There was a long silence.
Then Brianna said, “Maybe it’s somebody’s dumb idea of a funny joke.”
“Not funny,” snapped Katy “Expensive. We’re going to have to pay for that ice cream even though we can’t sell it. With all the costs of buying the ice-cream wagon, the new equipment for it, and Butterscotch, we’re really going to have to watch every penny now.”
“What if it’s not a joke?” asked Jessie slowly. “What if someone did it to hurt you?”
“If it’s not a joke, then, well, I don’t know what to think,” said Katy. “Who would want to do this to us?”
Brianna seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then she shook her head firmly. “No one would,” she said. “No one would want to hurt our business.”
Henry asked, “Who knows you order from Marcos’s company?”
“Anybody who has seen his truck parked outside and him unloading it,” Katy said.
“Or anyone who has seen the signs in here,” Brianna said, pointing. “We label all the ice cream we order from Marcos and we label our own special flavors and treats so customers will know which is which.”
“Oh,” said Henry.
“That’s not much of a clue, then,” said Violet.
“Well, I’ve told Marcos to only take delivery orders from me from now on,” Katy said. “And he’s going to call before he delivers, just to make sure.”
“That’s good,” said Brianna.
“Making ice cream would be good, too,” Benny hinted.
Katy smiled at him. “You’re right, Benny. Let’s get started. Any ideas about new flavors?”
“Peanut butter,” said Benny.
“Chocolate anything,” said Henry.
“Maybe both,” suggested Jessie.
“And crunchy, too,” added Violet.
“Sounds delicious! Let’s gather some ingredients, then,” said Brianna. Violet was relieved to see her smiling again.
Later that day, as the Aldens wheeled their bicycles home, their stomachs too full to ride, they talked about the prank at the Ice Cream Barn.
“I just don’t believe it was meant to be a joke,” said Jessie. “It was too mean.”
“I agree,” said Henry. “But why? And who? It could be anybody.”
“I think Brianna has an idea about someone who could have done it,” said Violet softly.
“I noticed that, too,” said Jessie. “When Katy wondered who might do something like that, Brianna almost said something. But then she stopped.”
“Do you think whoever it is will play any more jokes?” asked Benny.
“I don’t know, Benny,” said Henry. “But I do think we should keep a sharp eye out for clues—and for more trouble.”
“I think you’re right,” said Jessie. “I think it’s the beginning of a mystery.”
“I know,” said Benny. “I could get a job at the Ice Cream Barn and look for clues that way!”
“I don’t think you’re quite old enough yet, Benny,” said Violet.
“Are you sure?” said Benny.
“But it’s not a bad idea, Benny,” said Henry. “Maybe I’ll see if they want to hire me. I’m old enough. I’ll go back tomorrow and talk to Katy and Brianna.”
The next day, Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Watch waited on a bench in the park near the ice-cream shop while Henry went to talk to Katy and Brianna about a job. Benny was very excited. If Henry got a job at the Ice Cream Barn, he would be able to watch for suspects. And maybe, Benny thought, he’d be able to bring home lots of ice cream!
So when Henry came walking toward them a little while later, Benny bounced up, shouting, “Did you get the job? Did you?”
Henry grinned, but he shook his head. “No. But I did get some interesting information. ”
He sat down on the bench and began to pet Watch.
“What did you find out?” Jessie asked.
“Well, they can’t afford to hire anybody right now, for one thing,” Henry said.
“We should have guessed,” said Violet.
“I offered to help out until they could afford to pay me, but Katy said no,” Henry went on. “She said they already had to let one assistant go and he would be the first one they hired back when they could,”
“Katy fired someone?” asked Jessie.
“Yes. When Brianna came, she laid off an assistant named Preston. Brianna’s doing his job and driving the ice-cream wagon,” said Henry. “To save money.”
“That must have made Preston very unhappy,” Violet said softly.
“Yes,” agreed Jessie. “Maybe unhappy enough to call in a phony order.”
“How do we prove it?” Benny asked. “We have to find clues.”
“One way we can do that is by checking out the Ice Cream Barn and its customers,” said Henry.
“We can’t just show up and stay and stay and stay,” objected Jessie. “That would look very suspicious. And weird.”
