Mystery in San Francisco (6 page)

“Why not, Henry?” Aunt Jane asked.

Before Henry could answer, Vito said, “Not order fish? Vito’s is known for its fish. What do you want? The catch of the day? Salmon? Tuna? Sea bass? You name it; I have it.” Then he quickly walked away.

“That’s strange,” Jessie said.

“What is this about?” Uncle Andy asked.

“We ran out of fuel this morning,” Kate explained, “and we had to cut the fishing short.”

“And Vito told Charlie he wouldn’t have enough fish for tonight’s dinner,” Henry concluded.

“Vito was really angry,” Benny added.

Uncle Andy shrugged. “He seems to have all the fish he needs.”

“Maybe he bought some from someone else,” Violet suggested. Everyone sat and thought about the mystery.

Finally they opened their menus. They had a difficult time making a selection. Everything sounded so good. Each of them decided to order something different. That way they could sample many dishes.

Benny looked around the restaurant. Old anchors, wheels, and other boat gear hung on the walls. The window in the kitchen door was a round porthole.

Suddenly Benny pulled at Henry’s sleeve. “There’s that man again!” he muttered. Henry looked up in time to see the mysterious man at the round window. Jessie and Violet saw him, too.

The Aldens exchanged puzzled glances. Each wondered the same thing:
What is that man doing in the kitchen of Vito’s Vittles?

A
fter dinner, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny went back to Kate’s boat. While they were relaxing on the boat deck, it began to rain.

“We should go inside,” Kate said.

“But it isn’t raining hard,” Jessie said. “May we stay up here for a little bit longer?”

“Okay. I’ll get your jackets,” Kate said. When she came back with them, the children put on their jackets and Kate slipped into her black poncho.

“Do you have a yellow slicker?” Violet asked.

Kate looked at her. “A yellow slicker? No. Why?”

Violet’s face reddened. “Oh . . . uh . . .”

“Yellow is Violet’s favorite color,” Benny piped up. “Next to purple.”

It began to pour. “I guess it’s time to turn in,” Kate said.

Once the Aldens were settled for the night, they discussed the events of the day.

“Do you suppose Vito is in on this?” Jessie asked.

“Why would Vito be causing trouble for the fishermen?” Henry said. “He needs their fish.”

“I don’t know,” Jessie said. “It just seemed odd seeing that mysterious man in Vito’s kitchen.”

“That’s right,” Violet said. “What was he doing there?”

“Maybe he’s the one who sold fish to Vito,” Benny suggested.

“I don’t think he’s a fisherman,” Violet said. “Where would he get the fish?”

They all thought about that. Finally Jessie said, “Maybe he works for one of the fishermen.”

“That’s possible,” Henry agreed. “He could be helping to ruin Charlie’s business so Vito will buy from someone else.”

“What about Kate?” Benny asked. “What was she doing in Sausalito with that man?”

“That wasn’t Kate,” Violet argued. “You heard her say she doesn’t own a yellow slicker.”

“Well, it
was
Kate we saw in Chinatown,” Benny said.

“We can’t be sure, Benny,” Jessie said.

“What about the red hair?” Benny persisted.

After a silence, Violet said, “Benny, there are lots of people with hair like that. And San Francisco is a big city.”

Jessie yawned. “This is getting way too complicated,” she said.

Late that night, Benny awoke with a start. “What was that?” he whispered. There it was again: the noise that had awakened him.

At the window, Henry said, “I think someone’s on Charlie’s dock.”

Beside him, Jessie murmured, “Someone is out there. See that light?”

Violet and Benny crept out of bed. Before they could reach the window, another sound cut through the silence.

Breaking glass!

“What’s happening?” Benny asked.

“The light went out,” Henry told him.

Jessie peered through the window. “I don’t see anyone.”

“It’s too dark out there,” Henry said as he returned to bed. “And we don’t know our way around the dock very well. Let’s check it out in the morning.”

Benny climbed under the covers. “Maybe Charlie came back to sleep on the boat again.”

“Charlie doesn’t use a light,” Henry reminded him.

“Maybe he needed one tonight,” Violet said. “There’s no moon.”

“We’ll have to wait until morning to find out,” Jessie said.

The next morning, they awoke to the sound of foghorns.

Henry looked at the clock. “It’s late,” he said. “We’d better get moving.”

They dressed quickly.

“I wonder if Kate’s still sleeping,” Violet said.

In the main cabin, Jessie had the answer. “She isn’t here.”

They went outside on the deck to look for her. She wasn’t there, either. In the distance, a patch of yellow shone through the drifting fog.

Violet squinted through the haze. “Look!” she said. “It’s the woman in the yellow slicker.”

“And she’s on Joe Martin’s boat!” Jessie added.

Benny nodded. “It’s Kate,” he said. “She’s in on this with Joe Martin.”

“Let’s go,” Henry urged. “We’ll see what she’s up to.”

They hurried inside, grabbed their jackets, dashed back outside, and hopped onto the dock. Then they raced along the walkway to Charlie’s and Joe’s pier.

The red-haired woman was gone!

“We should tell Charlie about Kate,” Benny said.

“Tell him what?” Henry asked.

