The Mystery of the Stolen Music (6 page)
After dinner, Grandfather asked Violet to play. She sounded even better than she had that afternoon.
“Violet, if you play like that, you're sure to win a place in the young people's orchestra,” Grandfather assured her.
“Then we'll celebrate,” Benny said.
Grandfather nodded. “Yes, of course, we must do that. I'll tell you what: You meet me at the hotel tomorrow afternoon and I'll treat you to dinner in the dining room.”
“What if I'm not chosen?” Violet asked.
“You will be,” Soo Lee responded.
Violet wanted to believe that, but she had her doubts. The competition would be stiff. She went to bed vowing to do her very best. “Then, whatever happens will be all right,” she told herself.
The next morning, they arrived at the Civic Center to find the auditorium nearly full and buzzing with excitement.
Melody called for attention. “Will the musicians please come up to the front rows,” she instructed.
Violet made a
this-is-it
face. The others wished her good luck, and she started up the aisle.
When everyone was assembled, Melody divided them according to their instruments. The strings would be first to play.
Violet was third. On stage, she carefully took her violin from its case. She put it in position and pulled the bow across the strings to be sure it was in tune. Then, she read-justed it, took a deep breath, and played the pieces Melody had selected from her list.
After the first few notes, Henry, Jessie, Benny, and Soo Lee relaxed. There was no question about it: Violet was very good and getting better all the time.
The orchestra list was posted in the reception hall at noon. There were so many people crowded around the bulletin board, it was difficult to see. Benny squeezed to the front of the group where he stood on tiptoe to read the list. At the very top of the strings section was Violet's name.
“Hooray!” Benny exclaimed. He squeezed back through the crush of people. “You made it!” he said, and hugged his sister.
Violet skipped off to call Grandfather. While the other Aldens waited for her, Henry picked up a printed concert schedule.
“When is the young people's rehearsal?” Jessie asked him.
“Tomorrow morning. Their concert will be Saturday afternoon.”
“What about the regular orchestra?” Benny wanted to know. “When do they play?”
“Friday night.”
“That's tomorrow!” Soo Lee said.
Benny sighed. “That doesn't give us much time.”
They all knew he was thinking about solving the mystery. Could the Boxcar Children find the missing score in time for it to be displayed before the concert?
T
he Aldens took their sack lunches and went outside to the park beside the Civic Center. Jessie spread the blue tablecloth from their boxcar days on a grassy hillock. Benny had even remembered to bring his old cracked pink cup.
“This is like old times,” Henry said. “All we need is the boxcar.”
“And Watch,” Jessie added.
“Sometimes I wish we were still living in the boxcar,” Benny put in.
“I don't,” Violet said. “I never would have learned to play the violin if we hadn't come to live with Grandfather.”
“And you wouldn't know me,” Soo Lee said.
“That's right,” Benny said to his sister and his cousin. “I forgot.”
Henry laughed. “Things work out.”
“Except for
this
mystery,” Jessie said. “I wonder if it'll work out at all.”
“Let's go over what we know,” Henry suggested.
“We know the music's missing,” Soo Lee responded.
“And that Victor took the score to the hotel,” Violet said.
“Two false notes,” Jessie added. “And two ransacked rooms.”
“Don't forget about Melody and that mysterious man,” Benny put in.
Henry looked sad. “We always come back to Melody, don't we?”
“It's not Melody,” Violet said. “Someone else signed her name to those notes.”
“At least that's what we think,” Jessie reminded her sister.
Benny's face lit up. “I got it: Melody signed the notes herself and just told us she didn't.”
“That's a possibility,” Henry agreed.
“But what about the ransacked rooms?” Violet asked.
“Yes,” Soo Lee said. “Melody didn't do that. She was at the Civic Center with us.”
Henry shrugged. “Maybe she has a partner.”
“The mysterious man! I'll bet he messed up the rooms,” Benny piped up.
Violet crushed her lunch sack and got to her feet. “Melody did not do any of this!” She stalked off toward the Center.
“Wait, Violet!” Benny called. “We didn't say she did it â only that she might have.”
But Violet was already inside the building.
Benny's shoulders slumped. He didn't like to see Violet upset. “Now what?” he asked the others.
“Let's go and listen to the orchestra rehearse,” Henry answered.
They found Violet in the front row and sat down beside her. Victor was at the podium, his baton raised, ready to begin.
“Violet, I â ” Benny began.
“Shhh!” she said.
Just as the music began, Bob Weldon hurried in a side door. He saw the Aldens and headed toward them.
When he reached Jessie, he whispered, “I wonder if you'd be kind enough to run an errand for me.”
“Yes, of course,” Jessie whispered back. “What is it?”
Bob motioned for her to follow him.
“Bob wants me to run an errand for him,” she told the others. “I'll be back soon.” She started up the aisle.
“I'll go with you,” Benny offered. He crawled over Henry and hurried after his sister.
In the lobby, Bob told them, “I left my glasses in my room. They're in my briefcase on the desk. I'd get them myself, but I can't leave right now. Too busy.”
“We'll be happy to get them for you,” Jessie said.
“Thank you,” Bob said. He gave Jessie his room key and hurried off.
Bob's briefcase was on the desk in his hotel room. Benny got to it first. Its latch was closed. Benny fiddled with it.
