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    The Mystery of the Stone Arches
    The Mystery of the Stone Arches
    The Mystery of the Stone Arches
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    The Mystery of the Stone Arches

    By Sandra Maggs

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Bess Hooper the time travelling teenage sleuth is back and this time she has help from her best friend Eloise.
    When Bess has a vision of a crying boy on the night of her fifteenth birthday, she dismisses it after a few weeks when no other clues appear. But after being invited to spend a week at the home of Eloise's cousin's home, the mystery begins to evolve after she spots a picture of the boy from her vision in a frame in their library.
    After finding out that the boy, Sebastian Wescott, went missing in the forties, she joins forces with Eloise and her cousin Jack to try to solve the mystery.
    But can Bess help solve the puzzle and keep her secret?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSandra Maggs
    Release dateSep 30, 2018
    ISBN9780463680858
    The Mystery of the Stone Arches
    Author

    Sandra Maggs

    I was born in a library and raised on literature. From a young age I wrote my own stories and read them to anyone who would listen. After years of hard work and determination, I'm finally dabbling in the world of Indie Publishing and I love it! My favourite genre is fantasy, but I'll give anything a shot.

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      Book preview

      The Mystery of the Stone Arches - Sandra Maggs

      The Mystery of the Stone Arches

      Copywrite 2018 Sandra Maggs

      Published by Sandra Maggs at Smashwords

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favourite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Chapter One

      Tying the robe at her waist, Bess Hooper prepared for the familiar annual ritual. For as long as she could remember when this day arrived it was always the same.

      Are you ready? her brother Tom asked her from the hallway. He stood there in his pyjamas waiting for his sister.

      Bess nodded. As ready as I’ll ever be, she said. Come on, let’s get this over with.

      Tom took a deep breath and followed his sister down the stairs knowing precisely what would be waiting for them both at the bottom. As they went into the dining area off the kitchen, it was exactly as they expected.

      Happy birthday, their parents cried in unison.

      As always on the dining room table, there were the two customary presents, one wrapped in pink and the other in blue. Bess didn’t need any type of supernatural gift to know which one was hers. You go first Tom, she encouraged her younger brother. Go on, open it.

      Tom tore at the wrapping paper and then opened the box. Awesome, I needed a new football, he said. It’s the Winter World Cup match ball. Thanks, this is the best present ever.

      You say that every year, Bess said as she smiled at his reaction and commenced opening her gift. Carefully, she peeled away each piece of cello tape and then removed the paper. Opening the box revealed an assortment of make-up. It’s just what I wanted. Thanks. I can’t wait to try it all. The girls will help me with that later.

      Now let’s not forget about the cake, their father said.

      Years of birthdays had numbed the decorations to a point where there wasn’t a streamer or balloon to be seen. On the breakfast bar was the usual cake decorated in the same way as it had been for the past thirteen years. One half pink, and the other half blue. Bess wondered if they would ever have separate cakes again.

      You’re not going to sing are you? Tom asked his parents.

      Well, not anymore, we’re not, their father told him, looking slightly disappointed with his son’s comment.

      Sorry Dad, go on, sing happy birthday, Tom said as he noticed the disenchanted looks on their faces.

      Smiling their father lit the two candles on the cake and their parents sang to them. After the ceremonial blowing out of the tiny flames, they tucked into the birthday treat. Chocolate cake was both Bess and Tom’s favourite and their parents never let them down.

      As she savoured the flavour of the rich chocolate indulgence, instantly Bess returned to her ethereal summer holiday in Smackleton and the cake she had enjoyed at Kissing Gate Cottage. She thought about Patrick and the moonlight kiss they had shared. Bess touched her lips with her fingertips and smiled to herself thinking of the other time she had temporarily visited. The mystery she had solved in the woods there had left her feeling quite emotional and in some ways regretful. Today however, was a day for celebrations.

      Tom had decided to spend his birthday by taking a few of his mates to a games arcade and eating pizza with his father chaperoning, so Bess had the house to herself and had invited three of her friends over for an evening of makeovers and fortune telling, and she had conned her parents into letting her have a sleepover. Her mother had promised to make herself scarce and that was all Bess could have wished for.

      What time are your friends getting here? her father asked as he poured a cup of tea for his daughter.

      I told them five-thirty, Bess answered finishing off her cake and taking the hot drink from him. I need to tidy my room a bit. What time are you going out? She hoped the answer would be five o’clock so that they were gone before the girls arrived.

      We’re leaving around five, her father told her. I have to pick up the others on the way to the pizza place. So don’t worry, we should be well and truly out of the way.

      Thankful that she had such understanding parents, Bess took the tea and the make-up to her bedroom. Laying the gift out on her bed, she took a picture and sent it directly to her best friend Eloise. Instantly Bess received a happy birthday message. Smiling to herself, she put the phone down and looked around at her bedroom. It wasn’t too untidy and there wasn’t really much that needed doing. For a fifteen-year-old, she was quite organised and valued her belongings. A place for everything and everything in its place.

      As Bess had grown up, the room had evolved with her. Each year just after her birthday, she boxed up a little more stuff that she had outgrown, and her father had put it up in the attic space. Each box had the year written on it and one day she would either pass it down to her own daughter or get rid of it. A year ago, the room had been redecorated. Bess had designed the paper herself and drawn random sized hearts in no particular pattern on a white background. The single bed had been replaced with a double and most of the stuffed toys that had kept her company over the years had been retired along with a wooden dolls house. In the window hung a pink unicorn windchime she had received for her birthday when she was six. As Bess pushed one of the little metal rods, it tinkled when it hit the others. Maybe she would take it down next year.

      Opening the window a fraction, a cool breeze brought in the fragrance of autumn and freshened the room in readiness for the evening invasion. Soon it would be too cold to open a window. Bess looked forward to the whitewash of snow that buried the dead of the autumn and revived the earth in anticipation for the new buds of spring. It brought with it celebrations and frivolity and was her favourite time of the year.

      During the past week, she had planned her Saturday night with Eloise, and they had come up with makeovers and tarot card readings. Bess still didn’t know a great deal about the cards she had received that summer, but she had enough of an idea to wing it. Each picture contained little images she had noticed, and each tiny image contributed to the reading. But for Bess, it was all just in good fun and although she didn’t possess the qualities of a gypsy fortune teller, tonight she would dress as one. A peasant skirt and a cold shoulder blouse were chosen, with a scarf as a sash tied at the waist and a pink bandana for

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