here were two new girls in Emily Sadrayís fifth grade class that year. Their names were Cristina Thomas, or Christy for short, and Rachael Brown. Christy had just moved to town, and Rachael had switched schools. As usual, Emily made friends with them right away.
What a trio they made! They were all quite different. First, there was Emily, who was tall with shoulder-length, wavy, reddish-brown hair and cat-green eyes. She was usually quiet, but when it came to what was right, she spoke right up! Next, there was Christy, who was a little on the short side with straight, waist-length blond hair, blue eyes and freckles. She was a shy, timid girl, and didnít usually tell others her opinion, (unless they were REALLY good friends) because she was afraid of starting a fight. Rachael, who was average-height, had short, straight, brown hair that only went down to her ears and brown eyes. She was really outgoing, and sometimes got in trouble for her big mouth. Yet, with all these differences, they were the best of friends.
Later, Emily and Christy found out that Mr. Brown, Rachaelís father, was a millionaire.
About a week later, Rachael invited Christy and Emily over to her house for a sleepover. ìBut,î warned Rachael, ìI live in Bleakfell Castle. You know. The old mansion that is supposedly haunted.î
ìThatís okay,î said Emily, ìWe donít believe those old legends anyway.î
ìWe donít?î questioned Christy.
ìWell,î said Rachael, ìif you do, you may just have good reason. Some of my jewelry, and my momís, too, have been missing. JustÖvanished.î
ìWow,î said Emily, ìIíve always wanted to solve a real mystery, like Nancy Drew. If we work together, we can solve it.î

Saturday morning at Bleakfell Castle in the jewelry room
ìThis,î said Rachael ìis the jewelry room. All the jewelry we have is in here. I canít see how it was stolen, because the jewelry is under lock and key.î The room was filled with jewelry chests, a row down the middle, and rows on either wall. The three girls were at Bleakfell Castle, trying to solve the mystery.
ìLast night,î Rachael continued, ìSome of my momís jewelry was stolen. See this jewelry cabinet?î She pointed to a dark jewelry chest about 3 feet high. ìAll the jewelry in here was stolen. My mom took her jewelry off, and went into the dressing room to change. Rachael motioned to a doorway. She realized she hadnít put the jewelry away. It just so happened that a bracelet she was wearing came from this chest. When she opened it to put the bracelet away, all the other jewelry in the chest was gone! JustÖvanished. All in about 5 minutes.î
ìWow,î said Emily, ìJust vanished, huh? Well, we better look around for clues.î Rachael, Emily and Christy were looking for clues near the empty jewelry chest when Christy dropped through a trap door. It went into a small room. There was a ladder leading down, and Rachael followed. But Emily was busy figuring out how the trap door opened when she discovered a small button. She pressed it with her foot, and the door closed. Rachael and Christy screamed, for they thought that the thief had locked them in and kidnapped Emily. When Emily pressed the button again, the door opened.
ìItís okay guys, itís just me,î said Emily.
ìOh!î said Christy, ìWe thought you were the burglar!î
ìHey,î said Rachael, ìYou should come down here and check this out.î
ìWell, I guess so,î answered Emily, ìIf you can see how it opens from down there.î
ìHereís another button!î called Christy, ìJust like the one up there! Letís see if it works.î She pressed it, and the trapdoor closed. She pressed it again, and the trapdoor opened.
ìOkay,î called Emily, ìIím coming down!î Once they were all inside, they investigated. It looked like a two room apartment. In the first room were a bed and a desk. The bed was unmade, and the desk had papers strewn all across it. In the second room, there was a kitchen, with a stove, oven, refridgerator and sink in it. There were also some cabinets in the second room. Christy went to investigate them, and they were filled with food.
ìLetís check out these papers,î said Emily. Then they sifted through the papers together.
ìLook at this!î cried Emily, ìI found a letter to the thief from her accomplice! The thiefís name is Marina Morros, and her accompliceís name is Tom Grandy!î
ìHow do you know itís really them?î asked Rachael.
ìBecause,î said Emily ìOh, never mind. Just read this.î Christy and Rachael examined the letter. It read like this:

Tom Grandy
P.O. Box **9
*****field, Illinois
55*6*

To:
Marina Morros
September 9

Dear Marina,
Stole any more jewels lately? I hope you have because the plan is going perfectly. Iím taking the jewelry to New York as planned on September 20. Iíve written to the jewel dealers, and if all goes as planned, weíll be rich before October. Iím picking up the jewels on the 15th. Meet me at the Paradise CafÈ in Normal, Illinois at 2:00 pm. Wrap the jewels as if they were a b-day present to me. Donít let anything stop us from being millionaires. Well, I guess thatís it. See yaí on my ëb-dayí.
Tom
P.S. This is a great way to get revenge on the Browns.

