Hartman Mysteries

As the box hit the floor of the chopper, the electronics went haywire, its lights flickering wildly. “It’s a trap!” the pilot screamed. The helicopter, unable to stabilize its flight with the box’s interference, was forced to land and shut down. Minutes later, the real authorities—led by a friend of Papa’s from the “International Mystery Bureau”—swarmed the clearing....

“There’s an emergency exit!” Aiden shouted, pointing to a red handle shaped like a fire extinguisher. Michael pulled it. A section of the floor dropped away like an elevator, lowering them rapidly until they reached the very bottom—the secret tunnel they had been in earlier! They burst through the potting shed and sprinted into the woods, the storm now a full-blown roar. The &#82...

Instead of falling into a fireplace, the children slid down a smooth metal chute that deposited them onto a plush, velvet-covered floor. Michael clicked his flickering flashlight on. “Whoa,” Aiden breathed, looking around. They were in a room that shouldn’t have existed. It was a perfectly circular chamber hidden right in the center of the house’s massive chimney stack. The walls...

The searchlight blinded them, turning the rain into stinging needles of white light. “Stay where you are!” the man shouted from below. “We can’t go down, and we can’t go back,” Emma whimpered. “We go up,” Michael said, looking at the steep pitch of the roof. “If we can get to the chimney, there’s a lightning rod we can use to steady ourse...

A heavy fist pounded on the oak door, making the hinges groan. “We know you’re in there, kids,” the oily voice of the man in the trench coat called out. “Make it easy on yourselves. Just slide the box under the door.” “Not a chance!” Michael shouted back, his voice cracking only slightly. He looked around the attic for a weapon or a way out. “Michael...

“We have to get to the box before they do!” Olivia cried. “We left it on the kitchen table!” The siblings sprinted across the rain-soaked yard, using the overgrown hedges for cover. They slipped through the back mudroom door just as the front doorbell rang—a long, aggressive chime. Michael snatched the wooden box from the table. “Emma, give me the key!” He jamme...

The vibration grew into a low rumble, and with a groan of ancient mortar, a section of the stone wall recessed and slid sideways. “A secret passage!” Emma exclaimed, her fear momentarily replaced by the thrill of discovery. “Look!” Aiden pointed his stick. Beyond the wall lay a narrow tunnel, the air smelling of damp earth and old coal. “We can’t stay here,” Mic...

“Stay here, Aiden,” Michael commanded, but the five-year-old shook his head. “I’m a detective too!” he insisted, gripping Michael’s shirt. The four of them crept toward the basement door. The old house was full of strange noises during a storm, but this was different. There were footsteps—slow, deliberate, and heavy—moving across the concrete floor below. Michael slow...

The growl echoed again, deeper this time. Michael’s instincts kicked in. “Get behind me,” he whispered, his eyes scanning the thick curtain of pine needles. Emma clutched Olivia’s arm, while little Aiden held his favorite walking stick like a sword. “Is it a bear?” Aiden whispered, his voice trembling only slightly. “Bears don’t hum, Aiden,” Olivia replied...

The old house creaked and groaned around Michael and Olivia, a symphony of settling wood and ancient memories. As teenage twins, they knew every secret shortcut through its rambling hallways, every loose floorboard, and every dust bunny that resembled a forgotten pet. Their younger sister, Emma, although she wasn’t much younger, was usually right behind them, a whirlwind of boundless energy...