The Day of the Dead Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The kids filed back through the kitchen toward the front door. Just as Gloria was tying on her boots, she noticed someone was missing.

  “Mateo, come on!” Gloria called. “He is always running behind,” she said to the Aldens.

  Mateo ran out to join them, his spiky red wig flopping down into his eyes. “I hope I get a lot of peanut butter cups,” he said. “Those are my favorite.”

  Violet smiled. “I’m hoping for taffy,” she said. The children hurried down the front path to the sidewalk. Ghosts and ninjas and lions and witches passed by, running and laughing, the beams of their flashlights bobbing across lawns. The Aldens and Hidalgos were about to join them when Violet stopped for a moment. She thought she heard something strange. It was a jingling sound. But then it was gone.

  Violet decided she must have been imagining it. “Let’s go!” she said.

  Too Much Candy

  It was dark when the children finished trick-or-treating. Their noses were red from the chilly wind, and their bags were heavy with candy. They returned to Mateo and Gloria’s living room and sat in a circle on the green-striped rug.

  “How about some hot apple cider to warm up?” Mr. Hidalgo asked.

  “That sounds delicious, thank you,” Henry said, and the others nodded in agreement. Mr. Hidalgo went to the kitchen.

  “And now it’s time for the best part of Halloween,” Benny said. “The candy!”

  Just as Benny was about to dump out his bag, Violet put her hand on his arm to stop him. While they were trick-or-treating, she had noticed that Gloria was often busy encouraging Mateo, who was a little shy, to ring the doorbell at the houses they visited. In her focus on helping him, Gloria hadn’t had the chance to get much candy for herself.

  “I have an idea,” Violet said. “Let’s pour some candy from the bags that have more into the bags that have less so that we can make sure everybody has about the same. That way it will be fair for all.”

  “That’s a great idea, Violet,” Jessie said. She was proud to have such a thoughtful sister.

  Benny knew this was the right thing to do, but it was a little bit harder for him to offer his bag than it was for the others. Henry gave Benny a nod, and Benny handed his bag to Violet.

  “Don’t worry, Benny. There is plenty of candy for everyone,” Violet said. “In fact, I should just give you all my chocolate now, since you always end up eating it anyway!”

  Benny puffed out his cheeks and then laughed. “But I always ask first! Well, at least the first time.”

  The children giggled and worked together to divide the candy. They lifted the bags one by one until each seemed to weigh about the same. Then Violet, Benny, Gloria, and Mateo dug into their bags to find their favorite kinds of candy—peanut butter cups for Mateo, chocolate bars for Benny and Gloria, and saltwater taffy for Violet. They shared the caramels and chocolate-covered raisins with Henry and Jessie, and soon the only sound that filled the room was the rustling of candy wrappers.

  Mr. Hidalgo came back into the living room with a tray of steaming mugs. “Now here is a happy group of children—un grupo de niños felices.” He set the mugs on the coffee table near the couch. “Careful, please. These are hot.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Hidalgo,” the Aldens said. When he went back into the kitchen, Mateo stood and stretched. He pulled off his rock star wig to reveal his usual short hair. The glitter around his eyes was starting to wear off.

  “I think I ate too much candy,” Mateo said, rubbing his stomach and pursing his lips. “I’m going to bed.”

  Gloria looked concerned. “Don’t you want your cider?” she asked her brother.

  “No, thank you,” Mateo said. He picked up his bag of candy and started toward the stairs. “Good night, everyone. Thank you for coming.”

  “Good night, Mateo,” said Henry. “Feel better soon.”

  “Poor Mateo,” Benny said after he was gone. “Having a stomachache is no fun.”

  Gloria nodded. “I know. I hope he is okay.”

  Jessie took the mugs from the coffee table one by one and passed them out. She tried to think of something that might cheer everyone up. Across the room next to a bookshelf was a stack of what looked like art supplies. There was tissue paper and scissors, flowers, and some pastry bags like the kind Mrs. McGregor used to decorate birthday cakes for the Alden children.

  “Gloria, are you planning to do a craft project?” Jessie asked.

