Hide-and-Sneak by Franklin W. Dixon Page B

going on, he was climbing down the ladder to his boat.
    Meanwhile, Pete Buckmaster was asking the crews of the other two boats to come aboard.
    Zack Harris’s thatch of bright red hair soon appeared over the deck line. The first words out of his lips were aimed at Sprock: “Does your team have the McGuffin?”
    â€œMcGuffin?” said Pete Buckmaster.
    Clearly Buckmaster needed a more detailed explanation of what the “chase situation” was about. Interestingly, it turned out Buckmaster was a big Alfred Hitchcock fan, so their project was fairly easy for him to understand.
    Buckmaster insisted on being introduced to everyone involved in Hide-and-Sneak. As he asked more and more questions about Zack’s project, the filmmaker’s natural enthusiasm took over.
    Truly Buckmaster’s interest was more than flattering. Dollar signs were dancing in Zack’s eyes as he talked about the film. If a heavy hitter like Buckmaster got involved, Zack could expand his budget, and good-bye, Ms. Athelney.
    â€œShipwreck Cove, you say?” Buckmaster laughed when he heard where the filmmakers had buriedthe McGuffin. “I’m building a new house there. Maybe you saw the docks?”
    Zack nodded.
    â€œSounds as though you folks will need to regroup,” the financier said. “I’m sorry my rescue fouled up your plans. How can I make it up to you? Suppose you use my docks as your staging area? It’s the least I can do.”
    Trying not to appear too eager, Zack agreed.
    â€œI was heading to the cove now,” Buckmaster said. “Why don’t you kids come along? I’ll give you the guided tour.”
    They all headed back to their boats, then followed the Jolly Roger back to Shipwreck Cove and tied up at the docks.
    â€œThere’s enough room for a small fleet here,” Chet said, looking at the big yacht and the smaller boats bobbing in the water.
    A rope ladder came down the side of the Jolly Roger, and Pete Buckmaster made his way down.
    The financier had changed into a designer sweat-suit, the kind that never actually sees sweat. He squinted as he looked at the stairway zigzagging up the cliff face.
    â€œThey told me the property had a wonderful view, but they didn’t explain why. Remind me to talk to the architect about putting in an elevator.”
    â€œYou mean you didn’t see the place before you bought it?” Joe asked in disbelief.
    Buckmaster shrugged. “That’s what staffs are for.”
    He didn’t need to go far for the architect. The moment he arrived on the building site, people came charging out of the trailers. The general contractor wanted approvals for several bills. The architect was waving complicated plans.
    â€œWe had to resite the two swimming pools,” the architect said. He held out a sketch of a fancy building big enough to be a two-family house. “And you need to approve the design changes for the spa.”
    It was all a little much for Joe. But he saw that Zack, Mel, and Sprock were filming away as if there were no tomorrow.
    More contractors and foremen appeared, and Buckmaster marched off to a meeting in the Matling mobile office.
    â€œSo much for the grand tour,” Frank said with a laugh.
    Willow Sumner sniffed. “I thought the mansion was all finished. Who wants to look at a bunch of holes in the ground?”
    â€œI would.” Joe turned to Frank and Chet. “What do you say, guys?”
    â€œI didn’t realize you were a construction buff,” Chet said as they walked off to one side of the bustling site.
    â€œI’m not,” Joe whispered. “I just wanted to get away from that bunch.”
    Most of the area had been scraped down to bare earth. A little strip of grass remained along the chain-link fence that surrounded the property.
    Joe led the way over to the grass so they could stretch their legs a little. The ground rose a little higher closer to the