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CHAPTER ONE

Montego High School

Montego Bay is a beautiful tourist town on the east coast

of Florida, near Miami Beach. The town was founded in the
seventeenth century by the pirates of the Caribbean Sea, who
were called "buccaneers". Montego Bay became their home
port, and there are still legends about hidden treasure there.
The new Montego Bay Wax Museum opened recently. It
is a big tourist attraction with wax statues of famous explorers,
buccaneers, sea captains, slave merchants and criminals.
Our story starts one Friday morning in October at the
Martins' home. Bill and Michelle Martin lived with their
parents in a nice old house.
Bill was a tall boy of sixteen, with brown hair and blue
eyes.
This was his third year at Montego High School. Science
was his favorite subject and he wanted to become a biologist.
Basketball was his sport and he was one of the best players on
the school team.
His sister Michelle was a pretty girl of fifteen with short
red hair and blue eyes. She loved all kinds of modern music
and had a big collection of CDs. This was her second year at
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Montego High, and she was a member of the Journalism Club,
which published the monthly school paper.
"Hurry up, Michelle! It's late!" shouted Bill from the
living room.
"I'm coming!" shouted Michelle from the top of the stairs.
She ran down and took her backpack. "Bye, Mom! See you this
afternoon."
"Bye, Mom!" said Bill. "There's basketball practice today.
See you at dinner."
"Enjoy your visit to the new museum!" said their mother.
Their father worked at the airport and he was already at work.
Bill and Michelle met their good friend Nick Chan in
front of the park. He was a tall Chinese-American of sixteen;
he was a member of the basketball team too.
"Hi, guys!" said Nick smiling. "Let's hope this visit to the
new wax museum won't be boring."
"I know," said Bill, "and we have to write a report about it
for Mrs Jenkins."
The students of the second and third year were visiting
the new museum that morning. It was part of their local history
course with the new history teacher, Mrs Jenkins. The old
teacher, Mr O'Neil, disappeared mysteriously before the
summer. He was one of the favorite teachers at Montego High,
because he was friendly and his classes were interesting.
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One day in June Mr O'Nell went out on his boat, the
North Star. He sailed east to the Bahamas and into the Bermuda
Triangle. No one knew why he was going there. The Coast
Guard found his boat a few days later, but he was missing -
only his dog was on the boat. They took the North Star back to
the Montego Bay Port and left it there.
The Miami police said Peter O'Neil was missing, because
his body was never found. They opened a police file and gave
it a number: File Number 113: The O'Nell Case. Where was
Peter O'Neil? No one knew - it was a mystery.
The local newspaper The Miami Times wrote a lot of
articles about the "O'Nell Case." The last one said:

Peter O'Nell, another victim of the Triangle?

July 10 - A month after the disappearance of Peter O'Nell,
the police are still trying to solve the case. The 45-year-old
history teacher and expert scuba diver disappeared during a
boat ride in the waters of the Bermuda Triangle. Police
Sergeant Robert Walters says, "People, boats and airplanes
often disappear in the Triangle and no one knows why. Could
Peter O'Neel be another victim of the Triangle? However, the
case is still open. We hope to have an answer one day."

Bill, Michelle and Nick met their friends and teachers

outside the museum. There were a lot of rooms and exhibits
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with wax statues. There were also models of old Spanish
sailing ships and maps of the Caribbean Islands on the walls.
"These statues scare me," said Michelle. "They look like
real people."
"You're right," said Juanita, one of Michelle's friends.
"Those glass eyes give me the creeps."
"Look at that one," said Nick laughing. "He looks like Mr
Branson, our math teacher. Look at the small beard and the
green eyes."
"Ugh, Mr Branson and his math tests...," said Bill.
"Hey, look at this slave merchant with the red bandana
and the black patch over his eye," said Michelle. "He's got a
strange tattoo on his arm. I didn't know there were tattoos in
those days."
When they left the museum they saw a beagle outside the
entrance. He wanted to get into the museum.
"I guess he can't read the sign," said Bill, pointing to the
"Dogs not allowed" sign. His friends laughed as they walked to
school.
After a long hour of history, it was time for lunch. The
school cafeteria was always a noisy, fun place for the students.
It was the best time of the day to meet with friends and chat.
Michelle always had lunch with her best friends Juanita
and Susan. They usually talked about clothes and boys.
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"Michelle, look, there's Matt!" whispered Susan.
"And he's wearing a cool blue sweater," whispered
Juanita.
Matt Andersen was the handsome captain of the football
team. He was seventeen and Michelle liked him.
She looked at him but he didn't see her, so she started
eating her lunch.
"Let's talk about something else, girls!" she said, eating
her sandwich.
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CHAPTER TWO

