Great Shark Mystery (3 page)

“You’re right,” Violet agreed. “Maybe whoever dropped it was here yesterday before the store was robbed.”

“Maybe …” said Jessie. “But it does make me wonder.”

“When we get back to the park, we’ll take the key to the main office,” Henry suggested. “Then whoever lost it can come claim it.”

“Good plan,” said Jessie. “Now let’s go get our groceries.”

The grocery store was two blocks farther down the main street. The children loaded up with eggs, milk, juice, bread, jam, butter, ham, cheese, and fruit. They also bought some spaghetti and a jar of sauce for dinner. Then, carrying their bags, they headed back to their cabin.

On the way, the Aldens stopped to drop off the card key at the main office. It was a small room with a counter containing brochures about the park. Behind the counter was a door leading into a smaller office. The sign on the door read, PARK DIRECTOR.

Ms. Carver came out of her office when she saw the Aldens come in.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Hello,” Henry replied. “We found this card key someone must have lost.” He placed it on the counter.

“Thank you,” said Ms. Carver. “Where was it?”

“It was in front of Wilson’s Jewelers,” Jessie said.

Ms. Carver looked up sharply. “In front of Wilson’s?” she repeated.

“Do you know that store?” Jessie asked.

“Yes,” Ms. Carver said. “Mr. Wilson is … a friend of mine.” She picked up the key and turned it over in her hands.

“The store was robbed!” Benny said.

“Really?” Ms. Carver said. “How terrible.”

“Has anyone reported their key missing?” Henry asked.

“No, not yet,” Ms. Carver said. “Actually, only a few people in the park carry this kind of card key—people at the director level. The others have blue card keys.” She handed the key back to Henry. “You keep it. You’ll need it to get in and out of your cabin and around the park.”

“But what about the person who lost it?” Jessie asked.

“That’s not your concern,” Ms. Carver said. “But I do have extra keys for people who’ve lost them.” Then she walked quickly into her office and closed the door.

Outside of the building, Violet said, “It was nice of her to give us the key.”

“I don’t know if
nice
is a word I’d use to describe her,” Jessie said.

“No, she isn’t very friendly,” said Henry.

“We’ll have to check back later and see if anyone came in to get a new key because they’d lost theirs,” Jessie suggested.

“Do you think the person who lost the key is the one who robbed the store?” Benny asked.

“That might be,” Jessie replied.

“Ms. Carver mentioned that only a few people have that kind of key,” Henry pointed out. “Like Emily and Mac.”

“I can’t believe either of them would rob the jeweler’s,” said Violet. “They could have just shopped there and dropped their card, you know.”

“That’s possible,” said Jessie. “We can ask them.”

The Aldens used their new key to open the gate leading to their cabin. After they’d put away their groceries, they went to the Dolphin Arena, where Emily had said she’d be. The arena was a small stadium with a pool of water in the center and rows of seats in a semicircle, sloping up from the pool.

The children followed the crowd of people who were entering the stadium.

“I wonder where Emily wanted to meet,” Henry said, looking around.

The Aldens scanned the stands, looking for Emily. They didn’t see her anywhere.

Just then, over the loudspeaker, they heard a familiar voice say, “And now, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats. The show is about to begin!”

The Aldens looked at the platform beside the tank and saw Emily in a bright blue bathing suit, holding a microphone and waving to the crowd.

“Cool!” said Benny. “She’s doing the show!”

The Aldens quickly found seats a few rows up from the pool.

“Welcome to Ocean Adventure Park,” Emily said. “I’m Emily Ballard, head animal trainer here at the park. I’d like to introduce two of my friends, Pearl and Rainbow.”

She blew on a whistle that was hanging on a cord around her neck, and two sleek dolphins raced from the dolphin tank into the pool. They swam right up to the shallow end where Emily was standing. When Emily leaned over and made kissing noises, the dolphins lifted their heads to hers and gave her “kisses” on the cheek. The crowd cheered.

