Great Shark Mystery (2 page)

“Violet and I will take this room,” said Jessie, claiming the room on the left. “You boys can take the other room.”

“Okay,” said Henry, putting his suitcase down.

“Now can we see the shark?” Jessie wanted to know.

“Sure,” said Emily. She led the way out the door and back up the path. Violet was curious to see if the man was still at the gate, but he was gone.

The Aldens strolled along next to Emily. They passed several different exhibits. Some were open tanks, like the tropical fish pool. Others were buildings marked with signs such as PENGUIN HOUSE or MANATEE HAVEN.

“I love penguins!” Violet said.

“I’ve never heard of a manatee,” said Benny.

Emily laughed. “I can see this is going to be a busy week,” she said. “Don’t worry, we’ll spend time with all kinds of different animals.”

At last they came to a building with a large sign that simply read SHARKS! in menacing black letters. “The smaller sharks are in there,” Emily explained. “But we needed a larger tank for the great white, so it’s in the old Beluga whale tank over there.”

The Aldens followed Emily toward a large enclosure. A hastily painted sign on the outside read COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH A GREAT WHITE SHARK!

“Are you ready?” Emily asked.

The Aldens looked at one another. Grandfather smiled, and the older three children nodded eagerly. Benny took a deep breath and then slowly nodded.

One by one, the Aldens stepped through the doorway, with Benny bringing up the rear.

Ahead of them was a huge glass tank. The Aldens stepped to the glass and peered in. In the dim light, it was at first hard to make out what was in the tank. But then a shape began to move toward them, slowly, slowly. It seemed to be swimming straight at them.

The Aldens were face-to-face with a real live shark. And there was nothing between them and the shark but a pane of glass.

As the shark glided by, it opened its mouth slightly. The Aldens caught a glimpse of rows and rows of sharp, pointed teeth.

“Look at all those teeth,” said Violet.

“And look how big they are!” said Jessie.

“Sharks have several rows of teeth,” said a voice behind them.

“Thousands of teeth altogether. When some fall out, others fill in. And their teeth can be as big as three inches tall.”

Emily and the Aldens turned around to face the speaker. He was tall, dark-haired, and muscular. His skin was weathered from many years in the sun and wind. He smiled kindly at the Aldens, then turned to Emily. “Are these the visitors you told me about?”

“Yes, Mac,” she replied, motioning to each one as she said their names. “This is James Alden, and his grandchildren Henry, Violet, Benny, and Jessie. This is Mac Brody, animal curator here at the park.”

“Wait a minute,” Henry said, looking at Mr. Brody and then at Emily. “Did you say
Mac Brody?
I think I read a book about you.
Tales of
…”

“The Sharkman?”
Mr. Brody chuckled. “That’s my autobiography. I’m glad to hear somebody’s reading it.”

“Wow! Did you really do all those things, Mr. Brody?” Henry asked.

“I did indeed,” he replied. “And you can call me Mac.”

“You swam with sharks?” Henry said. “And survived an attack by a great white?”

Mac nodded. “Yes, a great white shark once tried to kill me, and now I’m trying my best to keep another great white alive.”

Benny looked up at Mac, his eyes wide.

“What do you mean?” asked Violet.

“This shark got caught in a net and was brought here. But great whites don’t do well in aquariums,” Mac explained. “They’re very mysterious animals—extremely sensitive to electrical currents and other changes in their environments. So they have to be taken back to the ocean or …” Mac’s voice trailed off.

“Or what?” asked Violet.

“Or they die,” said Mac.

“Now you’re trying to convince children?” said a voice. Walking quickly toward them was a tall woman with curly black hair. She was wearing a business suit and high heels.

“Anita,” Mac said. “This is James Alden, along with his grandchildren, the kids who are staying in the visitors’ cabin. This is the director of the park, Anita Carver,” Mac continued.

The Aldens all smiled. “It’s nice to meet you,” Mr. Alden said.

“Thanks for letting us come visit,” said Henry.

“I hope you enjoy your stay,” said Ms. Carver. She smiled, but her tone was curt. She didn’t seem to want to chat. “Now, if you’ll excuse us a moment.” She and Mac stepped off to one side. Emily and the Aldens stood by the tank, watching the shark swim. But they couldn’t help overhearing the conversation nearby.

“I got your note,” Ms. Carver was saying. “We can’t just let the shark
go.”

“If we don’t, it will die.” Mac’s voice was angry. “A great white won’t survive in captivity.”

“Can’t we just build a bigger tank or something?” Ms. Carver asked.

“No great white has ever survived in an aquarium for more than a few days,” Mac replied. “Anyway, it would cost a lot of money to build a bigger tank. And we don’t even have enough money to fix up the tanks we already have. We simply can’t afford to keep it.”

“We can’t afford not to,” Ms. Carver said. “That shark has brought us more publicity and more visitors in the past day than we usually have in a month! You saw the headlines and the crowds clamoring to get in here today. At last we have something to compete with the big fancy theme parks.”

Mac’s face was bright red with anger. “This isn’t a theme park. It’s a place where people care for and learn about ocean creatures.”

“Without money, we can’t care for any animals,” Ms. Carver said.

“But that doesn’t mean—” Mac began.

Ms. Carver waved her hand. “Don’t worry. I have a plan to get some money for the park.”

“What is it?” asked Mac.

Ms. Carver bit her lip. “I can’t say. It’s risky. But I think it’s the answer to our problems.” She looked at the tank. “And the shark’s.” With that, she turned on her heel and left.

Mac sighed heavily. He looked upset.

Emily and the children walked to where he was standing. “I guess she didn’t agree with you,” Emily said.

“No,” Mac said, his voice weary. “She just doesn’t get it.”

