Cereal Box Mystery

by Charles Tang

  “We can pick flowers on his birthday and make a big birthday bouquet,” said Jessie.

  “We could paint pinecones different colors and put them in a big glass bowl,” said Soo Lee. “That would be pretty.”

  “I know, I know! I know an even better idea,” cried Benny, bouncing up and down in excitement.

  “What is it, Benny?” asked Violet.

  “We can get Grandfather a special tree and decorate it. Then we can plant it and he will have it forever and ever,” Benny said.

  “That’s a terrific idea, Benny,” said Jessie admiringly. “We’ll put all our money together and go pick out a perfect tree tomorrow.”

  Violet suddenly turned her head and frowned.

  “What is it, Violet?” asked Soo Lee.

  “I don’t know,” said Violet. She looked around uneasily. Then she said, “I must be imagining things. But I just had the strangest feeling that someone was watching us.”

  The other Aldens looked around, too. But they couldn’t see anyone.

  Then Watch jumped up and raced toward the woods behind the house, barking as loudly as he could!

  CHAPTER 6

  A Spy in the Woods

  “Watch, come back!” shouted Henry. He ran after Watch. So did all the others.

  As they reached the edge of the woods, they heard crashing sounds and heavy footsteps. A shadowy figure ran between two big trees and then disappeared.

  The Aldens ran after the figure. But they had to stop at a steep bank leading down to a wide stream. Watch ran up and down the bank, barking fiercely.

  Jessie caught Watch. “Good boy,” she said. “Good dog.”

  “You were right, Violet!” Soo Lee exclaimed. “Someone was watching us.”

  “But why?” asked Henry.

  “It was the cereal box thief,” said Benny. “He didn’t find the silver star, so he came back to steal more cereal.”

  “Oh, Benny, that doesn’t make sense. Why steal cereal when you can just buy it at the store?” asked Violet.

  “I don’t know,” said Benny, looking stubborn.

  “Here’s another footprint,” Jessie said suddenly. She pointed. Sure enough, in the mud at the very edge of the stream was a footprint. It wasn’t very big.

  “This isn’t at all like the footprint we found by the front door,” said Henry. “It’s much smaller.”

  “That means there are two cereal thieves,” said Benny.

  “Maybe.” But Henry didn’t sound so sure. “Or maybe the footprint just looks smaller because of the mud. See? It’s already filling up with water.”

  “Or maybe the thief wore extra-big boots last night as a disguise,” Soo Lee suggested.

  “That’s possible, too,” Henry agreed.

  Jessie sighed. “We have a mystery and we have clues,” she said. “But nothing makes any sense.”

  “Let’s walk along the creek for a little ways,” Henry said. “Maybe the spy crossed it again and we can follow the spy’s tracks to find out who it is.”

  “Good idea,” said Jessie.

  They walked along the creek. A little while later, Soo Lee found another footprint. This footprint was small, just as the other one had been. And it was going up the side of the bank.

  They raced into the woods — and stopped. No more footprints could be seen. Then Watch growled softly.

  “Can you smell the person?” asked Benny. “Can you find who it is and where he went?”

  As if he understood Benny, Watch ran forward. They followed him through the woods. Without warning, they crashed out of the trees — and into their own backyard.

  Watch ran up to the boxcar and barked loudly.

  “He’s trapped the spy in our boxcar!” cried Benny. He ran up to the boxcar, put his hands around his mouth, and said, “Come out and surrender! We have you surrounded!”

  The Aldens waited with their hearts pounding. But no one came out of the boxcar.

  “I don’t think anyone is in there,” Violet whispered to Soo Lee.

  “Me neither,” Soo Lee whispered back.

  “If you don’t come out,” said Jessie loudly, “we’re coming in.”

  No one answered.

  Slowly they walked up to the boxcar. Cautiously, they peered inside.

  It was empty.

  Then Violet’s eyes widened. She raised her hands to her cheeks. “Oh, Benny,” she gasped. “You were right. Whoever it was stole your box of cereal!”

  Sure enough, the box of cereal that Benny had brought out to the boxcar was missing. All that was left of it was the cereal in the cracked pink cup.

