Great Bicycle Race Mystery (3 page)

“Is it blood?” gasped Benny.

“No,” said Soo Lee. “I think it’s paint.”

Henry raced over, with Jessie and Violet close at his heels. He stooped and examined the red mark. “You’re right, Soo Lee. It
is
paint.”

“And it’s exactly the same color as your bicycle,” added Jessie.

“If the scrape is on this side of the rock, whoever took the bike was probably going in that direction,” said Violet, pointing toward the woods.

“Maybe the thief made a getaway through the woods?” asked Soo Lee.

“Then I guess we’d better look for more clues in the woods,” Henry said.

“Let’s spread out about five or ten feet apart,” Jessie suggested. “That way we can cover more ground.”

“Good idea,” said Henry. “If anybody sees anything, shout.”

“I will. Really loud,” Benny said.

The Aldens began to search the woods. They crunched through the leaves and pushed aside branches. Benny and Watch found two rusty tin cans and an old pop bottle. Violet found a tattered plastic bag caught in some bushes. She and Benny put the cans and the bottle in the bag to throw away later.

Just when they were about to give up, Violet called out, “I see something red. Over there by that big tree.”

Henry squinted in the direction she was pointing. “You’re right, Violet,” he called back. “Let’s go.”

He and Violet pushed through the bushes. A moment later, Jessie, Soo Lee, Benny, and Watch heard Violet wail, “Oh, no!”

“Let’s go!” shouted Jessie, and led the rest of the search party to Henry and Violet.

They all stopped and stared in stunned silence at what lay in the small clearing beneath the big old oak tree. It was Henry’s bike—or what was left of it.

“Who would
do
such a thing?” Soo Lee asked.

“I don’t know,” said Henry in a choked voice.

The tire on the rear wheel was flat, and several of its spokes were broken. The paint was scratched and scraped. Dirt clogged the gear wheels and bike chain. The chain itself was snapped. The bottom of the front fork, which held the front wheel on the bike, was bent.

“Oh, Henry,” said Violet. “I’m so sorry about your bike.”

“Me too,” said Henry.

“Maybe whoever took it ran away in such a hurry that it got all beaten up in the woods,” said Soo Lee.

Jessie said, “Well, whoever took this bike didn’t seem to care what happened to it.”

“Maybe we can get it fixed,” said Benny. “Let’s take it to Greenfield Wheels.”

“I guess we can try,” said Henry.

With Jessie’s help, Henry carried the bike out of the woods. They told Grandfather what had happened and he called the police to report the theft. Then they all walked slowly into town. As they walked, they tried to figure out what had happened.

“Maybe it was Ms. Whatney and her driver. Ronald, that was his name,” said Violet. “Maybe they wanted to keep us from riding in the race.”

“It could be,” said Henry. “After all, it’s Ms. Whatney who wants to buy Eagle Mountain.”

“And she knows where we live,” Benny added.

“And Ronald the chauffeur even asked about our bikes,” said Soo Lee.

“Maybe it was one of the people who were so mean to us when we were raising money,” said Violet.

“Like that guy who made fun of Henry’s bike in front of our lemonade stand,” said Soo Lee.

“Or the man at the card shop who told us he hoped we’d all have flat tires,” Benny said.

Henry sighed. He said, “It could be any of those people, I
guess.
But it doesn’t really make sense and we don’t have any proof.”

“When people do mean things it usually
doesn’t
make sense,” Violet added softly.

Henry looked sadly at his battered bicycle and added, “And now I don’t have a bicycle for the race.”

“We’ll get it fixed,” declared Jessie. “Louis at the bike shop said that Thelma can fix anything.”

“She
might
be able to fix it,” said Henry, looking a little more hopeful.

The Aldens walked with Henry and his broken bicycle into Greenfield to the bike shop. But this time, when Louis popped out from the repair room in the back, his eyes widened in surprise. “Your bike!” he said to Henry. “It looks as if a car backed over it.”

“Maybe one did,” Henry answered glumly. “We’re not sure what happened. Can you fix it?”

“Hey we’re the best bike shop around. We can fix anything,” Louis said. He turned and called, “Thelma!”

