Radio Mystery

“It’s been raining forever,” he said with a sigh. Usually he liked playing in the boxcar with his brother and sisters. The four of them had found the boxcar in the woods and lived there for a while, after their parents died. Then their grandfather, James Alden, found them and brought them to live with him in his big white house in Greenfield. Grandfather had the boxcar towed to his backyard as a special surprise for his grandchildren. When they weren’t traveling and having adventures, the Alden children used the boxcar as a playhouse.

“It’s only been raining for two days — it just
seems
like forever,” twelve-year-old Jessie said, smiling at her younger brother. “Why don’t you work on this puzzle with Henry and me?”

“Or paint with me?” ten-year-old Violet offered. “It’s a perfect day for using watercolors.”

Henry Alden stood up and looked out the window. At fourteen, he was the oldest of the four Alden children. “Here comes Grandfather. He looks like he has news.”

Grandfather came into the boxcar shaking his dripping umbrella. “This weather is only good for ducks,” he remarked. “But it’s nice and dry in here.

“How would you like to go to Pennsylvania for a few days?” Grandfather asked the children.

“Is it about a new mystery?” asked Violet. The Alden children loved solving mysteries.

“How did you guess?” Grandfather replied.

Benny didn’t need to hear any more. “Let’s go!”

Jessie laughed. “Benny’s always in a hurry to go solve a new mystery.”

“What’s the mystery about?” Henry asked.

“I’ll tell you everything once we’re on the road,” said Grandfather. “I’d like to be in Pennsylvania before dinner.”

An hour later, the Aldens left Connecticut behind and were on their way to Deer Crossing, Pennsylvania.

“So why are we going to Deer Crossing?” Henry asked.

Grandfather changed lanes, then replied, “This morning I got a call from my friend Jocelyn Hawley. She lives in Deer Crossing and runs a local radio station. Jocelyn didn’t want to go into detail over the phone, but apparently the station is in some kind of trouble. I’ve told her before what great detectives my grandchildren are, and she asked if you would come and help.”

“Wow!” said Benny. “Do you think we’ll get to see inside the station?”

“I’m sure of it,” Grandfather said.

As they crossed the Pennsylvania border, the rain cleared and the sun broke through the clouds. After a while, Grandfather turned off the interstate and onto a road along Deer River. A tall metal tower with a blinking red light and the letters WCXZ loomed over the village of Deer Crossing.

“That tower must be part of the radio station,” said Henry. He checked the directions Grandfather had given him. “Jocelyn Hawley’s house should be at the end of this street.”

“It’s been a while since I was last here,” Grandfather said.

A large redbrick house with a wide, welcoming front porch stood on a hill before them. As the Aldens’ minivan climbed the gravel driveway, two figures came out of the house.

A woman about Grandfather’s age smiled warmly and waved as they stepped out of the car. “I’m so glad you came,” said Jocelyn Hawley. She wore slacks and a blue sweater that brought out the blue in her eyes. Dangly silver earrings set off her short gray hair.

“I’m overdue for a visit,” Grandfather said. “Let me introduce my grandchildren, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. Children, meet Jocelyn Hawley.”

“You guys are the detectives?” said the girl standing beside Jocelyn. She was about Henry’s age, tall and slim, with long red hair.

“And very good ones, from what I hear,” Jocelyn said. “This is my granddaughter, Gwen.”

“Hi,” Gwen said. She smiled, but not as warmly as Jocelyn.

Jocelyn moved toward the front door. “Let’s go inside so you can get settled. Dinner is nearly ready. We can talk while we eat.”

The Aldens were given the top floor of the Hawley house. When they had unpacked, the children and Grandfather trooped downstairs to the large family room, where snacks had been set out in front of a low, snapping fire.

“Help yourself,” Gwen said, pointing to glasses and a pitcher of cranberry juice on the coffee table. After they had finished their snacks, the Aldens helped Gwen carry everything back to the kitchen. Then Jocelyn called them to supper.

When everyone’s plate was loaded with spaghetti, green salad, and warm bread, Jocelyn began her story.

“My husband, Luther, bought the radio station many years ago, just after we were married,” she told the Aldens. “It was a lovely station with programs like a household hints show, a breakfast show, easy-listening music, and live dramas,”

“I’ve always tuned into the station on business trips,” said Grandfather. “Luther was a great DJ.”

“Luther called the station the heartbeat of Deer Crossing,” said Jocelyn. “He never made much money because he did things the old-fashioned way. But he loved that station.”

The Aldens smiled and Jocelyn went on. “Once a man from a big corporation offered Luther a lot of money to sell the station. The man wanted to cancel Luther’s old-fashioned radio shows and play ‘all hits, all the time.’”

“What happened?” asked Henry.

Gwen passed the breadbasket. “Gramp refused,” she said proudly. “He said no amount of money would make him give up his old programs.”

“The man left,” Jocelyn added. “He knew Luther would never change his mind.”

Grandfather smiled. “Luther always knew exactly what he wanted.”

Jocelyn smiled back. “After Luther died, people asked me if I’d change the format to something more modern.”

“Like ‘all hits, all the time?’” Violet guessed.

Jocelyn nodded. “But I didn’t. The radio station really
is
the heartbeat of Deer Crossing. And I love the old-fashioned programs just as much as Luther did. I’m proud of the station and of the programs we play.”

“I like it, too,” Gwen put in. “Gran’s station is really fun to listen to. It’s the kind of radio people had back in the old days, before everyone had a television. We even put on a live mystery show. I’m the sound engineer,” she added proudly.

“A live mystery show!” Benny repeated. “That sounds great!”

“The episodes are twenty minutes a day, five days a week,” Jocelyn told them. “Each week we do a new play. A local woman writes the scripts and waiters and waitresses from the Route 11 Diner act for free. And Gwen does the sound effects. She’s very good.”

“Sounds like fun,” Henry said.

“It
was
fun,” Jocelyn said sadly. “Until these things started happening.”

“What kinds of things?” Jessie wanted to know.

“Lights going out, blood-curdling screams,” Gwen replied with a shiver. “People think it’s a ghost.”

“That’s just a story,” Jocelyn said.

Benny’s eyes grew big. “Why would a ghost haunt a radio station?”

“Not just any ghost,” said Gwen mysteriously. “We have our very own
special
ghost at station WCXZ.”

CHAPTER 2
The Ghost of Station WCXZ

“A special ghost!” Benny breathed, awestruck. “Tell us about it!”

“Let’s have dessert first,” Jocelyn said.

Everyone helped clear the table while Gwen brought in dishes of chocolate pudding with whipped cream.

“Years ago,” Jocelyn said, “radio stations put on plays. Writers wrote the plays, and actors read the parts on the air. The radio plays were very popular. The actors whose shows were on the air in big cities were sometimes very famous.”

“Like people on TV these days,” Jessie said.

Jocelyn nodded. “Many, many years ago, there was a young woman in Deer Crossing who wanted to be a radio star. Her name was Daphne Owens. She played in nearly every radio show on WCXZ. Those shows could only be heard in Deer Crossing, but Daphne was sure her big break was just around the corner.”

“Big break?” Violet asked.

“Onto a show at a bigger radio station,” Gwen explained. “If she got on one of the city stations, millions of people would hear her.”

Jocelyn went on. “One day, Daphne heard about a talent scout from the city, who was visiting small stations, looking for good actors to hire. Daphne bragged to everyone in town that when the talent scout heard her, he would hire her on the spot. Soon she’d be famous.”

“What happened?” Benny asked.

“The day the talent scout came to WCXZ, a huge thunderstorm disrupted the broadcast,” Jocelyn said. “The lights went out and the equipment went haywire. The talent scout didn’t have time to wait. He went on to the next station.”

“What did Daphne do?” Henry asked.

“Daphne lost her big chance,” said Jocelyn. “She didn’t show up for work the next day. Or the next.”

“She was never seen in town again,” Gwen said dramatically.

“People guessed Daphne was so upset, she just picked up and moved,” Jocelyn said. “But nobody knew for sure.”

“She never called or wrote to anyone in Deer Crossing?” Jessie asked.

Jocelyn shook her head. “Not a word. It was very strange. After a while, people quit worrying about her.”

“At the station, they joke that Daphne Owens is ‘haunting’ the place whenever anything goes wrong,” Gwen said.

“It’s no joke now,” Jocelyn said seriously. “The last few times the lights have gone out, objects have mysteriously disappeared. So far, the station has lost a headset and a set of rare records. These ‘hauntings’ are costing the station a lot of money.”

“People blame the ghost for the stolen things?” Violet wanted to know.

“Not me,” Jocelyn said. “I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“The strange things always seem to happen while we’re broadcasting the daily mystery show,” Gwen said. “Some of the cast members are threatening to quit. They’re scared.”

“Can you hire new actors?” Henry wanted to know.

Jocelyn sighed. “That’s another problem. The cast works for free. If they quit, I don’t know how I’ll find anyone else willing to work for nothing. I can’t afford to pay them. And I’m worried that if things keep going wrong during the live mystery show, people will stop listening.”

Gwen shook her head sadly. “That would be awful.”

“That’s why I called you,” Jocelyn concluded. “I’m hoping you’ll be able to help us find the ghost.”

“We’d be happy to help,” Henry said, speaking for them all.

“That’s great,” Jocelyn said, relieved. “Gwen will take you to the station tomorrow morning. You can watch the live mystery broadcast and look for clues.”

As the Aldens headed upstairs to their rooms, Gwen stopped them.

“My grandmother really loves that station,” she said. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Jessie looked at her, surprised. “We’ll do our best.”

“Your best had better be good enough!” Gwen spun on one heel and left, her long red hair swinging behind her.

“I don’t think Gwen likes us,” Violet said.

“She’s probably just upset about the trouble at the station,” Henry said. “We’ve got a ‘ghost’ to catch tomorrow. We’d better get to bed.”