Radio Mystery (5 page)

Earl shrugged. “It hardly seems to matter. Somebody — or
something
— is coming into this station anytime he or she wants.”

While Avery, Frances, and Earl argued, the Aldens slipped out the side door Earl had used. Again, Benny propped it open with a wastebasket.

“Let’s split up and look for clues,” Jessie told the others. “If Earl stole the turntable, he didn’t have much time to stash it.”

Violet and Benny went around the side of the building. Jessie started peeking under the cars in the parking lot. Henry stood still and looked around him.

“The Dumpster!” Henry said to himself. “It’s a perfect hiding place!”

Before he could cross the parking lot, Henry saw a figure dart around the corner of the building. He caught a glimpse of long red hair. “Gwen?” Henry called. The only answer came from a mockingbird perched on the roof.

Henry ran around the back of the radio station but saw no one. Entering by the front door, he saw Gwen in the hall between the soundstage and the control booth.

“Were you outside just now?” Henry asked.

“I’ve been in here, emptying the trash,” she replied, tying the ends of a plastic garbage sack. Her long hair fell over her face like a curtain. Henry couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth.

Jessie, Violet, and Benny came back inside just as Gwen disappeared into the breakroom.

“What’s up?” Benny asked Henry.

“We have another suspect,” Henry declared. “Jocelyn’s own granddaughter!”

“The show sounded great today,” Jocelyn praised. She and Grandfather had dropped by the station and found Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny in the breakroom.

Avery came in, joined by Gwen and Frances. “Well, these kids kept it going but it wasn’t easy,” he said. “The ‘ghost’ visited again.”

“Is something missing?” Grandfather asked.

“The turntable,” Gwen replied.

Jocelyn sighed. “That turntable was expensive. Our thief knows exactly what to take.”

“Don’t you think you should report these robberies to the police?” Grandfather asked.

Jocelyn sighed. “I guess I’d better — ”

“No!” Gwen cried. “I mean, the police might scare the ghost away.”

“Wouldn’t that be good?” Violet asked.

“Yeah, but we might not get the equipment back,” Gwen said.

Henry’s right,
Violet thought.
Sometimes Gwen acts like she
doesn’t
want this case solved
.

“I’ll have to buy a replacement turntable in Port City,” Jocelyn said. “That’s the nearest town that carries them.”

“We could drive there right now,” Grandfather suggested. He turned to Gwen. “Why don’t you kids relax, then eat at the diner this evening? You’ve all been working hard on the radio program.”

The Aldens spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around Deer Crossing. Gwen didn’t want to go. She said she wanted to stay home to read.

After playing in the park, the Aldens went back to Jocelyn’s house. Gwen was waiting impatiently. “It’s time to go eat,” she said.

“Was your book good?” Benny asked.

“What book? Oh,” Gwen corrected herself. “Yes, I finished it.”

Jessie wondered what Gwen had
really
been doing.

The children walked to the Route 11 Diner and settled into a booth near a window. The only other customer was a man in a dark suit sitting at a table in the back.

DeeDee was their waitress again. She wore a blue ribbon on her collar.

“Seen that ghost anymore?” she asked, pulling her pencil from her apron pocket.

“The lights went out while we were broadcasting today’s show,” Jessie said. “And the turntable was missing.”

“Daphne Owens strikes again!” DeeDee seemed almost pleased.

“It can’t be a ghost,” said Violet. “Ghosts can’t lift heavy objects.”

“Ghosts can do anything,” DeeDee stated. “You know what you want yet?”

Everyone ordered burgers with fries and vanilla shakes. DeeDee brought their food promptly.

“You kids are awful brave to stay at that station,” she said, plunking down the ketchup bottle. “Who knows what that ghost will do next!” She bustled off to wait on customers at the counter.

“How can DeeDee actually believe in that ghost story?” Henry said.

Jessie dragged a french fry through a pool of ketchup. “It’s weird. Grown-ups should know better.” Then she had a thought. “Unless DeeDee is just fooling with us.”

