The Yellow Yacht (3 page)

Sammi said something to Mr. Baz, and the man nodded. He walked back into the bank, with Fin and the kids at his heels.

Mr. Baz took them to the vault. The door was wide open. Inside they could see a hole in the vault floor. Chunks of stone and concrete lay next to the opening.

Mr. Baz spoke excitedly to Sammi, then hurried away.

The kids peered down inside the hole. “There’s a tunnel down there!”

Ruth Rose said. “The crooks dug their way in from outside somewhere.”

Dink looked around the empty vault. The only thing he saw was a wide wooden platform. “Where was the gold kept?” he asked.

Sammi pointed to the pallet. “It was stacked there,” he said glumly. “Fifty-two bars.”

Dink knew that much gold would be very heavy. He wondered how anyone could carry it away.

Just then Sammi’s father rushed into the bank vault, followed by a man and a woman wearing police uniforms. Mr. Baz stood beside them.

It was cool in the vault, but Dink noticed that Mr. Baz was sweating.

The king got on his knees to examine the hole, then stood up. “The tunnel was dug from the aquarium pit,” he said. “Please check it, officers!”

The king turned to Mr. Baz. “Let’s go
into your office, Lees,” he said. “Fin, will you come, too, please? I’d like a witness to our conversation.”

After the three men left, Sammi leaned close to Dink. “Let’s follow the cops!” he whispered.

The four kids scooted out of the bank and walked to the edge of the construction site. Down in the pit, the officers were already talking to Riko and two other workers.

The kids moved closer so they could hear what was going on. They saw the policeman checking out the boulders lined up near the edge of the pit. He gave one of the boulders a tug.

“Hey, these things are fake!” he shouted in English. “They hardly weigh anything!”

To prove it, the man rolled the boulder out of line. It was as tall as him, but he moved it easily.

“They’re all artificial,” Riko said.

“They’ll be used inside the aquarium when it’s finished. Real boulders would be too heavy.”

“Let’s move them,” the policewoman said.

Riko and his workers helped roll the boulders aside. It took only a few minutes to find the tunnel opening.

The policeman crawled into the tunnel while everyone else watched. He backed out two minutes later.

“There’s food wrappers in the dirt,” the officer reported. “I have a feeling someone spent a lot of time digging the tunnel.”

The other officer looked at Riko. “Can you explain how anyone could have dug that tunnel without your knowledge?” she asked.

Riko shook his head.

“The tunnel was hidden behind the boulders. How was I supposed to know?” he asked.

“But you’re in charge here, right, sir?” the policewoman asked.

“That’s right,” Riko said. “I’m the site foreman.”

The officer beckoned to her partner to join her. “We need you gentlemen to come with us while we sort this out,” she said.

One of the workmen started to pull away, but Riko stopped him. “Sure, we’ll go with you,” Riko said.

He led them to a sloping part of the pit, where the heavy machinery was driven in and out.

“Do you think Riko did it?” Ruth Rose asked Sammi when the officers and crew were gone.

“I hope not,” Sammi said. “He seems like such a nice guy.”

Josh peered inside the tunnel entrance. “It must have taken the crooks a while to dig this thing,” he said.

“Let’s check it out,” Dink said.

The kids dropped to their knees and crawled into the tunnel. Dink went first, followed by Josh, then Ruth Rose. Sammi came last.

The tunnel was about the length of two school buses, but too low to allow standing up. The dirt under their knees was mostly sand and pebbles.

The kids could see with the help of dim light coming from both ends of the tunnel. They stopped in a spot that was wider than the rest of the passageway. Ten feet ahead, the tunnel sloped upward to the bank vault.

“Look at all this junk,” Josh said. He pointed to a pile of burger wrappers and soda cans.

Dink kicked at the food debris. “I’d say he was in here a few days, at least.”

“Wait, what’s that?” Josh said. He scooted forward and grabbed a paper that Dink’s sneaker had revealed.

