Remarkable (18 page)

Then he ushered them out of the office quickly before any of them could change their minds.

Grandmama Julietta Augustina was not unsympathetic to Anderson Brigby Bright’s attempts to win Lucinda’s heart. She knew what it was like to fall head over heels in love with someone. Her grandson was so smitten that he reminded her of herself when she first laid eyes on Grandpa John.

But despite her appreciation for Anderson Brigby Bright’s delicate emotional state, in this instance, her
duty as mayor came first. Remarkable must continue to be the remarkable place it had always been. This meant making sure that the bell-tower ceremony was the kind of event that people would look back on fondly for the rest of their lives—something that would not happen if anyone heard Anderson Brigby Bright’s singing. Keeping him quiet was the last thing she had left on her to-do list.

Which is why she was so puzzled to discover that she couldn’t fall asleep that night.

“Hmph!” she told herself. Grandmama did not approve of not sleeping. It was a sure sign that she’d forgotten to take care of one of her important responsibilities that day—and like her daughter-in-law, she disapproved of forgetting responsibilities even more than she disapproved of sleeplessness.

She sat up to think through everything that needed to happen tomorrow. The bell tower had already been festooned with banners, bows, and balloons. The oversized, sapphire-encrusted scissors she would use for the ribbon cutting had been pulled out of storage and polished until they sparkled. Every available folding chair had been set up in the park next to the post office for the large crowds that were expected to
gather, and the Remarkable Symphony Orchestra was ready to play a rousing composition written by Ludwig von Savage in honor of the event. She was certain that Ludwig was secretly hoping that everyone would think his composition was much lovelier than the music Ysquibel had written for the bell tower, but she was also certain that Ludwig was going to end up deeply disappointed.

She still needed to convince Dr. Pike not to leave town, but that could be dealt with once the bell-tower ceremony was over. But there was something else, something she wasn’t thinking of.

Dr. Pike…Dr. Pike…

What had she been doing again when Mayor Chu called about Dr. Pike? She’d been talking to Grandpa John about…about…

Grandpa John had wanted to tell her something important. Something about the bell tower. She looked over at where her husband was lying next to her on the bed. He looked as ordinary sleeping as he did when he was awake, which made him all the more wonderful to Grandmama Julietta Augustina. She was wise enough to know that, despite what most people think, the best things in life are often quite ordinary.

“John!” she whispered. “John! Are you awake?”

He didn’t stir, but Salzburg, who was perched on the bedpost on Grandmama’s side of the bed, muttered “hmph” in her sleep.

“John?” Grandmama said one more time before giving up. She’d noticed that he’d been looking tired and worried lately. He probably needed his rest. In the morning, she would ask him what it was he had wanted to tell her.

T
he weather could not have been nicer for the bell-tower ceremony. The sun was bright without making the day hot, and there was a light breeze that was just cool enough to be refreshing without making anyone reach for a sweater. Crowds and crowds of people, even more than had been anticipated, showed up for the event. They waved small celebratory flags and listened to the Remarkable Symphony Orchestra. Small children ran around with helium balloons on their wrists. Everyone was giddy with the thrill of being part of such an unrivaled historic event.

Jane’s father, who was accustomed to Remarkable’s festivities, was overwhelmed by how much bigger and
more celebratory this one seemed. He was extraordinarily proud of his talented wife, and he wanted to be able to tell her how excited the crowd was about the bell tower she’d designed. He also knew that if he ever needed to write a scene of a truly joyful and triumphant celebration in one of his novels, all he’d need to do was describe the scene unfolding before him.

Captain Rojo Herring had been among the first to arrive at the post office that morning. He wanted to make sure he got a seat in the front row so he could have an unobstructed view of the tower when it first began to chime. But the young girl who took the seat next to him was sobbing like her world was about to end.

“There, there, me child, it can’t be as bad as all that, now can it?” Captain Rojo Herring said. He didn’t really care about comforting her; he just wanted her to quiet down.

“What would you know about it?” the girl said, sniffling vigorously into a soaked handkerchief. “I’ve failed in the most important task of my life. The premiere is today, and Ysquibel remains lost.”

“Ysquibel? Who be that?”

“He’s the composer who wrote the song for the bell
tower. He has never, ever missed one of his premieres before, but now he’s going to because I couldn’t find him.” Lucinda Wilhelmina Hinojosa’s chic little glasses were fogged with her own tears.

“Well, perhaps he didn’t want to be found,” Captain Rojo Herring said comfortingly. “Perhaps he’s happy staying lost.”

This only made Lucinda wail harder. Captain Rojo Herring realized he’d better try a new tactic if he wanted her to quit making such a dismal racket.

“Look, ye don’t know for a fact he’s not ’ere. Look at this crowd. Maybe he be in there somewhere.”

“I’m sure I would have recognized him.”

“Maybe he be in a disguise or something. Did ye ever think of that? Now why don’t ye stop yer blubbering and go off and look for ’im?”

Lucinda quit sobbing. She took off her fogged-up glasses and looked at Captain Rojo Herring with grateful and highly farsighted eyes.

“Of course! It’s obvious. Why didn’t I think of that!” She polished her glasses frantically and then put them back on her well-shaped nose so that she could look for disguised composers.

Meanwhile, Grandmama Julietta Augustina stood
on the top of the post office steps. The crowd was gathered before her. The cheerleaders from the gifted school were performing backflips, pyramids, basket tosses, and cradle catches in rapid succession. Misty McNeil, who was famous as the world’s most exceptional fire dancer, tossed her flaming baton high in the air, then did a handstand and caught it with her toes as it came down.

