Mystery in the Old Attic (7 page)

“Can we have our tea party tomorrow?” Benny asked.

Jessie nodded.

The next afternoon, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were very busy in the kitchen. “We should plan to have everything ready for four o'clock,” Jessie reminded them. “That's the proper time for afternoon tea.”

“We'll be ready,” said Violet as she mixed flour, baking soda, and ginger together for gingerbread cookies. Henry was cutting a loaf of bread for cinnamon toast, and Benny and Jessie were making hot cocoa for themselves and tea for Grandfather.

“Don't you think we should invite Kimberly and the professor for tea?” Violet was teasing, but the others took her seriously.

“That might be a way to keep an eye on them,” said Henry.

“And perhaps getting one of them to confess,” said Jessie as she began to whip the cream.

“I don't think the professor is home right now,” said Benny. “I saw him head out toward the woods.”

“And who knows what Kimberly is up to,” said Henry as he began to set the dining room table.

An hour later, the Aldens called their grandfather downstairs for tea.

“Goodness, we haven't eaten in the dining room the whole time we've been here,” said Grandfather as he sat down. Henry had set the table with Emily's blue-and-white china. Silver platters piled high with gingerbread, cinnamon toast, and tiny sandwiches lay on the table along with a big pot of tea and another of hot cocoa. There were also little pots of jam, sugar, and whipped cream.

“Please pass the cream and sugar,” said Benny as he stirred his cocoa with a little spoon.

“This is so much fun,” said Violet as she spread strawberry jam on her cinnamon toast. “No wonder Emily was always giving tea parties.”

“If only she had left us with more clues,” said Henry as he passed the sugar to Grandfather.

Benny nodded. “Well, she did leave us with that riddle. And she gave us the idea for this party.” He bit into a gingerbread cookie. Suddenly his eyes opened wider, and he waved his arms wildly.

“Benny, what's wrong?” Jessie sounded truly alarmed. “Is something wrong with the gingerbread?”

Benny shook his head. “No, the gingerbread is fine,” he answered, once he swallowed. “It's just that I thought of something important.”

“What?” Jessie held her toast in midair. Everyone stopped eating and looked at Benny.

“The man Sam described — you know, the man who pawned the ring …”

“Yes,” said Jessie.

“Well, Sam described the professor, not Adam.” Benny sounded very proud of himself.

“You're right,” said Henry. “He said he was a big man with glasses. And he wore a brown tweed overcoat.”

“Just like the professor,” said Benny.

“It's true,” said Violet. “The professor has worn a brown tweed overcoat every time we've seen him.”

“It looks like we're going to have to ask Professor Schmidt a few questions,” said Henry.

“I was hoping I wouldn't have to see him again,” said Benny as he helped himself to another gingerbread cookie.

CHAPTER 10

The Professor

S
oon everyone was talking at once. Henry wanted to go find the professor right away. The others convinced him to wait until they had talked to Sam. “That way, if Sam's records back us up, we'll have definite proof against the professor,” said Jessie.

“But Sam said to give him a couple of days.” Benny sounded disappointed. “That means we'll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Right,” said Henry as he added whipped cream to his steaming mug of cocoa. “So we might as well sit here and enjoy our party.”

“Well said,” said Grandfather, reaching for a slice of cinnamon toast.

Violet looked up at the portraits of Emily's parents. Then she looked at her grandfather. He definitely looked a little like Emily's father.

“Grandfather?” Violet asked.

Grandfather looked up from pouring his tea. “Yes?”

Violet took a deep breath. What she wanted to say wasn't easy for her. “Grandfather,” she began again, “do we really have to sell this house? I mean, it has so much family history in it.”

Grandfather looked sad. “I know,” he said. “It's a shame to let this house go out of the family. But we live too far away to be able to care for it properly.”

“Could we try to find someone to take care of it for us?” asked Jessie hopefully. “We might be able to visit now and then. This would be a great place to take family vacations.”

“I'll say,” said Henry.

Grandfather gazed at his grandchildren, then up at the portraits. Emily's mother had the same hair, the same dreamy blue eyes as Violet. “We'll see,” he said thoughtfully.

The next morning, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny woke up early. They were at the pawnshop as soon as it opened.

“Well, you folks are certainly on the case,” said Sam, who looked a little sleepy. “I just opened the store a few minutes ago.”

“Were you able to check your records?” asked Jessie.

“Yes, yes,” said Sam. “Now, let me see, what have I done with that note to myself?”

Jessie and Violet exchanged looks. They were no longer surprised Sam had been mixed up about the person who sold him the ring.

“Aha, here it is.” Sam waved a paper in the air. “The person who sold me the ring is named Professor Francis Schmidt.”

“I knew it! I knew it!” shouted Benny.

“Oh, dear. I guess I did lead you astray when I said Adam had pawned the ring,” said Sam, sighing. “No wonder he was upset. No one likes to be falsely accused.”

“I guess not,” said Violet, who suddenly felt very bad for Adam. “We should tell him we're sorry.”

The others nodded. “But first let's find the professor,” said Henry.

The Aldens met Professor Schmidt as he was walking across the lawn to the woods. “We have to talk to you,” said Henry.

The professor looked at his watch. “What about?” he asked. “You see, this is usually the time I go feed the animals in the woods. They seem to expect me.”

Benny stared at the professor. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought the professor cared about small animals. “What kind of food do you give them?” he asked.

