The Secret of Skull Island

by Zack Norris

  “He was up to something, that one. Always walking around when he was supposed to be working.”

  “Where did he go?” Otis asked.

  Cato shrugged. “I don’t know. I was working,” he said. “But I’d see him going here and there. He was always smiling, always happy, like he was laughing at a joke of his own.”

  “Wasn’t he angry that he got fired?” asked Cody.

  “Yeah, did he talk about getting revenge?” asked Otis.

  “Angry? No, he wasn’t angry. In fact, he laughed about it. He said the timing was perfect. He said that soon he was going to have all the money he needed. Isn’t that strange? A guy who just got fired talking about having lots of money?”

  “It sure is,” Otis agreed.

  “What did this guy look like?” Cody asked.

  Cato looked thoughtful. “He was about average height, with dark coloring, brown hair, and a mustache and beard. His eyebrows were kind of bushy. He called himself Kendall.”

  Otis brushed a mosquito off his arm. “So, um, do you see this guy around much?”

  “Nah—he left the island.”

  “Are you sure?” Cody asked, his heart sinking. If the man really had left the island then someone else was causing the trouble.

  Cato waved a hand in the air. “Oh, sure. Listen, I know everybody on this island, especially people who work in construction and gardening. That’s because we often work together. That guy left the island, for sure … unless he’s hiding under a rock.”

  Cody had a thought. “If you know everybody on the island, you probably know the woman who was cooking at the inn.”

  A shadow seemed to cross Cato’s face. “Aida. Yes, I know her, but not very well.”

  “Do you know why she left?” Cody asked.

  Cato pressed his lips into a thin line. “She said she was scared to stay around here. She told me that she was afraid of the pirate’s ghost, but …” He shrugged.

  “You weren’t sure she was telling the truth, were you?” Otis asked.

  Cato shrugged again. “Well, I don’t know for sure. I’ve got my own ideas, though.”

  “Such as what?” Cody asked. “A lot of people think the place is haunted, don’t they?”

  “Yes, but no one on the island was afraid. The ghost has been around forever. He never hurt anyone.” Cato ran a hand through his jet-black hair and laughed. “I don’t think that ghost is very smart. He’s been looking for his treasure for years and still hasn’t found it.”

  He looked at the boys for a moment and scratched his head. “You know, I don’t want to spoil anything for you two. But since your aunt bought the inn it’s been a lot more haunted than usual.”

  “Huh?” Cody and Otis both said together.

  Cato took a deep breath and shook his head. “You guys are old enough to know the truth. Your aunt has been making some of the hauntings. She hired a company that creates special effects for the movies. They were here for a whole week installing a sound system and projectors … all kinds of stuff.”

  “See, I knew ghosts weren’t real,” Otis said with satisfaction.

  Cody’s shoulders sagged.

  “Wait a minute,” said Cato. “I didn’t say the place wasn’t haunted. It is. I just meant that your aunt was adding to the excitement. She wanted to make sure that everyone got a chance to see and hear the ghost. She figured it would be good for business. The real one is still around, though. He was here long before your aunt arrived.”

  “What about the guide? Why did he leave?” Cody asked.

  Cato shook his head. “The guide didn’t give me a reason. He just said he was getting out. Look, everybody who worked here knew your aunt was creating her own ghost. But don’t spoil things for the guests. They’re sure they’re in a real haunted inn. Real ghosts aren’t as reliable as manufactured ones.”

  “We don’t want to spoil the fun,” said Otis. “But if the cook and the guide weren’t afraid of the ghost, why did they leave the inn? I’m sure my aunt paid them well.”

  A cloud of butterflies flew by, their wings all shades of blue, red, yellow, orange, and pink. Cato watched them for a moment. Then he cleared his throat.

  “Maybe someone else paid them more money to leave,” he said. “I used to see things around here at night—boats coming and going.”

  Cato looked into the distance. Then he gave himself a shake. “I talk too much sometimes,” he said. “This is nothing you boys should worry about. People leave jobs all the time. Just enjoy the beautiful island.”