  “Well, sort of,” Gloria said. She paused to take a sip of her cider and laughed when a few drops spilled on her judge’s robe. “Those are some more decorations for Day of the Dead, but they aren’t for our celebration here at home. In two days, we’re going to a celebration at Greenfield Park, and we’re taking those with us.”

  “Does something special happen in the park?” Benny asked. He was thinking again about the altar Gloria had shown them earlier and what Mr. Hidalgo had said about inviting the spirits of their ancestors into their home. Benny wondered where the park fit in to the tradition.

  “No, the park isn’t the important part,” Gloria said. “In Mexico, families usually spend the day in the cemeteries, visiting the graves of their loved ones and even spending the night there. But cemeteries in the United States have different rules about that, so people don’t spend as much time in cemeteries. We find other ways to celebrate. A beautiful park is the next best thing.”

  “That sounds fun,” Benny said. “Can we come?”

  Henry cleared his throat. He hoped Gloria wouldn’t think Benny was being rude. “If it’s okay with your family, of course,” Henry added.

  A smile broke open on Gloria’s face. “Of course! I think my family would love it. You know, back in Mexico we have so many aunts and uncles and lots of cousins too. But here we have only my parents and Mateo and me—and my uncle Jorge. It gets a little lonely. Of course, there are lots of other Mexican American families who will be coming to the park too. It’s going to be a lot of fun!” Gloria said.

  Violet’s eyes kept drifting back to the colorful tissue paper. She was curious about what they planned to do with it. “Gloria, do you need help with the decorations?”

  Gloria nodded. “Oh, yes, we could use it. There is a lot left to do, and if Mateo isn’t feeling well, I’m not sure how much he will be able to help. Do you think you could come over tomorrow morning to work on them?”

  “Oh, that’s right—tomorrow’s Saturday,” Benny said. “No school!”

  Violet looked at Jessie, and the sisters nodded. Henry said, “Yes, let’s all come. If we work together, I’m sure we can help you finish the decorations in time.”

  “Speaking of finishing,” Benny said before he took a long last drink of his cider. “That was delicious. I think I’m too full to eat any more candy.”

  Henry laughed. “Now, there’s something I never thought I’d hear you say, Benny. I think that probably means it’s time for us to say good night.”

  Jessie stood up and helped Gloria, Benny, and Violet put their empty mugs back on the tray. Henry carried it to the kitchen and said good night to Mr. and Mrs. Hidalgo.

  “We had fun trick-or-treating with you,” Violet said as the Aldens walked out the front door. “Please tell Mateo we hope he feels better.”

  “I will,” Gloria said. “He has to get better in time for Day of the Dead!”

  One Thing Missing

  When the Aldens arrived the next morning, Gloria and Mrs. Hidalgo were just finishing setting up the materials for making Day of the Dead decorations on the long table in the dining room.

  “You look like yourself again,” Violet said to Gloria. Now that Halloween was over, Gloria’s dark, wavy hair hung down her back, and she had on her favorite gold earrings that were shaped like tiny birds.

  “I’ll let you kids get to work,” Mrs. Hidalgo said. She opened the door that revealed stairs down to the basement. “I’ll be down in my studio if you need me.”

  “Are you working on something new?” Henry asked. Mrs. Hidalgo was an artist k
nown for her colorful clay sculptures of animals. Back in September, Grandfather had taken the children to see a collection of her work at the Greenfield Art Gallery.

  “Yes,” she said, “an iguana!” She wiggled her fingers the way iguanas moved their long, green toes. “But don’t tell Mateo. I am going to give it to him for his birthday.”

  Benny gave her a serious nod. “We promise to keep it a secret.”

  Mrs. Hidalgo waved and disappeared down the stairs. Jessie looked at Gloria. “Where is Mateo?” Jessie asked.

  Gloria’s smile faded. “Well, the good news is that he’s feeling better. He was up early this morning and went out to see a friend. But I wish he were here to help make the decorations. He’s usually so excited for Day of the Dead.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jessie said. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon. And for now, we’re here to help.”

