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Authors: Florence Parry Heide

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BOOK: Mystery of the Melting Snowman
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Jay looked from Dexter to Cindy. He cleared his throat. “A detective told us,” he said quietly. “He’s known about Jenny Mayflower and Tom Foster for a long time. It’s true, Mrs. Wellington. They
are
crooks. They go from one town to another, finding rich old ladies to cheat.”

Cindy poked him.

“I mean rich ladies,” said Dexter.

“Anyway,” interrupted Jay, “they’re con artists. Playing a confidence game. They’re selling your house. They’re having a neighborhood sale just so they can get as much cash as they can in the shortest time. They’ve already stolen and sold all the valuable things.”

“Yes,” Cindy said. “And Mr. Baxter, the detective, told us—”

Melanie Wellington held up a jeweled hand. “Mr. Baxter? Mr. Alex Baxter?”

“Why, yes,” said Cindy in surprise.

“But, my darlings,” she smiled, “Alex Baxter is my nephew! My terrible, talented nephew!”

Chapter 8
Secret of the Iron Dog

T
HE THREE DETECTIVES
stared at Melanie Wellington and then at each other.

“Your nephew?” asked Cindy.

“Oh, yes, my sweethearts, my nephew. He’s no more a detective than the man in the moon. He doesn’t have time to be a detective. He’s a full-time, all-time liar.” And Mrs. Wellington exploded into laughter.

She wiped her eyes with her long flowing scarf. “Forgive me, my darlings,” she said. “This is too delicious, too delicious. Alex Baxter, detective! What next?” She leaned forward and beckoned them closer. “He’s a fraud, my beautifuls, a
born
fraud. I don’t blame you for being taken in by his cunning. He’s fooled me too. Many times.”

She leaned back and took another sip of hot chocolate. “He comes over occasionally. Usually to get something out of me. I wondered why he came over yesterday. A most unwelcome visit, I can assure you. He absolutely stormed in, all black, all fire. A black coat, black hat, black gloves, black boots, black hair, black eyebrows, black eyes, and a black look.”

She paused and tilted her head back, her eyes half closed, smiling. “I have a confession to make. I don’t like him—my own nephew! I never have. He’s really quite terrible. A greedy, clever man. And now he’s been telling you some very naughty tales. Pay no attention.”

“But, Mrs. Wellington,” Cindy said finally, “he gave us his card. It was printed and everything. It says, ‘Alex Baxter, Detective Investigator.’ And there’s a Chicago address and telephone number. I’ve got it with me, I’ll show you.”

Mrs. Wellington held up her hand. “No need to show me, dear one. I trust he’s made lots of cards like that. All with a different profession under his name.”

“But he told us about the other detectives who work with him,” said Jay. “And he has an answering service.”

“He can’t be lying,” protested Dexter, frowning.

“And why not?” asked Mrs. Wellington. “He’s playing this nasty joke on you because he’s greedy and wants something. I’ll tell you why he came to see me. He was looking for an iron doorstop. It’s in the shape of a dog and very charming. He knows its secret, but he doesn’t know the whole secret. He just knows it’s valuable. I know the whole secret. Nobody else knows a thing about it.”

The Spotlighters looked at each other. Mrs. Wellington went on. “I knew at once he was looking for it. I’m not quite sure how he figured it out, but he wanted that dog. He’s a clever young man, you know. A pity he didn’t turn all his genius to something good. Ah, well,” she sighed. “But to go on. He stormed in like a thunder cloud. I looked at him and said, ‘Now, now, Alex.’ He was all sweetness then. ‘Aunt Melanie this,’ ‘Aunt Melanie that.’ A very convincing act, but he didn’t fool me. He looked in every nook and cranny. And then I said, ‘Alex Baxter, spit it out. You’re looking for that dog.’ He looked at me with big innocent eyes and shook his head. ‘But you’re not going to get it,’ I told him. ‘Jenny has the dog and is bringing it over to me.’ He scowled at me then. You know his scowl.”

She paused and sipped from her cup. “And then I told him my plan,” she continued. “That I have a special surprise for Jenny and Tom. And that it has to do with the doorstop.” Her eyes twinkled at the three detectives. “And they have no idea! I love surprises. Tonight we’re going to have a wonderful party at my old house. They’re going to pick me up here. Tom’s parents will be there too. And then the surprise!” She smiled at them over her cup. “When I told Alex about my plan, he was so angry he could barely speak. I told him he was altogether too greedy and wanted everything for nothing. But this is the one thing he won’t get his hands on.”

The Spotlighters looked at each other. Cindy asked softly, “What if Alex Baxter got the iron dog?”

Mrs. Wellington sat up straight. “Oh, it would be terrible, just terrible!” She stared at Cindy. “He doesn’t have it, does he?”

Cindy quickly leaned forward. “We have it, Mrs. Wellington. We have the iron dog.”

“Oh, that’s beautiful,” sighed Mrs. Wellington. “You have the dog. And Alex is probably looking
everywhere
for it.” She suddenly turned toward Cindy. “You haven’t told him you have it, have you?”

“Yes,” Cindy said weakly. “We left a message for him with his answering service this afternoon.”

Mrs. Wellington gasped. “You told him you have the dog?”

Cindy twisted her hands. “He was so convincing. We were sure we were doing the right thing.”

