. That's why I couldn't log in. Would you believe it, the old password was simply 'cloud'! When I get my new laptop I'll be putting passwords in a secure vault."

"New laptop?" Jessica said. "Hasn't Ethan returned yours?"

"He insists he didn't take it," Maddie said, "but he admits he made up the story about the cleaner coming to the house. He was after bronze artefacts to exchange for gold ones on the digs he goes on. The leader of the dig would be suspicious if he never found any jewellery. The person you saw up in my bedroom window, Jessica, was probably the man James photographed in the museum, and he's the one who took my laptop. I'm not likely to see it again. Uncle Clive is letting me keep his old one until the insurance gets me a replacement, and I've transferred all my school files from the USB drive." She smiled. "Everything seems to have worked out all right, and I know I'll be in good hands with Sarah Griffiths when Papa has to be away."

At that moment they all jumped as a face appeared in the dining room window.

"Who's that?" Maddie said in panic. "Is he breaking in?"

Her father laughed. "That's only the builder, Ammadine. He's checking the windows. I'm using the money from my book to make the house completely secure. Double locks on the front and back doors, high security windows, and an alarm system that rings in the company's office 24/7. And no longer will we be leaving the key to the laboratory in the vase on the hall-stand. The door will have a secure keypad instead of a key. I don't know what we've been thinking of. I'm also getting the creeper stripped from the walls of the house, so no one will be able to climb up that way. You'll be perfectly safe here at night whenever I'm away, Ammadine, and so will all my antiquities."

"Papa, you're forgetting," Maddie said, reaching for her father's hand, "I'm not allowed to stay here on my own at night. It's been provisionally agreed by the police and Social Services that I can stay with Sarah Griffiths and her family when you're away."

Professor Quedgley frowned. "Oh yes, I remember now. My mind was on other things."

There was a tap tap tap at the window. "It's a woodpecker, Maddie," James said.

The Professor shook his head. "I think the builder wants to see me."

While Professor Quedgley went to discuss security with the builder, Jessica said to James, "I'm going with Sarah and Maddie to the shops. We'll take it in turns to push the wheelchair." She grinned. "And you're coming with us."

James groaned and banged his head on the table, making some of the items rattle. "Three girls at the shops? You got to be joking, Jessica. I'm going home."

Jessica continued grinning. "You _have_ to come. Remember, your parents said we all have to stay together today. Don't worry, we're not buying anything. We're only looking"

" _Looking?_ " James kept his head on the table and gave another groan, louder this time. "Looking takes _ages_. It's terrible. This is going to be my worst day ever!"

### Chapter 25

One Saturday, both James and Jessica received a long email from Maddie, one of several she had written to them.

Hi Jessica, Hi James,

I'm pleased to say I can walk properly now, and as I've already told you, I'm getting on okay at school. Brilliant news. I've just heard that the police have been round to the house of the man in the museum, and they've found the fake ostracon Papa left out as a trap, and my laptop was with it. I can't have my laptop back yet, as the police say it's evidence. So I'm still writing emails and schoolwork on Uncle Clive's old laptop. The stolen laptop and the ostracon gave the police the reason they needed to search the man's house. Upstairs they discovered the workshop of his brother who has been doing the faking. One brother made the fakes, and the other brother sold them. They are facing serious charges of fraud and theft.

Ethan is in big trouble too, for stealing from lots of excavations. Papa says he still had all the finds at home. He didn't want to sell them, he only wanted to have them to look at, so they've all been recovered. He even had labels saying which excavations they came from, although a lot of valuable evidence was lost, because their exact positions weren't recorded. And of course he'll never work on a dig again.

Papa says the new locks on the front and back doors are good enough for a bank! The new windows are being fitted at the moment. The new windows in my turret will make the bedroom much warmer in the winter, which is good.

I almost forgot. Even better news. I heard yesterday that I'm officially allowed to stay with Pastor and Mrs Griffiths and Sarah whenever Papa is away. It will be good to stay with a family. It was only when I saw you both together with Uncle Clive and Aunty Amy that I realised what I've been missing. So that really is brilliant. I know Maman would approve. Perhaps she suggested it to God!

Papa says he's not going away so much anymore, unless I can go with him. He says he realises how much we need each other. As I told you in my last email, his book is selling well and you may have seen him on television talking about it. I think he's going to be ever so famous and have his own television programme. Here's hoping, anyway!