  He put his gloves back on and picked up his hedge clippers. “Silly me,” he mumbled, “talking nonsense to a couple of boys. Forget what I said. Run along now.”

  *

  “That was weird,” said Otis when he and Cody were back in their room after lunch. “Cato was doing a lot of talking. Then he got kind of spacey.”

  Otis was standing beside his bed, his back to the wall. Cody was in front of him, bent down under his own bed. He was looking for his sneakers.

  “Do you think somebody paid the cook and the guide to leave, Otis?”

  Cody waited a moment. Otis didn’t answer.

  “I think somebody doesn’t want the inn to stay in business,” Cody went on. “It’s hard to figure out. That guy Cordell definitely seems to want people to be scared of the place. And he and Sam Keller are up to something. Why isn’t Cordell going by his real name? Didn’t that officer Tano seem strange, too? Imagine a police officer who treats everything like a big joke.”

  Cody waited for his brother to jump in with thoughts of his own. When he didn’t, Cody went on talking … and talking … and talking. “I can’t find my sneakers,” he mumbled several minutes later. “Have you seen them anywhere, Otis?”

  When Otis didn’t reply, Cody got up and turned around. “Why don’t you answer me? You haven’t said a word.”

  Cody found himself talking to a blank wall. His jaw dropped. Otis was gone.

  [Chapter Ten]

  Cody heard a pounding behind the wall. “Cody! Cody! I’m in here! Get me out!” It was Otis.

  “Well, how did you get in there?”

  “I don’t know. I must have hit a button or lever or something. The wall slid back and I fell into this secret compartment.”

  “Wow. What’s back there?”

  “It’s just a sort of crawl space. It’s just a slot behind the wall.”

  “Maybe it was the pirate’s hiding place.”

  “Maybe. Will you stop talking and get me out of here?!”

  “Oh, sorry … okay, okay.” Cody’s eyes began searching the wall. His hands felt for a seam. The wall was smooth, with dark baseboard paneling.

  There were carvings in the baseboard—flowers. But then hidden among the flowers was a skull. Cody sucked in his breath when he saw it, then pressed his finger to its surface.

  Swoosh! A panel in the wall slid back a few inches, then sideways to reveal Otis standing there, his face red and his hair dishevelled.

  Wooo! He exhaled a puff of air as he stepped into the room. “It was hot in there and dark. How’d you open up the panel?”

  Otis pointed to the skull and then pressed it. The panel slid back into place.

  “Awesome,” said Otis. “Thanks.” He took a deep breath.

  “Well, I didn’t want to have to hack up Aunt Edith’s wall,” Cody said, slapping his brother on the back.

  “I think it’s more than just a hiding place,” said Otis. “The wall behind me sounded hollow. We should see if we can open that inside panel. We’ll get some flashlights and—”

  Rae burst into the room. “You’ve got to come downstairs! You’re not going to believe who just came to the inn! Oh, this is amazing!” She turned her back and ran out.

  Cody and Otis looked at each other for a moment. Otis shrugged. “Well, I guess we ought to go see who it is.”

  They headed for the staircase. Sam Keller was already halfway down. “Hey!” he called to a tall, muscular man wearing red sh
orts and a gray T-shirt. The man looked at him and his mouth opened slightly. He closed it quickly, frowned, and shook his head slightly.

  Rae was hovering over someone with short, dark hair who was sitting with his back to her. She was smiling but looked slightly dazed.

  The boys reached the bottom of the stairs a few steps behind Keller, who was walking over to introduce himself. He stuck out his hand and the tall, muscular man shook it.

  “Sam Keller.”

  “Ronnie Walker.”

  “It looked like they recognized each other before,” Cody whispered to his brother. “But now they act like they’re seeing each other for the first time.”

  “Right,” Otis agreed. “Now, who is the other guy?”

  Just then the other guy stood up. Cody and Otis both gasped.

  Jamal Mason gave the boys a sour look and then turned to Ronnie Walker. “What kind of bodyguard are you, anyway? I thought you said only old people were going to be here,” the young movie star said sullenly. “I don’t want fans bugging me while I’m on vacation.”