“Coming, coming, coming,” said Thelma. She walked out and stopped short. She looked at the wrecked bike, then at Henry. “I hope you were wearing your helmet when you were in the bike accident,” she said in a stern voice.

“We always wear our helmets,” Henry said. “But I’m afraid my bike had the accident without me.” He told the bike shop owners the story. “So can you fix it for me before the race?” Henry concluded.

Thelma said, “Fix it, yes. Before the race, no.

“No?” repeated Henry. His shoulders slumped.

Thelma and Louis exchanged glances. Then Louis spoke up. “I tell you what,” he said. “We’ll lend you a bike for the race.”

Henry’s face brightened. “You will?”

“We will,” said Louis. “We rent bikes, you know, and we have several good, solid bikes that should do fine during the race. We’ll find one just right for you.”

As he spoke, Louis rolled a bike out from behind the counter.

“That’s got
two
seats!” objected Benny.

“It’s a bicycle built for two people,” Louis explained. “It’s called a tandem. And this is a special tandem, because the backseat and pedals of the bicycle can be adjusted to a smaller size.”

“Smaller like me?” Benny asked.

“Exactly,” said Louis.

“So Henry and I could ride together?” asked Benny.

“That’s the idea,” Louis agreed.

“It’s a
good
idea,” said Benny. He leaned toward Louis as if he were telling him a secret. “You know, my legs get a
little
tired on the long bike rides.”

“I thought they might,” Louis said with a smile. “This should solve the problem.”

“Is it expensive to rent?” asked Jessie.

Thelma said, “No. I think you’ll find the price is just right. We’ll put our store’s name on the bicycle. And we’ll give you all T-shirts with our store’s name on them, too. You wear the T-shirts on one of the days of the race, and you can use the bike for free!”

“Really?” said Violet.

“We get free advertising. You have a bike to ride. What could be better?” Louis said.

“Thank you,” said Henry.

“Hooray!” said Benny. “Come on, Henry. Let’s go get ready for the race!”

Benny and Henry waited while Louis adjusted the back pedals, then they rode the bike home to practice on it. Jessie, Violet, and Soo Lee walked home, carrying the new T-shirts. The front of the shirts had bicycle wheels in all different sizes on them. The backs of the shirts said, THELMA AND LOUIS AT GREENFIELD WHEELS SAY “KEEP ON PEDALING!”

The children went on a short bike ride and then Soo Lee rode her bike home to pack for the race. They planned to get up very early the next morning to make sure they were at the starting line on time. So they finished packing right after dinner and got ready to go to bed early.

But first they went outside to check on their bicycles. Henry rattled the lock on the garage door, just to make sure it was fastened.

“I’m not taking any chances,” he said. “Whoever did it might come back and take someone else’s bike.”

“Or our new tandy,” said Benny.

“Tandem,” corrected Jessie.

“I’m going to call the bike Tandy,” said Benny. “That way I can remember.”

“Tandy it is,” said Henry.

Violet sighed. She looked up at the pale stars that were just beginning to come out. “I wonder who took your bike, Henry. And why.”

Henry sighed. “This is one mystery we may never solve.”

“Well, we shouldn’t worry about that now,” said Jessie. “Now we just need to get a good night’s sleep, so we can get to the bike race on time.”

“We got here early,” said Violet the next morning. “And so did everybody else!”

The Alden children, their cousin Soo Lee, and their grandfather stared around at the crowd of bicyclists and spectators. The bikes and the riders came in all shapes and sizes. Bike helmets of every color bobbed up and down in the crowd.

Reaching into her pocket, Jessie patted the envelope. “I think I’d better go turn our money in,” she said.

“We’ll come, too,” said Violet, glancing at Soo Lee. Soo Lee nodded.

Grandfather took Benny’s hand. “We’ll go and get us all signed in,” he said.

“I’ll stay under this oak tree with our bicycles,” Henry said. “We can meet back here.”

Henry sat down by the bicycles to wait. He yawned. He leaned back. They had gotten up
awfully
early that morning. His eyelids began to close.

“Hey! Wake up, sleepyhead!” Jessie said.

Henry sat up with a jerk. “I wasn’t asleep,” he protested.

