Free The Case of the Vanished Sea Dragon by Gareth P. Jones

air.
    â€˜Come on,’ said Holly. ‘He’s gone round the side.’
    At the corner she stopped and poked her head around.
    â€˜What’s going on?’ asked Archie. ‘He’s going through a back door,’ she replied.
    Holly turned the corner into a narrow alleyway. Set in the right side wall was a door. Archie moved to takea closer look, but Holly stopped him.
    â€˜There’s a camera,’ she said, pointing. ‘They check who you are before opening it.’
    Archie saw on the side of the door a panel with an intercom camera. ‘So that’s it. We can’t go any further,’ he said.
    â€˜I can,’ replied Holly. ‘But I need your help.’
    Archie looked at her disbelievingly. ‘Look, following people is one thing but breaking into a building is illegal.’
    â€˜But this is important,’ replied Holly stubbornly.
    â€˜Why? Because you don’t trust this billionaire bloke?’
    â€˜Look,’ said Holly desperately, ‘Dad used to be an MP. He worked for the Ministry of Defence. Now Brant Buchanan wants Dad to tell him the whereabouts of a secret weapon.’
    â€˜Brilliant!’ Archie clapped his hands.
    â€˜So you’ll help me?’ said Holly hopefully.
    â€˜Holly, what you’re talking about is called breaking and entering.’
    â€˜No it’s not.’
    â€˜Yes it is,’ exclaimed Archie angrily. ‘I should know, my dad’s in prison for it.’
    Holly was stunned. ‘Your dad’s in prison?’ she said.
    â€˜Yes.’ The grin that lived on Archie’s face disappeared.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ said Holly.
    â€˜I’m not. He’s an idiot,’ spat Archie.
    Holly didn’t know what to say. ‘Maybe he’ll have changed when he gets out,’ she said.
    â€˜I don’t think so. The last three times haven’t stopped him,’ he said bitterly. He pushed his dirty blond hair away from his eyes and stared defiantly at Holly.
    Holly understood being angry with a parent. She had been angry with her dad ever since Mum had died. She had been angry at him when he married Big Hair so soon after her death. Every time he forgot her birthday or just gave her cash for Christmas she was angry at him. And now she was angry with him for accepting Brant Buchanan’s offer.
    â€˜It isn’t exactly breaking and entering,’ she said at last. ‘It’s just entering.’
    â€˜If your dad is doing something dodgy, call the police.’
    â€˜The police don’t arrest people like Brant Buchanan. They protect him. You saw them outside the gates, holding back the crowds,’ said Holly.
    â€˜Look, Holly, I enjoy a good game as much asanyone. Secret weapons and all, it’s fun, but this isn’t a game.’
    Holly needed to persuade him to help her. She couldn’t tell him the whole truth. He would never have believed her. But she remembered again the art of telling a good lie. Tell as much truth as possible, with one or two details altered.
    â€˜The truth is I work as a detective’s assistant,’ she said.
    â€˜What detective?’ asked Archie, sounding sceptical.
    â€˜It’s called the Dragon Detective Agency,’ she replied.
    â€˜Cool name,’ said Archie.
    â€˜It’s my uncle’s agency. His name’s Dirk Dilly and he lets me help sometimes. That’s how I know about the secret weapon. I know it sounds unbelievable but I swear it’s true and I need to get into that building to find out what my dad’s up to.’
    Archie’s smile returned to his face. ‘Is that true? That’s really cool,’ he said.
    â€˜So you’ll help me get in?’ said Holly.
    â€˜Can I meet your uncle?’
    â€˜Yeah, I’ll introduce you some time,’ lied Holly.
    â€˜All right,’ he said, at last, ‘what’s the plan?’
    Holly told him what she had in mind and got