The Sleepy Hollow Mystery (7 page)

“I’ll call the library,” Annika said. She took
out her phone and dialed. She asked the person
on the other end a few questions and frowned
when she hung up. “He’s not supposed to work
today. They haven’t seen him. I hope he shows
up later. I don’t know how I’ll do the tour
without the wagon. I’ll call his parents. They
live in town.” She made another phone call.

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny exchanged
glances. They could tell Annika was becoming
concerned.

When she hung up, her face was pale.
“No one has seen or heard from him. Isiah is
missing.”

“I
siah’s father says he’ll turn up, but I’m
worried,” Annika said. “I have to cancel the
tour now. I don’t have anyone else to drive
the wagon.”

“I have an idea,” Henry said. “If you drive
the wagon to the pick-up spot and left it
there with us, we could watch over it until
you arrive.”

“That would be a big help.” Annika smiled.
“The horses are very gentle and well-trained.
They won’t give you any problems.”

When it was time, Annika drove the Aldens
to the stable. It was a long white building on
the edge of town. When they pulled up in
front of it, Henry said, “The sign says Sanders
Stables. Does it belong to Isiah?”

“No, it belongs to Isiah’s father.” Annika
got out of the car. “He has several horses they
use for tourist trail rides and wagon rides.
That’s how I’m able to borrow one of their
wagons.”

“Could this be where the mystery horse
lives?” Jessie asked. “It has to have a stable
close to town.”

“If it’s a real horse,” Benny said, “and not
an evil spirit horse.”

“It’s a real horse,” Violet said. “I’m sure
of it.”

“There’s no all-black horse at the stable,”
Annika assured them. “I would have
recognized it. I’ve been riding horses here
for years.”

A tall older man who looked a little like
Isiah was feeding the horses inside. “Hello,
Mr. Sanders. These are my friends.” Annika
introduced everyone.

“Isiah still hasn’t shown up,” Mr. Sanders
told them.

“We’ll manage without him,” Annika
said. “I need to hitch up the horses a bit
early and get the wagon in place. If you do
see Isiah, will you tell him to come to the
meeting place?”

Mr. Sanders said he would.

“How many horses do you have here, Mr.
Sanders?” Henry asked.

“About twenty. Some are too old to do more
than loaf around most of the time.” He rubbed
the nose of the brown horse he was feeding.

A black-and-white horse at the end of the
stalls stuck his head over the wall and looked
at them.

“That’s a pretty horse,” Violet said.

Mr. Sanders snorted. “I’ve never thought
of Domino as pretty. He’s always had a bad
temper and he bites. The older he gets, the
crankier he acts. Isiah is the only one he likes
because Isiah gives him treats. Too bad he’s
not like Ghost and Spook. They are good
horses. Now let’s get that wagon ready.”

Ghost and Spook stood patiently while
Annika and Mr. Sanders showed the Aldens
how to fasten the harnesses.

“Henry, if you’d like to drive the wagon,
I’ll show you how,” Annika said. “We take
the back roads so there aren’t many cars.”

Henry took the reins and drove the wagon
along the back roads of Sleepy Hollow to the
right spot.

Annika and the Aldens got down and fastened
the reins to a tree. Annika pulled something out
of her pocket. “Ghost and Spook should be fine,
but if they get restless, just feed them a few of
these.” She held out some sugar cubes. “Sugar
isn’t good for them, but Isiah says it’s all right
once in a while.” Ghost whinnied at the sight of
the treats. “He loves them,” Annika said. “Do
you know how to feed a horse a treat?”

“Yes,” Jessie said. “You hold your hand out
flat with the treat in your palm.”

“That’s right. You don’t want a horse
thinking your fingers are a snack. They
might nibble on them. Now I have to get my
car and go home and change. Are you sure
you’ll be okay?”

“We’re sure,” Henry assured her.

As Annika hurried off, she said over her
shoulder, “Just call me with your cell phone if
you need anything.”

Jessie petted Ghost’s nose. Her brothers
and sister could tell she was thinking about
something.

