Great Shark Mystery (6 page)

“Are those manatees?” Benny asked.

“Yes, they are,” said Emily.

“They’re funny-looking!” he said.

“Not quite as sleek as the dolphins, are they?” Emily agreed.

“I think they’re cute!” said Violet. “Like big roly-poly teddy bears.”

“Manatees are gentle animals that graze on sea plants and grasses,” Emily said. “Some people call them sea cows. The legends of mermaids may have started when sailors caught glimpses of manatees through the fog.”

“Is that a baby one?” Jessie asked, pointing to the smallest of the three manatees.

“Yes,” said Emily. “We brought him in because we found him alone, and he’s too young to survive without his mother.” Emily led the children to a platform beside the tank, from which she could reach the animals. “Come on, it’s time for his breakfast.”

The Aldens stepped up onto the platform and watched as Emily squatted by the edge and pulled the littlest manatee toward her.

Cradling the manatee’s head, she fed it from the bottle.

“So that’s what the bottle was for,” said Benny.

“How sweet,” said Violet.

Emily pointed to another one of the manatees. “See the scar on that one’s back?”

“Is that from a shark attack?” Benny asked.

“No,” Emily said. “Manatees are so large they don’t really have any natural enemies, besides humans.”

“People hunt manatees?” Violet asked.

“In some places people do, for meat and blubber oil,” Emily said. “Manatees are endangered because people have destroyed the manatees’ natural habitats. The scar on that manatee is from a speedboat. When people race around in speedboats where manatees live, the animals can get hurt.”

“That’s terrible!” Jessie said.

“Yes, it is,” Emily agreed. “That’s why some areas have passed laws protecting manatees and other wildlife.”

“I wish there was something we could do,” Jessie said.

When the manatee was done drinking from the bottle, it swam off in the water. Emily and the Aldens were watching the manatees when suddenly Emily said, “Oh, excuse me a minute.” She darted up the path away from the Manatee Haven.

“Where did Emily go?” Benny asked.

“I don’t know,” said Henry. “Looked as if she saw someone she knew.”

The Aldens looked where Emily had just gone and saw her deep in conversation with someone.

It was the man in the blue baseball cap.

“Him again!” said Violet.

“Does Emily know him?” Jessie asked, noticing that the man’s hand was on Emily’s arm.

“The other day she said she didn’t,” said Violet.

“Let’s go see,” said Jessie, starting up the path. But before the children could reach them, the man was walking away, and Emily was waving and calling out a friendly goodbye.

“It sure looks like she knows him,” said Henry quietly.

A moment later, the Aldens came to where Emily was standing.

“Hello!” Emily said, smiling broadly.

“Hi,” the Aldens replied.

“Who was your friend?” Jessie asked.

“My friend?” Emily said, her cheeks turning pink.

“That man we just saw—we keep seeing him around the park,” Henry explained.

“Oh, he’s … he’s just a visitor here. He had a question,” Emily said quickly. Then she changed the subject. “Did you guys like the manatees?”

“Yeah, they were really neat!” said Benny

“How about checking out the penguins next,” Emily suggested. “It’s about time for them to be fed.”

“Sure!” the children cried.

“Then let’s go.” Emily took off at a quick pace.

The Aldens looked at one another. They were excited to see the penguins, but they couldn’t help feeling that Emily had changed the subject awfully quickly. Why? Was that man really just a normal visitor? It had looked as if he and Emily knew each other quite well. If she was telling the truth, then why was Emily’s face so pink? And why had she said earlier that she didn’t know him?

As the Aldens headed off after Emily, Henry whispered, “We’ve got to find out who that man is. I can’t help feeling he has something to do with the burglary.”

“Could he be the one who wrote Emily that note?” Benny asked. “J?”

“I wonder,” said Jessie, stopping in her tracks to think.

“How could we find out?” Violet asked, her voice quiet but urgent. “We asked Emily, and she said he was just a visitor.”

