Mystery of the Melting Snowman (4 page)

Cindy took the package and waved as Jenny drove away. She turned and started to walk back toward the house. Jay and Dexter were walking up the steps. Good. They’d watch Tom. And she could tell them everything she had discovered.

The wind was blowing in Cindy’s face. She turned around so that she could walk backward.

Suddenly she stopped and stared, her heart pounding. There was someone—a man—hiding in the green car with the bent fender. As she watched he started to sit up. He had been crouching in the front seat!

T
HE MAN GOT
out of the green car and slammed the door. He was tall and wore a long black coat. His hat was black and had a wide rim that came low over his forehead.

He looked up and stared at Cindy. Then his eyes went to the package she was holding. He started to walk toward her. His bushy black eyebrows met above a long thin nose. His eyes were black, and they narrowed as he came nearer.

Cindy stood still, facing him. He nodded at the package. “What’s that?” he asked.

Cindy swallowed. What business was it of his? “It’s a package of Jenny Mayflower’s,” she said quickly. “I’m taking it to the house.”

The man in black made a sound. It might have been a laugh, but he wasn’t even smiling.

“Jenny Mayflower’s, is it?” he asked.

Cindy nodded. She turned around and started toward the red house again.

“Jenny Mayflower’s package, Jenny Mayflower’s house, eh?” he said. He was beside her. He spoke quickly. “Look, I have reason to believe the package you carry contains stolen property.”

Cindy’s heart thudded. “What do you mean? It’s just an old vase.”

“We’ll soon see. Hand it here.” He reached over for the package.

Cindy drew away.

“You have to trust me,” he said urgently. “How well do you know Jenny Mayflower?”

Cindy gulped. “I just met her today for the first time. And she wanted someone to carry this package from her car to the house. That’s all.”

His eyebrows drew close together. “You only just met her today? Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure,” said Cindy.

The man pulled at his chin. “Maybe you’re in on it too, for all I know.”

“In on what?” gasped Cindy. Her thoughts raced. It must have something to do with the iron dog.

“You don’t know what’s going on,” said the man in black, glancing again at the package in Cindy’s arms. “She’s using you. That’s stolen. Jenny Mayflower stole it. She thought if you carried it no one would trace it to her.”

Suddenly Cindy was sure the man in black thought the iron dog was in this package.

“This isn’t it!” she said without thinking. She bit her tongue. “I mean, it couldn’t be stolen or anything. And Jenny’s so nice. And why would she steal an old vase, anyway?”

Cindy started to run toward the red house. How dare this man accuse Jenny of stealing! She started up the steps. The man in black was right beside her. “Just hand me the package, young lady!” he said in a low whisper.

“But I told Jenny I’d take it in and give it to Tom,” said Cindy. She was all mixed up. Who was to be trusted? Tom? Jenny? And who was this strange man? She couldn’t think. And she was frightened.

She ran up the steps and opened the front door. She was sure the man in black was going to grab the box and run with it. But he only followed her up to the door.

“You’ll see,” he whispered under his breath. “You’ll see I’m right. But in the meantime you must not tell anyone what I’ve told you. If Jenny Mayflower knows she is suspected of stealing she will run away.”

Cindy opened the door of the house and walked in. The man in black slipped into the house behind her.

Tom was standing at the table, talking to two ladies. One was Selma Peabody. The boys were nowhere in sight. They must be here somewhere, thought Cindy. She was going to need them.

“Here’s the vase,” she said, handing the package to Tom.

“A vase!” exclaimed Mrs. Peabody. “Let’s see it. A vase is just what I need.”

“Is it for sale?” asked the other lady.

“You bet,” said Tom. “Everything here is for sale except the people.” He picked up the box and started to open it.

The man in black cleared his throat. Cindy glanced over her shoulder at him. He had taken off his hat. He had black shiny hair combed straight back off a high forehead. His forehead was beaded with perspiration.

Tom lifted the object clear of the box. It was indeed a very ugly vase. The man in black sucked in his breath. Cindy knew he had expected it to be the iron dog. She knew it.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” said Mrs. Peabody. “How much is it?”

Tom considered. “You may have it for three dollars, madam,” he said.

“I’ll take it,” said Mrs. Peabody, “although it probably isn’t worth more than ten cents.”

The man in black edged closer to Cindy. “Say nothing of our conversation until I have spoken with you again,” he whispered. “Remember. Nothing.”

She stared at him. He turned on his heel and walked into the living room. His eyes took in the entire room.

There was a room beyond that, and he walked in. His eyes searched the room. He was looking for the iron dog. Cindy knew it, she knew it. Or did she? She didn’t know what to think. She had to have more facts first.

Where were the boys? Cindy glanced around quickly. On the other side of the dining room on the far end of the house was a porch. A glassed-in porch with a lot of plants. Sort of like a greenhouse, she decided. And there was Dexter. He was leaning over a plant and reading a sign on it.

She had to be sure that the man in black did not leave the house. But he probably wouldn’t go until he had talked to her again. And she had to talk to Jay and Dexter.

She walked quickly over to the porch. Dexter looked up and grinned. Once she was out on the porch she could see that Jay was there too.

“Quick,” Cindy said in a low voice. “I’ve got to talk to you. There’s a man in black who came in when I did. He thought the box I was carrying held the iron dog. At least I think he did. But it was an old ugly vase, just the way Jenny Mayflower had said. Anyway, he said Jenny had stolen whatever was in the package.” She stopped to catch her breath.

“Slow down, slow down,” said Jay. “Who’s Jenny Mayflower? Why did the man in black think she had stolen something? What’s going on? Start at the beginning.”

