Mystery in the Fortune Cookie (3 page)

“Or twisting tigers,” put in Violet.

“It’s a mystery,” said Henry. “That’s for sure!”

That night, the four Aldens had a meeting in the bedroom that Jessie and Violet shared. “Who in the world would put such a strange message in a fortune cookie?” Violet asked with a frown.

“And
why
?” demanded Benny.

“We may never know,” said Jessie, who was sitting on the bed next to Benny.

“Auntie Two buys her fortune cookies ready-made,” Henry reminded them. “Martin might be right. This could be a factory worker’s idea of a joke.”

Benny shook his head. “My fortune didn’t come from a factory.”

“How can you be so sure?” asked Violet.

The youngest Alden raced out of the room. When he returned, he was swinging an old sock in the air. He gave the sock a good shake over the bed, and little slips of paper fluttered down. “The fortune I got tonight is different from all the others,” he told them.

They all gathered around to take a look at Benny’s collection. Sure enough, the other fortunes were all neatly typed in red ink. But the latest fortune had been printed by hand — in
blue
ink.

“You’re right, Benny,” Jessie said as she compared the fortunes. “That’s good detective work,” she added, smiling at her little brother.

Benny grinned. “Thanks.”

“I just noticed something else.” Violet was looking over Jessie’s shoulder. “The
i
’s on Benny’s fortune are dotted with little hearts.” Violet wasn’t sure, but she thought it might be some kind of clue.

“Still, we can’t be sure a factory worker didn’t do it,” Henry insisted.

“No, we can’t be sure,” agreed Jessie.

“But it’s also possible someone in Elmford dropped their own fortune cookie into Auntie Two’s blue bowl.”

Violet agreed. “She keeps the bowl right out in the open — on the side table.”

Benny nodded. “Auntie Two said it’s simple to make fortune cookies. I bet anybody could do it.”

“It did sound easy enough,” admitted Henry, backing down a little. “I guess anybody in Elmford could have written that message.”

“But ... who?” Violet wondered.

Henry shrugged. “Beats me!”

“I don’t really know, either,” said Jessie. “But Lucy
did
seem very nervous tonight. Did you notice?”

“She got our drinks mixed up,” Benny recalled. “And she almost spilled my water.”

“Lucy just started a new job,” Violet was quick to point out. “That’s why she was nervous. I don’t see anything wrong with that, do you?”

Henry shook his head. “Not if that’s all it was.”

“Just acting nervous doesn’t make her suspicious,” Violet insisted. Violet was shy, and being around a lot of people made her nervous, too.

“You’re right,” Jessie said quietly. “But we have to consider every possibility.”

This made sense. But Violet didn’t like to be suspicious just because someone was nervous.

“I wonder why Martin was acting so weird,” said Henry. “It wasn’t like him to get so upset at the bookstore.”

“That customer said something about a mysterious disappearance,” Benny reminded them in a worried voice. “What did he mean?”

“I don’t know,” Jessie said. “But I think we should concentrate on one mystery at a time.”

Benny grinned. “Let’s solve the mystery in the fortune cookie first.”

“But where will we find exploding rainbows and twisting tigers?” Jessie wondered.

Violet had an answer. “Near the Kowloon Restaurant,” she said. “The fortune said,
No need to go far
.”

“Good thinking, Violet!” said Benny, his grin getting bigger.

Jessie and Henry weren’t sure about this. Still, it couldn’t hurt to take a look around town in the morning.

The Aldens got up early the next morning to surprise Aunt Jane with a special breakfast. They discussed the mystery while they worked.

“I still can’t believe it,” Jessie was saying as she scrambled eggs in a large bowl. “Imagine finding a mystery in a fortune cookie!”

“I keep wondering where we should look first,” said Violet, who was washing strawberries under the tap. “When we get to town, I mean.”

Henry looked up. “Unless I miss my guess, the Rainbow’s End Jewelry Store might be a good place to start.”

The others stared at Henry. Slowly they understood his meaning.

“Oh!” cried Violet. “If a rainbow explodes, then — ”

“That’s the end of it!” finished Benny.

Henry nodded. “Exactly.”

Benny let out a cheer. It was always fun figuring out clues.

“And the jewelry store is right beside The Underground,” added Jessie.

Violet nodded. “And that means it’s not far from the Kowloon Restaurant.”

“Something sure smells good,” Aunt Jane said, walking into the kitchen.

“We made breakfast,” Jessie told her. “Come and have some.”

Aunt Jane pulled up a chair. “You certainly are the early birds today.”

“Well, the early bird catches the worm,” Henry said with a grin. He set a platter of crispy bacon on the table.

Smiling, Aunt Jane said, “I have a hunch you won’t be looking for worms today.”

“You’re right, Aunt Jane.” Benny’s eyes were shining. “We’ll be looking for clues!”

“We thought we’d ride into town after breakfast,” Jessie said as she dished up the scrambled eggs.

“If you don’t mind, Aunt Jane,” Violet was quick to add.

Aunt Jane didn’t mind at all. She knew the Aldens were never happier than when they were tracking clues. “Just beware of exploding rainbows and twisting tigers!” she said. She sounded serious, but there was a teasing twinkle in her eye.

After breakfast, when the dishes had been washed and put away, the Aldens set off on the bikes their aunt kept for them. As they pedaled along the dirt roads, Violet looked over at Jessie, who was riding beside her.

“Don’t you just love the sweet country air?” she asked.

Jessie took a deep breath and nodded. “I can smell dried grass and wildflowers.”

When the Aldens arrived in town, they put their bikes in a bike rack. Then they walked the short distance from the parking lot to Elmford’s Main Street. The children had visited Aunt Jane so many times, they knew their way around the little town very well.

