After breakfast the next morning, Henry lifted one photo off The Applewood Café wall. He set it on the table next to the photo Sally gave them. Benny was right about two differences between the pictures. Only one photo had a SOLD sticker on the For Sale sign. And then Laura and David were only in one photo.
“I was sure there was something else,” Benny said. But, as hard as he looked, he couldn’t find any more differences.
While the others went out to work in the garden, Violet walked around the café taping up photos of Duffy’s Garage. An elderly man walked in with a young woman. Violet knew who the man was. It was Cesar Canton, the old farmer who played chess with Chief Morgan.
He introduced the woman. “This is my daughter,” he told Violet. “She’s the one who likes living in the sky.”
The woman smiled. “I’m pleased to meet a friend of Chief Morgan’s. My dad was lonely and bored here in Greenfield until he and the chief began playing chess every day.”
Cesar rested a hand on his daughter’s shoulder as they walked to a table. Violet noticed that small blisters covered his hand. The she glanced at his cane. Could the tip of Cesar’s cane have made the holes they’d found all around the garden? A shiver ran through her. She hurried out to the others and told them about Cesar’s rash and his cane.
“But Cesar loves growing things,” said Jessie. “Why would he dump out our worms or dig up our plants?”
“Someone dug up my onions!” wailed Benny from the back of the garden. This time, the person didn’t bother putting the plants back in place. They’d dug deep holes all around the onion patch and left the onions strewn on the ground. The heat of the morning sun had shriveled the leaves. “They’re ruined,” cried Benny.
“It’s just the leaves that dried out,” said Violet, “the onions are still good.” She gathered the onions, gently setting them in a basket. “I’ll bring these to Mr. Shea and he’ll cook them into a delicious soup.”
Benny didn’t hear her. He was staring hard at Duffy’s Garage next door. His eyes grew wide. “That’s it!” he yelled, forgetting all about the onions. “That’s what’s different!” He ran inside and returned waving the For Sale photo of Duffy’s Garage. “See? The metal sheets used to cover the outside of the windows.” He pointed to the garage. “But now they are inside the windows.”
The children raced over, pressing their noses against the garage windows. The sheets of metal blocked them from seeing inside. “Green paint,” said Henry, pointing to drips on the metal. “That’s the color of the writing on the AAA Armored Cars.”
“We need to get inside,” said Jessie. She ran to the café and got the key Sally had given them. It barely fit into the rusty lock. Henry jiggled it this way and that. Suddenly, the key turned and the door creaked open. The children walked inside.
The dark garage smelled like motor oil and damp cement. Violet clicked the light switch up and down. Nothing happened. The only light came from the open door.
“Stand here,” said Henry. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark. Then he found a hammer on the tool bench and went to a window. Carefully, he slid the end of the hammer under the nails, prying off the metal panel. As he pried off the last nail, the panel clattered to the ground. Sunlight streamed in. The others rushed in, staring at the panel on the floor. It said, “AAA Armored Car Company.”
“This was the thief’s hideout,” said Benny.
Jessie nodded. “I think the thief was the man in the ponytail. The man who rented the garage from Sally. He pulled the metal sheets off the windows and nailed them around his truck to make it look like an armored car.”
Violet frowned at the green lettering, which was full of drips and smudges. “He did a messy job,” she said. “Why didn’t anybody notice?”
“Everyone in town was watching the circus parade,” Henry reminded her.
“And our mail truck drives down our block every day,” said Jessie. “When was the last time you took a good hard look at it?”
Violet tried to remember, but she couldn’t. “Exactly,” Jessie said. “All the crook needed to do was make his fake truck look sort of like the real one.”
“He was pretty smart,” said Henry. “After the robbery, he came back here, pulled the panels off, and nailed them back up on the windows. He hid the evidence in plain sight. I wonder what he did with the van.”
Benny looked out the window at the back lot. “That used to be full of junk cars,” he said. “What if the crook just parked his van with all the others?”
Jessie clapped her hands. “Benny, that’s brilliant! No one would notice one more old car.”
“Sam’s Scrap Yard hauled the junk off Duffy’s lot,” said Henry racing to his bike. “If Benny’s right, maybe the van is still at Sam’s.” |