At the Port

Saturday was a busy day for Bill and Michelle. They both
had part-time jobs to earn some pocket money. Bill worked at
the local supermarket and Michelle took the neighbors dogs for
walks.
Saturday night was special because Mrs Martin always
cooked something unusual. After dinner Michelle went to
Juanita's house and Bill phoned Nick.
"What are you doing tonight?" asked Bill.
"As soon as I finish working, I'm going to the movies,"
said Nick.
"Good idea! What's on?" said Bill.
"There's a science fiction movie at the Madison Theater
that everybody's talking about: Fifth Dimension. We can meet
at my parents' restaurant at half past eight."
"OK! See you then, Nick."
Nick's parents had a Chinese restaurant near the port and
he always worked there on weekends.
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As Bill waited for Nick at the back door of the restaurant,
he saw the same beagle from the wax museum. The poor dog
was sad and thin. He was probably waiting for some food. Nick
came out from the back door and said, "What an evening!
There was a birthday dinner and we were so busy."
"What's that dog doing there?" asked Bill.
"Oh, him," said Nick. "He's a stray and wants something
to eat. My mother always gives him some food. I think he lost
his master."
On Sunday morning the port was very busy. People were
going out in their boats and the fishermen were repairing their
fishing nets.
The Martins had a small cabin cruiser at the port. They
decided to clean it because Bill and Michelle wanted to have a
Halloween party there.
"Mom and I are going down to the port to clean the boat,"
said Mr Martin. "You can come later. We can use four extra
hands!"
"OK, Dad, we'll be there soon," said Bill.
"I'm going to wear my new jeans and pink T-shirt," said
Michelle, who loved wearing new clothes.
"You don't need new clothes to clean a boat, silly," said
Bill.
"Boys will never understand!" said Michelle with a smile.
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It was almost ten o'clock when Bill and Michelle got to
the port. There were always a lot of fishing boats, cabin
cruisers, and yachts at the port. It was a warm, sunny day and
everything looked beautiful.
An old fisherman, Francisco Garcia, was sitting on a pier
near his boat, repairing a fishing net.
"Hi, Francisco!" said Michelle.
"Hello!" said the old man with lively dark eyes. "Nice to
see you."
"Are you going out fishing today?" asked Bill.
"No, I'm going early tomorrow morning," he said, looking
at his fishing boat. "There he is again, poor thing."
"Who?" asked Bill and Michelle.
"Peter O'Neil's dog, Rover. He sits in front of his master's
boat every day and whimpers. Can't you see him?" Bill and
Michelle turned around. It was the same dog Bill saw at the
museum and at the restaurant.
"Do you mean the beagle over there, near the boat?"
asked Michelle, pointing to the North Star.
"Yeah," said Francisco. "He's sad because he lost his
master. It breaks my heart. I wanted to take him home with me,
but he only wants his master."
"The poor dog!" said Bill. "Did the Police ever find Mr
O'Neil's body?"
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"The Bermuda Triangle took him," said Francisco. "The
police will never find his body in the Triangle. He was unlucky,
very unlucky, but I told him."
"What did you tell him?" asked Bill.
"Well, when Mr O'Nell bought the boat he changed its
name to North Star. I told him it was bad luck to change the
name of a boat. Sailors and fishermen know that. But he didn't
believe me. He thought it was an old superstition."
"I didn't know that," said Michelle. "But why did he go
out to sea that day in June?"
"He brought his scuba diving equipment on board. I think
he was looking for something in the sea - something important.
He went out in his boat every weekend."
"Did anyone go with him?" asked Bill.
"Only his dog," he said, and his busy hands started
repairing the net again.
"It was nice talking to you Francisco - goodbye," said
Bill, walking away with Michelle.
"The O'Nell case is a big mystery. No one knows what
happened to him and no one knows what he was looking for.
We just know that he was a terrific teacher and everyone liked
him."
"Well, Francisco thought he was looking for something
important," replied Michelle.
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"Yeah, but I wonder what?" said Bill.
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CHAPTER THREE