  “And look,” said Henry. “There is a fresh smear of mud on the stump that we use as a step into the boxcar. Our thief must have stood here to reach inside and grab the cereal.”

  “So someone was watching us so that he could steal Benny’s box of cereal?” Violet looked down at the pink ring on her finger and rubbed it absently. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “Maybe Mr. Map is trying to steal my Silver Frosted Stars for the prizes inside,” said Benny. “Violet and Jessie both got rings.”

  “No, Benny,” Jessie said. She held out her hand. “The green stone in my ring is pretty, but it isn’t a real emerald.”

  “I think my pink ring is pretty, too,” said Violet. “But I don’t think a thief would want it.”

  “But who did take the real jewels?” Benny said.

  “And where did he put them?” Soo Lee added.

  “Remember, the gift shop owner said that Marvin Map almost looked as if he wanted the police to catch him,” Henry said. “Maybe he did. Maybe he was just trying to distract them while an accomplice stole the jewels.”

  “An accomplice like Mr. Darden. He was acting awfully suspiciously this morning,” Jessie said.

  “Yes,” Henry agreed. “Tomorrow, we’re going to follow Mr. Darden and see what he is up to.”

  That night, Watch lifted his head and growled softly. Benny woke up.

  “What is it, boy? Is it another burglar?” Watch growled again, but he didn’t jump off the bed or bark.

  Benny listened with all his might, but he couldn’t hear anything at all. After a while, Watch lowered his head.

  “Good boy,” Benny whispered, petting Watch. “Don’t worry. I brought the cereal with me. It’s on the top shelf of my closet and I’m going to keep it there until breakfast tomorrow. No one will think of looking for it there.”

  Watch’s tail thumped slightly, as if he understood. Then he and Benny went back to sleep.

  CHAPTER 7

  Too Many Rings!

  “I don’t believe this!” Mrs. McGregor said.

  “What?” asked Henry, coming into the kitchen the next morning, followed by Benny, Jessie, Violet, and Watch.

  “Take a look outside the back door,” Mrs. McGregor said. “Some animal got into the garbage and turned it over last night. Some dog, probably.”

  She glanced at Watch. Benny said, “Watch stayed with me last night!”

  Mrs. McGregor smiled. “I know Watch would never do such a thing,” she said.

  “We’ll clean it up,” Henry said.

  The Aldens went outside. As they began to pick up the garbage, Violet said, “That’s strange.”

  “What?” Jessie asked.

  “There are chicken bones in the garbage,” Violet said. “If a dog or any other animal had turned over the can, wouldn’t the bones have been eaten?”

  “Yes,” Henry said. Then he said, “You know, it does look as if a person — not a dog — was going through the garbage.”

  It was true. The contents of the can weren’t scattered all over the yard, but spread out neatly.

  “You’re right, Henry!” Jessie exclaimed. “Someone did go through our garbage last night.”

  “Watch growled last night while I was asleep. I woke up, but he stopped growling. He must have heard the garbage can being turned over,” Benny said.

  “But what was the person looking for?” V
iolet asked.

  “I don’t know, Violet,” Henry answered. “It’s a mystery, that’s for sure.”

  Just as they finished cleaning up the mess, Soo Lee rode up on her bicycle. “Hi,” she said. “I got here as early as I could. Are you ready to go follow Mr. Darden?”

  “Yes, and we’d better hurry,” Jessie agreed.

  The Aldens got on their bicycles and rode to David Darden’s small, tidy house on the edge of town. There they spotted some tall bushes to hide behind.

  Soon Mr. Darden came out. He got in his car and drove toward Greenfield. The Aldens pedaled after him as fast as they could.

  On Main Street, Mr. Darden got out and parked his car near the town square. He walked briskly down the street. The Aldens walked after him. When he stopped, they stopped and pretended to be looking in store windows.

  They followed Mr. Darden to a jewelry store.

  Violet gasped and grabbed Jessie’s arm. “You don’t think he’s planning another robbery, do you?”

  “I don’t think so, but maybe he is,” Jessie answered. She looked up and down the street, half expecting to see a man with a hat pulled low and wearing a tan raincoat. But she saw no one like that.

