Mystery of the Queen's Jewels (8 page)

“Mrs. Brown even said her plan was sort of like stealing,” Benny added.

“I just thought of someone else,” Jessie said. “We told Charles we were going to the theater tonight, too.”

“But he's such a kind man,” said Violet. “I can't believe he'd do anything like this.”

When Mr. Alden came back downstairs, the children showed him the brooch. He turned it over in his hands, studying it. He was just as mystified as they were.

At last he said, “I have a very important meeting first thing tomorrow morning, and I've got to get some sleep. But as soon as my meeting's over, we'll all go to the police station and show them this brooch. Maybe someone has reported it missing. At any rate, the police will know what to do. For now I think the best thing is to get some sleep.” He turned to the boys. “I think it's safe to sleep here. Whoever broke in didn't find what he was looking for. I'm sure he won't come back.”

“And you'll be right across the hall if we need you,” said Benny, yawning loudly.

“Yes,” said Grandfather. “Good night.”

But although it was very late and they were all tired, a long time passed before any of the Aldens could fall asleep.

A
fter all the late-night excitement, the children slept late the next morning. When they awoke, their grandfather had already left for his business meeting. He'd left a note telling them when he'd be home and how to reach him if they needed to.

Because it was so late, the Aldens were the only ones at breakfast. Mrs. Brown told them that the bobby had spoken to Andrew and Donna earlier, but there was no new information.

Jessie turned to the others. “Grandfather probably won't be back until this afternoon, so what should we do until then?”

“How about going to a museum?” suggested Henry. “There are lots in London and so far we've only been to one, the British Museum.”

“That's it!” said Violet.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“That's why that brooch looks familiar,” Violet said. “Remember that jewelry exhibit at the British Museum we saw on our first day here? There were some earrings there that looked just like the brooch — they're probably a matching set!”

“Let's go back there and take a look,” said Jessie. “Maybe there's someone who works at the museum we could talk to.”

The Aldens finished eating quickly and left the inn. They brought the brooch with them, wrapped up and tucked carefully in Jessie's pocket.

At the museum they went straight to the glass display case that held the antique jewelry.

“Look!” said Jessie, pointing. “Violet was right. Those earrings are a perfect match for the brooch.”

The children all peered into the case: in amazement. The earrings were the same oval shape, with the same jewels and intricately engraved
HRH.

“It says they belonged to Queen Victoria over one hundred years ago,” said Violet. “Do you think the brooch did, too?”

“We'd better speak to someone in charge,” said Henry, heading to the information desk. “Hello, we'd like to speak to someone about the royal jewelry,” he said to the woman who was sitting there. “It's important.”

The woman studied Henry for a moment. She was obviously trying to decide whether he was serious.

“We've found something that may be worth a lot of money,” Jessie added.

The woman at the desk picked up her telephone and dialed. “Mrs. Scherr, there are some children here who want to see you, if you have a moment. I know you're busy, but they say it's important.” She listened for a moment and hung up the phone. Then she motioned to one of the uniformed security guards. “Please take these children to speak to Mrs. Scherr,” she said. “She's the head of the British Antiques Department,” she told the Aldens.

The guard led them to the section of the museum where the offices were. “Here's Mrs. Scherr's office,” he said.

“Thanks,” said Jessie as the children went inside.

A dark-haired woman was sitting behind a large desk, which was covered with books and papers. She smiled when she saw the Aldens. “Can I help you?”

“We found something that may belong in this museum,” Jessie said, pulling the package out of her pocket and laying it on the desk.

Mrs. Scherr looked at the children curiously and then began unwrapping the package. When she saw the brooch she gasped. “But — but — wherever did you find this?”

“I know this is going to sound strange,” Henry began. “It was tucked inside my little brother's backpack.”

Benny smiled proudly and held up the red backpack.

“How did it get there?” Mrs. Scherr asked.

“We have no idea,” said Jessie.

“This is a very valuable brooch,” Mrs. Scherr explained. “It belonged to Queen Victoria. It's part of a set.”

“It goes with the earrings in the glass display case, doesn't it?” asked Violet.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Scherr. “This brooch was in a private collection. Last week it was auctioned — in America. I sent my assistant to purchase it for the museum, and he's due back next week. I can't imagine how the brooch ended up in your backpack!”

“We were just as surprised as you are,” said Jessie.

Suddenly Benny said, “What is your assistant's name?”

“My assistant?” Mrs. Scherr asked. She sounded surprised at the question. “His name is Charles. Charles Finchley.”

“Charles?” said Jessie and Henry at the same time.

“I think I know what happened,” said Benny.

Everyone turned to Benny.

“Remember Charles was sitting right near us on the plane, and he had a red backpack just like mine?” Benny said.

“That's right!” said Jessie. “He did.”

Benny went on, “The backpacks were both in the overhead bin during the flight and—”

“And I put the brooch in the wrong backpack,” said a voice in the doorway.

Everyone turned to see Charles standing there, his head down.

“Charles, what is going on?” Mrs. Scherr demanded.

“I'm so sorry, Lauren. I never meant for this to happen,” said Charles. “I went to the auction and bought the brooch, just as I told you on the telephone. But I was so excited I wanted to bring it back myself to surprise you. So I caught an earlier flight. Midway through the flight I took the brooch out to make sure it was safe, and then I returned it to my backpack. It wasn't until I got home that I realized I'd put it in the wrong bag. I'm so scatterbrained sometimes.”

“You certainly are,” Mrs. Scherr agreed, but her voice was gentle.

“So why didn't you tell us?” asked Jessie. “We would have given it back to you.”

“I started to,” said Charles. “I came by your hotel, but you weren't in. And then I panicked. I was afraid that if anyone found out what I'd done, I'd lose my job here.”

“So you were the friend who stopped by,” said Jessie, beginning to understand.

“Then you followed us around, trying to get it back,” said Henry. “We saw someone in a raincoat—”

“That's what was different about the raincoat,” said Violet. “It was all wrinkled!”

“Yes,” Charles said. “That was me. I hoped you'd put your backpack down and I could quickly take out the brooch without bothering anyone. No one would ever know. I tried to get it during tea.”

“So that's why my bag wasn't under my chair when I went to get the camera,” said Benny.

“We mentioned we were going to the theater last night,” said Jessie, “and so you took the opportunity to break into Benny's room.”

“I've never done anything like that before, but I was getting desperate,” Charles said, his voice cracking. “That brooch is very valuable — I had to get it back! Last night, when I didn't find it, I finally realized I had to tell the truth. I should have done that in the first place. That's why I came here, Lauren. I was going to tell you everything.” Charles sighed heavily. “I guess you'll want to call the police now.”

Mrs. Scherr looked seriously at Charles. “I don't know. I don't know what to do.”

Everyone sat silently as Mrs. Scherr picked up the brooch and studied it.

Then Violet spoke up in a quiet voice. “Charles, what you did was wrong — following us around, breaking into Benny and Henry's room. You really scared us! Still, you must have been very frightened, having lost something so valuable. You must not have thought about what you were doing.” Violet looked at her sister and brothers, and then back at Charles. “I think we can forgive you.” The others nodded.

“And for me,” Mrs. Scherr said, “the important thing is that the brooch is safe and you've told me the truth. You do excellent work, Charles — most of the time. I'd hate to lose you.” Mrs. Scherr paused. “I think we can put this all behind us.”

“You mean you're not going to report me to the police?” Charles said. “Or fire me?”

“No,” said Mrs. Scherr. “But I'm certainly not sending you to any more auctions. From now on you can just work here in the office.”

“Oh, thank you, Lauren,” Charles said. “I won't make you sorry.”

“I just remembered,” Violet said. “We have something that belongs to you, Charles.”

“You do?” Charles asked.

“Yes, your hat,” said Violet. “You left it in the tea shop.”

“That's right,” said Benny, digging into his backpack and pulling it out. He handed it to Charles.

“So that's what I did with it! What would I do without kind people like you?” Charles asked, turning his hat around in his hands. “If that brooch had ended up in someone else's bag, they might have kept it, or sold it for lots of money. Even if they were honest people, they might not have known where to return it. I'm lucky you children are so honest and that you were clever enough to figure out that the brooch belonged here at the museum.” Placing his hat on a table beside him, he walked over to the Aldens. One by one he shook each of their hands. “Thank you again,” he said warmly. “When do you leave London?”

“On Monday, at three o'clock,” said Jessie.

“Have a safe trip,” Charles said. Then he turned back to Lauren. “Now, do you mind if I go call my wife and tell her that everything's going to be all right?”

“Not at all,” Mrs. Scherr said.

With that, Charles hurried out of the office. No sooner had he left than Benny picked up a hat from the table that Charles had been standing next to. “Wait,” he called out the door. “You forgot something!”

Everybody laughed.

That afternoon, when Mr. Alden got back from his meeting, Mrs. Brown served the family tea and cookies in the living room. The children told their grandfather all about what had happened at the museum. They had left the brooch with Mrs. Scherr and were happy to have solved the mystery at last.

“There's just one thing I'm wondering,” said Jessie. “If Andrew wasn't the one who hid the brooch in the backpack, then what did he mean about hiding something where no one would ever find it?”

“I guess we may never know,” said Henry.

Just then they heard the front door shut. “Hello, hello! Anyone here?” Andrew called, bounding into the living room. “I have wonderful news! I'm going to be famous! A star of the stage!”

“But you said you were already a star!” said Jessie, confused.

“I did tell you that, didn't I?” said Andrew apologetically. “That was a bit of an exaggeration. But I will be a star soon!”

“What do you mean?” asked Henry. “You said you'd been in all those shows! Are you a famous actor or not?”

“Actor, yes. Famous, no,” said Andrew. “At least,
not yet.
You thought I was famous because I was wearing dark glasses. I couldn't resist — I'm an actor, I love to become someone I'm not. So I pretended to be a star.”

“So that's why that theater fan hadn't heard of you,” said Jessie.

“And that's why you looked uncomfortable when we said we might go to your show,” said Benny. “We would have found out you were lying.”

“But it wasn't all a lie,” said Andrew. “I
have
been in lots of shows, but only in small-town theaters. I came to London a few weeks ago, hoping to finally make it big. I've been auditioning for lots of different parts, dressing up, practicing the lines in my room—”

“Wait a minute, did you say dressing up?” asked Benny. “Like an old man? Or someone with a beard?”

“Yes,” Andrew said. “Sometimes it helps me if I dress the part I'm auditioning for.”

“And you've been practicing your lines in your room?” Jessie asked. “Saying you were hiding something where no one would ever suspect?”

“Yes,” said Andrew, smiling broadly. “That's from
The Mystery Man
.”

“We heard you, and you didn't sound at all like yourself!” said Violet.