A Halloween Party

Saturday October 31 was Halloween and the town of

Montego Bay was ready to celebrate it. There were jack-o'-
lanterns and black and orange decorations everywhere. There
were some incredible costumes in town and people were busy
planning scary Halloween parties.
Bill and Michelle planned their costumes and masks
weeks before Halloween. Bill was a vampire and Michelle was
a rock star. She was excited because she could wear more
make-up on Halloween.
They went to the port and had their. Halloween party on
the boat with their friends. Mrs Martin made pumpkin pies and
Halloween cookies and there were good CDs to dance to.
Before midnight Nick took some pictures with his new
digital camera. The party was a lot of fun and everyone loved
it. No one got to bed before 3 a.m.
Bill and Michelle slept until noon the next day.
"How was the Halloween party?" asked Mr Martin.
"Oh, we had a great time, Dad," said Bill. "Thanks for
letting us use the boat."
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"We even cleaned up," said Michelle proudly.
"I'm glad you had fun," said Mrs Martin.
That afternoon they went to Nick's house to see the
pictures he took the night before.
"Come upstairs and see the pictures of the party!" said
Nick excitedly as he opened the door.
"Why are you excited?" asked Michelle. "Is something
wrong with them?"
"You both look super," he said. "But that's not the
problem - it's something else."
They sat down in front of Nick's computer and started
looking at the pictures.
"Look at this one," said Nick. "Can you see the big white
spot? It's on the boat in the background."
They looked at the pictures of the party and saw a white
spot on a boat in the background.
"Let's look closer at the picture," said Michelle. "I want to
see the name of the boat."
"It's the North Star!" cried Bill. "It was Mr O'Neil's boat!"
"But what's that white spot?" asked Nick.
They looked at the computer for a while and then
Michelle cried out, "I know! It's somebody's ghost in the
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picture! I read about it in a book. And last night was Halloween
- strange things can happen on Halloween night."
"A ghost?" whispered Bill and Nick. "What are you
saying?"
"That white spot is the picture of a ghost!" exclaimed
Michelle. "And it's on Mr O'Neil's boat, the North Star."
"Oh, come on, Michelle!" said Bill, whose face was
white.
"Do you mean that it's... Mr O'Neil's ghost?'' Nick felt
cold.
"Can you see the... ghost in other pictures?" asked
Michelle.
"Well, look at these," said Nick. They looked at three
other pictures that had the same white spot on the same boat.
"Wait a minute!" said Bill nervously. "Do we believe in...
ghosts?" The three friends looked at each other and didn't know
what to say.
"Do you have another explanation?" said Michelle, who
believed in ghosts.
"Gee!" said Bill. "Then Mr O'Nell is... dead and not
missing." There was a moment of silence, and then he told
Nick about his conversation with Francisco Garcia.
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"What happened to him on that day in June?" asked Nick.
"Did he have an accident? Or was it bad luck? Francisco said
it's bad luck to change the name of a boat."
"Do you believe in superstition and bad luck?" asked Bill.
"I think good and evil forces exist," said Nick seriously.
"Ghosts only appear when the person was murdered or
died in a terrible way," said Michelle.
"Perhaps he was looking for something important, and
someone killed him to get the information," said Bill.
"But, where's his body?" asked Nick.
"We should tell the Police about this," said Bill.
"The Police don't believe in ghosts," said Michelle. "Why
don't we try to solve this mystery?"
"Why not!" said Bill. "I like solving mysteries."
"And I like investigating," said Nick. "But we need more
information about Mr O'Nell. What was he looking for and
why was it important? Let's plan this carefully."
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CHAPTER FOUR

The Wardrobe

Nick's room was the perfect place to plan things.

