Copycat Mystery (6 page)

Benny gave him the thumbs-up sign. “Right!”

Soon they were done and ready to head for the pet store. Leaving Aunt Jane to keep Gwen company, the Aldens hurried outside. They decided to make a stop at the photo shop on the way to pick up Violet’s pictures.

While Violet stood in line, Jessie noticed a poster on the wall. It was an advertisement for fashion shows that were to take place at a local mall all summer and fall. Jessie motioned toward the poster. “I wonder if that’s what Gwen and Sharon were arguing about,” she said.

Henry studied the poster for a moment. “It
does
say they need people to model clothes. And did you notice the fine print?” Henry ran a finger under the words at the bottom of the poster. “‘Anyone under the age of sixteen will need written permission from a parent or guardian before taking part in the shows.’”

“Sharon’s only fifteen, isn’t she?” Benny asked when they came out of the photo shop.

Jessie nodded. “And from what we heard, I doubt Gwen’s going to give Sharon permission.”

“I wonder if Sharon likes modeling as much as I like drawing,” Violet said. Though Violet thought it was rude of Gwen’s sister to storm out of the ice-cream parlor, she couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for her. It would be hard if you couldn’t do something you really enjoyed.

“That doesn’t excuse Sharon for being rude to Gwen,” Jessie said, walking into the pet store.

The man behind the counter looked up from his book when the Aldens approached. “Hello there,” he said.

“Hi,” responded Benny. “Have you sold any canaries lately?”

The other Aldens exchanged smiles. They could always count on Benny not to waste time on small talk.

The man removed his wire-rimmed glasses and shook his head. “We don’t sell canaries here. But we do have a couple of parakeets, if you’re interested.”

“No, thanks,” said Benny.

Outside, the Aldens turned to one another in dismay. “Looks like we struck out,” Henry couldn’t help saying.

On the drive back to Aunt Jane’s, Jessie said, “You know, even if that store
did
sell canaries, the copycat might not have been foolish enough to buy one right here in Elmford.”

Henry was forced to agree. “Yes, that’s a sure way to get found out in no time.” He looked a bit sheepish as he glanced back over his shoulder at his brother and sisters. “I guess I didn’t give it much thought.”

“It was worth a try,” insisted Violet as she looked through her snapshots. There was one of Gwen standing in the shadowy parlor that wasn’t very clear. And another one taken down by the creek that was a bit blurry. But most of them had turned out just fine. “This one is very nice,” Violet commented.

“Which one is that?” asked Jessie, looking over.

“The one Gwen took of us standing in the office,” replied Violet, passing the snapshot to her older sister, “when we were still in our costumes.”

“Oh, that was just after we finished the laundry demonstration,” said Jessie as she had a turn flipping through some of the photographs. “This one of Miss Pennink sitting on the porch is good, too,” she said. “You’re a terrific photographer, Violet!”

“Miss Pennink deserves the credit,” Violet said modestly. “She has such a beautiful face. The camera loves her.”

As they were nearing the old Wagner farm, Benny suddenly cried, “Look, isn’t that Jake’s car?”

Sure enough, a little red sports car pulled out of the driveway onto the dirt road. Benny raised a hand to wave, but Jake passed by without noticing them.

“What’s Jake doing here again?” Violet wondered aloud.

Then Jessie added another question. “And why is he here so late at night?”

“Do you think he was coming to do a copycat trick?” Benny asked.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be too hasty,” Henry broke in. “There might be a very good reason for Jake being at the farmhouse. It doesn’t necessarily make him a suspect.”

“You’re right, Henry,” said Violet. “We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.”

Aunt Jane was quick to agree. “Sometimes the Elmford newspaper runs a color picture on the front page of its weekend edition,” she told them. “Maybe Jake wanted to photograph the farmhouse at sunset.”

Benny sighed. “This is going to be a tough mystery to solve!”

Jessie put an arm around her younger brother. “It might take us a bit of time, but we
will
get to the bottom of this,” she said encouragingly. “Isn’t solving mysteries our specialty?”

