by Charles Tang
“No car now,” remarked Jessie. “But I’m sure there was one here earlier.”
“Maybe whoever sent Tate the letter left a car hidden here,” Violet said. “Or maybe it is a reporter, spying on Tate.”
“What if it was the bank robbers?” said Benny. “Maybe they had their van in here.”
“But the van was leaving when we turned onto Old Farm Road. And the tracks weren’t here,” said Henry.
Benny looked stubborn. “Maybe they came back,” he said.
“I guess they could have,” said Jessie. “But why?”
“Maybe they’re not bank robbers. Maybe they’re spies,” said Benny.
Henry chuckled. But Jessie frowned thoughtfully.
“Look at this,” Henry said. He bent down and picked up a piece of a bright red feather. “I’ve never seen a bird with a feather like this around here.”
“A cardinal?” suggested Benny. “Cardinals are red.”
“But too small to have a feather that big,” said Violet. “It’s pretty.”
“Maybe it’s a clue,” said Henry. He slipped the feather into his pocket. “We’d better get going, or Mrs. McGregor will be worried.”
“A red feather, a blue van, a funny letter, bank robbers, and spies,” said Benny. “Those are a lot of mysteries.”
Jessie said, “It seems like the more clues we find, the more mysterious everything gets.”
When they buzzed the intercom at the Radley house the next day, Tate answered immediately. “Wait there,” he said. “I’ll be right out.”
A few minutes later, an unfamiliar figure came hurrying down the driveway. He was wheeling a battered bicycle and Greta was walking alongside him. When he reached the gate, he stopped and put a leash on Greta. Then he punched in the code, pushed the gate open, and stepped out to join the Aldens.
“Tate?” said Violet in a puzzled voice.
The figure in front of them had frizzy brown hair and wore little wire-rimmed glasses. He had on an enormous shirt and looked almost fat. Then Benny saw the blue eyes behind the glasses and said, “It is you. It’s Tate.”
Tate smiled. “Yep. It’s a disguise. Not bad, huh?”
“If Greta wasn’t with you, I wouldn’t have guessed so quickly,” Violet said.
“Why are you in disguise?” Jessie wanted to know.
“Because I want to go into Greenfield. This way, no one will recognize me,” Tate explained.
“Where’s Courtney?” asked Benny. “Did she say you could go?”
“She went with my mom to run some errands,” Tate said. “This is a perfect time to slip away.”
Henry looked up and down the road. But he didn’t see any suspicious vans or anyone lurking in the trees. “Come on, then,” he said. He grinned at Tate. “Let’s go.”
As they walked through the peaceful streets of Greenfield, the Aldens told Tate about the history of the town and about some of the mysteries they had solved there.
“That’s the old train station,” said Jessie. “Greenfield used to have lots of trains come through it.”
“We found out about it when our boxcar got stolen,” Jessie added.
“But you got it back?” Tate asked.
Benny said, “We sure did. We can solve any mystery. We even found some stolen rubies.”
“Taken from the antique store over there,” said Henry, pointing to a store with a sign that read ANTIQUE TREASURES, W. BELLOWS, PROPRIETOR.
“Wow,” said Tate. “Greenfield only looks like a quiet little town. From the way you talk, I can tell that anything could happen.”
Suddenly Violet stopped. “There they are!” she gasped.
“Who?” asked Henry.
“The robbers,” Violet said. “I just saw them slip down the alley behind the bank!”
“Bank robbers?” Tate said, his eyes widening behind his glasses.
“Come on!” Jessie said. She hurried down the sidewalk and stopped to peer around the corner. “I don’t see them,” she said.
“Let’s go a little farther down the alley,” Henry whispered. “We can hide behind those trash cans.”
“This is great,” said Tate. “Just like the movies!”
“Shhh!” said Benny, frowning at him.
As quietly as they could, they all walked down the alley. They crouched down and stayed close to the wall. When they got to the trash cans, they squatted down behind them.
“Pee-eew! It stinks,” said Benny.
