Twelve Locked Doors

by Perdikkas, Lefkopigi, Simon Lucas Middle Schools

Artwork: The pupils of Perdikkas and Lefkopigi, Greece, and of Etang-Salé, Reunion Island

The authors of this e-book are teachers and pupils from three middle-schools, two in Greece and one in Reunion Island Read More

Joined Feb 2015
Published Books 1

FRANCE – REUNION ISLAND

Collège Simon Lucas – Etang-Salé les Hauts

GREECE- PERDIKKAS, KOZANI

Perdikkas Highschool, Kozani

GREECE-LEFKOPIGI, KOZANI

Lefkopigi Highschool, Kozani

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The authors of this e-book are teachers and pupils from three middle-schools, two in Greece and one in Reunion Island (France).
They worked together for a whole school-year to write these 12 detective short-stories as part of an eTwinning project entitled “creative writing”. This book is therefore the result of this collaborative work.

Twelve locked doors need help to get unlocked. Walk in the footsteps of our great investigators and find out the truth behind the doors. It can sometimes be very surprising…

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STORY 1

Under the London Eye

Oliver is a young man. He is 15 years old and he is very intelligent and nice. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Oliver studies in a famous college. He likes reading and walking in the street with his friends.

One day, with his class, he went to the London Eye.

Before going back to the bus to return to school, Oliver went to the toilets.

It was time to leave but Oliver never came back. His best friend, Tom, was worried so he went to find him but he wasn’t there!… There was only his cap on the floor near the toilets…

Tom picked up the cap from the floor. Oliver’s mobile appeared under it. A woman with a strange limp passed him by as he was

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Twelve Locked Doors by Perdikkas, Lefkopigi, Simon Lucas Middle Schools - Illustrated by The pupils of Perdikkas and Lefkopigi, Greece, and of Etang-Salé, Reunion Island - Ourboox.com

walking away. He ran towards the bus holding the cap and the phone. Everybody was shocked. Two teachers went to the toilets and informed immediately the security about the incident. The inspector, Jim Dimitriou, and his assistant Clouzo Renau took up the case and started questioning the people. Tom mentioned the woman with the strange limp and the two men who were waiting outside the toilets. The detective spoke to his schoolmates. All of them seemed to like Oliver.

– He is wealthy, he has a big house with a lot of housemaids. His parents are divorced, Terry said.

– Oliver lives with his mother. His father is from London but he lives in Reunion Island. They don’t have any relationships, Tom said.

– Aha… the detective said.

– I haven’t spoken to him for two weeks… we had a fight, Jack said.

– Why? Jim asked.

– Oliver always wants to be the first… to decide for us. I don’t like

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that, Jack said. Clouzo found Oliver’s bag on his seat and took it . He fished into

his bag and found a small diary. Oliver had been writing a diary… Some photos appeared among the pages.

– Look at this, Clouzo said. These two men are always on his photos.

– What is that? detective Jim said. Well, here is a small map of London’s centre.

– Why is this address underlined? Clouzo wondered.

– His father is from London, remember that! Jim said.

His assistant looked at him curiously.

– Just a minute! I have an idea, I think I know what happened.

What on earth did he mean?

After a little time they talked to Tom.

– Hey Tom, come here. We’ve found Oliver’s diary in his bag, Jim said.

– Oh, just a minute,Tom told them. This is not Oliver’s diary, he

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doesn’t write like this. There’s no way!

– Really? Let’s read it, Clouzo replied.

As they saw, the diary wasn’t Oliver’s but someone else’s called David Brown who had just gone out of prison and who was looking for someone.

– I wonder how David’s diary ended up in Oliver’s bag, Tom wondered.

– I don’t know but I’m sure that it is linked to Oliver’s disappearance, Clouzo announced. I think that we should visit that house at the underlined address: 22 Wallstreet . We are so close to solve the case.

The next morning Jim, Clouzo and Tom went to 22 Wallstreet and asked the neighbours who had been living there. They answered that a man from Reunion Island had come to live there. When they went closer

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to the door they heard a woman talking:

– Stop, David! If you continue like this, the police wiil discover us and then we will lose both Oliver and his father and all their wealth.

Right then they called the police. They arrived quickly. Jim explained to the policemen what had happened and they opened the door ofthat mysterious house. All of them saw Oliver sitting in a chair near another man who looked like him. Both of them were injured.Suddenly a woman and a tall man appeared, who looked surprised and scared.

– Both of you are arrested because you’ve kiddnapped innocent people , the policeman said, holding his gun.

– You are David, aren’t you?, Tom asked. I remember you standing out of the toilets with this woman and another man. Oh, and we have your diary too!

– I would have done it, replied David, if you hadn’t found my diary

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and if I hadn’t lost it.

Later, Oliver and the other man went to the hospital and then Tom asked Oliver who that man was.

– My father! I’ve found my father! These people had made him come to England and then they found us. But thank you for everything!!

THE END

Myriam, Irini, Chloé, Rafail, Haralabos , Marine, Lilian

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STORY 2

A Terrible Secret

Jeanne Leroy is a woman, she is 22 years old, she is a journalist, she has brown hair and blue eyes. She loves dancing with her friends.

One day, she was going to the London Eye to meet Emma Watson for her newspaper article when a man ran towards Jeanne and kidnapped her, …

…according to Emma Watson. Detective Wilston had untertaken the case of Jeanne’s disappearance. He tried to learn everything about her job and her personal life. He began questioning the people who had seen Jeanne recently. First of all, he talked to Emma Watson. He

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thought that Emma was very calm and she seemed not to worry about the incident.

– I saw a car: the driver stopped and a man pushed her in… In front of this mini market… I informed the police immediately, Emma said.

– What was the subject of your meeting? the detective asked.

– She wanted an interview about my last work… I am a painter, she said.

Then Wilson visited the owner of the mini market on the road to the London Eye.

– Did you see anything strange yesterday? he asked. A woman has been missing.

– No, nothing at all. I’ve been tidying bags of chips all afternoon, and I haven’t finished yet. Here is the last one, the owner said and he opened the bag.

– What’s this? the detective said as he took something out of

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the bag…

It was a message. ” Everything ok”,

– What is this? the detective asked.

– I don’t know, detective, I don’t know! the guy exclaimed, suprised .

In the afternoon, Wilston visited Bob, Jeanne’s boyfriend.

– Where were you yesterday afternoon? he asked.

– I was watching TV in my house. It was evening when Jeanne’s boss called me. He wanted the article for the newspaper and he couldn’t find Jeanne. I started worrying. You know, we’ve been living together for four months…

– Could I have a look at the house? the detective asked.

He entered the bedroom and then he saw…

…a newspaper open on the bed. Some words were circled.

– What’s that? the detective asked.

– It is an article that Jeanne wrote. My little nephew made circles on

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it.

At that moment Bob’s mobile phone rang. Bob was really upset.

– Turn it up, the detective said.

Then …

…they heard someone shouting “Help”. It seemed to be Jeanne. Someone else was laughing badly.

Bob fell down as he had fainted. The detective picked up the mobile phone, read the recent messages and laughed.

He was so close to solve the mystery of Jeanne’s disappearance. Next morning…

…the detective went back to see Bob to know how he was and he saw a glove under his cupboard. He asked Bob why this glove was there. Bob remained quiet and said it belonged to Jeanne. They went back together to the scene of the kidnapping and they saw Emma there, with a suspicious man. The detective followed the man. He stopped near a lake and found a ring. Detective Willston

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brought the ring to Bob, and Bob recognized it. “This ring belongs to Jeanne”. The next day, Willston went to Emma’s house and saw another glove: it was the same as the one he had found at Bob’s. He understood that Emma was the author of the kidnapping and that the man was her accomplice.

The next day, the detective told Bob about what he had discovered. Bob was suprised to learn that about Emma. They decided to go and question Emma. On the road, they met the mysterious man and asked him :

“- Hey! You ! What’s your name?

– Arthur! Why ?!

– You are Emma’s accomplice. I arrest you for your complicity in the kidnapping of Jeanne!

– But it wasn’t me, sir !

– If you don’t tell me the truth, you’ll go to jail.

The detective took Arthur to the police station to question him.

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Arthur said everything he knew about the kidnapping. Bob and the detective went to Emma’s house, but she wasn’t there… so much better!! Arthur said that Jeanne was in the basement of Emma’s house… but was it true or was it a trap?

Then he opened the door to the basement and discovered…

… Jeanne . There she was , her hands tied with a rope. Detective Wilston called the police station .

– This is detective Wilston on the phone , I need some policemen to come and arrest a kidnapper .

– Ok ! I send you a police team !, the chief of police replied .

Emma came back home . A few minutes later , the police arrived at Emma’s house and arrested her .

The detective made sure that Jeanne was well and took her back home. When she arrived , Bob gave her a big

hug and a tender kiss , then the detective left. Bob told him :

– Thank you for having found her !

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– Yes , thank you ! Jeanne said

– You ‘re welcome , the detective replied .

THE END

Marine, Chloé, Ioanna, Peris, Michael, Myriam, Christos, Alexandros

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STORY 3

A Mysterious Disappearance

Charles Dekervelec is a small man, he has short hair and blue eyes.

He is stubborn and all that matters in his life is money.

He is a lawyer and he has a big family but his children don’t like him.

Charles Dekervelec has many enemies and everyone wants his death.

He manipulates people for money and when someone annoys him, he kills him.

But Charles Dekervelec disappeared last night. He was in a bar with his best friend, and they had drunk a lot.

A man was watching them in front of the bar before they went back

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home.

Tom said : ” see you tomorow at 10 at the office “.

But the next day Charles never came.

Mrs Dekervelec, Charles’s wife, called detective Edward Perrailer to take over the case. He was a peaceful human being, often inexpressive. He visited Mrs Dekervelec in her stone house in the wood. She was beautiful, well-dressed and ready for a trip.

– I’m leaving for a while on a bussiness trip to Paris and I’ll be back in three days. Whatever information you want, you can ask my elder son. He knows everything I do, said Katherin, and now will you excuse me? Mary, I want to talk to you, she said to the nanny of the house.

Despite her age, Mary had always held her head high, and was sweetly smiling.

As Edward was walking away, he listened to the nanny’s voice:

– My resignation is final, Madam, I’m not gonna change my mind. I’ll

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be waiting for you to come back from your trip.

In the garden, he met the twenty year-old son of the family, Mark. A few steps besides, his little sister, Jane, was playing.

-Dad and mom had started to be alienated. They were behaving strangely lately. He was often talking to Tom, his friend, of all the business matters. He definitely trusted him. One day I heard them arguing. Mother was saying that he had told many bad things about her, said Mark.

Edward decided to visit Dekervelec’s company. He hadn’t even left the car when he saw two persons getting into the next car.

-Certainly. I’m not gonna change my mind, he heard the man saying to the woman.

He went back home, he wanted to put his thoughts in a row. He was preparing dinner when he heard the news:

“An air accident has just happened; the airplane of the flight from London to Paris has crashed. There is probably no one alive”.

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The phone rang at that precise moment.

– My mother seems to have been killed in a flight accident. My father disappeared. Mary is leaving… And I, Mr Perrailer, I am ready to confess you whatever I know, Mark said.

Mark had discovered that his father had an affair with another woman and that Mary, the nanny, and Garrett, the policeman, had decided to blackmail Charles Dekervelec because they had discovered it and they wanted some money. Mark had started investigating the case by himself. He quickly understood that his father had refused to pay and was going to tell everything to the police.

That’s when the kidnapping happened, a month before, and that’s when Mrs Dekervelec had decided to hire detective Edward Perrailer. The detective had found proofs that the policeman was involved in the kidnapping. Mary had felt trapped and had decided to resign as soon as Mrs Dekervelec was back from Paris…

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The discussion the detective had heard at Dekervelec’s company was between the policeman and the nanny…In fact, Mary had tried to convince Garrett to stop everything and to free Mr Dekervelec but he had refused. Because she was in love with Garrett, Mary had decided to accept his decision. But that’s when the plane accident happened, and Mrs Dekervelec died. Mary suspected Garrett to be responsible for the accident. She started being scared…

The day after the plane accident, Mark Dekervelec tried to convince Mary to tell him where his father was but she wouldn’t because Garrett had threatened to kill her if she said anything. Mark promised to protect her so she decided to tell the whole truth: Mr Dekervelec was held in a flat in Oxford.

As soon as Mark had finished telling his story to Edward, the two men took their car and drove to Oxford. When they arrived at the flat, Garrett was there. They entered silently and managed to arrest the policeman before he could shoot at them with his gun.

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Garrett and Mary were taken to prison. Mr Dekervelec offered a big sum of money to the detective to thank him and he decided to give several thousands of pounds to charities. He was not stingy anymore. This story had transformed him into a very generous man indeed!!

THE END

Emma, Thaïs , Sasha, Rafail, Grigoris, Dimitris

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STORY 4

The Secret of an Oak

Our story took place in the nineteenth century, in 1888, in London. One day, a young woman disappeared from

her bedroom in Buckingham Palace. The victim’s name was Clara Anderson. She was twenty. She had been

working as a nanny for two months in Buckingham Palace. She was beautiful with blue eyes and long brown hair.

She was nice and the children loved her. She never had any problems before.

She disappeared one day at night. The window was opened. The cook discovered that she had disappeared only the next morning. Indeed, he was worried because she didn’t get up to prepare the

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children’s breakfast. He was scared because there was a lot of blood in the room and on the bed and he had never seen so much blood before.

The cook woke everybody up in Duke Charles’s wing with his screams. The Duchess herself walked into the room and inspected the situation. She was shocked. Blood, all over, there was only blood!

A few minutes later, detective Patrick Lemark was entering Buckingham Palace. He had to solve the case as quietly as possible. First, he spoke to the cook.

– She was late to prepare the children’s breakfast so I got worried and I went upstairs to see what had happened.

The detective asked specifically everybody to stick around. He spoke to everybody and afterwards he inspected thorougly the room with the gardener.

– Nothing odd, he said, only that now I recall that a stranger had

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asked to see the Duke. The Duke had a conversation with him in the garden. He seemed to be annoyed, the gardener said cowardly.

The detective was gathering information about the former nanny, Mrs Stevenson. She was now taking care of the Duke’s father, Mr Henry. Although they had been looking for her, they couldn’t find her anywhere.

– Who could ever do something like that?, the detective wondered.

In the morning the sheets had already been removed. The Criminological Agency asked for blood tests.

The detective was wandering through the garden and he was trying to put his thoughts in order. He raised his head up to the window of the room where the crime had been committed. He thought that he saw someone inside.

But he had locked it up himself and had the key in his pocket. He ran up the stairs .

As soon as he got to the room he didn’t see anyone. It was actually

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locked.

A maid was walking through the hall. She hesitantly looked at him.

– Who’s got the key to this room? he asked her.

– I don’t know.

– No one will find out about this, so to speak.

– Oh, by the way, last week I saw the Duke’s son unlocking it after midnight, she said whispering and checking right and left.

The detective was really confused. He decided to stay in Buckingham Palace in order to be close to the case. He wanted to put his thoughts in order so the same night, as he was sitting on a bench in the garden, he heard something. It seemed to him that someone was walking among the trees. He left his seat and carefully followed a dark figure walking silently in the night. The figure entered the forest nearby and kept on walking. Suddenly he stopped in front of a tree – an oak. In the moonlight the detective saw the figure entering his hand in a hollow in the tree.

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When the figure put his hand out, the detective lighted up his lens and aimed at the face.

– Don’t move! he shouted and then he stayed speechless. What on earth..! he whispered…

The light focused on the face of a man.

– You? the detective asked. The figure was holding something, it seemed to be a pouch.

– Well, my dear gardener, it is time to tell me everything you know! the detective said. And first of all, what is in this pouch?

– It is … it’s my payment…

– Payment? the detective asked.

– It is my payment… for my assistance.

Detective Patrick Lemark learnt all he wanted to know. Clara Anderson was a very ambitious person. She had run away after having stolen the Duchess’s gold jewelry. She wanted to go to America, start a new life as a rich young lady far away from this

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country. The gardener had helped her disappear in this way.

– Well, let’s go! the detective said, and he lighted the path.

THE END

Hugo Florian

Christina Irini

Roméo Michael

Peris Sofia

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STORY 5

A Dangerous Relationship

BBC latest news : A girl was abducted in Baker Street! We do not know who the suspect is, but we know that the

victim is a girl, her name is Julie, she is 17, she is tall and thin, she has blue eyes and long, straight, blond hair.

Here is a picture of her. (see picture on the next page)

Julie’s parents decided to hire detective Nick. They asked him to take over the case. Nick talked to the people Julie had seen the day before.

First, he talked to her best girlfriend, Nicko.

– There has been a misunderstanding, but all is well now, she said.

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– What happened? the detective asked.

– Julie has been avoiding me for a long time. She didn’t return my calls last month. She said she was busy, but I saw her with our classmate, Rita.

– I see, the detective said.

In the afternoon, he spoke to her boyfriend, Jack.

– Look, we had an argument the day before yesterday. I saw her in the arms of her former boyfriend . They were just friends, she said.

– And?

– I do not like things like that. I don’t know…

The next day, the detective met his parents and his brother, Peter.

– Well, Julie was a very good sister. She always wanted to be the girl who knows everything. She thought she was always right. A lady!

– We had not noticed anything strange, her parents declared.

– Her picture will be shown again on TV, maybe someone saw something. Could I have a look at her bedroom?

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The detective entered the room. There were pieces of papers above her bed with thoughts and feelings. Some

letters were not clear. As he was looking around her bedroom, his cell phone rang .

– What? Did you find her mobile phone? In a shack in the desert among the trees? Just look at her messages, he said, I’m coming, and he ran out of the house.

Detective Nick went to the cabin and met his colleague. They read the last post and noticed Julie’s ex-boyfriend had called numerous times. His name was Charlie. Detective Nick met Jack in a café the next day to gather information about Charlie.

– Hello!

– Good morning !

– Do you know Charlie?

– Yes, it is Julie’s ex boyfriend …

– Where does he live?

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– He lives in Baker Street.

– Ok, thank you.

Nick Went to see Charlie and asked him questions. Charlie told him that he was with Julie 2 hours before the kidnapping. Charlie showed him a photo he had taken with Julie 2 hours before she was kidnapped, on which the date and time were mentionned.

Nick suddenly understood that Jack was the kidnapper. He ran back to the café to arrest Jack but he was gone. The detective used Jack’s GPS information to find him: he was in a deserted factory, outside London.

He saw Julie on the floor: she was unconscious. Then he saw Jack with a gun in his hand. Nick ran after Jack with a gun. They were suddenly face to face in an office upstairs. They started shooting at each other, but they missed all their targets. Because they had used all their bullets, they continued fighting with knives. Nick managed to hurt Jack’s shoulder, but Jack also managed to hurt Nick on the

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leg. The police arrived just on time to stop Jack right before he killed Nick.

Julie awoke in hospital the next day, but she could not remember anything at first. Nick told her the whole story and she gradually recovered her memory.

Julie and Nick became best friends .

THE END

Xanthippi, Alberto, Thay-Chris, Quentin, Ilhan

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STORY 6

Kidnapping in London

John Cena is a tall and fat man, he has green eyes and he has short, black hair.

He is 22 years old.

He is a chemist.

John has a lot of enemies, because he has a bad reputation.

John Cena loves going for a drink with his friends.

One night he has to join his friend Peter at 7pm to go to a pub but John never arrives.

John has mysteriously disappeared.

The last person who saw him was a young boy who had asked John for the time on his way to Peter’s house. It was 6:40pm, as the detective later found out.

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Peter was waiting and waiting. He called him at about 7.40pm but John didn’t answer. Peter knew his friend very well, he was always on time at his appointments. He decided to wait. The next day, as he still could not find him, he decided to go to the police station.

Gregory Gregoriades, the detective who took over the case, was carefully listening to the events.

– Well, I am going to visit his house and talk to the neighbours. Was he married? he asked.

– No, he has been living alone, Peter said.

The detective arrived at his house at 11.00 am. His neighbour, Leo, was digging his garden. He came as soon as

the detective called him.

– We were friends with John. He was a nice guy, he always liked having a good time. He was enjoying life. No,no,

I had no problems with him. We talked last morning. He was going

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to his hairdresser and then he would meet his

partner, Paris Kotsifides. They had to discuss something serious according to John.

The detective had to talk to Paris Kotsifides but he was not in town. He decided to have a look at his lab as he

had some time. He entered the chemistry laboratory. The phone rang. His assistant, Marie, gave him new

information.

– Yes, a boy… He saw the photo on TV, yes. Aha! He asked John for the time? Ok, thank you for calling, Marie!

He looked around: there were many glasses and liquids in bottles all over the shelves. He saw a notebook on the

right side of his desk and a lot of papers. In the notebook there was an appointment with three friends at 2.00pm.

He read: Paul Pollack, Nikola Monro, Cammilla Mitteran.

– Well, let’s start, whispered Gregoris Gregoriades.

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The three people arrived at 6.00pm at the police station. They looked worried and surprised.

– We were talking about business, some experiments and the progress of his work. We knew each other from

college, Cammilla said.

– We had fun! I didn’t notice anything strange, Nikola confirmed.

– I can’t believe it. Where is he? Just a minute… Yes, I remember! He said something about a fight, he had

quarrelled with Simon Borovi, his assistant at the lab.

– Thank you, the detective said. Keep in touch!

As they left the room, the phone rang.

– Yes, Mr Kotsifides, you are back. Could we talk at about 6.00pm? Thank you.

Paris Kotsifides was waiting in the café. He was wearing a black t-shirt, as he had said. The detective sat on the

chair.

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– Well, big case! Nothing at all so far the detective said.

– I have to say that we didn’t actually meet with John. I had to leave immediately to go and see my parents, so

I postponed our appointment. I have learnt about his disappearance just from you, Paris said.

– Did you know if he had any enemies? the detective asked.

– Enemies? A lot of enemies, my dear detective, Paris said, and laughed loudly.

The detective asked Paris :

– How many enemies does John have ?

– I don’t know precisely, but one of them is very dangerous : his name is Albert Octopus.

– Who is this guy ? the detective asked.

– He’s a dangerous serial killer. He has already spent 20 years in prison for the murder of a whole family, Paris

said.

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The detective went home and started investigating on Albert Octopus .

Detective Gregoriades discovered that both Paris and Albert Octopus often went to a bar called “The

Shakespeare”, near Trafalgar Square, so the next day he decided to go there .

The detective went to the bar to ask the waiter if John was much hated .

– John is a nice person who drinks a lot, often bets and spends a lot of money. He often quarrels when he loses

and when he is drunk. I witnessed an argument with his colleague Borovi. One night John actually fought with the

Octopus band, the waiter answered .

– Octopus? Who is he excatly? Can you give me more details?, the detective asked.

– Octopus is an evil guy. He is a terrible bookmaker to whom John

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owes a lot of money. He is violent. He has already gone to jail. The whole city is terrified because he has already threatened a lot of people, the waiter answered .

The kidnapper was Octopus, no more doubt about it. He was hiding in St Paul’s Cathedral. The kidnapper managed to escape in a big car, leaving John unconscious in the cathedral. Three policemen went after Octopus.

The kidnapper killed a policeman but two other policemen arrived and they arrested him. He was sentenced to a

5-year imprisonment.

John spent three months in the coma before he suddenly woke up one day.His coma had totally transformed him: he was a very nice guy now!

THE END

Florian Romeo Hugo Giannis Vaggelis

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STORY 7

Behind the Bars

After having spent two years in prison, that was Sarah’s first moment in the free world. She was finally free. Sarah opened the door of a black car and after a few minutes she entered the house. Suddenly, the phone rang and she took it. It was her best friend Alice.

– Hello Alice! How nice to hear your voice!! Listen, I have just gone out of prison. And now, they ‘re going to pay for everything they have done.Two years in prison for money I hadn ‘t stolen. Will you help me?

– Yes, of course! How can I help you?

– Meet me near Big-Ben.

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She hung up and left . A few hours later, Sarah was alone near Big-Ben. Alice was not there . She started wondering what had happened to Alice . She picked up her phone and called her friend , but no answer . She decided to go back down. Suddenly, in the stairs, she found Alice’s bag. She opened the bag and she saw the letter: it said ” I have your friend “…

Sarah was surprised. She was trying to think what to do. Finally she drove to the police station. She was ready to open the door of the car when a message from an unknown number arrived on her mobile phone.

She read the message: ” If you go to the police, your friend will die”.

“Damn”, she shouted and drove back to her house. She had to think: who was behind all this? She entered her house when she felt something falling down her leg. An envelope. She read the paper inside:

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” we want 500.000£ for your friend or she will die. Wait for our call”.

Sarah was very confused.

In fact, Alice knew a lot of things about her case. She had made a lot of research while Sarah was in prison. Alice had actually managed to find who had accused Sarah of stealing the money.

She was in danger, and Sarah knew they would kill Alice even if she gave the money. She should talk to the police.

The telephone rang. ” Meet us in two days in Central Park, near the statue of the Grey Woman, alone, at 8.00 in the morning”.

Sarah dialed the number of the prison. ” You told me to call in case of troubles. I have to get in touch with the police; I need to talk to a detective but secretly”.

After a while a 60 year-old lady rang the bell to Sarah’s house.

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She entered the house and sat on the couch. Sarah opened her eyes as the old woman started talking with a very young voice. ” I am detective Roza”.

They had made a plan. Sarah explained everything to detective Roza.The day of the meeting arrived. Sarah walked to the statue and left the suitcase with the money near it. As she was looking right and left, someone moved between the trees. She ran away as the first shots were fired.

The policemen appeared a few minutes later with three men and a woman whose hands were tied.

“Alice! “, Sarah whispered. Then she looked suprised. One of the men was the manager of the bank where she was working before she had been accused of the holdup .

“You, here ! You are behind all this!” she shouted. Alice confirmed her. ” I found everything while you were in prison. He was the thief.”

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The policemen took them away. Sarah went with Alice in the park.

” How did you find out all this?” Sarah asked.

” Well, it is a long story and I need a strong coffee” she said and they both laughed.

THE END

Irini, Marine, Sofia, Christina, Chloe, Ioanna, Myriam,

Christos, Alexandros

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STORY 8

The Assistance of the Older Woman Seemed Useful

TV Flash, recent news:

Yesterday evening N.K escaped from the police station where he was held on charges of stealing his neighbour M.L. He has been living in Pentavryssos. A woman told the police that she had seen him in Perdikkas. He was holding a knife and was heading to the old deserted hotel of the village.The police are looking for him. Any information would be very helpfull.

TV Flash, recent news from Perdikkas : Evening news:

NK is a famous actor. He has already played in a lot of

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blockbusters. He is an alcoholic and a drug addict. He already went to jail a few years ago because he had fought with his rich millionaire neighbour ML. NK had then confessed that he was in love with ML’s wife. ML was very jealous.

Today, NK stole a car in front of the old deserted hotel of the village but the police chased him. He drove too fast and he missed a bend and the car fell from the cliff into the sea. The police didn’t find NK’s body. A few hours later, the police announced that ML’s wife was missing too. We heard that 500 000 euros were missing from the safe. Interpol issued an international arrest warrant against NK. If you see these 2 persons (pictures with NK and ML’s wife on the screen),call that number immediately: 02 83 41 67 98 .

TV Flash, latest news:

Two days ago NK was seen in a supermarket in the area of Kozani. The police were called immediately but unfortunately they couldn’t find him. He had managed to escape. Yesterday evening

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an old lady could not sleep so she went out in the yard of her house. As she was looking around she saw a light in the abandoned factory at the end of the village.

The light was moving from one place to another. She entered the house and dialed the number of the police station. A group of policemen circled the building, entered the factory and finally caught NK – yes, he was the person with the light- and ML’s wife.

They were taken to the police station where they waited for their lawyers. The woman claimed that she had been kidnapped. As it seems the case is still open. The police thank everybody for their help. Especially the old lady.

THE END

Lilian Haralabos Hugo Roméo

Florian Giannis Vaggelis

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STORY 9

Grandma’s House

Matt was very excited. He was looking forward to the school party. He and his friend, Taylor, arrived by seven o’clock. All the classmates were there.The party had begun, with music and lights. One hour later, Matt went to the kitchen for a little more juice. He took time to return so Taylor went to look for him. As he entered the kitchen, he was suprised to see some muddy footsteps. At the same time a message arrived on his phone. The letter “h” was on the screen. Nothing else. The message had been sent by Matt five minutes earlier.

Taylor called the police and the party ended. The police arrived 30

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minutes later. They collected the footprints and the DNA and asked Taylor for the telephone to know the place where Matt was thanks to his message. The police followed the signal which led them to the top of Big Ben. The police found Matt’s telephone with some blood and a message appeared: “If you want to see Matt alive again…” but the telephone suddenly turned off.

After a while Taylor’s phone rang. A voice said: “If you want to see Matt again you have to pay me 500.000$”.

Taylor freaked out and went to the bank. He was informed that he had only one $. He went home and he had a bath to try and relax. Although he went to bed, he couldn’t sleep as he was thinking again and again about Matt. In the afternoon he decided to go to the cinema. He saw Star Wars in 3D. He was trying to relax and to decide what to do. Suddenly an idea came up to him. He called Matt’s girlfriend, Jenna, and he asked her if she had seen Matt recently. She had not seen him for a week…

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Taylor decided to call the police and inform them about the incident. Detective Harry, who was in charge of the case, had already questioned most of the friends and relatives. He had only one more call to make.

In the afternoon the phone rang at the Simpson’s house. Mrs Polyxeni, Matt’s grandma, picked up the telephone.

-Yes, Matt? He is here. Just a minute! Matt, someone wants to talk to you!

Detective Harry had already solved the case. Matt had just made another prank to his friends…

THE END

Peris – Quentin – Thay-Chris – Ilhan – Michael –

Sofia – Christina

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STORY 10

A Secret in the Cellar

Once upon a time, five friends were living in Perdikkas, a village in Greece. They liked riding their bikes and making tours around the village. One day they arrived in an old village of the region where no one lived. A small chapel was at the end of the village. They left their bikes and entered the yard. One of them stumbled and his foot got caught into something. They looked carefully and they discovered an old link. They pulled on the handle and, surprise !, they saw a cellar. They opened it and discovered a lot of corpses. Terrified in front of these horrors, the 5 children took their bikes and went back to Perdikkas.

But the children met a man on their way. They told him not to go to

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the village but the man didn’t listen. Once in Perdikkas, the 5 children went to the police station. The policeman went to the crime scene and discovered that the corpses belonged to English tourists from London. Detective Papaya decided to go to London with the 5 children.

“Children, I’ve conducted a research about the corpses and I have discovered that, as tourists, they had ID cards with them in order to travel. These are their ID cards. This is the reason why we came here, to learn information about the victims”, said detective Papaya.

After a few days of research, detective Papaya and the children learnt something very strange: the ID cards didn’t belong to anyone. Neither now nor in the past. They didn’t belong to anyone except for one: an ID card that had the face of a strange man. The children, when they looked carefully at the man on the picture, figured out that the face belonged to the strange man they had seen while he was walking on the road to the abandoned village.

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– But how can this man be both alive and dead at the same time? one boy asked.

– Maybe this man… never died. Anyway, we have to go back to Greece, immediately! I think I know what happened or what… didn’t happen.

Within a few hours, they were back in Perdikkas.

– Children, I want you to call the police right now and to tell them to come to the chapel of the mysterious village. I’m going there right now…

Papaya entered the cellar where the corpses were and started examining carefully the corners. Suddenly appeared the man they had seen on the ID card.

– Go away, or you will end up like these!, the man whispered, aiming at Papaya with his gun and showing him all the corpses.

– I would be happy if someone made a… wax sculpture of myself!, Papaya said with a cunning smile.

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– What? What do you mean? , the man asked.

– And how do you explain this? , Papaya said, holding the wax sculpture of a man. All these corpses are fake, made of candle! You put them here in order for them not to melt. You made up all this in order to terrify the residents of this village and to make them go away so that you could live here by yourself ! But now it’s over!

The man stared at Papaya; he was totally petrified. Then, the police entered and arrested the man.

Since then, people have started to come back to their homes in the village again. They’ve lived forever safe and happy, thanks to Papaya and the courage of the five brave friends!

THE END

Lilian, Dimitris, Grigoris, Florian, Rafail, Roméo, Hugo

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STORY 11

`

Mysteries in the Library

Ryan works in a small library in London. That night he decided to stay at work late because he had a lot to do. Later, he thought he should lock the basement door so he went downstairs. He noticed that the door was half-opened and the light was on. He approached quietly, he opened the door and all of sudden, the lights went off! Then,

…suddenly, the lights went on again . Ryan saw a black shadow jumping onto him with a dagger and hit him in the chest. Ryan could only scream before he was stabbed. The shadow ran away, leaving him dead on the floor. The scream was heard by the neighbours. Immediately some of them called the police. After a

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while the police arrived and discovered the weapon near Ryan’s body. They were able to collect some fingerprints.

They discovered it was …

…not too late. Ryan was still alive! However, in the library basement, strange things had happened before the police arrived.

In fact I was there and I saw everything. The figure was looking for a book, a specific book. One with comics and some heroes. He had found it and he was turning the pages. When Ryan entered the room, he was shot down. The shot frightened Ryan and he fainted. The thief went near him to see if he was alive. As he was touching his hand, he heard a dog barking. He tried to leave the basement. He turned his head and realised that he was in a very difficult situation. Someone was chasing him. In fact …

…he was followed by Ten Ten, Superman and Indefix. In front of him there was Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. Rapunzel threw her long hair to her friend and they both tripped the thief. He fell down

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and injured his hand. Indefix started barking as he was approaching him. I heard him barking louder and louder. Suddenly as the police entered the library, I saw all the heroes running away and hiding in the middle of the opened book, the one with the comics. But I could still hear Indefix barking or…

…I opened my eyes! My dog, Ira, was pulling my leg. I looked at the clock.

– It is time to get up! mum shouted.

– Oh, no, I whispered, and I put my head under the pillow.

THE END

Rafail, Louloudia, Myriam, Chloé, Xanthippi, Marine

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STORY 12

A Watch on the Floor

The four friends entered the monastery after a several-hour trip. It was evening. The monks welcomed them.They were very tired so they went to bed. Joe was very thirsty and went to the kitchen for water. As he returned to his room he saw a shadow in the hallway and heard a door closing. He didn’t see anybody. He was almost near his room when he looked at his friend’s room. The door was open. He entered. The curtains were waving in the opened window and down on the floor he saw his friend’s watch. Michael was nowhere.

Joe, who was very nervous, awoke his friends to tell them about Michael’s disappearance. They all got up and informed the abbot of

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the monastery. Then they went to the police headquarters that were nearby.

They explained the problem to the policemen. The group of friends answered a lot of questions and the police investigation started. The policemen asked them those questions:

– When did Michael disappear ?

– Who was he with last night ?

– Does someone hate him ?

– Who saw him for the last time ?

Joe said everything he knew to the detective. It must have been 9.00pm when he found the door of Michael’s room open.

– We arrived at the monastery at about 8.00. One hour later I went to the kitchen, Joe said.

– What about the other two friends? detective Leonis asked.

– We are classmates and we are all good friends. Sometimes we have problems but…Ok, Andreas and Michael actually had a fight

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yesterday morning. They didn’t talk to each other for the rest of the day, Joe said.

– Aha, the detective said, and he had another look at Michael’s watch which was on his desk.

He had to talk to the other two friends. He had to go to the monastery, too. A visit of his room and a conversation with the monks were something that he could not avoid.

The detective talked to the other two friends.

– We didn’t go immediately to bed. We sat in the living room and talked about our trip. We talked about football, too. Michael is an excellent football player! Suddenly we felt very tired and we decided to go to bed. It was 7.45pm. I remember it because Michael asked me for the time. He had no watch, Andreas said.

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– Is it true that you had a fight in the morning? the detective asked.

– Yes, it is true. That’s why we were in the sitting room, talking about that. I apolozised to him for my behaviour, Andreas said.

Paul had gone early to bed with Joe as he said to the detective.

– I went to my room, I was very tired. I listened to music for a while. It helps me relax, you know. I was trying to sleep when I heard a noise outside the door. It seemed to me that someone was trying to carry something heavy. Well, I opened my door just a little and I saw ….

the back of a figure disappearing in the corridor, Paul said. I am so upset about Michael’s disappearance! He is such a nice guy!

Detective Leonis had to talk to the abbot of the abbey. A young monk led him to the central hall. An old man, abbot Theodoros, was waiting for him.

– I don’t know what to say. We are all so confused! We didn’t see the visitors at all. They were so tired that they didn’t eat last night.

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They talked for half an hour and then the detective asked to see the visitors’ rooms. He entered Paul’s room, a tidied and clear room. His suitcase was locked. The detective wondered why. Then it was Andreas’ turn. A camera was on the table next to his bed. He checked Michael’s room, the opened window, his suitcase. Then he walked to Joe’s room. As he was entering his room, the sun was shining. He felt that he had stepped on something.

– Have the boys ever come here? he asked adsend-mindedly.

– Only … Andreas and Joe, the abbot said. Andreas’ s cousin, Patrick, is a monk here. But today he is in the city to buy some colours. He paints saints.

– I think it is time to have a cup of coffee all together, the detective said mysteriously.

After a while, detective Leonis looked at the three friends and the abbot, drank a sip of his coffee and said:

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– Well, it is time to learn where Michael is. You are going to tell us everything, aren’t you? he said and he looked at Andreas.

– I don’t know anything! he shouted.

– Of course you don’t. I was talking to …Joe! the detective said and he took a metallic object out of his pocket . It comes from Michael’s watch and I found it in your room. Where is he?

– I don’t know either, he said.

– Where is he? the detective asked again, staring at him.

– Ok, then … I could not bear him. He was always the first in football, in drawing, in music. Everybody loved him. Last night we had a talk. He wanted to organize everything. He told me that I was not good at making a program. I got very upset and I hit him in the head.

– Where is he?

-….

– Speak, now!!!

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– He is OK, I’ve locked him … in the attic.

The abbot stood up.

– Please, detective, let’s have a talk before your report, he whispered.

THE END

Michael, Alberto Stefan Mocanou, Thais, Emma, Peris, Haralabos, Sasha

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Twelve Locked Doors

by Perdikkas, Lefkopigi, Simon Lucas Middle Schools

Artwork: The pupils of Perdikkas and Lefkopigi, Greece, and of Etang-Salé, Reunion Island

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WRITERS and TEACHERS:

Under the London Eye

STORY 2

A Terrible Secret

A Mysterious Disappearance

The Secret of an Oak

A Dangerous Relationship

Kidnapping in London

Behind the Bars

The Assistance of the Older Woman Seemed Useful

Grandma’s House

A Secret in the Cellar

Mysteries in the Library

A Watch on the Floor