The Mystery of the Purple Pool (2 page)

“Let me introduce my grandchildren. This is Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny.” Mr. Alden motioned to each of them in turn. “Ms. Ames takes good care of me whenever I'm in town,” he explained to the children.

“Your grandfather is one of our favorite guests,” Joan Ames told them. “I'm so glad that he brought all of you with him this time.”

“We've never been to New York City before,” Jessie said.

“Well, then, you've got a lot of things to see here,” Ms. Ames replied.

“Do you think we'll find a mystery?” asked Benny. “We're good at solving mysteries.”

“I'm afraid there are no mysteries here!” Don Parker said with a chuckle.

“Well, I've got to run, but if you need anything at all during your stay, please let me or Mr. Parker know,” Ms. Ames said.

“Thank you,” Grandfather said, as the manager turned and headed back to her office.

Grandfather filled out the check-in forms while the children looked around the bustling lobby, their eyes wide.

“Look at that man over there!” Violet whispered suddenly.

A man had just gotten off the elevator. He had silvery hair and a long pointed nose. He was wearing dark sunglasses, a hat pushed low over his face, and a tightly belted raincoat. He kept his head down and walked quickly across the lobby and out the front door as if he didn't want to be seen.

“He certainly looked mysterious,” Henry said.

“I knew it,” Benny said happily. “A mystery to solve!”

The Alden children laughed.

When Grandfather had finished checking in, he turned to his grandchildren. “We can go up to our room now. A bellhop will bring up our luggage for us.”

“I'm sorry, Mr. Alden,” Don Parker said, his face flushed. “I can't seem to locate the bellhops. They may be taking breaks. But if you'd like to leave your luggage, I'll make sure someone brings it up to your room immediately.”

“That's okay. We can carry our things,” Henry offered.

The children picked up their small suitcases, and Grandfather took his suitcase and garment bag. As they started toward the elevator, they could hear Mr. Parker muttering under his breath, “I wish Joan would have a word with those bellhops …”

Grandfather led the way to the elevator. After all the Aldens and their luggage were inside, he pushed a button marked “5.” “We're in room 502,” he said.

“Look,” Benny said to Violet, pointing to the ceiling. “There's a mirror up there!”

Violet looked up and waved at Benny in the mirror. Benny grinned and made a funny face back at her.

When the elevator reached the fifth floor, the doors opened to reveal a long, red-carpeted hallway.

“Rooms 500 to 510 are this way,” Benny said, reading the sign on the wall and pointing to the left.

“You read that very well,” Jessie told Benny.

The first door had number 510 on it. “It looks like we're all the way at the end,” Grandfather said.

Midway down the hall, a man in a gray suit was talking to a hotel maid. Next to her was a large cart filled with cleaning supplies and fluffy towels. As they approached, the Aldens couldn't help overhearing the couple's conversation. “Why wasn't my room made up?” the man was asking angrily.

“But it
was
made up,” the maid answered. “I did it this afternoon, just as I always do.”

“No, you didn't,” the man replied. “Look — it's a mess.”

As the man pushed the door to his room wide open, the children caught a glimpse inside. Sure enough, it
was
a mess. The two double beds were both unmade, the sheets and blankets lying in heaps on the floor. The wastebasket was overflowing. There were crumpled towels on the dresser.

“It's even messier than when I left this morning,” the man said angrily.

“That's odd,” the maid said. She had a strange look on her face. “I'll fix it up right away,” she assured the man, hurrying inside. “I'm very sorry!”

Down the hall, a door was open, and a dark-haired woman was poking her head out. She was obviously paying close attention to what was going on.

“Who's she, I wonder,” Jessie whispered.

“She looks like a spy!” Violet whispered back.

The woman heard the children whispering, and saw that they were looking at her. Giving them an angry glare, she quickly pulled her door shut, slamming it behind her.

“Well,” Henry said. “What was that all about?”

Before anyone could answer, Benny ran to the end of the hall, and found the door to their suite. “502!” he called out.

The suite was just as beautiful as they'd hoped. It was bright and sunny, with large windows facing Central Park, the large, beautiful park in the center of the city. There was a small sitting area with a couch and two chairs grouped around a low table. To one side was a small kitchenette with a tiny refrigerator, stove, and sink. Off the sitting room were three bedrooms: a large one with a king-sized bed for Grandfather, and two smaller rooms, each with a pair of double beds for the children.

The Aldens stood at the windows, looking out at the view. The hotel was on a busy street, with cars rushing by and people hurrying down the sidewalks. Central Park spread out before them, filled with trees, whose branches were bare. Tall buildings surrounded the park. Along the side of the park was a line of old-fashioned horse-drawn carriages.

“Look! Horses!” cried Violet, who loved animals of all kinds.

“Would you like to go for a carriage ride later?” Grandfather asked.

“Yes!” the children shouted together.

“Let's unpack, and I'll make some reservations,” Grandfather suggested. “Afterwards we'll take our ride through the park.”

The children eagerly went to unpack their bags. Henry and Benny took one bedroom, and Jessie and Violet took the other. “Wow!” Benny said, bouncing up and down on his large bed, “this bed is much bigger than my bed back home!”

Meanwhile, Violet was putting her toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter in the bathroom.

“Oh, how wonderful!” she said, carrying a little basket of toiletries out of the bathroom. “Look at all these goodies.” Jessie and Violet poked through the basket, taking out each tiny bottle of shampoo and lotion and bar of soap. Each one was wrapped in pretty yellow paper with a label that said T
HE
P
LYMOUTH
H
OTEL
.