“It’s the garbage, Benny,” said Violet. “Pinch your nose together with your fingers.”
“I just did,” said Benny in a muffled voice.
Just then they heard footsteps.
“Shhh,” Henry warned.
A familiar voice said, “Well, we can’t shoot here. It would never work.”
“George Smith,” Violet breathed.
“You’re wrong. This bank is perfect, from every angle,” said the second voice.
“And Harper,” Henry whispered.
“Harper?” said Tate.
“Shhh!” said Benny.
But Tate wasn’t listening. He stood up!
Violet grabbed the sleeve of his sweatshirt. “Tate. Be careful!” she said.
Tate smiled down at Violet. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I know how to handle these bank robbers.”
With that, Tate began to walk down the alley toward the two men, leading Greta with him.
Henry jumped to his feet. So did everyone else. Watch began to pull Benny forward, after Greta.
“Harpo, Stefan, you’ve been caught,” Tate said. “Will you surrender quietly?”
The Aldens watched in amazement as the two men spun around. They were in disguise again today, but Harpo had on his bright silver sneakers.
Harpo’s eyebrows rose. He pushed up his glasses and peered at Tate. Then he said, “Tate! What are you doing here?”
The man that the Aldens knew as George Smith, whom Tate had addressed as Stefan, put his hands on his hips. “A good question, Harpo. Tate, what are you doing here? What if someone sees you and recognizes you?”
By then the Aldens had reached Tate’s side. Benny said, “You know the bank robbers?”
Stefan’s thick brows went up. “Bank robbers? How do you know about the bank robbers? Tate, did you tell them?”
Laughing and shaking his head, Tate said, “No. They don’t know anything about the plot of the movie. They think you and Harpo are bank robbers.”
Harpo said, “I know you kids! We saw you in the woods, when we were scouting a location for the hideout.”
Benny look confused.
Violet said in a faint voice, “Hideout?”
“Stefan, Harpo, allow me to introduce my friends the Aldens. Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Watch,” Tate said.
Hearing his name, Watch wagged his tail.
“And these two gentlemen are Harpo Woo and Stefan Kirk. Harpo is locations director and Stefan is the director of my next movie, Money in the Bank.”
Henry said, “We heard you talking about hiding loot in the woods and then we saw you in disguise watching the bank and we thought you were getting ready to rob it. But you’re not bank robbers.”
Harpo laughed. “No. I’m in charge of finding the best places to shoot scenes from the movie. We’re in disguise because we don’t want anyone to recognize us until we’re finished picking locations.”
“Why?” asked Jessie.
“It’s much harder to get things done when people are crowding around, watching and asking questions,” said Stefan crisply.
“That’s Stefan’s way of telling us to go away so he can get back to work,” Tate said.
Stefan smiled a little, but he didn’t disagree with Tate’s words. Instead he said, “And I might remind you, Tate, that you don’t want to be recognized, either. I thought you were trying to stay out of the spotlight after all the incidents that happened during the filming of your last movie.”
“I am. But I’m in disguise, t
oo,” Tate said.
“As long as no one tells anyone where you are,” Stefan said, giving the Aldens a hard look.
Benny frowned. Then he said, “We won’t tell. We can keep secrets!”
“Good,” said Stefan. He turned back toward the bank.
Harpo said, “See you when we get back to the house, Tate. Nice meeting you kids—again.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” said Violet politely.
The Aldens and Tate turned and walked out of the alley.
“I’m glad your friends aren’t bank robbers,” Benny told Tate.
Tate laughed. “Me, too,” he said. Suddenly he stopped laughing. He frowned and looked around uneasily.
“What is it?” asked Jessie.
“I don’t know,” said Tate. “I just had the funniest feeling that someone was following me.”
The Aldens all stopped and surveyed Main Street. But they didn’t see anybody suspicious, just friends and neighbors going about their business.
“Who could be following you?” Henry asked. “Nobody even knows you’re here.”
