Mystery of the Hidden Painting (2 page)

“That is such a sad story, Grandfather,” Jessie said.

Grandfather smiled. The sadness was gone from his face. “Well, Jessie, that was a long time ago. But I will tell you, that as the oldest granddaughter the necklace would have been yours.”

“Oh, Jessie, look what you might have had,” Benny said.

The children laughed and Grandfather stood up. “Why don't we all go into the kitchen and see if there is any of Mrs. McGregor's chocolate cake left.”

“And some milk,” Benny added.

Grandfather laughed and put his arm around Benny's shoulders. “And some milk,” he agreed.

They all sat around the big table in the cheerful kitchen. Grandfather poured milk for each of them and Jessie cut slices of cake.

“That's the end of
this
chocolate cake,” she said, rinsing the empty plate under hot water.

“Maybe Mrs. McGregor will make another one tomorrow,” Benny said hopefully.

“Or a lemon meringue pie,” Henry said, just as hopefully.

As they ate their snack, Jessie said, “Grandfather, it's so sad that Grandmother's necklace just disappeared. Grandmother looked so lovely wearing it, too.”

Grandfather smiled. “Yes, she did. I'm glad that she had it to enjoy for a little while anyway.”

“Are you
sure
the police really talked to everyone who might have known
anything
about it?” Henry asked.

“Absolutely,” Mr. Alden said. “I was surprised at how many people they thought of to question. It was embarrassing, because they insisted on talking to all of our guests, too. And some of them weren't very happy about that. They felt it was insulting. But the detective in charge of the case insisted.”

Mr. Alden smiled. “You can't imagine where they looked for the necklace, too. As upset as we were at the time, your grandmother and I laughed.”

“Where?” Violet asked with interest.

“Would you believe even in the refrigerator?”

The children laughed. “Why the refrigerator?” Jessie asked.

“Well,” Mr. Alden said, “they said it wasn't impossible that the thief might have put it there just for a little while … until he or she could get it out of the house.”

“That seems sort of silly,” Henry said.

“It did to me, too,” Mr. Alden said. “And it wasn't in the refrigerator, anyway. But it did make a good story for a couple of years. It did make your grandmother laugh.”

“Grandfather,” Jessie said thoughtfully, “you said that Grandmother opened the jewelry box and it was empty.”

“That's right, Jessie,” Mr. Alden said.

“What did you do with the box?” Jessie asked. “It must have always reminded Grandmother of the theft.”

“You're right,” Grandfather said. “So I took the empty box and put it in a drawer in the desk in my den. That way your grandmother wouldn't keep seeing it.”

“And then did you throw it away?” Benny asked.

“No, children, believe it or not, I still have that empty box,” Mr. Alden said.

Violet's eyes widened. “Could we see it?” she asked.

“Of course,” Mr. Alden said. “I still have it in the den.”

They all walked into the little room that Grandfather had set up as an office at home. It was here that he did any work he brought home from his office. It was a comfortable room with a leather couch and an easy chair and a big desk. Mr. Alden opened a drawer in the mahogany desk and took out a square blue velvet box. He gently handed it to Violet.

Violet opened the box and looked at the inside, which was lined with ivory-colored satin. There was a soft hollow that had once held the sapphire necklace. “I can almost
see
it,” Violet said.

“Me too” Benny agreed.

“Well, now,” Grandfather said cheerfully, “I don't want you children to be upset about this. So let's just forget about it. It's bedtime, anyway.”

Later Jessie sat in Violet's bedroom and watched Violet brushing her hair. Anyone looking at the room would have immediately known it was Violet's. The wallpaper, the bedspread, and the curtains all had violets on them.

Violet stopped brushing and turned to Jessie. “What do you suppose happened to the necklace?”

“I don't know,” Jessie answered, lying on her back on Violet's bed. “Grandfather said they questioned everybody and there were no clues at all.”

Violet sighed. “What a shame. It looked like such a beautiful necklace. It would have been gorgeous around your neck, too.”

They both laughed at the very idea of it and then forgot about the missing necklace when Watch came in and tried to jump up on the bed.

It rained for the next three days, and the Aldens were becoming more and more bored. One afternoon they were all in the boxcar. Henry was trying to write his poem for Grandfather's birthday. Violet and Benny were playing jacks, and Jessie was reading the Greenfield newspaper. Suddenly she let out a cry.

“Look,” she shouted. She held out the paper with one hand and pointed to a picture with the other.

Henry, Violet, and Benny ran over and all stared at the paper. “Look at what?” Benny asked. “It's just a picture of a lady we don't know.”

“Look at what she's wearing!” Jessie insisted.

Violet took the paper. “She's wearing an evening dress. It's very pretty. And the caption under the picture says:
Mrs. Elizabeth Harkins, who was the chairperson of the Elmford Hospital Dance.
”

“What
else
is she wearing?” Jessie asked impatiently.

Henry looked closer. “A necklace,” he said.

“It looks
just
like the necklace in the painting,” Jessie said.

Violet looked at the paper again. “Jessie, the necklace in this picture is so small and the picture is black and white. How can you tell anything from this?”

“I
know
they look alike,” Jessie said. “Let's go back to the house and look at the painting again.”

They all ran back and into the living room, where Grandfather had left the painting leaning against a bookcase. Jessie put the portrait down on the sofa and placed the newspaper picture right next to it. The children leaned over and looked at them both very closely.

“See!” Jessie said. “They
do
look alike!”

“I think she's right,” Violet said.

Henry frowned. “I can't really tell.”

Benny hopped on one foot with excitement. “Maybe we have another mystery. But how are we going to solve it? We don't even know that Mrs. Harkins.”

