Henry poured lemonade into four tall glasses. As they gathered around the table in the hotel, Jessie carefully unfolded the sheet of white paper.
“Is it another riddle?” Violet wanted to know.
Jessie nodded and took a sip of lemonade. The ice cubes clinked in her glass. The others inched their chairs closer. They wanted to catch every word.
Jessie cleared her throat, then read aloud:
In the heart of the city
where first it began,
all questions are answered
surrounded by fans.
The children sat in puzzled silence. Jessie was about to say something, but Violet spoke first.
“Pioneer Square!” she cried.
Henry gave Violet a confused look. “What about it, Violet?”
“That’s where the city first began, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, Violet,” said Henry. “I suppose Pioneer Square is the heart of the city.”
“But the clues could fit the Seattle Center, too,” Jessie pointed out.
But Benny wasn’t convinced. “What about the rest of the riddle?” he said. “The last part doesn’t fit either one of those places.”
Jessie had to agree. “There would be plenty of shoppers and tourists in Pioneer Square and the Seattle Center,” she realized. “But not fans.”
“But there would be fans at a baseball game,” Henry said, after a moment’s thought. “Especially if the Seattle Mariners are playing.”
Jessie was bending over the note again. “Now that you mention it,” she said, “this riddle could fit a lot of places.”
Benny let out a sigh. “That means we have a whole lot of places to check out.”
“I guess we got more than we bargained for on this trip,” said Jessie.
Henry nodded. “You can say that again.”
Just then, Grandfather came through the door. “Hi, kids!” he said. “How was your trip to the market?”
“We had a great time!” said Violet.
The children took turns telling their grandfather about their outing. Jessie finished by saying, “Wewere just thinking about getting dinner started, Grandfather.”
“Why don’t we eat out tonight?” Grandfather suggested. “Maybe we can find a nice restaurant within walking distance.”
“The Hungry Heart Diner’s just down the street,” Henry pointed out.
“Sounds perfect,” said Grandfather. “It would be nice to dress up a bit. What do you think?”
Henry raised an eyebrow. “Just to go to the diner?”
“Sure,” said Grandfather. “Why not look our best?”
“Don’t worry, Grandfather,” Jessie assured him. “We’ll change into our good clothes.”
Soon enough, the children were ready for their dinner out. Violet was wearing her new jeans and a light sweater. Jessie had changed into a denim skirt and hooded white top. Benny had on his favorite pants with the zippered pockets, and Henry was wearing his most grown-up collared shirt.
“I wonder why Grandfather wanted us to get all fancy,” said Benny, patting his neatly combed hair. “What’s so special about the Hungry Heart Diner?”
Jessie was smoothing her hood in the hall mirror. “I’m not sure, Benny,” she said, shrugging a little.
“The Hungry Heart Diner is special to us,” Violet pointed out. “After all, that’s where the mystery began.”
Jessie suddenly whirled around. A funny look came over her face. Then she clapped her hands.
“That’s it!” she exclaimed.
A frown crossed Benny’s round face. “What’s it?”
“I know the answer to the riddle!”
“We already figured that out, Jessie,” Benny reminded her. “It’s either Pioneer Square or the Seattle Center.”
“Or maybe the ballpark,” added Henry.
Jessie shook her head. “I think we got it wrong,” she said, her voice rising with excitement. “Remember the first part of the riddle?”
“Sure,” said Violet, who had it memorized. “In the heart of the city / where first it began.”
“What if the riddle wasn’t talking about where the city began,” said Jessie. She paused for a moment to let them think about it. “Don’t you see?” she said at last. “Maybe that wasn’t it at all.”
Henry looked puzzled. “I’m not following you, Jessie.”
“What else could it mean?” asked Violet.
“The mystery!” Jessie told them. “The riddle’s telling us to go back to where the mystery first began.”
“Of course!” exclaimed Violet. “The ‘heart’ is the Hungry Heart Diner.”