Tate didn’t answer Henry’s question. Instead, he grabbed Henry’s arm and said, “Oh, no! Quick. Hide me!”
CHAPTER 7
The Red Feather Clue
Behind the bench,” said Jessie, without asking questions. She took Greta’s leash as Tate dove behind a bench in front of the ice-cream parlor. The Aldens all sat down on the bench and faced the street.
Without moving his lips, Henry said, “Who are you hiding from, Tate?”
“You’ll see,” Tate hissed back.
A moment later, a woman with red hair strode toward them. She was wearing a big white hat. A large red plume curled over one side of the hat and bobbed gently as she walked. Before reaching them, she stopped and peered into the ice-cream shop. Then she turned and looked across the street.
“Are you lost?” Jessie spoke up.
The woman turned back around and stared hard at the four Boxcar Children sitting on the bench. She looked at Greta and Watch, who were sitting in front of the bench. Her green eyes were sharp. Then she smiled.
“What cute dogs!” she said. “What are their names?”
Violet’s eyebrows drew together in a frown.
“This is Watch,” said Henry. “And this is—” Just then, he felt a finger poke him in the back. Henry paused. He knew that it was Tate who poked him. But why?
Then he realized what Tate wanted. Henry cleared his throat and said, “And this is Sally.” He put his hand on Greta’s head.
“Sally!” exclaimed Benny. “But—”
Jessie put a hand on Benny’s arm and gave it a little squeeze.
The woman said, “Watch and . . . Sally? Hmmm. I know a dog that looks a lot like Sally, but her name is Greta.”
“You have a dog named Greta?” asked Jessie.
“No,” said the woman. “I don’t have a dog. I travel too much.” Her smile faded and her eyes narrowed a little. “In fact, that’s why I’m here in . . . Greenfield . . . now. I traveled all the way here from California to find a friend of mine.”
“Does your friend live in Greenfield?” asked Violet.
“He doesn’t live here, exactly. But maybe you’ve seen him. He’s got blue eyes and black hair and he looks a lot like Tate Radison, the movie star.”
Henry said, “No one who looks like that is around here now.” It was true. With his glasses and his hat, Tate didn’t look like himself.
The woman didn’t look entirely convinced, but after a moment she nodded and stepped back. “Well, I have to be going. It’s nice to meet you and your two lovely dogs.” She strode off down the street.
The Aldens watched as she turned the corner.
“Don’t move yet,” Tate hissed. “She’s very sneaky.”
“Who is she?” asked Violet.
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Tate whispered.
At that moment, the woman popped back around the corner. When she saw the Aldens still watching her, she waved and went back around the corner again.
“I think she’s gone now,” said Jessie.
Cautiously, Tate got up from his hiding place. He pushed his glasses into place on his nose and said, “Whew! That was a close call.”
“Why don’t you go down the alley behind the bank,” Jessie suggested to Tate. “We’ll get the bikes and meet you at the other end of it.”
“Good idea,” said Henry.
“I’ll see you there,” Tate said. He slipped out from behind the bench and almost ran to the alley.
A few minutes later, the Aldens and Tate were on their way out of Greenfield back to Tate’s house.
“Who was that lady?” asked Benny.
“That was Monica Tripe,” Tate said. “She’s a reporter for True Star Stories.”
“She’s the one who wrote that story about the bad luck jinx on your last movie,” Jessie exclaimed.
“That’s right. If it hadn’t been for Monica, nobody would have paid any attention to what had happened,” Tate said. “But she was always lurking around the movie set. That’s how she found out about everything.”
“She’s looking for you now,” Benny said. “And she knew Greta’s real name. But we didn’t tell her.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. That would have given me away for sure. But what I don’t understand is how Monica knew to look for me in Greenfield. Hardly anyone knows where I am,” Tate said.
“Stefan and Harpo know,” said Violet.
“And your mother and your bodyguard,” added Jessie.
“And your agent,” Henry said. “Anybody else?”
Tate thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No. Even if there are other people working on the film who know where we are going to shoot it, they don’t know I’m here yet. In fact, we told everyone that I was going to France for a vacation.”
