The Aldens stood in the driveway and stared at the open garage.
“Are you sure this is one of the stolen guitars?” Henry asked Violet. Violet nodded. The children knew Violet had a good eye for details.
“It has to be Alan’s guitar,” Jessie put in. “He said it was custom-made.”
“And now it’s over there!” Benny said.
“But who lives here?” Jessie wondered—“Whose house is this?”
“I don’t know,” Henry said, “but I’ll bet it’s the same person Raymond was talking to on the phone before. Let’s wait and see if someone comes out.” Henry got off his bicycle and set it against a nearby tree. The other Aldens did the same.
They didn’t have to wait long. A door inside the garage opened, and a tall figure stepped out from inside the house.
“Oh, my!” Violet said. “That’s—”
“Danny Duellman!” Jessie finished. “I remember seeing his face on some of those posters!”
Henry was nodding slowly. “Of course—it all makes perfect sense. If the Greenfield Four couldn’t play tomorrow night, then Danny and the Duotones would take their place.”
“And his band would get to play in front of the man from the record company!” Jessie added.
“So Danny Duellman robbed the Greenfield Four?” Violet asked, stunned.
Danny Duellman didn’t notice the Aldens standing out on the sidewalk. He went over to Alan’s guitar, lifted it gently off its stand, and set it carefully into a case. He then closed the case and locked it. Was he trying to hide it? Jessie wondered.
“Excuse me,” Henry said.
Danny turned quickly; he wasn’t expecting anyone to be there.
“We’re friends of the Greenfield Four,” Jessie said, taking a deep breath, “and we’d like to ask you a question about that guitar.” At that moment, the door leading into the house opened again, and the children looked up. Is Raymond here? Jessie thought. But it wasn’t Raymond. It was Alan Keller.
What was the leader of the Greenfield Four doing here?
Alan seemed as surprised as they were.
“Why, it’s the Aldens,” he said. “Have you met my friend Danny Duellman?”
The Aldens couldn’t believe their ears—Danny was Alan’s friend?
Danny walked over to them with his hand out. “It’s very nice to meet all of you. I’m the lead singer for Danny and the Duotones.” Then he made sure to add, “Maybe you’ve heard of us?”
Still shocked, Jessie managed to say, “Uh, sure. We’ve heard of you.”
“Well, that’s good news,” Danny went on. “And what were you about to ask me?”
“That guitar you just put away,” Jessie began, suddenly feeling much less certain of the situation. “Isn’t that … Alan, isn’t that your guitar?”
Violet added, “We thought we saw it at the rehearsal studio yesterday. You were playing it.”
“Playing it?” Alan said. “No, I wasn’t play—oh, wait a minute.” He could see that the Aldens needed an explanation. “That guitar looks like one of a kind,” he began, and the children nodded. “But really, there are two. I have one, and Danny has the other. We had them both painted by an artist friend a few years ago.”
“Ohhhh,” the Aldens said altogether.
“There are no others like them in the world,” Danny added.
“But aren’t you two … rivals?” Jessie asked.
“Sure,” Alan said. “Rivals, but not enemies. Actually, the fact that we’re both trying to get the same things is what makes us so good. It makes us try harder.”
“That’s right,” Danny continued. “I always try to be better than Alan, and he tries to be better than me. We’ve been doing this for years. See?” He pointed to some framed pictures that were hanging on the wall. They were more old flyers from when both bands played years ago. The children also couldn’t help noticing that some of them said “The Greenfield Five” and even “The Greenfield Six.”
“You used to have more people in your group?” Jessie asked Alan.
“Yes. We’ve had many people come and go,” Alan replied. “Same with Danny.”
Danny sighed. “It’s hard to find good musicians who all play well together, but sooner or later you do. That’s why Alan’s band is going to become world-famous before mine. He’s found that magical mix of people. I’m still waiting for that to happen.”
Alan smiled. “One day it’ll happen, Danny. I promise. And I can’t thank you enough for your help.” He turned to the Aldens. “Danny is loaning me this guitar,” he explained. “We hope the Greenfield Four can still play tomorrow night, if we borrow enough instruments.”
“What if you can’t?” asked Benny.
“Then my band will play in their place,” Danny said. “But I’d hate for that to happen. Everyone at the festival wants to see the Greenfield Four tomorrow.” He looked thoughtful. “I guess it would be a lucky break if I played. But if the Duotones ever make it big, it shouldn’t be just because we’re lucky. It ought to be because we’re talented and work hard, just like Alan and his band.”
The Aldens could see that Danny was a good friend to Alan.
Danny went on. “Today we’re calling every musician in town to see if they can help out the Greenfield Four. Raymond, our roadie, is on the phone right now. He works for the Duotones, the Greenfield Four, and other bands, so he knows plenty of people.”
The children exchanged looks with each other. Now they knew why Raymond had come here—he worked for Danny’s band, too. Just then, Raymond came into the garage holding a cordless phone.
“I just heard a band over in Silver City has a spare bass guitar,” he told Danny and Alan. “I’ll call them next.”
“Can we help?” Jessie asked.
“I heard you’re already helping out,” Raymond said. “Alan told me you’re looking for clues about the thief.”
“We sure are!” said Benny.
“We wanted to ask you about the security alarm at the rehearsal studio, actually,” said Henry. “Does anyone else besides you and the band have the code number?”
“No,” Raymond replied. “I know for a fact that only the five of us have the code. There was an old code, but I changed it to 463534—GNFLD4—just to be safe. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how someone got in.”
“So have we,” said Henry. Jessie, Violet, and Benny nodded. |