Windy City Mystery (8 page)

For now, there was nothing they could do.

CHAPTER 10

X Marks the Spot

G
randfather knocked on their doors. “Wake up, sleepyheads!” he called. “It's another beautiful day in Chicago!”

For a few brief seconds, the younger Aldens forgot their concern. But when they were fully awake, the memory of last night's telephone call resurfaced.

“Grandfather sounds cheerful,” Violet said. She was hoping they had been wrong. Perhaps the two late-night phone conversations did not mean trouble after all.

Jessie slipped into her slacks. “He does,” she agreed. But still she was fearful. Grandfather had a way of putting a good face on things. If he
was
in some kind of trouble, he would not want to worry them.

They went out into the hall. The boys' door opened and Henry and Benny came out.

“Grandfather certainly sounds cheerful,” Henry said.

“He's pretending,” Benny whispered.

The table was set with juice and fresh fruit and a big platter of sweet rolls.

“Well, there you are!” Grandfather said as they sat down. “I was up early,” he said. “I went to the bakery.” He held up a piece of paper. “But I remembered to leave a note in case you woke up and found me gone.”

Jessie and Henry looked at each other. They had left the clues spread out on this table. Their maps and leaflets were stacked at one end. Were the clues there? Had Grandfather seen them? If he had, wouldn't he ask about them? How would they answer his questions?

Grandfather saw Jessie staring at the stack. “I piled those things together,” he said.

Surely he hadn't noticed the clues.

“I'll be busy all day today. What do you and Chad have planned?”

“We haven't talked to him,” Henry said.

“He was here yesterday,” Benny put in, “just before we found —”

Jessie was quick to interrupt. “He was here when we got back from the museum,” she said, “but he didn't have time to talk.”

Grandfather nodded. “That's right.”

Violet said, “I'm hoping we can do some more sketching.”

“It's a fine day for it.” Mr. Alden pushed his chair away from the table. “I guess I'd better get a move on.” He went into his bedroom.

Violet leaned close to the others. “Should we ask him about the phone calls?”

“There's probably nothing to tell us,” Henry said. “He seems fine.”

Mr. Alden came in carrying a briefcase. “Can you find enough to do until Chad gets here?” he asked.

They all said, “Yes. Plenty!”

As soon as he was gone, Jessie dug through the pile of brochures. “Funny Grandfather didn't see the clues,” she said as she spread them out.

Violet looked at them and sighed. “Where do we start?”

“Let's not think about the writer of the clues,” Henry said.

Benny tapped the final clue. “We should solve this.”

Jessie turned the map over. She read the first four lines of the verse. “‘Buried deep/ Beneath the rest,'” she repeated.

“We might need a shovel for this one,” Henry joked.

“Read the rest, Jessie,” Benny said.

“‘Can you find/ A place like home …'”

“What does that mean?” Violet asked.

“
Home
could be Grandfather's house,” Jessie said.

“Or our boxcar,” added Violet. “After all, that was our home once.”

Henry said, “The last part says, ‘Resting on/ A bed of stone.'”

Jessie frowned. “This is the hardest clue yet.”

Henry turned the paper over. “We've been to all the places pictured on this map.”

“Could that mean this clue leads to someplace we've already been?” Jessie said.

The telephone rang. Jessie answered. It was Chad.

“Something's come up,” he said. “I'm sorry, but I can't get there this morning.”

“Oh, that's all right, Chad.”

“I may be able to get away this afternoon,” Chad went on. “If not, I'll see you tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“At dinner with my father.”

Jessie was confused. “But we had dinner with him last night.”

After a brief silence, Chad said, “I … uh … maybe I misunderstood.” He told her he would phone later and hung up.

Jessie repeated his message.

They had mixed feelings about it: On the one hand, they were sorry to miss a morning of sightseeing; on the other, they were happy to have time to work on the clue.

“Chad didn't seem to know we were with his father last night,” Jessie said.

Violet was puzzled. “But he must have been invited. Mr. Piper said Chad was too busy to be there.”

“Maybe Chad forgot,” Benny suggested.

“Or got the dates mixed up,” Henry added.

They returned their attention to the clue. But it was no use. They could not solve this part of the puzzle.

Henry turned the map this way and that, moving it close to his eyes and far away. “Look here,” he said at last. He pointed to several pictures: the Water Tower, the Art Institute, the Fire Academy.

A small X was penciled on each one.

“Those are the places the clues sent us to,” Violet observed.

“X marks the spot,” Henry said.

Benny jumped in his chair. “Mr. Piper said that!”

“Mr. Piper can't be behind this,” Jessie said. “When would he have the time? He's been at all those meetings with Grandfather
” She leaned toward the map. “Are there any other X's?”

They took turns looking. On the first try, no one could find a single additional mark. Second time around, Violet saw something.

“This looks like an X.” She pointed it out to the others.

“You found it, Violet!” Benny said.

Henry's mouth dropped open. “And it's on the picture of the building we're in!”

They were stunned to silence. Could this mean the final clue led right here? But where could the treasure be?

“Let's go talk to Willard,” Jessie suggested. “Maybe he knows something about this building that would help.”

Willard smiled as the Aldens approached. “On your way out?”

“We've been wondering about this building,” Jessie told him.

“Wonderful old place, isn't it?” the man said. “Solid as a rock. They don't build 'em like this anymore.”

“Are there things about it people don't know?” Violet asked.