ìOkay,î said Emily, ìwe have the info, but where are the jewels?î
ìWell,î began Rachael, ìMy mom saw someone disappear into the hall, but she thought it was the caretaker, coming to ask her a question, and then he saw that she wasnít in the jewel room, so he checked elsewhere. Do you think it could have been Marina?î
ìMaybe, but who knows? This letter could be a fake to lead us off track. You never know. Maybe it WAS the caretaker, and HEíS been stealing the jewelry. Where else should we check for clues?î asked Emily.
ìWell,î began Christy timidly, ìI know itís kinda far-fetched, but I read that these old castles are full of secret passages and trapdoors. Maybe we should knock on the walls to see if any part of them is hollow. Besides, this house was built in colonial days, and it was part of the Underground Railroad.î
ìGood idea,î said Rachael. So they went to work on the walls.
Later that day
ìHey,î called Christy down the hall, ìThis sounds hollow!î
ìLetís go check it out!î cried Emily.
When they got to where Christy was, they found that it did sound hollow.
ìLetís try pressing the molding,î said Rachael, ìMaybe thereís another secret room!î So, they tried pressing the intricate molding. And, all of a sudden, the hollow section of wall opened, revealing a secret passage!
ìRachael,î said Emily, ìYou go get flashlights. Christy and I will stay her until you return.î
ìYes, General Sadray!î answered Rachael sarcastically.
After Rachael returned with the flashlights, they started down the passage.
When Christy saw how dark it was, she said ìUmÖ..maybe itís better if you two go down the passage and I stand guard here, in case Marina starts down the passage behind you.î You see, Christy was afraid of the dark.
ìAs you wish,î answered Emily.
Christy sat down, her back to the jewelry room. Then, she felt someone grab her from behind! A blindfold was slipped onto her face, so she couldnít see. She had no idea what was happening, except that she was being kidnapped!
Meanwhile, Emily and Rachael were almost to the end of the secret passage. A spider fell on Rachael, who HATED spiders and she shrieked.
ìShhhhhhh!î warned Emily, who was afraid Marina would catch them. Finally, they came to the end. They found the light switch, and turned on the light. In the corner, they saw Christy, bound and gagged! As soon as Rachael and Emily released her, they asked her what had happened.
ìWell,î began Christy, ìI sat down, just after you went inside the passage, and then, I felt someone grab me from behind! Iím sure it was Marina. She slipped a blindfold on me, so I donít know exactly what happened. What I know is this. Marina took me to another entrance to this room. Then, she bound and gagged me, removed my blindfold, and left me here. That took aboutÖÖÖÖÖ. mmmmmmmmÖÖÖÖ..Iíd sayÖÖÖÖÖ5 minutes. Then I sat there for about 5 more minutes, and then you showed up.î
ìI canít believe it!î said Emily. ìMarina kidnapped you! She has unbelievable courage! Now, letís investigate.î The room they had entered had about 10 paper bags, lined up against the wall.
ìHey, Emily,î said Rachael, ìLetís see whatís in those bags.î
ìGood idea, Rachael!î said Emily. Each bag was about half full ofÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ.. jewelry!
ìThatís the stolen jewelry!î cried Rachael, ìIt must be!î
ìNow,î said Emily, ìWeíve got all the info we need to set a trap.î
That Evening
ìIím sure glad our moms let us sleep over,î said Christy.
ìYeah,î agreed Emily. ìRachael, letís go see if your sneakers are in the storage closet in the jewelry room.î
ìOkay,î said Rachael, ìI need to put my bracelet away, anyway.î When they got to the jewelry room, Rachael casually set her bracelet on a jewelry chest. Then, they went into the storage closet. You see they werenít really looking for Rachaelís sneakers, and they knew it. But the storage closet had a small window, just low enough to see through. They could see the bracelet perfectly. They hoped to catch Marina. Then, a woman walked up. They couldnít see her features, though. So, they jumped out and grabbed her. What a surprise! It wasÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ.Rachaelís mom. Mrs. Brown had been putting the bracelet away so it wouldnít get stolen.
ìGirls!î exclaimed Mrs. Brown, ìWhat on earth is happening here?î
ìWell Mom,î explained Rachael, ìWe were trying to catch the thief.î
ìGirls,î began Mrs. Brown, ìIím glad youíre trying to help, but you really should call the police.î So they brought the police into the mess.

September 15, 2:00 pm, at the Paradise CafÂ[BR> Emily, Rachael, Christy and some plainclothes policemen were waiting for Marina and Tom to show up. At exactly 2:05, a short, fat, balding man arrived. A tall woman with long, black hair arose to meet him.
ìTom,î she said, ìI thought something terrible had happened. Happy Birthday!î She handed him a present.
ìThat must be her!î Emily whispered to a policeman.
ìStop, thief!î another policeman cried out. Suddenly, Marina and Tom were surrounded by policemen.
ìMarina,î asked Emily, ìWhy were you stealing the jewels?î
ìWell,î began Marina, ìI was a servant for the Browns ten years ago. I hadnít been paid for two weeks, so I took some jewelry as pay. I was caught, though, and I promised myself I would get revenge someday. It wouldíve worked, too, if you girls hadnít showed up.î
ìAlso,î began Rachael, ìHow did you get Christy to that secret room without using the secret passage?î
ìI used another passage,î explained Marina. ìThis one began in the room under the trapdoor. There was a door, cleverly disguised and wallpapered, that opened with the press of a secret button. It ended up in the secret room with a trapdoor.î
ìWell,î said Emily, ìAllís well that ends well.î
ìGood job, girls,î a policeman said, ìYou should go into detective work.î
ìMaybe,î said Emily thoughtfully, ìMaybe someday I will.î