  Walker shrugged. “Sorry, Jamal. I didn’t know about the kids.”

  Cody and Otis both scowled and stuffed their hands in their pockets. Neither one liked the way he said “kids”—as if they ought to be in a nursery. But Rae looked as if she hadn’t heard a word. She was gazing at Jamal.

  “I like your wristband, Jamal,” she said.

  Jamal favored her with a grudging half-smile. He held up his arm to show an elaborately woven wristband of many colors.

  “A friend of mine just gave this to me. It’s Egyptian,” he said, “and it’s really old. He found it in a box in a cave. This guy worked with a museum and knows about ancient artifacts. He said it’s probably from about 1300 BC—maybe even older.”

  “Awesome,” said Rae. “But shouldn’t something like that really be in a museum, because—”

  Jamal cut her off. “Oh, mind your own business,” he said rudely. He turned to Walker and said, “Take care of the check-in. I’m going for a walk.” He shook his head and muttered, “I don’t know about this place. Maybe I should go over to the next island. It’s hipper on Tacayno.”

  By now, Ms. Wallace and Mr. Barber had appeared in the lobby. They had observed the scene. So had Mr. McNab, who had been reading a book in the corner, near a sour-faced Mr. Cordell.

  “That young man should be taught a lesson about manners,” Mr. McNab said in a surprisingly dark tone.

  “How right you are,” echoed Ms. Wallace, as Mr. Barber nodded in agreement.

  Mr. Cordell got to his feet. “I’m going for a walk on the beach,” he announced. He looked at Mr. Keller. “Wanna join me?” he said, in a tone that was more like an instruction than a question.

  Rae still looked stunned. “I’m going to find Jamal,” she said, then hurried outside.

  Cody and Otis exchanged glances. Rae must be starstruck—she definitely had a crush on Jamal. Still, it wasn’t like her to put up with rude behavior, even from Jamal Mason. But they had something else to worry about right now. They hurried after Ronnie Walker, who was waiting at the check-in desk.

  They found him there, pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. They caught snatches of speech.

  “That’s right—teach him a lesson … show him … find out …”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Walker …” Cody began. “We noticed that Sam Keller seemed to know you … and then he didn’t.”

  Color flooded into Mr. Walker’s face, turning it a bright pink. “Oh, the guy with the crazy red hair and the weird tattoo? Well, we met about six years ago—but just briefly. I’ve worked out a lot since then—I guess I wasn’t sure whether he recognized me or not.” He shrugged and turned away.

  “Hey, what do you kids care about it, anyway?” he asked over his shoulder, sounding annoyed. “Why don’t you go play some games or something?”

  Cody’s eyes flashed. He opened his mouth to say something but Otis put a hand on his arm and shook his head. He held a finger to his lips and then said, “You’re right, sir. We’ll just go do that.”

  When they had walked a few yards away, Otis said, “No sense ticking him off. We want to find out what game he’s playing.”

  “Yeah, I think what he said was lame. It looks like Sam Keller makes some dumb mistakes, like calling Steve Cordell ‘Jimmy,’” Otis said.

  Just then Rae came striding toward them. Her eyes blazed and her mouth was set in a thin line.

  “That Jamal Mason has a head the size of a watermelon, he’s so full of himself,” she said. “I tried to talk to him and he told me to get lost. He said the inn was a dump and that coming to this island was a stupid idea. So I told him he was a spoiled brat and I was never going to see one of his movies again.”

  “Well, you’re back to your old self anyway.” Cody laughed.

  “So much for our favorite movie star,” grumbled Otis. “What a downer that he’s so stuck-up.”

  “Yeah,” Rae sighed. “He thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips.” She sighed again.

  “Well, cheer up. We think we’ve found a secret passage. Maybe it will give us some clues to the mystery.”

  Rae wrinkled her nose. “That’s cool,” she said, “but I’m here for a vacation. Anyway, what do you mean you think you found one?”

  The twins told her about the sliding panel and the hiding place. “Maybe there’s a secret passage behind the second wall,” said Cody.