Cindy quickly told them about meeting Jenny. About Jenny and Tom. About the scarf. “But I’m sure that Tom couldn’t have been doing anything wrong when he hid the iron dog in the snowman,” she said. “He may have been hiding it from someone. Maybe from this man in black!” She bit her lip. “We’ve got to find out something more. We can’t have him going around saying that Jenny Mayflower is a thief!”

Dexter looked behind Cindy. “The man in black is in the dining room,” he said.

Cindy turned around. As she watched, the man looked quickly around the room. Then he silently pushed open the swinging door and walked into the kitchen. It must be the kitchen, thought Cindy, right next to the dining room, and with a swinging door.

“I’m going in there and ask him what he’s talking about,” announced Cindy. “I’ll just find out everything I can.” The boys started to argue with her, but she was already halfway across the room. Her heart thudded. What was she going to say to the man in black?

Cindy pushed open the swinging door. She walked into the kitchen.

It was empty.

Where had he gone? The back door! Of course! He had got away after all. She ran over to the door and threw it open. There was fresh snow on the steps. No one had gone in or out of the door that day. She breathed a sigh of relief.

But where was he? She looked around the kitchen. In addition to the back door to the outside there were two other doors. Would he be hiding in a closet? Why? Was he looking for the iron dog in the closets? She smiled grimly to herself. He’d never find it, not if he looked for a million years. He’d never guess it was under Cindy Temple’s bed!

She listened again. And this time she was sure she heard a creaking. She stood for a moment in front of the door, and then she took a deep breath and flung it open.

It wasn’t a closet after all. It was a door to steps that led upstairs. Cindy peered up the dark passageway, trying to see to the top. She put one foot on the bottom step and listened. What right had the man in black to sneak around Jenny’s house? She took another step up, then another. There was no railing to hold onto. The steps were steep and curving.

Slowly she climbed up. One of the steps creaked noisily. She stopped and held her breath. There was no sound from upstairs, only the murmuring of voices from below.

She came to the curve in the stairway and tried to look beyond the top step. It was too dark to see anything. She shivered. Maybe she should go back down and get the boys. But she had to find out what the man in black was doing. He was probably trying to steal something—and then he’d blame Jenny! Of course! Just thinking about it made Cindy angry.

She reached the top step and stared ahead. There was a long hallway. It was too dark to see what was at the end of it from where she stood. There was only a faint light coming from an open door. She started to walk slowly down the hall. There were several other doors, all of them closed.

She came to the one door ajar and glanced inside. Strange—she saw vases filled with flowers. The room looked ready for guests. But she tiptoed quickly past.

And suddenly she saw that someone was standing at the end of the long dark hall. She caught her breath. It looked like Jenny.

Cindy started forward. The figure at the end of the hall started forward at the same instant.

“Jenny?” whispered Cindy. She stood still, waiting for an answer. The figure had stopped too. There was no sound, no answer.

Was it Jenny? She had to find out. She walked quickly and silently toward the figure. The figure walked toward her. And suddenly Cindy was face to face with the other person. She was staring into her own eyes. A mirror! It was framed in dark brown wood and was fastened to the door. At the top of the glass was etched an owl with outstretched wings.

And then suddenly Cindy heard a noise to her right. She turned her head. The doorknob of the closed door was turning slowly.

What was behind that door? The man in black—it must be. With wide eyes Cindy stared. She couldn’t take her eyes off the turning doorknob.

The door opened slowly toward Cindy. She was glued to the spot. It was the man in black. He stared down at her. His black eyes under his bushy black eyebrows seemed to bore right through her. He grabbed her arm. Cindy tried to pull loose, but his long thin fingers gripped tightly. She opened her mouth to call for help.

“Wait!” he whispered urgently. “You don’t understand! I’m a detective!”

“Y
OU’RE A DETECTIVE!”
gasped Cindy.

“No wonder you suspected me,” said the man in black. “Of course you thought I was acting in a very suspicious manner. How were you to know? And I couldn’t explain. I was afraid you might tell someone.”

Cindy swallowed. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t realize—”

The man interrupted. “I feel I can trust you. I feel I can trust you to cooperate with our investigation.” His black eyes peered at her. “I can, can’t I? I can trust you?”

She nodded.

“My name is Alex Baxter. I’ve been working on this case for some time. In fact, there are several men assigned to the case. It is that important. And we are finally nearing the end. We have the break we’ve been looking for.” He paused.

“Maybe we can help you,” Cindy said quickly. “My name’s Cindy Temple. I live just across the street. My brother and our next-door neighbor and I have a detective club. The boys are downstairs now. We’ve solved a lot of mysteries.”

“A detective club!” exclaimed Alex Baxter. His eyes gleamed. “Perfect! I’ll have to talk to all of you right now. Privately. We can’t let Tom Foster overhear us. I think you may be helpful. Yes, most helpful.”

Cindy thought fast. Then Tom Foster was in on it after all, in on whatever was happening.

Alex Baxter jerked his head toward the back stairway. “I’ll meet you and your detective club out on that porch where all the plants are. Hurry! We have no time to lose.”

Cindy turned and ran quickly down the hall to the back stairway. She crept down the steps. She listened at the door before she opened it into the kitchen. Everything was quiet except for the hum of voices in the rest of the house.

She slipped noiselessly into the kitchen. The boys were not in sight. But she found Jay in the study on the other side of the living room. “Where’s Dexter?” she asked in a whisper. “We’ve got to have a meeting—fast!”

“What’s up?” asked Jay. “Dexter’s probably out on the greenhouse porch. He wants to buy some plants. Where were you, anyway?”

“Hurry now, talk later,” said Cindy. “I’ll explain everything when we find Dexter.”

They walked through the other rooms to the glassed-in porch. They saw Alex Baxter just ahead.

Dexter was setting some small cactus plants aside. He looked up when Jay and Cindy entered. “Hey, these are great cactus plants,” he said. “I’m going to buy six.”