“There’s only one problem,” said Benny.
“You’re thinking about the fans, right?” Violet asked him. And Benny nodded.
Henry thought about this for a moment. “Maybe they use fans at the diner to keep the place cool.”
“I don’t remember seeing any,” said Benny.
“Me, either,” said Jessie. “But it’s worth checking out.”
“What a fine group!” Grandfather said, coming into the room. “I still have a few calls to make. Why don’t you go to the diner and get us a table. I’ll meet you there shortly.”
“Sure, Grandfather,” said Henry, and the others nodded.
The children soon hurried on their way. But when they stepped inside the diner, Benny’s shoulders slumped.
“Uh-oh,” he said. “I don’t see any empty tables.”
“We might have to wait a while,” added Violet.
Just then, a young woman with curly red hair came rushing over. The children recognized her immediately. It was Gwen—the waitress who’d taken their orders the other day.
“I’m afraid we’re packed with the dinner crowd right now,” she told them. “But I might be able to squeeze you into the back room.”
The children kept their eyes peeled for any sign of fans as they followed the waitress past the crowded booths and tables.
“After you,” said Gwen, as she opened a door onto a darkened room. “I’ll get the light switch.”
Jessie looked at Henry. Why were the lights off?
As they stepped into the shadowy room, Gwen flicked a switch and lights blazed.
“SURPRISE!!”
The four Alden children stood frozen to the spot, their mouths opened wide as Watch came bounding over. The little dog jumped up on them, barking happily. Around a table in the middle of the room, familiar faces were beaming at them.
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny stared in speechless wonder as Mrs. McGregor gave them a cheery wave. On either side of her, Aunt Jane and Uncle Andy were all smiles. Finn Evans and Toby Spinner were giving each other high-fives, while Reena was laughing and clapping her hands.
“Is this a surprise party … for us?” Benny asked. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“It sure is,” said Grandfather, coming into the room behind them. “A surprise party with all of your biggest fans.”
As the children sat down, it slowly began to sink in. “You were behind this mystery,” Jessie realized. “Weren’t you, Grandfather?”
“It was a team effort, Jessie,” Grandfather told her. “Everything was planned before we even got to Seattle.”
“Your grandfather thought following clues would be an interesting way to see the sights,” put in Mrs. McGregor.
Aunt Jane nodded. “You’ve solved so many mysteries for so many people,” she said, looking at each of the Aldens in turn, “we figured it was time you had a mystery of your very own.”
Violet had a question. “Did everybody come all this way just for the surprise party?”
“Well, I had a business trip planned for the Northwest,” explained Uncle Andy. “Aunt Jane decided to join me.”
Mrs. McGregor put in, “And Watch and I tagged along, too.”
“Dogs aren’t allowed in the hotel,” said Reena, “so my father and I have been looking after Watch.”
“No wonder you knew Watch’s name,” Jessie realized.
“And this must be the dinner party you were talking about,” added Violet, who noticed the vase of fresh flowers on the table.
Reena’s eyes were twinkling. “Like I said, Violet, it was a party for some very special friends!”
Something was bothering Benny. “Mrs. McGregor, why did you run away from me?”
“I’m sorry, Benny,” Mrs. McGregor apologized. “I just didn’t want to ruin the surprise. I never expected to see you in Pioneer Square.”
“We thought the underground city was the answer to one of the riddles,” explained Jessie. “Only, we were on the wrong track.”
Henry turned to Uncle Andy. “And you were on the ferry the other day, weren’t you?” guessed Henry.
Uncle Andy nodded. “I had a meeting on Bainbridge Island,” he admitted. “But I didn’t know you were on the ferry until your grandfather mentioned it later.”
Violet turned to her grandfather. “You spotted Uncle Andy when we were getting off the ferry, didn’t you?”
“Right.”
“That’s why you wouldn’t let me take a picture,” Violet concluded.