More great news. Papa has been to church with me -- twice! He says it's rather noisy, and I told him to relax and not be so stuffy! He said it brings back good memories of going with me and Maman. He's coming again, but he's away this weekend, so I'm staying with Sarah and family today and tomorrow. James, you're invited to tea at the manse tomorrow, and we can go to the evening service if you like. And, Jessica, let me know next time you're staying with James, and we can all do the same.

Must go. Now I can walk properly I'm off to town to buy some new leggings to celebrate. Probably bright green. Maybe a red skirt to go with them. Not sure about the colour of the top. Will let you know. And I promise to use the underpass, and leave my earphones at home!

God bless and lots of love,

Maddie xxxxxxx

PS: I saw a green woodpecker in the garden yesterday after school. Do you think it came all the way from Happlett Parva to see how I am? Only joking, but I really did see it! 

THE END

**More Christian books from White Tree Publishing are on the next pages, some of which are available as both eBooks and paperbacks. More Christian books than those shown here are available in non-fiction and fiction, for adults and younger readers. The full list of published and forthcoming books is on our website** www.whitetreepublishing.com **. Please visit there regularly for updates.**

**White Tree Publishing publishes mainstream evangelical Christian literature in paperback and eBook formats, for people of all ages. We aim to make our eBooks available free for all eBook devices, but some distributors will only list our books free at their discretion, and may make a small charge for some titles -- but they are still great value!**

We rely on our readers to tell their families, friends and churches about our books. Social media is a great way of doing this. Take a look at our range of fiction and non-fiction books and pass the word on. You can even contact your Christian TV or radio station to let them know about these books. Also, please write a positive review if you are able.

Chris Wright has three grownup children, and lives in the West Country of England where he is a home group leader with his local church. More books by Chris Wright for young readers are on the next pages. His personal website is www.rocky-island.com

Return to Table of Contents

## Books for Younger Readers

(and perhaps older readers too!)

**More Christian books** by Chris Wright from White Tree Publishing are on the next pages, some of which are available as both eBooks and paperbacks. More Christian books than those shown here are available in non-fiction and fiction, for adults and younger readers. The full list of published and forthcoming books is on our website www.whitetreepublishing.com. Please visit there regularly for updates.

White Tree Publishing publishes mainstream evangelical Christian literature in paperback and eBook formats, for people of all ages. We aim to make our eBooks available free for all eBook devices, but some distributors will only list our books free at their discretion, and may make a small charge for some titles -- but they are still great value!

We rely on our readers to tell their families, friends and churches about our books. Social media is a great way of doing this. Take a look at our range of fiction and non-fiction books and pass the word on. You can even contact your Christian TV or radio station to let them know about these books. Also, please write a positive review if you are able.

Chris Wright has three married children, and lives in the West Country of England where he is a home group leader with his local church. More books by Chris Wright for young readers are on the next pages.

Return to Table of Contents

Books by Chris Wright for Younger Readers

(and perhaps older readers too!)

SEVEN MORE TWO JAYS ADVENTURES!

eBook and paperback

### The Two Jays Adventure

### The First Two Jays Story

Chris Wright

James and Jessica, the Two Jays, are on holiday in the West Country in England where they set out to make some exciting discoveries. Have they found the true site of an ancient holy well? Is the water in it dangerous? Why does an angry man with a bicycle tell them to keep away from the deserted stone quarry?

A serious accident on the hillside has unexpected consequences, and an old Latin document may contain a secret that's connected to the two strange stone heads in the village church -- if James and Jessica can solve the puzzle. An adventure awaits!

eBook ISBN: eBook ISBN: 978-0-9954549-8-9

Available in paperback

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-5203448-8-1

5x8 inches 196 pages

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### The Dark Tunnel Adventure

The Second Two Jays Story

Chris Wright

James and Jessica, the Two Jays, are on holiday in the Derbyshire Peak District in England, staying near Dakedale Manor, which has been completely destroyed in a fire. Did young Sam Stirling burn his family home down? Miss Parkin, the housekeeper, says he did, and she can prove it. Sam says he didn't, and he can't prove it. But Sam has gone missing. James and Jessica believe the truth lies behind one of the old iron doors inside the disused railway tunnel.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9957594-0-4