Grandmama wasn’t paying attention to the cheerleading or the fire dancing, which was just as well, since she was unlikely to have been impressed with either activity. She was watching Lucinda as she wandered around looking for someone. Grandmama smiled to herself, incorrectly assuming that Lucinda was searching for her handsome grandson. Maybe the Science Fair Dance would be as magical as Anderson Brigby Bright was expecting it to be.

Grandmama wished she felt as hopeful about the bell-tower ceremony. Despite the lovely weather and the cheerful crowds, she still had a nagging feeling that she’d overlooked something. She hadn’t been able to ask Grandpa John what he had wanted to tell her because she hadn’t been able to find him. He’d left the house before she’d woken up that morning so he
could take Salzburg back to Captain Rojo Herring. Grandmama had not wanted to oversee the bell-tower ceremony with the parrot on her shoulder.

Then, just as the Remarkable Symphony Orchestra was winding down, she spotted Grandpa John standing at the edge of the crowd with Jane.

“Stilton,” she said. “I need you to go fetch my husband.”

“Who?”

“That man over there, who is next to that young girl. I have to ask him something.”

Stilton reluctantly shook his head. “Madam Mayor, we’re already behind schedule. You need to start the ceremony now.”

He was correct. Time waits for no one, not even for a mayor as remarkable as Mayor Doe. The hands of the big clock on the new bell tower were pointing to 11:57.

“All right, Stilton. Get this crowd quieted down.”

Stilton sent a signal to the cheerleaders to stop their acrobatics. He tapped on the microphone to get the attention of the crowd. And Grandmama Julietta Augustina stepped up to the podium.

“In three more minutes,” she said, “the bells in
this tower will chime for the first time—and you will hear the finest bell-tower composition written by the finest living composer in the world.” She stopped for a minute so that Ludwig von Savage could grumble to himself about being misunderstood and unappreciated. “And Remarkable, our fine, fine town, will become even more remarkable than before.”

She looked over the crowd and gave Grandpa John a lovely smile. But Grandpa John didn’t meet her eyes.

“Madam Mayor,” Stilton hissed. The clock now read 11:58.

“I’d like to thank my daughter-in-law, Angelina Mona Linda Doe. Only an architect of such outstanding skill could have transformed our ordinary post office into the charming building you see before you. And I’d also like to thank Taftly Wocheywhoski, who not only completed the tower five months ahead of schedule, but was able to come in under budget as well.”

Everyone applauded. Jane’s mother and Taftly Wocheywhoski, who were standing next to Grandmama Julietta, bowed to the crowd. The clock hand moved to 11:59.

“And finally, I’d like to thank Ysquibel. I hope that wherever he is, he knows how much we appreciate having his delightful music grace our remarkable town. We are truly lucky.”

Captain Rojo Herring gave a nervous cough. Grandmama glanced up and saw that the clock hand was moving toward 12 o’clock. Stilton handed her the large ceremonial scissors, and she snipped the ribbon in two. The crowd took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the first notes of the song to begin.

And they waited.

And they waited until it was hard to keep holding their collective breath.

But nothing happened.

T
he silence that filled the air was more startling than any noise could have been. Grandmama looked at Stilton. Stilton looked at Angelina Mona Linda Doe. Angelina Mona Linda Doe looked at Taftly Wocheywhoski, and Taftly Wocheywhoski shrugged and ran up the bell-tower stairs to see what was wrong.

The crowd continued holding its breath, sure that any moment now the bells would begin to ring. Still nothing happened.

Finally, the crowd could wait no longer. The air was filled with a whooshing noise as everyone exhaled at the same time. Lucinda Wilhelmina Hinojosa let out a wail.

“Nooooooooo!” she shrieked.

The clock hand moved to 12:01.

“Hmph!” Grandmama Julietta Augustina said. She was not accustomed to having things go wrong. She did not approve of it at all.

“This is terrible,” Jane said to Grandpa John. “This is so truly bad.”

Grandpa John did not reply. Just at that moment, Taftly Wocheywhoski stuck his head out of one of the bell-tower windows.

“It’s the ropes!” he yelled. “The ropes that led from the bells to the mechanism that rings them. Someone’s stolen every last one.”

The crowd gasped.

“You!” Mrs. Peabody said as she angrily whacked Captain Rojo Herring with a metal gelato spade she happened to be carrying. “It was you, wasn’t it? You’ve been obsessed with that bell tower since the first day you came here.”

“Mrs. Peabody, yer making a dreadful mistake,” Captain Rojo Herring said politely. “I be wanting to hear those bells chime as much as anyone. Why would I be taking the ropes?”

“Hmph,” she said. “I don’t trust you or your little
band of pirate friends any farther than I can throw you.”

Captain Rojo Herring paled. “What do ye mean? I don’t ’ave a band of pirate friends.”

“Oh? Then I suppose I’ve been imagining those three smelly pirates who’ve been coming into my ice cream parlor asking for you.”

“I…uh…oh dear,” Captain Rojo Herring stammered as he looked around nervously. “Thar be three of them, you say?”

“I think someone should arrest that man,” said Mr. Wembly. “He’s certainly acting like a criminal.”

“On the contrary,” came a voice from the crowd. It was Detective Burton Sly. “Captain Rojo Herring is not the culprit. In fact, he’s not even really a pirate.”