“What are you thinking about?” Violet
asked.

“At least we know that horse at the parade
was not a ghost horse,” she replied. “That
sugar cube Benny found was a treat for him.
Spirit horses don’t eat treats.”

“You’re right,” Henry said. “We should
check the tube. It’s going to be dark soon.”

They walked down the path. Fallen leaves
crunched beneath their feet, but otherwise
the woods were silent.

“It is colder than it was last night,” Violet
said, pulling her hat down on her head.

“It’s getting dark faster than I thought it
would,” Henry said. “We should hurry.”

A loud crack came from down the path,
and then a groaning noise. The Aldens froze
in place. They waited, but there were no
other sounds.

“What do we do?” Violet whispered.

“We keep going,” Henry said. “That
sounded like a human groan, not a ghost
groan.”

They crept as quietly as they could down
the path. “It’s just around this bend,” Jessie
said.

They came to the big tree. “The tube is
still there.” Benny pointed out it.

“I see something is different.” Henry
walked over to the trunk. “That branch
wasn’t broken before. I used it to get up in
the tree.”

“Maybe a big animal crashed into it and
broke it,” Violet said.

Henry shook his head. “Look where it
broke, along the top, just like when someone
is climbing a tree and the branch won’t hold
them. When that happens, it breaks at the
trunk first.”

“So that means someone was climbing up
the tree,” Jessie said.

Benny fell to the ground. “And he fell down
like this!”

“And then he groaned because it hurt,”
Violet added. “But whoever did it ran off.
Let’s see if we can find some clues to tell us
which way he or she ran.”

While they were looking, Henry’s cell
phone rang. Annika was calling. He put her
on speaker so they could all hear. “Everyone
has canceled their spots on the tour.” She
sounded very upset. “I’ll be there soon to
help bring the wagon back. We won’t be able
to find out who is playing the tricks tonight
after all.”

“I don’t think anyone will try tonight.” Henry
explained about the broken branch. “We think
whoever is playing tricks fell and got hurt.”

“We may never solve this mystery,” Annika
said and sighed. “I’ll be there soon.”

When she arrived, they took the horses
back to the stable and then drove to the
Vanderhoffs’. Margot was outside by the fire
with Mrs. Vanderhoff and Mrs. McGregor.
She was very interested to hear the story of
the broken branch and the tube. “Whoever
is doing that is very clever,” she said.

“It may be clever, but it’s not very nice,”
Violet said.

Jessie went to get her notebook. She
brought it back to the fire and sat down.
“I’ve been thinking. Are there other stables
around town where the mystery horse
could live?”

Margot shuddered. “Don’t ask me. I don’t
keep track of the horses in town.”

“You don’t like horses?” Violet asked.

“Not at all.” Margot shuddered again.
“They’re so big that they could trample you
if they got angry. I should be going. Busy day
tomorrow. Let me know if you see or hear
anything else that’s scary.”

After Margot left, Mrs. Vanderhoff
explained, “Margot has been frightened of
horses ever since she was a little girl. A horse
stepped on her foot one time.”

“So I guess that means she doesn’t ride
horses,” Henry said.

Annika laughed. “She certainly doesn’t.
She wouldn’t even ride a horse on a merry-go-round.”

Benny yawned. “I’m getting sleepy. Ghost
tours even without ghosts make me tired.”

“It’s time for bed.” Jessie closed her
notebook. “We’ll make a new plan in the
morning.”

When the Aldens were inside the apartment,
Henry said, “At least we know Margot didn’t
play the tricks. If she’s so scared of horses,
she’s not the rider.”

“That leaves Isiah, Mr. Beekman, or Brett.”
Violet went to the window and looked out
into the dark. “One of them is still out there
planning more tricks.”

T
he next morning after breakfast, the Aldens
helped Annika rake leaves and clean up
outside the front of the shop. They saw Mr.
Beekman struggling to carry a big box up the
steps of the café. His ankle was wrapped in a
bandage.

“Let me help you,” Henry offered, hurrying
to the café.