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-5206386-3-8

5x8 inches

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### The Cliff Edge Adventure

### The Third Two Jays Story

Chris Wright

James and Jessica's Aunt Judy lives in a lonely guest house perched on top of a crumbling cliff on the west coast of Wales. She is moving out with her dog for her own safety, because she has been warned that the waves from the next big storm could bring down a large part of the cliff -- and her house with it. Cousins James and Jessica, the Two Jays, are helping her sort through her possessions, and they find an old papyrus page they think could be from an ancient copy of one of the Gospels. Two people are extremely interested in having it, but can either of them be trusted? James and Jessica are alone in the house. It's dark, the electricity is off, and the worst storm in living memory is already battering the coast. _Is there someone downstairs?_

This is the third Two Jays Adventure. They can be read in any order, although each one goes forward slightly in time.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9957594-4-2

Paperback ISBN: 9781-5-211370-3-1

eBook and paperback

### The Midnight Farm Adventure

The Fourth Two Jays Story

Chris Wright

What is hidden in the old spoil tip by the disused Midnight Mine? Two men have permission to dig there, but they don't want anyone watching -- especially not Jessica and James, the Two Jays. And where is Granfer Joe's old tin box, full of what he called his treasure? The Easter holiday at Midnight Farm in Cornwall isn't as peaceful as James's parents planned. An early morning bike ride nearly ends in disaster, and with the so-called Hound of the Baskerville running loose, things turn out to be decidedly dangerous. This is the fourth Two Jays adventure story. You can read them in any order, although each one goes forward slightly in time.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-9997899-1-6

Also available in paperback

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-5497148-3-2

eBook and paperback

### The Lost Island Adventure

The Sixth Two Jays Story

Chris Wright

When James and Jessica are on a family holiday in the far north-west of the Scottish Highlands, they meet Tarben Macaulay, a boy their age who claims he is a Viking, although he seems friendly enough. Just off the coast where they are staying in Puffin Cottage is Arraig Island. When the family comes back from a shopping trip, the island is no longer there. That mystery is quickly solved, but Arraig Island becomes a dangerous place as Jessica and James, helped by Tarben, make two exciting discoveries. Are the strange couple with the campervan really birdwatchers, or do they have another interest in the island?

This is the sixth Two Jays Adventure. They can be read in any order, although each one goes forward slightly in time.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-912529-17-9

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-912529-18-6

200 pages 5x8 inches

eBook and paperback

The Black Lake Adventure

The Seventh Two Jays Story

Chris Wright

James and Jessica are staying with their friend Maddie at Daleton Farm. On their first day, James finds an old bottle in the nearby lake, with a message inside. It starts with the word HELP. The writer is a young boy who signs himself Michael, and he's begging to be rescued from the small island in the middle of the lake, where he says he's a prisoner. The note is forty years old, and they think it must be part of a game that was being played by the village children. But they quickly discover that the note is part of a very dark story.

When Maddie flies her photographic drone over Daleton Lake, they see something mysterious under the water. Why are the owners of Daleton Hall trying to keep them away from the lake with scary stories, and why do they angrily deny ever having had a son called Michael?

eBook ISBN: 978-1-912529-28-5

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-912529-27-8

203 pages 5x8 inches

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

The Hidden Room Adventure

The Eighth Two Jays Story

Chris Wright

It's the October mid-term holiday, and cousins James and Jessica, known as the Two Jays, get an excited phone call from their friend Maddie. The builder has found the original plans for her house, and Maddie discovers it was built in 1857 on land once belonging to Rootsdyer Farm. Some later words added to the plans set the three on a hunt for an underground room somewhere in the garden. What is hidden behind the brick wall that sounds hollow?

Who was Charlotte? According to a handwritten note on the plans, Charlotte once rested in the garden. Where? And did the Maggart Gang led by Josiah Devauden have a hideout on the farm in the early 1800s? Maddie needs to find out more for her school project, but the three soon discover that being trapped under the ground is no fun. Another exciting story in the Two Jays adventure series. They can be read in any order, although each one goes forward slightly in time.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-912529-39-1

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-912529-40-7

246 pages 5x8 inches

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### The Merlin Adventure

Chris Wright

The day Daniel Talbot brought home a stuffed duck in a glass case, everyone thought he'd gone out of his mind. Even he had his doubts at times. "Fancy spending your money on _that_ ," his mother scolded him. "You needn't think it's coming into this house, because it isn't!"

