by Shari Barr
“What’s this?” Aunt Becca swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “What makes you think that?”
“I saw a woman on the porch,” McKenzie explained, rushing her words. “I saw her just now.”
Aunt Becca slipped out of bed and scurried into the dark family room. Standing near the window, she peered cautiously toward the neighboring cabin. “I don’t see anyone,” she whispered.
“She must have left already,” McKenzie spoke softly. “But someone was there. I saw her, plain as day…or night, whatever.”
Aunt Becca moved quickly into the kitchen and switched on the light. “I really don’t want to call the police. There could be a logical explanation for this. I think Mr. Carney gave me his son’s phone number once. I’ll try to find it and call him before it gets any later. I hate to worry him. But if someone is prowling, he needs to know.”
Aunt Becca located the phone number and paced the room nervously after dialing. Moments later, McKenzie could tell that Mr. Carney’s son had answered. Aunt Becca explained the situation. After a slight pause, she thanked the man and hung up.
“Well, you girls can sleep peacefully tonight. Al, Mr. C.’s son, said his dad had been having problems with his internet. So he had asked the resort to send over a technician while he was gone. That must have been who you saw.”
McKenzie looked quizzically at Alex. “What a weird time for someone to fix it.”
“Mr. C. is a good, regular customer of Emerald Bay. He comes here every summer. If he wanted his internet restored by the time he returns, I’m sure the staff would fix it.” Aunt Becca seemed to accept the explanation without question. “They have a computer person on staff who probably just didn’t get to it earlier today.” With a yawn and a wave, she headed back down the hall.
McKenzie felt more relaxed since Aunt Becca had made the phone call, but something just didn’t seem right. If the woman on the sun porch was working on a computer, wouldn’t she be carrying some kind of bag or briefcase? But the woman McKenzie had seen wasn’t carrying anything, at least nothing very big.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” McKenzie said. “Why would a repair person stand in the dark on the sun porch like she was trying to hide? I think something is going on over there.”
When the girls awoke the next morning, Aunt Becca had already left for work. As they ate breakfast, McKenzie suggested that they tour the Sea Lion Harbor later in the day. She wanted to get some more footage of sea lions for her video report. By the end of the week, she would be on a plane back to Montana.
As the girls loaded the dishwasher, they heard a knock at the front door. A man wearing a brown uniform stood in the doorway with a package and an electronic clipboard.
McKenzie opened the door, and the man smiled at her. “I have a package for Mr. Lon Carney, but no one is home. My note says that it can be left with his neighbor. Could I get you to sign for me, please? Then I’ll leave the package here with you.”
“Sure,” McKenzie said, signing her name on the pad.
The man handed her the package, thanked her, and went back to his truck. McKenzie watched the truck disappear down a bend in the road.
“Why don’t we take this package over to Mr. C.’s house now and leave it on his porch?” McKenzie suggested. “We might not be here when he gets home this afternoon, and he might want it before we get back.”
“Sounds good to me,” Alex agreed while she wiped off the countertop.
A few moments later, the girls walked up the back steps of Mr. Carney’s sun porch. Like McKenzie figured, the door was unlocked. They slipped inside and set the package by the door leading into his cabin.
McKenzie’s mind went to the woman she had seen standing here last night. McKenzie glanced around the sun porch. She had only been here one other time, when she and Alex had brought the cave book over. But something seemed out of place. What was different?
She glanced at the little family of wooden loons clustered by the back door. She knew the loons had been lined up neatly when she had been here before.
Lots of people hide a spare key by the back door, she thought.
Instinctively, she picked up the largest loon and looked beneath it. A piece of clear tape hung loosely to the bottom.
She reached over to the middle-sized loon. Beneath it was a house key on the ground. It was the same size as the tape.
“Something is definitely not right, Alex. It looks like Mr. C. kept a spare key taped to the bottom of this loon. But it also looks like someone took the key and put it back under the wrong loon. And why would the resort staff need his key? Wouldn’t they have their own?”