“What do we know about J?” Jessie asked quickly.

“He wanted Emily to go to Wilson’s for a secret plan,” said Henry.

“And he has neat handwriting,” said Violet.

“That’s it!” Jessie said excitedly.

“What?” the others asked.

“I have an idea,” Jessie said. “I’ll tell you later.”

The Aldens caught up with Emily in front of the Penguin House. She led them in through a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY.

“Here,” Emily said, taking bright blue jackets from a closet and handing them to the children.

“What are these for?” asked Benny. “It’s hot outside.”

“But it’s cold in the penguins’ tank,” Emily said.

“Remember, they’re from Antarctica, so they like it cold.”

A burst of cold air flew out when Emily opened the door to the penguin enclosure. The Aldens were glad they’d put the jackets on. In front of them, the penguins stood in groups along the banks of a pool of water. The wall opposite the door they’d entered was glass, allowing visitors to look in. The Aldens could see a crowd gathered on the far side of the glass. Benny waved to them, a big smile on his face.

Emily had brought in some buckets of fish. The penguins crowded around her, eager for food. She gave each of the Aldens some raw fish, which they tossed to the hungry penguins.

“How cute they are!” said Jessie.

“I love the way they waddle,” Violet said.

Once the penguins had eaten, some dived into the water and swam around, paddling with their short wings.

“I’m getting cold,” Violet said.

“Me, too,” Emily agreed. “Let’s get going.”

“I think it’s feeding time for humans now,” Benny said, and they all laughed.

Emily walked the Aldens to the snack bar, then left to do her afternoon dolphin show. As they munched on their hot dogs and fries, Henry said, “Jessie, you said you had an idea about how to find out if the man in the baseball cap is J. What is it?”

“First I need a pad of paper,” Jessie said. She began to dig in her backpack.

“What are you going to do?” Henry asked.

“You’ll see,” said Jessie. A moment later, she pulled out a large yellow pad and a pen. She turned to a blank page and began to write. The others crowded around her to see what she was writing.

At the top of the page Jessie printed, SAVE THE MANATEES! in large, bold letters.

Underneath she wrote neatly, “Our government needs to pass laws to limit the use of motorized boats, in order to protect the endangered manatees.”

Beneath that she signed her name and wrote her address. Then she handed the pad to Henry.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“It’s a petition,” Jessie said. “To save the manatees. We’ll send it to the governor.”

“That’s very nice,” Henry said, “but what does it have to do with J?”

“You’ll see,” Jessie said mysteriously. “Just sign it, please.”

When they had all signed their names, Jessie tucked the pad into her backpack. She looked at her watch. “If we want the plan to work, we’d better get going.”

“Where?” Violet asked.

“To the Dolphin Arena,” Jessie said.

They arrived just as Emily’s show was ending. Jessie led the others to a bench outside the entrance. “I hope he’s here,” she muttered to herself, watching the crowds file out of the arena. She stepped forward and showed her pad to several people, who eagerly signed the petition. “Where is he?” Jessie muttered under her breath.

“Who?” asked Benny.

“The man in the baseball cap,” Jessie said.

“How do you know he’ll be here?” asked Violet.

“Just a hunch,” said Jessie. “I think he likes Emily’s shows.”

They did not have to wait long. Soon a familiar man in a blue baseball cap emerged from the arena.

Jessie approached him quickly her pad and pen in her hand. “Excuse me, sir,” she said politely handing the pad to him. “Would you sign my petition and put your address?”

The man smiled at Jessie. “Let me take a look,” he said. He quickly read what Jessie had written.

“Sure, I’ll sign,” he said agreeably, taking the pen and writing his name and address.

“Thanks,” said Jessie.

As the man walked away, Jessie glanced at the pad and then went back to where the others were sitting. She had a big grin on her face.

“We’ve gotten lots of signatures to help the manatees,” Jessie said, pleased her plan had worked. She held the pad out to the others. “Best of all, we’ve found J.”