“Look what I found!” Benny cried, walking into the girls' room with a chocolate bar in his hand. “There's a little refrigerator in the kitchen, and it's filled with chocolates, and nuts, and juice, and soda — ”

“You're not going to eat that before dinner, are you?” asked Grandfather, who had poked his head into the room. “I've made a reservation at one of my favorite restaurants.”

“Then let's go!” said Benny, putting the chocolate bar down.

As the Aldens were leaving, they met a couple with a boy about Benny's age standing outside room 501, next door. The man had a garment bag and a large suitcase in one hand, and with his other hand he was digging in his pocket for the room key.

“May I help you?” Grandfather asked.

“No, but thank you,” the man said, finding the key at last. “They couldn't find a bellhop, so we had to carry all our things up ourselves.”

“Well, it looks like we're going to be neighbors,” Grandfather said, putting out his hand. “James Alden.”

“Edward Grant. Pleased to meet you,” Mr. Grant responded, shaking Grandfather's hand. Then he introduced his wife, Laura, and his son, Bobby. Mr. Alden introduced his grandchildren.

“We've just come in from Massachusetts. Where are you all from?” Grandfather asked.

“Chicago,” said Mrs. Grant. “But we used to live here. We thought it would be fun to come back and visit the Big Apple.”

“I wish I had a big apple right now. I'm
hungry
!” Benny chimed in, and everyone laughed.

“ ‘The Big Apple' is a nickname for New York City, Benny,” Grandfather explained. “Well, we were just on our way to dinner, and I guess we'd better get going. I wouldn't want my grandson to starve. Nice meeting you.”

“Enjoy your dinner,” Mr. Grant said.

“See you later,” Violet called out, as they headed down the hallway.

When they got to the elevator, Jessie turned to her grandfather. “We had to carry our own luggage, too. Isn't it strange that they still haven't found any bellhops?”

“Yes, it is,” Grandfather said. “This used to be a really first-class hotel. That sort of thing would never have happened.”

“Do you think something is wrong?” Jessie asked.

“Like what?” Henry said.

Jessie answered, “I don't know. But where are all the bellhops, and why was our reservation cancelled?”

“I told you there would be a mystery,” Benny said.

Grandfather laughed. “I'm sure
nothing
is wrong. You children are
always
looking for mysteries.”

CHAPTER 3

The Purple Pool

T
he Aldens ate in a fancy restaurant that had long white tablecloths, candlesticks on every table, and music playing softly.

Afterwards they went to the line of horse-drawn carriages for a ride. The children were surprised to see that, like the horses, which were different shades of brown, gray, and black, the carriages were each a little different, too. And so were the drivers. Some had on elegant top hats and tails, and others had clownish, colorful clothes.

The Aldens picked out a white carriage with a heart-shaped window in the back. The driver, a pretty young woman, told them funny stories about the city and pointed out the sights as they rode through the park. The bright lights, and all the activity in the city, even though it was nighttime, excited the Aldens. They listened carefully to everything the driver said.

The next morning, the children woke up bright and early, eager to explore all the places they'd read about in their guidebooks. Even Jessie, who liked to sleep late, was ready to get going.

“I have some phone calls to make before breakfast,” Grandfather said. “But maybe you children would like to try out the swimming pool on the roof.”

“A swimming pool on the
roof
?” Benny asked.

“There's a glass-enclosed deck up there,” Grandfather explained. “And the pool's heated, so it's nice and warm.”

“Great idea, Grandfather,” Henry said.

“We'll meet in the coffee shop for breakfast at nine o'clock. That will give you enough time for your swim,” Mr. Alden suggested.

The children put on their bathing suits, with T-shirts and shorts over them. The hallway was silent, and it seemed that no one else was awake yet.

But when they reached the top floor, they were startled to see that someone else
was
awake. Waiting at the elevator doors was the same mysterious man they'd seen in the lobby when they'd arrived. He was wearing a blue terrycloth robe and the same dark sunglasses he'd had on the day before. His silvery hair was wet.

“Hello!” Benny said as the children got off the elevator. “Did you just go for a swim? How was — ”

Before Benny could finish his question, the man pushed past the Aldens into the elevator. It was as if he hadn't even seen or heard them. The children stared as the doors closed behind him.

“What a
strange
man,” Jessie commented.

“He's not very friendly,” said Benny.

“Maybe he's just shy,” suggested Violet, who was a little shy herself.

“I don't think so,” Henry said. “Just like yesterday, he seemed to be in a big hurry to get somewhere.”

“It's almost as if he doesn't want anyone to see him. Maybe he's got something to hide,” Jessie said.

“Come on!” Benny called, impatient to go swimming. He ran ahead toward the big, frosted-glass doors with the word
POOL
painted on them.

In front of the doors, a young man was seated at a desk. He had blond hair and was wearing a white T-shirt that said T
HE
P
LYMOUTH
H
OTEL
on it. On the desk was a clipboard and a pile of fluffy white towels.

“Hi. Here to swim?” the man asked.

“Absolutely!” cried Benny.

“Great. My name's Mike. I'm in charge of the pool. I just need you to sign in.” He handed the clipboard to Henry, who noticed that there was one other name on the sign-in sheet —
Mr. John Smith.
He figured that must be the mysterious man. Henry wrote down his name, and then handed the clipboard to the others.

When they'd all signed in, Mike glanced at the signatures. “So,” he said, pointing to Violet. “You must be … Benny?”

“No, that's me!” Benny said.

“Oh! Then you must be … Henry?” he asked Violet.

She giggled. “No, I'm Violet.”