The four children were still racking their brains when they stopped later in Franklin Square. They were sitting cross-legged on a shady patch of lawn.
“If something doesn’t make a sound,” said Benny, “how can it have words?”
“Books have words,” Violet pointed out, as Jessie passed around the hamburgers.
“And they don’t make a sound,” added Henry.
Andy held up a hand as he unwrapped his burger. “I thought you kids were taking a break from the mystery over lunch,” he reminded them. “If you keep this up, I’ll have to start filming again.”
“You’re right,” Henry said, handing everyone a napkin. “A break just might clear our heads. Don’t you think so, Jessie?”
Jessie nodded, but she was only half-listening. Her forehead wrinkled into a frown as she searched through the backpack. “It must be here somewhere,” she said under her breath. As she held the backpack upside down and gave it a shake, maps and brochures tumbled out onto the grass.
“Something missing, Jessie?” Violet wondered.
“It’s gone!” A look of concern crossed Jessie’s face. “I don’t understand it.”
“What’s gone, Jessie?” Benny wanted to know.
After a long pause, Jessie answered, “I’m afraid it’s your cracked pink cup, Benny.”
“What …!” The youngest Alden almost choked on his pickle.
“It couldn’t just—disappear!” said Violet.
Benny had an opinion about this. “I bet somebody stole it.”
“I doubt that, Benny,” said Henry. “Who would anyone steal a cracked pink cup?”
“A thief!” said Benny. “That’s who.”
“We shouldn’t suspect people,” Violet said quietly, “unless we’re certain it was actually stolen.”
Henry had been thinking. “I have a hunch we left your cup back at the Fireman’s Museum,” he told Benny.
The youngest Alden brightened. “You really think so?”
Violet agreed. “Jessie poured you some lemonade,” she recalled, “when you were sitting on that bench.”
“We’ll go back after lunch and check it out,” Henry promised.
But Jessie wasn’t so sure. She couldn’t remember seeing Benny’s cup on the bench. At least, not after they went to look at the one-way sign.
Still, as soon as they finished eating, the little group went back to the Fireman’s Museum. But Jessie was right. Benny’s cracked pink cup wasn’t on the bench. It wasn’t in the trash can. And it wasn’t in the museum’s lost-and-found.
“It’s gone,” said Benny. He slumped down on the bench, his chin in his hands. He looked crushed.
Violet could feel her little brother’s disappointment. “Don’t worry, Benny,” she said, sitting down beside him. “We’ll check in the lost-and-found again tomorrow.”
As they headed back along the street, Jessie was trying to think of something cheery to say, but Henry spoke first.
“Guess what the detective duck said to his partner?” he asked.
“What?” Benny gave his brother a half-hearted smile.
“I hope we quack this case!” Henry said, making them all laugh.
They laughed even harder when Benny added, “I hope we find my quacked pink cup!”
This got Jessie thinking. She tugged her notebook from her pocket and read the riddle aloud again. “It makes no sound but its words ring true; crack this case and win round two.”
“The first part is the trickiest,” Violet noted.
“That’s true,” Jessie agreed. “But I think there’s a clue in the last two lines. Henry’s joke gave me an idea.”
“What are you getting at, Jessie?” Henry wondered.
“Benny’s cup isn’t the only thing in Philadelphia that’s cracked.”
Henry suddenly caught his sister’s meaning. “The Liberty Bell!”
“Exactly,” said Jessie.
“That’s true,” Benny said with a nod. “They can’t ring it anymore because of the crack.”
“But its words still ring true,” Violet added.
Henry remembered the words: “Ring liberty throughout all the land”
“You think that’s the answer to the riddle?” Benny wondered. “The Liberty Bell?”
“I’m sure of it!” said Jessie.
When Andy stopped to answer his cell phone, Henry flattened out the creases on the street map.
“Here’s the Liberty Bell Center,” he said, tapping a finger on the map. “If we keep going, then—”
“That was the producer, kids,” Andy cut in. “The Best family just arrived back at the hotel.”
Benny’s eyes widened. “You mean …?”
Andy nodded. “They found the second gold coin at the Liberty Bell Center.”
The Aldens looked at each other in dismay. They had solved the riddles—but it was a little too late. |