“Someone must have told her,” said Violet.
“But who?” Tate said. “We were so careful not to let anyone know.”
When they reached Tate’s house, the Aldens said good-bye to Tate and Greta. As they pedaled up to the gates, they saw Courtney standing by one of the gateposts. She had her arms folded and her mouth set in a thin line.
“Uh-oh,” said Benny. “She looks mad!”
Courtney said, “Well, there you are! Are you trying to make me lose my job?”
Tate looked startled. “No,” he said.
“Well, I will, if anything happens to you,” she said crossly. “Come inside. We’ve all been out looking everywhere for you.”
“But I left a note,” Tate protested.
“I didn’t see any note,” Courtney snapped. “We thought you might have been kidnapped. It wasn’t until I noticed that the bike and Greta and her leash were gone that I was able to convince your mother to stop worrying.”
Tate shrugged. “Okay, okay,” he said. “I’m sorry. But I did leave a note. And nothing happened.” He said to the Aldens, “Thanks. Greta and I had a great time.”
As Tate and Greta walked in the gate, Violet said impulsively, “Why don’t you come to dinner at our house tonight?”
“That’s impossible,” Courtney snapped. “The security risk is too high.”
“I’d love to,” Tate said, ignoring Courtney. “What time should I be there?”
“Seven o’clock. And you can come, too,” Violet said, smiling shyly at Courtney.
“See you then,” Tate said.
Courtney closed the gate and locked it. Tate took Courtney’s arm as they walked up the driveway. “Don’t worry,” the Aldens heard him say to her. “If you’re with me, what can happen?”
“What a good idea, Violet,” said Jessie.
“Let’s hurry home so we can tell Mrs. McGregor,” Henry said.
“Yes. And we can ask her to make an extra-special dessert,” Benny put in.
“Tate will be safe at our house, won’t he?” asked Violet anxiously.
“Sure he will. We have Watch to sta
nd guard,” Benny said.
“A movie star for dinner!” exclaimed Mrs. McGregor. “Goodness gracious.” Her eyes twinkled. “I’d better make a special dessert. What do you think, Benny?”
“Yes!” cried Benny. “Cake and ice cream and pie and—”
“I’ll make a cake,” Mrs. McGregor said. “Chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.”
“Chocolate cake is my favorite,” said Benny.
“Every cake is your favorite, Benny,” teased Henry, smiling at his younger brother.
“Today it is chocolate cake,” said Benny “Mrs. McGregor’s chocolate cake.”
“Let’s go pick some flowers,” Violet suggested. “We can fill a vase with flowers to go on the table for dinner.”
“That sounds great,” said Jessie.
The Aldens went out into the yard to gather flowers for a bouquet for the dinner table. They gathered roses and the long stalks of a lacy fern.
Benny found the feather of a blue jay. “Let’s put this in the flower arrangement, too,” he suggested. “It’s a pretty color.”
“It will look nice with the pink roses,” Violet said.
Jessie looked over at Henry. Henry’s mouth had suddenly dropped open. “What is it, Henry?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
“The feather!” said Henry. “I’d forgotten about the feather. It’s still in my pocket from yesterday.”
Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of red feather that the Aldens had found the day before near the car tracks by Old Farm Road.
Violet gasped. “The red feather. It’s the same color as the one on Monica Tripe’s hat!”
CHAPTER 8
Lights Out!
They all stared at the piece of red feather. Then Jessie said, “It must have been Monica who had a car hidden in the bushes by the side of the road. But why?”
“To spy on Tate,” said Benny
“She must suspect that he is at his mother’s house,” agreed Henry. “And she wants to write a story about it. But she can’t until she has proof.”
“Do you think she was the one who left the letter?” Violet said.
“I don’t know,” said Jessie. “I didn’t see whoever it was clearly enough to know.”
Violet said, “She was there that day we saw Harpo and Stefan out in front of the bank. Remember when they jumped into their van and drove away so fast?”