  “It’s going to be fun,” Gloria said, cheering up. She unwrapped a package of tissue paper that included every color of the rainbow.

  Violet felt her imagination start to leap and dance as she imagined all the things they could make. “Where should we begin?” she asked Gloria.

  “How about by cutting some paper?” Gloria said. “In Spanish this is called papel picado.”

  She picked up a piece of orange tissue paper from the top of the pile and showed the Aldens how to fold it and use the tip of a pair of scissors to cut out shapes. When she unfolded the paper again, light shone through the holes. “We will string all these together in a line and hang them from tree to tree in the park,” Gloria said. “When the breeze blows through them, they flutter in the air. I love the way they look.”

  “Oh, they must be so festive with all the different colors,” Violet said. Benny selected a yellow piece of tissue, and Violet chose pink. They both got to work cutting out the designs.

  “This reminds me of cutting paper snowflakes with Mrs. McGregor when we had a snow day last winter,” Benny said. “Remember how many we made?”

  Jessie laughed. “We taped so many on the windows that Grandfather could hardly see inside when he came home.”

  “And poor Watch could hardly see outside to watch the squirrels,” Benny said.

  At the other end of the table, Gloria tore a piece of wax paper from a roll and spread it on a cookie sheet. Then she took the lid off a plastic food container and began carefully lifting out small white candies.

  “Jessie, could you help me with the sugar skulls?” Gloria asked.

  “Sure,” Jessie said. She came down to Gloria’s side of the table. “What are these for?”

  “They are sugar skulls, or calaveras de azúcar. My mom did the first part by making the candies in the shape of skulls and setting them out to dry. Now we need to decorate them with frosting—the brighter and more creative, the better,” she said.

  “Did I hear someone say frosting?” Benny asked, perking up.

  Gloria laughed. “We have a lot of decorating to do, so there’s plenty of work to go around,” she said. “Most of these will go on the altar. The rest we can eat, but not until tomorrow.”

  “Hmm,” Benny said. He was much more interested in the eating than the decorating. “I think I’d better stick to paper.”

  Jessie laughed. “That’s okay, Benny.” She turned back to Gloria. “How do the skulls fit in to the celebration?” she asked. Skulls had always seemed spooky to her, but she could tell they meant something different to Gloria and her family.

  “In our culture,” Gloria said, “death isn’t something to be afraid of. It’s just a natural part of life. Bright colors and silly frosting faces painted on the skulls, plus music and games and good food, all help us remember to celebrate the people we lost instead of being sad.”

  Gloria helped Jessie spoon red, yellow, and purple frosting into separate pastry bags. Then Jessie began to pipe designs on the sugar skulls and place them one by one on the cookie sheet to dry.

  “Last but not least, we have the flowers,” Gloria said. Henry said he would help with those. Gloria opened a new package of orange tissue paper and showed Henry how to fold a stack of sheets in an accordion pattern, tie them at the center, and fluff out the layers of paper until it looked like a marigold blossom.

  “My mom will add these to the altar along with real marigold petals. The tradition says that the bright orange color and the beautiful scent of the flowers help guide spirits back to earth on this special night when they can visit us.”

  Violet looked up from the paper she was cutting. “Gloria, those flowers remind me of the flowers on your great-grandmother’s bracelet.”

  “You’re right,” Gloria said. “Maybe looking at it will give us some more ideas for the patterns on the tissue paper. I’m going to get it.” Gloria left the dining room and walked through the kitchen to the altar on the back porch.

  A moment later she came running back in. “The bracelet!” she cried. “It’s gone!”

  Henry set down the paper flower he was working on. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Maybe it fell on the floor. We’ll help you look.” The Alden children went with Gloria back to the porch.

  Benny got down on his knees and crawled under the tablecloth that hung from the table. Then he stuck his head back out. “I’m sorry, Gloria,” he said. “There’s nothing under here.”

  Gloria stared at the empty jewelry box on the altar in disbelief. Then she put her head in her hands. “Oh, I knew I should have listened to Mamá. She said we should put the bracelet back in the jewelry box in her closet until the big day, but I wanted to be able to look at it.” Her voice sounded thick, like she was trying not to cry. “We have to find it. I can’t tell my dad about this.”

