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When Amy and her friend Max discover caves with suspicious-looking smugglers' crates hidden inside, it looks like Amy has another mystery to solve. As the case unfolds, the reader can work as a detective alongside Amy by downloading podcasts that reveal key clues.
Citation preview
a podcast-linked crime thriller
The Amy Carter Mysteries
Smugglers!
This edition published in Great Britain in 2009 by Quest, an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc,Marine House, Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UK
www.quest-books.co.uk
0 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
Creative Director – Simon CouchmanEditorial Director – Daniel Graham
Art Editor – Matt DennyCommissioning Editor – Lorna Thomson
Podcast Engineer – Paul Strandoo
Written by Karen King
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.Neither this book nor any part or any of the illustrations, photographs or reproductions contained in itshall be sold or disposed of otherwise than as a complete book, and any unauthorised sale of such partillustration, photograph or reproduction shall be deemed to be a breach of the publisher’s copyright.
ISBN 978-1-84666-810-4
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryPrinted and bound in China
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’simagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is
entirely coincidental.
With thanks to the following voice actors:Amy Carter: Valentina Huxley
Max: Cameron CaseySid the Sniff: Steve Wooldridge
Will: Mick FarrowSuzanna from Nite Life: Linda Wooldridge
Lee from Nite Life: Steve Wooldridge
Published by Quest.Quest is an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc,
Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UKwww.quest-books.co.uk
Copyright © 2009 Top That! Publishing plc. All rights reserved
Written by Karen King
Are you a top detective like Amy Carter?
As the drama unfolds, join the hunt and become agreat detective yourself! As well as seeking out cluesas you read, download audio evidence via podcast
to help you uncover the truth!
Whenever you see this icon go to www.quest-books.co.uk and download the
relevant podcast number. Listen carefully, as manytimes as you like, then piece together the evidence to get to the bottom of the case. Time is alreadyticking away, so get reading and stay alert – the
clues are out there!
Download the final thrilling podcast to learn if yousuccessfully spotted all of the clues to solve the case.
The Amy Carter Mysteries
Chapter 1
The Light
There it was again. I frowned at the distant flashing
light, just visible over the rooftops from my attic
bedroom. I’d been up late, talking on the Internet to
my buddies back home in the USA, and had glanced
out of the window before getting into bed. That’s
when I’d noticed the light.
It had been flashing for over five minutes now,
and I was sure it was a signal. It wasn’t an SOS –
I’d counted the flashes and they weren’t the three
short, three long, three short of the distress signal –
but more like on, off, on, off as if to say ‘Hey,
I’m here.’
The sound of a door opening below and footsteps
on the landing distracted my attention from the
window. I crept across my bedroom, opened the
door and peered over the banister, but I couldn’t see
anyone – they must have been too far down the
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The Amy Carter Mysteries
stairs. I guessed who it was though – Mr Hodgkin,
one of Gran’s guests. He had arrived at Beachview,
Gran’s B&B, on Friday afternoon, two days ago. He
drives Gran totally loco because he goes out every
night to watch badgers and then spends all morning
in bed catching up on his sleep. How weird is that?
When I went back to the window and stared out,
the light had stopped flashing. I shrugged. It was
probably the beam from the lighthouse, the beach
was over in that direction. I mean, who’d be
flashing a light at one thirty in the morning? I
dropped the curtains, climbed into bed and snuggled
down to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I could see Gran was in a bad mood as soon as I
walked into the kitchen the next morning. She was
banging the plates down as she laid the table, her
lips pursed and her face tight and pinched.
I glanced at the clock. Seven thirty, so I wasn’t
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Smugglers!
late for breakfast and, thankfully, I’d had a quick
shower, pulled on some shorts and a tee shirt and
combed my hair before I went down. Gran hated it
if anyone turned up at the breakfast table without
getting washed and dressed first. Maybe, for once, it
was someone else who had upset her.
Not Mr Winkleberry, of course. He was making
a pot of tea and looked very much at home, as
usual. He’d been staying at the B&B for years and
was here for the whole summer. He and Gran
seemed to be getting a bit sweet on each other,
which was really cringeworthy. I mean, they’re both
pretty ancient.
‘Do you need any help, Gran?’ I asked
tentatively. When Gran had that look on her face
she was liable to snap my head off just for breathing.
‘You could set out the cutlery, please, Amy.’