When Daniel, Emma, Charlie and Julia, the Four Merlins, set out to sail their model paddle steamer on the old canal, strange and dangerous things start to happen. Then Daniel and Julia make a discovery they want to share with the others.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9954549-2-7

Paperback ISBN: 9785-203447-7-5

5x8 inches 182 pages

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### The Hijack Adventure

Chris Wright

Anna's mother has opened a transport café, but why do the truck drivers avoid stopping there? An accident in the road outside brings Anna a new friend, Matthew. When they get trapped in a broken down truck with Matthew's dog, Chip, their adventure begins.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9954549-6-5

Available now in paperback

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-5203448-0-5

5x8 inches 140 pages

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### The Seventeen Steps Adventure

Chris Wright

When Ryan's American cousin, Natalie, comes to stay with him in England, a film from their Gran's old camera holds some surprise photographs, and they discover there's more to photography than taking selfies! But where are the Seventeen Steps, and has a robbery been planned to take place there?

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9954549-7-2

Available now in paperback

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-5203448-6-7

5x8 inches 132 pages

Available from major internet stores

Three Adventure Puzzle Books!

eBook and paperback

### The Holy Land Adventure

by

Chris Wright

An Adventure Puzzle Book

Last night you dreamt you were falling down a hole. Down and down. Now you've woken up with a jump, and the room seems strange. Very strange. It's not only bright daylight, but you can hear people shouting and talking outside the window. And it's not even your window. Your window has curtains, not the wooden shutters that are now wide open. You don't know where you are, but you're definitely not in your own house!

Ahead of you are 140 pages of adventure and puzzles. You don't have to do the puzzles. You can just turn the page and carry on with your adventure. However, the puzzles will help you feel part of what's happening, so try and solve them if you can.. You are invited to enter the time tunnel and wake up in a land over 2,000 years ago!

eBook ISBN: 978-1-912529-36-0

Also available as a paperback ISBN: 978-1-912529-34-6

### Mary Jones and Her Bible

An Adventure Puzzle Book

Chris Wright

The true story of Mary Jones's and her Bible

with a clear Christian message and optional puzzles

(Some are easy, some tricky, and some amusing)

Mary Jones saved for six years to buy a Bible of her own. In 1800, when she was 15, she thought she had saved enough, so she walked barefoot for 26 miles (more than 40km) over a mountain pass and through deep valleys in Wales to get one. That's when she discovered there were none for sale!

You can travel with Mary Jones today in this book by following clues, or just reading the story. Either way, you will get to Bala where Mary went, and if you're really quick you may be able to discover a Bible just like Mary's in the market!

The true story of Mary Jones has captured the imagination for more than 200 years. For this book, Chris Wright has looked into the old records and discovered even more of the story, which is now in this unforgettable account of Mary Jones and her Bible. Solving puzzles is part of the fun, but the whole story is in here to read and enjoy whether you try the puzzles or not. Just turn the page, and the adventure continues. It's time to get on the trail of Mary Jones!

eBook ISBN: ISBN: 978-0-9933941-5-7

Paperback ISBN 978-0-9525956-2-5

5.5 x 8.5 inches

156 pages of story, photographs, line drawings and puzzles

eBook and paperback

### Pilgrim's Progress

An Adventure Puzzle Book

Chris Wright

Travel with young Christian as he sets out on a difficult and perilous journey to find the King. Solve the puzzles and riddles along the way, and help Christian reach the Celestial City. Then travel with his friend Christiana. She has four young brothers who can sometimes be a bit of a problem.

Be warned, you will meet giants and lions -- and even dragons! There are people who don't want Christian and Christiana to reach the city of the King and his Son. But not everyone is an enemy. There are plenty of friendly people. It's just a matter of finding them.

Are you prepared to help? Are you sure? The journey can be very dangerous! As with our book Mary Jones and Her Bible, you can enjoy the story even if you don't want to try the puzzles.

