Clue in the Corn Maze (3 page)

Once the Aldens were dressed for cleaning up manure, Mr. Sweeney passed out shovels and a wheelbarrow. Then he showed them where to dump the manure.

“I may use it for the garden later,” Mr. Sweeney explained.

Then he led the children back to the maze. “I’ve been working on the path straight ahead,” Mr. Sweeney said. “Why don’t you kids work the paths that go off over there? I haven’t been down that way.” Mr. Sweeney gestured toward the right.

“Okay,” the Aldens agreed.

Before Mr. Sweeney turned to leave, Violet told him about the light she’d seen moving through the maze during the night.

“Jessie and I also saw a light on in your place, Mr. Sweeney,” Violet said. “So we know you were up. Did you see anything unusual?”

“Nope,” Mr. Sweeney said.

“What were you doing up in the middle of the night?” Jessie asked. “Did you go outside to check on the maze?”

Mr. Sweeney looked annoyed. “No. I got up to use the bathroom. Then I went right back to bed. Same as every other night.”

“So maybe the person who spread the manure was carrying the light,” Henry said. “Do you know anyone who would want to sabotage the corn maze?”

“Can’t think of anyone,” Mr. Sweeney replied. “Look, I really don’t have time for all these questions,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done. Now, I thought you kids wanted to help.”

“We do,” Violet said. “But we also want to figure out who’s been making such a mess in the maze.”

“We’re good at solving mysteries,” Henry said.

“Well, right now I need kids who are good at cleaning things up rather than kids who are good at solving mysteries.” He set off down the maze path.

“I don’t think Mr. Sweeney likes us very much,” Benny said after the older man had left.

“He sure doesn’t like us asking questions,” Henry said. “Do you think he could have anything to do with the vandalism?”

“Why would he vandalize Ken’s maze?” Violet asked. “It looks like he’s the one who ends up doing most of the cleanup.”

“Plus, he and Ken are friends,” Benny said. “He works for Ken. And he lives right by Ken, on his land!”

“Well, he sure isn’t very friendly,” Jessie put in. “But maybe that’s just because he’s had a lot of extra work to do lately.”

“Speaking of work, we’d better get started,” Henry said as he grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow.

The Aldens started down the main path, then followed the path that veered off to the right.

“Yuck,” Benny said, stepping gingerly. This is disgusting!” He jabbed his shovel into a pile of manure and plopped it into the wheelbarrow.

“Wait a minute!” Violet said. “Look! There are footprints over here.”

“Mr. Sweeney said he hasn’t been down this path yet,” Henry said. “So the footprints must belong to the person who made all this mess.”

The footprints were long and narrow and pointed at the tip.

“They look like prints from cowboy boots,” Violet said.

“You could be right, Violet,” Jessie said.

“Mr. Sweeney had on cowboy boots,” Benny pointed out.

“I bet a lot of people who live around here wear cowboy boots,” Violet said.

“Violet’s right,” Henry said. “We don’t want to jump to any wrong conclusions.”

“Besides,” Violet put in. “It’s possible Mr. Sweeney did come down this path after all. Maybe he just didn’t remember.”

For the next couple of hours, the Aldens mucked out the maze paths and dumped the manure in the pile behind the storage shed.

“There sure are a lot of paths in this maze,” Jessie said as she wiped the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead.

Not every path was covered in manure, but the Aldens went down every path anyway. Cleaning up manure was hot, dirty work. But the important thing was getting the maze ready so Ken could open in the afternoon.

“Hey, what’s that?” Benny asked when they turned another corner. Something red lay in the dirt up ahead. Benny ran to see what it was.

“It’s a cap,” Benny said, picking it up.

“Not just a cap,” Jessie said. “It’s a cap that has a built-in flashlight. Look.” She flipped a tiny switch on the side of the cap and a bulb lit up.

“Wow! That’s pretty cool!” Benny exclaimed.

“I knew I’d seen a light in the maze last night,” Violet cried.

“Good work, Benny,” Henry said. “Whoever was in here last night probably dropped it.”

Mr. Sweeney came to check on them a few minutes later. “How are you kids doing?” he asked.

“Pretty good,” Jessie said. “We’re almost done with all the paths on this side of the maze.”

“Good.” Mr. Sweeney nodded.

“Mr. Sweeney?” Benny held up the cap he’d found. “We found this while we were working. Do you know who it belongs to?”

