After hanging the Mystery Lady’s painting on the wall again, the children hurried downstairs to prepare their dinner of sweet-and-sour meatballs, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fruit salad. The Aldens were on their own tonight. Mrs. McGregor and Madeline were dining with an old friend, and Nola wouldn’t be back from town until later. Jessie carefully read the recipe that Madeline had left for them, so she could help instruct her brothers and sister with the meal.
While they worked in the kitchen, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny discussed the second riddle.
Benny was shaping the meat into little balls. “I bet the answer is an umbrella!” he said.
“That’s a good guess, Benny,” said Jessie, stirring the sweet-and-sour sauce at the stove. “An umbrella does give shade, but—”
“It doesn’t hang on a tree,” finished Benny with a sigh. Then his face suddenly brightened. “A possum hangs upside down from a tree!”
“That’s true,” said Violet, chopping bananas and apples for their fruit salad. “But possums aren’t known for their shade.”
That didn’t stop Benny. “How about a possum holding an umbrella?”
The others burst out laughing. Henry gave Benny a little pat on the back. “Keep trying, Benny!” he said. Then he went over to the stove and dropped the peeled potatoes into a pot of water.
While they were waiting for the meatballs to bake and the potatoes to boil, the Aldens sat around the kitchen table. Jessie read a chapter of The Alphabet Mystery aloud while Benny helped Violet and Henry string cranberries and popcorn for the birds.
When Jessie had finished a chapter, she went to check on the meatballs. The sauce was bubbling nicely. She poked a fork into the potatoes. They were ready for mashing.
Violet laughed as she gathered up the cranberry and popcorn strings. “Oh, Benny! I think you ate more popcorn than you put on the string!”
The youngest Alden couldn’t help grinning. “Figuring out riddles makes me hungry.”
While Henry mashed the potatoes, Jessie kept an eye on the green beans while they steamed. Violet and Benny set the table.
Benny took a break for a moment to take a look at the famous author’s inscription in The Alphabet Mystery: “To Margaret, All Best Wishes from Amelia Quigley Adams.”
“I can tell that Amelia Quigley Adams had a good imagination!” he said at last. “Just like the Mystery Lady.”
“How can you tell that, Benny?” asked Jessie, dishing up the meatballs.
“Because of her handwriting,” Benny pointed out. “See all her high loops?”
Jessie set the meatballs on the table, then she went over to take a closer look. A frown crossed her face. “How odd! The fs are crossed the same way, too. Why, it looks exactly like the Mystery Lady’s handwriting.”
Violet was pouring milk into the glasses. “Are you sure?” she gasped.
“I can’t be certain,” admitted Jessie. “But I think so.”
“Maybe we should compare the two,” suggested Henry.
Jessie nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
Benny sat down quickly at the table. “Not until we are done eating! We don’t want our food to get cold. Do we?”
Henry laughed. “Don’t worry, Benny. We’re hungry, too!”
“Didn’t Mrs. McGregor take the shoe box back up to the attic?” Violet asked as she passed the green beans.
Jessie nodded. “I’m sure she won’t mind if we go up for a minute.”
During dinner Benny was unusually quiet. Violet could tell something was troubling him. “What’s wrong, Benny?” she asked as she served the fruit salad for dessert.
A frown crossed Benny’s round face. “I think Madeline is right. I don’t think there is a treasure!”
“Why do you say that, Benny?” Henry wanted to know.
“The Mystery Lady fooled Mrs. McGregor,” replied Benny. “She signed the book herself. Then she pretended the famous author signed it. That was a mean trick to play on Mrs. McGregor.”
“Yes, it was,” agreed Violet.
Nobody said much for a while. As they cleared the table, Henry remarked, “I guess the Mystery Lady could have fooled Mrs. McGregor about the treasure, too.”
“We can’t be certain the handwriting is the same,” Jessie reminded them. “Not until we compare the two.”
As soon as the dishes were done, Henry took one of the flashlights that hung by the kitchen door. Then they headed up to a second flight of crooked stairs that led to the attic.
“Brrr!” said Violet, rubbing some warmth into her arms. “It’s freezing up here.”
“And dark, too,” added Benny, reaching out for Jessie’s hand. “It’s a good thing Henry brought the flashlight.”
Henry beamed the light over trunks and boxes, stacks of books and magazines, and old lamps and paintings. “Never mind. This won’t take long.”
Benny was the first to spot the shoe box on top of a steamer trunk in the corner. Henry held the flashlight above the shoe box while Jessie looked for the Mystery Lady’s note.
“That’s funny,” she said. “I can’t find it in here.”
Violet didn’t think it was funny at all.
“Look again, Jessie. I saw Mrs. McGregor put the note in there.”
“Aaah-chooo!” The dust was making Benny sneeze.
Violet handed Benny a tissue, while Jessie rummaged through the old mementos one more time.
“There’s no doubt about it,” Jessie said at last. “The note’s gone!”
“I can’t believe it!” Violet said a little later as they sat by the fire. Her eyes were wide with worry. “Who could have taken Mrs. McGregor’s note?”
Benny had an opinion about this. “A thief. That’s who!”
Henry threw another log on the fire. “Someone else must be looking for the hidden treasure, too!”
“That means there really is a treasure,” Benny said. “And it must be a lot more than just a coin or an old toy. I bet it’s Nola Rawlings who’s looking for it!”
Violet had been thinking the same thing. She told them, “I had a feeling someone was eavesdropping that first night. It’s possible Nola Rawlings heard everything Mrs. McGregor said about the hidden treasure.”
“Nola is very mysterious,” agreed Henry. “But we have no proof that it was her.”
“I just know it was!” insisted Benny.
Jessie remembered something. “What if Clarissa overheard us talking by the lake? If she did, then she would have known about the treasure, too.”
“Clarissa did leave in a big hurry,” said Henry. “And Madeline said she stopped in for a visit right after seeing us. She could have taken the note before Mrs. McGregor had a chance to put the shoe box back in the attic.”
Violet wasn’t too sure about this. “Maybe,” she said in a hesitating voice. “That was strange that she had time to visit when she was in such a hurry. But why would Clarissa do something so mean?”
Henry shrugged. “She doesn’t seem to have a reason.”
Jessie reminded them, “We have to look at every possibility.”
“Maybe we should add someone else to our list of suspects,” declared Henry after a moment’s thought.
“Like who?” Benny wanted to know.
“Like Madeline.”
They were all so surprised by Henry’s words, they were speechless.
“Well, she wasn’t exactly happy about us looking for the treasure,” Henry explained.
Jessie thought about that. “She just doesn’t want us to get our hopes up. Don’t forget, Madeline doesn’t even believe there is a treasure.”
“Maybe she wants us to think there isn’t a treasure,” argued Henry. “Maybe she’s afraid the treasure might be worth enough to save the Crooked House.”
Violet looked confused. “I don’t understand. Madeline wants to save the Crooked House. Doesn’t she?”
Henry shrugged. “Maybe not. Mrs. McGregor told us that Madeline wanted to sell the house years ago.”
Violet nodded, looking less puzzled. “She wanted to do some traveling. Do you think that’s what she still wants? Is that what you mean, Henry?”
Henry nodded. “She might have taken the note without realizing that Jessie had made a copy of it.”
Benny’s eyes grew wide. “This is getting more and more mysterious!” he whispered. |