Chereads / The Adventures of The Clue Crackers-(Moved to a New Link) / Chapter 7 - Case #7: The Case of the Lighthouse Mystery

Chapter 7 - Case #7: The Case of the Lighthouse Mystery

Sailors were sailing the same boat on The Taunton River. They saw the lighthouse's light ahead, but somebody turned it off, making their boat crash and sink. The guy then turned the light back on and laughed evilly. The Clue Crackers drove to Massachusetts, where they saw The Taunton River. Ricky said, "So that's The Taunton River. It looks beautiful." Cassidy said, "Sure does. I can't wait to go boating on it." Ricky said, "One issue." Judy said, "What's that?" Ricky pointed out onto the river, and The Clue Crackers looked at where he was pointing. Then they saw some green glowing ghost ship on the water. Ricky said, "A creepy ghost ship." Once The Clue Crackers got into town, they saw their hotel. Brad said, "Well, here's our hotel." Cassidy said, "Well, I want to know more about that ghost ship."

The Clue Crackers checked into their hotel and asked the receptionist, Lyra Beckerson if she knew anything about the ghost ship they saw. Lyra said, "Not much. It's just the ghost ship of the old ship, The Large Grappler. It heads out onto The Taunton River every night, but people can't explain how it disappears in the fog and why their boats always seem to sink because whenever they get close to the lighthouse, it turns off, and then they can't see all the rocks. Brad said, "Well, gang, looks like we're head over heels in another mystery."

The next day, The Clue Crackers set out for the lighthouse and saw somebody. The girl said, "Crackers, I bet that's a clue." Cassidy said, "Crackers?" The girl emerged from the shadows and waved hello to The Clue Crackers. The girl said, "Hi, I'm Katherine Dickiney. I take it you're working on the lighthouse mystery, too." Ricky said, "How do you know that?" Katherine pointed at Brad and said, "Because he's holding a handheld crime solver. Only serious sleuths carry those. Although, I have the latest model." Brad said, "Well, we're Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake. And I'm the one who started this mystery group." Katherine said, "I see. Well, I'm working on the case too. And I've spotted a bunch of winter flounders floating dead in the river. I'm going to rent a boat and take a closer look." Cassidy thought about it and said, "Not a bad idea; I'm going out, too." Brad said, "Ricky and I will join you. Judy, you and Jake check out the lighthouse."

Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky entered town while Judy and Jake headed to the lighthouse. They read the sign once Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky found the boat rental place. Brad said, "Yale's Boat Rentals? But this is Massachusetts, not Yale. So why would someone name their shop that?" Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky saw the shop owner at the desk. Cassidy said, "Hello, sir. We were hoping to rent a boat." The owner said, "I am Yale Yusing, owner of this place. Also, are you insane?" Ricky said, "Oh, now we know why he named his shop Yale's Boat Rentals."

Cassidy then saw a backpack behind the desk. Cassidy said, "Well, no. We want to get a closer look at something we saw. Oh..." Cassidy pointed at the backpack and said, "What's this?" Yale looked at the backpack Cassidy was pointing at and said, "Um, someone just left it here, and I'm keeping it safe until they claim it." Brad said, "Have you ever been out on the river?" Yale said, "Yes, but anyway, here are your keys to your boat. It's waiting for you out front." Cassidy took the keys from Yale and had her suspicions about him. They then left the shop and went to their boat. Once they left, Yale got a little mad at them, as if he were glad they were gone. Cassidy said, "There was something suspicious about that Yale Yusing." Brad said, "Tell me about it. He sure was in a rush to make the sale." Ricky said, "Plus, he asked us if we were insane for wanting to go out on the river." Cassidy said, "And I think there was more to that backpack he kept that met the eye. Sounds like we have a suspect." Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky started their boat and headed onto The Taunton River.

Meanwhile, Judy and Jake made it to the lighthouse. Judy knocked on the door, and then it opened by itself. Judy and Jake were a little scared to go inside, but Judy turned on her flashlight, walked in, and Jake followed her. While there, Judy found the light switch and saw it looked like someone's home inside. Judy walked up to the wall and saw a map of the world. She also saw artwork on the wall and decorations on the furniture. Judy said, "Wow, paintings from Romania, Belgium, Japan, Mexico, even Italy. The furniture even looks like it's from different countries. A Chinese gong and pictures of kangaroos from Australia and elephants from Africa. And here's a vase from Greece and a model of the Roman Coliseum. Whoever lives here must like the world and have been to many places. Judy said, "Come on, Jake. Let's go look up at the light." Judy and Jake marched up the stairs to the top of the lighthouse, hoping to find the keeper.