Mr. Sweeney squinted at the cap in Benny’s hand. “It’s not mine.”

“Does it belong to Ken?” Violet asked.

“Don’t know,” Mr. Sweeney replied. “You’d have to ask him.”

“No, it’s not my cap,” Ken said later when the Aldens showed the cap to him. “Where did you find it?”

“We found it inside the maze,” Henry said.

“We’re wondering if it belongs to the person who dumped the manure there,” Jessie added.

Ken frowned. “I wish I knew who that was.”

“You don’t have any idea?” Grandfather asked.

“Not a clue,” Ken replied. “But I’ll tell you something. No one is going to scare me into canceling the festival. The King Corn Days Festival must go on!” He pounded his fist on the table.

“Yeah!” shouted Benny.

The Aldens got cleaned up and changed clothes. Then Jessie and Violet made sandwiches for lunch.

“Could I watch the people in the maze from the lookout tower?” Benny asked as he set the table.

“Sure, Benny,” Ken answered. “If anybody gets lost, you can direct them out.”

“Oh, boy!” Benny clapped his hands.

“In fact, the rest of you can help, too, if you want,” Ken said. “I could use a couple of ticket-takers. And sometimes people want to buy vegetables. It can get pretty busy if a lot of customers come at the same time.”

“We’d love to help,” Violet said as she carried a plate of sandwiches to the table. Jessie carried a pitcher of lemonade. Then everyone sat down to eat.

“Oh, before I forget,” Ken reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out an envelope. “The mail carrier delivered this to the wrong house. This letter should go to Peggy Rodman, my neighbor down the street. You would have passed her place on your way here.”

“Is that the house with all the vegetables out front?” Henry asked.

“Yes,” Ken answered. He handed the letter to Henry. “Would you kids mind delivering this letter to her after lunch? I can take care of the visitors until you get back.”

Henry took the letter. “Sure, Ken. We’d be happy to.”

The Aldens walked along the side of the road to get to Peggy Rodman’s place. Corn grew tall in the field beside them.

As soon as the Aldens started up the gravel drive that led to Peggy Rodman’s house, a black dog leaped against the kennel beside the garage and barked.

“Quiet, Rosie!” a woman said from her chair on the porch. The dog immediately quieted down.

The woman stood up when she noticed the children. She was around David’s age, with chin-length blond hair. She wore a plaid shirt, faded jeans, and tennis shoes.

“Can I help you?” the woman asked cheerfully as the Aldens approached. “Are you here to buy some vegetables?”

There were bins of carrots, onions, cucumbers, beans, corn, and several kinds of squash spread out on the grassy front lawn. The vegetables took up most of her yard. Up close, some of them didn’t look very good. Several had rotten spots. They must have been sitting out for a long time.

“No,” Henry said. “We’re looking for Ms. Peggy Rodman.”

“I’m Peggy,” the woman said.

Henry handed Peggy the letter. “We’re staying with Ken Johnson. This letter was delivered to him by mistake, so he asked us to bring it to you.”

“Oh.” Peggy’s smile disappeared when Henry mentioned Ken’s name. “Well, thank you for bringing it down here,” she said stiffly.

“It was no trouble,” Jessie said.

Peggy turned to walk away, but Benny called after her. “Have you seen Ken’s corn maze yet?”

Peggy stopped. She looked a little surprised by Benny’s question. “No,” she said slowly. “And I probably never will see it.”

“Why not?” Violet asked.

Peggy seemed a little embarrassed. “Well, I’m afraid Mr. Johnson and I don’t get along very well,” she said.

The Aldens looked at each other. Ken was so nice. Why wouldn’t he and Peggy get along?

“Did you know there’s been trouble with Ken’s maze this week?” Jessie asked.

“Yes, I heard he had to close yesterday. One of my customers said there had been some vandalism the night before.”

“That’s right,” Jessie said. “Somebody toilet-papered the whole maze.”

“What a shame,” Peggy said.

“And last night someone dumped a whole bunch of manure in it,” Benny said, holding his nose.

“Well, I didn’t hear anything about that,” Peggy said.

“You’re Ken’s closest neighbor,” Henry said. “Did you happen to wake up at all during the night either last night or the night before? Did you hear or see anything suspicious?”

“I slept like a baby both nights,” Peggy said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.” She turned and headed back to her house.