  “Should we call the police?” Benny asked.

  “Let’s just keep an eye on him for now,” Jessie said.

  They walked past the window of the jewelry store. They could see Mr. Darden in the back, bent over a glass counter. All around the walls of the jewelry store, rings and necklaces and bracelets glittered and gleamed.

  “We should go in and see what he is up to,” Violet whispered, as if she were afraid Mr. Darden could hear her.

  “We can’t all go in,” Henry said. “But I think some of us should.”

  “You and I could go in, Violet,” Jessie said. “We could pretend we’re looking for a gift for Grandfather’s birthday.”

  “Yes, and we’ll wait out here to stop him if something happens,” said Benny.

  Violet and Jessie walked into the jewelry store. They stood at a counter near Mr. Darden. “Look at the pocket watches,” Jessie said. “Maybe Grandfather would like one of those.”

  “But he already has a pocket watch,” Violet said. Jessie nudged her.

  “Oh,” said Violet. “Yes. The pocket watches are nice.”

  Watching Mr. Darden and one of the jewelers out of the corner of her eye, Jessie saw the jeweler hand Mr. Darden a small box. Mr. Darden opened it.

  What was inside? Jessie couldn’t see.

  With a little gasp, Violet grabbed Jessie’s arm.

  “What? What is it?” Jessie asked.

  “I thought I saw someone go by the window,” Violet said.

  “Who?” Jessie asked.

  “The man in the tan raincoat,” Violet said. “Maybe he’s about to come in and rob the place.”

  They waited tensely as Mr. Darden closed the small box and put it in his pocket. He thanked the jeweler and walked out.

  Both Violet and Jessie let out a sigh of relief. “I guess he wasn’t going to rob the store after all,” Jessie said, forgetting to lower her voice.

  The jeweler heard her and gave her a funny look, but Jessie didn’t notice as she and Violet hurried out the door to join the others.

  “There goes Mr. Darden,” Henry said. “Come on.”

  They followed Mr. Darden down the street to the town square. He stopped once and peered into a store window, smoothing his hair and adjusting his tie.

  “What’s he doing?” Benny asked.

  “He’s using the window as a mirror,” Jessie said.

  When he’d finished, Mr. Darden patted his pocket. Then he smiled and walked toward a bench by a flower bed.

  They saw a young woman stand up and smile at Mr. Darden. Then the couple sat down on the bench and began to talk. Suddenly Mr. Darden took the small box from his pocket. He got down on one knee, opened the box, and handed it to the woman. She put her hands to her cheeks and looked very surprised and happy.

  “That must be Mr. Darden’s girlfriend,” Violet said. “It’s so romantic.”

  “What if the ring he is giving her is the stolen ring?” Jessie asked.

  “Come on,” Henry said, and led the way toward the bench.

  The young woman was holding up her hand now, admiring the ring. Mr. Darden had gotten up to sit next to her again.

  “Hi,” Benny said.

  Mr. Darden looked up, startled. “You again!” he said.

  “Is that the ring you were shopping for at Antique Treasures?” Jessie asked bluntly.

  “No,” Mr. Darden said. Then he smiled. “I bought the ring at a different store.”

  “What kind of ring is it?” Benny asked. “Is it a ruby?”

  The young woman laughed. “Oh, no,” she said. “It’s an emerald.”

  Jessie glanced down at the green ring on her own finger. “Like this?” she said.

  The young woman held out her hand. On it was a slender gold band with a small yellow stone in the center.

  “That’s not an emerald,” Jessie said. “Emeralds are green.”

  But Mr. Darden was shaking his head. “Not all emeralds. They come in different colors. So do rubies and diamonds and many precious gems — you can even find black diamonds.”

  The woman said, “I think this is the most beautiful emerald in the world.”

  Mr. Darden said, “I wanted to ask you yesterday when I made lunch for you, Janie, but I was too nervous. And this ring wasn’t ready yet.”

  “Now I know why you weren’t hungry!” Janie said.

  “You were at Mr. Darden’s yesterday?” Violet asked Janie.

  She nodded, her gaze still on her engagement ring. “We’re engaged to be married now.”