THE Aldens all looked at the petition Jessie had made. There, at the bottom of the page, was the name John Quinn, along with an address. It was written in the same neat handwriting that had been on Emily’s note.

“So if he’s the one who wrote the note,” Henry said, “Emily does know him—and pretty well, it seems. So why was she pretending she didn’t?”

“I’m worried about what the ‘secret plan’ at Wilson’s was,” said Jessie.

“They couldn’t be the burglars,” Violet cried. “I just can’t believe that.”

“I agree,” said Jessie. “But then why do all the clues point to Emily?”

“What clues?” asked Emily, who had just then come up to the Aldens without their noticing.

“You didn’t rob Wilson’s, Emily, did you?” Benny burst out.

Emily looked surprised. “Rob the jewelry store? What are you talking about?”

The children looked at one another, their faces pink with embarrassment. No one knew what to say.

Finally, Jessie began, “Well, we found a card key near the store, and you lost yours, and you didn’t want anyone to know.”

“And then on the back of that piece of paper yesterday was a note leading us to Wilson’s, and it mentioned a secret plan,” Henry said.

“And then we figured out who J was, but you kept saying you didn’t know him,” Violet put in.

“But you didn’t really do it, did you?” Benny asked.

Emily had been listening to the children quietly. Suddenly she burst into laughter. “Oh, my goodness, you
are
detectives, just as your grandfather said. I guess I have been acting a little strange lately, but I can explain. Hold on a minute.”

Emily walked away and came back a moment later with the man in the baseball cap. “I guess I should have introduced you guys sooner. This is John,” she said. “And these are the Aldens.”

The Aldens said hello.

“John is my … fiancé,” Emily said, taking his hand. She and John smiled at each other.

“Your what?” asked Benny.

“John and I are going to get married,” Emily explained. “But I haven’t told anyone here yet.”

“That’s such wonderful news,” Violet said. “Why not share it?”

“Remember, I told you Ms. Carver said I wasn’t focusing enough on my work?” Emily said. “Well, I didn’t want her to think I have my mind on John instead. So when I’m at work, I try to pretend he’s just a regular visitor, instead of my fiancé. I don’t want to lose my job.”

“But I just can’t stay away,” John said, putting an arm around Emily. “I love watching Emily work.”

“What was that note all about?” Jessie asked.

“Oh, that,” said Emily. “When John and I had decided to get engaged, he left that note for me to follow—like a treasure hunt.”

“We love those,” said Benny.

Emily glowed with pleasure as she told the children what had happened. “It was fun. I followed the directions and found myself at Wilson’s, where we picked out the most beautiful diamond ring.” She and John smiled at each other.

“So the engagement was your secret plan,” said Jessie.

“Why did you want the note back?” Henry asked.

“I’m going to put it in my scrapbook to remember always,” Emily explained. “When I realized I’d accidentally given it to you, I was so upset.”

“Can we see the ring you picked?” asked Violet.

“It’s still at the store, being sized to fit my finger,” Emily said. “That’s why I was worried when you told me that the diamond jewelry had been stolen.”

“I stopped by yesterday,” John told Emily reassuringly. “Mr. Wilson said your ring is safe.”

“So that’s why you were there,” said Benny.

“Emily, maybe you lost your key when you were ring-shopping,” Jessie suggested.

“No, the key you found wasn’t mine,” Emily said. “It didn’t have my initials on it.”

“Why not just get another key from Ms. Carver until yours turns up?” asked Henry.

“If Ms. Carver knew I’d lost my key, she’d take that as proof I wasn’t paying enough attention to my work,” Emily said.

“Now that we’ve answered all your questions, how about explaining that petition?” John said.

“Oh, that,” Jessie said. “We thought you might be the one who’d written the note to Emily. I figured I could help the manatees—and also see your name and handwriting.” Jessie smiled, proud of her plan.

“Very clever,” said John.

“But we still don’t know whose key we found,” said Henry.