The Strangetown Mystery

Chapter 1

I woke with a start. Looking over at my clock, I saw it was 3am. Ugh, great. I heard voices in the kitchen. Someone must've knocked something over, because there was a huge crash.

"Keep it down! My niece is sleeping, do you want to her to wake up and find out what we're doing?" My aunt hissed. The reply was too quiet for me to hear. My name is Ophelia Nigmos, and I live in Strangetown with my aunt. My parents died when I was younger... I don't like to think about it. It makes me too sad.

Anyway, moving on. I crept out of my room and dived behind a massive pot plant, in case anyone saw me. Nothing very interesting happened after that, but just as I was about to fall asleep from boredom, I saw something that made me sit up and listen intently.

"Here you go, give this to Mr Beaker when you next see him." Someone handed my aunt some sheets of paper.

"Thanks. Don't worry; I'll make sure he gets this."

"Good. We'd better be going now. See you soon." And with that, the men left. I went back into my room to think. Something was going on, and I wanted to find out what.

Olive POV

Thank god they were gone. They give me the creeps! Sometimes, I loathe working with them, but the results we get are worth it, I suppose. I tiptoe to Ophelia's room. Listening, I can't hear anything. Good. She's asleep. If she finds out what we were doing, she would freak out. Yes, it is best if she doesn't know.

Ophelia POV

This morning it's raining. I sigh and get up. I decide to wear my pink top and my jeans. Hastily brushing my hair and tying it in a neat bun, I go to get some breakfast. Aunt Olive's already in the kitchen, reading the newspaper and drinking some tea.

"Morning dear. Did you sleep well?" She asks, smiling.

"Yes, but I heard a crash in the night. Were we burgled?" I say, pretending to look worried. It's at times like these that I am glad I am such a good actress.

"No, it was probably one of the ghosts crashing into something again." Wow. My aunt is very good at lying. Oh, and I forgot to mention, our house is home to a graveyard, therefore there are lots of ghosts.

"Oh ok." I leave it at that and go to the fridge to get some cereal and milk. I sit down at the table opposite Aunt Olive. We don't speak at all. Aunt Olive is listening to the stereo too, and she keeps singing under her breath. I wish she would sing louder, she has a really amazing voice for someone her age.

It is now 8 o'clock and I have to leave for school. Saying goodbye to Aunt Olive, I grab my school bag and run out of the house. Along the way to school, I meet up with my friend Johnny Smith.

"Hey Ophelia! I got your text last night, what's going on then?"

"I woke up at 3am this morning and my aunt was speaking to two men in the kitchen. I hid behind a pot plant and listened to their conversation-"

"What happened?" Johnny interrupts. I sigh.

"I'm about to tell you, if you can shut up and let me finish! So the conversation was pretty boring, but then one of the men gave Aunt Olive some sheets of paper, and told her to give them to Loki Beaker! I think something's going on, and I want to know!"

"Wow Ophelia... sounds interesting! Mind if I help you?" I beam.

"Your help would be awesome! And if I'm honest, I don't really want to do this on my own..."

"Well then, I'll help you!"

"Thanks!"

Then we arrive at school, and go to our separate lessons. All day I thought about the secret that my aunt is keeping from me. What is so important that my aunt has to give to Loki Beaker? At lunch, Johnny and I make a plan.

We decide to speak to Nervous Subject, as he knew my late mother and lives with the Beakers, we're hoping he'll tell us something that will help us. Then, we find out if Aunt Olive has been there so far today, and if not, then we go back to mine and search for these papers. It's Wednesday, so she has to work and doesn't get back until 7pm.

At last, the bell rings for the end of the day. I meet Johnny and together we begin to walk up to the Beaker household.

"You remember the plan, right?" I ask. He nods.

"Yep. Of course."

Shortly after we knock on the door, Nervous cautiously opens the door.

"Can I help you? Or is it Loki or Circe you're looking for?" He whispers. I feel sorry for him. He must be scared of something, or someone...

"It's you we came to see Nervous. May we come in and speak to you?" I ask, showing my polite side. Johnny looks taken aback. He has never witnessed my acting in person.

"Yes...come on through..." We follow him into the house. Everywhere you look there are weird machines. I feel even sorrier for Nervous. I have heard all the horror stories about what the Beakers do to him, and seeing all these machines make street gossip seem even more real.

He takes us down to his room in the basement.

"So...how can I help you?"

"We were wondering if you could tell us anything about the work my aunt is doing here with Mr and Mrs Beaker?" I ask, sticking with the politeness.

Nervous looks confused.

"I was not aware that your aunt was working with the Beakers, I'm afraid Miss Nigmos." I manage to hide the disappointment from Nervous, but Johnny is unable to. I kick him under the table and he corrects his expression.

"It's ok. We'd better be going soon, but one last thing..."

"Yes?"

"Has my aunt been here at all today?"

"No she hasn't. I've been here all day and she hasn't called by."

"Ok, thanks for your time Nervous. It's been lovely talking to you, but we'd better be going now, homework to do and stuff!"

"Ah, what a life young children have these days...I never got a chance to go to school..." he sighs wistfully. We sympathise, and then leave.

"Ok, well, we'd better be getting back to my house. My aunt will be back in 3 hours." I said.

"Yep. No offense, I know Nervous was a friend of your mother's, but he really gives me the creeps!" Johnny lowers his voice.

"Oh, don't be so cruel! It can't be easy for him, living with the Beakers...haven't you heard all the gossip about what they do to him? And he was ever so upset when my mother died..." my voice gets quieter as I speak about my mother. Her death had a massive impact on me. We were very close.

Finally, we get to my house.

"Where do we look first?" Johnny asks me.

"I'll look in Aunt Olive's room, and you check the kitchen."

1 hour later, and we've looked everywhere. Still no sign of the papers.

Johnny POV

To be honest, I was hoping we'd find something by now. I'm getting bored of this now. But, I told Ophelia I would help, and I'm not going to let her down now. We'll find something soon, I hope.

Ophelia POV

It's now 10 to 7, Johnny has to go now and we haven't found the papers! I'm quite annoyed actually. I say goodbye to Johnny and go and make some spaghetti.

When Aunt Olive comes in, she grabs a plate of spaghetti, and sits down at the table with me.

"Mmmm...This is delicious dear. Did you make it, or did Johnny? I saw him walking down the road as I arrived back,"

"I made it Aunt Olive."

"Well, it is delicious!" I smile. We finish eating, I help clear up, and then we go to watch the news. I flick through a magazine, not properly listening, until a news article comes up about Jill Smith, Johnny's younger sister.

"Jill Smith, from Strangetown, has gone missing. If you see her, please contact your local police immediately."

My magazine drops out of my hand and falls to the floor.

"She was last seen with Loki Beaker, they were walking down Road to Nowhere, but that was the last time either of them have been seen today..."

Aunt Olive and I are silent. What is Jill going missing has something to do with the papers, and my aunt's work with Loki Beaker?

Whilst I'm thinking about all this, Aunt Olive seems to be a bit uncomfortable. Her hands are unable to stay still, she is sweating and she looks worried and guilty. What is going on?