Benny nodded. “We
are
good detectives.”

“And we can’t let Gwen lose her job,” added Henry.

Violet spoke up hopefully. “Who knows? Maybe the copycat won’t bother playing any more practical jokes.”

“Maybe,” said Jessie. But none of them believed it for a minute.

The next morning, Benny stepped out of the changing room and announced, “I’m growing like a weed!”

Violet looked over at Benny. “What in the world . . .?”

“What happened?” asked Jessie.

Benny scratched his head. “I guess I sprouted up last night.”

Sure enough, Benny’s pants were now at least five inches too short.

“I think you’ve got the wrong pants on, Benny,” Violet guessed.

Jessie nodded. “Those are
way
too short.”

Benny shook his head. “See?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the thaumatrope Sharon had given him. “These
are
my pants. I put this in my pocket yesterday.”

When Henry came into the room, everyone cried out in surprise. Benny wasn’t the only one wearing pants that were too short!

“What . . .?” Benny couldn’t believe his eyes.

For a long moment, the two brothers stood staring at each other. Then they suddenly burst into laughter.

“We sure look funny!” Benny exclaimed.

“You can say that again!” admitted Henry, looking down at his own too-short pants.

“Hmmm.” Jessie was kneeling on the floor, inspecting the bottom of Benny’s pants. “Looks like somebody took the hem up another five inches.”

“Are you sure?” Violet hurried over to take a look for herself.

“See?” Jessie lifted the hem. “This isn’t the careful stitching that Miss Pennink did yesterday.” And Violet agreed.

Benny looked from Jessie to Henry. “You mean somebody played a joke on us?”

“A practical joke,” Henry said with a quick nod.

The children heard a gasp and whirled around. It was Miss Pennink standing in the doorway.

“I see Horace has been busy again,” she said in a whispery voice.

Jake North suddenly appeared behind Miss Pennink. “What’s going on?” he asked. When he caught sight of the pants Henry and Benny were wearing, his dark eyebrows shot up.

Miss Pennink put a hand over her heart. “I simply must sit down,” she said.

With some help from Jake, she made her way over to a chair.

“Are you all right, Miss Pennink?” Violet’s brown eyes were wide with alarm.

“I just need a moment to recover from the shock, my dear.” Miss Pennink smiled a little, but still seemed upset.

Just then, Jessie caught sight of Jake’s camera. “Oh, are you here to take more photographs? I could get Gwen if—”

Jake broke in before she could finish. “I just stopped by to see if I left my sunglasses here yesterday,” he explained. “But maybe I
will
get a picture of Henry and Benny.” And with that, Jake snapped a photo.

It seemed very odd to Jessie. Why would Jake want a picture of them wearing pants that didn’t fit?

“So what happened?” Jake asked, his lips curling up into a smile. “Did your pants shrink in the laundry demonstration yesterday?”

“Somebody did this on purpose!” Benny blurted out.

“Yes, indeed,” agreed Miss Pennink. “This is Horace’s handiwork. He won’t put up with it, you know. He just won’t stand for this outrage. To be ignored in one’s own home is . . . is . . . well, it simply isn’t right!”

A little later, when Gwen was pouring Miss Pennink a cup of tea, she said, “You don’t really think that, do you, Miss Pennink? You
can’t
believe a ghost is responsible for these practical jokes.”

Sharon, who was sitting beside Miss Pennink, spoke up first. “We
both
believe it!”

Gwen frowned. “Sharon, please!” She put a basket of blueberry muffins on the table, then turned and gave her younger sister a warning look. “You’re not helping matters.”

Jake pulled up a chair. “It
is
hard to believe a ghost could be doing these things,” he said. “And yet . . .”

The Aldens looked at one another. They all wondered why Jake was so eager to believe the house was haunted.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” said Benny, reaching for a muffin.

“Well, if that’s true,” replied Sharon, “then there’s only one other possibility.” And she looked at the Aldens.