Mr. Beekman looked surprised, but said,
“Thank you. I was afraid I was going to
drop it.”

Mrs. Vanderhoff came out of the shop.
“Mr. Beekman, what happened to your
ankle?” she asked.

“I sprained it when I tripped over a broken
step in back,” he said.

“You should get one of your workers to
carry things in,” Mrs. Vanderhoff scolded.
“The ankle won’t get better unless you rest it.”

Mr. Beekman shook his head. “I can’t.
They’re all busy with other jobs. We’re
having a special charity dinner tonight to
raise money for the library.”

“We can help,” Jessie offered.

“Yes,” Mrs. Vanderhoff added. “We’ll all
help. Just tell us what you want us to do.”

Mr. Beekman frowned and asked, “Why
would you help me?”

“I like to be neighborly,” replied Mrs.
Vanderhoff. “And I’m happy to do anything
that helps the library.”

Mr. Beekman took his volunteers to
the backyard. Mrs. Vanderhoff and Mrs
McGregor set the tables that had been
placed there while Jessie, Henry, and Annika
helped string paper lanterns around the
trees. Violet and Benny did the centerpieces.
Benny scattered colorful leaves on the table
and Violet arranged miniature pumpkins
and pinecones around small pots of
yellow mums.

When they were done, Mr. Beekman said,
“I can’t thank you enough. I couldn’t have
done it without you.” He turned to Mrs.
Vanderhoff. “I want to apologize. Ever since
you said you weren’t selling your house, I
haven’t been very nice to you. I realize how
unkind that is.”

“Apology accepted.” Mrs. Vanderhoff gave
him a big smile.

“Why don’t you all come in for a snack?”
Mr. Beekman said.

Mrs. Vanderhoff and the Aldens followed
him inside and sat down at a table. He brought
them hot chocolate and a plate of his apple
custard tarts.

“Hello!” Isiah called out from the front
door of the café. He came over to their table
and did a funny little dance like a jig. “It’s a
wonderful day. I have some wonderful news.”

“Where have you been?” Annika asked.

Isiah pointed at himself. “You are looking
at an actor who has a real part in a real play in
New York City. I found out the other night.
I took the train into the city right away so I
could sign the contract.”

“Congratulations!” Annika said. “But you
could have told someone,” she grumbled.
“We’ve been worried.”

“I couldn’t find my cell phone, but I left you
a note. I taped to the front door of the shop.”

“We didn’t see any note,” Mrs. Vanderhoff
said. “It must have blown away.”

While Isiah was telling Annika about the
play, Henry pulled the rest of the Aldens
aside. “So now we know it wasn’t Isiah and it
wasn’t Margot. That leaves Mr. Beekman or
Brett.”

“Mr. Beekman said he fell down the steps,
but he could have sprained his ankle falling
out of a tree,” Jessie said.

“Brett is the meanest one though,” Violet
said. “I think it was him.”

“How are we going to find out which one
it is?” Benny asked as he reached over to take
a sugar cube out of the bowl.

“Benny, your hot chocolate doesn’t need
anymore sugar!” Jessie said.

Henry took a sugar cube of his own. “This
gives me an idea,” he said. “Anyone else guess
what I’m thinking? Benny isn’t the only one
who likes sugar cubes.”

Violet nodded. “I bet I can guess what your
idea is.”

Henry got up and went over to Mr. Beekman.
“Could you and Brett do us a big favor?”

“Of course,” Mr. Beekman said. “You’ve
helped me out. I’ll help you out.”

“We need you to come to Sanders Stable,
just for a few minutes,” Henry said. “I’ll
explain there.”

Mr. Beekman looked very puzzled but
agreed to go. He went to get Brett, who did
not seem pleased at Henry’s request.

When they all reached the stable, Isiah’s
father was outside washing out brushes.

“We just need to see the horses for few
minutes,” Jessie told him.

“I usually don’t have folks come just to visit
the horses, but you’re welcome to come in.”
He showed them inside. Domino looked out
of his stall and neighed at the sight of them.
Mr. Sanders frowned. “I wonder what’s gotten
into him.”