Hockey Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “You kids are the greatest,” said Kevin.

  The next night, the Polar Bears beat the Tigers seven to five. Jessie still hadn’t scored a goal, but she was happy that her team was going to be playing in the championship game that weekend.

  The next day, the Aldens were on their way to Scott’s office to pick up Kevin’s box. “I can’t wait to see what’s in it!” Benny said.

  Scott’s office was on the other side of the lobby, opposite Tracey’s and Kevin’s. The door was open, so the children poked their heads in. The office was dark and quiet. No one was inside.

  Scott’s desk was under the window, and large posters of Olympic figure skaters covered the wall. On the floor in the corner was a large box labeled KEVIN REYNOLDS.

  “That must be it,” said Henry. He lifted the top of the box and looked in. He saw some framed photos and a trophy. “Yes, this is it.”

  “I’ll just write Scott a note so he’ll know we took it,” said Jessie. She went to Scott’s desk and looked for a pad of paper and a pen.

  Scott’s desk was covered with papers.

  “Wow, look at this,” said Benny, holding up a brochure. On the cover was a picture of a beach lined with palm trees. Florida’s Most Beautiful Homes was printed at the top.

  “Remember he said he was thinking of moving somewhere warm?” Violet said. “I guess he’s going to Florida.”

  Benny flipped through the brochure, admiring the pictures of sailboats and tropical fish.

  “Here’s a pen,” said Violet.

  “Thanks,” said Jessie. She’d found a blank slip of paper and wrote Scott a quick note. Then she and Henry each took one end of the large box and headed to the lobby to meet Grandfather.

  After dropping the box off at home, the children went to the grocery store. Because it was a special dinner, the Aldens had asked Mrs. McGregor if they could make the meal. The children were very good cooks, so she’d agreed.

  Once they were home, they got right to work. Jessie seasoned the chicken and put it in the oven to bake. Next she rinsed the string beans and trimmed off the ends so they’d be ready to steam for dinner.

  Henry peeled and sliced apples for the pie.

  Benny washed the potatoes and put them in a pot of boiling water.

  Violet was in charge of the biscuits.

  “Can I help?” Benny asked when he was done with the potatoes.

  “Sure,” said Violet, letting Benny have a turn stirring the biscuit dough. Then Violet and Benny took turns rolling it out into a thin pancake on the board and cutting it into circles. When it was time for dinner, they’d bake the biscuits so they’d be fresh and warm.

  Then the Aldens set the table for dinner. They used the pretty flowered plates and bright blue napkins.

  “Blue like the Scouts!” said Benny. “Kevin will like that!”

  “And blue like the Polar Bears,” Jessie added.

  In a short while the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it!” cried Benny, running to the front door and pulling it open.

  As expected, Kevin stood on the step. Beside him was Cathy and a small woman with brown hair.

  “Hello,” said Kevin, reaching out his hand to Grandfather. “You must be James Alden.”

  “I am indeed,” said Grandfather with a big smile. “And I certainly know who you are.”

  “This is my wife, Amy, and my daughter, Catherine,” Kevin said.

  When everyone had been introduced, the two families settled in the living room. Jessie chatted with Cathy, who seemed friendly but a bit nervous.

  A short while later, everything was arranged on the table, steaming hot and smelling delicious. “Dinner’s ready,” Henry called into the living room.

  “Great!” said Kevin in a loud voice. “I’m hungry!”

  “And so am I!” said Benny in his smaller voice.

  Everyone laughed as they headed into the dining room.

  The meal was a great success.

  “You kids cook even better than you skate,” said Kevin.

  “Now can we look through your box of stuff?” Benny asked eagerly.

  “We sure can,” said Kevin.

  The Alden and Reynolds families both went back into the living room and gathered around the large box. Kevin lifted the lid and pulled out a piece of paper. “Here’s a list of everything that’s in here,” he said, handing it to Jessie. “I’m going to have all of this stuff on display at the groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday. You kids can help me decide how it should be set up. We also need to make signs explaining what all the pieces are.”

