Amazing Mystery Show (7 page)

“Do what?” Hilary looked confused.

“Become five-time champions, of course,” said Fiona. “What else?”

Rob handed the gold coin to Hilary. “We found it in a hollowed tree.”

“Near the camels at the zoo,” Timmy added.

“I was just on my way back from shopping,” Fiona explained, “when I spotted them racing down the street. Can you believe they won the third round before lunch?”

“No, I can’t believe it,” said Hilary. “You see, this isn’t even one of our coins.” She was shaking her head as she looked closely at it.

Fiona’s smile faded. “What …?”

“Our coins have the name of the show on one side,” Hilary explained, “and the number of the round on the other side.”

“So?” Rosie shrugged.

“This
coin has Betsy Ross on one side,” said Hilary, “and the first American flag on the other.”

“The Aldens already found the real coin,” Andy informed them.

Rosie looked over at Fiona in surprise. “But, you said …” Her words trailed away.

The children caught the look. Hilary had seen it, too.

“What do you know about this, Fiona?” Hilary demanded.

“Me?”
Fiona pointed to herself. “How would I know anything about it?” she snapped. “It’s clear the Aldens have played some kind of trick on my nieces and nephews.”

“We didn’t play a trick,” Henry said, his eyes never leaving Fiona. “We set a trap.”

“A trap?” A look of shock crossed Fiona’s face.

“We saw you spying on us!” said Benny, his arms folded. “You were wearing a red wig and sunglasses,” he added, “but Violet knew it was you.”

Henry nodded. “I just let you think I was putting the coin back into the hollow of the tree,” he said. “But it was in my pocket all along.”

Jessie added, “Henry actually put a Betsy Ross coin back in the hiding place.”

Fiona gave an angry toss of her head. “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” she said. “I have nothing to hide. Nothing whatsoever.”

“You switched the landmarks on our map,” Violet said quietly. “We kept getting lost.”

“And you stole Benny’s cup to distract us,” put in Henry.

Hilary looked from Fiona to the Aldens and back again. “Is any of this true, Fiona?”

“I told you it wouldn’t work,” Rob muttered.

“Rob, please!” Fiona gave her oldest nephew a warning look. “You’re not helping matters.”

“I think you have some explaining to do,” said Hilary, who was pacing around the lobby. “What do you have to say for yourself, Fiona?”

“Okay, okay!” Fiona held up her hands in surrender. “Maybe I did get a bit carried away,” she admitted. “But I figured if my nieces and nephews won, it would help the show’s ratings. What’s wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Hilary looked horrified. “That’s not the way to increase ratings, Fiona! Any hint of cheating would ruin the show.”

Fiona shrugged. “My mistake,” she said, forcing a laugh. “I was just trying to help,” she added, trying to make light of everything.

“And get a free trip to Hawaii,” said Henry, watching Fiona closely.

“You should be happy the Aldens won,” Andy told Fiona. “Otherwise, your nieces and nephews would be forced to withdraw from the show.”

“I can’t believe it, Fiona,” said Hilary, sounding more disappointed than angry. “I knew you were determined to win, but I had no idea you would stoop to cheating. What kind of example are you setting for these children?”

Fiona lowered her eyes and her face reddened. She sank down into a chair, looking defeated. After a moment’s silence, she began to speak. “When I heard that the Aldens were first-class detectives, I started to get worried,” she said. “I found some landmark stickers in the gift shop,” she went on. “It started me thinking.”

“So you stuck them to one of the maps,” Jessie guessed. “Only, you put them where they didn’t belong.”

“That’s why you handed out the maps and brochures that first morning,” Violet realized. “You wanted to make sure we got the mixed-up map.”

Fiona didn’t deny it. “But you won the first round anyway,” she said with a sigh, “so I bought a wig and sunglasses and followed you.”

“Then you stole my cracked pink cup,” Benny said accusingly.

“I didn’t mean any harm,” said Fiona. “After all, it was just an old cup.”

“It wasn’t just an old cup to Benny,” Jessie said.

“It was more than that,” added Violet. “A lot more.”

“I’m truly sorry,” Fiona said in a small voice. “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not very proud of.”

