Free The Emerald Quest by Renee Pawlish

minutes, they were ready. Anthony turned off the lights.
    “Here we go.” Juan Carlo held the spyglass up while Anthony shined the powerful diving light through one end of it. An image with lines and curves appeared on the wall, like a pencil drawing.
    “Wow,” Noah said. “It works.”
    “But it doesn’t make sense,” Juan Carlo said. He twisted one glass piece for a moment. “Does this image mean anything to you two?”
    Noah and Anthony shook their heads. Juan Carlo fiddled with the spyglass some more, but it didn’t help.
    “Juan Carlo, you said that there’s supposed to be lines on the map that will tell us where to look. ‘X’ marks the spot, remember?” Noah asked.
    “Maybe we don’t have it projected on the wall correctly,” Juan Carlo mused.
    “Let me try,” Anthony said. He turned the pieces slowly. “Hey, there are notches on the edges of the two glass pieces. I didn’t notice that.” He lined up the notches and studied the wall. “I have no idea what that is.”
    “It’s some islands, but it doesn’t look like Key West.” Noah taped pieces of computer paper to the wall. “I’ll trace it.”
    He took a pen and drew lines on the paper. As he worked, he knew he was tracing a map of some of the Florida Keys. But since there were so many islands in the Keys, he couldn’t tell which ones he had drawn. He also traced some Spanish writing on the map.
    “How could someone write that small on the glass pieces?” Noah asked.
    “He must’ve used a magnifying glass to help him,” Anthony suggested.
    “Extraordinary,” Juan Carlo said.
    Noah finished tracing the map and they put the spyglass back in the box. Noah glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time for the phone call from his parents’ captors.
    “I still don’t see any lines that would mark a specific place on the map,” Anthony said.
     “We must still be missing a piece that attaches to the etched-glass pieces,” Noah sighed.
    Juan Carlo nodded. “Alfonso must have kept it with the spyglass.”
    “Then it’s still somewhere around the wreck,” Noah said. “But we don’t have time to find it now.”
    “Let’s talk to Chief Burton about what to do,” Juan Carlo said.
    “What else can we figure out before the police get here?” Anthony fingered the writing on the map. “That’s Spanish, isn’t it?”
    “Yes,” Juan Carlo nodded. He stood up and went to the wall. “This means –”
    The chime of the doorbell interrupted him. Noah raced to the door.
    Chief Burton stood on the porch with Detective Shaw.
    “Come on in,” Noah said. They followed him into the kitchen.
    “Have you heard anything?’ Chief Burton asked. “Anybody following you?”
    “Not that I know of,” Noah answered.
    Juan Carlo introduced himself to Chief Burton. Chief Burton and Detective Shaw sat down at the table.
    “We’re still missing one part of the spyglass,” Noah said.
    Chief Burton grimaced. “Okay,” he said after a moment. “Tell them that. It could buy us more time. By the way, we found the Honda. It was abandoned on a street on Stork Island.”
    “Did you find any clues as to what happened?” Juan Carlo asked.
    Detective Shaw spoke up. “Nothing. No sign of foul play. And no clues either. The car was wiped clean.”
    “What about the kidnappers?” Noah asked. “I still have to talk to them.”
    “Here’s what we’re doing,” Chief Burton said. “We’ve got taps on the phone line. When the kidnappers call, try and keep them on the line as long as you can.”
    “What do I say?” Noah asked.
    “Ask for more time. Tell them you haven’t found the spyglass yet. Ask how your parents are. Tell them you want to know if your parents are hurt in any way.”
    “Okay,” Noah said.
    Just then the phone rang. Noah picked it up and hit the speaker button.
    “Hello?”
    “We will do the exchange tonight,” a low voice said. Everyone in the room held their breath.
    “But I don’t have the entire map,”