“DeeDee is new to Deer Crossing, right?” Henry said.

“She just moved here,” said Gwen, nodding. “Nobody knows much about her.”

“How long has she worked at the station?” Violet wanted to know.

“About two months,” Gwen replied.

“When did the ghost first show up?” Benny asked.

“A little over a month ago,” said Gwen. “What are you getting at?”

Henry looked thoughtful. “Did the ghost ever appear
before
DeeDee came to the station?”

“Funny little things would happen,” Gwen said. “Like, the mike cords would get tangled. We’d joke that it was Daphne’s ghost.” She stopped. “Do you think Dee-Dee is the ghost?”

“She knows her way around the station,” Henry said. “And she seems pretty intent on spreading the ghost story.”

“Yes, but it would be harder for her to pull these pranks now that she doesn’t work at the show,” Violet pointed out.

“Still,” said Jessie. “She does seem awfully interested in this mystery.”

“We can’t rule out anyone as a suspect,” Benny said.
Not even Gwen,
he thought.

While the children were eating, Avery walked into the diner. He was dressed in running clothes. Without looking around, he headed straight to the back and sat down across from the man in the dark suit. The two men began talking.

“He didn’t even see us,” Benny commented.

“Do you know that man Avery’s with?” Jessie asked Gwen.

Gwen shook her head. “I’ve never seen him before.”

DeeDee, who was refilling the salt shaker at the next booth, said, “That man has been coming in here a lot this month.”

“Who is he?” asked Violet.

“He told me he’s a businessman,” Dee-Dee replied. “He doesn’t live in Deer Crossing. Sometimes he and Avery eat dinner together.”

But that night, the men were not eating. The waitress named Gayle brought them a pot of coffee and poured two cups. When she left, Avery and the dark-suited stranger returned to their quiet discussion.

“I wonder what they’re talking about,” Violet said. “They look awfully serious.”

DeeDee put one hand on her hip. “Once when I waited on them, I overheard the man telling Avery, ‘I could make you a star.’”

“How could he make Avery a star?” asked Violet.

“I don’t know,” DeeDee replied. “They quit talking when I served their food. My theory is, the man is really a talent scout, like the one that visited the radio station years ago.”

“Avery is just a DJ,” said Jessie. “How could a talent scout make him famous?”

“There are famous DJs,” Gwen said. “But they usually work at radio stations in big cities.”

“Maybe the man is just an old friend,” Henry said.

“Maybe,” said DeeDee. “But he and Avery don’t ever laugh or anything. They just talk very seriously.” She glanced at the two men, who still hadn’t looked over at the Aldens’ table. “Well, I’d better get back to work.”

Gwen finished her burger in silence. Then she stood up. “I left my backpack at the station. I’ll see you guys back at the house.”

Through the side window, Violet watched Gwen cross the parking lot. “That’s funny,” she said. “I don’t remember Gwen taking a bag this morning.”

“Maybe she wanted to go back to the station to catch the ghost all by herself,” Benny suggested.

“Maybe,” said Henry. “Or maybe Gwen
is
the ghost.”

“If that’s true,” said Violet, “Gwen could be going back for the turntable.”

“But why would she do this to her own grandmother?” Jessie asked.

The door opened, jingling the cowbells tied to the handle. Frances St. Clair walked in and claimed a stool at the counter.

Shielded by the high leather sides of their booth, the Aldens were hidden from Frances’s view. But they could hear her clearly.

“Coffee, please,” Frances told DeeDee. “Make it strong. I’ve still got to finish tomorrow’s script.”

“I thought you wrote the radio script during the day,” DeeDee said.

Frances lowered her voice, but the Aldens could still hear her. “Don’t tell anyone, but I worked on my movie script today. Usually I write that at home, but I had this really great idea for a new script and couldn’t wait to start working on it.”

“What’s it about?” DeeDee asked.

Frances sounded excited. “It’s a mystery. I got the idea from the children’s show we’re doing this week, which is about a ghost dog. And of course we have that old ghost story at the station —”

“Are you sure it’s just a story?” DeeDee said mysteriously. The Alden children looked at each other.

Frances paused, then went on. “Anyway my movie will be about a long-dead radio actor who comes back to haunt the station. I’m sure Hollywood will snap up my script! I’ll be rich!”

DeeDee gave a short laugh. “Yeah, right!”

“You laugh now,” Frances said haughtily. “But one day I’ll be famous! People won’t laugh then. And I’ll be through writing silly radio jingles.”

“I wouldn’t mind writing for the radio,” DeeDee said wistfully. “It would be better than waitressing.”

“When I quit, you can have my job,” Frances said. “But until I have enough money to go to California, I’ll have to stay here.”

The children waited until Frances left the diner, then paid their bill. They walked slowly toward the Hawley house.

“Frances really wants to be rich and famous,” said Jessie.

“Who doesn’t?” Benny asked.

“I’d rather be happy,” Henry said. “Money doesn’t always make a person happy. But Frances needs enough money to move to Hollywood. She could be stealing the equipment and selling it.”

Jessie nodded. “That makes sense. It could easily be Frances. The thief obviously knows his — or her — way around the station.”

“The ghost either works at the station,” Henry added, “or used to.”

“Daphne Owens wanted to be rich and famous,” Violet said. “She was going to be a star.”

Jessie stopped. “Do you think there’s a connection between Daphne and Frances?”

“How could there be?” Henry asked. “Daphne worked at WCXZ a long time ago and then she disappeared. Frances probably wasn’t even born then.”

“Do you suppose Frances is haunting the station to get a good story for her movie?” Jessie suggested.

“Maybe,” said Violet. “We’ll have to keep an eye on her.”

Benny was staring at something. “There’s Frances,” he said, pointing to someone sitting on a bench in the park they were passing. “And isn’t that Gwen hiding behind a bush?”

“It
is
Gwen,” Henry confirmed.

“What is she doing?” Jessie wondered. “She said she was going back to the station for her backpack.”

“She looks like she’s spying on Frances,” said Violet.

Benny cupped his hands around his mouth. “Gwen!”

Gwen stood up, looking around nervously. Frances hadn’t noticed her. Gwen crossed the street and walked toward the Aldens. “I thought you guys would be home already,” she said, scowling.

“We thought you went back to the station,” said Jessie. “Why were you in the park?”

“I was taking a shortcut home,” Gwen answered huffily. “Look, there’s my grandmother’s car. They must be back.” Without waiting for the Aldens, she ran toward the house.

“That’s weird,” said Henry. “She’s not carrying a backpack.”

“Gwen is
definitely
up to something,” Benny said. He opened the front door of Jocelyn’s house and they went inside.

“Did you get the new turntable?” Gwen asked her grandmother.

“Yes, and it cost even more than I thought it would,” said Jocelyn. “I’m going to make some hot tea. Are there any of those oatmeal cookies left?”

“I’ll make the tea,” Gwen offered. “You go relax in the living room.”

“May we take a walk?” Henry asked Grandfather. “It’s such a nice evening.”

Grandfather checked the mantel clock. “It’s pretty late. Don’t be gone long.”

The Alden children strolled down Main Street. Only the diner was still open. The town was quiet, except for an occasional car passing through.

“We’ve walked all the way to the radio station,” Benny said.

“Look!” Jessie said in a hushed voice. “Aren’t those lights in the back window?”

“It’s after eight o’clock,” Violet said. “The station is closed for the night. Who could be in there?”

“Let’s check it out,” Henry said. “I have the key.” He unlocked the front door and flipped on the lights. The kids looked in every room, but found no one.

“We must have seen the reflection of a car’s headlights,” Jessie concluded.

Or the ghost of Daphne Owens,
Benny thought. He knew ghosts didn’t really exist, but the thought made him shiver.

Back at the Hawley house, the Alden kids met Gwen on the porch. She was out of breath.