“Wait, Benny, let me do â !” Jessie said, but it was too late.
The briefcase fell to the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.
Benny stood looking at the mess. “Oops,” he said.
“Oops is right,” Jessie said.
Benny began picking up things. “Here're the glasses.”
“Just pile the rest on the desk,” Jessie instructed. “No sense putting the papers back in the briefcase. We won't get them in the right order.”
They were ready to leave when Benny saw something under the desk chair. He knelt down and reached for it.
“It's a plane ticket,” he said and sat back on his heels to examine it. He handed it to Jessie.
“You're right, it's a plane ticket,” she said and set it on the desk.
“Where's it to?” Benny asked. “Doesn't it say Paris?”
Jessie glanced at the ticket. “Yes.” She examined the ticket more closely.
“That's in France, isn't it?”
Jessie nodded. “And the ticket's for tomorrow afternoon.” She looked puzzled.
“That's funny,” Benny said. “The concert isn't until tomorrow night. Why would Bob leave before that?”
Jessie shook her head. “I don't know, Benny. Maybe he has to go on ahead to make arrangements for the next concert.”
“But the orchestra's not going to Paris,” Benny reminded her. “It's going to Cleveland!”
B
ack at the Civic Center, they found Bob in the lobby, talking to some of the orchestra members.
“Did you find my glasses?” he asked when he saw Jessie and Benny.
Jessie handed them to him. “The briefcase fell over,” she said, “so we put everything on your desk.”
Bob nodded, but Jessie was sure he hadn't heard her.
“Why didn't you ask him about the plane ticket?” Benny wanted to know.
“He's too busy now,” Jessie answered. “And there are too many people around.”
Henry came up behind them. “The orchestra took a break,” he said. “Let's go back to the park.”
“Wait till you hear what we found!” Benny exclaimed.
“Not here, Benny,” Jessie warned him. She didn't want Bob to hear them discussing the plane ticket.
When the Aldens were all in the park, Benny said, “Bob has a plane ticket to Paris!”
“It's for tomorrow afternoon,” Jessie added.
“I'll bet he's taking the missing music with him,” Benny added.
“Bob Weldon?” Soo Lee asked.
Violet was surprised, too. “He can't be the thief!”
Until now, they hadn't even considered him a suspect.
“Let's think about this,” suggested Henry.
And they did.
After a while, Jessie said. “What about his room? It was ransacked just like Victor's.”
“Are we sure about that?” Henry asked.
“That's right!” Violet said. “We didn't
see
his room.”
“He could have lied about it to throw us off the track,” Henry added.
Benny laughed. “We weren't even
on
the track!”
“Bob didn't know that,” Henry reminded him.
“But what about the notes?” Violet asked. “Janet Muller could have traced Melody's signature from her autograph book. How would Bob have written it?”
Henry had an explanation. “Bob manages the orchestra; he probably has copies of all the musicians' signatures in his files.”
This was an important development. They decided to tell Grandfather Alden about it.
“Let's go to the hotel and wait for him,” Violet suggested. “He said he'd try to get there early. He wants to have dinner before the dining room gets too crowded.”
On the way to the hotel, they continued their discussion.
“Bob could easily have taken the score from Victor's room,” Jessie said.
“Anybody could have done that,” Benny argued. “Victor never locks his door.”
“But no one would be alarmed if they saw Bob in the room,” Henry said. “It's his job to take care of the orchestra members.”
“You know what I don't get?” Soo Lee said. “If Bob had the music, why did he mess up Victor's room?”
That was something no one understood.
They weren't at the hotel long when Victor, Bob, and Melody came in. They stood near the door discussing the next night's performance.
A desk clerk approached, carrying a large brown envelope. “Excuse me, Mr. Weldon,” he said.
Bob snapped, “Can't you see I'm busy?” and waved him away.
The clerk backed off.
“Maybe I could help,” Henry offered.
“Thank you,” the man said. “Perhaps you could talk to Mr. Weldon.” He held up the package. “He asked us to send this out, but we can't read his handwriting. All we can make out is
Paris, France.
”
“Paris!” Benny repeated.
The Aldens looked at one another. They were all wondering the same thing: What was Bob Weldon sending to Paris?
The clerk handed the envelope to Henry and went behind the desk.
“Why are you sending something to Paris, Bob?” Benny asked, his voice loud with excitement.
Bob grabbed at the envelope. But it was too late. Benny spoke up again. “Why don't you just take it with you? You're going to Paris tomorrow.”
Bob glared at Benny.
Melody's mouth dropped open.
Victor looked hard at Bob. “What's this about Paris?”
“I â uh â ” Bob stammered. His eyes darted around as though he were looking for a place to hide.
“He has a plane ticket to Paris,” Jessie said. She explained what she had found in Bob's room.
Victor nodded. “I see,” he said. He seemed surprisingly calm. He turned to Bob. “Open that package, Bob. Let's see what's in it.”
“It's nothing,” Bob said. “A letter!”
“Bob,” Victor repeated.
“Oh, all right. Here.” Bob handed the envelope reluctantly to Victor. Then he sank to a nearby chair and put his head in his hands.
Victor turned the brown envelope over. Slowly, he tore the tab on the back. The envelope was open. Victor reached in carefully and pulled out ⦠the missing Mozart score!