Gran banged another plate down on the table and
then glanced over at me. She looked real mad. ‘Of
course, Mr Hodgkin won’t be joining us for
breakfast. I heard him come in at half past five this
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The Amy Carter Mysteries
morning. Half past five! Can you believe it? Now
he’ll be in bed until lunchtime again and I won’t
be able to clean his room and put fresh towels
in there.’
‘Would you like me to have a word with him,
Sue?’ Mr Winkleberry asked. ‘You shouldn’t have
to put up with this.’
‘No, I’ll deal with it,’ Gran said. ‘I’ll speak to him
later, but thank you for the offer.’
‘How long’s he staying for?’ I asked.
Before Gran could answer, a waft of sickly sweet
perfume drifted through the door and then Miss
Pearce floated in, dressed top to toe in designer gear
and dripping with gold jewellery. She’d arrived
yesterday afternoon and for some strange reason
seemed to have taken a shine to Mr Winkleberry,
even though he must be at least ten years older than
her. They’d spent a couple of hours chatting last
night. She homed in on him now.
‘Good morning, David.’ She flashed him a
dazzling smile then nodded at Gran, ‘Mrs Carter.’
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Smugglers!
She sat down at the table, completely ignoring me.
‘Are one of those cups of tea for me? Oh, how
lovely! You are kind.’ Another dazzling smile at
Mr Winkleberry.
I tell you, I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I
wolfed down my breakfast as fast as I could, loaded
the plate in the dishwasher, muttered ‘I’m off for a
walk,’ and made a quick exit.
Fluffy, Gran’s bichon frise, followed me,
watching forlornly from the doorstep as I walked
out of the backyard. I would have taken her, but I
was heading for the beach and I knew that Gran
would go seriously nuts if I got any sea water or
sand on her precious Fluffy’s curly white fur. Fluffy
was not only her pride and joy but a champion
show dog, so was one pampered pooch.
Before I’d even turned the corner of Gran’s end
terraced house, I heard footsteps running after me.
‘Where are you sneaking off to?’
It was Max, the kid next door. I might have
known he’d be looking out for me. He was like my
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The Amy Carter Mysteries
shadow now he’d helped me solve two cases: the
kidnapping of Fluffy and the sabotage of Old Joe’s
cottage. Mind you, I was the one who’d done all the
super-sleuthing – I’d done some crime busting back
home in the US so was pretty experienced at it –
Max had just tagged along for the ride. Trouble is,
now he thought we were best buddies, but hanging
around with a nine-year-old kid is so not cool.
‘I’m not sneaking around, I’m going for a walk
along the beach,’ I told him. ‘See you later.’ I
shoved my hands in my pockets and sauntered
around the corner.
Max caught up with me. ‘I’ll come too, just in
case you get lost,’ he said.
That was always Max’s excuse for hanging
around me. I’d only been in Little Cragg a few
weeks – my parents were touring Europe with the
musical show they starred in so I’d come to stay
with Gran in England for the summer – but I pretty
much knew my way around by now.
‘I can manage, thanks,’ I told him. ‘Does
Mummy know you’re out?’
He scowled. He hated it when I reminded him
how much younger than me he was. Four years to
be exact, which by my reasoning made me the boss,
though Max didn’t always see it that way.
‘Okay, go by yourself … but you’ll never find the
smugglers’ caves.’
‘Smugglers’ caves?’ I tried not to sound too
interested.
‘Yeah, not many people know where they are.
But you go off by yourself.’ He turned and started
to walk back.
I hesitated. Max was always doing this. It made
him feel good if he knew something I didn’t. I’d
read a bit about Cornwall before I’d come over and
had been fascinated by its smuggling history. It
would be seriously mega to see the caves, but I
wasn’t about to let Max know how desperate I was.
‘You can come if you like,’ I told him. ‘It’s up
to you.’
I carried on walking. Sure enough, Max was soon
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Smugglers!
back by my side.
‘My great-great-grandad used to be a smuggler,’
he said.
I looked at him to see if he was lying. ‘Straight
up?’ I asked.
He nodded. ‘Mum told me all about it. He was
known as Smuggler Ben. These caves I’m gonna
show you are the ones he used to store his stuff.’
Well, that sounded pretty exciting. Exciting
enough to put up with Max’s company anyway.
