The Movie Theater Mystery

by Martin Widmark

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  Penguin Young Readers Group

  An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

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  Original title: Biografmysteriet

  Text by Martin Widmark

  Original cover and illustrations by Helena Willis

  English language edition copyright © 2016 Penguin Random House LLC. Original edition published by Bonnier Carlsen Bokförlag, Sweden, 2004. Text copyright © 2004 by Martin Widmark. Illustrations copyright © 2004 by Helena Willis. Published in 2016 by Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

  ISBN 978-0-399-54287-9

  Version_1

  Contents

  Copyright

  Title Page

  Map

  The Movie Theater Mystery

  The People

  CHAPTER 1 | A Singing Dog

  CHAPTER 2 | Chaos in the Line

  CHAPTER 3 | Cards and Howls

  CHAPTER 4 | The Screen Goes Dark

  CHAPTER 5 | Cheats and Lazybones

  CHAPTER 6 | The Ice Cream Consolation Prize

  CHAPTER 7 | But—That’s Impossible!

  CHAPTER 8 | As Good as a Lamppost

  The Movie Theater Mystery

  The books in The Whodunit Detective Agency series are set in the charming little town of Pleasant Valley. It’s the sort of close-knit community where nearly everyone knows one another. The town and the characters are all fictional, of course . . . or are they?

  The main characters, Jerry and Maya, are classmates and close friends who run a small detective agency together.

  CHAPTER 1

  A Singing Dog

  “Look!” said Maya. “It’s happened again!” She passed Jerry the newspaper and jabbed at an article. The two friends were relaxing in their favorite comfy armchairs in Maya’s basement. Maya’s basement: otherwise known as the Whodunit Detective Agency Headquarters. They kept everything they needed to run their agency there.

  Jerry read the newspaper while Maya grabbed their scrapbook and a pair of scissors.

  The scrapbook was full of articles they had found about all sorts of crimes.

  “Another dog stolen.” Jerry sighed when he finished the article.

  “That makes the third one this week. Look at this,” said Maya, opening the scrapbook in front of Jerry.

  She pointed to two other articles that she had pasted under her own headline: “Disappearing Dogs.”

  “There’s got to be a connection between all these thefts,” said Jerry.

  Maya picked up the scrapbook and nodded. “Let’s read the article again and see if there are any similarities between the cases.”

  They each took out their notebooks. As they read, Jerry and Maya wrote down the main points in each article. Then they compared what they had written.

  “Only small dogs have disappeared,” noted Jerry. “No big dogs. I wonder why?”

  “Well, it’s easier to run off with a small dog,” said Maya. “And a small dog probably isn’t as dangerous as a big dog.”

  “The dogs have been stolen all over town,” said Jerry.

  “That’s right: outside the library, by the church, and in front of the hotel,” continued Maya, as she checked over her notes.

  “The dogs were all stolen at around the same time, between seven and seven thirty at night,” said Jerry.

  “The owners had left the dogs unattended for only a few minutes,” Maya said.

  “But still long enough for the dog thief to strike,” said Jerry, scratching his nose thoughtfully with his pen.

  Maya snipped out the most recent article from the paper and pasted it into the scrapbook.

  “What else do we know?” asked Jerry.

  “According to the paper, each dog owner received a mysterious phone call shortly after the disappearance,” said Maya. “None of them recognized the voice on the other end of the line. The caller demanded that each owner pay one thousand dollars—or they will never see their pets again.”

  “The owners must be frantic!” said Jerry.

  “And the dogs, too.” Maya sighed. “Someone rotten enough to steal a dog is probably rotten enough to treat them poorly.”

  “Read it again, Maya, and let’s see if we missed anything,” said Jerry. He closed his eyes to concentrate. Maya straightened up, cleared her throat, and began to read.

  Maya shut the book with a snap. Jerry jumped. One look at her face and he could tell that she was angry. Very angry.

  “We’ve got to do something,” she said. “We’ve got to stand up for those innocent dogs!”

  The two detectives slouched in their armchairs and thought about what they could do. But they didn’t come up with any good ideas. Finally, Jerry said, “The dogs won’t come back just because we’re sitting here worrying. Let’s take a break and clear our heads. That new cowboy movie opened at the Rio Cinema today. Maybe it will give us some ideas. Come on, Maya! Let’s go!”

  Maya sighed and got up from her armchair. She put the scrapbook down on the desk.

  “You’re probably right,” she said. “A change of scenery will do me good. I’m too angry to think straight now! What kind of person would be cruel enough to steal someone’s pet?”

  The newspaper articles made it clear: Pleasant Valley had a criminal on the loose. Maya had a feeling their detective agency would soon have a new case to solve!

  CHAPTER 2

  Chaos in the Line

  Maya’s bike had a flat tire so she and Jerry walked to the movie theater.

  Summer was officially over and the leaves on the trees had begun to change color. But it was still warm and pleasant outside. As they neared the post office they saw the police chief.