“Yes.” Alex nodded. “But how would a thief know where Mr. C. kept his key?”
“She could have guessed. Lots of people hide their spare keys close to the door.” McKenzie scratched at a mosquito bite on her arm.
“I guess that’s true,” Alex said with a sigh. “So, now what do we do? Aunt Becca and Mr. C. think a computer techie went into his cabin, but we think it was a robber.”
McKenzie sighed and glanced out the screened-in porch. “I guess we’ll have to wait until Mr. C. comes home and then tell him what we’ve found and see if anything was stolen. I don’t want to bother Aunt Becca about it at work. I didn’t get a good look at the woman because it was so dark. But I think she was young.”
“Did she look like Mrs. Franks?” Alex asked.
“A little bit. She was about her height, but I don’t think it was her. It was dark, but I think she had short blond hair. Mrs. Franks has long hair.” McKenzie shoved the loons back in place and stood up.
“Maybe she had her hair in a ponytail,” Alex suggested.
“That’s possible,” McKenzie said.
After returning home, the girls spent the rest of the morning flying a bright, sea lion-shaped kite and hunting for seashells. They wanted to hang around the house so they could talk to Mr. Carney the minute he got home.
Soon after lunch, McKenzie heard a car door slam and voices outside Mr. Carney’s cabin. She pulled the curtain back and glanced out the window as a black car pulled away from the cabin.
“Mr. C.’s home.” McKenzie turned to Alex. “Let’s go talk to him about the woman we saw last night.”
Minutes later the girls stood on their neighbor’s porch, knocking on the door.
“Well, well.” Mr. Carney answered the door with a smile. “It’s good to see you girls. I appreciate you keeping an eye on things for me last night. It’s nice to know someone’s watching out for me while I’m gone.”
“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” McKenzie said. “We think things look suspicious.”
“Suspicious?” Mr. Carney frowned as he ushered the girls inside. “How?”
Both girls began talking at once. They told him about finding the spare key, the wadded-up piece of tape, and the misplaced wooden loons.
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. What’s this about finding my spare key?”
McKenzie tugged his arm, leading him onto the sun porch. “We brought a package over for you this morning. I thought something looked strange, and I realized the wooden loons were out of order. They’re always nice and neat. Then I saw the corner of the spare key sticking out from under one of them.”
“We think someone found your spare key and went inside your cabin last night,” Alex explained. “Then she got in a hurry and put it back under the wrong loon. You do hide a key there, don’t you?”
Mr. Carney scratched his head. “I do hide it under the first loon. I reckon it’s probably a little too obvious.”
He paused then continued, “Let me check inside. I’ll see if anything is missing.”
The girls followed him into the family room and waited on the couch. Mr. Carney went down the hallway and disappeared into a room.
A few minutes later he returned. “Nothing seems to be missing. I have no cash to speak of in the cabin. Did you see this woman carrying anything out?”
McKenzie met Alex’s gaze. “I don’t think so. Unless it was small and she hid it under her jacket.”
“Well, I do know the resort staff came over sometime after I left last night. My internet is running. Could you have just seen the computer repair lady?”
“But McKenzie saw her bend down, like she was putting something on the floor by the back door,” Alex reasoned. “Maybe she was putting the key back.”
Mr. Carney smiled at the girls. “She probably accidently kicked the loons and bent over to shove them aside.”
Hmm, McKenzie thought with a frown. That makes sense. But there could still be a clue here. And I don’t want to miss it.
“I have an idea,” McKenzie announced. “Why don’t you call the resort office and ask them what time the computer techie came over? Then we’d know if it was the resort staff or someone else.”
“Or Mrs. Franks,” Alex piped in, hopping to her feet.
“Tia Franks?” Mr. Carney asked. “Is that who you thought you saw last night?”
McKenzie glanced at Alex then turned back to her neighbor. “Well, it kind of looked like her, but her hair was different. Do you know her?”