  Mr. Darden said to the Aldens, “I’m sorry if I seemed distracted when you came to visit. But I didn’t want Janie to hear you talking about a ring. I was afraid it would spoil the surprise.”

  “Was that why you told Mr. Bellows you didn’t want your name in the newspaper?” Jessie asked.

  “Yes. I was afraid Janie might see it and somehow guess what I was planning,” Mr. Darden said.

  Janie smiled at Mr. Darden. Mr. Darden smiled back.

  “We have to go,” Jessie said. “Congratulations.”

  The newly engaged couple didn’t even look at the Aldens as they left. “Good-bye,” said Mr. Darden absently.

  As they walked their bikes away, Jessie said, “That explains why Mr. Darden was acting so strangely.”

  With a laugh, Henry said, “It sure does.”

  “If Mr. Darden didn’t help Mr. Map, then maybe Ms. Smitts did,” Violet said.

  Jessie reached in her pocket and took out the piece of paper with the names and addresses of Mr. Darden and Ms. Smitts on them. She said, “Ms. Smitts didn’t leave an address, only a phone number.”

  “We can call her from the phone booth on the corner, then,” Henry said.

  When they called, a voice said, “Karate Center.” Surprised, Henry said hesitantly, “May I please speak to Ms. Tori Smitts?”

  “She’s not available right now,” the voice said. “May I take a message?”

  “I’m Henry Alden. We wanted to talk to her for a few minutes.”

  “Ms. Smitts should be free in just about fifteen minutes,” the receptionist said.

  “Could we have your address?” Henry asked. “We could come by.”

  He wrote down the address and hung up the phone. The Aldens pedaled to the Karate Center, which wasn’t far from Main Street.

  Inside, a young man behind a battered desk was typing something into a small computer. On a shelf behind him was a row of trophies.

  “Excuse me,” Jessie said. “We called a few minutes ago. We’d like to speak to Ms. Smitts.”

  The young man looked up and pointed. “She’s in the studio,” he said. “You can sit on that bench and watch through the glass, if you’d like. She’ll be out soon.”

  “Did you win all those trophies?” Benny
asked.

  “Those?” The young man glanced over his shoulder. “Not yet. I still have a lot to learn. No, those trophies belong to our instructors. They’ve all earned their black belts. That means they’re the best.”

  “Oh,” said Benny. He sat down next to the others. They watched as Tori Smitts, in loose white pants and a white coat, wearing a black belt, showed students how to kick and punch and block.

  Sometimes the students tried to knock her down. No matter how hard they tried, she always won.

  “She’s very good,” Jessie said admiringly.

  “Oh, yes,” the young man said. “Practically unbeatable.”

  A few minutes later, they heard Ms. Smitts say, “Okay that’s it.”

  Everyone bowed. Then the students filed out through a door in the back of the studio that had the words LOCKER ROOMS on it.

  The young man got up, tapped on the glass, and motioned to Ms. Smitts. She walked toward him, then opened the door and stepped into the reception area.

  “You have some visitors,” the receptionist said.

  The Aldens stood up. “Hello,” Henry said, and began to introduce everyone.

  Ms. Smitts looked surprised. But she held up her hand. “I remember you,” she said. “You don’t need to introduce yourselves. And I bet I can solve a mystery.”

  “What?” asked Benny. “What mystery?”

  “The mystery of why you’re here,” she said. Her lips curled into a little smile. “You’re playing detective, right? You’re looking for the missing jewelry.”

  “And the thief,” said Benny. He wasn’t sure, but he thought Ms. Smitts might be teasing him and the other Aldens. He stared at her hard.

  “We just wondered if you could remember anything else about what happened — anything that might be helpful,” Violet said.

  “I’ve told the police everything I know,” Ms. Smitts said. “It all happened so fast.”

  “So even though you grabbed the thief just outside the front door, you didn’t see his face,” Henry suggested.

  “He pushed me away so hard, I nearly fell. I wasn’t able to hold on to him, much less see what he looked like,” Ms. Smitts replied firmly. “Now, if that’s all, I have another class to teach. Good luck to you.”