  He was enjoying the last warm rays of the day’s sun. Jerry and Maya walked up and said hello.

  “Well, hello,” said the police chief. “Where are my favorite detectives going on such a lovely afternoon?”

  “We’re going to check out the new cowboy movie at the Rio,” said Maya.

  “Lucky you,” said the police chief. “I’m looking for the dreaded dog thief, myself. I don’t suppose you’ve seen anything suspicious?”

  The police chief was hoping Jerry and Maya could help him out, just as they had on a couple of other tricky cases he’d investigated.

  “We don’t know anything other than what’s in the paper,” replied Maya. “One thousand dollars ransom for each dog—that’s a lot of money.”

  “The first two owners have already paid,” revealed the police chief. “They put the money into an untraceable account. They did their part, but the thief did not: The dogs haven’t been returned. And now the thief is demanding money for the third dog by tomorrow.”

  “How awful,” said Jerry. “But,” he said, looking at his watch, “we have to get a move on, Maya, if we’re going to make the movie.”

  “Let me know if you find out anything,” the police chief called after them.

  Maya and Jerry continued down Church Street, pa
st Mohammed Carat’s jewelry shop and Pleasant Valley’s lovely café.

  When they reached Market Square they saw that there were tons of people in front of the movie theater.

  They went into the Rio and bought two tickets from the lady at the box office. The doors to the theater were open, and the manager was tearing tickets in the doorway. Jerry and Maya were at the end of the line. There was a bottleneck by the door, and several people were getting restless. Somebody said, “Hey! You were behind me! No cuts!”

  Jerry and Maya stood on tiptoe to get a better view. Right away they saw an angry and bad-tempered man trying to sneak his way into the movie. They recognized him immediately. It was Bert Anderson, the receptionist from the town’s hotel.

  “Hold it right there,” said the cinema manager, as he grabbed hold of Bert Anderson. “You’ll have to come back this evening. This show is sold out.”

  He took a firm hold of Bert Anderson’s coat collar and pushed him toward the doors. But before Bert got completely thrown out, he made one last attempt at getting into the movie.

  Suddenly, over the noise of the crowd, a ripping sound was heard. In his rush, Bert had pulled the pocket of the manager’s jacket right off! Tons of money—coins and bills—fell to the floor.

  The manager looked at the money on the floor and then at Bert Anderson. He was furious.

  Bert realized that he was never going to get in now and crept out through the exit.

  “There’s as much action here as there was in the Wild West.” Maya laughed.

  After the manager gathered his money, he returned to his place and tore Jerry and Maya’s tickets. He was agitated. He pulled back his sleeve and looked at his watch.

  Wow! thought Maya, as the manager revealed a big, expensive gold watch on his wrist.

  Maya saw something else as well: There were two playing cards tucked under the watch strap! The manager saw Maya looking and hastily pulled his sleeve down again.

  Then he called to the woman at the box office: “Miss Bloom! Could you give Derek a call and find out where he is? He’s supposed to start the film in two minutes.”

  “Sure thing,” Miss Bloom replied. “But Zorba, you know how Derek’s been recently—taking a taxi to work and arriving at the last minute.”

  Miss Bloom picked up the phone and dialed. Maya shrugged at all the commotion and followed Jerry into the theater.

  They went to their favorite spot and sank into the comfy red seats.

  “If the detective agency doesn’t work out, we could try for jobs here,” whispered Maya. “It looks like you can earn plenty of money as part of the movie-theater staff.”

  “Taxi to work, pockets full of money, and expensive watches,” replied Jerry with a smile.

  Derek, the theater’s projectionist, must have arrived just in the nick of time, because at 4:50 p.m. the previews began, right on schedule.

  On the steps next to the rows of seats stood a young man dressed in a red jacket and tall hat. A tray of snacks hung from a strap around his neck. Everyone at the theater knew him as Popcorn Pete.

  “Oh, I’m starving,” Maya said, and waved to the young man. She was in the mood for a snack. But no matter how much she waved, he didn’t seem to see her.

  Several other people in the audience did the same thing, but Popcorn Pete was watching the previews and didn’t seem a bit interested in selling anything.

  “If he can’t be bothered to sell anything he’s not going to keep that job for long,” whispered Maya to Jerry, irritated. “But maybe he’s as well-off as the rest of the staff and doesn’t really need the job.”

  “Sshh,” replied Jerry. The movie was starting.

  CHAPTER 3

  Cards and Howls

  When the movie started, Jerry and Maya watched Popcorn Pete take one of the seats reserved for the staff right at the front, near the emergency exit.

  “That must be why he works here,” whispered Jerry to Maya. “He gets to see the movies for free—and as many times as he wants.”

  Popcorn Pete slumped in his seat. Soon only his tall hat could be seen over the back of the seat.

