The Mystery of Falcon Falls Lake

By L. Parks Sanford

The Mystery of Falcon Falls Lake is one of the many adventures that Ian and Zack find themselves entwined. The two young men are growing up in an orphanage, Green Acres; they are best friends and have a bond that is unbreakable. Zack lost his parents in a tragic accident, while Ian was abandoned on a bar stool by his single mother. The boys' curiosity and adventurous spirit always finds them involved in some drama. While exploring the grounds of the orphanage the boys discover an old, underground waterfall. They have discovered an area that should have remained "off limits." Are they in danger? Ian and Zack can't stay away until the mystery is solved. Are there riches to be found? Are the staff at the orphanage all they appear to be? Some devious characters want to make sure that the boys do not give up the " Mystery of Falcon Falls Lake ".

• Language: English
• Publisher: L. Parks Sanford
• Release date: Jul 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301914531

L. Parks Sanford

Born in the south, his young life would take a bizarre turn at the age of three. His mother and father divorced and he would be transplanted to a small town in upstate Ohio. On one visit to his mother's favorite cocktail lounge, his life took a dramatic turn. "Would you please watch my little boy while I go to the restroom," his mother asked the lady sitting next to her. The lady politely responded that she would. His mother never would return. The lady who had agreed to watch him took him home so that he would be safe and, subsequently, kept him for two weeks hoping the mother would return to pick him up or at least contact her. She never would. After exhausting all attempts to locate her, she was forced to call the local children's orphanage. Larry, he was called, was then to spend the next few years of his life as a resident of Green Acres Orphanage until the age of nearly nine.Things would change after spending five years in the orphanage, when a couple from a well known family in a town not far away would visit looking for a child to adopt. They would pick Larry and after a two month trial period they made arrangements for permanent adoption procedures to begin. He would become, Lawrence Parks Sanford, dropping his former middle name of Reed, and claiming one that was a family name from his adoptive mother's side.Larry grew up happy in this town; Elyria, the very town where he had been abandoned on the bar stool.His adoptive father would become mayor. He attended the local high school, excelling in athletics, which afforded him the opportunities to attend a number of colleges on a baseball scholarship or the chances to try out for Baltimore or Detroit's professional baseball teams. Being somewhat rebellious, due to strife and insecurity as a very young boy, he turned his back on his family and those golden opportunities, enlisting in the United States Marine Corps the day after graduation. Larry would then go on to serve with the Marines in Chu Lai, Viet Nam 1964-1966 and a total of 4 years plus.Larry's past has served as guideline and inspiration for his writings today. He had an opportunity to meet both his birth parents when he was a young man and was able to express his forgiveness for their errors in judgement. They have both since passed therefore he still knows very little of his family's history. He married Susan Dusek of Bay Village, Ohio over 35 years ago. They have a son, Ian, who attends the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs. Larry resides now and for the past 33 years in Rock Hill, South Carolina. After many years as a successful landscape designer and contractor, he retired to pursue his passion of writing and creating wonders and tales for children and young adults; writing under the pen name of, L.Parks Sanford.

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The Mystery of Falcon Falls Lake

With

The Adventures of Ian and Zack

By

L. Parks Sanford

Copyright 2013 L. Parks Sanford

Smashwords Edition

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE TIME TO EXPLORE

CHAPTER TWO FALCON FALLS LAKE CAVE

CHAPTER THREE MR. BRYANT’S SURPRISE

CHAPTER FOUR GOLD COIN SECRET IS OUT

CHAPTER FIVE HIDDEN UNDERWATER CAVE

CHAPTER SIX DEATH THREATS MAKE A CALL

CHAPTER SEVEN IF LOOKS COULD KILL

CHAPTER EIGHT GHOST LIGHTS AT THE LAKE

CHAPTER NINE DEATH PAYS A VISIT

CHAPTER TEN BIRD BURNED INTO BACK

CHAPTER ELEVEN DOWN THRU THE TRAP DOOR

CHAPTER TWELVE MYSTERY OF FALCON FALLS SHOCK

CHAPTER ONE

TIME TO EXPLORE

I lay there on my bed waiting for the lights to come on and Mrs. Brewer’s soft voice urging, Time to get up, boys; breakfast in twenty minutes. Ian, you have mopping duty today, and I expect those floors to shine.

Yes, Mrs. Brewer, I said, knowing how much more I hated that job out of all the other chores we had to do. I had to get dressed, make my bed, mop the dormitory floor and be standing in line ready for breakfast, all in just twenty minutes. Things seemed hard here at the orphanage at times, and I often wondered what it would be like to have my own room and a mom and dad to tuck me in at night and whisper, We love you. Oh, well.

Our dining hall was very large with long tables and big fans on the ceiling and windows from the floor to the top of the ceiling. Ding, ding, ding, went the bell; Mr. Kepling pounded his gavel on the table. Ladies and gentlemen…Perry will say grace today, and then after you’ve finished your meals, you may have a free day. Hooray, Yea, Yes! Cheers went up all over and echoed throughout the hall. Free day was a really big day at the orphanage because we could go anywhere on the grounds we desired. We had over 100 acres with a lake and creek running through it to explore. Zack and I could hardly wait to finish eating because we knew where we were headed. There was a cave we had discovered last week and now, with a free day, we had lots of time to explore and look for treasure.

Hey, Ian, are you and Zack gonna play ball today? asked Perry.

Nah, I said, we’re going down to the lake and fish. Perry was Mr. Kepling’s son, and we didn’t really trust him that much, even though we really liked him. But, like him or not, his dad ran the orphanage, and his dad could be pretty mean if you misbehaved. Zack and I finished our breakfast and sat waiting for the bell to ring that would send us on our way exploring. Ding! Ding! Ding! Finally! We were free.

Ian, Zack, Mr. Dusek called, meet me at the chicken coop in five minutes. Oh, no! That only meant one thing, collecting eggs and cleaning the coop. That was almost as bad as mopping the floors. Off we ran, because you weren’t late with Mr. Dusek…or else. Lucky us. Not moving we stood there at attention, with Mr. Dusek intently staring at us from our heads to our toes. We never really knew where Mr. Dusek came from, but we did know he drove our school bus and took care of the grounds. He was a spooky looking guy that scared us all. Boys, I have a special surprise when you’re done, said Mr. Dusek. Your shoes look a little old to me so after you’ve done a good job, we’ll go down into the furnace room and get you both some new ones.

All right! we said excitedly. We knew that new shoes would be great for exploring, so, reluctantly, we headed into the coop. We both collected the eggs, then Zack scraped the floor, and I swept up the chicken poop and headed for the garden area. We dumped our wheelbarrows then took our shovels and spread it all around the garden. The poop, which was a good fertilizer, helped our garden grow huge vegetables that the cook fixed with our dinners. We headed toward the