Amazing Mystery Show (6 page)

“Then where’s my special cup?” Benny asked as they hurried over. “That’s what I want to know.”

“It’s here somewhere, Benny,” Violet assured her little brother. But a part of her wasn’t so sure.

“Maybe it’s
inside
the building,” Jessie suggested after some quick thinking.

“Let’s check it out!” Henry was already kneeling down by the pint-sized building. He tugged gently on the front door and it swung open.

Everybody held their breath as Henry stuck his hand into the opening and patted all around.

“Anything there?” Benny asked in a hushed voice.

“Ta-daah!” cried Henry. When he turned around to face them, he had a cracked pink cup in his hand. Standing up straight, he held the cup out to his little brother. “I think this belongs to you, Benny.”

The youngest Alden was all smiles as they made their way back to the hotel. “I’ll never let it out of my sight again,” he said. “Not ever!”

“One thing’s for sure,” said Henry. “Andy’s looking more and more suspicious.”

Jessie nodded. “I know what you mean,” she said. “He certainly knew Violet was getting film developed.”

“Maybe he went back to the photo shop this morning,” Henry concluded, “and slipped an extra picture into our envelope.”

“I don’t think Andy’s the nice person he pretends to be,” Violet admitted reluctantly.

“Not if he was trying to distract us,” Jessie agreed.

Henry added, “This time, his plan didn’t work.”

Benny agreed. “We found my cracked pink cup just like that!” he said with a snap of his fingers.

The Aldens looked at each other. Would they find the last gold coin just like that?

“Don’t open the box just yet, Jessie,” Andy was saying. “One more minute and we’ll be set to go.”

While the Aldens waited on an empty bench, Violet whispered, “Did you see Fiona’s reaction when Benny walked into the lobby?”

Next to her, Jessie nodded. “She couldn’t take her eyes off his cracked pink cup.”

“It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” Violet sighed. “It’s hard to know what’s really going on.”

“Are you ready now?” Benny called out to Andy. The youngest Alden was wiggling with suspense.

“Ready!” Andy called back, propping his camera up on his shoulder.

With a quick motion, Jessie flipped open the lid of the wooden box and removed a small sheet of paper. As she read the riddle aloud, the other Aldens leaned closer to catch every word above the noisy traffic.

“A kind of ship

that never sails—

it bites and spits

and has a tail.

What is it?”

“I’ve never heard of a ship with a tail,” said Henry. “Or a ship that never sails,” added Jessie. The Aldens thought long and hard about the strange riddle. Benny was the first to break the silence.

“I bet Fiona bites and spits,” he said with a frown.

“Oh, Benny!” cried Violet. “I know she’s not very friendly, but I don’t think she bites and spits.”

“She sure wasn’t friendly to Hilary yesterday,” Jessie recalled.

“Fiona’s hard to figure out,” put in Henry. “She doesn’t even want the Best kids to make friends with us.”

“I guess she doesn’t place any value on friendship,” Violet said with a shrug.

Benny’s big eyes got even bigger. “That’s it!”

The other Aldens looked over at him, puzzled. “What’s it, Benny?”

“The answer to the riddle!” Benny almost shouted. “It’s
friendship
.”

Jessie thought about this. “That’s a good guess,” she said. “But—”

“It doesn’t bite and spit,” Benny finished with a sigh.

“It doesn’t have a tail, either,” Henry pointed out.

Benny’s face suddenly brightened. “A dragon has a tail,” he said. “And it bites and spits fire, too!”

“That’s true,” said Violet, smiling a little. “But a dragon isn’t a kind of ship.”

That didn’t stop Benny. “How about a ship filled with so many dragons that it can’t even float?”

The others burst out laughing. “Keep trying, Benny,” said Henry. He gave his little brother a pat on the back.

Andy suddenly spoke up. “How about we change location,” he suggested. “That fountain in Franklin Square would make a better background. How does that sound?”

The Aldens thought it sounded just fine. Andy stopped filming as they headed for the park.

