by Paul Moxham
The Mystery of the Russian Spy
The Mystery Series – Short Story No. 10
By Paul Moxham
Copyright 2016 Paul Moxham
Version Updated: 4th July 2018
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All rights reserved, without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE MYSTERY SERIES
This adventure series set in 1950’s Britain will delight children of all ages.
~*~*~
Summer Holidays:
The Mystery of Smugglers Cove
The Mystery of the Missing Money
The Mystery of the Missing Gnomes
The Mystery of Adventure Island
The Mystery of the Mysterious Man
The Mystery of the Strange Notebook
The Mystery of Hidden Valley
~
Winter Holidays:
The Mystery of Claw Mountain
The Mystery of the Golden Elephant
The Mystery of the Red Balloon
The Mystery of the Golden Dragons
The Mystery of the Howling Dog
The Mystery of the Hidden Suitcase
The Mystery of Treasure Island
~
Easter Holidays:
The Mystery of Four Towers
The Mystery of the Burning Plane
The Mystery of the Russian Spy
The Mystery of Ghost Island
The Mystery of the Perfect Thief
The Mystery of the Underwater Car
The Mystery of the Crown Jewels
~
Summer Holidays:
The Mystery of the Escaped Prisoner
~
Box Set:
The Mystery Series Collection (Short Stories 1-4)
The Mystery Series Collection (Short Stories 5-8)
The Mystery Series Collection (Short Stories 9-12)
The Mystery Series Collection (Books 1-3)
The Mystery Series Collection (Books 4-6)
The Mystery Series Collection (Books 7-9)
PRAISE FOR THE MYSTERY SERIES
"I was drawn in by the fast-paced plot. I enjoyed reading the book and couldn't wait to see how things turned out." --- Smashwords Reviewer
"Paul Moxham takes the reader on a whirlwind of chase scenarios that up the ante with each narrow escape." --- Amazon USA Reviewer
"I love this book, could not put it down and I felt as if I was standing beside the characters." --- Shelfari Reviewer
"This is an entertaining adventure story that would make pleasurable holiday reading for 7 to 10 year olds." --- Amazon UK Reviewer
NOTE:
This can be read as a stand alone story, but if you want to have full knowledge of the characters, I suggest that you read The Mystery of Smugglers Cove, the first book in The Mystery Series.
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This story is set in 1950’s Britain and is written in British English - not American English - so bear this in mind regarding the spelling of some words.
-----------
This story is set after the events in The Mystery of the Burning Plane.
Let the Adventure Begin…
As Joe gazed up at the clear blue sky, he sighed. “I do wish we had another mystery to solve.”
“Haven’t you had enough mysteries these holidays?” Amy groaned. “We’ve already had two.”
Will looked at his friend and grinned. “Joe can never have enough.”
Joe nodded. “Mysteries and food are the things I enjoy most in life.” He stood up and strolled over to the edge of the cliff. As he peered down at the beach and the caves, his thoughts turned to their very first adventure. It seemed like only yesterday that they had been running through the caves being pursued by the counterfeiters but, in fact, it was almost a year ago.
He walked back to the others, gazing up at Brackness Castle as he did so. Just like their first adventure, their second one at the castle involving stolen money also seemed recent. Maybe it was because he had a good memory. While some of their adventures had involved moments he hadn’t liked, there had been plenty of moments that he had enjoyed. Besides, they had helped many people and animals who were now better off because of them.
“Let’s do something active. How about we ride to Sandy Bay?” Amy suggested. “I’m tired of lying in the sun and we’ve only ridden there twice.”
“I suppose we could do that. We might…” Joe frowned as he heard the sound of sirens. Intrigued, he hurried to the other side of the hill. As he gazed down at the road that led to the village, he saw two police cars with their sirens blaring and lights flashing roar down the road. As he turned to tell the others what was happening, he realised they were standing beside him.
“Were they chasing a car?” Will asked.
Joe shook his head. “Not that I could see. But they seemed to be in a pretty big hurry to get to Smugglers Cove.”
As Amy saw the way Joe’s eyes glinted, she spoke up. “Don’t get any ideas into your head. I’m sure the police can take care of whatever is happening.”
“But we’ve been a big help to the police before,” Joe pointed out.
“Yes, we have,” Amy admitted, “but this is probably different.”
As another police vehicle sped down the road a moment later, Joe turned around. “I’m going to see what’s happening.” He hurried over to where his green bicycle was leaning against the wall of the castle. As he climbed onto it, the others rushed over and climbed onto theirs.
Before long, all four children were cycling down the main street of Smugglers Cove. On most days, the small seaside village was fairly quiet, but today was different.
In fact, it was the busiest that the children had ever seen it. Joe’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he counted the number of police vehicles that were parked in the front of the local police station. There were more than the three they had seen earlier. In fact, there were ten.
Joe could hardly believe his eyes. He had never seen so many police cars in one place before. He glanced at the others and saw they looked as excited as he was. “What do you think is going on?”
“I don’t know,” Will said, “but whatever it is, it’s big. This is the busiest I’ve ever seen Smugglers—”
“Hey! There’s Inspector Price!” Sarah interrupted.
Amy smiled as she saw the cheerful looking man with a moustache and a bald head emerge from the small brick building.
Eager to say hello to the man whom they had met last summer, the children rushed over, Joe yelling out as he did so. “Hi, Inspector Price!”
The inspector glanced around and waved at them before climbing into his car and driving off. Seeing the local constable, the children walked over to him.
“What’s going on with all the police
cars?” Will asked.
“There’s a big operation going on,” Constable Biggens replied.
“Is it something that we can help you with?” Joe asked eagerly.
The constable shook his head. “No, but I suppose I could tell you about it in case you see him.”
“See who?” Sarah asked.
“Boris Ivanov,” Constable Biggens replied. “He’s a Russian scientist who might be headed towards Smugglers Cove. You see, he was spotted in Rockford last night when the car he was driving in was involved in a collision with another vehicle. He fled in this direction on foot. The police pursued him but lost him in the woods on the outskirts of Rockford.”
“Do you think he’s heading for the coast?” Joe questioned.
Constable Biggens nodded. “Yes. Headquarters believe he’s trying to make his way back to Russia. For the past few months the government suspected he was a spy—”
“A spy?” Will exclaimed. “But the war has been over for more than five years.”
“Well, spies don’t just operate during wartime you know,” Constable Biggens said. “As long as there is top secret information that another country wants to get their hands on, spies will exist. Anyway, after the police questioned him at his flat in London the night before last, he fled the scene.”
“What does Boris look like?” Amy asked.
“He’s about six feet tall, blond hair, and his left leg was injured the last time the police saw him,” Constable Biggens replied. “So, if you see any sign of him contact the police, understand?” He took a moment to gaze into the eyes of each of the four children. “This man may or may not be armed, but regardless, he’s on the run and when someone is in that position, they are liable to do things they’ll regret later on.”
“We’ll tell you if we see him,” Joe assured the constable.
“And we’ll make sure to stay away from him,” Amy added.
Constable Biggens glanced at his watch. “I’d better resume searching. See you later.” He hurried over to his car and climbed in.
As several other officers left the police station and climbed into their cars, the roar of engines soon filled the air. However, half a minute later, the noise had subsided as the vehicles sped away.
Since there was nothing else of interest to see, the children climbed onto their bicycles and cycled down the road. As they did so, Joe kept glancing to the left and then to the right. “I wonder where Boris is right now.”
“He probably stole another car and is far away from here,” Amy said. “After all, with so many police combing the woods, roads, and everywhere else, if he was nearby, they would have seen him by now.”
“I suppose so,” Joe admitted.
The children left the village and cycled up the road that led to the cliff top. As they reached the highest point, they gazed down at the bay in front of them and spotted a police boat speeding along the coast.
“The police are really making a big effort to catch this spy,” Will stated.
“Well, it’s a big deal,” Joe said. “After all, when was the last time there was a spy around here?”
“During the war?” Amy suggested.
“I would imagine so.” Joe turned to the others. “Let’s see who can be the first to say hello to Mum.” Without waiting a second, he pushed down on the pedals of his bicycle and tore along the road.
Will was soon on his tail, with the girls evenly matched behind him. As Joe reached the gate to Rose Cottage, he threw his bicycle onto the grass and ran down the path. He flung open the front door a few moments later and raced into the kitchen.
However, Mrs Mitchell wasn’t there, so he turned around and ran into the living room. She wasn’t there either. As he spotted Will heading for the stairs, he realised what was on his mind. He tore after him, but he couldn’t overtake his friend as they reached the bedroom seconds apart.
But they both came to a stop when they found the door wide open and nobody inside. Joe frowned, then suddenly grinned. “She must be in the back garden.”
This time Joe had the lead, but it didn’t matter for when he raced into the small back garden he saw his mother wasn’t there either.
“Where is she?” Will asked.
Joe walked back inside without replying, his mind all in a muddle. A moment later he came face to face with Amy. Sarah was right beside her. “I can’t find Mum.”
Amy grinned. “We know where she is, don’t we Sarah?”
Sarah nodded. “Yes, we do.”
“Spill the beans,” Will said.
