The Ninja Pirate (The Adventures of Biddy and Sam Book 2)

Book summary

Summer holidays at Grandma and Grandpa's house by the coast are supposed to be normal, but not for Biddy, Louie, and their dog Teddy. This time, their adventures involve a 'drowned' man, an international poaching heist, and a Ninja Pirate. Danger on the high seas awaits these young super sleuths!

Excerpt from The Ninja Pirate (The Adventures of Biddy and Sam Book 2)

‘Don’t forget to pack your new beach towels,’ Mum said from the doorway. She was smiling, but her eyes were a bit sad.

Me and Biddy – sorry, Biddy and I – were going to stay with our grandparents for the last week of the holidays. Our friend Louie was coming too, and so was our dog, Teddy. Mum and Dad were going to Queensland for an exhibition of Dad’s work, and they were going to have a ‘much needed break’--Grandma’s words--while they were there.

‘Are you going to miss us?’ Biddy had that “I’m-so-cute” look on her face, the one that really annoyed me, but Mum bought it every time and I could see that her eyes were starting to fill with tears.

‘It’s okay, Mum,’ I said, turning to glare at my little sister. ‘We’ll all be back before you know it,’ I added cheerfully, though that also meant that we’d be back to school before we knew it too.

Mum sniffed a bit then nodded. ‘Yes, Sam, you’re right. We’ll all be back together soon.

Little did I know that I’d be wishing it was a lot sooner than a week before we saw Mum and Dad again.

‘Darlings…’ Grandma was almost running down the path to greet us. We were her only grandchildren and her favourites. ‘And Louie, good to see you too, darling,’ she said, giving him a little squeeze. Louie looked a bit embarrassed. I wasn’t sure how he’d react to our cuddly family because he’d told me once that he “didn’t do hugs”. I remember Biddy was there and she looked kind of disappointed. Anyhow, he seemed happy with Grandma’s squeeze.

‘Woof.’

‘And you too, Teddy,’ Grandpa added as he came towards us with his arms wide ready for his bear hug. I glanced at Louie, but he had a look on his face like he’d been in some sort of army training for this. Louie likes that kind of thing. Teddy, though, had gotten in first and had nudged Grandpa’s arm so that he had to rub Teddy’s ears.

‘You two look very relaxed. How was India?’ Dad said has he lifted our bags out of the back of the car.

‘Oh … we’ve found our spiritual home,’ Grandma said in a kind of dramatic way. She looked different to last time we saw them only six weeks ago. Her white-grey hair was longer, and she was wearing a really bright, colourful floaty dress … and … no shoes! Grandpa looked sort of the same except his hair was longer too and he had a wooden bracelet on his wrist.

‘Mum, Dad, you look so well,’ Mum said, her arms wide to give them a hug. ‘You’ve had a great time, I take it?’

The Grands looked at each other and smiled before answering, ‘Oh, Anna … we did,’ and then, and then, they held hands! Gross. Well, it’s not gross, but you know, Louie was there and everything.

‘Biddy, Sam, Louie…’ Grandma let go of Grandpa’s hand and waved towards the house, ‘let’s go in and I’ll settle you into your rooms. You too, Teddy. And you two …’ She had a schoolteacher look on her face, maybe because she’d been a schoolteacher for years and years – ‘get on your way and make the most of it. Good luck with the exhibition, Richard darling. You deserve this.’

‘Thanks Mum. Thanks Dad,’ Mum said. ‘We will. We’re looking forward to it, aren’t we Richard, although…’ Mum got all wet-eyed, ‘we wish that…’

‘Enough of that,’ said Grandma, clapping her hands. ‘The children will be fine. Won’t you.’

It wasn’t a real question, that’s for sure, but she was right. Grandma and Grandpa lived right next to the sea and Mum, Dad, Biddy, Teddy, and I spent lots of holidays with them. Although I was going to miss Mum and Dad, I was really looking forward to a holiday adventure. Besides, we had some new gadgets with us this time.

I got the Smartwatch I’d been dreaming of for Christmas – yep, ‘modified’ to the basics, so basically a Fitbit – and I had been practising my running and jumping for two weeks. I still couldn’t get my legs to go as fast as they did in the last adventure—you know, The Ghoulies, although we don’t call Alphons and Henrietta Klausman that now! I wondered if I needed to be scared or angry or something for that to happen again. Louie was excited to try out his new drone that … get this … he’d built himself … like, all of it. He’s so smart. And Biddy had brought her geeky Christmas presents – books, hair ribbons, new skirts. Boring. But what was cool, though a bit weird to be honest, was that Louie had given her a Pandora charm to go on her bracelet. They both looked super embarrassed when he gave it to her, but I think Biddy was pleased. She kept looking at it for a whole week. Louie had fitted it with a small tracking device – sounds extra weird, I know, and Mum and Dad weren’t happy about that at first, but when Biddy told them that it was because of the danger we were in last time, they seemed to think it wasn’t such a bad idea. And Teddy? Yep, Louie had made a tiny receiver that fitted just under a brand-new collar. Apparently, it can pick up a signal from Biddy’s charm and my phone as far as thirty houses away. You should have seen Teddy prancing about with that collar on. I’m sure he was even checking himself out in Mum and Dad’s long mirror.