"Let's find out more about Mr O'Nell," said Bill. "Where
did he live?"
"I'll look it up in the phone directory," said
Michelle. "Here it is - his address was 1857 Stockton
Street. That's behind the port. Let's try and get into his house."
"But I'm sure the police already went there," said Nick.
"Yeah, but perhaps they didn't examine everything," said
Bill. "Let's go there after dark with our flashlights."
"When?" asked Nick excitedly.
"How about Tuesday after dinner?" said Bill.
When the school bell rang at 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday
afternoon, Bill, Michelle and Nick hurried home. They did
some homework and met at seven.
It was a windy autumn evening. They walked to the old
part of town and Peter O'Neil's house appeared behind some
tall trees. It was a white wooden house with a brown roof and a
small garden. They were surprised to see his dog sitting outside
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the door. He recognized Nick from the restaurant and went to
him.
"Look who's here!" said Nick smiling. "Hi, Rover! What
are you doing here?"
"He's still looking for his master," said Bill.
"He's friendly," said Michelle stroking him.
"Let's go to the back of the house and see if the door is
open," said Nick.
Rover followed them. The back door was locked so they
opened the kitchen window and climbed in.
They stood in the dark kitchen for a moment - everything
was silent.
"We're in Mr O'Neil's house!" said Bill. "This is weird!"
"Let's start looking for clues," said Michelle.
"Where can we start?" asked Nick.
"Look, Rover's going to the living room," said Michelle.
"Let's follow him."
The living room was small and there were two armchairs
near the window. There was a big color photograph of O'Neil
and his dog on a small table.
Michelle looked at the photograph. "It was probably
taken on his boat in the summer. Look, he's got a strange tattoo
on his arm."
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"It's a peace sign," said Bill. "They were popular in the
1970s."
Rover led them to the hall and sat down in front of a door.
He barked and put his paw on the door.
"Let's open it," said Michelle.
She was scared, but she opened the door. There were
stairs that went to the dark basement and the air was cold. Bill
and Nick turned on their flashlights and slowly went down the
stairs, and Michelle and Rover followed them. They looked
around and saw a few boxes of books, some diving equipment
and a big wooden wardrobe. Rover went to sit in front of the
old wardrobe and started barking.
"Why is he barking at the wardrobe?" asked Nick as he
stroked the dog's head. He barked again and looked at Nick
with his big brown eyes. Then he began pushing the wardrobe
door with his paw.
"Let's open it," said Nick.
His heart beat fast as he turned the key and opened the
door.
He saw two scuba diving suits.
"There's nothing interesting in here," he said, closing the
wardrobe.
Rover barked again and pushed the door with his paw.
Nick opened the wardrobe again and looked inside carefully.
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"Could there be something behind this wardrobe?" said
Michelle.
"Like in mystery novels, Michelle?" said Nick laughing.
"Yes, exactly!" said Michelle. "Come on, let's try and
move it to one side."
"OK, let's try," said Bill. The wooden wardrobe was very
heavy but they were able to move it a bit. Rover was right -
there was a small opening to a tiny room!
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CHAPTER FIVE

A Secret Closet

"This is super!" said Michelle. "We discovered a secret

room!"
"You mean a secret closet," said Nick, moving his
flashlight around. "It's very small."
There were two big maps and some newspaper articles on
the walls and a diary on an old chair.
"This is cool!" said Bill. "I don't think the police know
about this place."
"And it's probably full of clues," said Nick.
The maps on the wall showed the Bermuda Triangle - the
sea between Miami, Puerto Rico and Bermuda. There were red
pen marks on the maps.
"Mr O'Nell was probably trying to find a particular spot
in the Bermuda Triangle," said Nick.
"Hmm... listen to this headline from The Miami Times,"
said Michelle. "Ship with Precious Cargo Disappears in the
Bermuda Triangle"
"Let's see," said Bill holding up his flashlight. The three
of them started reading the newspaper article on the wall...
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A small ship, The Pelikan, disappeared in the Bermuda
Triangle last week. It was transporting ancient Roman and
Greek artifacts, bought in Europe by an important American
museum. The artifacts are worth millions of dollars, and they
are now probably sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
"I think I understand," said Bill. "Mr O'Nell was probably
looking for the ship in the Bermuda Triangle. That's why these
two maps are marked in the same place."
"And that's why he went out in his boat with his diving
equipment every weekend," added Michelle.
"But why was he looking for them?" asked Nick.
"That's a good question," said Bill. "I'm sure a lot of
dishonest art dealers want to find those artifacts and sell them
on the black market... it's a big business! They're worth
millions of dollars. But Mr O'Neil wasn't dishonest. I'm sure he
was looking for them for another reason."
Michelle started looking through the diary on the chair.
"Hey, look!" she said. "On June 7 Mr O'Neil wrote this
note in his diary: 'Call Professor Ortega at Florida Historical
Museum'. That's the day before he disappeared."
She paused for a moment and said, "Perhaps Mr O'Nell
was working for the Florida Historical Museum and that's why
he was looking for the ship."
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"That's a good explanation; he was an expert scuba
diver," said Bill. "Is there anything else in that diary?"
Michelle looked through the pages.
"On May 31 he wrote, 'Blackbeard still following me at
sea.' Who's Blackbeard?"
"Well, he was a pirate, centuries ago. I don't think it's
him," said Nick.
"But Blackbeard could be the name of a boat - the boat
that was following him. Perhaps the people on that boat were
looking for the artifacts too. Let's go to the port and see if the
Blackbeard is there," said Bill.
"Alright," said Nick, "but let's go now - it's late."
"And it's getting very hot in this closet!" said Michelle.
Suddenly there was a loud noise upstairs.
"What's that?" cried Michelle.
"We're not alone here," said Nick. "Someone or
something is in the house!" They stood still for a minute.
"Well, Michelle," whispered Nick, "you're the ghost
expert - whose ghost is upstairs?"
"Oh, stop it!" whispered Michelle, who wanted to get out
of there.
They got out of the secret closet and quickly pushed the
wardrobe against the wall. They went upstairs silently and
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climbed out of the small kitchen window, followed by Rover.
When they were outside the house they heard another loud
noise and ran away.
"That math test was impossible!" said Nick, walking out
of Mr Branson's class angrily.
"I think he makes math hard for us," said Bill. "I couldn't
finish the last two problems."
"Me neither," said Nick. "I studied until late last night,
but it didn't help. Even Maria Lopez, who's a math genius,
didn't finish the last problem!"
"Hey, let's think about the big game against South Miami
High tonight," said Bill. "They're a strong team."
"And so are we!" said Nick.
That evening the Montego High gym was crowded and
noisy. The colors of the two schools were everywhere - orange
and purple for Montego and black and red for South Miami. It
was an important basketball game and the local TV station was
there to film it. Michelle sat with Juanita and Susan.
Mike Andersen and his friends from the football team
were sitting behind them and this made Michelle nervous. "I'm
happy I wore my new sweater with the school colors," she
thought. "I hope Mike notices it."
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It was an exciting game and everyone was cheering for
their team. Montego High finally won and entered the Florida
finals.
Someone touched Michelle's shoulder. She turned around
and saw Mike.
"Hi, Michelle," said Mike. "Your brother played a great
game!"
"Oh, thanks, Mike, I'll tell him," said Michelle, who was
happy because Mike talked to her.
On the way home after the game Bill, Michelle and their
friends walked by the wax museum. They saw Rover sitting at
the entrance. He was whimpering.
"I wonder what Rover's doing in front of the museum at
this time?" asked Michelle.
"There's something about the place that attracts him," said
Bill. "But what? Remember the day when he tried to come into
the museum with our class?"
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CHAPTER SIX

