Gymnastics Mystery (3 page)

The children walked around, gazing into shop windows. Then Benny said he smelled pizza and didn’t it smell great. They all agreed and followed their noses to Joe’s Pizza. The delicious pizza smell had made them all hungry again.

“I could
sleep
in here, it’s so nice and warm,” Benny said after finishing two slices.

Katya laughed. “I agree, though I do not mind the cold so much. Our Russian winters are far worse.”

“Tell us about your hometown,” Henry asked.

“There is not much to say,” Katya replied vaguely. “I come from a small place. I have parents, a brother, a sister, and grandparents.”

“What are they like?” Jessie wanted to know.

“They are not very interesting,” Katya said, shredding her napkin. Jessie wondered why the girl was so nervous all of a sudden. “Could I have a glass of water?” Katya asked.

"Of course." Henry got up to fetch Katya some water.

Jessie went with him, carrying paper plates. Away from the table, she whispered, “What’s wrong with Katya?”

“I don’t know,” Henry said in a low voice. “Whenever we ask her anything about Russia, she changes the subject.”

“It’s pretty mysterious,” Jessie said.

“We’d better get back,” Henry said. “The others will wonder what we’re talking about.”

Outside again, the children strolled around the square. Katya was fascinated by a shop that sold only teddy bears.

“Look at that bear with the big red bow,” she remarked, pointing at a large bear in the window. “He is so cute!”

“I have a stuffed bear,” Benny told her. “Watch is jealous of him.”

That made everyone laugh.

As they walked along, Henry had an odd feeling. The streetlamps cast long shadows in front of them. Henry noticed a sixth shadow apart from their group.

Whenever they stopped to look at something, light footsteps behind them stopped, too.

Using the reflection of a jewelry store window, Henry saw a figure in a baseball cap hiding behind a tree. They moved on again, the figure trailing them.

They were being followed! Suddenly Henry whirled around. Just as quickly, the figure ducked inside a yogurt shop.

“What are you doing?” Violet asked her brother.

“Someone is following us,” Henry told the others. “Let’s wait. The guy has to come out sometime.”

They pressed up against the wall of the yogurt shop so they couldn’t be seen from the inside. The figure in the baseball cap came out a few moments later. When the person spotted the Aldens, he or she dashed across the square.

Jessie recognized those blue sweatpants. “I bet I know who it is!” she declared.

“Who?” asked Benny.

“I don’t know who exactly,” Jessie said. “But I saw her at the sports arena this afternoon. She was sitting in the bleachers, watching us. She had on blue sweatpants.”

“We can’t be sure if our follower is a man or a woman,” Henry stated. The runner was just a flash of blue sweatpants and brown trenchcoat. “With that coat and baseball cap, it’s impossible to tell.”

“Why would two people in blue sweatpants spy on us?” Jessie asked. “Why would
one
person?”

“Something is definitely weird,” Violet agreed.

Benny’s face was solemn under the streetlamp. “Looks like we’ve got another mystery to solve!”

When Grandfather joined them, the Alden children had decided not to mention the follower. After all, as Henry had reasoned, they couldn’t prove the person was actually following them.

Benny tugged at his grandfather’s hand. “Katya told us she would teach us some tricks. There’s a mat in that store over there like real gymnasts use.”

“Let’s take a look at it,” said Grandfather.

The blue mat in the sports store was smaller than the mats they had seen at the gym.

“It’s just right for our basement,” said Violet. Like Benny, she wanted to learn to flip through the air.

“Yes, it is,” James Alden agreed. “I think it’s a fine idea to learn a new sport.” He bought the mat, which folded into sections. Then he and Henry loaded it into the back of the station wagon.

At home, they spread it on the basement floor.

“Will you teach me how to jump up and land backward?” Benny asked Katya.

She laughed. “A backflip? That’s a pretty hard trick. Let’s start with some basic tumbling.”

One at a time, the Alden children tried a simple forward roll.

“Keep your chin tucked in,” Katya instructed Jessie. “And don’t let your neck touch the mat.”

When everyone had learned forward rolls, Katya showed them backward rolls.

“This is hard!” said Henry, laughing. He pushed off with his hands but flopped sideways.

Violet and Benny mastered forward and backward rolls quickly. “You both could be gymnasts,” Katya praised them. “Jessie and Henry are taller, so it’s harder for them, but they will learn, too.”

Mrs. McGregor came down to remind the children of their bedtime.

“Katya needs her rest,” she said, heading back upstairs. “Tomorrow is another long day of practice.”

“Before we go, could you do a backflip?” Benny asked Katya.

“All right.” She performed a perfect flip, her hands never touching the mat.

“Wow!” exclaimed Jessie. “It looks so easy.”

“We will try a cartwheel,” Katya told Benny. “It is more simple. I will spot you.”

“What?” he asked.

“I will stand right by you, so you won’t hurt yourself.” She got into position beside him. “Place your hands on the mat, kick your feet up, and make them travel in a straight line like the spokes of a wheel.”

Benny tried but toppled over. He kept on trying but got worse with each attempt. Soon everyone was giggling.

“We will practice every day,” Katya promised him. “You will get it, Benny.”

Then they went upstairs to say good night to Mrs. McGregor and Grandfather.

Katya told the Alden children good night and softly closed the guest room door.

