Great Shark Mystery (8 page)

“Mac and I were in my office when we saw lights in the shark enclosure. What are you doing here?”

“I can explain,” said Emily.

“No, I’m the one who needs to explain,” said Mac. His voice sounded weary, as if he were carrying a heavy burden. “I stole the jewelry from Wilson’s and I hid it here in the shark tank.”

“You did
what?”
Ms. Carver said, gasping.

“I know, it’s crazy,” Mac said, shaking his head slowly. “I can’t believe I did it myself. I don’t know what came over me.” He sighed deeply before going on.

“It was Monday—you kids had just arrived.” Mac looked at Ms. Carver. “I wanted to let the shark go, but you said the park needed it, needed the money. I thought that was crazy.”

“And robbing a jewelry store isn’t crazy?” asked Ms. Carver.

Mac shrugged. “I didn’t really plan for it to happen. When I left here that day, I was very upset. My wife had asked me to stop at Wilson’s on the way home to pick up a watch she’d had repaired. Mr. Wilson was helping me, when suddenly a noisy group of customers came in. He went to help them—he was the only one working in the store that night—and I noticed the door to the diamond case had been left open.”

Mac frowned as he remembered. “It just seemed so easy. I’d take the diamonds, sell them somewhere, and donate the cash to the park.” Mac shook his head again. “And it
was
easy. No one was looking and the diamonds are kept in a separate alcove. I had my gym bag with me, so I just pulled out a tray of jewelry and slipped it into my bag.” He swallowed hard. “And that was that.”

No one said anything for a moment. At last Mac went on. “I knew immediately that what I’d done was wrong. But it was too late. All I could think of was to hide the jewelry for now. I planned to return it later. I thought I had time to figure out how to return it without anyone knowing. But I didn’t count on our visitors being such good detectives.” He smiled weakly at the Aldens.

“So that was your card key we found outside of Wilson’s,” said Jessie.

“Yes,” said Mac, turning to Ms. Carver. “I was afraid that if I came to you for a new one, someone would connect me to the crime scene.”

“So you borrowed mine,” said Emily.

“I’m sorry,” Mac said. “I assumed you would just get a new one. Since you had no connection to the burglary, it wouldn’t matter to you.”

“But I didn’t want to get a new card because …” Emily’s voice trailed off. Then she continued. “Because I didn’t want you to think I’d lost mine, Ms. Carver. I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t focused enough on my job.”

“I made that accusation before I got to know you,” Ms. Carver said, “when I first started here. I’ve since learned what an excellent job you do and just how seriously you take your work.”

Emily blushed with pleasure.

Ms. Carver’s attention turned back to Mac. She hadn’t said a word while he’d been telling his story. She had just listened, her face pained. “I’m shocked at you, Mac. You broke the law.”

“I did,” Mac agreed, his head down.

Ms. Carver sighed. “Your desire to help the shark was good, but that doesn’t make it okay to steal.”

Mac nodded sadly.

“You didn’t have to steal money to help the animals,” Ms. Carver added. “That’s why I’m building the new Orca ride. I was going to build two rides. The second was going to be called the Shark. But I had to kill that idea when I realized there wasn’t enough money to build both.”

“So that’s what you meant!” Henry said. “We were afraid you were going to kill the great white shark!”

“Good heavens, no!” said Ms. Carver. “Why would I do that?”

“It’s happened in another aquarium,” Mac said. “And, well, you don’t seem to care much about the animals.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ms. Carver said. “I care so much about them that I don’t want this park to close. This park does a lot of good for animals by teaching people about them. That’s why I’m building the roller coaster—people may come for the rides, but they’ll end up learning about our ocean creatures.”

“I didn’t like the idea of a roller coaster at first,” Mac admitted. “But if it will keep this park alive, then I’m all for it.”

“Ms. Carver, why did you say the way to get the money was risky?” Jessie asked.

“I’m investing my own money and a friend’s in the ride,” Ms. Carver explained. “If the park does well, we’ll get our money back. But if attendance at the park doesn’t improve, we might lose our money. So he and I are taking a risk.”

“Oh, I get it,” Jessie said.

Now Ms. Carver turned to Mac. “And you’ll be interested to know that the other investor is Pete Wilson.”

“Really?” said Mac.

“Yes,” Ms. Carver said. “He’s always been interested in Ocean Adventure Park. That’s why he wants to donate money for the ride.

And that’s why I’m hoping he won’t go to the police when we tell him why you stole the diamonds, Mac.”

“I know what I did was wrong and I’ll cooperate with the police if it comes to that,” Mac said. “But there’s something else we need to talk about. The great white shark needs to go back to the ocean. He’s been banging into the sides of his tank. So far, he’s been okay. But if he hits the wall too hard, he’ll die. We’ve already kept him alive in the tank much longer than I’d expected.”

