by Elizabeth Blackall, age 11
 

Chapter One

Wonderville  was a beautiful island. It was home to all sorts of people that came to visit and found it so beautiful that they never wanted to leave. There were two grocery stores, one mall, three art stores, and two art studios. One of which was owned by Henry Lome. There was also a beautiful public swimming pool. It was not a quiet town though, two mischievous twins, Jacklyn and Jessica, lived on this beautiful island.
"This is so unfair!" Jacklyn exclaimed.
"I know, how are we suppose to finish a science project by next week?" agreed Jessica.
Jacklyn and Jessica were fraternal twins. That means that they have the same parents, born on the same day but do not look alike. Jacklyn was more of a tomboy then Jessica. Jessica had long blond hair, and Jacklyn had light brown hair with natural blond streaks. Both girls were sixteen years old.
The girls entered their house, it was quiet because their parents were still at work.
"Hey, I have to change before we go to the mall.   OK?" hollered Jessica.
"Ok, but hurry up!" Jacklyn yelled down the hall to her sister.
Suddenly she heard Jessica scream, "Come quick!" Jacklyn ran as fast as she could. She soon saw why Jessica was frightened. The hall window was broken and there was a bare spot on the wall were the famous painting of their Great-great Grandfather was gone!
"Oh no!" whispered Jacklyn.

Chapter Two

  "I'll call Daddy!" Jessica told her sister as Jacklyn started to clean up the glass.
The police were on their way, they said there had been a series of similar crimes in the area. Jacklyn turned to see if they were here. Then she heard a blood-curdling scream, it was Jessica! She turned around hastily, then everything went black!

Chapter Three

Jacklyn woke up with a horrible pain in her head. She slowly opened her eyes and saw her Mom and Dad next to her hospital bed.
"Oh! What happened?" Jacklyn whispered to herself, suddenly she remembered what had happened.
"Where's Jess?" Jacklyn asked her mom.
"Her bed is right next to yours, someone must have hit you with a bard or something." Her mom answered her gently.
"Is she awake?" asked Jacklyn eagerly.
"Yep, she is in the café. She will be back soon." Her mother said as she looked out the window.
The doctor came in and examined Jacklyn. He asked if her head hurt. Of course she said yes. He then gave her some weird green medicine. He told her she could go home and showed her out the door. On the way out she saw Jessica running towards her.
"How are you feeling?" asked Jessica.
"A lot better," replied Jacklyn, "but my head still hurts!"
"Girls, your Dad and I are going to get the car. Wait here!" she told them sternly.
"Ok." The twins answered. After their parents left for the car Jessica pulled a note from her pocket. It said:
Family Portraits = Family Betrayers
Beware !!!!!
Tiger Eye

Chapter Four

"Wake up!" Jacklyn whispered to Jessica.
"What? It is only 11:00 p.m.!" Jessica said wearily.
"We have to find out who wrote that note, it's the only clue we have!" Jacklyn exclaimed.
Jessica was now wide-awake, so she agreed to follow Jacklyn.
They went down the stairs quietly and opened the old cabinet doors. This was where the family kept all sorts of things. They found old photo albums, a book on the family tree, and the address book.
"So," Jessica asked in a low volume, "what are we looking for?"
"We are looking for anybody who might be a 'Family-Betrayer'!"

Chapter Five

The girls searched very long and very hard. Just when it was beginning to look hopeless Jessica pulled a card out of the oldest family album.
"What is it?" Jacklyn asked eagerly.
"It's Uncle Henry's business card!" Jessica exclaimed.
"Your right, 'Lome Art Studio';." agreed Jacklyn.
"Hey, Uncle Henry gossips a lot. Maybe he knows of someone with the nickname 'Tiger Eye';!" Jessica said excitedly.
"Tomorrow's Saturday," Jacklyn whispered, "we can pay him a visit then!"

Chapter Six

The twins gobbled down their breakfast as fast as they could and then hurried out the door. They couldn't wait to see their Uncle Henry. Luckily the address and phone number for the studio was on the card. The Lome Art Studio was only a couple of blocks away, so the girls decided to ride their bikes. They biked and biked and biked, it was further away than they thought!
When they finally got there they found Lome Art Studio closed. It had a mysterious note pinned on the door and it was written messily. The note read:
Gone ote of towne
"It must mean 'Gone out of town';." Jessica corrected.
"Let's go in!" Jacklyn told her sister.
Jessica hesitated, "Ok, but if we get caught, it was your idea!"
The girls entered the store. It was very tidy but the smell of paint was very strong.
"The last day marked on the calendar was two days ago!" Jacklyn exclaimed.
"That's the day the picture was stolen!" Jessica remembered.
"Ah!" Jacklyn yelled, "Someone is coming!"
The two girls quickly hid under the big wooden desk.

The man who entered the room had black curly hair, and a big long ugly nose. Right behind him was Uncle Henry!

Chapter Seven

"Hurry up! Our flight leaves in one hour!" complained the man in a low, screechy voice.
Uncle Henry replied, "Wait, I need to get something."
"I can't believe that he's Tiger Eye!" whispered Jacklyn to Jessica. Jessica was sitting next to a bin of sawdust so her reply was "Aaaah Choooo!"
The two girls held their breath and crossed their fingers and hoped no one heard the sneeze!

Chapter Eight

"What was that?" the villainous man screeched.
"I don't know!" they both said at the same time.
They started looking around cautiously. Finally Uncle Henry looked under the desk and with a surprised look on his face he said, "You two! I wondered when you would show up!"
The ugly man grabbed them, blindfolded them, and dragged the two girls into a van. He pushed them in the back, slammed the doors and drove off. There were no windows so the girls couldn't see where they were being taken, even if they had no blindfolds on.
They drove around for about two hours, then the van stopped. The ugly man opened the doors and then dragged the two girls through a huge field. The girls could smell the ocean and both hoped that Uncle Henry wouldn't drown them!

Chapter Nine

"Now get in there and stay in there!" the man with the curly black hair snorted, "You can help us gather our loot!"
The two men grabbed the girls and tore off the blindfolds. The two girls looked around and found themselves in a dark, dusky cavern. Inside there were hundreds of jewels, statues, pictures, and piles of money! The twins saw their painting next to the loot. Jacklyn dashed towards it, but she tripped over a small gold knife. As she slowly stood up she picked it up and then quickly put the knife against Uncle Henry's; neck.
"Now!" yelled Jacklyn to Jessica. Jessica ran behind the other man and knocked him down. He hit his head and was knocked unconscious. Uncle Henry grabbed the knife from Jacklyn. To the girls it looked like it was all over, they had no chance of escape! Suddenly an old man entered the cave pointing a rifle at them.
"What in blazes is going on in here?" screeched the old man; "This here is private property! Hey, ain't you the two robbers I seen on TV last night?"
Then the old man ran out of the cave and pressed a button. Suddenly a bear trap fell over the villains.

Chapter Ten

Awhile later the police came and took the two robbers out of the bear cage. The stolen loot was gathered up and returned to the people who owned it. The two girls took their painting and thanked the old man for rescuing them. Then were then driven back to the art studio.
Jacklyn and Jessica biked home proudly, they figured that Uncle Henry and his ugly friend would be thrown in jail. The girls walked up to their house, the front door opened.
"Hi Mom! Sorry we're late but ...;" Jacklyn started then her mom interrupted.
"I know all about it. I saw the whole thing on television!" their Mother said as she hugged them both tightly.
"There is one thing we don't know, who is 'Tiger Eye';?" Jessica asked her mom.
"I don't know." sighed their mother, "Oh well, leave that job to the REAL Detectives!"

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