  “Well, good luck, guys. I’m heading back to the beach. Swimming is the only thing that will cheer me up.”

  The twins watched her walk away. Cody scratched his head. “Who wouldn’t want to find a secret passage?”

  “Yeah,” Otis agreed. “I wish we could get Rae more into mysteries. She’d really be a help in finding clues.”

  Cody nodded. “She sure would. But she’s just not interested. I don’t get it.”

  Otis agreed. “Well, maybe she’ll come around. Anyway, let’s go find that secret passage.”

  [Chapter Eleven]

  Back in their room, the boys pocketed their penlights. They opened the panel and searched for more skull buttons. They quickly located two more—one that opened the panel from the inside. A third opened the second wall from the other side. Now that they were sure they could get out, they were ready to explore.

  They stepped through the second opening and found a set of steps, at the bottom of which was a winding tunnel. It was lined with bricks that seemed very old. The mortar between them was dark and crumbling.

  Soon, however, the scene changed. The twins walked into a smooth, modern hallway with freshly painted walls and modern light fixtures. Then they came to a series of rooms.

  They listened for voices as they stepped inside one room after another. What they found made their hearts pound and their heads spin.

  There were boxes and boxes and stacks and stacks of DVDs. A quick check revealed that many were movies they had heard of—movies that had just been released to theaters.

  They also found several computers, camcorders, and other equipment. They’re burning DVDs here, the twins realized. Lots and lots of them.

  “We’ve got real modern-day pirates selling pirated DVDs,” Cody whispered.

  “Yeah,” Otis said, “someone is doing a big business. The inn must be getting in the way.”

  It looked as if the business had been going on for a while, and the plan was for it to go on longer. One of the rooms in the secret passage was outfitted with couches, a pool table, a kitchen, and a huge flat-screen television. The crooks must view their DVDs here, Otis thought.

  In another room was a row of single beds. There was even an office. Everything had been chosen for maximum comfort. It looked like a high-class underground hotel.

  They turned around and began heading back. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they heard men talking. The sound was coming from somewhere behind them. They knew those voices. It was Steve Cordell and Sam Keller.

  *


  Back in their room, beads of sweat dotting their foreheads, the boys watched as the secret panel slid back into place. They both exhaled sighs of relief.

  “I’ll bet Black Heart the pirate originally made that tunnel,” Cody said. His eyes danced with excitement.

  “Probably,” Otis agreed. “But somebody else is using it now.”

  “We’d better go find Dad, Maxim, and Aunt Edith and tell them what’s going on,” said Cody. He turned to leave the room.

  “Wait! There is more to this than just DVDs. We’ve got to find out who these guys are. Let’s get something on them that they can’t lie their way out of.”

  “Oh, there you go talking about lying again. We’ve got a pile of bootleg DVDs and burner equipment under the inn. They can’t lie their way out of that. This is something out of our league, Otis. We can’t be detectives here. We need real detectives.”

  “We can’t prove that it was Cordell and Keller we heard. And who is Cordell, really? I think we should search his room and find out.”

  “Break into his room? Are you nuts?”

  “It’s our aunt’s place, Cody. He’s carrying on crimes in our aunt’s inn.”

  Cody crossed his arms. “What if he catches us?”

  “He’s down there in the secret passage. I’ll bet we can get in and out really fast. Let’s find out who this guy is. He’s probably the one who is giving Aunt Edith so much trouble … along with his buddy Sam Keller.”

  [Chapter Twelve]

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” said Cody.

  “I know,” Otis whispered as he glanced nervously over his shoulder. He bent down in front of the door to Steve Cordell’s room and took a video-store membership card from his pocket. “I think we have to do it, though. He’s committing a crime in our aunt’s place. We have to find out what he’s up to.”

  “Can you really get in with that thing?” asked Cody.

  Otis jiggled the card carefully. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can. These locks aren’t exactly state of the art. I don’t think Aunt Edith figured on having any thieves in the place.”

  “We’re not thieves!” Cody whispered urgently.