“What do you mean?” Henry wanted to know.

Sharon narrowed her green eyes. “Well, it seems to me these practical jokes didn’t start until the four of you arrived,” she said in an icy voice. “Quite a coincidence, wouldn’t you agree?”

“What a terrible thing to say, Sharon!” exclaimed Gwen.

“I’m not accusing anyone,” Sharon replied. And she gave her long blond hair a toss. “I’m simply stating the facts.”

Violet couldn’t believe it. “You think
we’re
the copycats?”

“Aren’t you forgetting a few things?” Jessie asked, looking Sharon straight in the eye.

“Such as . . . ?”

“Well, for starters, we don’t have a key to the farmhouse.”

Henry added, “Or a motive.”

“Making trouble is all the motive
some
people need,” Sharon shot back.

Miss Pennink reached out and put a hand on Sharon’s arm. “Please, we mustn’t accuse one another. This is Horace’s doing. I know because this practical joke is exactly like one Horace played when he was a young boy.”

“You’ve had a shock, Miss Pennink,” said Gwen. “Are you sure you want to talk about this?”

Nodding, Miss Pennink took a sip of tea. “I
must
talk about my great-great-grandfather, since no one else will.” She took a breath. “It happened back when Horace wasn’t much bigger than Benny. His brother Oscar was about a year younger. As the story goes, Oscar was quite small for his age, and for some reason he’d gotten it into his head that he’d
never
grow any bigger. Well, Horace couldn’t bear to see his brother unhappy, so one night he—”

“Shortened his brother’s pants?” guessed Benny, who was so interested in the conversation, he still hadn’t taken a bite of his muffin.

“That’s exactly what he did, Benny!” said Miss Pennink. “In fact, Horace kept this up every night for a week. He shortened those pants a little more every time. They say when Horace was finished, his younger brother was certain he’d sprouted right up! And let me tell you something,” she added, “Oscar never worried about his size again.”

Henry asked, “Did Oscar ever find out that it was a practical joke?”

“It wasn’t until years later that he found out, Henry,” said Miss Pennink. “They say Horace and Oscar had a good laugh over it. Of course, by then Oscar had grown to be every bit the size of his brothers!”

Sharon rubbed her arms. “It gives me a chill to think of Horace going around playing practical jokes all over again.”

Nobody said anything for a moment. It was Jake who finally broke the silence. “So that’s where they went!” he said.

Everyone looked at him. Then they followed his gaze to the sunglasses on the windowsill.

“I must have put my sunglasses down when I was having a cup of coffee yesterday,” Jake told them. “I figured they’d be here or at my uncle Draper’s.” As the Aldens passed the sunglasses to him, Jake thanked Gwen for the tea, then went on his way.

No sooner had he gone than the bell over the front door jangled as the first visitors arrived. Gwen quickly put the teacups into the sink and rushed away with Sharon. Then Miss Pennink disappeared into the changing room.

“I guess we shouldn’t be all
that
surprised,” said Henry, who was standing still while Violet lowered the hem on his pants. “About Draper Mills being Jake’s uncle, I mean.”

“That’s true,” agreed Jessie, snipping away at the stitching on Benny’s pants. “Jake
did
mention that his uncle was a poet.”

Benny nodded. “And Draper Mills writes poetry.” He took a bite of his blueberry muffin.

“Well, that means we can rule Jake out as a suspect,” Henry realized.

But Violet wasn’t so sure. She thought about it for a moment and then said, “Hmm.”

Benny looked over at Violet. “He was only here last night to visit his uncle,” he pointed out.

“That’s right,” said Henry. “There’s no reason for us to suspect him of being the copycat.”

“I suppose,” said Violet, but she didn’t sound convinced.

After cooling off in the pond, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny changed into clean shorts and T-shirts, then hurried downstairs. They found Aunt Jane reading the newspaper in the living room in front of a whirling fan. She looked up as they trooped into the room.

“I bet that swim felt good!” she said.