The Secret Envelope

By Steve Mason

Imagine being a 10-year-old boy with a humdrum and unexciting life, who is suddenly thrust into a perilous adventure involving kidnapping, international espionage, and a pair of menacing crooks. George is that boy, and he has to use all of his ingenuity and courage to try to outwit the crooks and protect the secrets that he has been entrusted with. You wouldn’t think he would stand much chance, and neither does he, but he feels obliged to do his very best to help out the stranger who passed the secrets on to him in a moment of panic. The police don’t seem to be any use at all, and the poor lad, together with his friend John, are forced to use all their wits to try to get themselves out of trouble. None of this should happen to an ordinary schoolboy who is just about to finish primary school, but George finds himself tangled up in the crooks’ plans just the same, whether he likes it or not. He finds his adventure terrifying and feels helpless when confronted by the dangerous villains.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781787100657

Steve Mason

Steve Mason, formerly Canada Research Chair in Greco-Roman Cultural Interaction at Toronto's York University, is now Distinguished Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Religions and Cultures in the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a dual Canadian-British national, he edits and contributes to the Brill project Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary. His latest monograph is A History of the Jewish War, A.D. 66-74 (2016). Bible Odyssey: Context of the Gospels Bible Odyssey: What is Historiography? : Bible Odyssey: Josephus Judean Philosophies

Book preview

The Secret Envelope

Steve Mason

Austin Macauley Publishers

The Secret Envelope

About the Author

Dedication

Copyright Information ©

Chapter One – Life Is Full of Changes

Chapter Two – Is Anybody Interested?

Chapter Three – Another Mystery

Chapter Four – The Secrets Revealed?

Chapter Five – A Scary Episode

Chapter Six – A Black Car Parked Badly

Chapter Seven – A Bad Day at Work

Chapter Eight – A Discussion Between the Kidnappers

Chapter Nine – Difficult Days

Chapter Ten – Very Pleased with Themselves

Chapter Eleven – Imprisoned

Chapter Twelve – Back at the School

Chapter Thirteen – The Abandoned Boathouse

Chapter Fourteen – Almost Caught

Chapter Fifteen – An Escape Attempt

Chapter Sixteen – What to Do Next

Chapter Seventeen – A Hospital Visit

Chapter Eighteen – Cold, Hungry and Miserable

Chapter Nineteen – Back to the Boathouse Again

Chapter Twenty – Caught on Camera?

Chapter Twenty-One – Telling the Truth

Chapter Twenty-Two – Treetops Road

Chapter Twenty-Three – A Harrowing Chase

Chapter Twenty-Four – The Oakes Farm

Chapter Twenty-Five – The Taylors Receive News

Chapter Twenty-Six – John and the Farmer

Chapter Twenty-Seven – A Very Deaf Old Man

Chapter Twenty-Eight – Being Recognised

Chapter Twenty-Nine – A Very Nice Paint Job

Chapter Thirty – Staying in the Motel

Chapter Thirty-One – A Note Written in Paint

Chapter Thirty-Two – A Lucky Break for Sergeant Kenny

Chapter Thirty-Three – A Surprising Development

Chapter Thirty-Four – Doing Something

Chapter Thirty-Five – Putting the Plan into Action

Chapter Thirty-Six – Harry Brown Tells George the Whole Story

Chapter Thirty-Seven – Hot on the Trail

Chapter Thirty-Eight – Another Chase

Chapter Thirty-Nine – Getting Away on Foot

Chapter Forty – Making a New Plan

Chapter Forty-One – A Confrontation

Chapter Forty-Two – No Way Out

Chapter Forty-Three – A Face from the Past

Chapter Forty-Four – Tying Up the Loose Ends

About the Author

Steve Mason was born in Antwerp, Belgium, grew up in Essex, and currently lives in South Wales. He has been a supporter of Queens Park Rangers FC since he was 14, and enjoys a large range of sports. He has two grown-up daughters who enjoyed his story telling when they were children, and who inspired him to write this, his first book. He is semi-retired, and works from time to time at universities around the UK.

Dedication

For Hannah and Rebecca

Copyright Information ©

Steve Mason (2021)

The right of Steve Mason to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781787100633 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781787100657 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Chapter One –

Life Is Full of Changes

Ten-year-old schoolboys aren’t supposed to be abducted on their way to school, are they? That just doesn’t happen in real life. And you wouldn’t expect them to get mixed up in stolen secrets and high-speed car chases, nor with government agents and a pair of villains. Well, maybe not, but when the right circumstances come together, that’s exactly what can happen. What a year this had been! A truly exceptional year. As you probably know, when you are a 10-year-old boy, your life is usually regulated by what your parents do, and by what your teachers tell you, so it tends to be a pretty humdrum and organised life. But this particular year hadn’t been humdrum at all. It had turned out to be very special and very memorable. Most schoolchildren will never ever have the sort of year that George had just had, and that’s probably just as well.

