Cereal Box Mystery (2 page)

She held up the box, but Benny shook his head. “No, I’d already opened it. It’s okay.”

He took the box from Ms. Smitts and put it back in the basket.

“Thank you for helping us,” said Henry.

“Of course,” said Mr. Darden. He shook his head and smiled a little. “I guess I wasn’t meant to buy an engagement ring today.”

“We’re just lucky no one got hurt,” Ms. Smitts said. She waved at the Aldens and walked briskly away.

“Maybe I’ll do a little more shopping,” Mr. Darden said. He smiled again and made his way slowly down the sidewalk, stopping to peer into the different windows.

“Wow,” said Benny. “A robbery. With rubies! We’ve found another mystery to solve, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” Jessie said. “Maybe we can help Mr. Bellows.”

Benny grinned. “Hooray,” he said. “Now we have a party
and
a mystery!”

“Whoever took the jewels must have known they were the most valuable thing in the store,” said Henry. “It had to be somebody who knew about jewelry.”

“But no one even knows what he looks like,” said Violet.

“The police will probably catch the thief,” Henry said. But even though he said that and his brother and sisters agreed, they still talked about the mystery of the stolen rubies all the way home.

They were so busy talking that they didn’t even notice the person who followed them.

W
atch pricked up his ears. He raised his head from his paws and growled softly.

“What is it, Watch?” Benny whispered, sitting up.

Watch had been sleeping at the foot of Benny’s bed. It was very late. Benny could tell because the house was so quiet and dark. The only light was the night-light in Benny’s bedroom.

“Grrr,” growled Watch again. He hopped off the bed and ran to Benny’s bedroom door. He scratched at it.

Benny got out of bed, too. Had Watch heard something?

“Shhh,” he whispered to Watch.

Watch pressed his nose against the crack beneath the door and sniffed.

Benny reached down and gripped Watch’s new red collar. Slowly, quietly, he pushed the door open. Very, very carefully, he walked down the hall to Henry’s room next door. He pushed Henry’s door open and crept inside.

“Henry,” he whispered. “Henry, wake up. I think there is a burglar in our house.”

Watch growled again, more loudly He pulled against his collar.

Henry sat up. “What?” he said sleepily. Then, realizing what Benny had said, he gasped, “A burglar?”

At that moment they heard a loud crash from downstairs. Watch barked and pulled free from Benny’s grasp. Barking loudly, he ran out of the room.

“What is it?” Jessie cried. The door of her room banged open as Henry and Benny ran past.

“Burglar,” whispered Henry.

Grandfather came out into the hall and hurried after them, followed by Violet.

They heard a hoarse shout as they ran down the stairs. Then a shadowy figure ran across the hall and out the front door, with Watch at its heels. The door slammed, almost catching Watch. He yelped and jumped back, then leaped at the door again, scratching at it and barking louder than ever.

Grandfather turned on the light. A flowerpot by the front door had been turned over.

Violet and Benny ran to calm Watch.

“Good boy,” Violet crooned. “You scared the burglar away.”

“You’re brave, Watch,” said Benny, giving Watch a big hug.

Watch wagged his tail, but he gave one more soft growl, as if warning the burglar not to come back.

Henry crouched by the overturned flowerpot. “Look,” he said. “The burglar left a footprint. A big footprint.”

“So did Watch,” Jessie added.

They studied the footprints. But although Watch’s footprint was very clear, the burglar’s footprint was smeared as if he had slipped. “The only thing you can tell from this footprint,” Henry said at last, “is that the burglar had big feet and he was in a hurry!”

They went into the kitchen and stopped in amazement. Jessie threw out her arms. “What a mess!” she said.

Someone had broken a pane of glass in the back door and reached through it to unlock the door and come inside. Most of the cabinets had been opened. A bag of flour had been thrown on the floor, where it had burst open, coating everything in soft white powder. A loaf of bread had been knocked from the counter onto the floor.

“It doesn’t look as if anything is missing,” said Grandfather. “I’ll call the police.”

Jessie said, “Why would the thief break into the kitchen? What would he look for?”

“Maybe the thief was hungry,” said Benny.

Grandfather said, “Whatever the burglar was up to, it’s a good thing Watch barked when he did and scared him away.”

Watch wagged his tail.

“We’ll get up early and clean up this mess,” Jessie said. She yawned suddenly. “I’m sleepy.”

“Me, too,” said Benny. He yawned also. “But we should stay awake in case the burglar comes back.”

“I don’t think he will, Benny,” Grandfather said, patting Benny’s shoulder. “And besides, Watch will be on guard.”

“That’s true,” said Benny in a sleepy voice.

Violet shuddered. “That’s two robberies in one day — at Antique Treasures and now at our house.”

“But we don’t have any jewelry for the thief to steal,” said Benny. “He must not be a very smart burglar.”

After Officer Weatherspoon from the Greenfield Police came and questioned Grandfather about the robbery, Grandfather taped a piece of cardboard over the broken pane of glass and the Aldens went back to bed.

Everyone got up early the next morning to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

They had the kitchen almost finished when Benny stopped. His mouth dropped open.

“Benny? What’s wrong?” asked Grandfather.

Benny pointed to the top of the refrigerator, where Mrs. McGregor had put his two unopened boxes of Silver Frosted Stars. “My Silver Frosted Stars,” he said. “They’re gone!”

“Maybe they fell behind the refrigerator,” Jessie suggested. “The burglar could have bumped into it and knocked them off.”

Jessie was right, but only half right. She only found one box of Silver Frosted Stars behind the refrigerator. The other box of cereal wasn’t anywhere in the kitchen, or in the whole house.

“That is very strange,” Henry said. “Why would anyone take a box of cereal?”

“Do you think they were collecting silver stars, too?” asked Benny.

Henry shook his head. “It doesn’t seem likely.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Violet said.

“What we have,” Jessie said, “is another mystery.”

Benny frowned. “That was bad, to steal my Silver Frosted Stars.”

Violet put her arm around Benny’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Benny,” she said. “You still have one box, as well as the one you had already opened.”

Jessie looked around. “Where is that other box?” she wondered.

“In the pantry,” Benny said. “Mrs. McGregor put it on a low shelf in there so I could reach it. And it’s a good thing, too, or the thief might have taken it, also.”

“It’s okay, Benny,” said Violet. “We’ll get you another box of Stars.”

“Okay,” said Benny. He sighed. “Talking about cereal has made me hungry!”

“How many bowls of Silver Frosted Stars are you going to eat, Benny?” asked Grandfather Alden after they’d begun eating their breakfast.

Benny poured milk over his second bowl of cereal. “Lots,” he said. “I just need one more silver star before I can send away for my detective’s badge. I’m almost done with this box of cereal. Then I can open a new one.”

“I see,” said Grandfather Alden. “In that case, pass the cereal, please.”

A moment later, Jessie looked around the table and burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny, Jessie?” asked Henry.

“We’re all eating Benny’s cereal!” she said.

Just then Grandfather said, “Well, well, well. What’s this in my cereal?” He held up a small ring with a big green stone in it.

“Look what I found!” Violet exclaimed at the same moment. “A pink ring.”

Benny looked surprised. “You found two more prizes in the cereal box? Wow, I told you this was a good box of cereal when I picked it out at the store.”

Grandfather said, “I don’t think this ring will fit me.”

“I think Jessie should have it,” said Benny generously. “And Violet, you can have the pink ring.”

Both Violet and Jessie looked pleased. They thanked Benny. Jessie’s ring fit on her little finger. But Violet’s was much too big for her. She had to take tape and wind it around the band so that the ring would fit. “It’s a pretty pink stone,” she said. “But it’s heavy.”

Grandfather opened the newspaper. The story of the theft was on the front page. “Look at this,” he told his grandchildren. “It’s about the Antique Treasures robbery.”

“What does it say?” Jessie asked.

Henry leaned over his grandfather’s shoulder and read, “ ‘Mr. Marvin Map, a known jewel thief, was captured by the police near the scene. Although Map was wearing a tan raincoat similar to the one described by witnesses, the police could find no evidence linking him to the crime. The jewels are still missing.’ ”

Next to the article was a photograph of Marvin Map. It showed a man with a thin face and a pointed chin and cool gray eyes.

“Oh, good,” said Benny. “I’m glad they didn’t catch the thief.”

“Benny!” exclaimed Violet. “You don’t mean that.”

“No,” Benny said. “I just meant that now we can help solve the mystery.”

“Well, if Marvin Map didn’t do it, who did?” asked Jessie.

“Maybe there were two people wearing raincoats in Greenfield yesterday,” Henry suggested.

Grandfather said, “It wasn’t raining yesterday. It seems unlikely that there would be two people wearing raincoats.”

“True,” agreed Henry.

Jessie said, “Maybe the thief hid the jewels when the police weren’t looking.”

“That’s an idea,” Henry said thoughtfully. “He could have hidden them when the police weren’t right behind him. Maybe if we found out where they caught Mr. Map, we could search for the jewelry there.”

“Let’s go look right now!” said Benny.

“We will, Benny,” Jessie said. “Just as soon as we finish our cereal!”

“W
e should go to the police station and ask them where they caught Mr. Map,” Henry said as they cleared the dishes from the breakfast table.

“While we are in Greenfield, we could get supplies to make decorations for Grandfather’s party,” Violet suggested.

“Good idea, Violet,” Jessie said.

“What’s this about a party?” asked Mrs. McGregor, coming into the kitchen. The Aldens told her about their plans to give their grandfather a surprise birthday party. Mrs. McGregor thought it was a wonderful idea. She told them that she could make a cake that was even prettier than the one at the bakery. “And it will be your grandfather’s favorite flavor, too,” she assured them. “Chocolate with butter-cream frosting.”

“And pink and lavender sugar roses?” Violet asked.

“With green sugar leaves,” Mrs. McGregor added, nodding.

“We have to call Alice and Joe and Soo Lee to invite them,” said Jessie. Soo Lee was the Aldens’ adopted cousin from Korea. Like the Aldens, she had been an orphan, until the Aldens’ cousins, Alice and Joe, had adopted her.

The Alden children had not been living in Korea when they were orphans. They had been living in an old boxcar in the woods. After their parents had died, they had run away because they had heard that their grandfather was a mean man.

But it wasn’t true. He had searched and searched for them and finally found them and brought them all to live with him in his big white house in Greenfield. He had even brought the old boxcar and put it in the backyard so that they could visit it whenever they wanted.

Jessie called Soo Lee and told her about the plans for Grandfather’s party. “Come over this afternoon and help us make decorations and plan it,” she said.

Soo Lee agreed to ride her bike over right after lunch.

“We’d better hurry,” Violet said. “We have a lot to do before Soo Lee gets here.”

Leaving Watch with Mrs. McGregor, the Aldens rode their bikes into Greenfield. First they went to the police station.