“No, we can’t do that,” said Henry with a smile. “But even though they couldn’t hire me as an assistant, I did get a job. For all of us.”
Benny’s eyes widened. “What?” he asked. “Driving Butterscotch?”
“No, nothing that exciting, Benny. But Brianna’s having a bunch of fliers and posters printed up. We’re going to help deliver the fliers and put the posters up all around Greenfield this afternoon. In return, we get gift certificates for free ice cream. Five scoops each!”
That afternoon, the Boxcar Children loaded up their backpacks and bicycle baskets with fliers and posters and tape. Violet and Henry went in one direction. Benny and Jessie and Watch went in another direction.
They put fliers on front stoops and in stacks on the counters of stores. They asked for store owners’ permission, and soon posters advertising the Ice Cream Barn and the new ice-cream wagon, pulled by “The Amazing Butterscotch,” hung in the windows of the hardware store, the pet supply shop, the bicycle shop, and just about every other store in town.
Jessie and Benny even put up a poster on the bulletin board outside the mayor’s office at Town Hall. They’d just hung a poster on a telephone pole near the post office when they met Mr. Bush.
He scowled harder than ever when he saw them.
“Hello, Mr. Bush,” said Jessie politely.
“Hi,” said Benny.
Mr. Bush leaned over to peer at the poster. “Take it down,” he said.
“What?” asked Jessie, startled.
“Take the poster down, or I will,” said Mr. Bush.
“Why?” asked Benny.
“Because you’re defacing public property,” Mr. Bush said. “You can’t put posters up without permission. Do you have the permission of the phone company to use their telephone pole for advertising?”
“Uh, no,” admitted Jessie.
Watch barked once. Mr. Bush didn’t notice. Benny squatted and put his arm around the dog. “Shhh,” he warned.
“Then take the poster down,” Mr. Bush said. He folded his arms.
Jessie didn’t know what else to do. She took the sign down. As she rolled it carefully, Mr. Bush snorted. “‘The Amazing Butterscotch,’ indeed,” he said in a scornful voice. Then he went into the post office without another word.
“He’s really, really mean,” said Benny.
“I guess he’s right, though,” said Jessie.
Benny wasn’t listening. “Really mean. Mean enough to play that melted-ice-cream joke,” he said.
Jessie blinked. “I hadn’t thought about that, Benny,” she said. “I guess he could have.”
“I think he did,” said Benny.
“We’ll have to talk it over with Henry and Violet. Let’s put up the rest of the posters and then find them.”
“Okay,” said Benny. To Watch he said, “Come on, boy. And if you see Mr. Bush, you can bark as much as you want!”
They found Henry and Violet outside the bookstore, talking to a tall, lanky boy not much older than Henry. The boy had straight black hair and round black glasses.
He was pointing at the poster in the window as Jessie, Benny, and Watch came up to them.
“So you’re the ones who’ve put up the posters all over Greenfield,” he said.
“Yes,” said Jessie. “The Ice Cream Barn is expanding.”
“And they hired you to put the posters up,” the boy went on.
“I guess you could say they did,” Henry began.
The boy narrowed his eyes angrily. “They hired you—two of you!—and they fired me. Said they couldn’t afford me!”
“Well, they’re not exactly paying us—” Jessie started to explain.
But the boy didn’t let her finish. “Fine,” he said. “Just fine. But they’re going to be sorry they didn’t keep me around. You’ll see.” He turned and almost ran away, his cheeks red with rage.
“Good grief!” said Jessie. “I think we just met Preston.”
“He’s mad, too,” said Benny.
Violet said, “He’s mad, too?What do you mean, Benny?”
“Mr. Bush got mad at us for putting up posters just now,” Benny explained. “By the post office.”
“Oh,” said Violet.
“Benny thinks Mr. Bush might be the one who phoned in the fake ice-cream order,” Jessie explained. “And after the way he acted just now, I think Benny could be right.”
“Maybe,” said Henry. “Or it might be Preston. He seems pretty upset.”
“I wonder if Brianna suspected Preston,” Jessie said.
“I don’t know,” Henry said. “But now we’ve got two suspects.”
“And a mystery,” said Benny. |