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“Isn’t that the hotel trying to buy your motel?” Henry asked, frowning.

“Yes,” Kay said. “I knew of her connection with the hotel, but didn’t let myself think about it. I didn’t see how Millicent could be the one. I think, though, now is the time to ask Millicent a few questions!” She turned and smiled at Violet. “You’re a good detective, my dear.”

“Shall we run and tell Millicent that you want to talk to her?” Benny wanted to know.

“Tell her to come up for coffee and rolls,” Kay said. “Maybe, then, she won’t be suspicious.”

“I have the feeling she might be gone,” Jessie said quietly.

“Rolf is coming to finish the roof,” Kay said. “I’ll talk to him about it. I really don’t want to call the police again. Not until we’re sure about Millicent.” She turned to Benny. “Go ahead and bring her here, Benny.”

“We’ll see if she’s in,” Henry said, moving to the door.

The four Aldens left, racing¹ downhill.

Benny was the first at Millicent’s door. He knocked and knocked.

“No answer,” Jessie said. “It’s just as I thought.”

Benny knocked louder.

“I’m afraid you’re right, Jessie,” Violet said.

“All right,” Henry said. “Let’s spread out and try to find her.”

Three painters, who were finishing the trim on the windowsills, waved to Henry as he went by. One said they would soon be gone for good. Willie was weaving through the painters’ legs and they tried to shoo him away.

They searched everywhere, even in the painters’ truck and the bike shed, but Millicent wasn’t in sight.

Discouraged, the children met back in front of their motel unit.

“From Kay’s house, we had a good view of the motel,” Henry said.

“That’s right,” Violet said. “No taxis drove in.”

Jessie shook her head. “Where can she be?”

The two lanky² painters walked by on the way to their truck. “Good-bye, kids. We’re finished.”

The third painter stayed behind. He must be new, Henry thought. And he’s so plump and short.

“Let’s return to Kay’s,” Jessie said wearily. “She’ll be disappointed that Millicent has disappeared.”

All at once the painter in the background sneezed—three small sneezes. Violet stared at the painter who was attempting to push Willie away. “That painter,” said Violet, “sneezes just like Millicent sneezes.”

All eyes turned on the plump painter in the white overalls³ and billed cap who was walking rapidly in the opposite direction.

“Just a minute!” Henry shouted, dashing in front of the painter and blocking his way. “We want to talk to you.”

The painter sidestepped Henry, but Jessie rushed forward and grabbed his arm. The painter yanked Jessie’s hair.

“Ow!” Jessie yelled, loosening her hold.

The painter twisted free, but as he did his cap flew off, revealing mussy gray hair and an angry round face.

“It’s Millicent!” Benny yelled. “Stop her!”

But Millicent rushed off. She pushed Violet, causing her to topple over. Benny, feet firmly planted, stood in her way and Henry grabbed her. She gasped⁴ for breath and held up her hand. “Stop,” she whispered. “I give up. I’ve had enough of this.”

Henry hoped Millicent wasn’t hurt. It was hard to believe that this sweet woman had caused Kay’s problems.

Benny stared at her. “Millicent,” he said reproachfully. “Did you do all those mean things?”

Millicent just shook her head.

“Kay wants to talk to you,” Violet said quietly.

“Very well,” Millicent said meekly⁵. “May I change out of these ridiculous overalls?”

“We’ll wait outside your door,” Jessie said, not unkindly.

In a little while, Millicent, her hair neatly⁶ brushed, came out. She wore a fresh pink dress and carried her purse, looking very different from her painter disguise.

“Let’s go,” Millicent said calmly.

They climbed the hill to Kay’s house. The Aldens were eager to hear Millicent’s explanation.

When the Aldens and Millicent arrived at Kay’s house, Rolf met them and led them into the living room. Quietly the children seated themselves next to Aunt Jane. Once Millicent was settled in an easy chair by the window, Kay handed her a cup of coffee.

There was an awkward silence as Millicent nervously⁷ cleared her throat. “I-I’m sorry for what I did to you, Kay.” She blinked rapidly. “You’ve been good to me, and I’ve repaid you by doing terrible things!”

“All of us want to understand, Millicent,” Kay said gently. “I think we deserve to be told the truth.”