The 'Blackbeard'

On Sunday Bill, Nick and Michelle continued I

investigating the case. This time they met in Bill's room.
"We have to find the Blackbeard and see who it belongs
to," said Bill. "I'm sure there's a connection between that boat
and Mr O'Neil."
"There's a Naval Registry office at the port," said
Michelle. "All boats at the port are listed there."
"Good! Let's go to the port," said Bill.
The Naval Registry was a small office near the Montego
Yacht Club. Michelle went in and talked to the clerk.
"Hello, my name is Michelle Martin and I need some
information.
Is the Blackbeard here?"
"Let me check," said the clerk, as he turned to his
computer.
"Here it is - the Blackbeard. It's at pier number eight;
that's where the biggest yachts are."
"Can you tell me the name of the owner?"
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"Let's see... it's Mr Julian Devereau from New Orleans."
"Julian Devereau!" said Michelle, surprised.
"Yes, Julian Devereau. He and his wife are the owners of
the new wax museum."
"OK, thanks for your help," said Michelle.
She met Bill and Nick outside and told them about the
Blackbeard.
"Wow!" cried Nick.
"So Julian and Gertrude Devereau are the owners of the
wax museum and the Blackbeard," said Bill.
"And they gave a lot of money for the new park," said
Nick.
"There's a connection," said Michelle.
"Why were they following the North Star at sea? And
what about the wax museum?" asked Nick. "Why is Rover so
attracted to it?"
'This case is really difficult,' said Michelle.
"Well," said Bill, "we know that the Blackbeard is at the
port and that Julian Devereau owns the boat and the wax
museum."
There was a moment of silence.
"And we know he's rich," said Nick, "but that's not
much."
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"The clerk said that Julian Devereau is from New
Orleans," added Michelle. "Let's go home and look on the
web."
At home they got on the web and found some interesting
information.
Devereau was the owner of a maritime museum in
Charleston, South Carolina, and a new art museum in Houston,
Texas.
"This man owns three museums - he's very rich," said
Michelle grinning. "And guess what you find in museums?"
"Artifacts!" cried Bill and Nick. "Like the ones O'Neil
was looking for!"
"Exactly!" said Michelle excitedly.
"So what's the next step?" asked Nick.
"Hmm," said Bill, looking at the computer screen. "We
have to find a way to get on the Blackbeard. We could find
some evidence of Devereau's connection to this mystery."
"The Blackbeard's at pier number eight," said Michelle.
"We can go one evening when the museum is open. I don't
want to meet them face to face!"
"The museum's always open on Friday and Saturday
evenings until 10 p.m.," said Nick, "and the Devereau's are
there on those evenings."
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"OK!" said Bill. "Listen to my plan. On Friday night Nick
and I will try to get on the Blackbeard. Michelle, you can sit in
the coffee shop across the street from the museum. If the
Devereau's leave the building, call me on my cell phone."
"Good plan!" said Nick.
It was November and almost Thanksgiving, but the three
friends could only think about the O'Nell case.
On Friday evening they met in front of the museum. It
was cold and windy, and Michelle ordered a cup of hot cocoa at
the coffee shop. She watched the museum entrance with her
cell phone in her hand, ready to make a call.
There was no one at the port that evening. The boys could
hear their footsteps as they walked quickly past the North Star
and turned left at pier number eight. The lights of the
Blackbeard were on and the two boys stopped behind a van.
"Someone's on the boat," whispered Nick. "What shall we
do now?"
"Let's wait here and see what happens," said Bill.
Suddenly the lights went off. Julian Devereau got off the
yacht and into his sports car and drove away.
"Whew!" said Bill. They waited a few minutes and then
got on the yacht. The glass door was closed but not locked, so
it was easy to get in.
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"He didn't lock it. He's probably coming back soon," said
Nick. "Let's hurry!"
They turned on their flashlights. It was their first time on
a yacht - everything was beautiful and expensive. They started
looking everywhere - drawers, cupboards, bookshelves - but
they couldn't find anything.
Bill took a painting off the wall and turned it around, but
he found nothing. He did the same with another painting and
this time there was an envelope on the back.
"Nick, look at this!" Bill opened the envelope; inside
there was a map of the Florida coast and the Bermuda Triangle,
with some red pencil marks. It was almost identical to the maps
in Mr O'Neil's house.
"The Devereau's have Mr O'Neil's map, and they hid it
behind a painting," said Nick, staring at the map.
"This is evidence that the Devereau's are connected to Mr
O'Neil in some way," said Bill. "We have to show this map to
the police."
"Will they listen to us?" asked Nick.
"Let's go and find out!" said Bill.
Bill put the empty envelope behind the painting. Then he
folded the map and put it in his shirt pocket. They got back
onto the pier and quickly left the port. They picked up
Michelle, who was still at the coffee shop.
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"Hi, guys," she said. "You found something, didn't you!"
"Let's go to Sandy's Ice Cream Parlor and talk there," said
Bill.
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CHAPTER SEVEN

