The Mystery in the Fortune Cookie

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  Henry dipped his toes into the cool water. “Maybe to keep her busy,” he guessed. “You know, distract her so she won’t notice that he’s trying to steal her half of the bookstore.”

  Benny nodded as he crunched into an apple.

  Henry continued with his theory. “People think Drum Keller disappeared because of money,” he reminded them. “If Martin is Drum Keller, then money’s very important to him.”

  “So Martin, also known as Drum Keller, is trying to steal Dottie’s half of the bookstore so he can make more money?” Violet asked. “But ... why is Auntie Two helping him?”

  The Aldens were silent. No one had an answer.

  Jessie spoke up. “There’s another possibility.”

  Benny was instantly curious. “What is it, Jessie?”

  “Maybe there is somebody else who knows the truth about Martin,” she said. “Somebody who’s trying to warn Dottie.” Jessie pushed her damp hair behind her ears. “Maybe that person is leaving the strange messages.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Violet exclaimed.

  It made sense. What better way to hint at Martin’s secret identity than by hiding a mystery in a fortune cookie? After all, Drum Keller wrote a whole series of fortune cookie mysteries, didn’t he?

  “Then it’s got to be Lucy who left those messages,” put in Benny, who was still convinced the waitress was behind everything. “She was talking to Angela at the ice cream parlor about somebody’s secret identity. Remember? Maybe Lucy and Auntie Two are trying to warn Dottie about Martin.”

  “I have a hunch we won’t know what’s really going on,” Jessie said, “until we figure out the rebus puzzle.” Reaching for her backpack, she dug into a zippered pocket and pulled out the little white slip of paper.

  “Maybe it’ll make sense this time,” Benny said hopefully.

  They took turns studying the fortune again — first Violet, then Benny, then Henry, and finally Jessie. On the second time around, Violet noticed something. “I’m no expert,” she said, “but I think the bird in this drawing is supposed to be a loon.”

  The others crowded around to take another look. “What makes you think so, Violet?” asked Jessie.

  “Well, for one thing, check out the bill — it’s dark and pointed.” Violet had an artist’s eye for detail. “And look at the white stripes on the neck.”

  “Good detective work, Violet,” said Henry.

  “But how does a loon fit in with the other drawings?” Benny wanted to know.

  “I think I have that figured out,” Jessie said with a big smile. “If you put the pictures of the cow and the loon together, you get — ”

  “Kowloon!” everyone cried out in unison.

  The children looked at one another, their faces glowing with excitement. Then Benny suddenly caught his breath. “Auntie Two!” he cried. “I bet that’s what the drawing of the two ants is all about.”

  “Good thinking, Benny.” Henry gave his little brother a pat on the back. “Looks like the rebus is telling us something about Auntie Two Kowloon.”

  “But ... what?” Violet wondered.

  “Let’s take it one drawing at a time,” Henry suggested. “We figured out the first part of the rebus. Now let’s study the rest of it.”

  Jessie frowned a moment. “The barbells come next.” She pointed to the miniature drawing.

  “And then the number 4,” added Benny. “And the letter U.”

  Violet grinned. “That’s the easy part, Benny,” she told him. “4U means for you.”

  Benny gave his forehead a smack. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “But what about the barbells?” wondered Jessie.

  “Hmm.” Henry tapped his chin thoughtfully. “People lift weights to build muscles.”

  “Oh, Henry!” cried Violet. “That’s it!”

  “What?”

  “The rebus is saying, ‘Auntie Two Kowloon waits for you’!”

  The Aldens sat in stunned silence for a moment. Had they come full circle? Were the clues leading them back to the Kowloon Restaurant, where the mystery had started?

  “What now?” Benny asked the others.

  There was a long silence. Finally, Henry spoke up.

  “Let’s find out what this is all about,” he said, pulling himself to his feet.

  “How will we find out?” asked Benny.

  “I think it’s time to ask Auntie Two a few questions.”

  Everyone agreed Henry’s idea was a good one. “Aunt Jane has some errands to run in town,” Jessie remembered. “I’m sure she won’t mind if we tag along.”