  One by one, Kevin pulled items out of the box and held them up. “Here’s a picture of the whole Scouts team the first year we won the Stanley Cup,” he said.

  Jessie checked the picture off on the list as everyone crowded around to see all the players they recognized in the picture.

  “Here’s a trophy I received back in college,” Kevin said, pulling out a large silver cup. Jessie checked that off on the list as well.

  “Everyone seems so excited about the new rink you’re building,” Grandfather commented.

  “Not everyone,” Benny said.

  “What do you mean?” Grandfather asked.

  “A few mysterious things have happened at the rink,” Jessie said, “and they have made us wonder if maybe someone doesn’t want the new rink to be built.”

  “What mysterious things?” asked Amy.

  “The ink spilled on the plans,” said Henry.

  “And the missing orange cones,” added Violet.

  “You think those things are connected?” Kevin asked.

  “They might be,” Henry said.

  “And there have been some other things missing, too,” Jessie said. She was about to tell them about her skates when, all of a sudden, Cathy stood up.

  “Dad, I have a headache,” she said. “Can we go home now?”

  “Oh, yes,” Kevin said, putting his arm around his daughter. “I’m sorry you don’t feel well.”

  “I’m sure I’ll feel better if I just go home and lie down for a bit,” Cathy said.

  Grandfather got the Reynolds’ coats as everyone said good-bye.

  “I’ll leave this box here with you so you can go through the rest of the things,” Kevin said.

  “We’ll be happy to,” said Henry.

  After Kevin and his family had left, the Aldens sat down to see what else was in the box.

  “Look, here’s a picture of Kevin on his first hockey team, when he was about my age,” Benny said.

  “And here’s his Most Valuable Player award,” said Violet.

  Soon they had looked at everything and were putting the items carefully back into the box. Jessie was double-checking the list Kevin had made of everything in the box, making sure she’d marked everything off.

  “Wait a minute,” she said all of a sudden. “There are two things missing.” She looked at the list one more time. “It says here, ‘An autographed Kevin Reynolds hockey jersey,’ and ‘An autographed hockey stick.’ ”

  “Those would be worth a lot of money, wouldn’t they?” Benny asked.

  “Yes,” said Jessie. “And they’re missing.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Jessie Makes a Discovery

  “Show me what’s missing,” Henry said, taking the list from Jessie.

  “A hockey jersey,” said Jessie, pointing to one of the items on the list. “And a hockey stick.”

  Benny and Violet crowded around to look at the list, too.

  “They definitely weren’t in the box,” said Violet. “We looked at everything, and there were no jerseys or hockey sticks.”

  “We’d better call Kevin and let him know,” said Henry, going to the telephone.

  A moment later he came back.

  “What did he say?” Jessie asked.

  “There was no answer,” said Henry. “Maybe they’re not home yet.”

  “We’ll have to tell him tomorrow at the rink,” Violet suggested.

>   “That’s right, tomorrow’s our last practice before the championship game,” said Jessie. “I’d better get some sleep!”

  The next day the Aldens headed to the rink, as usual, before the sun was even up. Cathy was already in the locker room when Jessie came in.

  “How are you feeling?” Jessie asked.

  “Fine,” said Cathy. “Why do you ask?”

  “I was just wondering whether your head felt better,” Jessie said.

  “My head?” said Cathy.

  “Remember, you had a really bad headache last night?” Jessie said.

  “Oh, that ... that’s right ... yes, it’s all better,” Cathy said, gathering up her gear and leaving the locker room. She moved so quickly, it seemed she didn’t want to talk to Jessie anymore.

  Meanwhile, out on the ice, Henry was trying to tell Coach about the missing jersey and stick. “Kevin, I have something important to tell you,” Henry said, skating out onto the ice.

  Kevin was studying a clipboard of information about his players.

  “What is it?” Kevin asked, looking up, a serious expression on his face.

  “It’s about that box of stuff last night,” Henry said.