Emily reached into her hip pouch and pulled out some small fish, which she tossed to the dolphins. Then she swung her arm in a large arc and the dolphins raced around the pool, chasing each other. Suddenly, perfectly timed together, both dolphins leaped out with a giant splash, flipped in the air, and dived back into the water. The crowd roared with excitement.

“Aren’t they wonderful?” Jessie said.

While the dolphins played, Emily talked to the audience. “Everybody knows dolphins live in water. Does that mean they’re fish?”

Several voices shouted out from the audience. “Yes!” cried some people. “No!” shouted others.

“No, they’re mammals!” shouted Benny.

Emily heard Benny’s answer and smiled. “That’s right, they’re mammals just like us. They give birth to live babies instead of laying eggs. And they breathe air, instead of using gills. See that hole on top of their heads? They use it to breathe. It’s called a blowhole.”

Emily waved her hand above her head and the dolphins jumped in the air and sprayed water out of their blowholes.

“That looked like a fountain!” said Violet.

“Did you know that dolphins are some of the smartest animals around?” Emily asked the crowd. “They have many ways of communicating.” Emily motioned and the dolphins came over to where she was standing. On command they made a series of different noises—clicks, whistles, even something that sounded like a person laughing. “That was great, guys,” she told the dolphins, rubbing their heads affectionately and tossing them some more fish from her pouch.

“Scientists are working to understand what all of these sounds mean,” Emily told the audience. She made another signal, and the dolphins dived underwater and smacked the surface loudly with their tails. “This is another way dolphins talk to one another,” Emily explained. “Perhaps to warn others of dangerous animals nearby, like sharks.”

“That is so cool,” said Henry.

“Dolphins are so smart, they’ve been known to rescue people who are shipwrecked and save people from sharks. Some have been trained to help children who are physically or mentally challenged,” Emily said.

“I didn’t know they could do all that,” whispered Violet.

Emily went on, “And they’re also able to learn a lot of commands and signals, so they can do some neat tricks.” She whistled and then held her arm up straight in the air. The dolphins came up out of the water as if standing on their tails. When Emily waved her arm in a circle, they spun around as if dancing. Then she swung her arm a different way. The dolphins went down in the water and swam very fast. All of a sudden they leaped out and touched a ball that hung from a wire high above the water. With each new trick the audience cheered more loudly.

Violet looked around at the cheering crowd. Suddenly, she noticed someone she’d seen before. He was sitting at the other end of their row, watching the dolphins perform. It was the man in the blue baseball cap who had watched them through the gate the night before.

Who was he? And why did he keep showing up where they were?

“Jessie, look!” Violet whispered to her sister.

“What is it?” Jessie asked.

“Look down there!” Violet motioned with her head. “The man in the blue baseball cap.”

“What about him?” Jessie asked.

“Remember, we saw him yesterday, and he seemed to be trying to get our attention?” Violet said.

Jessie wrinkled her forehead. “Oh, yeah, when we first got here.”

“He stayed by the gate after Emily took us down the path to our cabin,” Violet said. “He stood watching us for a long time.”

“He did?” Jessie said.

“Yes, and now he’s sitting right near us,” Violet pointed out. “Does that seem a little … strange to you?”

“It could be a coincidence,” Jessie said. But she knew what her sister was thinking—that the man was there for a reason. “Let’s tell Emily about it after the show,” she said.

The dolphins did several more tricks, but Violet wasn’t able to concentrate. She kept wondering about the man in the hat.

The show ended with the dolphins waving good-bye with their flippers and blowing kisses at the crowd. As the dolphins swam away, the audience cheered with delight.

“Wasn’t that great?” Benny said.

“It was,” Jessie agreed. “It’s amazing what the dolphins can do and how well they understand Emily.”

Violet nodded her head absently. She looked to see if the man in the baseball cap was still there. His seat was empty. She looked around but didn’t see him anywhere.
Maybe he was just here to see the show,
she thought.
I’m probably just imagining there’s more to it.