  Aunt Jane didn’t mind at all. After an early dinner of cold chicken, corn on the cob, and leftover potato salad, they set off for Elmford. “Maybe the solution to this mystery is very simple,” Aunt Jane suggested as they turned onto the highway. “Maybe it’s just a game. You know, a way to entertain customers.”

  “You mean a sales gimmick?” Benny asked.

  “Exactly,” said Aunt Jane, looking surprised that Benny knew about sales gimmicks. “Maybe it’s just a way for Auntie Two to attract customers.”

  The Aldens were quiet for a while as they considered this. Finally, Henry said, “No, this isn’t just a sales gimmick, Aunt Jane. There’s more to it than that.” He sounded very sure.

  Aunt Jane slowed the car to a stop in the parking lot.

  “Don’t worry, Aunt Jane,” Benny said, scrambling out of the car. “We’ll get to the bottom of this mystery. Right, Henry?”

  “You bet,” Henry said. Then he added honestly, “At least, we’ll do our best.”

  Aunt Jane glanced at her watch. “I’ll get my errands done, then join you at the Kowloon Restaurant,” she said, then hurried away in the opposite direction. The children quickly made their way to Main Street.

  While they waited at the corner for the light to change, Benny asked the others, “What do you think the fortune means about an answer to a rhyme?”

  Jessie threw up her hands. “That’s a good question, Benny.”

  Violet recited the words on the fortune aloud. “For an answer to a rhyme,/ Friday evening is the time.”

  “Well, it’s Friday evening,” Henry pointed out as they drew near the Kowloon Restaurant. “Maybe the answer isn’t far away.”

  Jessie nodded. “I have a feeling Drum Keller isn’t far away, either.” They all went inside.

  At the doorway to the crowded dining room, the Aldens stopped in surprise. “Isn’t that Dottie and Martin?” asked Benny. His brother and sisters nodded.

  Sure enough, the owners of The Underground were sitting at a table in the corner. The children quickly stepped out of sight. “Don’t you think that’s strange?” Benny demanded, his hands on his hips. “They were just here a few nights ago.”

  “Well, it is Dottie’s favorite restaurant,” Violet pointed out. “And isn’t this the night of the concert? Maybe Dottie and Martin stopped in for a bite to eat first.”

  Jessie peeked around the doorway again, trying not to stare. She didn’t like the idea of spying on anyone. In this case, though, she felt they were doing it for a good cause. “Look at Auntie Two over there. She’s watching Dottie and Martin from behind that potted plant.” Everyone looked.

  Violet’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s that all about?”

  “I don’t know,” said Benny. “But she’s close enough to hear everything they’re saying.”

  “If you think that’s odd,” Jessie added in a hushed voice, “Lucy seems to be keeping a close eye on them, too.”

  They all looked over to where the young woman in the white apron was dashing from table to table, taking orders and refilling water glasses. Every few seconds she would glance at the table in the corner where Dottie and Martin were deep in conversation.

  The Aldens turned to one another in bewilderment. It seemed as if the more they watched, the more confusing it became. Before they could begin to figure out what was happening, Violet said, “Look! Martin just signaled t
o Auntie Two.”

  The children stared at Auntie Two as she stepped out from behind the potted plant and walked straight to the table in the corner. The owner of the Kowloon Restaurant held out a small plate with a fortune cookie on it. Smiling, Dottie reached out, broke the fortune cookie in half, and removed the little white slip of paper.

  Benny grabbed Jessie’s hand when Dottie cried out, “Oh — oh, my!”

  CHAPTER 10

  An Answer to a Rhyme

  “He did it!” Benny exclaimed. “Martin stole Dottie’s half of the bookstore. I just know it!”

  “What can we do?” Violet asked in alarm.

  “I’m not sure,” said Jessie. “But we have to do something. Right, Henry?”

  Henry didn’t answer. He was staring into the dining room, watching Martin remove a small velvet box from his jacket pocket.

  “Wait!” Henry said. “Isn’t that the box from the jewelry store? The one the sales-clerk tried to show Martin?”

  The others followed Henry’s gaze.

  “Martin said he was looking at watches,” Benny remembered. “But that box is too small for a watch.”