“It’ll seem strange to go back to normal,” said Violet. “Without a camera following us around, I mean.”

“I know,” Henry was quick to agree. “I can’t believe this is our last day on the show.”

Hearing this, Andy said, “Actually, it’s my last day on the show, too.”

The children stared at the cameraman in surprise.

“What happened?” Violet asked in alarm. “Was the show cancelled?”

“No, nothing like that,” Andy told her. “I accepted a job with another station.”

The Aldens all looked at each other, stunned.

“You’re leaving ‘The Amazing Mystery Show?’” Jessie could hardly believe her ears. “But … why?”

“I thought you liked working for the show,” Benny said, looking confused.

“It’s a great place to work,” Andy was quick to say. “But there’s one catch.”

As if on cue, the Aldens asked, “What’s the catch?”

“The show frowns on its employees dating each other.”

“You’re talking about you and Hilary, right?” guessed Violet.

Andy didn’t deny it. “We had to keep it a secret or we’d lose our jobs,” he confessed. “But I can’t do that anymore,” he added. “You see, I’m planning to ask Hilary to marry me.”

“Oh, how sweet!” Violet said, a dreamy lookin her eyes.

“I know how much Hilary loves working on the show,” Andy explained. “So … I decided to make the switch.”

Henry nodded his head in understanding. That’s what Andy had meant on the phone. He wasn’t talking about switching the landmarks on the map. He was talking about changing jobs.

Andy looked over at the children sheepishly. “I’m sorry for not being honest with you before,” he said. “You must’ve wondered when you saw the photo of us together, Violet.”

“I’m glad you told us,” Violet said, as they drew near the fountain. “It explains a lot.”

The Aldens looked at one another. They were each thinking the same thing. They could cross Andy off their list of suspects.

The four children turned their attention back to the riddle as they perched on the edge of the fountain. Andy, who was standing nearby, started filming again.

Henry read the riddle aloud one more time to refresh everyone’s memories. “A kind of ship that never sails, it bites and spits, and has a tail. What is it?”

“I keep thinking we’re close to figuring it out,” Jessie added thoughtfully. “I just can’t quite put my finger on what it is.”

“What’s the matter, Benny?” Violet asked when she heard her little brother sigh. “Thinking about something?”

Benny nodded. “I was thinking about putting through the crack in the Liberty Bell.”

“We’ll come back tomorrow and have a game, Benny,” Henry said. “That’s a promise.”

“And we’ll go for a ride on the camels,” Violet added.

“Did you say”—Jessie paused—“camels?”

Violet nodded. “The ones at the zoo, Jessie. Remember?”

“Camels have tails … and they bite and spit,” Jessie said slowly, figuring it out as she spoke. “And they’re called—”

“Ships of the desert!” Henry cut in. “Ships that don’t really sail.”

Jessie’s eyes were shining. “Guess where we’re going?”

The others were ready with an answer. “To the zoo!” they all cried out.

Just then, something caught Violet’s eye. A woman with curly red hair was sitting on a bench nearby reading a newspaper. She was wearing sunglasses with tortoise-shell frames. The woman was peering over her paper, staring at the Aldens.

Violet leaned closer to the others. “Let’s get going,” she whispered nervously.

With that, the Aldens headed for the bus stop with Andy close on their heels.

A warm breeze was blowing when the Aldens arrived at the Philadelphia zoo. They could tell it was going to be a hot day.

“I just knew we’d figure out that riddle,” Benny said as they headed along the tree-lined walkway.

Henry gave his brother a big smile. “It does look like we’ve got a real shot at winning.”

As they rounded a bend, they caught sight of the camels. “Now, where’s a good hiding place for a gold coin?” Violet said, glancing around.

“Let’s split up again and check all around,” Jessie said in her practical way.

Andy held up a hand. “Listen, kids, I’m just heading for the washroom. Don’t find the gold coin before I get back, okay?” he added with a wink.

Henry laughed. “It’ll take us a while to look around.”

While Andy walked over to the washroom, the four children started their search for the gold coin. It wasn’t long before Violet called out, “Over here!”

As the others hurried over to where Violet was standing under a tree by the side of the walkway. They watched as she reached into the hollow of the tree and pulled out a gold coin.

“Way to go, Violet!” Henry praised. He tucked the gold coin Violet handed him into his back pocket.

Just then Violet spotted something that made her gasp. “She followed us!”

“Who?” asked Henry, glancing around.

“See that woman standing by the water fountain over there?” Violet said in a hushed voice.

“The one reading the map?” Benny asked. “I can’t really see her face.”

“She’s just pretending to read the map,” Violet said in a hushed voice. “This is going to sound a bit weird,” she added, “but I think that’s the same woman who was just at Franklin Square.”

“Are you sure?” Henry asked in surprise.

“She has the same red hair and the same sunglasses,” answered Violet, who had an artist’s eye for detail.

“It could just be a coincidence,” said Jessie. “Maybe she was planning to go to the zoo today.”

“But she’s watching us, Jessie,” Violet insisted. “She keeps peeking over the map at us. And she was doing the same thing at the park.”

“There could be a good reason for that,” said Henry.

“Like what?”

“We’re being filmed, Violet,” Henry reminded her. “That would make anybody curious.”

Violet had to admit Henry had a point. Still, she had a hunch there was more to it than that.

“You know what would really be funny?” Benny piped up. “If it was the same woman who almost knocked me over. She had red hair, too.”

“Now that you mention it,” Violet said slowly, “it just might be the same woman.”

“She didn’t even say she was sorry,” said Benny, who still couldn’t get over it. “She just said, ‘Honestly!’ and hurried away.

“Fiona!” Violet suddenly realized there was only one person it could be.

The other Aldens looked over at Violet, puzzled.

Benny scrunched up his face. “Fiona doesn’t have red hair, Violet.”

“But she was coming out of a store that sells wigs,” Violet pointed out. “Right?” She kept her voice low. She didn’t want her suspicions picked up by the recorder clipped to the back of her shorts.

“They even sold
purple
wigs,” Benny said, nodding his head up and down.

“Fiona really wants that trip to Hawaii,” Violet reminded them, eyeing the woman uneasily.

Henry didn’t look convinced. “Enough to wear a disguise and spy on us?”

“And steal my special cup?” added Benny.

Violet nodded. “I knew there was something familiar about the woman who almost bumped into Benny. But I couldn’t figure out what it was,” she said, “until Benny reminded me of what she said.” Violet looked around at her sister and brothers. “What’s Fiona’s favorite expression?”

Jessie shrugged. “You’ve lost me, Violet.”

“Her favorite expression is ‘Honestly!’” answered Violet. “That’s what she’s always saying.”

“You’re right, Violet.” Henry nodded his head slowly. “And it’s an interesting theory, but—”

“It isn’t enough to go on,” finished Jessie.

Henry thought about this for a moment. Then he snapped his fingers. “I have an idea,” he said as a foolproof plan flashed into his mind.

“What is it?” Benny wanted to know.

Henry made a big point of looking at his watch. “We’ve got lots of time,” he said, his voice booming. “Let’s take a look around the zoo.” He fished the gold coin from his pocket and put it back into the hollow of the tree. “We can come back for this later.”

“What if the Best kids find it before we get back?” Benny asked in alarm.

Henry waved this away. “Don’t worry, they’ll never find it.”

“But, Henry,” said Jessie, “how can you be so sure?”

“Just go along with me on this, okay?” Henry said without moving his lips. “I’ll explain on the bus ride back to the hotel.”

The other Aldens looked at each other. What was their older brother up to?

Later that morning, when the Alden children were chatting with Hilary and Andy later that morning, the Best kids suddenly burst into the lobby.

“We did it!” cried Rosie.

Fiona and Mike stepped into the lobby behind them. “I knew they could do it,” Fiona said, beaming.