The subject of our story, George Taylor, was now sitting in the lounge during the Christmas break and thinking back on his special year. He remembered that the summer holidays had been wonderful. George had spent a lot of time with his friends during the summer, especially with his very best friend, John Wells. He and John had made several trips into the countryside during the warm weather, sometimes to visit a friendly farmer that they knew, but also to call on an old man who lived in a big house on his own. A very deaf old man. Then for two weeks in August he and his parents had gone away on holiday to Italy. George had loved Italy. He loved the warm weather, the pleasant sound of the language, the delicious food, and all the unusual sights that he came across. The family had stayed in a fantastic hotel that overlooked the sea, and it had an outdoor swimming pool that he had found irresistible. He had spent hours in that pool while his parents relaxed on loungers in the sunshine. Sadly, it now seemed like a long time ago, especially now that the weather was so cold and the days were so short.

Plus he had changed schools too, moving up from his junior school and into the secondary school. That had been quite a big change for George. He now had to wear a different uniform, he had needed to find his way around a new building, and he’d also had to get to know a whole new set of teachers. He already knew some of the pupils there, because they had moved up with him from the same primary school, but he didn’t know them all. But that was fine, as it meant that there were new friendships to be made. The schoolwork was very different now too. Homework had now become a really serious business, and there were new subjects to learn – like sciences and languages. He had hoped that he could study Italian, as he loved the way it sounded when he was on holiday, but that language wasn’t available to him. At this new school, his only options were French, German or Spanish.

But he now also thought about the extraordinary events of the previous spring, when he and his friend John Wells were both thrown into some strange and dangerous exploits. A time when they had both been kidnapped and imprisoned by two desperate men, and when they had found themselves in situations that normally only happen in action films. Neither he nor John had seen any of it coming, and neither of them could have imagined that they would become best friends as a result of it. Their great escapade had started on the fifteenth of March 2004 – a date to remember. It had turned out to be a good year, as George saw it, because it had established such a firm friendship with John that it would now probably last a lifetime. He looked back on the events of March with some pride, although in reality they had been very frightening at the time they had occurred. The really big surprise was in the way that this unlikely hero had handled himself during his time of trouble. He had been braver, cleverer and tougher than he could ever have imagined.

However, back then, in the springtime, all his thoughts had been full of his concerns about moving up to the secondary school in September. It seemed rather silly now as George sat thinking back about it. Everything had turned out just fine in the end. So why had he made such a fuss? Compared to his other escapades, changing schools now seemed a very small matter, and all his worries had proved to be groundless anyway. But that was easy to say now, during the Christmas holidays. Back then in March it had seemed a genuine concern. You see, he had been attending a really nice junior school in Rosemary Drive and he wasn’t looking forward to the change. This boy preferred his life to be ordered and regular and he certainly didn’t like big upheavals. He had felt comfortable in his old routine, and in many ways, he was a rather unadventurous lad – more like an old man than a boy. Now, at Christmas, while he sat pondering his momentous year, he remembered a discussion that he’d had with his mother.

"Do I have to move up to secondary school?" he had asked her one day.

And she had laughed softly before she replied.

Of course, you do, she had said kindly, All of your friends will be going there as well, and you don’t want to be left behind on your own, do you?

It wasn’t the answer that he had wanted but also knew that it was the only one he was going to get.

I don’t see why I need to change schools, he had grumbled.

His mother had chuckled.

Life is full of changes, George. You just have to learn to cope with them. It will be just the same adjustment for all your classmates. I’m sure that most of them have the same feelings and concerns that you do. Try to think of it as an adventure.

But I’m settled in the school where I am, he had continued, "and I can walk there on my own. I will have to go on a bus to get to the new school. And I’ll be one of the smallest and youngest kids there. Suppose I don’t like the teachers? What if the big kids pick on me?"

His mother had said nothing more, but had simply laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Like millions of children before him, he was going to have to move up to a larger school – whether he liked it or not.

George giggled to himself now as he recalled that conversation. What an idiot he had been. As his mother had pointed out, it was the same adjustment that all his classmates had been forced to put up with, and he wasn’t the only person that it affected. Changing schools may have seemed like a big event at the time, but it was nothing compared to the things that he’d had to cope with in March.