This is a simplified and abridged version of Pilgrim's Progress -- Special Edition, containing illustrations and a mix of puzzles. The suggested reading age is up to perhaps ten. Older readers will find the same story told in much greater detail in Pilgrim's Progress -- Special Edition on the next page.

eBook ISBN 13: 978-0-9933941-6-4

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9525956-6-3

5.5 x 8.5 inches 174 pages £6.95

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### Pilgrim's Progress

### Special Edition

Chris Wright

This book for all ages is a great choice for young readers, as well as for families, Sunday school teachers, and anyone who wants to read John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress in a clear form.

All the old favourites are here: Christian, Christiana, the Wicket Gate, Interpreter, Hill Difficulty with the lions, the four sisters at the House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Giant Despair, Faithful and Talkative -- and, of course, Greatheart. The list is almost endless.

The first part of the story is told by Christian himself, as he leaves the City of Destruction to reach the Celestial City, and becomes trapped in the Slough of Despond near the Wicket Gate. On his journey he will encounter lions, giants, and a creature called the Destroyer.

Christiana follows along later, and tells her own story in the second part. Not only does Christiana have to cope with her four young brothers, she worries about whether her clothes are good enough for meeting the King. Will she find the dangers in Vanity Fair that Christian found? Will she be caught by Giant Despair and imprisoned in Doubting Castle? What about the dragon with seven heads?

It's a dangerous journey, but Christian and Christiana both know that the King's Son is with them, helping them through the most difficult parts until they reach the Land of Beulah, and see the Celestial City on the other side of the Dark River. This is a story you will remember for ever, and it's about a journey you can make for yourself.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9932760-8-8

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9525956-7-0

5.5 x 8.5 inches 278 pages

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### Zephan and the Vision

Chris Wright

An exciting story about the adventures of two angels who seem to know almost nothing -- until they have a vision!

Two ordinary angels are caring for the distant Planet Eltor, and they are about to get a big shock -- they are due to take a trip to Planet Earth! This is Zephan's story of the vision he is given before being allowed to travel with Talora, his companion angel, to help two young people fight against the enemy.

Arriving on Earth, they discover that everyone lives in a small castle. Some castles are strong and built in good positions, while others appear weak and open to attack. But it seems that the best-looking castles are not always the most secure.

Meet Castle Nadia and Castle Max, the two castles that Zephan and Talora have to defend. And meet the nasty creatures who have built shelters for themselves around the back of these castles. And worst of all, meet the shadow angels who live in a cave on Shadow Hill. This is a story about the forces of good and the forces of evil. Who will win the battle for Castle Nadia?

The events in this story are based very loosely on John Bunyan's allegory The Holy War.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9932760-6-4

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9525956-9-4

5.5 x 8.5 inches 216 pages

Available from major internet stores

eBook and paperback

### Agathos, The Rocky Island,

### And Other Stories

Chris Wright

Once upon a time there were two favourite books for Sunday reading: _Parables from Nature_ and _Agathos and The Rocky Island_.

These books contained short stories, usually with a hidden meaning. In this illustrated book is a selection of the very best of these stories, carefully retold to preserve the feel of the originals, coupled with ease of reading and understanding for today's readers.

Discover the king who sent his servants to trade in a foreign city. The butterfly who thought her eggs would hatch into baby butterflies, and the two boys who decided to explore the forbidden land beyond the castle boundary. The spider that kept being blown in the wind, the soldier who had to fight a dragon, the four children who had to find their way through a dark and dangerous forest. These are just six of the nine stories in this collection. Oh, and there's also one about a rocky island!

This is a book for a young person to read alone, a family or parent to read aloud, Sunday school teachers to read to the class, and even for grownups who want to dip into the fascinating stories of the past all by themselves. Can you discover the hidden meanings? You don't have to wait until Sunday before starting!

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9927642-7-2

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9525956-8-7

5.5 x 8.5 inches 148 pages £5.95

Available from major internet stores

Four short books by Chris Wright, of help in the Christian life:

_So, What Is a Christian?_ An introduction to a personal faith.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9927642-2-7

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9933941-2-6

_Starting Out_ \-- help for new Christians of all ages.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-4839-622-0-7

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9933941-0-2

_Help!_ \-- Explores some problems we can encounter with our faith.

Paperback ISBN 978-0-9927642-2-7

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9933941-1-9

_Running Through the Bible_ _\--_ a simple understanding of what's in the Bible.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9927642-6-5

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9933941-3-3

Don't forget to check our website www.whitetreepublishing.com for the latest books, and updates on availability

Return to Table of Contents