“She doesn’t know anything about animals. All she knows is money,” Emily muttered angrily. “She’s been cutting the budget anyplace she can. She cuts care for the animals, cuts people’s salaries—she doesn’t care who she hurts—” Emily stopped abruptly, as if realizing she’d said too much.

Mac looked at Mr. Alden and the children before replying. “That isn’t quite fair. Ms. Carver only took over here a month ago, when her uncle left her the park in his will. She can’t help it that she went to business school instead of studying animals. She’s doing the best she can. But with attendance at the park dropping, we soon won’t have the money to care for the animals properly.” He ran his hand through his short hair. “If only I could figure out a way to do something.” Mac walked off by himself, deep in thought.

The Aldens spent several more minutes watching the shark. Benny was fascinated—the shark was frightening, but in a strange way it was also beautiful.

“It’s getting late,” Emily said. “I’d better take you guys back to your cabin. Then I’ll give you a lift to my dad’s,” she told Mr. Alden.

As they walked back to the cabin, Emily was quiet, thinking. Once inside the cabin, she turned to the Aldens and said, “I really shouldn’t have said all those things about Ms. Carver. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. She and I have just had a bit of a rocky start since she came here.”

“What do you mean?” Violet asked gently.

“I’ve worked here for five years, since when Ms. Carver’s uncle was the director,” Emily began. “He was a man who loved animals … but he didn’t have the best business sense. That’s why the park got into such bad shape in the first place. Ms. Carver is just the opposite. When she first came, she cut salaries because the park wasn’t making enough money. Then she told me I didn’t focus enough on my work—that I don’t always have my mind on the animals. But that’s not true! Ever since then I’ve been trying to prove her wrong.”

“Sounds like a difficult situation,” said Mr. Alden.

Emily looked at her watch. “I’d better take you to my dad’s before it gets too late, Mr. Alden.”

Grandfather gave each of the children a hug. “If you need me, Emily has the phone number,” he said. “See you in a few days.”

“I’ll come by tomorrow morning,” Emily told the children.

“Good night!” they called as Emily and Mr. Alden left.

The next morning, Emily arrived at the Aldens’ cabin with a bag of bagels in her hands. “I’ve brought breakfast.”

“Thanks,” said Jessie. “But you don’t need to provide all our meals. Grandfather gave us money for that.”

“There’s a grocery store right downtown,” Emily said. “It’s an easy walk. Have a bagel, and then I’ll tell you how to get there. When you get back, you can join me at the Dolphin Arena.”

A short while later, the Aldens were on their way into town. They’d passed the post office and a toy store when suddenly they spotted a group of people and a police car up the road. “What’s going on up ahead?” Violet wondered.

When the Aldens got closer, they saw the police car was parked in front of a small store called Wilson’s Jewelers.

“What’s happening?” Jessie asked a woman who was standing nearby.

“It’s just awful!” said the woman. “There was a burglary here last night!”

“Excuse me, did you say a
burglary
?” asked Jessie.

“Yes, someone stole some diamond jewelry,” the woman said. “The owner of the store, Pete Wilson, is talking to the police.”

“Let’s get a closer look,” Benny said.

“I think we should stay out of the way,” Jessie began, but Benny had already run right up to a pair of police officers who were speaking with Mr. Wilson. One of the officers was holding a small notebook and making notes in it.

“So you said there were several people in the shop last night?” the officer with the notebook asked.

“Yes, it was quite busy,” said Mr. Wilson. “And my sales assistant was out sick, so I was on my own. Anyway, I locked up at the usual time and went home. When I came in this morning, I noticed one of the cases was unlocked. And a whole tray of diamond jewelry was missing.”

“Looks like an inside job,” one of the officers said. The other nodded.

Benny waited for the men to finish talking and then said, “Hello, I’m Benny Alden. Those are my two sisters and my brother. Maybe we can help. We’re good at solving mysteries.”

The officers smiled at Benny. “Thanks for offering, but I think we can handle it.”

“Well, if you need us,” Benny said, “we’re staying at the Ocean Adventure Park.”

Jessie caught up with her little brother. “Sorry for the interruption, officers,” she said, taking Benny’s arm. “We’re going now.”

As they walked off, Benny turned to his sisters and brother. “Can you believe it? A mystery!” The Aldens loved to solve mysteries.

“I think we’ll let the police handle this one,” Henry said, ruffling his brother’s hair.

Benny looked disappointed. “Okay,” he said softly. Then his face grew thoughtful.

“What is it?” Jessie asked.

“I was just wondering,” Benny said. “I heard the police saying something about this looking like an ‘inside job.’ What does that mean?”

“That means that it was done by someone who works there,” Jessie explained.

“I wonder why they think that,” said Benny.

“Probably because there’s no sign of someone breaking into the store,” Henry said.

“That’s true. I don’t see any broken windows or anything,” Benny said.

Violet had been walking off to one side. Suddenly, she stopped and bent to pick up something off the ground. She stood looking at the object for a moment, turning it over in her hands.

“What’s that?” asked Jessie.

“It’s a card key,” said Violet. “One side is blank, but the other side says ‘Ocean Adventure Park.’”

“That’s like the key Emily used back at the park to get through the gate to our cabin,” Jessie said.

“I think we’d better show it to the police,” said Henry. “It may be evidence.”

The Aldens started walking back toward the police officers, who were getting into their patrol car. Mr. Wilson had gone inside the store.

“Excuse me!” Jessie called, waving to the officers. “Excuse me!”

The officers had just shut their doors, and the Aldens heard the engine starting.

“Officer!” Henry cried out.

But they were too late. The police drove away.

“Oh, well,” Henry said. “You know this key may not have anything to do with the burglary anyway.”