Millicent nodded several times. She began in a trembling voice. “As you know, Kay, I once worked for the Adventure Hotel chain as a secretary.” She sipped⁸ her coffee and went on in a stronger voice. “The hotel desperately⁹ wanted to buy the Cypress¹⁰ Motel so they could build a big new hotel. Mr. Warner, the manager, promised me a large sum of money if I would help them out and force you to leave.” She dabbed¹¹ at her mouth with her napkin.

“I knew it was wrong, but I needed the money badly. Besides, I thought you’d be happier with all the money the hotel would pay you, Kay. You could leave this old rundown motel a wealthy woman.” She hesitated, looking at the Aldens. “I had no idea the motel could be changed into such a pretty place or that it meant so much to you.”

Rolf leaned forward and said in a calm voice, “You damaged the shingles¹².”

“And you turned on the running water,” Jessie accused. “That really could have flooded the motel.”

“Oh,” Millicent said, her usual smile returning. “I didn’t want that to happen, Jessie. I just wanted a little water in your room.”

Kay refilled Millicent’s cup, and the older woman gave her a grateful look.

“How did you know how to turn off the lights and water?” Kay questioned.

“Mr. Warner at the hotel told me what to do.” Millicent sighed. “I surprised myself. I didn’t know I was capable of some of the things I did.”

“You did awful things,” Kay said sternly.

“How did you end up in a painter’s uniform?” Henry asked.

“Oh, I became a good liar¹³, too.” Millicent set her cup down. “But I didn’t like what I was doing. I told one of the painters that I wanted to play a practical joke on you, and I asked to borrow a pair of overalls. He thought it was funny and gave me an extra uniform he kept in his truck. I was going to ride out of here with them.”

“And why did you enter Kay’s home and mess it up?” Aunt Jane asked.

“I was looking to see if you had any money in the house. Without money, Kay, I didn’t think you could go ahead with remodeling. That wretched cat tripped me up twice. He scared me half to death when I stepped on him. I couldn’t get out fast enough.” She paused to remove a hanky from her sleeve. “The second time Willie tripped me up was when he uncovered my disguise by causing me to sneeze.” She looked at Violet. “I saw how suspicious you were and knew I had to get away.”

“You even had the nerve to dump the oranges in the pool,” Violet said. She hated to believe someone she had liked and trusted could do such mean things.

“I must admit,” Millicent said, “that I couldn’t think up all these destructive things alone. Most of them were Mr. Warner’s plans.”

Jessie asked, “Where is Mr. Warner?”

“He works in the Adventure Hotel office in downtown Lyndale,” Millicent said. “He came over and put the six cans of paint in the car and also carried the orange baskets down to the pool.”

Behind her, Kay reached for a pad and pencil on the desk to jot¹⁴ down the name.

“The worst thing,” Rolf said, “was stealing the six cans of paint and ruining the shingles. It was expensive.”

Millicent gazed at her hands. “I’m not proud of what I’ve done.” She looked up. “I thought if I got rid of the paint, you’d stop.” Tears glistened¹⁵ in her eyes. “Before you call the police, I just want you to know I’m sorry, Kay.” Her gaze shifted to the Aldens. “I apologize to all of you.” She gave Benny a trembling smile. “I really did enjoy baking for you.”

“I enjoyed eating it, too,” Benny admitted. He felt unhappy at the thought of Millicent in jail.

“I’ll try to repay you for all the damage I cost you, Kay,” Millicent said.

“No,” Kay said firmly. “I mean to have a little chat with Mr. Warner. I’m certain the hotel will be happy to pay damages rather then risk bad publicity¹⁶.”

Millicent’s smile returned. “Oh, what a good idea.”

Kay cleared her throat. “Millicent, I’m not calling the police. I don’t want to prosecute¹⁷ you because I think you’ve suffered enough.”

Millicent gave a sigh of relief.

“But,” Kay continued, “I think you should leave at once.”

“You’re not sending me to prison?” Millicent’s face lighted in wonderful disbelief. “Oh,” she said, “I promise to leave today, Kay. Believe me, I’ll never become involved in anything dishonest again.” She fumbled¹⁸ in her purse. “Here are the reservations.” She handed Kay a bundle of letters. “You’ll have plenty of tourists to keep your motel occupied all winter.”

“Where will you go, Millicent?” Kay asked.

Millicent answered slowly. “I have a sister in Cleveland. I’ll stay with her until I find a job.” She stood up. “I’m still a fine secretary, you know. I know I’ll find a job.”

With her hands on the doorknob, she turned. A tear rolled down her cheek. “I really was fond of all of you,” she choked.

Willie padded into the room. Suddenly Millicent sneezed. Three small sneezes. “That’s my cue to leave,” she said. She smiled weakly, and quickly left, shutting the door behind her.

The only sound in the room was Willie’s purr as he settled in Violet’s lap.

Finally, Aunt Jane broke the silence. “Tomorrow we must return to Greenfield, too, Kay. The children need to get ready for school, and I need to return to Andy. My husband misses me,” she said with a smile, “and I miss him also.”

“Not so soon!” Kay protested.

Aunt Jane laughed. “You’ll do fine now. And we’ll be back, won’t we, children?”

“Yes,” Violet said, and the others nodded enthusiastically.

“Then tonight we’ll have a party to celebrate,” Kay pronounced.

“Oh, boy, a party,” Benny said.

“I’ll bring steaks,” Rolf offered.

“We’ll bring broccoli¹⁹,” Jessie said.

“And potatoes,” Henry said.

“And ourselves!” Benny said in a loud voice.

“Oh,” Kay said. “Invite Catherine, too, will you?”

“With pleasure,” Violet said.

For their last night, they dressed in their best. As they left unit number one a yellow taxi was leaving. Millicent was on her way.

Going up the hill, they talked and laughed. How good it was to have the mystery solved.

When they arrived at Kay’s house, they were all, including Catherine, seated about a round table. Rolf brought in the steaks.

“Here they are!” Rolf boomed, dishing up a beautiful charcoal-broiled steak at each plate. He sat down next to Kay.

“Well, children,” Kay said, beaming at them. “You and Jane convinced me to stay and I’ve never been happier.”

“Yes,” Jessie added. “This place is too beautiful to leave.”

Kay chuckled²⁰. “Now it’s beautiful. Thanks to your hard work.”

“There were lots of mean things that happened,” Benny said, helping²¹ himself to the broccoli. “I was scared once or twice.”

“Yes, Benny, there were lots of bad things,” Rolf said emphatically. “But they’re all over now!”

“We even suspected you,” Violet admitted, glancing at Rolf.

“Me?” Rolf’s black brows shot up. “Oh, I see. When you didn’t know who the guilty one was, you were suspicious of everyone.”

Jessie smiled. “Yes, everyone.” She gave a sideways glance at Catherine.

“Not me!” Catherine said, her dark eyes sparkling with humor. “I wondered myself who it could be.” Catherine looked especially pretty tonight in a soft yellow dress.

Jessie gave an embarrassed little laugh. “I have to tell you, Catherine, that when we made up your bed I knocked a book to the floor and your map fell out.”

Catherine said, “And you saw the big red circle around Kay’s motel, and the Adventure Hotel, right?”

“Yes,” Jessie said. “We wondered why.”

“Because,” Catherine explained simply, “this was the map I used to come to Florida. I marked Kay’s motel and the hotel because I wasn’t sure which one I’d stay at.”

“Oh,” Jessie said, laughing with relief.

“It’s over now,” Kay said. “I’ve gone through the reservations, and my motel will be occupied most of the winter.”

Rolf reached over and covered Kay’s hand with his big tanned one. “That’s wonderful, Kay. I must admit I wanted you to sell because I thought your motel was making you unhappy. I can see now that it’s just the opposite. But running a ten-unit motel will need a lot of work.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “And I’ll be here to help.”

Benny poked²² Henry, grinning and motioning at Rolf.

“Won’t your regular Snowbirds be surprised when they see the changes you’ve made?” Jessie asked.

“They’ll be delighted!” Kay answered. “Excuse me,” she said, pushing back her chair and going into the kitchen.

Henry and Violet cleared the table.

Kay reentered with a large cake. On the frosting were four figures outlined in pink icing, and underneath²³ were the names Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. “This is to thank you for your work and to thank your Aunt Jane for bringing you to visit me.” She cut big slices for each one.

Benny’s eyes grew big. “A chocolate cake!”

“Yes,” Kay said, putting the pieces on plates. “A chocolate cake with fudge filling.”

The night was one of happiness and laughter.

The next day as Rolf and Kay drove the Aldens and Aunt Jane to the airport they were all sad to say good-bye to Florida. Kay was sad to see them go. They were pleased, though, that Kay was happy with her motel and best of all that she had a good friend in Rolf. They would come back. Aunt Jane had promised. And they were happy another mystery had been solved.