Fiona told her story quickly. When she saw the Aldens going into the photo shop, she decided to leave them a snapshot clue to the whereabouts of Benny’s cup. The next morning, she went to the photo shop and pretended to be picking up the photos for Violet. Instead, she added her own picture to the envelope.

Fiona looked over at the Aldens. “I realized what good detectives you were,” she said, “when you found the cup so quickly.”

“So you decided to follow us again,” Violet concluded.

Fiona nodded as she went on with her story. She followed the Aldens to Franklin Square. When she heard them talking about going to the zoo, she told her nieces and nephews. She had spotted them checking out the wooden animals on the carousel nearby. Then she drove out to the zoo in her rental car and waited for the Aldens to arrive. By a stroke of luck, she watched Henry put the gold coin back into its hiding place. At least, she thought it was the gold coin. She waited for her nieces and nephews to arrive at the zoo. Then she told them where to find the gold coin.

“It seemed like the perfect plan,” said Fiona. “Especially since I made sure Mike didn’t see me talking to my nieces and nephews.” She let out a long, weary sigh. “I just didn’t count on the Aldens setting a trap.”

Hilary shook her head. “I think it’s time for the Best family to pack their bags and leave.”

Looking truly regretful, Fiona walked slowly from the room. The Best kids were close behind her.

Jessie had a question for Hilary. “What did you mean when you said you didn’t like sneaking around and that you’d do whatever it takes?”

“Oh, you heard that, did you?” Hilary was smiling. “It’s not what you think.”

“You were talking about Andy,” guessed Violet. “Weren’t you?”

“Why, yes,” said Hilary, who seemed surprised that Violet knew that. Turning to Andy, she added, “I accepted a job on another television show. Now we won’t need to sneak around anymore.”

Andy threw his head back and laughed. “Great minds think alike,” he said. “I accepted a job on another show, too.”

Violet clasped her hands together. “How romantic!”

Andy looked over at the Aldens. “By the way,” he said, “we need to shoot some film of you kids actually finding the last gold coin at the zoo. I hope that’s okay.”

“Sure,” said Henry. “We never get a chance to wrap up a mystery twice!”

“Can we have lunch first?” Benny asked. “Mysteries always make me hungry”

“Oh, Benny!” Jessie giggled. “Everything makes you hungry.”

At this, even Benny had to laugh.

G
ERTRUDE
C
HANDLER
W
ARNER
discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book,
The Boxcar Children,
quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car — the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible — something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

T
HE
B
OXCAR
C
HILDREN

S
URPRISE
I
SLAND

T
HE
Y
ELLOW
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY
R
ANCH

M
IKE’S
M
YSTERY

B
LUE
B
AY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
W
OODSHED
M
YSTERY

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
M
YSTERY

M
OUNTAIN
T
OP
M
YSTERY

S
CHOOLHOUSE
M
YSTERY

C
ABOOSE
M
YSTERY

H
OUSEBOAT
M
YSTERY

S
NOWBOUND
M
YSTERY

T
REE
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

B
ICYCLE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
AND

M
YSTERY
B
EHIND
THE
W
ALL

B
US
S
TATION
M
YSTERY

B
ENNY
U
NCOVERS
A
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING

T
HE
A
MUSEMENT
P
ARK
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
IXED
-U
P
Z
OO

T
HE
C
AMP
-O
UT
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
G
IRL

T
HE
M
YSTERY
C
RUISE

T
HE
D
ISAPPEARING
F
RIEND
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
INGING
G
HOST

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
NOW

T
HE
P
IZZA
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
H
ORSE

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
D
OG
S
HOW

T
HE
C
ASTLE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
OST
V
ILLAGE

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON THE
I
CE

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
P
URPLE
P
OOL

T
HE
G
HOST
S
HIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN
W
ASHINGTON
, DC

T
HE
C
ANOE
T
RIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
B
EACH

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
ISSING
C
AT

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT
S
NOWFLAKE
I
NN

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON
S
TAGE

T
HE
D
INOSAUR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
TOLEN
M
USIC

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
B
ALL
P
ARK

T
HE
C
HOCOLATE
S
UNDAE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
OT
A
IR
B
ALLOON

T
HE
M
YSTERY
B
OOKSTORE

T
HE
P
ILGRIM
V
ILLAGE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
TOLEN
B
OXCAR