“All right,” Ms. Carver said. “Come back to my office and we’ll talk about it.”

“Good morning!” called a friendly voice.

Benny woke up and rubbed his eyes. Mr. Alden was standing in the doorway.

“Grandfather!” shouted Benny jumping out of bed and running to give Mr. Alden a hug. Henry sat up in bed and grinned sleepily at his grandfather. A moment later, Jessie and Violet had joined them, and everyone seemed to be talking at once.

“When did you get here?” Jessie wanted to know.

“We helped feed the sharks,” Benny told him.

“We swam with the dolphins,” Henry added.

“We missed you!” Violet was saying.

Grandfather smiled broadly. “It’s good to see you all. Sounds like you’ve been having lots of fun.”

At last the children quieted down. “We
have
been,” Jessie said.

“What time is it?” Henry asked, noticing the bright sunlight streaming in the window.

“You slept late this morning,” Grandfather said. “I took a taxi here from my friend’s house. I was sure you’d be up by now.”

“It was a late night last night,” Henry said.

“We were solving a mystery!” cried Benny.

“Ah … I knew there had to be a mystery,” Mr. Alden said, smiling. “I want to hear all about it. But first, how about some breakfast—although it’s nearly lunchtime.”

The Aldens put together a delicious breakfast in their little kitchen. There were scrambled eggs, toast with jam, sliced fruit, and juice to drink. The children took turns telling their grandfather what had happened during the few days they’d been apart.

At last the story of the burglary, Emily’s engagement, the roller coaster, and the great white shark had all been told.

“I can’t believe all that took place in such a short time!” said Grandfather.

“I wonder what will happen to the great white shark,” said Henry.

“Let’s find out!” Jessie said.

The children dressed quickly and headed over to the shark enclosure. When they got there, they were surprised and saddened to find the large tank held nothing but water.

Grandfather and the children stood silently, staring at the large empty tank. A few minutes later, Mac emerged from his office. He looked tired. But for the first time, his face looked calm. The Aldens realized now how worried he’d been during the past week.

“What happened to the shark?” Benny asked.

“We took him back to the ocean,” Mac said.

“Already?” Jessie asked.

“I didn’t know how much longer he’d make it in a tank,” said Mac. “We took care of it during the night.”

“Now he’ll be okay?” Violet asked.

“Yes,” Mac said firmly. “He’ll be fine.”

Emily and John walked up, holding hands. “Morning!” they called out.

“This must be John,” Mr. Alden said.

“So you’ve heard about me,” John said, grinning.

“What happened with the jewelry?” Henry asked Mac.

“I spoke with Mr. Wilson,” Mac said. “Ms. Carver and I went there first thing this morning.”

“What did he say?” Henry asked.

“He was glad to have the jewelry back,” Mac said. “I’m going down to the police station now to turn myself in. I just wanted to tie up a few loose ends here.”

“What’s going to happen to you, Mac?” Benny asked, worried.

“I don’t know,” Mac replied. “I have to pay for what I did. But I hope that if I cooperate, the judge won’t be too hard on me.”

Jessie ran up and gave Mac a big hug. The others followed.

Grandfather and Mac shook hands. “Good luck,” Mr. Alden said. Mac waved to the children and walked off.

“I was thinking that maybe today you kids might like to take a break from the park,” Mr. Alden said to his grandchildren. “How does a day at the beach sound?”

“Great!” the children all shouted.

“We’ll join you,” Emily said.

“Don’t you have to work?” Jessie asked.

“I don’t have to focus on my work today,” Emily said, grinning. “It’s my day off.”

Mr. Alden took his youngest grandchild aside and looked him in the eye. “What about you, Benny?” he asked quietly “Still afraid?”

Benny thought for a moment. “I’ve learned a lot about sharks, Grandfather. I’m not afraid anymore.”

G
ERTRUDE
C
HANDLER
W
ARNER
discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book,
The Boxcar Children,
quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car — the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible — something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

T
HE
B
OXCAR
C
HILDREN

S
URPRISE
I
SLAND

T
HE
Y
ELLOW
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY
R
ANCH

M
IKE’S
M
YSTERY

B
LUE
B
AY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
W
OODSHED
M
YSTERY

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
M
YSTERY

M
OUNTAIN
T
OP
M
YSTERY

S
CHOOLHOUSE
M
YSTERY

C
ABOOSE
M
YSTERY

H
OUSEBOAT
M
YSTERY

S
NOWBOUND
M
YSTERY

T
REE
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

B
ICYCLE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
AND

M
YSTERY
B
EHIND
THE
W
ALL

B
US
S
TATION
M
YSTERY

B
ENNY
U
NCOVERS
A
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING