For Dashiell and Philip

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Books logo are trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

© 2011 by Dona Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4027-7912-1

Sterling ebook ISBN: 978-1-4027-9804-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Norris, Zack.

The secret of Skull Island / by Zack Norris.

p. cm. — (Double Detectives; #1)

Summary: Twins Otis and Cody Carson, their father Hayden, cousin
Rae Lee, and family friend Maxim, go to a Caribbean island where Aunt
Edith’s dream of running an inn is being hampered by ghostly activities and
deceitful guests.

ISBN 978-1-4027-7912-1

[1. Swindlers and swindling—Fiction. 2. Taverns (Inns)—Fiction.
3. Islands—Fiction. 4. Brothers—Fiction. 5. Twins—Fiction.
6. Caribbean Area—Fiction. 7. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.

PZ7.N7995Sec 2011

[Fic]—dc22

2010046090

For information about custom editions, special sales, and premium
and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales
Department at 800-805-5489 or specialsales@sterlingpublishing.com.

Designed by Susan Gerber

Lot #:

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

07/11

www.sterlingpublishing.com/kids

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

[Chapter One]

The Boss wasn’t happy, and when the Boss wasn’t happy, no one in his gang was happy. He was getting angry, too. The gang knew that that was a dangerous thing—for all of them. He could take his anger out on anyone.

The gang’s head man stood in the shadows, his cell phone pressed tightly to his ear, his guts in a twist. As he listened, his expression went from tense and frightened to angry and resentful. The Boss was chewing him out … again.

“I put you in charge of this operation and now I have a mess, Bobo,” the Boss snarled. “It’s going to mess up our sweet deal. It’s going to mess up my money.” Bobo heard him exhale through his teeth. “I’m not pleased. What I want is to be pleased.”

“Look, Boss, this all happened so fast. How could I have known? It wasn’t my fault …” the head man protested.

“Stop whining about how it wasn’t your fault, Bobo!” the Boss snapped. “You’re always supposed to know what’s going on.”

The Boss breathed into the phone heavily. Bobo could almost see the sneer on the man’s face and smell the stink of smoke from his cigar. He hated the way the Boss talked to him and treated him—and the way they all had to call him “Boss.”

I’m smarter than any of the other guys in this gang, Bobo thought. I’m probably smarter than the Boss, too.

“Bobo, I want you to make this problem go away. I want it fixed, and I want it done quietly. Nobody suspects who you are. Nobody knows what’s going on. Nobody starts nosing around for pirate treasure.” He snickered nastily. “And I don’t want the law on my back.”

“I’m already taking care of it, Boss,” blurted Bobo. “I’ve got the whole plan made up …”

“Shut up!” snapped the Boss. “I don’t want to hear about your smart ideas, you nitwit. Just do what I told you. And make sure there’s no problem with the big job, either.”

Bobo heard a click as the Boss ended the conversation without even saying good-bye. He clenched his fists at his sides. He was sick of being ordered around and called names.

“I hate working for this guy,” he muttered under his breath. “I ought to have my own outfit. I’d love to give him the double cross.”