Sergeant Walters

Before going to their part-time jobs on Saturday morning,

Bill and Michelle told their parents what was happening. Mr
and Mrs Martin were very surprised.
"Why didn't you tell us about this before?" said Mrs
Martin, who was worried.
"You kids are amazing!" said Mr Martin. "No one has
solved this mystery, but perhaps you can. I remember Mr
O'Neil - he was a very nice man. I'm glad you're going to the
police today. It's the right thing to do."
That afternoon the three friends went to the police station
and spoke to a police officer.
"Good morning, I'm Sergeant Walters," said a tall man
with friendly eyes. "What can I do for you?"
"We want to report something," said Bill.
"Come into my office and sit down," said Sergeant
Walters.
Bill was a bit nervous at first, but Sergeant Walters was
friendly. He, Nick and Michelle explained everything. They
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talked with him for about half an hour, and he seemed
interested.
"Sergeant Barnes, please bring me the O'Nell case file,
number 113," said Sergeant Walters. He looked through several
papers in the file and then wrote something down.
"You three are good detectives," he said, "but do you
know that it is against the law to enter private property, like Mr
O'Neil's home and the Blackbeard?"
Bill and Nick were embarrassed, but Michelle was not.
"We wanted to help the police solve the case," she said
seriously. "We were looking for clues... but we won't do it
again."
"The Devereau's are important citizens," said Sergeant
Walters. "They helped our community with their new museum
and they gave lots of money for the new park. The wax
museum brings tourists and good business to our town. We
don't have any real evidence against them. You found this map
on their yacht, but anyone can have a map."
"But this map is identical to the ones we saw at Mr
O'Neil's house, and it was hidden behind a painting," said Nick.
"We want to solve the O'Nell case, too," said Sergeant
Walters. "But I need better evidence. For example, where is Mr
O'Neil's body? Perhaps he wanted to disappear and start a new
life in another place. A lot of people disappear, you know. Or
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perhaps he had an accident at sea. We can't accuse anyone at
the moment. We need to find his body first."
"Mr O'Nell loved his dog," said Michelle. "He could
never go away and leave him!"
"Dogs are very good at finding their masters... it's their
sense of smell," said Sergeant Walters, with a strange light in
his eyes. "My men and I'll examine the secret room in Mr
O'Neil's house and take a look at those maps and his diary. But
I still think he had an accident. Do you know how many people
and boats disappear at sea?"
He got up from his desk and gave each of them his
business card. "Call me if you need me."
They left the police station and Bill said, "Now we have
to find the body before anyone will listen to us."
"Yeah, bodies are easy to find - they're everywhere, didn't
you know?" said Nick, laughing.
"Oh, come on! Don't worry," said Michelle. "Remember
what Sergeant Walters said: 'Dogs are good at finding their
masters - it's their sense of smell.' I think he's giving us a clue."
"Perhaps Rover can help us solve the case," said Bill.
Nick thought for a moment. "You can usually find him
near the North Star, or at Mr O'Neil's home, or..."
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"Or at the wax museum!" cried Michelle. Her cheeks
were red with excitement. "What attracts Rover to the
museum?"
"Something inside?" said Bill.
"Yes, but what?" said Michelle.
"Let's find a way to get into the museum with Rover,"
said Nick. "Dogs aren't allowed in the building, but there's a
back door, the emergency exit. One of us can open it and Rover
can go in."
"Great idea, Nick!" said Bill.
"We can go tomorrow," said Michelle. "It's Sunday and
there are always lots of visitors at the museum - no one will
notice Rover... I hope."
"OK," said Bill. "Nick, Rover likes you, so you can wait
outside the back door with him. Michelle and I'll buy tickets
and go in. When we get to the back of the museum we'll open
the door and you and Rover can come in. Then we'll follow the
dog and see what happens."
"Good," said Nick. "My mother usually feeds him at nine
o'clock. I'll try to keep him at the restaurant tonight."
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CHAPTER EIGHT

At the Museum

Bill and Michelle woke up early on Sunday morning. This

was a very important day for them and Nick. They left their
house at half past nine and met Nick in the park.
"Hi, Nick!" said Bill, looking at Rover's new red leash!
"The leash was my mom's idea," said Nick, as they walked
towards the museum. "You and Michelle go ahead and I'll wait
for you outside the back door."
That morning a lot of tourists were buying tickets so Bill
and Michelle had to wait to get in. They went to the back of the
museum and opened the emergency door.
Nick and Rover went in quickly, and no one noticed
them. Rover walked to the wax statue of the slave merchant
with the black patch over his eye. Rover stopped in front of it
and started sniffing and whimpering - and the noise got louder.
Some tourists saw him but they didn't stop.
"I think Rover found something," said Michelle. She and
the boys looked at the seventeenth-century slave merchant.
Then Michelle noticed the tattoo on the statue's arm.
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"Hey, look at that tattoo," whispered Michelle. "Do you
remember it? It's the same tattoo we saw in the photograph at
Mr O'Neil's house!"
"The peace sign!" whispered Nick. "But they were
popular in the 1970s. A slave merchant of the 1600s didn't
know about peace signs!"
Rover started barking.
"He's found something!" said Bill, as the barking got
louder and the dog became more excited.
"Could... that be his master?" said Nick, his voice
trembling.
"But it's a wax statue," said Michelle weakly.
"Yeah, but look at the tattoo!" said Bill. "Is that a wax
statue... or is it someone's body?" They felt cold and their
hearts started beating fast. Suddenly their legs felt weak.
"But how is it possible..." Nick couldn't finish his
sentence.
Rover's bark got louder and the museum guard came by.
"I'm sorry, dogs aren't allowed in the museum," he said.
"Please take him out."
"No, we're not taking him out," said Bill angrily.
"You must obey the rules of the museum, or I'll call the
police."
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"No," said Bill angrily, "we'll call the police! Michelle, do
you still have Sergeant Walters's card?"
"Of course I do!" she said, taking out her phone. "I'll call
him."
Several visitors stopped to see what was happening.
Rover was very excited and barked loudly. Nick pulled on the
leash to hold him back.
Michelle called Sergeant Walters and asked him to come
immediately. "We have a body for you," she said with a
trembling voice. More visitors stopped near them.
Sergeant Walters, Sergeant Barnes and two other
policemen got to the museum in a few minutes.
"Sergeant Walters, we found Mr O'Neil's body!" said
Michelle loudly. "His dog led us here and started barking. We
noticed that the tattoo on the statue is the same tattoo we saw in
a photograph at Mr O'Neil's home - a peace sign, popular in the
1970s. And this museum is owned by Mr and Mrs Devereau."
"O'Neil's body?" exclaimed Sergeant Walters. "What are
you saying? I want to look into this!" He turned to the museum
guard and said, "I want to examine this statue carefully. Do you
have a back room?"
"Yes, I'll open it for you," said the guard.
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Sergeant Walters asked his men to take the statue to the
back room. "I want to-speak to the owners of the museum
immediately," he said.
"Mr and Mrs Devereau are in their office upstairs. I'll go
and call them." The guard was worried and confused.
Sergeant Walters's men carried the statue to the back
room, and Rover started following them. Nick pulled him back
but it wasn't easy. Sergeant Walters called the police station and
asked them to send a medical expert. Then he turned to the
three young people, who were very excited about their macabre
discovery.
"I don't know what we'll discover here, but something is
wrong, and we're going to find out more about that wax statue.
Your detective work was excellent and you helped us a lot. But
now it's the responsibility of the police. Call me in a few days
and I'll tell you something more. Thanks for your help!"
The three friends were proud - they were helping the
police solve the O'Neil case!
When they left the museum Nick took the leash off Rover
but he didn't run away - he stayed with them.
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CHAPTER NINE

The Case is Solved

"Do you think that was really Mr O'Neil's... body?" asked

Nick.
"If it was, this is like a horror movie!" said Bill. "What if
the other statues... were bodies?"
Michelle said weakly.
"Oh, please, Michelle!" said Nick. "Devereau reminds me
of Dr. Frankenstein!"
"When will we find out something?" asked Bill.
"I'm going to call Sergeant Walters in a few days," said
Michelle.
Bill, Michelle and Nick did not have to wait long. On
Wednesday the O'Nell case was on the front page of The
Miami Times:

O'Neil Case Finally Solved

The O'Neil Case was finally solved by the Miami Police
this week with the help of three teenagers - Bill Martin, 16, his
sister Michelle, 15, and Nick Chan, 16. These young people
showed great determination and courage. The police
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discovered the waxed, embalmed body of Peter O'Neil, a 45-
year-old high school teacher and expert scuba diver, in the
Montego Bay Wax Museum. The macabre discovery was a big
shock for everyone because he went missing in June of this
year. The owners of the wax museum, Julian Devereau, 46, and
his wife Gertrude, 42, made a terrible confession. They killed
Peter O'Nell.
Peter O'Nell was working for Professor Dan Ortega, who
is the director of the Florida Historical Museum. Professor
Ortega asked him to find the ship with the five artifacts that
disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. The ship left the port of
Naples, Italy, but never reached its destination in Miami. All
radio contact was lost when the ship entered the Triangle. The
museum bought these valuable artifacts in Greece and Italy to
add to its beautiful art collection.
Julian Devereau owns an art museum in Houston and a
maritime museum in Charleston. He knew about the lost
artifacts and wanted to find them for his museums. He
followed O'Neil's boat during his trips to sea. On June 8, when
O'Neil was scuba diving, Devereau went on his boat and stole
O'Neil's maps. These important maps showed where the ship
and the artifacts were.
O'Nell returned to his boat before Devereau could leave
it. He shot and killed O'Neil with his gun. With the help of his
wife he brought O'Neil's body back to his yacht, the
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Blackbeard. They had to eliminate the body so they took it to
the wax museum that night.
Julian Devereau is an expert chemist and he embalmed
the body. Then he put it in a bath of hot wax and made it look
like a statue - the wax statue of a slave merchant of the 1600s.
With a patch over one eye, a dark beard and a red bandana it
was almost impossible to recognize O'Neil. But the expert
chemist forgot to eliminate the tattoo on O'Neil's arm.
With O'Neil's maps Devereau found the five artifacts in
the Triangle and hid them in his museum in Houston.
The priceless artifacts will return to the Florida Historical
Museum next week. The Montego Bay Wax Museum is closed
for now.
On Saturday morning there will be funeral services for
Peter O'Nell. All the students and teachers of Montego Bay
High School will be present. O'Neil's dog Rover, who helped to
solve this case, found a new home with Nick Chan and his
family.

After reading the article several times, Bill, Michelle and

Nick couldn't believe that they solved the case. But they were
sad about O'Neil's terrible death. Now Michelle had a big story
for the December issue of the school paper. She was suddenly
the most popular member of the Journalism Club.
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"The Devereau's almost committed the perfect crime,"
she said.
"Yeah, but they forgot about a dog's Instinct and his sense
of smell," said Bill, grinning at Rover.
"Let's celebrate at my restaurant!" said Nick and Rover
barked.
"That's super!" exclaimed Bill.
"Hey, let's walk down to the port and invite Francisco,"
said Michelle. "After all, he's part of this too... he was the first
one to give us clues."
At that moment Michelle's phone rang and she saw
Mike's number on the display. Now everything was really
perfect.

- THE END -
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