Henry looked at the newspaper again. “Look! She lives in Elmford … where Aunt Jane lives. Maybe we could go to visit Aunt Jane and—”

“And talk to Mrs. Harkins,” Jessie finished for him.

“We'll have to ask Grandfather if we can go,” Violet said.

“He likes us to visit Aunt Jane,” Benny assured her.

Henry looked thoughtful. “I don't think we should tell Grandfather about Mrs. Harkins. If it turns out her necklace is a different one from our grandmother's, he'd be so disappointed.”

Violet agreed. “Henry is right. We don't want to upset Grandfather for no reason.”

“All right,” Jessie said. “We'll ask him about visiting Aunt Jane tonight.”

Violet went over to the desk in a corner of the room and took a large sheet of white paper and a pencil out of a drawer.

“What are you doing?” Jessie asked.

Violet sat down next to the painting and, leaning on a large book, started to draw. “I'm going to copy the necklace very carefully. So, if we do get to talk to Mrs. Harkins, we can show her what
our
necklace looks like.”

Benny watched her carefully. “But ours is blue.”

Violet smiled. “Right. I'll color my picture when I'm finished.”

“That's a great idea, Violet,” Henry said, looking at his sister with admiration.

CHAPTER 3

A Visit to Aunt Jane

A
fter dinner, all the Aldens sat out on the wide green lawn and enjoyed the soft, cool evening breeze. When the children told Mr. Alden they wanted to visit Aunt Jane, he agreed right away. He thought it was a fine idea.

“You haven't been away this summer at all,” he said. “I'll call her right now.”

Aunt Jane thought the visit was a fine idea, too. “I'll be especially happy to see you because Uncle Andy is away on business and I'm really lonesome,” she told Jessie on the phone.

It was arranged that the Aldens would take the one o'clock bus the next day and Aunt Jane would be waiting at the bus stop for them.

In the morning they all packed small, brightly colored suitcases. Benny made sure his pink cup was in his. At one o'clock Grandfather drove them to the bus station and waved good-bye. At three they were in Elmford where Aunt Jane was waiting for them. They couldn't wait to get to Aunt Jane's old farmhouse, thinking of the cold water in the pond not far from her house, and how they'd enjoy splashing in it.

When they had unpacked and played in the creek for over an hour, they all joined Aunt Jane in her big kitchen. Benny tore lettuce for a dinner salad. Henry mashed potatoes. Violet cut string beans, and Jessie and Aunt Jane shaped turkey patties. Aunt Jane was very aware of healthy eating and tried to get the Aldens to enjoy her menus … even the turkey patties instead of hamburgers. They never told her they weren't crazy about the turkey patties.

Violet and Jessie exchanged a glance. Then Jessie quickly told Aunt Jane the story of their finding the portrait and then seeing Mrs. Harkins' picture in the newspaper. Aunt Jane was astounded.

“Your grandmother's necklace has been missing for years. I can't believe Mrs. Harkins' necklace is the same one,” Aunt Jane said, looking at the Aldens.

“Do you know Mrs. Harkins?” Henry asked.

Aunt Jane shook her head. “A little. We aren't really friends, but in a small town like Elmford, everybody knows almost everybody else.”

“Could you call her and ask if we could talk to her?” Jessie asked, wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing. She waited eagerly for Aunt Jane's answer.

“I don't know,” Aunt Jane replied. “I'm not sure she'd want to be questioned by four strange children she's never met.”

“Try,” Violet pleaded. “Please!”

“Please,” Benny repeated.

“All right,” Aunt Jane agreed. “I'll call her.”

Aunt Jane went into the sitting room next to the kitchen and made her call. She came back and said, “Mrs. Harkins said you could come by at eleven tomorrow morning. She didn't seem too happy at the idea, but she did say she'd see you. She said to be on time.”

Benny threw his arms around Aunt Jane. “You're a good aunt.”

After breakfast the next morning, Aunt Jane told the Aldens exactly where Mrs. Harkins lived. They had all visited Aunt Jane so many times that they knew their way around town very well. They took the bikes Aunt Jane kept for them and rode through the green countryside, passing well-kept farms and small houses. The air smelled sweet and fresh.

“Look! Cows!” Benny shouted, pointing to three cows grazing lazily behind a wire fence next to the road. “I like farms,” he said positively.

“You just like cows, because they give you the milk you love so much,” Jessie said, laughing.

The children pedaled slowly so that they arrived at Mrs. Harkins' just at eleven. They remembered her instructions to be on time. Her home was a large, redbrick house with white shuttered windows. A maid answered Jessie's ring and took them into a large, comfortable living room. Mrs. Harkins stood waiting for the Aldens.

She was a small, attractive woman of about fifty. “Well,” she said. “Your aunt said you wanted to talk to me about a necklace … or something like that. Why would four young children be interested in a necklace?”

Jessie took the newspaper picture out of her pocket and showed it to Mrs. Harkins. “The necklace you're wearing—” she began.

“Why don't we all sit down,” Elizabeth Harkins said, leading them all into the living room. “We'll be more comfortable.”

“The necklace—” Jessie continued.

“It looks like our grandmother's,” Benny blurted out.

Mrs. Harkins frowned. “I don't understand.”

Violet reached into her knapsack and smoothed out her drawing of the Alden necklace. “You see, our grandmother had this necklace. We think it looks like the one you wore to the dance.”

Suddenly a man appeared in the doorway. “Elizabeth,” he said firmly, “please come in here.”

Mrs. Harkins stood up. “Excuse me. My husband wants to talk to me.”

She walked into the next room. First there was just a murmur of voices. Then the sounds were louder, as if the Harkins were arguing. The Aldens looked at each other.

“Maybe we should leave,” Violet said. “I think we've upset them.”