“What is it Violet?” Jessie asked. “What does it say?” She inched her chair closer to her sister’s.
“It’s ... it’s the strangest thing,” Violet said in a quiet voice. “I’ve never seen a fortune like this before!”
Everyone was staring at Violet in surprise. “Read it, okay?” Benny said, jiggling with excitement.
“All right.” Violet nodded. “Here’s what it says.” Then she read aloud:
“Where rainbows explode,
And tigers twist,
A mystery awaits,
Just choose from the list.”
Benny jumped in his chair and clapped his hands. “I knew it! My fortune really does say a mystery’s coming our way!” His big eyes had grown even rounder.
The others at the table looked at one another. They were too stunned to speak.
Henry reached for the little slip of paper. “It doesn’t make any sense,” he said after reading it again.
“We’ll figure it out,” chirped Benny. “We’re good detectives.”
Violet didn’t look so sure. “We’ve never had a mystery like this before.”
Jessie giggled. She couldn’t help it — it all seemed so funny. “One thing’s for sure,” she said. “A mystery in a fortune cookie beats everything!”
Everyone laughed — except Martin, who was strangely quiet.
“Hang on a minute!” Henry said as something caught his eye. “There’s a message on the other side of this fortune.”
“What does it say?” asked Benny.
“Is it another poem?” Violet questioned at the same time.
Henry read it to them. “No need to go far.” He looked up. “That’s all it says.”
“It must be a clue,” Benny guessed.
Henry passed the fortune back to his little brother. “Could be.”
Martin suddenly spoke up. “I bet it’s just somebody’s idea of a joke.” He sounded annoyed. “What I mean is, a worker in one of those fortune cookie factories was probably just having a bit of fun. That’s all.”
“I’m not so sure,” said Dottie as Lucy arrived with more fortune cookies. “There’s something very strange about this.”
Hearing the remark, Lucy said, “Is everything all right?”
Martin frowned. “Well, I hope you brought some better fortunes this time. Benny’s was a real dud.”
“What ... ?” Lucy’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?” She sounded upset.
“I found a mystery in my fortune cookie!” Benny told her, glowing with excitement.
A strange look passed over Lucy’s face. As she set the plate of fortune cookies on the table, she almost knocked over Benny’s glass of water. Luckily, Violet grabbed it in time and set it back in its place.
Lucy stood twisting her hands. “I ... I ... ” She shut her mouth.
Jessie glanced at Henry. Why was the waitress so upset? She could tell by the look in Henry’s eye that he was wondering the same thing.
Turning to Benny, Lucy said, “I guess there’s only one thing to do. You can trade that fortune in for a better one. Would you like that?”
“I wouldn’t like that one little bit!” Benny closed his hand over the little slip of paper. “Thanks anyway.”
“No, none of us would like that,” added Jessie.
Aunt Jane explained, “There’s nothing these children enjoy more than a mystery.”
At this, the waitress walked off with a troubled look in her eye.
Jessie turned her attention to the plate of fortune cookies. “I wonder...”
“What is it?” Henry asked.
“I was just thinking — maybe we’ll find more clues inside the other cookies.”
Henry said, “Let’s check it out.” He reached for a fortune cookie. So did everyone else.
A moment later, Jessie was shaking her head. “No clue in mine,” she told them. Then she read aloud: “Your patience will be rewarded.”
Henry took a look at his fortune. “Save your money for a rainy day.” He shrugged. “Nothing mysterious about that, either.”
It was Violet’s turn next. “Keep an open mind.” She looked on the other side of the little slip of paper. “That’s all it says.”
Nobody else got any mysterious fortunes, either. Aunt Jane’s said, “Do not rush things this week.” Dottie got, “Now is the time to move forward.” And Martin’s was, “Actions speak louder than words.” They weren’t really sure what kind of clue they were looking for, but they didn’t find anything helpful.
“I’ve never heard of exploding rainbows,” said Jessie, taking another look at Benny’s fortune.
“Or twisting tigers,” put in Violet.
“It’s a mystery,” said Henry. “That’s for sure!”
That night, the four Aldens had a meeting in the bedroom that Jessie and Violet shared. “Who in the world would put such a strange message in a fortune cookie?” Violet asked with a frown.
“And why?” demanded Benny.
“We may never know,” said Jessie, who was sitting on the bed next to Benny.
“Auntie Two buys her fortune cookies ready-made,” Henry reminded them. “Martin might be right. This could be a factory worker’s idea of a joke.”
Benny shook his head. “My fortune didn’t come from a factory.”
“How can you be so sure?” asked Violet.
The youngest Alden raced out of the room. When he returned, he was swinging an old sock in the air. He gave the sock a good shake over the bed, and little slips of paper fluttered down. “The fortune I got tonight is different from all the others,” he told them.
They all gathered around to take a look at Benny’s collection. Sure enough, the other fortunes were all neatly typed in red ink. But the latest fortune had been printed by hand — in blue ink.
“You’re right, Benny,” Jessie said as she compared the fortunes. “That’s good detective work,” she added, smiling at her little brother.
Benny grinned. “Thanks.”
“I just noticed something else.” Violet was looking over Jessie’s shoulder. “The i’s on Benny’s fortune are dotted with little hearts.” Violet wasn’t sure, but she thought it might be some kind of clue.
“Still, we can’t be sure a factory worker didn’t do it,” Henry insisted.
“No, we can’t be sure,” agreed Jessie.
“But it’s also possible someone in Elmford dropped their own fortune cookie into Auntie Two’s blue bowl.”
Violet agreed. “She keeps the bowl right out in the open — on the side table.”
Benny nodded. “Auntie Two said it’s simple to make fortune cookies. I bet anybody could do it.”
“It did sound easy enough,” admitted Henry, backing down a little. “I guess anybody in Elmford could have written that message.”
“But ... who?” Violet wondered.
Henry shrugged. “Beats me!”
“I don’t really know, either,” said Jessie. “But Lucy did seem very nervous tonight. Did you notice?”
“She got our drinks mixed up,” Benny recalled. “And she almost spilled my water.”
“Lucy just started a new job,” Violet was quick to point out. “That’s why she was nervous. I don’t see anything wrong with that, do you?”
Henry shook his head. “Not if that’s all it was.”
“Just acting nervous doesn’t make her suspicious,” Violet insisted. Violet was shy, and being around a lot of people made her nervous, too.
“You’re right,” Jessie said quietly. “But we have to consider every possibility.”
This made sense. But Violet didn’t like to be suspicious just because someone was nervous.
“I wonder why Martin was acting so weird,” said Henry. “It wasn’t like him to get so upset at the bookstore.”
“That customer said something about a mysterious disappearance,” Benny reminded them in a worried voice. “What did he mean?”
“I don’t know,” Jessie said. “But I think we should concentrate on one mystery at a time.”
Benny grinned. “Let’s solve the mystery in the fortune cookie first.”
“But where will we find exploding rainbows and twisting tigers?” Jessie wondered.
Violet had an answer. “Near the Kowloon Restaurant,” she said. “The fortune said, No need to go far.”
“Good thinking, Violet!” said Benny, his grin getting bigger.
Jessie and Henry weren’t sure about this. Still, it couldn’t hurt to take a look around town in the morning. |