Just beyond the stair landing was a small sitting area. A deep window seat with flowered cushions overlooked Mrs. McGregor’s rose garden.

“We need to talk,” Jessie said to the others.

They all piled into the window seat. Outside, bright stars were shining in the dark blue sky.

“Katya is so nice, but there’s something strange about her,” Jessie said.

Violet nodded. “I’ve noticed it, too. It’s almost as if she has something to hide.”

“But what?” asked Henry. “She’s an athlete. She travels all over the world to gymnastic competitions.”

“She’s practically famous,” Benny chimed in.

“But she doesn’t talk about herself,” said Jessie.

Henry fiddled with the cord that held the draperies. “Maybe she’s modest.”

“Maybe,” Jessie said, unconvinced. “But I still think she’s keeping a secret about something.”

But what?
she wondered.

What could their tiny, talented guest possibly be hiding?

The next morning, Mrs. McGregor brought in the mail.

“Here’s a special airmail delivery letter for you, Katya,” the housekeeper said, handing her a blue-and-red-bordered envelope.

“Oh, thank you.” Katya pushed aside her oatmeal bowl to open her letter. She slit the thin envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper covered with Russian writing.

Benny stared at Katya’s letter. “Those sure are funny-looking letters.”

“It’s Cyrillic,” explained Grandfather. “That’s the Russian alphabet.”

Katya read silently for a few moments. Then, as she turned the page over, something fluttered to the floor.

Violet reached over to pick it up. It was a newspaper clipping in Russian. Someone had written in pencil all along the margins of the back and front of the clipping. In the center were two photos.

As the family photographer, Violet was always interested in pictures. One photo showed a huge house. The second, smaller photo showed a miniature box on a table. Even in the black-and-white photograph, Violet thought the box was made of gold.

“You dropped this,” she told Katya.

Katya’s cheeks had gone bright red. “Thank you,” she said, and hastily stuffed the letter and newspaper clipping into the pocket of her warm-up suit.

“Aren’t you going to read the rest of your letter?” asked Benny.

“I do not want to be late for practice,” Katya said, excusing herself from the table.

Jessie glanced at the clock. It was still early. Katya wasn’t going to be late for practice. She obviously didn’t want the Aldens to see that letter.

Who had sent the airmail letter from Russia? And why was Katya so nervous about it? None of the Aldens, not even Grandfather, could read Russian.

What did Katya have to worry about? And why had someone been following them?
So many questions,
Jessie thought.
And no answers.

The sports arena was crowded this morning, Henry noticed as they walked inside with Katya. More athletes and coaches had arrived overnight.

A press center had been set up between two sections of bleachers. Men and women with badges that said PRESS walked among the gymnasts stretching on the blue mats.

Irina, Katya’s coach, came over. “You will do your beam sets first this morning. And, Katya, you must hit your mark on every routine today. The competition is three days away.”

Jessie helped Katya take off her warm-up suit. “Are you worried about Friday?” she asked.

“I will do my best,” Katya said matter-of-factly.

Then she began her exercises, followed by vigorous stretching. The Aldens were allowed to watch by the edge of the mat.

“You’re so flexible,” Henry remarked. “What is that pose you are doing?”

Katya was standing on her right leg. With ease, she picked up her left heel in her left hand and drew it up to shoulder-height, her left leg straight.

“It is called a Y scale,” she replied.

Benny decided to try it. He brought his foot up, but had to bend his knee. He wobbled like a top.

Violet began to giggle. "You look like a pretzel!"

“My coach is waving me over,” Katya told the Aldens. “I must go.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Violet said. “Guess we’d better find a seat in the bleachers. They’re almost full today.”

As she turned, she glanced over at the press area. Tables and chairs had been placed behind a plastic chain so only journalists and photographers would use them.

Then Violet saw something that made her stop in her tracks.

Benny nearly ran into his sister. “What is it?” he asked.

“That man over there,” she said, pointing to the press section where a dark-haired man adjusted a camera. “It’s Al Stockton! Our mystery man!”

Jessie and Henry stared, too.

“You’re right!” Jessie declared. “It’s the same man we saw in the airport.”

“And the one who mistakenly took Katya’s bag and came to our house to get his,” Henry added. “What on earth is he doing
here?”

As if he felt their attention, the man looked up. When he saw the Alden children, his face turned red.

Today he wasn’t wearing his yellow cap, but a wrinkled suit and a purple shirt. His press badge was clipped to an orange-and-purple tie. He was dressed differently from the way he had been at the airport, but the scowl that drew his brows together was the same.

Al Stockton unhooked the plastic chain and rushed over to the Aldens.

“What are you kids doing here?” he demanded.

Henry wondered why the man was always so rude but answered politely. “We’re with our houseguest. You remember, you had her bag. She’s a gymnast.”

“Well, you better stay out of the press box,” Al warned them. A camera was draped around his neck.

Benny looked over at the tables and chairs. “What box? I don’t see any box.”

“That’s what the press area is called,” Al told him. “It’s only for media people. No nosy kids allowed.”

Jessie was insulted at being called nosy. Like her older brother, she tried to be polite. “Are you a photographer?”

Al held up his camera. “What do you think? I was sent here to cover the competition for the
Register.
Now, if you kids don’t mind, I’ve got work to do.”

Then he stalked off across the floor.