Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 27

The Art Museum Mystery
International Christian School, Yip, Hana - 8
A
s Summer and Jessie ran towards the Shanghai Art Museum, they heard an alarm sound. Upon arrival, they
saw Police surrounding the building. “Did something bad happen?” Jessie cried. “I know, I know!” Said a
woman. “A painting has been stolen!” Jessie and Summer gasped. They walked towards the Museum for a better
view. Craning her neck, Jessie said, “I guess we should come back another day.” Summer nodded in agreement. As
they walked back to the hotel, Jessie noticed the frown on Summer’s face. “Summer? You seem sad!” “I wanted to
see the beautiful artworks,” Summer sighed. Thinking about her friend’s frown, an idea popped into Jessie’s head.
“Let’s solve the mystery tonight!” “Seriously? I’m in!” Summer said, suddenly happy. At the darkest hour of night,
Summer and Jessie crept down the emergency exit of the hotel and ran to the Museum. Arriving at the Museum,
the girls looked silently for clues like a mouse looking for a block of cheese. But when they found no clues, they
started to walk back to the Hotel. On their way, Jessie spotted a shadow and thought it looked suspicious because
no one would be out at such a late hour. She turned on her flashlight and saw the shape of a man loading a large
board covered with black cloth into a truck. “Do you think that’s the stolen painting?” Jessie asked in a whisper.
“You’ll have to follow to know!” Summer whispered back. Just after the short conversation, the girls followed the
truck into darkness. After five minutes of following, the truck finally stopped and the man jumped out of the driver
seat. Afraid to be seen, Summer and Jessie hid behind a bush. From their view, they could see the man unloading
the board underground through a tunnel hidden in a garden behind a house. After the man loaded the large board
into the hideout, he jumped in. The girls gasped and returned to the hotel. The next morning, Summer and Jessie
took a taxi to the police station to report the view they saw the night before. After Summer finished the story, they
took 4 police to the hideout they found yesterday. When they arrived everything seemed normal and nothing
seemed suspicious. The police and the girls looked for clues of where the tunnel could be. As they walked around,
Jessie realized that the grass she stood on felt different than the other parts of grass. As she knelt down, she firmly
gripped the grass and pulled it up. From her view, she could see a long slide leading into darkness. After they slid
down, they saw a man sleeping on a small piece of cloth. 2 police went to arrest the man and the two other police
went to take the painting back to the Hotel. A police smiled at the girls and motioned for them to leave. The girls
would remember this day for the rest of their lives.