“Ahhh, this grand old place keeps its secrets.” Willard's eyes twinkled.

“What secrets?” Benny asked.

“If I told you, they wouldn't be secrets, would they, now?”

“You could tell us,” Benny said. “We won't tell anyone.”

Willard threw his head back and laughed. “I've been sworn to secrecy. I'm sorry,” he said.

Just then several people came in. Willard went to greet them.

The Aldens looked around the lobby. Was there anything here that might help in their search? Henry noticed two doors. Painted the same color as the walls, they were barely visible.

“Wait here,” he whispered. Hoping Willard wouldn't notice, he slipped across the lobby. He tried one door and then the other. Both were locked.

CHAPTER 11

Buried Treasure

D
isappointed, the Aldens went back upstairs.

Just inside the apartment door, Violet picked up something. “What's this?” She held it in her open hand. It was fuzzy and black.

“It looks like some strange caterpillar,” Jessie said.

Benny took it between two fingers. He held it under his nose. “Do I look like the man with the mustache?”

Jessie laughed, then grew serious. “Let me see that.” She turned it over. “The back is covered with something — dried paste or glue.”

All at once, the four Aldens came to the same conclusion: “It's part of a disguise!”

“The man in the overalls wore it!” Jessie said.

“That would explain why the mustache was crooked. The glue was dry, so it no longer stuck as well,” Henry said.

Violet took the object from Henry. “But it isn't big enough to be a mustache. It's more like” — she put it above her eye — “an eyebrow!”

Jessie sank to a chair. “Do you suppose …”

“Yes! That's it!” Henry said. “The man with the mustache and the one with the bushy eyebrows — they're one person!”

“The
same
person!” Violet said.

“
What
person?” Benny asked.

“Whoever was up here while we were talking to Willard,” Henry said. “Whoever dropped the eyebrow —
that
person!”

“Chad has a key,” Jessie reminded them.

“We would have seen him come into the building,” Violet said.

“Unless there's another way in,” Henry added.

“Maybe he hid somewhere in the hall until we went out,” Benny suggested.

Jessie's mind took her in another direction. “Chad was never with us when we saw that strange man,” she said. “But he was always nearby.”

Slowly, the others understood her meaning. Chad could be the man in the disguise!

“But he never wore overalls,” Henry said.

“Maybe he carried them in his knapsack,” Benny said.

“Where would he have changed into them?” Henry persisted.

They were getting nowhere. Every question about the man led to several new questions. Finally they sat down with the clues and began listing everything they knew.

Violet puzzled over the lines “Buried deep/Beneath the rest.”

“The X is marked on this building. Do you think there could be something underneath it?” she asked at last.

Henry thought about that. Then he remembered: “Chad told us Chicago has a lower level.”

“With train tracks and everything,” Benny added.

“Maybe it runs under this building,” Jessie said.

Benny sprang out of his chair and headed for the door. “Let's go find out!”

Downstairs, Grandfather Alden huddled with someone wearing bib overalls — a man with a mustache and one bushy eyebrow! Talking intently, the two stepped out of sight. By the time the Alden children reached the outer lobby, the men were gone.

“They didn't go out the front door,” Violet said. “We would've seen them.”

Henry was baffled. “But they couldn't just … disappear!”

“Look, Henry!” Jessie pointed to the doors Henry had tried earlier. One of them was open.

“Let's ask Willard where it leads,” Violet suggested.

But Willard was busy outside.

And Benny was already across the room. His brother and sisters followed. They slipped through the door and came upon a stairwell. They heard voices below, and then … nothing.

Taking the lead, Henry crept down the stairs. The others stayed close behind him.

At the bottom of the stairs was another door. Slowly, cautiously, Henry cracked it open and peeked into the dimness beyond.

Henry let out a soft whistle. Then he said, “Wow!”

“What is it, Henry?” Jessie murmured.

Henry opened the door. There in the murky light was a lone railroad coach!

Stunned, they moved outside to the walkway. They wondered where the car had come from and why it was there.

After a long silence, Violet said, “‘A place like home'! The clue was about our home in the boxcar!”

“‘Resting on/A bed of stone,'” Jessie quoted.

“Gravel, or stone, is used to make railroad ties stable,” Henry said.

“We've solved the final clue!” Violet said.

But the mystery was yet to be fully explained. They still had no idea who was behind this strange treasure hunt — or the reason for it.

Henry motioned them to stay where they were. He sneaked up onto the observation platform and peered through a window.

“What do you see?” Violet asked.

Suddenly a voice behind her said, “I see you've found the treasure I think best.”

Jessie, Violet, and Benny spun around. Their mouths dropped open in surprise. “You!”

Jacob Piper pulled off a fake mustache and one bushy eyebrow.

Just then, Grandfather appeared on the platform beside Henry. “I told you, Cob,” he said. “My grandchildren are smart. I knew they'd figure out our little game.”

Jacob Piper and Grandfather! Together, they were responsible for this baffling mystery!

Mr. Piper climbed onto the platform. “Come on aboard.”

Astonished, the children followed him.

Cob swept his arm in a circle. “Welcome to my home.”

Benny stared at him. “You
live
here?”

Cob laughed. “It's very comfortable,” he said. He proudly showed them everything: a desk that opened into a large table; chairs that turned into beds; a stainless steel kitchen, where something bubbled on the compact stove.

“That smells good,” Benny said.

“Spaghetti sauce for our supper,” Cob told him.