“It’s some kind of note,” Dink said,
looking over Josh’s shoulder. “But it’s written in Costran, Sammi.”

The kids hunched together while Sammi quickly read the note.

“This is impossible,” Sammi said after a minute.

“What does it say?” Ruth Rose asked.

Sammi pointed to the words. “This was written to Riko,” he explained. “It tells him to dump the gold over the wall, where someone else will load it into a truck and take it away.”

The kids stared at the strange note.

“Is it signed?” Dink asked finally.

“No, but there’s this.” Sammi pointed to the bottom of the sheet. There, in small blue letters, was an e-mail address:
[email protected]
.

“This is the bank’s e-mail address,” Sammi said.

Dink put his finger on the first two letters. “These might be someone’s initials,” he said.

“They are,” Sammi said. His dark eyes gleamed in the half-light. “LB stands for Lees Baz.”

“We have to show this note to your father!” Ruth Rose said.

“Yes,” Sammi said. He took the note and slipped it into his pocket. “Pop’s going to be really upset. Mr. Baz is one of his closest friends.”

The kids crawled out of the tunnel.

They brushed dirt from their hands and knees, then stood looking at the backhoe.

“When do you think they stole the gold?” Dink asked the others.

“Probably over the weekend, when the bank was closed,” Sammi said.

“But if they planned the theft together, why would Riko need to dig a tunnel?” Dink asked. “Mr. Baz could just open the vault and take the gold.”

“Digging a tunnel into the vault would make it look like Mr. Baz wasn’t involved,” Ruth Rose said.

“But why would he use paper that had his own e-mail address at the bottom?” Dink went on.

“Maybe he meant to rip that part off and forgot,” Sammi suggested.

“Maybe,” Dink said. “But if I was robbing a bank, I’d destroy the note.”

“How would they carry all that gold to the wall?” Ruth Rose asked.

“I’d use the backhoe,” Josh said, heading toward the huge piece of equipment.

The scoop bucket was in the down position, resting on the ground. Josh stepped into the bucket and examined the metal edges.

“Take a look at this,” he said. He had his finger on a shiny mark on the metal.

The others studied the mark.

“It looks like gold scrapings,” Sammi said.

“You were right,” Dink said. “They did use the backhoe to move the gold!”

Sammi pulled the note from his pocket and read it again. “This says Riko should bring the gold to the west wall, near the tree. Let’s go check it out,” he said.

The kids climbed out of the pit and headed for the west wall. They had to pass the castle in order to get to the gate.

“Shouldn’t we tell your father about the note right away?” asked Dink.

“He’s probably still in the bank,” Sammi said. “Besides, this will only take a few minutes.”

There was a tall tree near the west wall. The kids walked the ground beneath the tree, searching for clues. Ruth Rose had stepped a few yards away from the tree. She called the other three kids over. “Look, fat tire marks,” she said.

The marks were only a few feet from the wall. Dink could easily picture what must have happened. The crook—was it Riko?—had driven the backhoe to this point, the bucket loaded with gold.

Then he had raised the backhoe’s scoop and dumped the gold bars over the wall. Someone in a car or truck must
have been waiting on the other side.

“Give me a boost, someone,” Ruth Rose said. She had one arm wrapped around the tree as the other reached for the lowest branch.

“Where are you going?” Josh asked.

“If the crooks dumped a bunch of gold bars over this wall, there should be marks on the ground on the other side,” Ruth Rose said. “Boost me up so I can see!”

The boys made footholds with their hands, and Ruth Rose scampered into the branches. Two minutes later, she was perched on the top of the wall.

“See anything?” Dink called up.

Ruth Rose looked down at the boys. “The bushes and weeds are all crushed,” she said. “Like something very heavy dropped on them.”

“Okay, I’m telling my father,” Sammi said. “Come on down, Ruth Rose.”

Ten minutes later, the four kids were sitting in the king’s study. Sammi’s father sat at his wooden desk, reading the note.

The king looked up. His normally cheerful eyes looked sad. “And you found this in the tunnel?” he asked.