“Mostly bread crumbs like this,” answered the professor as he pulled some muffins out of his large pocket. “Now, what did you want to speak to me about?” he asked Henry.

“About a ring that belongs to our family,” Henry replied.

“I did find a ring on the top floor of the house,” said the professor. “It was in a hole in the wall.”

“Was it a diamond and pearl ring with a silver band?” asked Jessie.

“A platinum band, I believe,” answered the professor, looking surprised. “But yes, that describes it.”

“And you took it and pawned it,” Henry said.

The professor glared at Henry. “I did not
take
it, young man. I found it and told your great-aunt. But she insisted that I keep the ring.”

“What?” Benny exclaimed.

“Did you show her the ring?” asked Violet more softly.

“Well, no,” the professor admitted. “But I described it to her. She was quite ill then. You see, I found the ring a couple of months ago when I went upstairs to examine the roof. It was leaking. I was able to fix it, and your great-aunt was so grateful, she gave me the ring.”

“Oh,” said Henry and Jessie together.

“But why did you pawn it?” asked Benny.

The professor sighed. “Well, if you must know, I needed the money to send to my sister,” he explained. “She's been ill.”

The Aldens understood. They were beginning to understand the professor.

“Now, suppose you tell me what you know about the ring,” said Professor Schmidt.

“It may take a long time,” said Henry as he stamped his feet to keep them warm.

“Perhaps we had better go inside,” the professor suggested.

Several minutes later, the professor sat in the living room with Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Grandfather. Jessie held Emily's diary on her lap. “Here is the part where Emily wrote about the ring,” she said as she handed the book to the professor.

The professor looked at the drawing carefully. Then he flipped the pages of Emily's diary and read the passages the Aldens pointed out. “This is fascinating,” he said. “You've found a wonderful piece of local history here.”

Grandfather gazed fondly at his four grandchildren. “They always manage to find important things, wherever they go,” he said.

“You know, if I had known what this ring meant to your family and you, I never would have pawned it. In fact, let me go buy it back right away.” The professor suddenly seemed in a great hurry. He grabbed his coat off the couch and rushed to the door.

“Why the rush?” asked Benny.

“He wants to get to the store before anyone buys the ring,” Jessie explained.

“Oh, right,” said Benny. “But we didn't get to ask him where he found the ring. It didn't sound like he was in the secret room.”

“Don't worry, Benny. He'll be back,” Grandfather assured him.

“Good. I want to tell him how we solved the riddle,” said Benny.

Sure enough, the professor was back in twenty minutes, with Adam. He carried a blue velvet box in his hands.

“Adam Tormala, I'd like you to meet James Alden,” said the professor. “Adam is one of my students. I hear he's met your grandchildren already.” The professor's eyes twinkled.

Adam shook Grandfather's hand, but he barely glanced at Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny.

“I am very sorry about the misunderstanding with the ring,” said Jessie.

“We all are,” said Henry.

Adam looked solemn. “I accept your apology,” he said. “Sam told me all about the mix-up when I talked to him this morning. I have no hard feelings, but I still think you children should check your facts more carefully before you go around accusing people.”

“We will from now on,” said Jessie.

“Yes,” agreed the others, and they meant it.

“Adam is very interested in local history,” the professor informed them. “I told him all about the discovery you children made. He'd like to see the diary and anything else you found.”

“Sure,” said Henry. “We didn't even get a chance to tell you about the secret room in the attic.”

“And how we solved the riddle,” added Benny.

“I want to hear all about it,” said Adam eagerly.

“I do, too,” said the professor. “But first let me give you the ring.” The professor handed the little box to Grandfather.

Grandfather opened the box with trembling hands. “My, it's beautiful,” he said as he held the ring up for everyone to see.

The professor fished in his deep pockets. “These are the lace handkerchiefs that were in the ring box. They belong to you, too.”

“No one sews like that anymore,” said Violet, admiring the fine lace. Although the handkerchiefs were yellow with age, they still looked good to the Aldens.

“And now let's go up to the attic,” said Benny. On the way up the stairs, the Aldens told the professor and Adam all about finding the dumbwaiter, the doll's tea party, and the riddle.

“We knew the ring had to be in this little room,” said Henry as he swung open the door.

“Goodness,” exclaimed the professor as he looked at the dolls seated around the table.

“After we searched the room, we tried to put everything back just the way it was,” said Jessie.

“Just the way Emily would have wanted it,” added Violet. Her mind was faraway, in another era.

“And here is the dumbwaiter.” Benny opened the little door.

“I see,” said the professor, looking inside. “And you see, here, where the plaster is crumbling.” The professor pointed to a small hole in the wall near the dumbwaiter's shaft.

“Yes, we looked in there,” said Benny.

“Well, that's where Emily hid the ring. That hole goes through to the hallway. I found the box on the other side of this wall.”

“I thought that would be a good hiding place for the ring,” said Benny.

“You know,” said Adam as he stooped down to examine the hole, “I bet Emily made this hole herself.”

“That's what I was thinking,” said the professor. “She could have made it with her father's geology pick. Then I think she tried to plaster it. See how the plaster looks different around the hole?”

The Aldens nodded. “Now that you mention it, it does,” said Henry.

The Aldens followed the professor into the hallway. “Here's the hole where I found the ring,” he said, pointing.

“It does go through to the attic room,” said Benny as he bent down to examine the hole more closely.

“I don't think Emily wanted it to, though. She probably wasn't used to making holes in the wall,” said Henry.

“No, I'm sure she wasn't allowed to,” Jessie agreed.