Meanwhile, Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky saw Katherine checking out the dead fish in the water. Katherine rowed her boat into a cave, and Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky followed her. Before they entered, Brad tapped Cassidy on the arm. Cassidy said, "What?" Brad pointed up at the cliffside, and they saw a mysterious van that looked like it belonged to spies. The people inside started scouting the area with spy equipment, and Cassidy wondered why. Brad said, "We'll get to that clue later. Right now, let's check out this cave." Then they heard a ship's horn and looked in front of them.

Ricky said, "And we better step on it because here comes the ghost ship." Cassidy then drove away from the cave, and the ghost ship chased after them. Brad said, "Faster, Cassidy, it's gaining on us." Cassidy speeded up their boat. Ricky looked behind them and didn't see anything. Ricky said, "I think we lost it." Then, the ghost ship sailed right next to them, and they drove into the fog. Once they arrived, the mist cleared, and the ghost ship vanished. Cassidy said, "It's gone." Brad said, "But where'd it come from or go to?" Cassidy said, "I don't know, but there's that creepy van again." Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky saw the van they spotted driving by the river and heading into town. Ricky said, "Come on, let's get out of here and follow them."

Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky exited the river and into their van. Then, they followed the mysterious van into town. While following the van, Judy and Jake made it to the top of the lighthouse, where the light was kept. Judy said, "Unfortunately, there's no lighthouse keeper here." Judy then heard somebody say, "That's what you think?" Judy quickly turned around and saw a zombie lighthouse keeper. Judy screamed at him, ran outside the window with Jake, and climbed up to the roof. The zombie lighthouse keeper chased after them and had them corned on the rooftop. Judy then used her walkie-talkie to make an emergency call to her team. Jake then fell through the lighthouse roof and back into the lighthouse while Judy called the others. Judy said, "Guys, come in." Cassidy answered her walkie-talkie and said, "Yes, Judy." Judy shouted, "A zombie is ambushing me. HELP!" The zombie lighthouse keeper then grabbed Judy, and she dropped her walkie-talkie. Cassidy said, "Judy?

The gang hurried over to the lighthouse, kicked the door open, and ran up the stairs to where the light was. When they arrived, they found Judy's walkie-talkie on the floor. Ricky said, "Hey, look. It's Judy's walkie-talkie. Katherine then showed up with her magnifying glass and said, "And a hair from your dog." Cassidy said, "Katherine? Did you follow us here?" Katherine said, "Of course not. If I followed you, how would I have gotten here first? Seriously, Cassidy, you must think about these things before you say them out loud." Cassidy got mad and said, "I'm starting not to like her." Brad said, "Hey, since we're all working on the case, would you like to look for clues with us?" Katherine said, "No thanks. I almost have this mystery solved. I need one more thing to confirm my theory." Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky looked out the window and saw Katherine get on her motorcycle and ride into town. After Katherine left, The Clue Crackers continued looking for clues, as well as Judy and Jake.

They then went back downstairs and heard somebody coming in. When the door opened, the lighthouse keeper, Steve Dorsel, walked in. Steve said, "What are you 3 doing in here?" Brad said, "Looking for our friends. They came here earlier, and we found one of their walkie-talkies by the beacon. She wouldn't go anywhere without it." Steve said, "She probably just dropped it before she left." Cassidy said, "Maybe, but why's the furniture from different countries?" Steve said, "I have relatives in most of these places who mailed them to me, and I've been to others; I got them as souvenirs." Cassidy said, "Interesting." A cat then showed up and jumped onto Steve. Steve said, "This is my cat, Fluffy. She's my only company."

Brad said, "Well, thanks for answering our questions. We'll be going now." Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky left the lighthouse, got in their van, and drove back into town. Then they saw a motorcycle chase happening and wondered what it was about, so they chased after both the bikers. The one in second place then pushed a button on a remote, activating a crane that dropped a net onto the biker in the lead. Then, the biker in first place crashed his motorcycle, and the biker in second stopped hers. The Clue Crackers stopped their van, got out, and saw who the second biker was.

Cassidy said, "Perfect, it's Katherine." Katherine said, "Yep. And I just caught the person behind this." Katherine removed the net and said, "Yale Yusing." Cassidy said, "Katherine, just because he was trying to get away doesn't mean he's behind this." Katherine said, "No, but this might." Katherine unzipped Yale's backpack and found a remote in it. Katherine said, "A remote control. I bet this is how he controlled that ghost ship. He controlled it with the remote, and when it entered the fog, Yale drove it back into port before the fog cleared, making it seem like it had disappeared." Yale said, "Ok, I did it. I've been using the legend of The Large Grappler to scare people away because I found its hidden treasure. When I found the treasure, I knew other people would want it. So, I invented the ghost ship to scare people out of the river. And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for that meddling kid." The police then took Yale to prison. Brad said, "Congrats, Katherine. You thought of everything." Cassidy said, "Yeah, everything."

Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky returned to their hotel since the mystery was over, but Cassidy was still investigating on her laptop. Brad said, "I don't get it. Katherine cracked the case but didn't find Judy or Jake." Ricky said, "Brad's right. There's something wrong with this picture." Cassidy looked at her laptop and said, "Yep, and I have a feeling it has something to do with that cave we saw Katherine go in before the ghost ship came. So, I have a feeling this mystery isn't over yet." Brad said, "That's right. That was the one clue we didn't look into." Cassidy said, "I've researched the caves in this area and found a map. Take a look." Brad and Ricky looked at Cassidy's laptop and saw the map of the caves she found. Brad said, "I think this mystery is almost solved."

Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky drove a powerboat out to the cave they saw Katherine go into earlier and rode it in. Once inside, they exited their boat and used flashlights to look around the cave. While looking around, they found Judy and Jake tied up together. Cassidy said, "Judy, Jake." Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky untied Judy and Jake. Once they were free, Judy and Jake re-joined Brad, Cassidy, and Ricky. Brad said, "The gang is back together." Then, the zombie lighthouse keeper found them. The zombie lighthouse keeper said, "And now that you're back together, you'll never leave this cave." The Clue Crackers then screamed and ran for their lives, and the zombie lighthouse keeper chased them further down the tunnel. Once they got to the end, they found fur coats, TV sets, paintings, jewelry, and sacks of money. While looking around, the zombie lighthouse keeper walked up behind them. He tapped Brad's shoulder and said, "Ah, em." The Clue Crackers looked behind them and saw the zombie lighthouse keeper. The zombie lighthouse keeper said, "Boo." The Clue Crackers then screamed and ran for it. Once they got to the other end of the cave, the zombie lighthouse keeper tripped and fell to the ground. Since he was down, The Clue Crackers walked up to him and tied him up.

Cassidy said, "Time to figure out who's behind this." Cassidy removed the zombie lighthouse keeper's mask, and they saw who was behind it. The Clue Crackers all said at the same time, "Katherine Dickiney." Judy said, "But why?" Cassidy said, "It started to come to me when we first saw Katherine come in here in her row boat. She wasn't looking for clues. She was seeing how well her smuggling ring was coming along. Katherine dressed up as the zombie lighthouse keeper and turned the light on when her shipments of loot came in. If it were someone else, she would turn the light off and make them crash their boat." Brad said, "I get it. That way, she becomes rich, and all the businesses in town go out of business." Ricky said, "Wow, the perfect crime."

Katherine said, "Only I did count on you five showing up. I would have gotten away with this stuff if it wasn't for you meddling kids." Ricky said, "What about that van we saw creeping around?" Cassidy said, "Well, I did some research and found out that van belonged to a top-secret organization investigating the dead fish. When Katherine caused the ships to crash, the broken pieces of the ships killed the fish. Katherine said, "Well, I knew that too. I swear I did. You guys believe me. Right?" The Clue Crackers then turned Katherine over to the police, and they collected all her riches and returned them. Cassidy said, "I hope that's the last we'll see of Katherine Dickiney." Judy said, "Even if it's not. Everyone in town is happy again, and their business sales are rising now that Katherine's not driving them out of business anymore." The Clue Crackers then slapped hands to congratulate each other on solving the mystery.

The End