  Suddenly, Henry understood. “What if Martin wasn’t looking at watches at all?” he said slowly. “What if he was really at the jewelry store looking at something else?”

  “Like what, Henry?” asked Violet.

  “Like a diamond ring!” Henry answered.

  “Oh, Henry!” Violet put a hand over her mouth in surprise. “You think Martin’s asking Dottie to marry him?”

  “I can’t be sure,” Henry admitted. “But it’s possible.”

  “You could be right, Henry,” Jessie realized. “The rings and the watches were in the same display case.”

  “And that would explain what Auntie Two meant about one name on the door to The Underground!” said Violet. She sounded excited.

  Benny looked confused. “I don’t get it.”

  Violet smiled at her little brother. “If Dottie and Martin get married, then Dottie’s name will be Howard, too. So Howard will be the only name on the door!”

  Benny’s eyes widened. “Dottie and Martin are getting married?”

  “Let’s find out,” suggested Henry. Without another word, he led the way across the crowded dining room to Martin and Dottie’s table.

  “The Aldens!” Auntie Two greeted the children with a smile. She looked surprised to see them. So did Martin and Dottie.

  “You’re just in time to hear what my fortune says,” Dottie told them, her eyes shining. She read aloud the words on the little slip of paper:

  “In a fortune cookie,

  A question hides:

  Dottie, will you be my bride?”

  “Oh, a proposal in a fortune cookie!” Violet clasped her hands. “How romantic!”

  Martin gave Dottie a questioning look. “I still don’t have an answer to my rhyme.”

  “Of course I’ll marry you, Martin!” cried Dottie, blinking back the tears.

  The Aldens looked at one another. That’s what the fortune meant about an answer to a rhyme!

  Martin opened the small velvet box. Inside was a sparkling diamond ring! Without a word, he slipped the ring onto Dottie’s finger.

  As the Aldens and Auntie Two laughed and clapped their hands, Lucy arrived with a beautiful heart-shaped cake edged with pink roses made of sugar. The lettering on top read: DOTTIE AND MARTIN FOREVER. And the i’s were dotted with candy hearts.

  “My goodness! Another surprise!” Dottie exclaimed as Lucy set the cake on the table. “Did you plan this, too, Martin?”

  He shook his head. “Noooo ... but I can guess who did.”

  Lucy laughed. “It was teamwork. Auntie Two did the baking, and I did the decorating.”

  Dottie smiled over at Lucy and Auntie Two. “So you were both in on this, were you?”

  “From the beginning,” confessed Auntie Two. “Martin gave me his rhyming proposal yesterday, and I made a very special fortune cookie to put it in. I could hardly stand the suspense waiting for Martin’s okay to bring that fortune cookie over. I just knew you’d say yes!” she added.

  The Aldens looked at one another. Now they knew what was in the envelope Martin had given Auntie Two — it was the fortune cookie proposal.

  “I’ve been holding my breath, too,” Lucy confided. “I was just waiting for my cue to bring out the cake.”

  “I can’t help wondering who else was in on this,” Dottie said, smiling happily.

  Jessie knew the answer to that one. “Angela helped, too, right?”

  “Right,” responded Martin. “She played a very important part in my little game.”

  “She sure did,” Henry realized. “Angela invented Fortune Cookie Delight!”

  “Right again,” said Martin, gesturing for the four Aldens to sit down. “Please join the celebration.”

  Benny didn’t need to be coaxed. “This explains what you were doing in the jewelry store, Martin,” he said as everyone pulled up a chair.

  Violet added, “You seemed so eager to get away from us.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Violet,” apologized Martin. “I was afraid you’d find out I was looking at engagement rings. I knew if Dottie smelled anything fishy going on, it would ruin the surprise.”

  “We didn’t figure it out for a while,” admitted Benny. “At first, we thought you were trying to steal Dottie’s half of the bookstore.”

  “You thought I was a thief?” Martin asked in surprise.

  Dottie laughed a little. “Martin did steal my heart. But that was his only crime.”

  “I bet I can solve a mystery, too,” Lucy said as she dished up the cake.

  “What mystery?” Benny wanted to know.

