Uh-oh, trouble in paradise – storm clouds on the Hopewell Bay horizon
We’re not superstitious, but a bad omen is a bad omen; when we heard that Mason found a tin can with a cryptic note squished inside, we knew it was going to be a whirlwind of bad news...
The summer weather in Hopewell Bay has been nothing but blissful: clear skies for days with sunsets more auburn-tinted than Maddie’s hair after soaking up the sun at the beach. The gentle summer breeze does seem to get slightly stronger by the day, though.
When little Mason found the ancient-looking tin can by the old can factory with a mysterious code in it, Maddie didn’t really think anything of it; most likely, it was just a kid of the past – not unlike Mason – playing some mischievous tricks on the kids of today!
Mason’s first inkling was that the piece of paper might be a map of sorts – hinting at the location of a long-lost treasure, perhaps? Maybe even from an old-timey Hopewell Bay pirate?
Maddie had her doubts. Instead of being a mere sea shanty, she thought that the code might have something to do with the slightly shadier parts of the Boulton family tree and its history; after all, why did the tin can factory shut operations at the height of its can-do-canning-success?
When Maddie raised the cunning can question with some of her nearest and dearest, it turned out that not only Julius, but Roddy and Ash too had heard about the murky rumors surrounding the tin can factory’s sudden closing all those years ago.
However, Maddie was still inclined to claim it’s all good old Hopewell Bay hearsay. After all, it was such a calm, nice summer’s day!
But when Lady Voyance stormed into Beaumont Hall with a flurry of news, Maddie started to be clouded by doubt. Ever since Mason found the first can, Voyance has been seeing strange flashes in her magical snow globe, and that’s rarely a good sign…
While Maddie didn’t know what to think of all the different theories circulating around her, Mason continued his code-breaking treasure hunt – and found more cans with even more cryptic codes and secret messages inside.
This was when Maddie started to think that the clouds above Hopewell Bay might indeed be shifting…
And wait – what’s that dreadful sound?