Mrs. Wellington frowned and tapped her foot. “Just like him to twist your mind in his direction. This is not good, not good at all.” She looked at the detectives. “Does he know where you live?”

Cindy nodded.

“Then you must leave this instant.” She stood up, her scarf trailing behind her. “Get home as quickly as you can. You must make sure that the dog is safe. You must not let Alex have it!”

She rushed to the door of her apartment and opened it. “Hurry, dears. There’s no time to lose. You must keep the dog safe. Bring it to the red house when you see all the lights turned on. Can you do it?” she asked, staring down at them.

“Of course we can,” said Jay. “You’ll see.”

The Spotlighters filed quickly through the door.

“And do be careful!” called Mrs. Wellington after them. “I can’t tell you how important this is.”

“Wow!” Dexter breathed when they were outside the building. “How many times can we be wrong in one day?”

The air was colder now. They hurried to the bus stop.

“I wish we were home now,” Cindy said. “What is it about that dog? I’ve looked at it and looked at it, but I can’t figure it out.”

“It must be filled with money,” said Jay. “I’ll bet it is.”

“It must be,” Dexter said. “No wonder he wants it so much.”

Cindy stared out the bus window and shivered. “I wonder where Alex Baxter is now. What if he’s waiting right outside our house?”

The three detectives were silent for a minute.

“Why do only Mrs. Wellington and Alex Baxter know what’s so important about the dog?” asked Jay. “Why not Jenny?”

“I guess Mrs. Wellington wanted it to be a secret from Jenny so she could surprise her,” Cindy said. “But how did Alex Baxter find out about it?”

The bus stopped and the three detectives got off. Shadows moved in and out among the houses and trees. Was one of the shadows Alex Baxter’s?

“Let’s make a run for it to our house,” whispered Jay. They darted across the street.

“I’ll grab the key,” Jay said, hurrying ahead of Dexter and Cindy. “Mom always leaves it in the same place.”

They let themselves in the front door.

“The dog’s in my room,” called Cindy, as she dashed up the stairs, two steps at a time. The boys raced up after her. She pulled down the window shade and turned on her light. She took the dog out from under her bed. She’d half expected it to be gone.

They sat in a circle on the floor, staring at the iron doorstop. Dexter picked it up. “Maybe it has something to do with the iron ball in its mouth,” he said, putting his fingers around the ball. He tried to twist it and turn it, but it didn’t budge.

“There just has to be money in there,” said Jay, frowning. “It must open. Let me try it.” He took the dog from Dexter and turned it upside down. He tapped it. “It’s empty,” he reported. “Hollow.” He shook it hard for a minute, holding it close to his ear.

Cindy took the iron doorstop from Jay. She stared at the collar around its neck. Then she ran her fingers along it. “There’s something…” She grasped the head firmly and suddenly there was a slight grating noise. She twisted the head slowly around and unscrewed it from the body.

“It’s empty!” breathed Dexter, peering into the iron dog. “I don’t believe it. Who could have taken the money out?”

“There’s got to be something inside here,” said Jay, taking the dog and shaking it. Nothing fell out.

Cindy was peering into the head. “I can’t see anything,” she said, frowning. She poked her fingers up into the head. “But I can
feel
something in here!”

“What is it?” asked Jay, leaning toward Cindy.

“I can’t tell,” Cindy said. “It’s something hard and small, but it’s stuck to something. It’s stuck to wax.”

She pushed her fingers into the head again. “I’m getting it loose,” she said excitedly. Dexter and Jay leaned closer. A minute later Cindy cried out, “I’ve got it!”

She drew her hand out, and the three detectives stared at the small object in Cindy’s palm.

Dexter whistled. “A key!”

Cindy scraped the rest of the wax off the key and held it up. “So this is what Alex Baxter wanted!”

“It wasn’t the doorstop after all. It was the key all the time. But what good is a key without a keyhole?” asked Dexter.

Cindy stared at the key in her hand. “Wait a minute,” she said slowly. “I just heard or read something about a key. I’m sure I did.”

“What was it?” asked Jay.

“I can’t remember,” Cindy said.

“That helps,” commented Dexter.

“Let me look in my notebook,” Cindy said, reaching into her coat pocket.

“Always her notebook!” sighed Jay. “You’d think she couldn’t eat unless she checked her notebook first.”

“You’re always glad I have it and that I write everything down,” said Cindy. “I just
know
I saw something about a key somewhere.” She turned the pages, frowning at each one.

“Here! I knew I was right. Look.” She showed the boys what she had written.

“I don’t get it,” Jay said. “What is it?”

“Remember when I asked Mrs. Wellington what the poem in the sampler meant?” Cindy asked.

The boys nodded.

“She said it was a riddle. I wrote it down so that later I could figure it out by myself. Look at the title.”

“The Secret Key,” read Jay. “You were right about a key,” he said to Cindy.

Cindy frowned and tapped her pencil on her notebook. “Listen while I read it. See if you can think of anything it could mean.

I meet someone beneath the owl—

That someone seems to me to scowl.

I smile and see that someone smile,

We stay together all the while.”

“What’s that business about an owl?” asked Dexter.

“Where would you ever meet an owl? Except in a woods somewhere.”

“I don’t get it,” said Jay. “And who’s staying together all the while? Does that mean forever?”

BOOK: Mystery of the Melting Snowman
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