Henry’s gaze took in the tidy little shops that lined both sides of the street. “Let’s check out the Rainbow’s End Jewelry Store.”

“Rainbows can’t really explode,” said Benny as he fell into step beside Henry. Then he frowned a little. “Can they?”

Henry shook his head. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“Rainbows just fade away,” said Violet.

Benny was still busy thinking. “And there’s no such thing as twisting tigers, right?”

“Right,” said Jessie. “Somebody just has a good imagination.”

Violet had a thought. “Maybe the jewelry store has a brooch or a necklace with a twisting tiger or a colorful rainbow on it.”

“Could be,” said Henry.

As the Aldens neared the jewelry store, a voice behind them said, “Well, look who’s here!”

The children turned around and saw Dottie coming up the stone steps from The Underground. She looked at the Aldens curiously. “What brings you into town again so soon?”

Benny ran over to her, bursting with news. “We’ll be solving the fortune cookie mystery in no time, Dottie!” he said. “Henry figured out one of the clues already.”

Raising her eyebrows, Dottie said, “Well, imagine that!” She seemed delighted.

“We’re not really sure we’re on the right track,” Henry was quick to add. “But we think Benny’s fortune might be leading us to the Rainbow’s End Jewelry Store.”

“Would you mind if I tag along?” Dottie asked. “Maybe I can sniff out a clue or two.”

“We’d love to have you join us,” Violet told her, speaking for them all.

As they stepped inside the jewelry store, Benny suddenly spotted another familiar face. Martin Howard was staring through the glass countertop at the sparkling array of rings and watches. He seemed to be lost in thought.

“Hi, Martin!” Benny called out to him.

Suddenly Martin jerked his head around. “Oh!” He looked startled to see the Aldens. Then he caught sight of his business partner and his face turned bright red.

Dottie gave him a puzzled smile. “What are
you
doing here, Martin?”

The question seemed to catch him off guard. “What ... ?”

“I didn’t know you took an interest in jewelry.”

“I ... I was just looking at, um ... watches,” Martin stammered.

“Watches?” echoed Dottie. “But ... you already have
two
beautiful watches, Martin.”

“A person can have
three
watches, can’t he?” Martin cut in a little gruffly.

Jessie looked at Henry, but she didn’t say anything. She thought Martin seemed very nervous.

Just then, a woman in a blue business suit came out from the back room. She was carrying a tiny velvet box in her hand. “You’re going to love this, Martin,” she said. “It’s the most stunning — ”

Martin held up a hand. “No! No, I don’t want to see it right now!” His voice sounded tense. “I don’t have time to stand around looking at watches all day.”

The salesclerk gave Martin a peculiar look. “Watches? But I thought — ”

Martin’s forehead was beading with perspiration. “I, uh, I have to leave. Right now. I just remembered that I forgot something.” With that, he turned on his heel and rushed out.

The woman behind the counter let out a sigh. “For the life of me, I’ll never understand people!” Then she disappeared into the back again.

“What was that all about?” Henry wondered aloud.

Violet added, “Martin’s usually so friendly.”

“Always such a perfect gentleman,” Dottie agreed. “Goodness, he was acting as though he’d just been caught doing something wrong.”

Soon they forgot all about Martin as they set to work searching for exploding rainbows and twisting tigers. They looked carefully at all the displays of lockets and necklaces, brooches and bracelets, watches and rings, tie clips and earrings. But they found nothing that would help with the mystery.

Outside, Henry said, “I guess we weren’t on the right track after all.”

“Now what?” said Benny.

“Why not check out the other stores on Main Street?” Dottie suggested. Then, with a cheery wave, she dashed back to The Underground.

Nobody had any better ideas, so the Aldens continued down Main Street. “Anything unusual can be a clue,” Henry reminded them, “or an answer to a clue.”

They kept their eyes open, but there were no exploding rainbows or twisting tigers in any of the stores along the way. After a while, Benny stopped to watch a man wearing a red rubber nose. The man was in front of Albert’s Fruit and Vegetable Cellar handing out balloons to the customers.

Benny turned to Henry. “That clown’s handing out balloons.”

“That’s true,” Henry said, giving his brother a puzzled look.

“And the balloons are in every color of the rainbow!”

“Wait a minute!” said Henry. “You might be onto something, Benny. Balloons explode if you prick them with a pin.”

“Do you think the clues are leading us
here
?” Jessie asked in disbelief. “To Albert’s Fruit and Vegetable Cellar?”

“Anything’s possible,” said Henry. “Clowns are in the circus, and so are lions and tigers.”

“Let’s take a look around,” Violet suggested.

The Aldens searched through the shop once ... twice ... three times. They found oranges and apples, bananas and plums, turnips and potatoes, carrots and celery, onions and cabbages. But no clues.

When they stepped outside, the man in the red rubber nose offered Benny a balloon. But Benny just shook his head. “Thanks anyway,” he said. Then he walked away with his shoulders slumped.

“Never mind,” Jessie said, ruffling her little brother’s hair. “It was worth a shot.”

As they continued along the sidewalk, Violet suddenly spun around to face her sister and brothers. “I just thought of something! We need to go back.”

“Back?” echoed Henry. “You mean the way we came?”

Violet nodded. “Maybe Benny’s on the right track about the circus.”

“But, Violet,” said Jessie, “Elmford doesn’t have a circus.”

“There’s another name for it,” Violet told them. “For the circus, I mean.”

Henry, Jessie, and Benny stared at her. They looked totally confused. Then Jessie snapped her fingers in sudden understanding.