Boardwalk Mystery (6 page)

Just then, the lifeguards stood up in their stands and began to blow their whistles. They began to wave at all the swimmers to get out of the ocean. Everyone jumped up and ran to the water’s edge to see what was going on.

“There’s something in the water!” a woman cried, picking up her toddler.

“Maybe it is a whale!” Benny said.

“It’s big, whatever it is,” said a man. “There are three strong lifeguards dragging it out of the water.”

Suddenly, there were gasps from the crowd. The lifeguards came out of the water and the people all moved out of their way. They were carrying the zombie from the haunted house!

“It’s our zombie!” Benny cried.

“This is yours?” asked a dark-haired lifeguard.

Wendy stepped forward. “It is from Hanson’s amusement pier,” she said. “It belongs to my father.”

“How did it get into the water?” asked the lifeguard. “You cannot dump things you do not want in the ocean. That man over there hurt his ankle banging into your zombie. He could not see it beneath the waves.”

An older man sat on a blanket in the sand. He rubbed his ankle as he talked with one of the lifeguards. “I’m fine,” the man said. “It’s just a little bruise. No need to make a fuss.”

“We’re so sorry that anyone got hurt,” Wendy said. “But we did not dump the zombie in the ocean.”

“Someone stole the zombie from the haunted house!” Benny said. “The thief must have put the zombie in the ocean.”

The lifeguard looked concerned. “A thief? You should call the police,” he said. “They should investigate this.”

“No!” Will said quickly. “We do not need the police.” He looked at Wendy. “I’m sure it was just a prank.”

Wendy nodded. “We’ll get to the bottom of it,” she said. “We will take the zombie back to the haunted house right now. No one else will get hurt.”

Henry, Will, Zach, and Hunter lifted the zombie. Saltwater ran out of holes in his metal shoes and from his eyes.

“It looks like the zombie is crying,” Benny said.

“Yes, it does,” Wendy agreed. “I feel like crying, too. I feel so bad.”

Hunter put his arm around Wendy. “You don’t have anything to feel bad about,” he said. “This is not your fault.”

Wendy looked down at her feet. “In some ways . . .” she began.

“Let’s go!” Will said. “Let’s get this zombie back right away!”

After the older kids had left with the zombie, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny cleaned up the sandwich wrappers and napkins from their picnic and folded the towels.

“I sure could go for some ice cream,” Violet said.

“That’s a great idea, Violet,” Jessie said. The children headed up toward the boardwalk.

“Where shall we go?” asked Benny. “There are so many different places!”

Just then, someone called out to them. “Hey, kids!”

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny turned. Mrs. Reddy was hurrying toward them.

“I heard that Carl Hanson is so upset with the things going on at his amusement pier that he threw his own zombie into the ocean! Isn’t that terrible?”

Violet’s lips were pressed tightly together while Mrs. Reddy spoke. “Mrs. Reddy,” Violet said. “I am sure that Mr. Hanson would not have thrown his own zombie into the ocean.”

“Well then, how did it get there?” she asked. “When I ran the amusement pier, none of the ghosts or zombies from my haunted house ever went missing. And none of my property ever ended up in the ocean! And did you hear that some poor man got hurt by the zombie in the ocean? I heard that a wave threw the zombie on top of the man and he got knocked out. He almost drowned!”

“We were there on the beach,” Henry replied. “The man only banged his ankle into the zombie under the water.”

Mrs. Reddy clicked her tongue. “I don’t know,” she said. “But that is what I heard. Things are getting bad on that amusement pier. Carl Hanson needs my help. You should tell him that.”

Violet looked thoughtful. Mrs. Reddy seemed like a person who liked to be busy and useful.

“Maybe you can help us,” Violet said. “We are looking for some ice cream. Do you have a favorite ice cream stand on the boardwalk? Would you have the time to take us there?”

Mrs. Reddy smiled. “Of course!” She linked her arm through Violet’s. “Come with me!”

The children walked a half block to Kohr’s frozen custard stand. Mrs. Reddy waved to the man behind the counter. “Noah!” she said. “Here are some special guests. These are the Alden children. They have never been to our boardwalk before. I told them that you serve the best ice cream on the whole coast!”

