Cereal Box Mystery (3 page)

Sitting at the front desk was Officer Weatherspoon, the same police officer who had come to the Aldens’ house when it had been broken into.

“Marvin Map?” she repeated, when Henry asked about him. The officer shook her head. “We had to let him go for lack of evidence. He’s a slippery character.”

“What do you mean?” Violet asked.

Officer Weatherspoon said, “We caught him at the intersection of Fox Lane and Windmill Road. He was breathing heavily as if he had been running, although he pretended he was just walking along. He was wearing a raincoat. We’re pretty sure he was the man who grabbed the jewelry. But no one could make a positive identification and we didn’t find any of the jewelry on him.”

“Thank you, Officer Weatherspoon,” Jessie said.

“Why did you want to know?” asked the policewoman.

“We’re going to find the rubies,” Benny blurted out.

Officer Weatherspoon raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t laugh. Instead she said, “Good luck.”

The Aldens got on their bicycles and pedaled as fast as they could to the intersection of Fox Lane and Windmill Road. A small gift shop stood on one corner. A vacant lot was on another. Houses were on the other two corners.

As the Aldens got off their bikes, a huge dog behind a fence began to bark ferociously. Benny jumped back.

Henry said, “I don’t think Mr. Map hid the jewelry there!”

Pointing, Violet said, “Maybe he went into the store and hid it in there.”

But when they asked the owner of the gift shop, she shook her head. “I saw the guy run by across the street,” she told them. “He didn’t come anywhere near my store.”

“Did you see him hide anything? Or throw anything away before the police caught him?” Jessie asked.

Again the store owner shook her head. “Nope. He ran partway up the street, then stopped suddenly, put his hands in his pockets, and began to whistle as if he didn’t have a care in the world. It was almost as if he wanted the police to catch him.”

“Thank you,” Henry said.

When they went back outside, Violet sighed. “I don’t think he hid the jewels near here,” she said.

“No,” Jessie agreed. “But maybe we should look around, just in case.”

The Aldens checked the empty lot, but all they found were tin cans, old newspapers, and one flat tire. “People sure are litterbugs,” Benny said as he gathered up the garbage and put it into a trash can on the corner.

Henry bent and peered into the trash can.

“What are you doing, Henry?” Jessie asked.

“Checking to make sure he didn’t hide the jewels in here. It would be a good place to hide them. Who would ever think of looking for jewels in a trash can?”

But no necklace, ring, or bracelet glittered amid the cans and bottles and papers in the garbage can.

They went to one of the corner houses and knocked on the door. When an old man answered, Violet said politely, “We’re looking for something we lost. Could we check around your front yard?”

“Help yourself,” the man said. “I just cut the grass two days ago, so whatever you lost should show up easily — if it’s there.”

“Thank you,” Violet said.

They carefully searched the yard, even looking under bushes and rocks. But they didn’t find the stolen jewelry. And when they knocked on the front door of the other house, no one answered.

“Let’s retrace Mr. Map’s steps,” Henry suggested. “We saw the officer turn where the thief did. We can figure out where he went.”

But although the Aldens retraced Mr. Map’s escape route all the way back to Main Street, they didn’t find any jewels. Nor did they find a single clue.

“Maybe he’s really not the thief after all,” Jessie said in a discouraged voice.

“Maybe not,” Henry said.

Violet said, “Let’s go talk to Mr. Bellows. We could ask him how to find Ms. Smitts and Mr. Darden, too. Maybe they could remember something that would help us.”

“Good idea,” said Benny.

Mr. Bellows was sitting at the counter in his store, his chin in his hands. He did not look happy.

“Hi, Mr. Bellows,” Benny said.

“What? Oh, hello,” said Mr. Bellows. He didn’t move.

Bending over to look at the rings sparkling on the blue velvet in the glass case, Jessie asked, “Has Mr. Darden been back to buy a ring?”

“No,” said Mr. Bellows. He made a face. “My last customer was the thief. And he wasn’t exactly a paying customer.”

“Have you remembered anything else about the robbery?” Henry asked. “Something else that might help catch the thief?”

“Not a thing,” said Mr. Bellows. “I just bought those rubies recently. How could the thief have known about them?”

“Maybe he had been in your shop before. Maybe he saw them then,” Violet said.

Mr. Bellows shook his head. “No. I put them out the day before yesterday. The only one who could have seen them was Mr. Darden. He was in right before I closed up for the evening that day. But I don’t think he even noticed them. He was looking for a ring.”

“Did anyone else know you had the rubies?” asked Jessie.

“Just me. And the woman who sold them to me, of course. Dr. Anne Marie Kroll,” Mr. Bellows told them.

“Do you think Mr. Darden or Ms. Smitts might remember more about what happened?” Violet asked.

Straightening up, Mr. Bellows said, “I don’t know. Ask them yourself if you’d like.” He reached into his pocket and brought out his notebook. He flipped it open and tore out the piece of paper where they had written their names and addresses.

“Thanks!” Jessie said.

Outside the store, Henry said, “I think we should visit Mr. Darden first.”

“Me, too,” Jessie agreed. “I think it is suspicious that he hasn’t come back to shop for a ring.”

