The Haunted Lighthouse (9 page)

The ranger continued her story. “Diamond Dave seemed to be obsessed with the lighthouse on Alcatraz. He could see it from the exercise yard, and the guards said he used to stare at it for hours. When the bell rang for the prisoners to come in,
he was always the last one inside. That lighthouse was built to warn sailors of dangers in the fog-shrouded waters of San Francisco Bay. But for Diamond Dave, I think it was a symbol of freedom. What do you all think?”

While the students raised their hands and offered answers, Cody’s mind drifted. She wondered if the lighthouse might have symbolized something more than freedom for Diamond Dave … such as the hiding place for his diamonds? But if that was true, how could the jewels have made it to Alcatraz without being found by the guards? And if they had been hidden in the lighthouse, they probably would have been found by now.

Her mind immediately jumped to the note they’d found under Seat B-2 in the dining hall. It had read: “Candle on the Water.”

A lighthouse.

“Whatever happened to Diamond Dave?” Quinn asked.

“He was finally released, after serving his time,” the ranger answered. “Then he just disappeared. No one ever saw him again. Rumor has it that he reclaimed the diamonds his buddies had hidden for him, following clues they’d left while visiting him in prison. But no one knows where the diamonds—or Dave—ended up. He could have died before finding his treasure. He could have been double-crossed by his so-called pals. Or he could have found the diamonds, left the country, and lived out his days in style. It’s one of those unsolved mysteries that makes Alcatraz so interesting.”

Cody looked at Quinn, then Luke, then M.E. Their eyes were wide.

“All right, everyone, this concludes the tour,” the ranger said. “Feel free to visit the gift shop and explore the rest of the island, as long as you stay out of the restricted areas.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Quinn whispered to the other three.

They nodded, grinning.

M.E. stuck out her index finger. “The e-mail you got on your computer, Cody,” she said, raising another finger, and another, and another, as she listed the clues. “The torn messages we found on our front porches. The clue we found under the bench. The story of Diamond Dave and his drawings.”

Cody was about to blurt out the key to the clues M.E. had just listed when she noticed Matt the Brat standing nearby, obviously trying to overhear them. She raised her finger to her lips to silence the others, then finger-spelled what she’d been about to say:

Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on
this page
,
this page
.

“It has to be that!” Quinn said. “So let’s go!”

J
ust a sec,” Cody said, as they began to head for the lighthouse. She ducked into the gift shop and helped herself to a free brochure. Returning a few moments later, she showed the brochure to the others.

Quinn said, “We already have a map.”

“I know,” she said, unfolding it, “but I want to
see if there’s anything more about the lighthouse. Maybe there’s a secret entrance or something.” Cody read it over.

“What’s it say?” M.E. asked.

Cody skimmed it for information to share. “Ummm … built in 1854 … automated in 1963—the year the prison was closed. It’s still a working lighthouse … first one on the West Coast … built of reinforced concrete … octagon-shaped … eighty-four feet high …”

“Skip the boring stuff,” Luke interrupted. “Is there anything we really need to know?”

Cody frowned at him. “Only that the grounds aren’t open to the public, so we can’t go in it.”

Quinn shot her a look of concern.

“But we’ll see when we get there,” Cody said. “There should be a sign.”

They climbed the steep hill leading to the lighthouse, which looked like a giant chess piece. Cody continued to read the rest of the brochure to make
sure she hadn’t missed anything.

“Did you know the lighthouse also had a fog bell that helped keep ships from running into the island?” she asked. “And sailors used signals and codes to call for help in times of trouble. For example, they communicated over the airwaves using the phonetic alphabet. Each letter matched a word, so sailors could clearly understand the call. See if you can translate this example”:

Sierra – Hotel – India – Papa

India – November

Delta – India – Sierra – Tango – Romeo – Echo – Sierra – Sierra

Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on
this page
,
this page
.

Cody was about to give the answer when Luke suddenly jerked her arm, startling her.

“Hey!” she said, still annoyed at him for interrupting her earlier.

Luke pointed to the white pile she was about to step in. “Watch where you step. There’s bird poop everywhere.”

Cody glanced around. Luke was right—it was all over the place. She’d been so involved in reading the brochure she hadn’t been watching where she was walking. Yuck. Her shoes would have been ruined if she’d stepped in that stuff.

As they neared the lighthouse, Cody glanced at the view from atop the hill. Since the fog had lifted, she could see all the way to Berkeley. Wow, she thought,
it’s beautiful from up here
.

“There’s the door,” Quinn said. “And it’s open,” he said, wide-eyed.

Cody nodded toward a sign Quinn had apparently missed. “But it’s off-limits. See the sign?
NO ADMITTANCE
.
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
.”

“But the door’s open,” he protested.

“Hey, what are you kids doing?” a man’s voice sounded from behind them.