“Before we go,” Benny said, “Do you think I could use your bathroom?” He seemed a little uncomfortable.

Peggy looked sympathetic. “Sure,” she said, motioning for the children to follow her. “Come on. I’ll show you where it is.”

The other children waited on the front porch for Benny. He didn’t take very long.

“Thanks,” he called to Peggy when he was finished. Then they all headed back toward Ken’s house.

Along the way, Benny pulled a scrap of toilet paper out of his pocket and handed it to Henry.

“Where did you get that?” Henry asked.

“From Peggy’s bathroom,” Benny replied. “I was wondering if it was the same as the toilet paper we found in the maze.”

The other children examined the scrap. “It’s got the same swirly pattern of raised dots,” Violet pointed out.

“Just because Peggy uses the same kind of toilet paper we found in the maze doesn’t mean she’s the one who toilet-papered it,” Henry said. “We have no reason to suspect her.”

“She said she and Ken don’t get along,” Benny said.

“That still doesn’t prove she’s the vandal,” Jessie said.

Benny’s face fell.

“But it was good thinking to try to match up the toilet paper,” Jessie said quickly.

“That’s right,” Henry put in. “We just need more evidence before we can figure out who vandalized Ken’s maze.”

For the rest of the afternoon, the Aldens helped with the maze. Jessie helped Ken run the cash register. Violet and Henry took tickets. And Benny and Grandfather watched from the lookout.

“It’s just as much fun watching people go through the maze as it is going through ourselves,” Benny said, resting his elbows on the ledge.

There were a lot of visitors. Many of them said they had tried to come yesterday and were disappointed the maze was closed.

“I’m glad you’re open today,” one lady said as she followed a curly-haired little boy over to the goats. “A couple hours out here and Daniel will be ready for a nap.”

“Are these vegetables for sale?” another lady called from the front yard.

“Yes, they are,” Ken called back.

“I see you took my advice this year,” a third lady said to Ken as she plopped two bags of beans down on the table in front of Jessie.

“What advice was that?” Ken asked.

“I’m the one who suggested you join up with that lady down the street,” the woman said. “It’s nice to be able to go through your maze and then buy our fresh vegetables right here without having to stop at her place, too.”

“Oh, I remember you now,” Ken grinned. “Yes, I did take your advice. Or, at least I tried to. Unfortunately, my neighbor wasn’t interested in going into business together, so I just planted a small vegetable patch myself.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” the woman said as she took some money out of her billfold and handed it to Jessie.

“So am I,” said the next woman in line. “Your vegetables look wonderful! And they’re cheaper than your neighbor’s.”

When all the customers were busy feeding the animals or working their way through the maze, Henry asked, “Why wouldn’t Peggy want to go into business with you, Ken? It seems like it would be a good arrangement for both of you. You’ve got the maze and she’s got the vegetables.”

“That’s what I thought, too, Henry,” Ken said. “But she didn’t want to haul all her vegetables up here. And I think she believed she could make more money selling her vegetables herself.”

“I wonder if she really is making more money,” Jessie said. “A lot of people are buying your vegetables. But when we were down at her place earlier, she didn’t have any customers.”

“Well, she’s got more vegetables for sale than I do,” Ken said. “Selling vegetables was just an experiment for me this year. I didn’t plant a very large patch. When I run out, people will have to buy from her again.”

“Hey, Ken,” Jack Sweeney called as he lumbered toward them. He did not look happy. “We’ve got to get a lock on that storage shed. I’ve been shooing people out of there all afternoon.” He put his hands on his hips and glared at the people who were entering the maze.

“Oh, I don’t think there’s anything in the storage shed that we need worry about,” Ken said, unconcerned.

“There are tools in there. And animal feed,” Mr. Sweeney said. “I just caught a bunch of kids climbing all over the bags of feed. Their parents weren’t paying any attention to what their children were doing!” He sounded pretty angry.

“All right, Jack. Calm down,” Ken said. “We’ll get a lock the next time either of us goes into town.”

Mr. Sweeney didn’t look satisfied. “You know, I didn’t take this job to be a babysitter,” he said as he took his hat off and rubbed his forehead. “I’m a farmhand. That’s what I do.”

“I know, Jack,” Ken said sympathetically. “And you’re very good at what you do. You’ve been with me almost twenty years, and I’ve never been unhappy with your work.”