Violet followed her brothers and sister down to the platform where Emily was standing.

“That was great!” Benny cried.

“I wish I could play with the dolphins like you did,” Jessie said.

“Then go get your swimsuits on,” Emily said.

The Aldens looked at Emily their eyes wide. “Really?”

“Sure! I could use some helpers,” Emily told them.

“We’ll be right back!” Henry cried, as the children took off for their cabin to change.

Ten minutes later the Aldens were back, dressed in their swimsuits. Emily was standing at the far end of the arena.

“That was fast,” Emily said. “Before I bring out the dolphins, there’s something I’d like you to try.” She took off the whistle that was around her neck. “Which one of you would like to be the trainer first?”

“I will,” said Jessie, stepping forward.

“All right,” said Emily, handing her the whistle. “And who’d like to be the dolphin?”

The Aldens laughed.

“I will,” Benny offered.

Emily smiled. “This will give you an idea of what it’s like from the dolphin’s point of view.” She turned to Jessie. “I want you to teach Benny a trick, but you can’t use words because dolphins don’t speak our language. Instead you have to use hand signals and the whistle. And when he gets something right, you’re going to reward him.”

“Reward?” Benny asked.

“Yes,” said Emily, turning to Benny. “What do you like?”

“Food!” said Henry, and everyone nodded.

“How about candy?” Emily suggested, pulling a small bag of chocolate candies from behind the platform. Benny nodded eagerly. “Okay, Jessie will give you one every time you get something right.”

“This is kind of like training our dog, Watch,” Jessie said. “We give him dog biscuits.”

“You’re right,” said Emily. “Now let’s see if you can train Benny.”

Jessie blew the whistle, and Benny pretended to swim over. Jessie waved her hand in the air, and Benny tried several tricks he’d seen the dolphins do during the show. He jumped up in the air, spun around, and waved his arms like flippers. But Jessie just shook her head and repeated the arm motion again and again. Henry and Violet wondered what kind of trick Jessie was trying to teach Benny. But Jessie couldn’t just
tell
Benny to do something.

“This is hard,” Jessie said.

“You’re telling me,” said Benny, out of breath.

Emily grinned. “Now you know how hard the dolphins work, learning to understand us.”

Benny laughed, and suddenly Jessie nodded and smiled. She pulled out a chocolate and handed it to Benny.

Benny’s eyes lit up. He took the candy and ate it. Then he laughed again, and Jessie nodded and handed him another chocolate.

“You got it,” said Emily. “Jessie wanted to make you
laugh.
That was the trick.”

The children took turns playing the role of dolphin and trainer until they’d each had a chance. Then Emily said, “All right, I think you’re ready. Follow me.”

Emily took the Aldens over to the far end of the arena. She helped each of them put on a life jacket.

“One more thing,” Emily added, handing them each a pouch of raw fish to hang around their necks. “You’ll need these to reward them.”

Benny made a face. “I liked my reward better.”

“Now wait here,” Emily said, leading them into the shallow end of the tank.

“Where are you going?” Benny wanted to know.

“To get some dolphins,” Emily said, flashing a smile. She ran back to where the dolphin tank fed into the arena and opened the gate. A few minutes later, she was swimming back over to the Aldens with two sleek gray dolphins.

The children were so excited they could hardly speak.

“Henry, you and Violet can work with Pearl, and Jessie and Benny will work with Rainbow,” Emily said. “Feel how soft they are.”

The children stroked the dolphins’ backs the way Emily had. “I’ve never felt anything so soft and smooth,” said Violet.

Emily showed the children how to do the different hand motions they’d seen her do during the show. They raised their arms high, and the dolphins went up on their tails. They swung their arms, and the dolphins did flips. They made kissing noises, and the dolphins echoed them. For each trick, they rewarded the dolphins with fish and plenty of stroking.

Too soon, it was time for Emily to get ready for her next show. As the Aldens got out of the water, their faces glowed with happiness. Taking off their life jackets, they all talked at once.