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to get past Phil. We’ve got to check the boat.”
    “There’s a hole in the fence, down on the edge of the property,” Noah said, pointing.
    “I like the way you think,” Anthony grinned. He started the car and drove out of the parking lot. A moment later, he parked on a side street.
    “Show me where the hole is.” Anthony grabbed a small flashlight out of the glove compartment. Noah got out and quietly shut his door.
    They scurried across the street, then crouched low and darted along the high chain-link fence that ran from the edge of the property down into the water, enclosing the wharf.
    “Here it is,” Noah whispered. A portion of the fence was pulled away from the ground.
    Anthony got down on his hands and knees. “I don’t think I can fit.” He tugged at the fencing. It rattled loudly in the darkness.
    “Sh!” Noah hissed. He squatted down and pushed Anthony out of the way. “I’ll go.”
    “You can’t!” Anthony tugged at Noah’s leg.
    “We can’t waste any time.” Noah squiggled through the hole. “I know everything about that boat and the harbor. I’ll be fine.” He took the flashlight from Anthony.
    “Be careful,” Anthony whispered. “If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m going to Chief Burton.”
    Noah ducked down and ran to the dock, making his way past a variety of boats. The moon shone like a spotlight in the sky and tinted everything with an eerie glow. Noah stopped near the Explorer and caught his breath. The Explorer bobbed gently with the waves. Inside was dark. She looked okay.
    Noah stepped across the gap between the boat and wharf, onto the Explorer . He waited a moment and listened. He heard waves lapping against the boat, but nothing else. He went to the cabin door, unlocked it, and stepped into the cabin. He stared into the deep shadows. The room appeared undisturbed. He took the flashlight, covered the end with his hand so the beam wouldn’t glow as brightly, then shone it around. Nothing seemed out of place.
    Noah crossed to a set of cabinets, bent down and slid open a door. A small gray safe sat inside. It did not appear to have been tampered with. Noah reached for the lock but stopped. Was that a noise? He quickly turned off the flashlight. He paused and listened. His breathing sounded loud in the darkness. Noah cranked his head around but saw nothing out the windows.
    “My imagination,” he muttered to himself.
    He turned the flashlight back on, taking a risk as to whether Phil was patrolling around the Explorer . He held the flashlight with his mouth, shining the light on the safe. He twisted the dial back and forth, and unlocked the safe. He opened the door. The box his dad used to store small artifacts sat there. Noah opened it. Inside, two pieces of brass spyglass shone dully in the flashlight’s beam.
    Noah let out a sigh of relief. “They didn’t move it.”
    He picked up the box, then noticed a notebook underneath it. His dad’s notes! Good thing that wasn’t at the house, he thought. Noah grabbed it and closed the door of the safe. He stood up and froze.
    This time he was sure he heard something.
    He shut off the flashlight and ducked down. Thump! Noah sank to his knees. Someone was trying to get on the boat. Noah held his breath, then peeked out through a side window. He scanned the inky black water off the port side. In the moonlight, he saw a head and then arms clutching at an aluminum ladder that had been thrown over the side of the boat. A man in a wet suit emerged from the water. He pulled his mask up over his forehead. Noah gasped. It was the man with the spiked blond hair.
    Noah thought fast. He crawled on his knees to the door, reached up and gently turned the knob. He edged the door open and peeked out. The man hadn’t made it up the ladder yet.
    Noah dashed out the door and ran to the other side of the boat. He leaped onto the dock, praying that Phil, or the spiked blond man’s companion, wasn’t around. He landed hard, his feet