The Mystery of Smugglers Cove (The Mystery Series, Book 1) by Paul Moxham

the man that put me in here took the key away.”
    “Hmm,” Amy said. “How can we get you out?”
    “Not sure,” Joe replied. “Let me think for a second.”
    Amy was just about to reply when Will said, “Quiet!”
    The children listened. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.
    “Someone’s coming!” Will whispered.
    Telling Joe that the crooks were coming, the children hurried into a nearby room. They didn’t have long to wait.
    Peeking through the door which was ajar a tad, Will saw a man carrying a bowl of soup walking down the hallway.
    He stopped outside Joe’s room, produced a key, unlocked the door, and went in. A minute passed before the man re-appeared without the soup. Locking the door, he turned and walked back down the hallway.
    Will waited for another minute before he flung open the door and, along with the others, hurried to Joe’s room.
    “Hey!” Amy exclaimed in delight. “Look, the key has been left in the keyhole.”
    “Gosh, you’re right,” Will said. He grabbed the key and turned it. A moment later, the door swung open.
    Sitting on the bed eating the soup was Joe. He smiled. “You’ve done it!”
    “Keep your voice down.” Will smiled. “We don’t want someone coming to see what all the noise is about.”
    “No, you’re right,” Joe said, putting the soup down and standing up. “The man said that he would be back in ten minutes, so let’s hurry.”
    The two boys headed down the staircase. They reached the bottom without any trouble and were just about to head down the hallway when they heard voices.
    “We need to hide,” Will whispered. He made for the nearest room, which turned out to be the study.
    It wasn’t the best choice that they could have made, but with the men getting closer each second, there was no turning back. They quickly hid behind the curtains, hoping that the men would pass the room just like the previous time.
    Unfortunately, they didn’t. They heard the door open and Rocky and Jake entered the room arguing. Rocky wanted a greater share of the profits as he felt he was the leader, but Jake disagreed. The argument went on for several minutes, with the voices getting louder.  
    Will peeked at his watch. Ten minutes had nearly gone by. Time was running out. If they didn’t escape soon, the alarm would be raised. Another minute passed, and finally, the men left the room.
    Joe had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they could now get to the window, when suddenly he heard shouting. He realised that his escape had been discovered.
    Already, he could hear several men running around upstairs. Soon they would search every room. If they were to escape, it had to be within the next five minutes. Otherwise, it would be too late.
    The odds were mounting against them the longer they stayed in the study.
    Will moved out from behind the curtain and peeked through the door. “I can hear men upstairs. But the hallway is clear. It’s time to move.”
    He opened the door and swiftly hurried up the hallway, trailed by the others. They reached the room without seeing any of the crooks and entered.
    “We had better keep a guard at the door in case they come,” Will said. “Joe, how about you stand next to the door while the rest of us go through the window? Then, once we’re through, you can join us.”
    “Okay,” Joe replied, as he stayed near the door, opening it a tad to see out into the hallway.
    Amy jumped down onto the grass, quickly followed by Sarah.
    Joe peered down the hallway and froze as he saw Jake come round the corner. He slammed the door shut as Jake yelled out. He quickly glanced around the room.
    “What’s up?” Will said as he prepared to climb out of the window.
    “Quick, help me,” Joe said, urgently. “The crook spotted me. We need to delay him while we make our escape.”
    The only thing that they could find to do the job was a couch. It had seen better days, but it was still strong and sturdy. It was an anxious few