“Everyone around here knows Mel and Tia Franks. She would have no reason to break into my cabin, girls.” Mr. Carney smiled gently at them. “The Frankses are wealthy. They’ve done extensive research on sea lions and caves in the area. They’re very well known in their field. I have nothing that would be of value to them. Besides, I see nothing out of place in here.”
McKenzie began to feel a little foolish. Had she just imagined that the woman looked a little like Mrs. Franks?
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll go ahead and call the resort office to see if they keep a record of times their staff makes calls.” Mr. Carney picked up his phone on the end table and punched in a few numbers.
He spoke to someone on the other end of the line for a few minutes and then hung up. “They don’t keep track of the time service calls are made. All they know is a young female staff member got the internet running last evening sometime.”
McKenzie was beginning to wish she had never seen the woman. She felt there was something suspicious, but she couldn’t prove it. Why were there no lights on in the cabin when I saw her, not even on the sun porch? Because she didn’t want to be seen, that’s why!
“I’m sorry we bothered you, Mr. C. Maybe I was mistaken,” McKenzie said. “She just acted so…funny, you know?”
Mr. Carney put his arms around McKenzie’s and Alex’s shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, girls. Like I said earlier, I’m glad you’re looking out for me.” He paused. “Hey, I was going to loan you that book about caves before you leave. I haven’t finished it, but I’ll let you read about the local caves. Let me get it.”
The girls waited as Mr. Carney headed to his bedroom. After a few minutes, he returned. “I can’t seem to find it. I thought I left it on the nightstand, but I’ll have to look around for it and bring it over later.”
As the girls headed to the back door, McKenzie turned to her neighbor. “I’ve been wondering. If Mr. and Mrs. Franks are so rich, why are they staying at this resort? There are a lot fancier resorts than this one.”
“They come to this cabin every summer while they do work with the Sea Park and other sea lion projects. It’s isolated and quieter than any other resort,” Mr. Carney answered.
The girls told their neighbor goodbye and headed back to their own yard. They plunked down into the hammock, swinging it back and forth.
“Do you think we’ll find out what happened to Mario and Bianca?” Alex asked as she pulled on a hangnail and made it bleed. “Or do you think it’s too late…if you know what I mean.”
McKenzie cringed at the thought. “I can’t believe Mario and Bianca are dead. Surely God wouldn’t let that happen to them, would He?”
“I sure hope not,” Alex said glumly. “But it seems that some people are just born nasty.”
“I know. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Mario and Bianca disappeared while we were out here doing a video report on sea lions. I think God allowed all this to happen so we can figure out what happened to them.”
“Maybe,” Alex said as she wrapped the hem of her blue T-shirt around her bleeding finger. “Maybe we could go look around the resort lobby sometime and see if there’s an employee who looks like the woman you saw on the sun porch. At least then we’d know if it was Mrs. Franks or not.”
“That’s a good idea. And I’ve also been thinking,” McKenzie said, chewing her bottom lip. “Maybe Mrs. Franks, or whoever that lady was, stole Mr. C.’s book on caves. He said he couldn’t find it, and he was sure he left it on his nightstand.”
“But he also said the Frankses were experts on sea lions and caves. Why wouldn’t they buy their own copy? Mr. C. said they’re rich.” Alex tucked her legs beneath her.
McKenzie folded her arms behind her head and sighed. “I don’t know why anyone would steal the book and leave Mr. C.’s valuables, but I’ll do everything I can to find out!”
A Cruel Hoax
“The tour doesn’t start for twenty minutes,” Alex said while the girls waited outside the Sea Lion Harbor lobby the next morning. “Why don’t you stand by the sign, and I’ll tape you. When I tell you to begin, start saying what we rehearsed.”
McKenzie stood by the sign, trying to act like a professional news reporter. When Alex motioned for her to begin, she smiled at the camera and spoke. “Hi, I’m McKenzie Phillips, and I’m standing outside the Sea Lion Harbor observation area on the gorgeous Oregon coast. In just a few minutes, we’ll go inside the cave and take a close-up look at the amazing Steller sea lions.
