The Mystery of Smugglers Cove (The Mystery Series, Book 1) by Paul Moxham

But that means that we can slip inside the manor that way.”
    “Okay, let’s try to get inside.” Inspector Price stood up from the cover of the bushes and, as quietly as he could, made his way to the door. The officer and Will followed behind him.
    Once they were inside, they paused. They could hear voices, but they were faint. Will told the two police officers that the men were probably in the basement.
    Quickly, they headed to the study where Will showed the police officers the gate opening mechanism. After taking a deep breath, Inspector Price took hold of the lever and pushed down.
    He glanced through the window and smiled with satisfaction as he saw the gates slowly opening. He turned to the police officer. “Head outside and meet the others. I’ll be here, waiting.”
    “Yes, sir.” The police officer left the room.
    Will looked towards the inspector. “When are we going to rescue my friends?”
    “Soon. But we have to catch the crooks first.”
    Suddenly, gunshots rang out and they rushed to the window. They saw that the police cars, which were halfway down the driveway, had skidded to a stop. This was due to a hail of bullets that were being fired upon them from the garage.
    The inspector looked at Will. “Stay here.”
    “But I—” Will said.
    “Stay. I have to help out.” Inspector Price took out his pistol, opened the study door, and, closing it behind him, made his way down the hallway.
    No one was in sight. It looked as though the main group of crooks were outside. He headed towards the front door but, before he could reach it, the door was flung open and a man came rushing in.
    Jake came to a halt as he caught sight of Inspector Price pointing his gun at him. “Put the gun down on the floor, nice and slowly,” the inspector ordered as he spotted the pistol tucked into the man’s belt.
    Jake started to place the gun on the floor when he glanced over the inspector’s shoulders and smiled.
    Fearing a trap, Inspector Price was about to order the man again to drop his weapon, when he glanced in a mirror that was facing him and caught a glimpse of another man holding a gun.
    He turned and saw another criminal, Dan, behind him. The inspector turned back and saw that now Jake also had his weapon pointed at him.
    The inspector was not a man to give up easily, but he knew he was trapped. He laid his weapon down and raised his hands.
    Suddenly, three police officers burst through the open door. Quickly assessing the situation, two of them tackled Jake.
    Seeing that he was outnumbered, Dan turned and rushed down the hallway. But he was no match for the police officers who ran after him and he was soon caught.
    As he was led away, Will emerged from the study. “Is everything fine? I heard—”
    “Everything is going splendidly,” Inspector Price replied, smiling. “I think we’ve got the majority, if not all, of the crooks, so let’s see where your friends are being held.”
    “They should be on the top floor,” Will said.
    “Okay. Just let me talk to my second in charge.” He turned to Sergeant Wilmore, a tall, burly fellow with brown hair. “Search the ground floor and report back to me in five minutes. Okay?”
    The sergeant nodded and, along with a couple of police officers, headed down the hallway.
    Inspector Price climbed up the stairs and stopped as he reached the third floor. Will waited as two police officers quickly searched the hallway to make sure that none of the men were hiding nearby. Satisfied that it was safe, the inspector asked Will to show him the room.
    Will raced along the hallway until he reached the one that the others were held prisoner in. He tried opening the door, but it was locked. He banged on it and shouted. “Hey! Are you still there?”
    There was a moment of silence, and then Amy called out. “Yes! Let us out!”
    “Move aside,” the inspector said. Will obeyed as the inspector called out to the prisoners. “This is Inspector Price. Move right away from