Kidnap Island (5 page)

“
We
googled the name and found out where the island was but
couldn
’
t find out much more, other than the story that it
wasn
’
t safe to go on. My granddad
’
s lawyer,
though, had some old papers which proved that our family owned the
island plus a letter written by my great-grandfather. Look, I have
a copy of it.
”

Eric pulled a folded sheet of paper
from his pocket and passed it to Louisa, who read it
out:

“
To whom it may
concern,

My family and I are
about to leave these shores to start a new, and we hope safer, life
in the United States, leaving the country that we have loved. We
are also leaving our beloved island and our home on
it
…”

“
What home,
”
interrupted Will.
“
There
’
s no house
here.
”

“
There is, I
’
ll show you in a
minute,
”
replied Eric.
“
Carry on reading first though.
”

Louisa picked up from where she had
left off:

“
I hope that one day,
when peace is restored to the world, that we, or our family, will
be able to return to Folney Island and, once again, enjoy our
family home and all that it contains.

“
To
protect it from unwanted attention, I have asked our trusted
gardener and groundsman Cecil Wise and his son
Herbert
…”

“
Hey, that
’
s old Bert the
caretaker at the sailing club. I know him,
”
exclaimed
Jonny.

“…
to put up signs
warning people away from the island and spread a rumour that the
land has been contaminated by the Navy. I have also asked him to
leave the trees and undergrowth to grow wild, hiding our home from
the mainland.

Yours
faithfully

Eric Goldsmith, 14th
June 1941
”

“
So
your great granddad was called Eric; is that how you ended up with
such an old-fashioned name?
”
asked Will rudely.

“
What
’
s old-fashioned about
Eric? There are a few of us at my school,
”
replied the American,
sounding hurt.

“
I
’
m sure different countries have different named
kids,
”
said Jonny hurriedly.
“
Anyway,
where
’
s this house of yours? Can we see
it?
”

Eric got to his feet
and the others followed suit.
“
Sure thing, come with
me,
”
and he disappeared into the thick undergrowth.

The children found
themselves on a narrow pathway that had obviously just recently
been cut through the bushes and brambles which scratched at their
bare legs.
“
Dad and I had to buy some tools to cut our way through
here,
”
shouted Eric from the front of the procession.
“
When we
first came to the island, we just couldn
’
t get past the
shoreline, it was all so overgrown.
”

“
Ow,
it still is,
”
grumbled Will, rubbing his leg which had just been attacked
by a stray bramble.
“
My leg
’
s…”
He stopped short as the four children came to an opening.
There in front of them was a small house, or rather a bungalow.
Made of red brick with a grey tiled roof it was very like the homes
around Jonny
’
s area, except that
it obviously hadn
’
t been lived in for
many years; ivy was crawling up the walls and covering some of the
windows, while, here and there, slates had slipped from the roof
revealing the wooden structure below. That apart, though, it
appeared solid with none of the broken windows or graffiti
you
’
d
see on a long-derelict
building on the mainland.

“
Wow, I
can
’
t believe no one knows this is
here,
”
exclaimed Jonny,
“I
’
ve sailed past the island so many times and never
thought there was a house on it.
”

“
Neat, eh?
” grinned Eric.
“
Come on
inside.
”
He
took them to a
sturdy wooden front door stained green by moss. Pushing it open, he
led them through into the lonely building.

Louisa turned up her
nose at the damp, fusty smell but didn
’
t say anything. Will
did, though:
“
Poo, it stinks in here.
”

“
Yeah, sorry but it
’
s better than it
was,
”
replied Eric.
“
Come through into here.
”
Following the American,
the children walked down the hallway and into what must have been
the living room, with a dark oak fireplace on one wall, the recent
remains of a fire in the grate. There was no furniture, just two
sleeping bags spread out on the floor over camping mats, and there
were rucksacks and clothes scattered around. Ainslie had a quick
sniff around but didn
’
t seem
impressed.