  Kevin broke into a smile. “Pretty neat, huh? For me it’s like walking down memory lane, looking at all that stuff. Do you think you can set up the display?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Henry said. “Violet’s going to make signs. She’s a great artist and has really nice handwriting.”

  “Great. And thanks for dinner,” Kevin said. “It was really delicious.”

  “No problem,” Henry said. “But what I wanted to tell you was—”

  “Listen, we’ve got to get the girls ready for the big championship game, so I think we’ll need to talk about this later,” Kevin said, going back to his clipboard.

  “Okay, no problem,” Henry said.

  For the next hour, Kevin worked the Polar Bears like they’d never worked before. He had them skate laps and laps around the rink to strengthen their legs and made them do several intricate skating and passing drills. They ended with a shooting drill and a short scrimmage.

  “Okay, girls, let’s break now,” Kevin said at last. “Come on over to the bench. I’d like to talk to you.

  “Now, I realize some of you had never played hockey before when you started.” He looked around at all the girls, making eye contact with each one of them. “And you’ve done a great job. You’ve played hard, you’ve practiced hard, and now you’re seeing the result of all that hard work—tomorrow you’ll be in the mini-league championship game. And I bet you’re going to win that game, too. But whether or not you do, you should all be very proud of yourselves and of how well you’ve played.

  “The game tomorrow is at ten o’clock. So I want you all to get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, and come here ready to play. Ready to win. Let’s go, Polar Bears!”

  The girls cheered along with Kevin and Henry. They were excited about their game tomorrow. Jessie was especially excited. She was going to try her best. She hoped it would be good enough to help the team win.

  After Coach’s pep talk, Henry tried to get a chance to speak to Kevin alone, to tell him about the jersey and stick. But several players and parents were always around him. Finally the two were alone, and Henry spoke up. “Coach, I started to tell you something before practice,” he began.

  “Oh, yes, what was it you were trying to say?” Kevin asked.

  “When we were going through the box, we noticed—” Henry began.

  “Dad,” said a voice behind him.

  Henry turned around, and there was Cathy, her face quite serious.

  “Yes, hon? What is it?” Kevin asked, his face concerned.

  “I need to talk to you,” said Cathy. “It’s really important.”

  “Sure,” Kevin said. “Henry, I’ve got to talk to my daughter. Can whatever you were going to tell me wait a little?”

  “Okay,” Henry said. He was disappointed that he still hadn’t had a chance to tell Coach about the missing items. But he couldn’t help wondering what was so important that Cathy had to talk to her dad about. She looked so worried. Henry hoped everything was all right.

  Back in the locker room, Jessie was getting dressed in her usual spot next to Beth.

  “Are you excited about tomorrow?” Jessie asked, pulling on her sweater.

  “I sure am!” said Beth with a big grin. “We are going to win that championship trophy!”

  Jessie laughed at her friend’s enthusiasm.

  “I think I’m cut out for hockey more than figure skating,” Beth said. “Hockey is much more fan!”

  “Do you think so?” Jessie asked. “I enjoy playing hockey, but I still like figure skating. I love the spins and jumps, the music, the costumes.”

  Beth was almost finished getting dressed. As usual, she asked Jessie to fasten the clasp on her silver skate necklace.

  Jessie was turning around to help Beth when she spotted something. Something that made her eyes open wide.

  Beth’s skating bag was on the floor beside the bench, overflowing with hockey gear. But what was on top of the gear made Jessie stop and stare.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Jessie asked.

  Beth saw Jessie’s expression and said, “Please don’t tell anyone you saw it.”

  And Jessie knew that she was right.

  Sitting on top of Beth’s hockey gear was an autographed Kevin Reynolds jersey. Just like the one that was missing from Kevin’s box.

  CHAPTER 9

  A Surprise for Jessie

  “Beth, where did you get that?” Jessie asked, looking at the large blue-and-red shirt lying on top of Beth’s bag. It had a Scouts logo on the front, and across one shoulder was a signature, written in pen, which clearly said, Kevin Reynolds.

