The Key

                                              Chapter 1 --- The Legend

        "Karen, we're going to be late" called Marrisa. Karen hurried to the car. "I am so excited !", she exclaimed. Rachel grinned. "My uncle is glad to have us stay", she said. Karen, Marrisa and Rachel were going to visit Rachel's wealthy uncle in Inverness. "I've heard that your uncle has a box of valuable jewels hidden in his mansion", Marrisa said. "Can you tell us the story?", Karen begged. "A long time ago", began Rachel, "my uncle's great-great-great grandfather owned the house. His wife allowed a guest to stay at the house. The guest's name was Bob. He was a short man with a goatee and he had dark black hair. One day, Bob was seen burying a box somewhere.  When he was asked, he said the box was filled with beautiful and valuable jewels. The guest gave a key to his host and said it led to the jewels. No one knows where the box is hidden. All that is left is the key that now belongs to my uncle.".

       "Would he let us see it?", asked Karen, she loved mysteries. "Sure!!", said Rachel, "after all it isn't worth anything". They reached the Queen Mary Mansion. The Queen Mary Mansion was a white brick building with flowers hanging out of the windows and it was set on a valley of lush green grass. There was a statue of a bear cub sitting in front of the door. Rachel ran up the pale blue stairs to hug her uncle. Karen and Marrisa followed behind. "Let's go inside", said Rachel's uncle. When they were inside, Karen gasped. "Wow !" she whispered.

                                             Chapter 2 --- The Mansion

        The Queen Mary Mansion was indeed very beautiful. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Red velvet curtains edged with gold shimmered on the windows. "Would you girls like to find your room?", asked Rachel's uncle. "Yes sir!", said Karen. "Call me Ben", Rachel's uncle told her. The girls ran up the staircase and they were met with many many rooms. They went into a room with a big bed and had wall paper with a shade of pale green. They walked out and went into another room, that had huge book shelves, but no bed. This looked like the study room. Then they went into a room that had a blue bed with five pillows on it. The room had a computer, but it didn't have any wires connected to it.
         Then they went into a room with a sign that said "Girls Room". What they saw, took their breath away. The room had plush carpeting, a flat screen TV, bean bag chairs and three matching pink beds next to each other. The girls were speechless. "I see you found your room", said Ben, standing in the doorway. The girls grinned, they were ready for an awesome visit.

                                                Chapter 3 --- The Man

       Karen and her friends loved the mansion right from the start. They ate gourmet meals in the dining room with a long table and fancy chairs.  They had lots of fun until one day. It all started with a few loud sharp knocks on the door. "What was that?" asked Rachel. When Ben opened the door, a man about thirty stepped in. He was wearing a brown suit and carried a leather briefcase. "I don't like this", Marrisa muttered. Ben told the girls to go up to the room. The men went into another room and closed the door.
        In the girls room Karen was watching TV while Marrisa and Rachel read books. Finally Ben came into the room. "I'm sorry girls, that was Dr Wiggins. He want's to buy the key that I have. But I won't give it to him. He will do anything for the key." "Is that the key that leads to the jewels?", Marrisa asked. Ben nodded, "Looks like Rachel filled you in", he said with a smile. Karen was curious. "Can we see the key?", she asked. "Sure", Ben answered. He left the room and came back with a box. He opened it and took out the key. Karen stared it. She had never seen such an old key. It was rusted and had designs carved into it. "Ben", asked Marrisa, "is the box inside or outside the house?" Ben sighed, "No one knows" he said, "Legend says that Bob buried the box but someone else says it is hidden in the box".

                                                 Chapter 4 --- The suspects

       A lot of people came to talk to Ben about the key. One had a daughter named Amanda, who seemed very interested in the key. She seemed too interested. Karen wondered if Amanda was doing something about the key. Amanda had curly brown hair that fell in waves around her shoulder. She was a tall girl who wore a yellow dress with wild flowers on it. Every time that a visitor came, the girls had to go to their room. They always wondered what the people downstairs were talking about. Sometimes they tried to sneak out and listen, but Ben and the visitor would be in a room downstairs with the door closed tightly. But one day, Ben and the visitor talked so loudly that the girls could hear them in the room. "THE KEY IS GONE !!!", cried Ben.
      The girls ran downstairs to see what was happening. What they saw, made them stop!

                                                  Chapter 5 --- Gone ?

     A man in a red suit stood next to Ben. The man had soft brown hair and was very tall. He was much taller than uncle Ben. Ben was crying with his face in his hands. "Ben", Marrisa whispered, "Ben" she whispered more loudly. Karen saw the key's box on the grand piano. But the key was gone. "Oh no", cried Karen. "The key is gone", she said. Ben uncovered his face, "it was stolen", he said. The girls told Ben that they would find the key.
     They first made a list of suspects:

• Amanda 
• Man in red suit
• Dr Wiggins.

(Talk to each suspect)

Karen decided to question all the suspects. First they decided to talk to Amanda. "Why do you want to know so much about the key", Rachel blurted out. "It's a surprise", Amanda said. Karen looked at her suspiciously. Amanda shrugged. "Suit yourself" she muttered. The girls decided to keep Amanda on the list. Next they talked to the man in the red suit. The man in the red suit told them his name was Jeff and he was a friend of Ben's. He came every month to check on the key. The girls crossed Jeff off the suspect list. Now only Dr Wiggins was left to question. But when they went to his house, someone told them that he was too busy to talk. So the girls went to the back of the house and got in from another door. The house was huge. The girls tiptoed down the hall and looked in every room. Finally they saw a box that looked like it could hold the key. It was on a table in a big room. The girls snuck into the room and with trembling hands Karen opened the box.

                              Chapter 6 --- Found !

        Karen was so happy, she couldn't speak. "The key!", Rachel whispered. Marrisa was looking out in the hallway. "Guys, let's get out of here, someone's coming", she whispered frantically. Karen closed the box and slipped the key into her pocket. Then the girls snuck out of the room and raced all the way home. "Ben", Rachel shouted. "We have the key", Marrisa cried. Ben hurried out of his room and gasped with happiness when he saw the key. "Girls, where was it?", he asked. "Dr Wiggins took it", Karen gasped for air after the run. Ben slapped his head. "I should have known", he shouted. The girls went outside while Ben called the police.
        "Hey", Rachel cried when she tripped on a big rock in the middle of the backyard. Karen moved the heavy rock to the side of the back yard and groaned. She went back to where the rock was and when she was walking she heard something hollow. She brushed her hand on the grass where the rock was earlier and uncovered a trap door. Rachel pulled the door open. Inside there was a square metal box. "Get me the key", Karen commanded. Rachel ran back inside and got the key. Karen took it and ........ "It fits!!" she cried. She slowly opened the box and gasped at what she saw.

                                  Chapter 7 --- The Party

         There were diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. "Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben!!!", Rachel shrieked. Ben came hurrying toward them. When he saw the box he gasped. "Wow!", he shouted. He picked up the box and skipped inside. He called Jewel Treasury and they inspected the jewels. A few days later everyone except Ben was gathered in a room. The girl had been told Ben's birthday was coming up so they planned a surprise party for him. When Ben walked in, Rachel flicked on the lights and everyone shouted "Surprise!!!". Ben laughed and clapped his hands. Everyone began to sing "Happy Birthday", while Amanda brought out a present for Ben. Ben opened it and inside was a book about the key that Amanda wrote. "I wanted to know about the key, so that I could write about it. Now I am done writing it" she added. The girls did a triple high five and yelled "THE TRUE CREW DID IT AGAIN!!!!!"

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