Noah smiled at the compliment. He introduced himself and welcomed the children. While he made their cones, Mrs. Reddy talked nonstop.

“Noah, did you hear that Hanson’s zombie knocked out an old man in the ocean? Poor man almost drowned!”

“I did hear that,” Noah said. “Your friend Karen stopped by earlier. She told me. As a matter of fact, there she is now.” Noah pointed across the boardwalk.

“Oh yes,” Mrs. Reddy said. “I see her. I promised to help her out in her souvenir shop today. Take care, kids. Enjoy your ice cream. And make sure you tell Carl Hanson that he can call me any time he needs advice.” Mrs. Reddy hurried off to join her friend.

The children walked toward a bench to eat their ice cream. Benny’s cone was vanilla dipped in a hard chocolate shell. Violet got a twist of orange crème and vanilla with rainbow sprinkles. Jessie chose strawberry with chocolate sprinkles and Henry had a thick milkshake.

“This is delicious!” Violet said. She watched the people stroll along the boardwalk while she ate her cone. “Look,” she said. “There is the photographer.”

Donna Mancini was snapping photos of a small sandwich shop with a “Grand Opening” banner hanging over the front door. A man in an apron stood under the banner.

“I wonder if that man will get his picture in the paper,” Benny said.

“The picture might be for the paper Benny. But it might be for an advertisement for the new store as well.” Violet was very interested in photography and she enjoyed watching Ms. Mancini work.

As she watched, Violet saw someone familiar pass by. “Isn’t that Bob Cooke?”

Henry, Jessie, and Benny looked across the boardwalk. Mr. Cooke was alone. He was walking quickly. Suddenly, Mrs. Reddy and her friend approached Mr. Cooke. He stopped to talk with them. The children were too far away to hear what he was saying. But Mr. Cooke was smiling.

“What is wrong with Mr. Cooke’s pants?” Benny asked.

“I noticed it, too, Benny,” Violet said.

Mr. Cooke was wearing a pair of long tan pants. But from the knees down, the pants were very dark. The children also noticed that Mr. Cooke’s sneakers left footprints on the boardwalk. It looked as though he had gotten wet somehow.

Mr. Cooke looked up from his conversation with Mrs. Reddy. He saw the Aldens. He looked down at his pants, then quickly hurried away.

A
fter their ice cream, the children headed back down to the beach. They arrived just in time.

“Hurry!” Jessie called.

The tide had come in. Their blanket and towels were just about to get drenched by the ocean! The children grabbed their things and moved them back out of the way of the water.

“That was close,” Jessie said.

“Hunter told me about the tides,” Benny said. “He said that when the tide goes out, I might be able to find some cool seashells to take home as souvenirs.”

“It will be fun to look for them,” Violet said. “But would you like to help me build a sand castle right now?”

“Sure!” Benny said.

When the castle was finished, the children sat in the sand and waited for the tide to come in.

Violet watched the waves breaking. “Do you think that Mrs. Reddy made up the story about the zombie hitting the man in the head? Or do you think she heard it from someone else?”

“I don’t know,” Jessie said, tracing her finger through the sand. “It is always hard to tell where rumors start.”

“One thing we do know,” Henry said, “is that Mrs. Reddy certainly enjoys spreading rumors.”

“I think she is just lonely and bored,” Violet said. “I think she is sorry that she sold the amusement pier.”

“I wonder what was she talking to Mr. Cooke about,” Jessie said. “Do you think that Mr. Cooke and Mrs. Reddy could be working together to ruin Hanson’s Amusement Pier?”

“Last time Benny and I saw Mr. Cooke and Mrs. Reddy together, they were fighting,” Jessie said. “But today they were not. Mr. Cooke was smiling.”

“I’m not sure if they are working together or not,” Henry said. “But if Mr. Hanson cannot stop these rumors soon, his amusement pier will fail. No one will go there.”

“We have to think of something to stop all these rumors,” Violet said.

