The Mystery of the Brick Kingdom

By Raymond C. Perkins, Jr

​The B.T. and Jimmy Adventure Series continues with this page turning sequel to "The Mystery of the Silver Statue." Follow teen detectives, B.T. Stevens and Jimmy Martin, as they help a friend search for her family's long-lost treasure in the Brick Kingdom, a one hundred year-old, abandoned, 19th Century industrial park. B.T. struggles to overcome his feelings of low self-esteem and learns the importance of facing his own fears and persevering, despite the odds.
Will the mysterious 'eagle disk' only be a red-herring, leading B.T. and his companions astray? Will our heroes discover that the Burton Family fortune is for real? Trap doors, secret tunnels, and evil relatives; can anything stop them from finding buried treasure?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond C. Perkins, Jr
• Release date: Sep 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301054992

Raymond C. Perkins, Jr

Ray Perkins is 59 year-old retired middle school Social Studies teacher living in Derby, Vermont. He grew up in the wilds of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and has spent most of his life there. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Mary, five children and granddaughter, Kaelani. He has written three books including the sequel to "The Mystery of the Silver Statue" called "The Mystery of the Brick Kingdom." He would love to have you visit him at: www.mystery4me.com or https://www.facebook.com/btandjimmy. Order hard copies at https://www.createspace.com/3663156 or https://www.createspace.com/3627046. Email him at: [e-mail]

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The Mystery of the Brick Kingdom

Raymond C. Perkins Jr.

Copyright © 2012 by Raymond C. Perkins Jr.

Illustrations Copyright © 2012 by Stephanie L.C. Perkins

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any for by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission by the author.

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Smashwords Edition

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my little warrior, without whose strength and indomitable spirit these books would not have been possible, and to my father and mother who built the foundation upon which I live my life.

To my dear loving wife, Mary: Thank-you for always being there.

Also, a special thanks to Julie Ste. Marie and her third/fourth grade class at Jay/Westfield School and Carol Reynolds and her fourth grade class at Barton Academy & Graded School for listening and offering constructive feedback.

Finally, to Steph: Thanks for the amazing artwork.-R.P.

In loving memory of my Gram, who taught me kindness and generosity, and Sally, who was never afraid to try something new. Also, to my family and friends, thank you for loving me for who I am and supporting me through the adventures in my life! -S.P.

CONTENTS

1. The Note

2. The Brick Kingdom

3. The Story

4. The Clue

5. Eagle Eyes

6. Portrait

7. Danger

8.The Chase

9. Eagle Eye

10. False Lead

11. Treasure

12. The Box

Bittersweet

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A special thanks to Art and Mark, owners of E.M. Brown & Son, for allowing me to explore their building. To Art, thank-you for taking the time to show me around the property and for explaining the workings of the ‘old’ and truly unique generating system that powered E.M. Brown & Son for so many years.

To Rick Dunlavey, AKA Master D, owner of Dunlavey’s Black Belt Academy, for your inspiration and commitment to your profession. You are an amazing teacher.

To learn about other books by Raymond C Perkins, Jr go to: www.mystery4me.com or www.facebook.com/btandjimmy

Chapter 1 The Note

Benjamin Thomas Stevens shuffled slowly and deliberately up the narrow, wooden stairs to the room above his parents’ garage. He had just returned from the big July 4th parade in his hometown of Burton. Big for the area meant a parade marshal leading the procession followed by four or five fire engines, a few assorted antique cars, an honor guard of soldiers past and present, a half dozen floats pulled by tractor-trailers, and the local Bread and Puppet Theater. It wasn’t the largest parade ever, but this year, it was the best.

It was the best because Benjamin, otherwise known as B.T., and Jimmy Martin, his best friend and partner, had been invited to ride with the parade marshal for the holiday festivities. After solving the mystery of the lost two hundred-fifty year-old Silver Statue, the boys had become instant celebrities...in Burton, at least. The statue was thought to be gone forever until B.T. and Jimmy stumbled upon a treasure map and solved the mystery. It was just what they needed to kick their careers as amateur investigators into high gear.

The rural nature of the state, especially the Burton area, meant that finding the Silver Statue was big news there, but outside the region, it was just a one-paragraph story buried on the back page of the state-wide daily newspaper. Donating the statue to the state university had caused quite a stir among university scholars. The Abenaki's up in Odanak, Quebec put in their bid for the statue as well. After all, it was at the St. Francis Village called Odanak where one of Rogers’ Rangers had stolen the silver Madonna from the missionary church.

Upon reaching the stoop at the top of the stairs, B.T. stopped for a moment to catch his breath. As he pushed open the door to B & J Securities, something fluttered lazily to the floor at his feet. He bent quickly and grasped a small, pink slip of paper from the floor and glanced around cautiously, his movements more reaction than thought.

It seemed like the more B.T. immersed himself in the detective business, the less he thought about his actions. Things like noticing his surroundings, and being prepared for the unexpected, were becoming second nature to him. It was as if he always did things that way. When it came to investigative work, he was beginning to consider himself a real natural.

As he turned the paper over in his small, soft hands, the bold, dark letters glaring back at him nearly jumped off the page. The message read:

MEET ME AT THE OLD ABANDONED MILL AT MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE!

Sliding his hand slowly and gently across the door casing, B.T. felt around for the string hanging from the ceiling and gave it a sharp tug. The old cow bell above the door disengaged and he stepped cautiously across the threshold into his office.

Well, at least the alarm hasn’t been tripped. I’ve got to find Jimmy, B.T. thought aloud, as he glanced cautiously around the office. I do believe someone’s been in here.

Taking a closer look around, he soon realized that everything was in its proper place; the large oak desk and communications unit which sat atop it, the chalkboard in the corner behind the door, the cots pushed back against the far wall, and on the floor, next to the desk, two old peach crates filled with their investigative apparatus. Everything was just as he had left it, yet something didn’t feel quite right.

Since opening their security business the previous spring, B.T. and his best friend and partner, Jimmy Martin, both recent graduates of Burton Middle School, had seen plenty of excitement. In their first big case, the young detectives solved a 250-year-old mystery, and were responsible for the capture of two bad guys, members of a stolen-goods ring that had been committing crimes in New England for several years.

Solving the mystery of the Silver Statue had established B.T. and Jimmy as honest to goodness P.I.’s, and made them local heroes in the process. A 250-year-old pure silver statue of the Virgin Mary, lost by one of the Rogers’ Rangers after an attack by American soldiers on a Quebec Indian tribe, was discovered by B.T. and Jimmy after the boys stumbled onto the mystery during a fishing trip to a local pond. The pair had learned about it when they overheard two criminals discuss buried treasure.

Upon finding a letter written in secret code, and locating the Silver Statue based on clues from the map they'd drawn, the boys discovered the treasure in a cave not far from their hometown of Burton. With the statue now safely displayed at the state university, they were bona fide heroes. They even got to ride with the parade marshal in the annual Burton July 4th Parade. It was upon returning from the parade that B.T. discovered someone had entered the boys’ securities office located over B.T.'s parents' garage.

With some of the money they had earned from inspecting summer properties located on the beautiful lakes and ponds in the area, B.T. and Jimmy strived to modernize and update their securities business. Recent purchases included a finger printing kit and microscope, magnifying glass, pre-paid cell phones, and an online investigator’s course.

B.T. sat down heavily onto the folding metal chair beside his desk and intently studied the note he’d just picked up off the floor. The message was written on a pink slip of Post-It paper measuring approximately three inches square. Each letter of the message was individually cut, probably from a magazine, and then pasted neatly onto the paper.

Someone has made a determined effort to keep their identity a secret, B.T. mumbled aloud. There's no signature.

He fingered the Post-it with great care so as not to damage anything, and then held it up to the light of the over-sized picture window that looked out onto Pleasant Street. He read it again: