Tattletale Mystery (3 page)

Henry said, “It must be written in some kind of code.”

“Look on the other side, Jessie,” suggested Mrs. Spencer. “There’s a message on the back that isn’t in code.”

Jessie flipped the paper over. It was a note from the Tattletale:

“To solve this code

Go back in time;

Leonardo da Vinci

Holds the key to a rhyme.”

Benny made a face as Jessie read it aloud. “Who’s Leonardo da ... da — ”

“Da Vinci,” finished Mrs. Spencer. “He was an artist who lived a long time ago.”

The Aldens looked at one another but didn’t say anything. They didn’t have to. They were all thinking the same thing. How could an artist who lived a long time ago help them break the code?

“He was one of Milly’s favorite artists,” said Mrs. Spencer. Then she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Sometimes I get the feeling it’s Milly herself doing all these strange things.”

“What do you mean, Mrs. Spencer?” Benny’s eyes were huge.

Mrs. Spencer shrugged a little. “I can’t help wondering if she’s trying to tell me something.”

Violet felt an icy chill go through her. Was Benny right about the paper airplane coming from out of nowhere? Was the ghost of Milly Manchester responsible for everything that had happened?

Jessie spoke up. “You don’t really believe that, do you, Mrs. Spencer?” she asked.

“I don’t know what to believe,” Mrs. Spencer answered. Then she gave her head a shake and laughed. “I’m sure I’m getting all worked up about nothing. This is probably just somebody’s idea of a joke. Nothing more than that.”

“Well, if it’s a joke, it’s not a very funny one.” Henry frowned. “But I don’t think we should jump to any conclusions until we do some investigating.”

Mrs. Spencer nodded. “That’s a good suggestion, Henry.”

“Mrs. Spencer, do you mind if we take this message with us?” Jessie asked. “We might be able to break the code.”

Mrs. Spencer thought this was a good idea. As Jessie tucked the coded message into her pocket, Henry and Violet looked at each other and smiled. They could always count on Jessie to think of everything.

On the way home, Benny asked the other Aldens a question. “Do you think it’s true?”

“What do you mean, Benny?” Jessie asked, as they stopped to wait for a light to change.

“Do you think Milly’s doing everything?”

“No.” Henry shook his head firmly. “The Tattletale is
not
the ghost of Milly Manchester, Benny.” But the youngest Alden didn’t look convinced.

That evening at dinner, the children told their grandfather everything that had happened. Jessie finished by saying, “The problem is, we don’t have any idea how we’re going to solve this mystery.”

James Alden finished helping himself to some of Mrs. McGregor’s delicious meat loaf. Then he passed the platter to Henry. He looked at his eldest granddaughter. “Unless I miss my guess,” he said with a chuckle, “it won’t be long until you think of something.”

Benny scooped mashed potatoes onto his plate. “Leonardo holds the key.”

Grandfather looked over at his youngest grandson. “Leonardo?”

“Leonardo da Vinci,” replied Benny. “He was an artist.”

“A brilliant artist.” Grandfather nodded. “But that’s not all. He was also an inventor. In fact, Leonardo da Vinci was probably the greatest genius who ever lived.”

The children looked at their grandfather in surprise. “What kind of things did he invent?” Benny wanted to know.

Taking a bite of his meat loaf, Grandfather chewed thoughtfully. “As I recall, he drew designs for diving equipment and a submarine. Even a helicopter and a parachute.”

Violet looked puzzled. “But ... I thought Leonardo da Vinci lived a long time ago.”

“He did,” Grandfather told her. “Long before the days of flying machines. That’s why his ideas are so amazing.”

“But I don’t get it,” said Benny, putting his fork down. “How can he give us the key to a rhyme if he lived in the olden days?” Henry said, “I think we should find out more about Leonardo da Vinci.”

“How will we find out?” asked Benny. Jessie thought about this. “We can go to the library. We should be able to find lots of information about a genius.” And the others agreed.

Right after breakfast the next morning, the Aldens set off on their bikes for the Greenfield Public Library.

“Do you think this is somebody’s idea of a joke?” Jessie asked.

Violet looked at her sister. “Oh, Jessie!” she gasped. “Do you really think it’s possible?”

“I don’t want to think anyone would do something like that, Violet,” said Jessie. “But we have to consider everything.”

“I have a hunch there’s more to it than that,” Henry insisted. “After all, the Tattletale went to a lot of trouble making up codes and clues.”

“I hope we can figure out why he — or she — went to so much trouble,” Violet said as they slowed to a stop outside the library. She propped her bike against a tree. So did the others.

Inside the library, Henry said, “Let’s start by checking the computer catalog.” He led the way to a long table with a row of computers on it.

The others gathered around while Henry sat down in front of a computer. His fingers tapped against the keyboard as he searched for any books about Leonardo da Vinci. Before long, a list of titles appeared on the screen. Jessie wrote the Dewey decimal numbers on a piece of paper, then they all hurried off to search the shelves.

When their arms were full, the children headed for an empty table by the window. They sat down with their books piled high in front of them.

“How nice to see the Aldens again!” said a voice behind them, and the children turned around in surprise. An attractive young woman with reddish brown hair smiled at them.

“Hi, Janice!” said Jessie, returning the young woman’s friendly smile. The children were regular visitors to the library and often ran into Janice Allen.

“I’m impressed,” said Janice, noticing all the books in front of them. “What’s all this about?” She took a closer look at the titles. “Oh, you’re reading about Leonardo da Vinci! We were just studying about him in school.” Working at the library was Janice’s part-time job while she went to college.

“Do you know a lot about art, Janice?” Violet wondered.

“I know a little about art history,” said Janice. Then her smile faded and she sighed. “But when it comes to drawing, I have no talent whatsoever.” She noticed someone waiting by the information desk and hurried away.

The Aldens wasted no time getting started. Jessie helped Benny with the harder words. Before long, Henry came across a drawing in red chalk. He turned the book around so the others could see.

“It’s a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci,” he said, as they all stared in fascination at the drawing of an elderly man with long hair and a long beard.

“What’s a self-portrait?” Benny wanted to know.

“That just means Leonardo drew a picture of himself,” explained Jessie.

Violet had found something interesting, too. “This is the
Mona Lisa.
She showed them a painting of a dark-haired woman with a gentle smile. “It’s the most famous painting in the world. But Leonardo da Vinci didn’t even sign it.”

“Just like Milly Manchester,” whispered Benny. “She never signed her paintings, either.”

After a moment’s thought, Jessie said, “That’s interesting, but ... it doesn’t help us decode the message.”

“That’s true,” admitted Henry. “I guess we’ll just have to look harder.” And the others nodded.

A few hours later, Benny finally slumped in his chair, his hands on his cheeks. “We’re getting nowhere,” he groaned, looking defeated.

Henry glanced up from his book. “Don’t be so sure! Listen to this: ‘Leonardo da Vinci was afraid his ideas would be stolen, so he wrote his notes in codes and in mirror writing.’ ”

Benny straightened up. “Wow, Leonardo da Vinci liked mysteries, too! But ... what’s mirror writing?”

“It’s writing that’s backward,” explained Henry. “But if you hold it in front of a mirror, you can read it.”

“Do you think the code is mirror writing?” asked Violet.

Jessie fished the message from her pocket. After studying it carefully, she had to admit it was possible. “It just might be.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Benny excitedly. “Right, Henry?”

“Right!” Henry sounded just as excited as Benny. “We can use the rearview mirror on my bike.”

After returning their library books to be reshelved, the Aldens hurried outside. Benny hopped up and down impatiently as Jessie held the message up to Henry’s rear-view mirror.

“Can you read it, Jessie?” He wanted to know. “Is it mirror writing?”