“Watch out!” Jessie cried.

A big wave came. It hit the castle and the walls fell away. Big chunks of sand slid into the ocean. Only the very top of the tower with the sea grass flag still stood.

“That was so cool,” Benny said. “I love playing in the sand. Can we build another castle?”

“We can, but not right now,” Jessie said. “I think we should go back to the house and get cleaned up. It is getting late.”

The children splashed into the ocean and rinsed the sand from their arms and legs. They collected their things and walked back to the Hanson’s beach house. Wendy waved to them from the porch.

“I was just going to come to look for you,” she said. “How was the beach?”

“It was great!” Benny said. He told Wendy all about their sand castle and how the tide had come in and knocked it down.

“That does sound like fun,” Wendy said. “Do you kids have any plans for tonight?”

“No,” Jessie said. “We have not planned anything.”

“I hate to ask this,” Wendy said. “You have already done so much to help. But my father has lost two more employees today. There are so many rumors. People think that the amusement pier is unsafe. They think it is going to close soon. My father could really use your help tonight.”

“Of course we’ll help,” Jessie said. “We’ll be glad to,” Violet added.

The children showered and dressed. They rinsed their bathing suits and hung them to dry out on the line in the sun. Benny had a small collection of seashells that he had found. He set them in a pile by the steps.

Benny sat beside the shells. “Jessie, do you think I could buy a big bucket to put my shells in?” he asked.

“I think that is a good idea,” Jessie said. “We should get some shovels, too, Benny,”

Henry said. “We can build an even bigger castle with shovels.”

“I would like to stop in the souvenir shop as well,” Violet said. “I want to buy something to remember our trip.”

“We should leave right away,” Jessie said. “That way we will have time to go into the stores before we are needed at the amusement pier.”

“I’ll be right out,” Violet said. Violet went back into the house. She wanted to get her money from her bedroom. She had just opened her drawer and was looking through her things when she heard Wendy and Will talking in the hallway.

“Did the kids leave yet?” Will asked in a quiet voice.

“Yes,” Wendy said. “Did you get the zombie back in place in the haunted house?”

“Dad was working on it,” Will said. “But there is a bolt missing. I don’t know if the zombie will be working by tonight if we can’t find that bolt.”

“Where could it be?” Wendy asked. “Are you sure that you don’t have it?”

“I don’t have it, Wendy,” Will said.

“Okay. I’m just checking,” Wendy said. “Because we agreed that our plan was . . .”

Violet felt uncomfortable listening to a private conversation. She grabbed her money and closed the drawer very loudly.

Wendy and Will stopped talking. Wendy peeked around the corner and into Violet’s room. “Violet!” she said. “I thought you had gone to the boardwalk.”

“I forgot my money,” Violet said. “I want to buy a souvenir in one of the shops. I am leaving now.”

Violet joined Henry, Jessie, and Benny outside, and the children headed down the boardwalk. On the way, Violet told her sister and brothers what she had overheard.

“What kind of plan do you think Wendy meant?” Jessie asked.

“I don’t know,” Violet said. “And why would Wendy think that Will had the missing bolt?”

“It could be that Will misplaced the bolt when he was putting the zombie back,” Henry said. “Sometimes, when I am fixing things, I misplace a bolt or a screw. It can happen very easily.”

“Look!” Benny cried. “Here is the store! Can we go in?”

At the Beach Stop Shop, Benny picked out a blue bucket and a large red shovel. Violet found a small jewelry box decorated from top to bottom with very tiny seashells.

Then the children paid for their purchases and left the store. They soon passed a woman in a white apron and a tall chef’s hat. She stood outside Laura’s Fudge Shop with a tray. “Would you like to try some of our fudge for free?” she asked the children.

“Free fudge! I would like some,” Benny cried. He tried the chocolate peanut butter flavor. “It’s so good!” he said.

“I’m glad you like it,” the woman said. “We also have delicious saltwater taffy.”

Benny shivered. He remembered when he accidentally got saltwater in his mouth when he was boogie boarding with Hunter. It did not taste good. “You put saltwater in your taffy?” he asked.