“The Steller sea lion is in the same family as the seal,” McKenzie continued. “But the sea lion has an external ear flap while a seal only has a tiny opening for an ear. To move through the water, sea lions move their front flippers up and down. They walk on all four flippers on the ground, while seals scoot around. Let’s go inside and take a look at the fascinating Sea Lion Harbor.”
“Great!” Alex said, lowering the recorder. “I’ll record more after we get inside.”
A steady stream of people of all ages hurried past them, forming lines at the ticket booth. Others stopped to pose in front of the large brass sea lion statue out front and have their picture taken.
“Let’s go.” Alex grabbed McKenzie’s arm. “People are lining up for tickets already.”
After paying their admission, the girls stepped inside the lobby and waited for the tour to begin. A young man wearing a red polo shirt and matching cap approached their group of about fifteen people. He had long blond hair and looked about twenty years old.
“Hi. I’m Colby, your tour guide. If you’ve never been to Sea Lion Harbor before, you’re in for a treat. I see most of you dressed warmly. That’s good. It gets chilly down in the cave. Let’s get started. Follow me, folks.”
The girls hurried down the hall following Colby as he led the group down a set of stairs to an elevator.
“Once the elevator lowers us two hundred feet down, we’ll take more stairs and climb farther down to the observation area,” Colby explained as the elevator descended. “A few sea lions may be inside the cave, but most of them will be outside on the rocky ledges. In the spring and summer, sea lions prefer to be outside in the fresh air.”
McKenzie felt her stomach twitch as the elevator dropped lower and lower into the ground. After they reached the bottom, they stepped out of the elevator. The girls followed Colby and the rest of the group down a set of stairs. Tiny lights set into the wall lit their way.
McKenzie peered over the railing into the darkness of the cave. The air smelled damp and musty. McKenzie shivered despite the sweatshirt she had worn. Alex was at the end of the line, recording every minute with her video recorder.
At the bottom of the stairs, they turned a corner and stepped into a well-lit observation area. Water from the cove rushed through a tunnel, forming a natural pool at th
e bottom of the cave. Though only a few sea lions gathered in the pool, they sounded like a thousand. Their barking echoed off the cave walls.
McKenzie searched the group of sea lions, hoping to see Mario and Bianca. She was praying that the two pups had somehow gotten separated from their mother, Susie, and made their way in here. She knew it was not likely, but she couldn’t help hoping. Scanning the herd of sea lions, she groaned inwardly.
They’re not here either, she thought dismally.
Down inside, McKenzie felt guilty for suspecting the Frankses of stealing the pups. Though the young boy claimed he had seen the theft, he could have been mistaken. But the description of the man’s fish tattoo seemed too coincidental. McKenzie felt the boy was speaking the truth. But why would anyone steal some of God’s precious animals? If the Frankses actually stole them, surely they knew it was illegal, McKenzie thought.
“Let’s record some more here,” Alex said as she tugged McKenzie into position in front of the railing.
“I can’t hear a thing you’re saying!” McKenzie yelled over the din of the barking sea lions behind them.
“This could be interesting!” Alex practically screamed in McKenzie’s ear. “But let’s try it.”
After several attempts at recording McKenzie’s report, Alex broke into a fit of giggles. “All I can see through the viewfinder is your mouth moving, while the sea lions are barking their heads off. It almost looks like you’re barking your head off too!”
“Maybe I can report separately, when we get away from all this noise,” McKenzie said.
The girls hurried to catch up with Colby and the rest of the group who had left the observation area. The tour guide led the group outside, down another set of stairs to the outdoor viewpoint. As Alex recorded the herd of sea lions on the rocky ledge, McKenzie stepped closer to the tour group.
“Can sea lions be hunted?” a man asked.
“No, it is illegal to hunt sea lions,” Colby answered. “The number of Steller sea lions has decreased over the years. But since laws are in place to protect all marine mammals, hopefully their numbers will increase.”