  “The mystery of why you’re here,” she said. Her lips curled into a little smile. “You children don’t give up. You’ve been following the fortune cookie clues, haven’t you?”

  “You should know,” answered Henry, watching the waitress closely. “After all, they were your invention. Right, Lucy?”

  “How did you know?” the waitress asked in surprise.

  Henry pointed to the cake. “You dotted the i’s on the cake with candy hearts,” he pointed out. “The i’s in the fortune cookie messages were dotted with hearts, too.”

  “Oh, dear!” Lucy laughed a little. “I certainly gave myself away, didn’t I?”

  “The messages really were meant for Dottie,” said Violet. “Weren’t they? That’s why you added the romantic hearts.”

  Lucy didn’t deny it. “I overheard Martin telling Auntie Two about the special way he wanted to propose to Dottie — by taking her on a fortune cookie adventure.” She paused as she handed Benny his slice of cake. “I happen to be pretty good at making up codes and clues, so I offered my services. It’s my dream to become a mystery writer, you know. Just like my favorite author — Drum Keller. I just love The Fortune Cookie Mysteries! Anyway,” she said, smiling a little, “that’s how I got involved in this whole fortune cookie business. Unfortunately it didn’t go as smoothly as I’d planned. The cookies kept ending up with the four of you instead.”

  Violet nodded in understanding. Lucy was the one Martin had been blaming for ruining everything.

  “Now, don’t feel badly, Lucy,” Dottie said kindly. “I was the one who insisted Benny open the first fortune cookie. And I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “That’s true,” said Martin. “Why, Auntie Two even accused me of botching things up that night. She thought I might be getting cold feet.”

  Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. That must have been the phone conversation they’d overheard at the coffee shop!

  “Cold feet?” Benny was wrinkling his face. “What does that mean?”

  “That means having second thoughts about proposing to Dottie,” explained Martin. “Of course, I wasn’t having second thoughts at all. But after all the mix-ups, I did give up on the mystery idea.”

  Violet smiled as she took the cake the waitress
handed her. “You know, Lucy, it wasn’t your fault at the ice cream parlor, either,” she pointed out. “You’re not the one who got the cones mixed up.”

  “True,” Martin agreed.

  Lucy managed a weak smile. “I’ve been a nervous wreck all week,” she said. “I wanted so much to impress you, Martin.”

  “Me?” Martin pointed to himself. Then he began to laugh. “Why would you want to impress me?”

  Violet was fairly sure she knew the answer. “Because you figured out that Martin is Drum Keller. Right, Lucy?”

  The waitress looked questioningly at Martin. “Is it true? Are you the famous author?”

  It was obvious by the look on Martin’s face that he was shocked. “Why, no!”

  Lucy looked surprised — and disappointed.

  The Aldens were every bit as surprised as Lucy. They were so sure Drum Keller was someone they knew. And their hunches were usually right.

  Benny was wondering about something else. He hesitated for a minute, then blurted out, “Why did you run away from us at the ice cream parlor, Lucy?”

  After a brief silence, Lucy said, “The truth is, I was afraid you’d ask me a lot of questions about that fortune cookie. So I kept my distance.”

  “Only you changed your mind and followed us, didn’t you?” said Henry.

  Lucy looked embarrassed. “Yes, I did follow you,” she acknowledged. “I wanted to find out if you got Dottie’s fortune cookie by mistake again.”

  Jessie nodded. “I felt someone watching us.”

  “I’m sorry if I frightened you,” Lucy apologized. “I guess I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  Henry turned to Martin. “Something puzzles me, too.”

  “What is it?” Martin took a sip of water.

  “If you gave up on the mystery idea,” said Henry, “then why did you leave the last fortune cookie in The Underground?”

  “I simply forgot all about it, Henry.” Martin shrugged a little. “I’m afraid I wasn’t thinking straight, either.”

  Aunt Jane, who had just come up behind them, said, “What’s this? A celebration of some kind?” As Aunt Jane pulled up a chair, Dottie held up her hand to show off the beautiful ring. “I just can’t believe it,” said Aunt Jane, smiling over at Dottie and Martin’s beaming faces. “This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time.”