Benny saw Henry and Mr. Fogg go into Mr. Furman’s office. He half expected to hear shouting and angry voices. There was nothing of the kind. Soon Mr. Fogg and Henry walked out together. Neither one looked angry or even upset. Benny couldn’t imagine what had gone on in Mr. Furman’s office.
Mr. Fogg called, “Here, Alden. Take this Brewrite coffeemaker to Miss Douglas. It seems you were right. She already has the Peerless.”
Benny could hardly believe his ears. Was Mr. Fogg for once saying that Benny was right? What had happened to make Mr. Fogg behave so differently? Maybe his back was better!
With the box holding the coffeemaker set safely in his bicycle carrier, Benny rode off to Woodland Path. He knocked at the door and had a new surprise. Miss Douglas herself answered and asked him to come in.
“Benny Alden,” she said, “you’ve been here many times, but we have always missed each other.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Benny said. He felt mixed-up. First Mr. Fogg had not acted as Benny had expected. And now Miss Douglas, too, seemed like a new and different person.
“This is a warm morning,” she said. “Would you like some fruit juice and cookies before you ride back? Bring the coffeemaker and we’ll go into the kitchen.”
Benny stepped into a sunny kitchen with plants hanging in the windows. To see Miss Douglas in Furman’s Department Store, anyone would expect her kitchen to be dark and old-fashioned. Instead, everything was new and bright.
Benny put the coffeemaker down on the counter. There were four other coffeemakers already there.
Miss Douglas knew that Benny was curious. “Why do I need five different coffeemakers? I’ll tell you. I have a hobby. I like to test new products. I keep a score for each item, then I know which is best.” She pointed to a sheet of paper, filled with strong, clear writing. “So far, the Peerless is the best of these coffeemakers. But the Brewrite could be better.”
Going to the refrigerator, she poured juice for Benny and offered him cookies.
“I really can’t stay,” Benny said. “Mr. Fogg doesn’t like to have me stop when I’m making deliveries.”
“Mr. Fogg!” laughed Miss Douglas. “He tries to act like an old bear. Sometimes he really makes you think that’s what he is.”
“Well, yes ...” Benny said, not knowing just how to understand what Miss Douglas had said.
“I hear someone knocking,” she said. “Excuse me while I see who it is.”
Benny heard her exclaim, “Come in, Ted! Benny is here now. He’s having something cool to drink. It’s such a hot morning already.”
Miss Douglas led a boy Benny’s size into the kitchen. “Hi!” the boy said, like an old friend.
“Do you two know each other?” asked Miss Douglas. “Benny Alden, this is my neighbor and good errand boy, Ted Evans. What have you there, Ted? Did you get the box from the post office?”
“Here’s the box and some letters, too,” Ted said.
Benny could not see the address on the box, but the wrapping paper had the words “Newport Fine Jewelry” made into a design. And Benny noticed that the word “Forward” was written on a letter that looked as if it was from Furman’s Department Store.
“Do you have many deliveries today?” Ted asked Benny. “It’s too warm to do anything.”
“Just this one for Miss Douglas,” Benny answered. “I think I’ll work in the stockroom in the basement. Anyway, it’s cool in the store.”
“Well,” Ted said, “I’m going swimming at the park pool. Too bad you can’t come.”
The kitchen clock’s ticking reminded Benny that time was passing. He got up quickly and thanked Miss Douglas for the chance to rest.
“I’ll see you here again,” Miss Douglas said. “I understand you will be back in school soon. August is almost over.”
“I wish it weren’t,” Benny said. “I like to work in the store. But how did you know I just have a summer job?”
“Oh, I learn a little here and something else there,” Miss Douglas said. “It’s surprising how much you can learn if no one thinks you are paying attention.”
As Benny rode back to Furman’s, he thought about what Miss Douglas had said. He began to put some ideas together. At last he said, “It can’t be true. I have to be wrong.”
Back at the store, Benny reported to Mr. Fogg. He took the Peerless coffeemaker without saying anything. Then Benny went down to the basement, where he had a locker. It was such a hot morning that he had not worn even a sweater, so his locker was empty. Except for one thing. He had put the mystery letter, the one he had received when he began working, on the locker shelf.
Benny took the letter down and opened it. He looked thoughtfully at the writing and the blue paper. “I wish I could really compare this,” he said to himself. “I think I’m right, but I can’t be sure.”
Later in the morning, Doris needed more cups and saucers for her department. Benny carried them up to her.
“Are all those lockets sold?” he asked.
“Yes, every one. I’m ordering a dozen more.”
“Who makes them?” Benny asked. “Did you find them listed in a catalog?”
Doris laughed. “I suppose I could have. But the name of the maker was on the box. That’s how I found out where to order them.”
“Do you remember the name?”
“Oh, Newberry or Newport or Portland. I can’t remember right now. If you really want to know I can look it up.” ’
“It’s all right,” Benny said. “I was just curious.”
At lunchtime Benny and Henry took their sandwiches and ate them in the park. Benny looked around to make sure no one was near.
Then Benny said, “I have an idea about Maggie Douglas, but no one will believe it. I don’t think she’s Maggie Douglas at all.”
Henry didn’t say a word. He took a big bite out of his ham-and-cheese sandwich. Then he looked at his brother and winked slowly.
“What does that mean?” asked Benny.
“It means I think you are getting close to the mysteries we have had at the store.”
“What makes you think so?”
“I don’t know too much,” Henry said. “I just know a little piece. This morning when Mr. Fogg and I went in to talk to Mr. Furman, he was busy. He asked us to sit down while he finished a telephone call.”
“Yes?” said Benny. “What about that?”
“Mr. Furman kept saying, ‘All right, all right, yes, yes.’ Then he said, ‘I have her telephone number here.’ ”
“That’s all?” Benny asked. “I wonder what that was all about. It’s none of my business, I guess. But do you remember the telephone number?”
Henry laughed at Benny. He said, “It is none of your business, but you just want to know everything that is going on. It happens I do remember the telephone number because it was an easy one—222-1212. I’m sure I’ve seen it near a phone in the store.”
Benny thought about the number for a minute. Then he said, “I think I know whose number that is. But I’m not ready to tell you yet. Do you think the call was about ordering something?”
Henry smiled. “I don’t think so. It sounded more like a meeting. Something of that sort.”
Benny finished his sandwich and bit into an apple. He asked, “What did Mr. Furman say about Mr. Fogg being in the store yesterday after it was closed?”
“Mr. Furman listened to what we each had to say. Then he said, ‘I can’t tell you the whole story now. But I can say that I’m sure neither of you had anything to do with the lockets.’ Then he thanked Mr. Fogg for trying to solve the mystery of the lockets, and he thanked me for being watchful.”
“Did you tell Mr. Furman about hearing someone try to put a key in the front door lock?”
“Yes, later in the morning. I told Mr. Furman about the sounds at the door about eleven o’clock last night.”
“Wasn’t he upset by that?”
“No, he didn’t seem to be. He just said quietly, ‘I think there was some kind of mistake.’ Then he told me not to worry because, after all, nobody had come in.”
Benny dropped his apple core into his brown paper bag and looked around for a waste can in the park. He saw a car stopping for a traffic light.
Benny knew that car! It was Grandfather Alden’s. Grandfather was driving, but he did not see Benny. Mr. Alden was talking to someone seated beside him.
Benny would have called “Hi!” but the light changed and the car moved away.
There was enough time, though, for Benny to catch a glimpse of the other people in the car, a man and a woman. He was sure the man was Mr. Furman, and he thought the woman was Maggie Douglas. He could not be quite so sure about that.
“What can Miss Douglas, Mr. Furman, and Grandfather be doing?” Benny asked Henry. “Grandfather never said a word about meeting Miss Douglas. And he has heard us talk about her every day at dinnertime.”
Henry laughed. “Benny, you know very well you’re not the only one in the family who likes a little mystery. Grandfather doesn’t tell you about everyone he knows. I’ll make a guess. Now I think Mr. Furman’s telephone call this morning must have been from Grandfather. He was inviting Mr. Furman to have lunch. That’s interesting, isn’t it?”
“That telephone number Mr. Furman gave,” said Benny. “I’m sure it is Miss Douglas’s. I’ll tell you how I know. First, Mr. Fogg has it written down on a pad near the phone he uses. And second, it was the phone number in the want ad I answered before we came to Furman’s. Remember? Now I know Ted Evans already had the job before I called.”
Henry stood up and stretched. Lunchtime was over.
More to himself than to Henry, Benny said, “Now I know how Miss Douglas knew my name and who my grandfather is. That puzzled me when I phoned about the want ad in the paper.”
Henry looked at his watch. “Time to get back,” he said. “You know, this is our last full week to work at Furman’s.”
“That’s right!” Benny exclaimed. “When I’m back in school I’ll miss working at the store. I’ll even miss Mr. Fogg.” |