Back then in the spring, the fifteenth of March had started out as a very typical day, and there was no reason to suspect that it would be a fateful date in any way. It was just another Monday morning and the beginning of another school week. George’s family lived in a modest house in Treetops Road. His dad worked for the Royal Mail in the local letter sorting office, and his mum worked part-time at the chemist shop, four streets away. George was the only child of the family, but he didn’t really know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He was a popular lad at school and he certainly had numerous friends that he could confide in. It was his final year at that school and he was now trusted to walk there by himself. It really wasn’t far to go. He just had to walk down Treetops Road, where he lived, and then he would turn left into Beech Road and up to the corner with Rosemary Drive. His school was in that street, just across the road. That road was busy though, and the crossing was patrolled by a cheerful lollipop man called Mr James. He always said hello or goodbye whenever George crossed the road, but he did that for all the other children as well. Still, it was always nice and reassuring to see old Mr James.

That particular morning his dad had already said goodbye to the family and had set off for work first, so his mum had helped George to get ready for school. She made sure that he had put his packed lunch in his backpack, as well as his completed homework and his sports kit. There was always a sports activity on Mondays, weather permitting. He set off, with a kiss from his mother, at eight thirty-five. It was one of those bright and warm spring days when you feel glad to be alive, and the signs were all around that summer was on the way. With his bag on his back, he walked contentedly down Treetops Road and turned into Beech Road, and he was about halfway down the street when he first saw the stranger who would become the cause of so much trouble. The schoolboy was disturbed from his morning daydreams by the sight of a tall gangly man jogging towards him from the direction of Rosemary Drive. The man was perhaps thirty years old and wearing a light brown suit and a white shirt, but with no tie, and he looked exhausted. Yet he seemed smartly dressed and he had a kindly sort of face, so the young lad saw no reason to be alarmed. The man appeared to be in a hurry though, and he was carrying a large brown envelope in his right hand. When he spotted George, the man waved his hand and made straight towards him. Arriving at his side, breathless and panting, he spoke to the boy in short gasping bursts.

Please help me, he pleaded, I’m being chased by two crooks. Take this and protect it until I come back for it. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

As he was saying this, the man leaned over and opened George’s backpack and thrust the envelope that he was carrying into it. This was all happening so fast that the mystified youngster could only stand there and let it happen. George could feel the stranger burying the package deep into the bag on his back, and then the tired man spoke again, seriously and urgently.

This is a very important envelope, he confided, Don’t let them get it. It contains secret information. It mustn’t fall into their hands. I promise you that I will come back for it. Thanks for your help.

With that, and with just a hint of a faint smile, he ran off again, past George and in the direction from which the lad had just come. The puzzled boy looked around and he saw the stranger dart into Treetops Road and disappear from view. He hadn’t said a single word to the man, such was his surprise at what had just occurred. This was weird. A complete stranger had just run up to him, spoken a few words – and fairly nonsensical words at that, and had then pushed something into his bag. What was that all about? Yet just as George was attempting to straighten up the bag on his back, another peculiar thing happened. Two more men turned into Beech Road, coming from the same direction as the first man, and these two fellows were in a hurry too. Both of them were on the pavement on the opposite side of the road from him, but he could see them well enough. One of them was quite tall, stocky, had short dark hair, and was wearing a black linen jacket. The other was a lot thinner, with wispy thin brown hair, and wore a grey sweater and jeans. This man had a narrow and pinched face, which made him look rather unpleasant. Were these the ‘two crooks’ that the man in the brown suit had mentioned? The ones who were chasing him? As they approached closer to him, the thin man shouted in George’s direction.

Where did he go? he called.

At first, the bemused boy looked around to see who this man was talking to, but he soon realised that he was the only other person in the street, so it had to be him.

Well? Where did he go? came the urgent question again.

George was rather startled and wasn’t expecting this insistent demand, and so without a second thought, he raised his arm and pointed in the direction of Treetops Road. The two men sped on by him without another word, and then they too turned the corner and disappeared from sight. None of this was what he had expected on his walk to school, and George felt perplexed. Why was that first man being chased by the second two? Who were they all? Was this some sort of stunt, perhaps something to raise money for charity? The confused boy carried on making his way to school, still pondering about these strange events. He reached the end of Beech Road and turned left into Rosemary Drive, and it wasn’t until Mr James said his usual cheery ‘hello’ that George remembered the brown envelope that had been pushed into his backpack.

Chapter Two –

Is Anybody Interested?

George reached the school playground with the mystery of his unusual morning walk still baffling him, and he went to find someone to talk to. He discovered his classmates Eddie and John near the bicycle shed, and he began to tell them about the chase that he had just witnessed in Beech Road. Surprisingly however, neither of them seemed to be particularly intrigued by his story.

They were most likely two detectives and they were probably chasing a thief, suggested John, dismissively.

Perhaps he was right about that. Perhaps the two chasing men had indeed been policemen on the trail of a robber.

Maybe… George muttered.

Eddie Jarvis was a short boy who was rather clumsy, but he was friendly enough, and George liked him a lot. His real name was Edwin, which he hated, so everyone called him Eddie instead. He had a sister who was older than him, and she already attended the secondary school that boys would be going to. John Wells was taller and slimmer, and he always seemed to be getting into mischief without really meaning to, but he had a kind heart and would do anything to help out a friend. He was also someone who had no brothers or sisters, just like George. Eddie and John always walked to school together, and they could usually be found with each other whenever they had spare time. George enjoyed their company and he liked to hang around with them, and they liked him too.

After the school bell rang, George hung his backpack on its usual peg and, as he put it there, he took a peek inside. Sure enough, there was the large brown envelope that the stranger had shoved inside. So he hadn’t imagined it. He knew very well that his mother hadn’t put that envelope in his bag. He decided to do nothing about it right away but would investigate it again at break time, and so he went briskly but casually to the morning assembly. He knew that at some other schools there was no such thing as a morning assembly, and that the children went directly to their classrooms when the school day started. But Mr Lloyd, the headmaster, liked to start each day by welcoming the children in the main hall, making any announcements that needed to be made, and reporting on how the school had done in sports matches, choir contests, and so on. All of the pupils were expected to be there but each assembly only lasted a few minutes, and then they broke up and went off to their classrooms. After that morning’s assembly George’s first lesson was about the people and the culture of Senegal, and it was rather interesting. The class had been studying Senegal for several weeks, and George now knew that it was a sort of square-shaped country in West Africa and that the capital city was Dakar, which was by the coast. The school itself was modern and bright, with corridors on two floors, leading to spacious rooms. George’s classroom was on the upper level, and it looked out over the playground. His teacher was called Miss Howells, a jolly and patient young woman who he liked a lot.

When the morning break time came, George remembered the envelope and went to get it. He fished it out of his bag and saw that it was a very normal large brown envelope with nothing written on it at all, but he could feel something hard and flat inside it. He was rather tempted to open it right away, but then he remembered what the strange man in the brown suit had said. Take this and protect it until I can come back for it. Perhaps the stranger in the suit would be annoyed if he came back and found the envelope opened. The lad’s fingers had been ready to tear off the corner, and he felt curious to get a glance inside it, but his fear of getting into trouble got the better of him. George didn’t really know what to do, but he thought that he had better tell someone about it. That way it wouldn’t be just his concern anymore. Therefore, he walked outside into the playground with the envelope in his hand, hoping to find a member of staff. Mr Palmer was the teacher on duty in the playground that day, and George decided that he would take the envelope to him. When he caught up with him, he explained the story of the man in the suit who was being chased by the other two men, but he was very surprised at Mr Palmer’s reaction. The teacher’s facial expression turned to a frown, and he delivered a short lecture to the surprised boy.

Didn’t your parents tell you that you must never take things from strangers? enquired Mr Palmer. You have no idea what’s in that envelope, do you? It could be drugs, poison, explosives, or…or…anything! You really should be more careful, George Taylor. I’m surprised at you. Take the envelope to your parents after school. They will know what to do about it.

George hadn’t expected Mr Palmer to be so unhelpful, and yes, of course he knew better than to accept things from strangers. But he hadn’t exactly taken something that was offered to him, had he? The envelope had been forced upon him, pushed into his backpack whether he had wanted it or not. He hadn’t been given any choice in the matter. With a feeling of disappointment, he put the envelope back in his bag and returned to his lessons. At lunchtime he again mentioned the morning’s strange events to his classmate John, who gave him a little more attention this time. But John wanted to rip open the envelope right away, and George was still very concerned about what the man in the brown suit would say if he came back for his package and found it opened. He decided to talk to his father about it that evening, so he left the envelope in the bag. Dad would be sure to know what to do with it. The rest of the school day followed its usual Monday routine. During the afternoon the boys went to play football on the sports field and the girls went to netball practice, and after that there was a class discussion about the way that motor vehicles can damage the environment. The day at school passed fairly uneventfully and at three thirty it came to an end. On his walk home from school George half expected to see the man in the light brown suit waiting for him in Beech Road, ready to collect the package that he had entrusted to the lad. In fact, he was rather hoping that he would be there. If he took the envelope away, then the man would relieve George of his anxiety and that would be the end of the matter. However, there was nobody in Beech Road that afternoon except for children on their way home, and parents collecting them. He walked all the way home without seeing the brown-suited man, and without anything else happening.

At home George took his empty lunch box and his sports kit out of his backpack and gave them to his mother. Then he took out his schoolbooks