“
Sorry it
’
s a mess, I
wasn
’
t expecting visitors,
”
joked Eric as he quickly kicked a
pair of discarded boxer shorts under a sleeping bag.
“
This is
where dad and I have been sleeping this last week.
It
’
s actually quite cosy. We gave this room a really good
clean up, and the kitchen, too; come and see.
”
He took the children
through to a small kitchen with an old-fashioned Belfast sink, a
couple of wooden cabinets and not much more. A modern camping stove
was set up on the draining board and the sink was full of unwashed
dishes.
“
Er, sorry, it
’
s a bit messy in here
too,
”
said Eric sheepishly.
“
Hey, anyone wanna
soda?
”
He rummaged around in a coolbox and pulled out four cans of
coke.
”

“
Soda?
”
Will said in a puzzled voice.
“
Sure, help
yourself,
”
said Eric, putting the cans on the table.

“
Thanks,
”
said Louisa and Jonny, each taking a can, and Jonny
passed one to Will with a wink.

“
Er,
where
’
s the loo?
”
asked Will, putting his can
down.

“
Well, there
’
s a kinda hut in the
yard but it
’
s got weeds growing
out of the pan, so me and pops, we pee in the
woods.
”

“
And
when you need more than that?
” quizzed
Jonny.

“
Er,
we
’
ve got a shovel
…” grinned
Eric.

“
Yuck, that
’
s
gross,
”
said Louisa.
“
Guess I
’
d best watch where I
walk then.
”

The children laughed
as Will strolled out into the garden.
“
No
looking,
”
he called as he disappeared into the trees.

“
As
if we
’
d want to,
”
shouted Jonny after him. He then
turned to Eric with a serious expression,
“
Say,
where
’
s your dad and why are you actually staying here
rather than in a hotel somewhere?
”

“
We
wanted to stay in the old family home
–
it
’
s fun. Dad
’
s got a meeting with
his lawyers today, something to do with the will, I think. I went
along last time and it was so boring I said I
’
d hang out
here this time,
”
Eric explained.
“I
’
m really meant to be cleaning up a bit but
I
’
ve not gotten round to it yet.
”

“
We
’
ll give you a hand,
”
said Jonny looking
around at the messy kitchen.
“
Come
on.
”

What are you
doing?
”
asked Will as he returned from relieving
himself.

“
Helping Eric to clear up. Here you can wash
up.
”
Jonny chucked a dishcloth at Will.

“
Oh joy.
Don
’
t you have a dishwasher? I
’
ve never washed
up before.
”
Jonny looked at Will wondering if he was joking and,
deciding that he probably wasn
’
t, took pity on
him.

“
Tell you what, I
’
ll wash up, you help
Eric tidy up his living room. Just watch out for his mucky
boxers,
”
said Jonny. Eric looked embarrassed but disappeared into
the living room with Will while Louisa stayed and helped Jonny in
the kitchen.

“
How
cool to own your own island and house,
”
said Louisa, slopping
cold water into some cups.
“Say,
I
’
m surprised there
’
s running water here,
shame it
’
s not hot.
”

“
I
’
ll heat some up,
”
replied Jonny as he lit the little
camping stove with a match.
“
Yep, this is ultra-cool,
imagine being able to sleep here
–
Eric is so lucky. I wonder if
we
’
ll see his dad today.
”

As it turned out, they
didn
’
t see Eric
’
s father. After a
couple of hours cleaning, sweeping and scrubbing, much of the
little house was looking a lot brighter and more homely; Louisa
even went out and picked some flowers from what she thought must
have once been a pretty little garden and arranged them in a vase
on the living room window sill.

“
Gee, thanks guys,
”
smiled Eric.
“
My
dad
’
ll be stoked when he sees all this.
I
’
ll get him to take you all out for pizza sometime
soon.
”

“
That
’
d be great,
thanks,
”
smiled Louisa.
“
When
’
s he back,
anyway?
”

“
It
should be soon, why don
’
t you
wait?
”

“
We
’
d love to but the tide is on its way out and the
wind
’
s
dropping,”
replied Jonny,
looking anxiously at the trees moving, or rather not moving.
“
Tell you
what, do you have a phone? I
’
ll give you my number
then we can get together again soon.
”