The Aldens could hardly wait until it was time to go to the museum. They ate breakfast and lunch as slowly as they could so the time would pass. They played three games of badminton. Finally, they all piled into Aunt Jane’s car and drove into town.
When they got to the museum, Mr. Mason looked startled to see Aunt Jane. Violet and Jessie exchanged a glance when they saw Mr. Mason’s surprised face. “Well, Mrs. Bean,” he said, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I just thought I’d drive the Aldens into town,” she said.
“Mr. Mason,” Henry asked, “have you had time to look at Violet’s drawing of the necklace yet?”
“Well now, young man,” Carl Mason began. “A very strange thing happened. The drawing is gone.”
“Gone!” Violet and Jessie said at the same time.
Mr. Mason cleared his throat. “The cleaning man was here last night, and I guess in his effort to straighten up my desk he just threw out some things he shouldn’t have. I’m really very sorry.”
All the Aldens secretly thought he didn’t look sorry.
“My sister took a lot of time to make that drawing,” Benny said. “I’ll bet she feels really bad that you threw out her picture. It was very good, too.”
Violet raised her chin and looked at Mr. Mason. “It’s all right, Benny. I can make another one when I get home.”
“Well, my dear, you just do that,” Mr. Mason said.
Aunt Jane took Benny by the hand and said, “Mr. Mason, I wonder if I could see the necklace, please.”
Carl Mason looked very unhappy. “Of course, Mrs. Bean. Just come right this way.”
They all walked into the room that held the display case. Aunt Jane looked at the necklace and said softly, “It is lovely.”
Suddenly, Jessie said, “Look! I didn’t notice this yesterday.” She pointed to a small card on the lower part of the case. She read out loud, “Donated by Mrs. Lorraine Newton.”
“What does that word donated mean?” Benny asked.
“It means that the necklace was given as a gift to the museum by Mrs. Newton,” Henry said.
“Who is she?” Benny asked.
“Mrs. Lorraine Newton is a very important person in Elmford,” Mr. Mason said. “She is a very wealthy and well-known woman here.”
“And the necklace is hers?” Violet asked.
“Well, it was hers, until she very generously gave it to the museum. That was many years ago,” Mr. Mason said. “Really, that’s all I can tell you.”
Aunt Jane said, “I’m sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Mason. I guess it’s time we left.” She guided the children out of the museum.
In the car driving home, Aunt Jane said, “I know what you are all thinking. You want to visit Mrs. Newton, but I don’t think you can do that. The necklace must have been hers. You can’t just go and ask her a lot of questions.”
“Not a lot,” Henry said. “Just a few.”
“I don’t know,” Aunt Jane said.
“We can’t go home without talking to Mrs. Newton,” Jessie said. “We just can’t.”
“I doubt that she’ll even see you,” Aunt Jane said.
“Can’t we try?” Jessie asked.
Aunt Jane laughed. “Well, I do admit you are the most determined children I’ve ever known. You get it from your grandfather. All right, but don’t bother the poor woman longer than a few minutes.”
Aunt Jane looked at Henry who was sitting next to her. The other children were in the backseat. “Henry, you keep looking at the side mirror. Is there something bothering you?”
Henry didn’t take his eyes off the mirror. “Aunt Jane, someone is following us.”
Jessie, Benny, and Violet immediately turned around and looked out of the back window. Benny was now kneeling on the seat.
“Henry, what an imagination you have,” Aunt Jane said. “Why would anyone want to follow us?”
“I think it’s Mr. Mason,” Jessie said, staring out of the window.
“Oh, Jessie,” Aunt Jane said, laughing. “You’ve been playing detective too many times. Mr. Mason would have no reason to follow us.”
“Aunt Jane,” Henry said, “just to test him, make a right turn at the corner.”
Aunt Jane turned the car, and the car behind turned right, too.
“See,” Benny said, “he turned, too. He is following us.”
Aunt Jane laughed. “Well, maybe the man wanted to go right because he lives near here. I’m going back to the main road and I’m going to take you all to Kenniston Park. It’s wonderful there. We’ll rent a boat and go rowing, and we’ll eat there, too. Maybe it will take your minds off the necklace. I hope it will.”
But the children all kept looking at the car behind them. When they left Elmford and were riding toward Kenniston, the car behind them disappeared.
“See,” Aunt Jane said cheerfully. “It’s gone.”
“Yes,” Henry agreed. “But it only turned off when we left Elmford.”
When they got to Kenniston Park, they went to the lake, where Aunt Jane rented the largest rowboat. The Aldens sat two by two opposite each other, and Aunt Jane sat in the back. Violet and Jessie rowed together and then Benny and Henry. Aunt Jane trailed her hand in the cool water and watched the Aldens pulling on the oars. All of them loved every minute and they were all able to forget about the necklace.
Then they walked to a food stand in the park and bought hot dogs and bags of potato chips and sodas. They sat on the grass by the lake while they ate.
“Mrs. McGregor wouldn’t approve of us eating this kind of dinner,” Violet said, smiling.
“Well,” Aunt Jane said, “I don’t like eating junk food either, but it can’t hurt once in a while.”
They finished their food and sat quietly watching the sky darken, and lights come on in the park. Music came from somewhere in the distance. Benny fell asleep with his head in Jessie’s lap. When it was time to leave, Henry carried him to the car. The Aldens all agreed it had been a wonderful night. But every now and then, Jessie and Violet and Henry each thought of the sparkling sapphire necklace in the display case in the now dark museum.
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