“And he didn’t want the police to have his name and address, either,” Violet reminded them. “That sounds suspicious, too.”

“It sure does,” Henry said. He looked at his watch. “I think we just have time to get supplies and pay a visit to Mr. Darden before lunch. He might be the key to the whole mystery!”

M
r. Darden’s house was on a quiet street not far from Main Street. The house had a small porch, and flowers grew in pots on either side of the front steps.

When he opened the door, Mr. Darden looked surprised. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“We’d like to ask you a few more questions about the robbery at Antique Treasures,” Henry said.

David Darden glanced over his shoulder, then quickly stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind him. “What do you want to know?” he said.

“Do you know anyone named Marvin Map?” Jessie asked.

“No!” Mr. Darden said. He hesitated and then said, “Except what I read about him in the newspaper, of course.”

“Why didn’t you want to give your name and address to Mr. Bellows for the police?” Jessie went on.

Mr. Darden said, “Shhh, keep your voice down.” He looked over his shoulder again.

“And why haven’t you been back to buy a ring like you said you would?” Benny demanded.

“Shhh!” Mr. Darden said sharply. Then he said, “Will you please go away!” And without saying another word, he turned and went back inside, closing the door firmly behind him.

The Aldens were so surprised that they didn’t speak for a moment. Then they turned and went back down the steps to their bicycles. Jessie glanced over her shoulder at the house as they rode away. “He’s hiding something,” she said. “And don’t forget, he knew the rubies were there, or he could have known. The only other people were Mr. Bellows and Dr. Kroll.”

After lunch, the Alden children gathered supplies to take out to the boxcar. They were going to work on the party decorations there.

But as they reached the boxcar, their steps slowed. Watch growled softly and the hair on his neck stood up.

“What is this?” Jessie asked.

“It looks like Benny’s cereal,” Violet said.

Benny ran forward. “It is!” he cried. “Someone has sprinkled Stars all over the ground.”

The Aldens bent to examine the spilled cereal. Watch trotted around the corner of the boxcar. A moment later, he trotted back with something in his mouth. It was the empty cereal box.

“The thief must have dropped the box while he was running away last night,” said Henry. “Good dog, Watch.” Watch cocked his head and panted.

Jessie looked puzzled. “But why did he open it before he dropped it?”

“Why did he take it if he didn’t want to eat the cereal?” Violet wondered.

“Hmmm,” said Jessie. “If you ask me, the cereal box mystery is even harder than the jewelry mystery — we know why someone would steal valuable jewelry. But why would anyone steal a box of cereal?”

When Soo Lee arrived, the Aldens told her what had happened. She was just as puzzled as they were. “But if we scatter the cereal in the grass,” she said, “at least the birds can eat it.”

“Good idea, Soo Lee,” said Jessie.

Soo Lee and Violet and Benny scooped up the cereal that was spilled near the boxcar and scattered it across the lawn for the birds. Watch helped by eating pieces of the cereal.

“Oh, Watch!” Soo Lee laughed. “You’re a silly dog.”

Watch wagged his tail.

“It’s good cereal, isn’t it, Watch?” asked Benny.

Watch wagged his tail again.

“I’ve never had any,” said Soo Lee.

“You’ve never had Silver Frosted Stars?” Benny’s eyes widened. “Wait right here.”

He hurried away and returned with his opened box of cereal. Going into the boxcar, he returned with the old cracked pink cup that had been his when he and his sisters and brother had lived in the boxcar. He poured some of the cereal into the cup.

“Here,” he said. “You can eat it without milk. We’ll eat Stars while we make decorations for Grandfather’s party.”

The Aldens worked all afternoon. Benny and Soo Lee made a big poster that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDFATHER in bright letters. They painted a rainbow behind the words.

Violet painted a bouquet of purple flowers with green leaves and drew a frame around it for Grandfather Alden. Jessie and Henry gathered branches of greenery to make into birthday wreaths.

“We can pick flowers on his birthday and make a big birthday bouquet,” said Jessie.

“We could paint pinecones different colors and put them in a big glass bowl,” said Soo Lee. “That would be pretty.”

“I know, I know! I know an even better idea,” cried Benny, bouncing up and down in excitement.

“What is it, Benny?” asked Violet.

“We can get Grandfather a special tree and decorate it. Then we can plant it and he will have it forever and ever,” Benny said.

“That’s a terrific idea, Benny,” said Jessie admiringly. “We’ll put all our money together and go pick out a perfect tree tomorrow.”

Violet suddenly turned her head and frowned.

“What is it, Violet?” asked Soo Lee.

“I don’t know,” said Violet. She looked around uneasily. Then she said, “I must be imagining things. But I just had the strangest feeling that someone was watching us.”

The other Aldens looked around, too. But they couldn’t see anyone.

Then Watch jumped up and raced toward the woods behind the house, barking as loudly as he could!

“W
atch, come back!” shouted Henry. He ran after Watch. So did all the others.

As they reached the edge of the woods, they heard crashing sounds and heavy footsteps. A shadowy figure ran between two big trees and then disappeared.

The Aldens ran after the figure. But they had to stop at a steep bank leading down to a wide stream. Watch ran up and down the bank, barking fiercely.