Part 2 (1/2)
”Jupe?” Pete said. ”Isn't that the ca.s.sette Captain Joy and Jeremy recorded on?”
Both Jupiter and Bob stared at the Second Investigator, then quickly looked back at the major. He was still rewinding the ca.s.sette.
”It has to be!” Bob exclaimed. ”That Carl left the ca.s.sette on the recorder, I remember! No one was in the room after Captain Joy left until the major and Hubert came back, and they didn't go near the recorder until just now!” He blinked at his companions. ”The major's erasing Captain Joy too!”
”Which means,” Jupiter said, ”that they don't even want the story of the Purple Pirate.”
”But they let Captain Joy talk for over half an hour,” Pete said.
”And sent away everyone else,” Bob said.
”So whatever they do want,” Jupiter said, ”has something to do with Captain Joy and Jeremy.”
”But what do they want?” Bob exclaimed.
”What's going on anyway?” Pete wondered.
”That,” Jupiter said grimly, ”is what we have to find out. My stomach tells me lunchtime is approaching. Let's return to the salvage yard for something to eat. This afternoon we'll watch Major Karnes and his friends, and we'll talk to Captain Joy.”
Jupiter grinned at his fellow detectives. ”The Three Investigators have a new case!”
Chapter 4.
The Purple Pirate Lair BUT THE THREE INVESTIGATORS were in for a surprise. To their dismay, Uncle t.i.tus insisted that Jupiter go with him on an overnight buying trip all the way to San Luis Obispo. Bob had to work unexpectedly long hours at the library when a staff member called in sick. And after catching up on his neighbour's yard work, Pete found himself a.s.signed to a long-postponed garage cleanup at home. Thus, it was a full two days later when the frustrated boys gathered in their hidden trailer headquarters just after 11:00 a.m. to begin their investigation into the strange doings of Major Karnes.
”I went by that empty store last night,” Jupiter reported, ”and Captain Joy and Jeremy were there, recording their stories.”
It was quickly decided that Pete and Jupiter would bike out to Pirates Cove and Bob would carry the First Investigator's latest ingenious tool.
”It's an invisible trailing device,” the stout leader explained. ”We can follow someone even if he's out of sight!”
Pete examined the small unit dubiously. About the size of a pocket radio, it was a metal container filled with a thick liquid. A tube at the bottom narrowed to a hollow point like an eyedropper. There was a small valve in the tube and a magnet on the side of the container.
”What does it do, First?” Bob asked.
”It leaves a trail invisible to anyone except us. The magnet attaches it to any metal vehicle. The liquid in the container is invisible until you s.h.i.+ne an ultraviolet light on it.
There's a special valve in the tip that releases a single drop at regular intervals, leaving a trail that can be easily followed by someone with an ultraviolet torch.”
”And we,” Bob guessed, ”now have an ultraviolet torch?”
”Of course,” Jupiter said, grinning. He handed Bob a small torch with an odd-looking bulb.
”Uh, guys? What is ultraviolet light?” Pete said, looking sheepish. ”I must have missed that cla.s.s or something.”
”It's light with a wavelength shorter than the light we can see, Pete,” Bob explained. ”People sometimes call it black light because it makes special materials glow iridescent in the dark. If you s.h.i.+ne it on the special material in a dark room, you can see the material glow but you can't see the light beam itself.”
”I remember now. The other light we can't see is infra-red, right?” Pete said.
”Does your gimmick work in daylight, Jupe?”
”Yes, but the trail doesn't glow as much, which is probably better,” the First Investigator said. ”Bob can attach the container to the major's car and follow the trail on his bike. The liquid will keep dripping at regular intervals for approximately two hours.”
”Then what are we waiting for?” Bob said.
Bob packed the trailing device and torch in a small backpack, and then the three boys crawled out through Tunnel Two and got their bicycles. Bob rode off into town while Pete and Jupiter headed north towards the city limits and the ocean. Jupiter thought aloud as he and Pete hiked.
”I doubt it is a coincidence, Second, that Major Karnes asked only those outside the city limits to tape their stories.”
”Another setup to fit the Joys, right?”
”It seems most likely,” Jupiter agreed.
Pirates Cove was a shallow indentation in the coastline several miles north of Rocky Beach. There was a small village of a few houses and shops, some fis.h.i.+ng boats, and an air taxi service along the upper part of the cove. The tourist attraction was on the lower part. As the boys biked up the road along the cove, a crude sign announced: THE PURPLE PIRATE LAIR An Exciting Adventure for the Whole Family!
They found the tourist attraction just past an abalone factory. The Lair was on a small peninsula in the cove, with a ramshackle wooden fence enclosing it on the land side. Outside the fence were two parking lots. Across the road to the boys' right, was a thick grove of trees with a fence beyond.
Only a few cars were in the dusty parking lots this early in the day. Several couples sipped soda and waited near the ticket booth outside the gates while their unruly young children kicked each other and screamed. A wooden sign over the booth said ”BLACK VULTURE” SAILS AT 12, 1, 2, 3, 4 DAILY. Inside the booth was a stocky man with a weathered face. It was difficult to tell his age, since his skin looked wrinkled beyond its years by constant exposure to the wind. He wore a striped sailor's s.h.i.+rt, a black eye patch, and a red bandanna around his head, and was announcing the thrills of the ride.
”s.h.i.+ver me timbers, ye landlubbers, everyone's a pirate for a day at the Purple Pirate Lair! Sail across Pirates Cove under the skull and crossbones on the sinister square-rigger the Black Vulture if you dare! Battle among the islands! Smell the gunpowder and see the pirates attack! Only a few tickets left! The Black Vulture sails in twenty minutes! Don't be left behind!”
The families peered around at each other as if wondering who had bought all the tickets, and then straggled into line at the booth. Pete and Jupiter joined them. When Jupiter reached the ticket window, he spoke firmly to the husky ticket seller, his voice low and very serious.
”We must speak at once with Captain Joy, my good man. An urgent matter.”
The ticket man's one visible eye glared at Jupiter.
”Cap'n don't talk to no one durin' a show!”
”But,” Jupiter protested, ”the show hasn't-”
”Cap'n's aboard! Anna!”
And with that the bl.u.s.tery sailor disappeared out the back of the booth, and a teenage girl came running in to take his place. She had olive-coloured skin and straight black braided hair.
”How many, please?” she asked the boys in a heavy Spanish accent.
”We need to locate Captain Joy at once, miss,” said Jupiter.
”No understand. Two tickets, please?” the girl asked uncertainly.