“That she and Joe Martin and that strange man are causing all the trouble,” Benny answered.

“But we don’t know for sure, Benny,” Jessie said.

“Charlie would never believe us,” Henry added.

“
I
don’t even believe it,” Violet said.

“Yoo-hoo!” someone called.

It was Kate. She hurried toward them.

“She’s not wearing the yellow slicker,” Violet observed.

“Maybe we
didn’t
see her on Joe’s boat,” Violet said. “Maybe we didn’t see anyone. Maybe it was a trick of the fog.”

Kate came up beside them. She was carrying a shopping bag. “I bought sourdough bread — a San Francisco specialty — for our breakfast,” she said. “And lots of good snacks for later.”

From his boat, Charlie called, “Are you landlubbers ready to set sail?”

“What’s a landlubber?” Benny whispered.

Henry answered, “Someone who lives on the land and doesn’t know much about the sea.”

Benny chuckled. “That’s us.”

Kate led the parade to the boat. Waiting his turn to board, Henry saw something glistening on the dock. He leaned over and picked it up. It was a piece of broken glass.

“Come on, Henry,” Charlie urged him. “The fish are waiting.”

Henry set the glass fragment on top of a barrel where no one would step on it. Then he hopped aboard.

“Is the radio fixed?” Violet asked. She didn’t want to be stuck out in the water again.

“Fixed,” Charlie said. “Everything’s shipshape.” Charlie backed the
Chum
away from the dock. “This is going to be a good day. I can feel it in my bones.”

The Aldens hoped he was right.

I
t was a perfect day — even more beautiful than the day before had been. The sea was calm. The sky was bright. The fishing was good.

It was difficult to think about trouble on a day like this.

“You were right,” Benny said to Charlie. “This
is
a very good day.”

Even the birds knew it. They hovered over the boat, squawking. Benny and Violet tore bits of bread from the large loaf Kate had brought and tossed them to the gulls. The birds dipped and dived, snatching up the tidbits.

They were having such a good time that when Charlie said “Let’s haul in the nets,” they were disappointed.

“Are we going in already?” Benny asked.

Kate smiled. “No, Benny,” she said. “But the nets are full. We’ll empty them into the well and cast them out again.”

Kate and the Aldens helped reel in the nets. Charlie whistled as they worked. Fish jumped and splashed. Many of them escaped to slip back into the cold waters.

“They’re getting away!” Violet said.

“Don’t worry,” Charlie told her. “We have plenty to spare.”

And then the nets were up out of the water.

Empty!

Charlie’s mouth dropped open. Kate gasped. The Aldens stared in disbelief. But it was true. Except for the few fish that had gotten tangled, the nets were empty. Charlie ran his hands along the netting. He punched his fist through one large rip after another.

“This can’t be,” Kate said. “I checked those nets myself.”

Charlie was too angry to speak. He turned the boat around and headed for shore. Kate and the Aldens kept silent, too.

Ashore, the word spread quickly. Before long, Vito Marino stormed onto the dock. “Is it true?” he demanded. “Did you come in empty, Charlie?”

Charlie looked at him long and hard. Then he turned away without answering.

“It’s true,” Kate said.

“This is the last straw,” Vito said. “I’m sorry, Charlie, but I can’t depend on you.”

Joe Martin’s boat eased up to the dock. “What’s going on?” he asked as he threw a line over a post. Kate told him.

Joe hopped onto the deck beside Charlie. “Oh, Charlie, what bad luck.” He turned to Vito. “I had a very good day. Maybe I could help out until Charlie gets back on his feet.”

He ushered Vito onto his boat for a look at the catch.

Vito shook Joe’s hand. “It’s a deal, Joe,” he said. “I’ll buy your fish.”

Charlie watched them silently with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t let this get you down, Charlie,” Kate said. “Come on. Let’s repair the nets.”

Charlie waved her away. “It’s no use,” he said. “I’m finished.” With hunched shoulders and slow steps, he headed off the pier.

“Let’s go after him,” Benny murmured. “We can tell him what we know.”

Henry held him back. “We have to think about this first.”

Kate came up beside them. “I’m going after Charlie,” she told him. “Will you be all right?”

Jessie nodded. “We’ll be fine. You go ahead.” Kate trotted away.

“Joe and Kate,” Benny said. “They’re the ones.”

Violet looked sad. “I can’t believe Kate has anything to do with this.”

“She could have cut the nets this morning, “ Henry said.

“Or last night,” Jessie said. “She might have been the person we heard.”

Henry nodded. “She had plenty of chances. She could have siphoned the gas and cut the radio wire, too.”

Jessie agreed. “No one would suspect anything if they saw her on Charlie’s boat.”

“If she
is
working with Joe, it would all make sense,” Henry said. “Joe wanted Vito’s business; she helped him get it.”

“But what about Tony?” Violet asked. “He said he’d give anything to get Vito’s business. And don’t forget Vito and that strange man. Maybe they were planning all this last night in the restaurant kitchen.”

Benny nodded. “All of them — they’re all in on it.”

“We have to tell Charlie,” Jessie said.

Henry shook his head. “He’ll never believe us — not without proof.”