folks had kindly given me the password to their wireless router so I could go through that using my laptop. Two of my buddies were online, so we had a chat for a while. I told them about the bracelet. Rory, my best friend back home, asked to see it. ‘You should have kept it,’ he said. ‘It might be an antique. You should at least check before you throw it away.’
‘It’s in the trash. I’ll go and get it out, take a picture of it and send it to you,’ I wrote back.
I went down to the kitchen and started rummaging in the bin. I’d only thrown the bracelet away an hour ago so it should be just on the top, but I couldn’t find it. Frustrated, I emptied the entire contents of the trash can onto the floor. Fluffy saw what I was doing and scampered over to join in the fun. She sniffed through the leftovers and started gobbling up the bacon rind.
‘Amy!’ Gran screeched, rushing over to grab Fluffy. ‘What on earth are you doing?’
‘Sorry, Gran, but I threw away a bracelet I found today and I need it.’
I got down on my knees and continued to search through all the rubbish – not pleasant I can tell you. Think potato peelings, used tea bags and cold bacon rind and you’ll get some idea of the gunge I had to wade through. But the bracelet wasn’t there.
‘It’s gone!’ I couldn’t believe it. Someone had actually taken it out of the bin.
‘Amy! Clear that mess up at once!’ Gran looked as if she was about to have a fit.
‘Sorry, Gran,’ I gathered up all the gunk and put it back in the bin.
Gran handed me a packet of antibacterial floor wipes. ‘Why did you throw the bracelet away in the first place?’ she asked.
‘Because it was dirty and broken and I thought it was junk, but now I wish I’d kept it. Someone must have taken it out.’
‘Really, Amy, that’s quite absurd. Why would anyone want to go through the bin for a broken bracelet?’ Gran said. ‘Now go and wash your hands. Goodness knows how many germs you have crawling over them.’
It was Mr Smythe! It had to be. He was the only one I’d shown the bracelet to. Maybe it really was an antique and Mr Smythe had just pretended it was rubbish so that he could steal it for himself.
Chapter 3
Flooded Out!
‘I can’t believe you threw that bracelet in the bin!’ Max grumbled when I told him what had happened the next morning. ‘You could have asked me if I wanted it.’
‘I thought it was rubbish,’ I said defensively. ‘Mr Smythe tricked me into throwing it away so that he could steal it.’
‘It might not have been him, you know. Someone else could have seen it in the bin and taken it out.’
I thought about it. Gran only had two guests at the moment, Mr Smythe and Miss Flimpton. There was Mr Winkleberry too, of course, but he’d been out all day visiting a friend in Land’s End. Miss Flimpton was an artist and spent her days painting or visiting art galleries. She’d popped back just after lunch, but somehow I couldn’t see her rummaging through the bin for a broken old bracelet.
‘No chance,’ I told him. ‘It has to be Mr Smythe, and I’m going to get it back. Trust me.’
‘I hope you do,’ Max replied. ‘Anyway, I’m going to see Old Joe again. Mum’s baked a pie for him to thank him for the vegetables. Do you want to come?’
‘Okay.’ I wanted to speak to Joe about the bracelet. If it was valuable, then by rights it was his, so I felt bad about throwing it away.
There was no sign of Old Joe in the garden, so Max knocked on the door. No answer. I tried the handle. It opened, so we stepped inside.
‘Joe!’ Max shouted. ‘Are you in, Joe? It’s Max and Amy.’
‘I’m here!’ Joe’s face appeared over the banister. He looked really agitated. ‘My roof’s leaking and it has flooded my bedroom,’ he said. ‘One of the tiles must be loose.’
‘Do you need any help clearing up?’ I asked.
‘Thanks, Amy, but I’ve done what I can for now.’ He came down the stairs. ‘Thank