•

We said our goodbyes to Mum and Dad, who squeezed us so tightly before they left, I thought my brain would ooze out of my head like toothpaste, and we then ran up to the house and to our bedrooms. The house was old, but it was so great because, unlike the others in the town, it sat right on the cliffs and there was a track outside the door that led all the way down to the beach. No roads or anything in between. Inside there were five bedrooms, so that meant that I always got my own room. Hurray! Away from my freaky sister!

My room was at the end of the corridor. It wasn’t as big as the others, or have a view over the sea, but it looked towards the small town and the athletic track where I planned to do my training. Because the house was on a hill that dipped down to the town, from my window I could see into neighbours’ back yards and to the main street where the shops were.

Biddy’s room was next to Grandma and Grandpa’s and had an amazing view of the sea and, even better, the old shipwreck that was sitting on the edge of the reef. So did the one Louie was staying in. He was excited when he saw it and had a smile ‘from ear to ear’--one of Grandma’s favourite sayings.

And Teddy? Well, he had his own little palace in the backyard. Grandpa had converted our old cubby house into a kennel, but it still looked like a real little house. Outside it, Grandpa had set up an automatic feeder and a drinking fountain! When Teddy saw those, he ‘smiled’ then went into his ‘house’ and curled up on the huge doggy bed.

Once we’d checked out each other’s rooms and opened presents from India – bracelets for Biddy, a rainbow-coloured T-shirt with an elephant across the front for me, and a hand-painted phone cover for Louie, we changed into our swimmers and headed down to the beach with Grandma, Grandpa and Teddy.

Something inside me was buzzing with excitement, like I knew there was another adventure waiting for us.

And I was right!

•

‘Hey, you two. Want to see something weird?’

Biddy and Louie were playing chess – geeks! – on the floor of Louie’s room.

Biddy spoke without looking up. ‘Weird to you isn’t weird to anyone else.’

Louie looked up with an “I’m sorry” face like Biddy was his mad aunty or something. Oops, I think I’m thinking of Aunty Linda, Mum’s sister!

‘Okay. Whatever,’ I said, heading back to my room.

‘No… wait!’ Louie was getting up.

‘Louie! We haven’t finished the game!’

‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ he called behind him as he followed me.

‘Agghhhh!’ Biddy groaned, sending bad vibe darts into my back. ‘Wait. I’m coming too!’

In my bedroom, we crowded next to each other at the window. ‘Look,’ I said, pointing to the backyard three houses away. ‘See that boat with the black cover? It was there in the daytime yesterday but goes out and comes back at night.’

‘So?’ Biddy had turned to me with her hands on her hips. ‘What’s so weird about that? Maybe they fish for … night fish or something.’

I looked at Louie. ‘Is there such a thing as night fish?’

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don’t know,’ he said and looked a bit embarrassed because Louie knows just about everything. He’s like a walking Google search!

‘Anyway,’ Biddy continued, ‘how do you know it’s out at night. We only came late yesterday. Did you sit up all night?’

I tried putting my hands on my hips too, but as usual, they slid down my sides because I have ‘no hips’ according to my sister. ‘Because I saw the boat come back last night, and I saw someone get out of the car towing it.’

‘What did they look like?’ Louie asked, though I didn’t really understand why he wanted to know that.

I thought back to last night and how I’d been woken by the sound of gravel crunching, and a light coming on and off a few times. It was only then that I realised I’d seen the boat in the day, but thought it was strange that they took it out at night. ‘Well, when his torch fell on the ground, it shone on his face…’

‘Wait. How do you know it was a “he”?’ Miss Smarty-Pants asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. ‘Anyway, “they” had on a black beanie and … and … a black face mask!’

‘What! Like a COVID one?’ That was Biddy.

‘It is a bit strange,’ Louie said, looking from me to Biddy and back again. ‘I know people still wear them sometimes, but … at night? When no-one’s around?’ He shook his head as though he couldn’t work people out.

‘Yep, that’s right, Louie. There was nobody else there, and it is strange.’

‘Some people have become very attached to their COVID masks,’ Biddy said with authority.

‘What, like actually attached to them?’ It was me now, who was shaking their head. I imagined people having to go to the clinic where Louie’s parents were doctors and having their masks scraped off their faces. Yuk!

‘I wonder what’s in the boat.’ Louie was now pressed up against the glass.

‘Why don’t we just ask Grandma or Grandpa?’ Biddy said behind us. ‘After all, they know everyone in this town.’