  The cowboy movie was excellent. It was about a gang of cowboys driving a herd of horses across the prairie. One of the cowboys could control horses just by whistling. If a horse looked as if it were going to run off, the cowboy whistled and got it to stop.

  Maya was impressed. She’d like to be able to whistle like that, too.

  She turned to Jerry. But what was he doing? He wasn’t even looking at the screen. He was leaning forward with his head to one side. He was listening to something down on the floor!

  “What are you doing?” asked Maya.

  “Sshh! I thought I heard something.”

  “Well of course you did. You’re at the Rio watching a movie!”

  “Sssshh!” said Jerry again and leaned even closer to the floor. “Wait here, Maya,” he said and disappeared in the direction of the exit, crouching as he snuck down the aisle.

  I wish I could whistle and stop him, thought Maya, watching Jerry as he slipped out the back doors.

  When Jerry reached the empty hall outside the theater, he stood still and listened. Through a half-open door, he could hear Zorba and Miss Bloom talking. He stepped a little closer and listened at the door.

  “I can’t believe it,” said Miss Bloom. “During every show for the past three years you and I have played cards, Zorba. And I haven’t won once in all that time. I won’t have any money left soon.”

  Jerry heard the sound of a stack of coins being pushed across a table and then the shuffling of cards.

  “Oh, don’t worry about it, Miss Bloom,” said Zorba soothingly. “As they say, Fortune comes and fortune goes, the lucky one knows no woes.”

  Jerry heard Miss Bloom sighing at Zorba’s rhyme.

  Sounds of the movie drifted from the theater: thundering hooves, neighing horses, and, of course, the cowboy whistling.

  Now Jerry could clearly hear the sound he thought he heard in the theater! He followed the sound down the stairs, toward the bathrooms.

  There were three doors downstairs: one to the women’s bathroom, one to the men’s, and a little further on, a third door, locked with a big, strong padlock.

  Jerry walked up to the first door and listened.

  If anyone walks up now I’ll be thrown out of the movie theater like Bert, he thought. Here I am eavesdropping outside the women’s bathroom!

  But Jerry couldn’t hear anything except some pipes gurgling. He moved on to the men’s bathroom and looked in. He listened carefully but didn’t hear anything strange.

  There was only one door left: the one with the big padlock.

  Jerry placed his ear to the keyhole. Now he could hear the sound again, loud and clear. A sad howling noise. It sounded just like a dog!

  And not just any dog, thought Jerry. It sounds like this one knows a special trick!

  He faced the keyhole and whistled softly, so that Zorba and Miss Bloom wouldn’t hear him.

  He waited a bit and after a moment the howling dog answered from behind the door!

  “Ahem,” he heard someone clear his throat behind him.

  It was Zorba!

  “Oh . . . ,” said Jerry. He tried to think of something to say. “The bathroom . . .”

  “The men’s room is over there. Can’t you read?” asked Zorba, sounding annoyed.

  “My glasses,” began Jerry. “I left my glasses in the theater . . .”

  “Okay, okay, okay. But it’s not that door in any case,” said Zorba and pointed to the door with the padlock on. “That’s a storeroom. Pretty useless these days: I don’t even know where the key is. Now come on, hurry up. Otherwise you’ll miss the whole movie.”

  Jerry disappeared into the men’s room.

  CHAPTER 4

  The Screen Goes
Dark

  “I think I heard one of them,” hissed Jerry to Maya, once he dropped back into his seat.

  Maya looked at him in surprise. Jerry was turning out to be a strange movie date. Creeping around and talking during all the good parts. To think it was his idea to come to the movies in the first place!

  “Heard one of what?” she asked impatiently. “Can’t it wait until the movie’s over?”

  “Doodle Bug—the singing poodle from the newspaper!” whispered Jerry. “He’s locked up downstairs! I could hear him whining from the storeroom.”

  Maya looked at Jerry, wide-eyed.

  “What, really?” she asked, a little too loudly. “Incredible! That must mean that . . .”

  “Shu-ush!” hissed a man in the row behind them. “Keep it down!”

  Jerry and Maya realized they would have to wait until the end of the movie to discuss the case.

  They sat up straight in their seats and waited impatiently for the movie to end.

  Maya wanted her snack more than ever, but it didn’t look like she was going to get it before the movie was over.

  Popcorn Pete was sitting perfectly still in his seat, probably completely absorbed by the movie. Just as Maya had been before she heard Jerry’s news!

  Suddenly, the screen went dark.

  Maya tried to catch Jerry’s eye, but she couldn’t see anything.

  The only light came from the emergency exit at the other side of the theater.

  “What happened?”

  “What was that?”

  “Who turned out the lights?”

  Everyone in the theater was wondering what had happened. Some sounded worried.

  Then a voice rang out from the projection room behind them. It was Derek, the projectionist:

  “Calm down, everyone! There’s no emergency! The film reel snapped. Don’t worry, I’ll have it fixed in no time.”