  Beth bent over and quickly stuffed the jersey into her bag and zipped it up. “Please don’t tell anyone,” Beth said again. Then she picked up her bag and left the locker room before Jessie could say anything else.

  Jessie was left staring after Beth. She finished getting dressed and hurried outside as quickly as she could. But Beth was nowhere to be seen.

  “What is it?” Benny asked. He had been waiting outside for Jessie. “You look upset.”

  A moment later, Henry and Violet joined them.

  “You’ll never believe what just happened,” Jessie said.

  The Aldens went over to the bleacher seats and sat down.

  “I was talking to Beth in the locker room,” Jessie said. “And her bag was on the floor next to us. And guess what was in her bag.”

  “What?” Benny asked.

  “Kevin’s jersey—the one that’s missing!” Jessie told them.

  “Are you sure?” Violet asked.

  “Yes—I saw his signature on the shoulder,” said Jessie. She shook her head. “When she saw me looking at it, she grabbed it and told me not to tell anyone! Then she ran out of the locker room!”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” said Violet.

  “I wonder if she has the stick, too,” Benny said.

  “We’d better tell Coach,” Henry pointed out.

  The Aldens went to Kevin’s office, but the door was shut and locked.

  “Maybe Coach is in his office right now with Cathy,” he said. “After practice, she said she had something important to tell him and they went somewhere to talk.”

  “What do you think she had to talk to him about?” Violet asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “She didn’t say. It looked like it was something pretty important, though.”

  “I’ll try to call Coach later about the jersey,” Jessie said.

  “In the meantime, let’s go home and organize Kevin’s hockey stuff the way he wanted us to,” said Henry.

  Back at home, the Aldens arranged the hockey items. The things from Kevin’s childhood would be first. The display would begin with a picture of Kevin at age three, standing on the ice in tiny little skates, h
olding a hockey stick. Next would come his first trophy won at age seven. Later in the display would be other trophies and things he’d won as a professional hockey player.

  Using the information on the list Kevin had given them, Violet made signs explaining each piece. She used colored markers and wrote neatly on note cards. KEVIN REYNOLDS SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL IN THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE WITH THIS PUCK, read one card. TICKER TAPE PARADE FOR THE SCOUTS AFTER THEY WON THEIR FIRST STANLEY CUP, read another card. THE COVER OF SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FEATURING KEVIN REYNOLDS, read another.

  That night Jessie tried calling Coach Reynolds, but his wife told her he was out. “He’s at the town council meeting,” she explained. “Tonight’s the night they’re looking at the plans for the rink.”

  “I hope everything goes well,” Jessie said before she hung up. She told the others what Mrs. Reynolds had said.

  “I guess we’ll just have to tell him about the missing things tomorrow,” said Benny.

  “But tomorrow is the big game,” Violet pointed out.

  “We’ll tell him after the game,” Jessie decided. “Now I’m going to bed so I’ll be well rested for tomorrow!”

  The next morning, the Aldens arrived at the rink excited and ready. Henry went right over to help Coach Reynolds prepare, while Jessie went to the locker room to get dressed. Violet, Benny, and Grandfather went to find seats. Even though they had gotten there early, the stands were already filling up with fans for both the Polar Bears and their opponents, the Sharks.

  When Henry saw Coach, he asked him right away about the town council meeting the night before.

  “I don’t know,” Kevin said. “Some of the council members liked the idea of a new rink. But others were worried about the rink causing a lot of traffic on that side of town and other problems. They’re going to let me know later today. But you know what was really funny,” he added. “Beth’s mom was there. I saw her going in to talk to them after I left.”

  “That’s interesting,” said Henry. He remembered Jessie had overheard Mrs. Davidson talking about the rink and her “secret plan.” He hoped her plan wasn’t to convince the council not to build it.

  “Anyway, I’m not going to worry about that now,” said Kevin. “We’ve got a game to play!”