Amy held up a piece of paper. “I found this note on the kitchen table.”
Joe took the slip of paper from her and read the words that had been scribbled on it. “Decided to visit a friend in Rockford. Will be back late afternoon.”
Will looked at his friend. “How come you didn’t see the note?”
“Well, I did catch sight of that piece of paper, but I wasn’t thinking about a note,” Joe said. “I was just trying to find Mum. Anyway, now that’s settled, let’s go into the kitchen and get something to eat and drink. I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.”
~
Half and hour later, as the children sat in the big comfortable chairs in the living room, they discussed what to do next.
“We could go down to the beach and have a swim,” Will said. “However it probably isn’t warm enough.”
“We could build a sandcastle instead,” Sarah suggested.
Joe nodded. “We could do that, or we could play badminton.”
“I suppose we could play for a while,” Amy said, “and then we could walk down to the beach or ride to Sandy Bay like I suggested earlier.”
The children went out the back door and walked down the garden path to the small shed. Once they had found the racquets and the shuttlecock, they started playing.
After about ten minutes, Amy began to get bored. “Can we do something else? I know I agreed to play, but I’ve been thinking about the fun we had sailing in our boat. Why can’t we do that today?”
Sarah’s green eyes shone. “Yes, let’s do that! We could go to Lighthouse Island. We haven’t been there for ages.”
“But that’s because there’s nothing on the island except a lighthouse,” Joe said. “Hey, I wonder if that’s where the spy is hiding.”
“I doubt it, because that would be one of the first places that the police would look,” Will said.
“I suppose so,” Joe agreed. “Well, why don’t we play badminton for five more minutes and then we can sail to Lighthouse Island?”
“Okay, five more minutes,” Amy said.
Joe gripped his racquet tightly. “Get ready. I’m going to hit the shuttlecock as hard as I can.” As the shuttlecock flew through the air towards him a few moments later, he did exactly that.
It was such a mighty hit that the shuttlecock flew over the girl’s heads and onto the roof of the shed. Joe leapt up and down in excitement. “Did you see that hit?”
“Yes, and it’s also the end of the game,” Amy said.
“End of the game?” Joe questioned. “Why? You just said we could play for five more minutes.”
“Yes, but now the shuttlecock is on the roof,” Amy replied.
“All we have to do is get the ladder from the shed and climb onto the roof,” Joe said.
“Why can’t we go sailing now?” Sarah asked.
Joe glanced at Will. “What do you say?”
“Alright, let’s get the shuttlecock and then go sailing,” Will replied.
“Okay, we’ll do that,” Joe said.
The boys walked over to the shed and Joe pushed the door wide open. He and Will had just taken hold of the ladder when a figure emerged from the far corner.
Joe turned in the direction of the noise and gasped in amazement as he saw a dishevelled-looking man with blond hair.
The man slowly limped towards them, clasping his left leg. “What’s your name, boy?”
Neither Joe nor Will said anything
. The Russian accent, along with the blond hair and injured leg left no doubt in either of the boy’s minds that this man was none other than Boris Ivanov, the Russian spy.
For once, Joe didn’t know what to say. He was tongue-tied, unsure of what he should do.
“Speak up, boys! I’m not going to bite you,” the man growled.
“Hey, what’s taking you so long?” Amy called out.
The man looked at Joe. “Tell the others to come into the shed.”
“But I don’t—” Joe said.
“Just tell them anything to make them come into the shed,” the man interrupted.
With a glance at Will, Joe called out. “Amy, Sarah, come here for a moment!”
“Why?” Sarah asked.
“I want to show you something,” Joe replied.
A few moments later, the girls entered the shed. “What do you want to show us?” Amy asked.
“Why haven’t you…” Sarah paused as she caught sight of the man.
The man walked forward and gazed at the children. “What are your names?”
“I’m Joe, these are my sisters Sarah and Amy and this is Will, a friend,” Joe replied.
“I see,” the man replied. “Where are your parents?”
“They’ll be home soon, and when they do there will be trouble if you’re here when they get back,” Amy said. “So why don’t you just hand yourself over to the police?”
The man glared. “Ah, so you know who I am.”
“Yes,” Joe boasted. “You’re Boris, the Russian spy, and you’re injured.”
Boris glanced down at his left leg which was caked with dried blood. “Yes, but that won’t stop me from fleeing England. But enough talking here. Lead the way to the cottage, but don’t run away.”
Amy and Sarah left the shed and walked down the path, the boys and Boris close behind them. Upon entering the living room, Boris turned to Amy. “I need bandages. Do you have any?”
“Yes, they’re in the kitchen cupboard,” Amy said. “Shall I go and get them?”