Cody and the others spun around. She recognized Geoff, the old guard who had been assisting Ranger Huynh on the tour. He stood behind them, hands on his hips, frowning. Unlike the ranger, who’d worn the park uniform, Geoff wore a traditional prison guard’s uniform—gray, with a red tie and round cap.

“Nothing,” Quinn said, pulling back from the lighthouse door.

“Can’t go inside,” Geoff the guard said. “Staff only. Too dangerous, especially for kids.”

“We were just … checking it out,” Luke offered. “The ranger said we could go exploring.”

“Yeah, but not inside the lighthouse. Didn’t you see the sign?”

None of the kids said anything.

The hard frown on the man’s face softened. “You’re that kid who solved the tap code, aren’t you?” he asked Quinn.

Quinn nodded proudly.

“I heard you kids talking. You’re on some kind of treasure hunt or something, aren’t you?”

“Not really a treasure hunt,” Quinn said. “We’re …” He glanced at the others. “We’re just curious about the lighthouse.” He indicated Cody. “She collects lighthouse pictures.”

“Remembered the story of Diamond Dave?”

The Code Busters grinned and nodded.

This guy knows what we’re up to
, Cody thought.

“Yeah, that story always fascinated me, too. So you really want to see inside, huh?” the guard asked, readjusting his cap.

Quinn’s eyebrows rose. “Sure!”

“All right. If you just want a quick look. You gotta be careful, though. No fooling around. And just go up and come straight down. Got me?”

“Awesome! We’ll be careful,” Luke said, obviously excited.

Cody wasn’t so sure. There was probably a reason the public wasn’t allowed in the lighthouse.
It really could be dangerous. What if there was another earthquake? The whole place could come crumbling down.

Quinn seemed to notice Cody’s reluctance and nudged her. “You okay?” he whispered. “This is going to be cool.”

Cody nodded, not wanting to appear scared. M.E. was usually the reluctant one, but this time she felt anxious.

“Go on in,” the guard said. “But like I told you, be careful. And hurry. You got five minutes. And if you find the diamonds, we split fifty-fifty.” He grinned at them.

Quinn led the way in through the door, while Cody brought up the rear. As soon as she entered the small, octagonal room, she was glad she’d come. Right in the middle was a black iron spiral staircase that twisted its way up to the top. Graffiti was scratched and penned on the inside walls of the room, and Cody read several slogans from
a group called the American Indian Movement, which had taken over the island years before:
CUSTER HAD IT COMING
and
TAKE BACK AMERICA
.

“Wow,” M.E. said, glancing around. Cody held tightly to the curved railing of the creaky metal staircase as they began their ascent.

“Look for some kind of message,” Quinn said. Cody had nearly forgotten why they were here—to find a message. Well, if there was a message waiting for them inside this lighthouse, then someone who had a key must have put it there. Matt the Brat wouldn’t have had access. And if it wasn’t Matt, who could it be?

Or was this just a wild-goose chase?

As soon as they reached the top of the staircase, Cody felt the wind whip through slats in the tower, burning her eyes, but she was so dazzled by the thick glass windows that surrounded them, she hardly noticed. A huge beacon of bright light in the center of the tiny room turned a sweeping 360
degrees, sending its powerful light to all parts of the bay.

“Whoa,” she whispered to herself. This was the first time she’d seen the inside of a real lighthouse. It truly was awesome. And the view was even more breathtaking.

“Look for a message!” Quinn said again as they moved around inside the tower.

The kids began searching for some clue related to the mysterious note they’d found in the prison dining hall. They checked the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the light itself. But five minutes later, they’d come up empty-handed.

“There’s nothing here,” Luke said, taking a last look around. “And it’s freezing.”

“Time’s up,” the guard called from below, his voice echoing up through the cement tower.

“Let’s go.” Luke started down the twisting staircase.

Cody was about to follow him down when she
spotted something in one of the small alcoves.

“Wait.” She headed over, then picked up a glass jar. “Look at this.” She held it up. An old cork lay at the bottom of the jar.

Quinn took the jar from her and turned it over. The cork fell into his hand. “This looks like a homemade compass. We made these in Scouts. See the rust line at the bottom of the glass, where all the water evaporated? And the cork even has a needle in it. That’s how we made them—by floating a cork with a needle in water. The needle always points north.”

“So you think this was a compass?” M.E. asked.

“I don’t know,” Quinn said. “Let’s try it.” He got out a bottle of water from his backpack and poured it into the small glass jar, then held it up and peered at it. The cork floated around in circles. “I don’t think it’s working. It needs to be magnetized.”

“Hey, you kids. Come on down,” the guard called again.

“We’re coming!” Quinn yelled back. “Cody, where exactly did you find this?”

Cody showed him the alcove where she’d discovered the glass jar and cork. On the wall next to it was graffiti, most of it written with a black marker. But at the bottom, someone had actually carved something into the cement wall.

“Check this out,” Quinn said, pointing to the markings. “It looks like some kind of code.”

Cody peered at it and recognized the dots and dashes.