To my surprise, instead of heading for the main
beach, Max went down towards the harbour. ‘Are
we going to the dog beach?’ I asked. It was
Craggmor Beach really, but the locals called it the
‘dog beach’ because it was the only beach you were
allowed to take dogs in the summer. I knew where
it was because when Fluffy had been kidnapped the
blackmailer had asked us to meet him there with the
ransom money.
‘No, Smugglers’ Bay, it’s a bit further along than
Craggmor Beach. Just follow me.’
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The Amy Carter Mysteries
Even though it had just gone nine, the harbour
front was crowded with tourists wanting to make
the most of the sunshine. They walked along the
middle of the road, three or four abreast, regardless
of the car drivers hooting their horns angrily at
them. We weaved in and out of the crowds, which,
thankfully, dwindled once we left the harbour front.
Then, Max led the way past the dog beach, around
a couple of corners, down a side street and then
stopped at some stone steps, almost hidden by a
high wall. I peered over the wall and saw a stretch
of golden sand in front of me. Amazing! I’d never
have guessed a beach was hidden here. There was
no sign of any caves though.
‘Where are the caves?’ I asked.
‘You can’t see them from here,’ Max said.
The steps were narrow and broken here and there
so we had to go down real careful – one slip and
we’d be at the bottom a lot quicker than we
planned and probably with a couple of broken
bones in the process.
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Smugglers!
As soon as we reached the bottom I looked
around for the caves. Some big black rocks towered
above us on the right like a high wall, gradually
getting smaller and smaller until they were only
boulders scattered along the beach. In front of us
was the ocean, to the left the beach stretched as far
as I could see. ‘So, where are the caves?’ I asked.
‘Behind those rocks. There’s another beach there,
it’s like a secret cove,’ Max said.
We took off our trainers, stuffed our socks in and
carried them as we walked barefoot over the sand to
the smaller rocks. The sea lapped gently over the
rocks and I couldn’t resist paddling in it before
climbing over.
I jumped down and gazed in awe at the scene in
front of me.
We were in a little cove, flanked by a huge black
cliff so tall that when I looked up I felt dizzy.
Several rugged caves were formed in the cliff; deep,
dark holes that held centuries of secrets.
Smugglers’ caves.
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The Amy Carter Mysteries
11
Chapter 2
Danger
I was seriously excited. I put my trainers down on
the sand, whipped out my cellphone and snapped
away, taking photos of the caves, the cove and
the sea.
‘Told you!’ Max said triumphantly. He was
already snapping away with his phone. Ever since
Old Joe had given me a top-of-the-range racing bike
and Max a snazzy new cellphone to thank us for
helping to catch the person who’d been sabotaging
his cottage, Max had been taking photos of just
about everything. I often teased him that he was
acting like a tourist.
‘Mum said that the smugglers unloaded their
cargo off the boats and piled it in one of the caves.
Then they carried it through a secret tunnel to
another cave at the back. I tried to find the tunnel
once but couldn’t,’ he told me.
162
The Amy Carter Mysteries
About the Author
Karen King began her writing career with the teenage
magazine Jackie and spent many years writing for various
children’s magazines, including Winnie the Pooh, Rosie and
Jim and Nursery Education, before concentrating solely on
writing books. With over one hundred children’s books
published, Karen writes both fiction and non-fiction titles for
children from pre-school to teens.
Karen’s published work includes Foul Play, Cosmic Whizz Kid,
Space Chase on Planet Zog and The Gold Badge, as well as
Amy Carter’s first two mysteries, Dognapped! and Sabotage!.
Her picture book I Don't Eat Toothpaste Anymore won the
Gold Award for Best Product, and her book entitled The
Birthday Surprise won the Practical Parenting Award.
If you enjoyed
Smugglers!, read
the first and
second Amy
Carter Mysteries,
Dognapped! and
Sabotage!.
Available from all good bookshops!
Quest is an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc,Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UKwww.quest-books.co.uk Copyright © 2008 Top That! Publishing plc. All rights reservedPrinted and bound in China0 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
Written by Karen King
When daring detective Amy Carter spots amysterious flashing light, all her instincts tellher there is mischief afoot. The discovery ofsmugglers’ crates in a secret cave confirms
her suspicions.
With sidekick Max in tow, will the pair exposethe smugglers of Little Cragg or will their
snooping lead to more than they bargained for?
Join Amy in her investigation! Download fivepodcast-linked clues to help piece together the
evidence and solve the case!
RR
P £5.99The Amy Carter Mysteries
Smugglers!