With a nod, Jessie read the message aloud.

“She is guarded in Greenfield

By night and by day

And the smile on her lips

Never does go away

The smile is more famous

Than any in history

And behind it there lurks

A snapdragon mystery.”

“All right!” cried Benny. “Now we’re getting somewhere!”

Violet didn’t look so sure. “But ... what does it mean?”

“Beats me,” said Henry.

Benny grinned. “We’re good detectives,” he reminded them. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so, Benny,” said Henry. “I hope so.”

Solving mysteries is hard work,” Benny said as they wheeled their bikes back onto the road. “But it’s fun, too,” he quickly added.

“That’s for sure!” Jessie said. And the others agreed. The Aldens were never happier than when they were figuring out clues.

Henry looked at his wristwatch. “It’s almost lunchtime. Why don’t we get something to eat at Cooke’s Drugstore.”

Benny was grinning from ear to ear. “That’s a great idea!”

It wasn’t long before they were sitting at the long lunch counter of the drugstore, studying the menus.

“Aaah, my favorite customers!” Mrs. Turner greeted the children with a big smile. Her gray hair was pinned back from her round face. “What’ll it be today?”

Henry ordered a ham sandwich, coleslaw, and a cola. Jessie had a bacon and tomato sandwich and milk, and Violet ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a strawberry milk shake. Benny decided on a hamburger, french fries, a chocolate sundae with extra sprinkles, and milk.

“Benny, you eat like a bird,” Mrs. Turner teased good-naturedly. “And I don’t mean that kind of bird!”

The children looked at Mrs. Turner, then in the direction she was pointing. Through the big plate-glass window, they could see a small pigeon on the top of the minuteman statue. They couldn’t help laughing at Josiah Wade. The Revolutionary War hero was standing in the middle of Town Square with his musket at his side — and a pigeon on his head!

“No, you don’t eat like a pigeon, Benny,” Mrs. Turner went on. “I was thinking more of those big prehistoric birds.”

Benny grinned. “I wonder if they liked extra sprinkles, too,” he said, making them all laugh.

While they waited for their food, the Aldens turned their attention to the mystery. “I wish we knew more about the Tattletale,” said Jessie. “I can’t stop wondering who it is.”

“At least we have another clue,” put in Henry.

The others looked surprised to hear this. “We do?”

“Sure.” Henry nodded. “The Tattletale must be somebody who knows a lot about art history.”

Nodding, Violet said, “That’s true. How else would he — or she — know that Leonardo da Vinci wrote his notes in codes and mirror writing?”

Benny took a spin on his red-leather stool. “Leonardo really
did
have the key to a rhyme! I can’t wait to tell Mrs. Spencer all about it.”

“We’ll do that right after lunch, Henry said. “And then we can try to figure out what the message means.”

As soon as they finished eating, the Aldens hiked over to Mrs. Spencer’s. Just as they were turning into the driveway Jessie looked up and saw the elderly woman waving to them from an upstairs window. She was motioning for the children to come in.

After parking their bikes, the Aldens hurried up the front walk. Benny raced ahead of the others. When he stepped inside, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. A woman with short sandy-colored hair was sitting in the living room, flipping through a photograph album.

When the screen door clicked shut, the woman suddenly jumped. She closed the photograph album with a sudden bang, then tossed it quickly onto the coffee table. It was almost as though she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t.

Just as the other Aldens came inside, the woman spotted Benny standing in the doorway. Leaping to her feet, she snapped, “How dare you come in without knocking!”

Benny’s face turned bright red. “I’m sorry,” he said in a small voice, taking a step back.

Henry was quickly at his brother’s side. “We thought Mrs. Spencer wanted us to —” he began.

The woman cut in, “Whatever you’re selling, my mother isn’t interested.”

“You must be Rachel,” said Jessie, smiling a little. “We’re the Aldens. I’m Jessie. And this is my sister, Violet, and my brothers, Henry and Benny.”