  Violet put her hand on Gloria’s arm. “Don’t worry—we’ll help you. And if we don’t find it, I’m sure your father will understand.”

  Gloria shook her head. “I don’t think so. If I tell him it’s gone, then he will have to tell my uncle Jorge. They have always argued about which one of them should get to have the bracelet, especially since Uncle Jorge had to move in with us when he lost his job at the library. They are worried about money. And of course everyone loved my great-grandmother Luisa, but we have so few things that belonged to her here in America. Everything is back in Mexico. Knowing it’s gone will just make things worse between Papá and Uncle Jorge.”

  “All right,” Jessie said. “Let’s stay calm. The bracelet can’t have gone far. Let’s make a plan. First, we should figure out if anything else is missing from the altar.”

  Gloria looked carefully over the two tiers of the table. The brass candlesticks were still there, as well as the picture frames and the other items for each family member being remembered. “Everything else is here,” she said.

  While the rest of the children looked at the items on the altar, Henry was looking in another direction, out the window of the porch. “Look at that,” he said, pointing outside. “The gate is open.”

  Gloria furrowed her brow. “That’s strange,” she said. “That gate connects our yard with the Hayes’s house next door.”

  Benny looked out the side window at the blue house with white trim. “You mean that house there?” he asked, pointing. Then Benny gasped. “Someone’s looking at us!”

  The other four children turned in Benny’s direction and looked out the side window just in time to see a woman’s face peering down at them from the second-floor window. When she saw them looking at her, she jerked the curtain closed.

  Jessie wheeled around to Gloria, her eyes wide. “Do you know that woman?”

  Gloria shook her head. “Not really. Her name is Mrs. Hayes, but we’ve never really talked to her. She keeps to herself. Her daughter, Tina, is the same age as Mateo, and they play together. Never at Tina’s house though.”

  Jessie looked at Violet and then at Henry. “I think Mrs. Hayes might be our first suspect,” Jessie said.

  A Surprising Assessment

  “Are you saying you think Mrs. Hayes stole the bracelet?”
Benny asked. “But why would she want to do that?”

  Henry held up his hands. “Well, let’s slow down. We don’t know what happened, and it wouldn’t be fair to accuse someone of something without any proof. Plus, it doesn’t look like someone broke in—nothing else is missing. But if someone stole the bracelet, maybe Mrs. Hayes, maybe someone else, it might be because that person needed money.”

  “But how would she—or he—know the bracelet was worth something?” Violet asked.

  Jessie thought about this for a moment. “The thief wouldn’t know for sure, but a jeweler would. Remember when Grandfather helped Mrs. McGregor get her uncle’s pocket watch repaired? They took it to the jeweler, and he told them what kind of gold it was made of and how much he would pay her if she wanted to sell it.”

  Henry added, “That’s right. Mrs. McGregor was so surprised by the amount of money that she made Grandfather drive her straight to the bank so she could put it in the safe deposit box.”

  “If the thief took the bracelet to the jeweler,” Violet said, “maybe the jeweler would remember seeing it.”

  “We should go ask him!” Gloria said. She turned back to the altar and carefully took down the framed photo of her great-grandmother. In the photo, Luisa wore a red dress with sleeves that stopped just below her elbows. On her left wrist was the bracelet. “We can show him this picture,” Gloria said. She pulled her empty backpack down from a hook by the back door and carefully zipped the framed picture inside.

  “Let’s go!” Benny said, and the kids raced through the kitchen and dining room to the front door.

  While the Aldens put on their shoes, Gloria called down to her mother to tell her they were taking a break from the decorations and going for a bike ride.

  “I’ll get my bike and meet you out front,” Gloria said as they went down the front steps.

  The Alden children ran home and got their bikes. After they met back up with Gloria, the group pedaled as fast as they could toward Greenfield Jewelers on Main Street. Though it was the first day of November, the sun shone on their faces and kept them warm. It was exciting to have an important mission, and the Aldens had a feeling they were getting on the right track to solve the mystery.