It was mid afternoon by the time Jane Darcy and her chum Margaret Sullivan had finished reviewing the clues; when they climbed into the sedan that had taken them on their perilous journey only twelve hours ago.
“Where should we start, Jane?” Margaret asked, as she wheeled the sedan around the curve of the driveway with ease.
“I’ve got a feeling we should get this film developed posthaste; it might reveal something, and then again, it could just be nature photos.”
“Josh has a camera shop now, he repairs some antiques and develops film too. Why not swing by there first?” offered Margaret thoughtfully.
“Josh the shark? Josh, the boy who would sneak up underwater and pull us under? Surely not him!” remarked Jane, thinking back to the many summers she had spent swimming with Margaret in the Maine lakes when they were younger.
Margaret laughed and nodded her head,
“Yes, that Josh! Hard to believe he’s grown up enough to run his own business, but people around here say he’s the best camera repairman and developer there is.”
As they continued their car trip, Jane became awfully suspicious of a strange vehicle that had shown up in the rearview window.
“Margaret, take this next right.” Jane said.
“But that’s not the way to town!” Margaret protested.
“Take it anyway. I think someone might be following us.”
Margaret slowed at the bend, and turned the corner. Without hesitation, the old green car behind them had also turned; and kept within a close range.
“It could have just been coincidence…” Margaret said,
“I doubt it. Take this next left.”
Again, the car followed around the corner. It seemed to trace their every move.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,”
Margaret was growing nervous, and glanced frantically between the road and the rearview mirror.
“Try speeding up, let’s get back on the main road and head to the old bridge. I’ve got an idea.”
Jane Darcy could tell a man was driving the old car; but his face was obscured by the light across the windshield. Who could it be?
Accelerating had done the trick; the old car behind them couldn’t keep up as closely. When they came to the old bridge, Jane shouted out:
“Take a sharp turn here at the crossroads!”
Margaret steered the car off the road, followed by another quick swerve and they were hidden from view. Only a few moments later, the old car came driving past; and went across the bridge.
“We lost him!” sighed Jane in relief.
Margaret relaxed her grip on the steering wheel, and pushed a wild strand of hair out of her face.
“This makes me more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this. Let’s get a move on and get to Josh’s camera shop!”
It wasn’t long before they had pulled up and parked in front of the store; and went inside.
The camera shop was an older building that had been cleaned up and converted to be a more modern establishment, with countless models of state-of-the-art cameras to choose from, and posters advertising Josh’s clear picture developing services.
As Jane Darcy and Margaret were gazing about, they saw Josh come through the doorway behind the counter. A young man with a full head of blonde hair and a charming smile, came walking in carrying an armful of boxes and a roll of tape slid off the top.
“Hello, ladies!” He grinned sheepishly, “Jane I heard you were in town!”
“It’s been years! And look at this place, it’s outstanding!” Jane laughed as they came up to the counter.
“Josh, I’ve got an assignment for you; I found this camera roll-“
Josh set the boxes down on the desk,
“Camera roll? Did you not get the first pictures I developed for you?” he interrupted.
Jane and her chum Margaret looked questioningly at each other,
“First pictures? What pictures?”
“A strange character came in early this morning, he gave me your camera; it had your initials on it, so naturally I asked if he was a friend of yours.”
“You did? What did he say?”
“He said he was, and you asked him to develop the film because you couldn’t come. So I got it developed and gave it to him.”
“That’s not good.” Margaret sighed.
“Did I do something wrong? Did you not get the pictures?”
“It’s more than that, Josh; I think someone is out to get me!”