“Right again,” said Grandfather. “I thought it best to hustle you out of there as fast as I could.”
“That was a close call, all right!” Uncle Andy laughed, as the waitress put bowls of salad on the table.
Aunt Jane laughed. “Don’t feel bad, Andy. I almost blew it myself.”
“What do you mean, Jane?” Mrs. McGregor wondered.
Violet had an answer. “Aunt Jane almost knocked me over coming out of the diner.”
“I was on a mission to plant clues,” explained Aunt Jane. “Only, I got a late start that morning so I was in a rush. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“You also left the riddle at the Space Needle, right?” put in Jessie. “We saw you getting off the elevator.”
Aunt Jane nodded. “I was afraid you might see me, so I tried to stay hidden under my umbrella.”
“Unless I miss my guess,” put in Henry, “after you planted the clues, you stopped by the hotel to see grandfather.”
“Why, yes,” said Aunt Jane, surprised that Henry knew this. “I just wanted to touch base about the mystery and—”
“Guess what?” Benny broke in. “You left your umbrella behind.”
“What … ?” Aunt Jane slapped a hand against her cheek. “Are you serious?”
Grandfather chuckled. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when Violet held it up,” he said, swallowing a bite of his salad. “I had to do some pretty fast talking!”
Everybody laughed, including Aunt Jane.
Henry looked over at the desk clerk. “You played a part in this mystery, too. Didn’t you, Toby?”
Toby nodded. “I hid the clue by the troll.”
“Toby’s my cousin,” Reena added.
“I had a hunch you knew more than you were letting on,” said Henry, as he sprinkled pepper onto his salad.
“I felt someone watching us,” said Jessie. “The day we went to see the troll, I mean. It was you, wasn’t it, Toby?”
“You found me out, Jessie,” he said. “The suspense was starting to get to me. I had to find out if you were on the right track.”
Benny nodded in understanding. The youngest Alden didn’t like to be kept waiting in suspense either.
Violet spoke up. “We over heard you on the phone, Grandfather, when we got back from Pioneer Square. You said everything depended on finding Rachel.”
Grandfather smiled a little. “Oh, you heard that, did you? That must have been when Reena phoned me.”
“You were talking about the bronze pig at the market, weren’t you?” Violet added.
Grandfather didn’t deny it. “Finn was afraid you’d never figure out his clue about the flying fish. He insisted somebody take you on a tour of the marketplace. I’d planned to take you myself, but something came up. Reena was kind enough to fill in for me.”
“I was worried you’d never find Rachel,” said Finn. “And solving the mystery depended on it.”
The children were looking over at Finn in surprise. “You made up the riddles?” Benny questioned.
“There’s nothing I like better than a mystery,” said Finn. “When your grandfather told me about his plan, I offered to help out.”
“You sure did a good job,” Benny told him, popping a cherry tomato into his mouth.
Jessie added, “I’ll second that!”
As the waitress refilled their water glasses, Henry watched her closely. As if feeling his eyes on her, Gwen looked over.
“Yes, I was in on it, too, Henry,” she confessed, reading his mind.
“Gwen’s a friend of mine from school,” Reena told them. “She wanted to help out.”
Gwen explained, “It was my job to make sure you sat down at the right table.”
Jessie nodded. That explained why she’d asked them to move to the booth.
“We saw you one day, Gwen,” said Violet, “You were walking with Reena.”
“Wow!” Reena shook her head in disbelief, “You kids don’t miss a thing.”
“We’ll, we do miss things sometimes,” Jessie said, with a twinkle in her eye. “When our trip ends, we’re sure going to miss Seattle!”
“And our new friends,” Violet was quick to add.
Finn nodded approvingly. “Well said!” he remarked. Then he turned to Grandfather. “You must be very proud of your family, James.”
At that, Grandfather had to laugh. “Finn, I never know what’s around the next corner.”
“I do,” Benny piped up. “I bet it’s another mystery!” |