“Yes, you were. Anyone could have just ridden off on one of our bicycles,” teased Soo Lee.

But Henry didn’t laugh. He jumped up and inspected the bicycles anxiously. They were all there and they were all fine. He sighed with relief.

“Attention, riders,” came a voice over a loudspeaker. “The ride will begin in fifteen minutes.”

“Uh-oh!” said Jessie, sounding worried. “Where are Grandfather and Benny?”

But just then Grandfather and Benny appeared. Benny was skipping with excitement. “We all get numbers,” he said. “We put the big numbers on our bicycles, and we stick the little numbers on our helmets, one for each of you and one for me,” he explained.

Benny handed the numbers around.

Grandfather gave out maps and explained the rules. “I’ve handed in our sleeping bags and gear,” he said. “You just show your number and they’ll give them back to you at the end of the ride each day. And remember, every rider has to be in camp by half an hour before sunset. If you don’t make it by then, the sweep wagon will pick you up.”

“The sweep wagon?” asked Benny.

“It’s a van to pick up riders who can’t finish the ride each day,” explained Grandfather, “either because they are too tired to go on or because their bikes broke down. If you have to ride in the sweep wagon during the ride, you aren’t eligible for the raffle for the new bike at the end.”

Just then, the man with the microphone began to speak. “Attention. You all have maps. The route will also be marked with signs that look like this.” He held up a sign that looked like the jagged peak of a mountain, in bright lime green. To one side of the sign was a red arrow. “Just follow the arrows and you won’t get lost. We’ll have water stops at the places marked on the map. And of course, you can stop and rest anytime you want. Remember, this isn’t a race to beat everyone else, but a race to save our mountain!”

Cheers broke out.

The man smiled and nodded. Then he directed the riders to begin to line up behind the starting line. “I’ll blow the whistle in about five minutes. When I do, the ride will begin. Keep in mind the rules of safety, and remember: You MUST wear your helmets at all times.”

Eagerly, the riders began to wheel their bikes toward the starting line.

Suddenly a bicyclist near them glanced over and said, “What are
you
doing here?”

Henry looked up. The voice sounded familiar. It was the bicyclist who’d stopped by the lemonade stand and made fun of Henry’s bike. Henry stared at the boy hard. Was this the person who had stolen his bike and ruined it?

He said, “We’re riding in the bike race, just like you.”

The boy’s
eyes
dropped to Henry’s bike. “Well, well, well. A
tandem.
How ... interesting. At least it’s not an old bomb like that red bike of yours.”

Benny scowled fiercely at the boy. But before anyone could speak, a girl just ahead of the boy turned. “Don’t be such a poor sport, Al,” she said in a cool voice.

Al’s cheeks reddened.

The girl went on, “You’re no one to talk. Your bike isn’t all that great.”

“Who asked you, Nan?” Al muttered.

He tried to push his bike away from them, but the crowd was too thick.

The girl smiled at Henry and Benny. “I’m Nan Bellini. Al and I are in the same bike club. Sometimes I let him beat me in bike races.”

“I’d beat you all the time if I had a bike like yours,” said Al. “Or like the bike they’re raffling for this ride.”

“It’s not the bike, it’s the rider,” Nan retorted.

“Your bike is beautiful,” said Jessie.

“You think so?” Nan looked down at her bike with a little frown. She shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess,” she said. “It’s not titanium or anything.”

“Almost as pretty as the one Henry had,” insisted Benny. “I’m Benny Alden, and that’s Henry, and my sister Jessie. Oh, and there’s my sister Violet and my cousin Soo Lee and my grandfather. Our dog couldn’t come. He’s waiting for us at home in Greenfield. But he wanted to come.”

Nan laughed. “You can take him to the park, though, after you save it.”

“We will,” said Benny. He liked the idea.

Glancing at Henry, Nan said, “What happened to your bike?”

They told Nan what had happened. When they finished, she shook her head. “That is awful,” she said. “Who would do that to a bike? And to another bike rider! Only the worst kind of person. A true bike creep!”

“Yes! A bike creep!” repeated Benny. He liked the sound of it. “A big,
mean,
bad-sport bike creep!”

Al muttered something they couldn’t hear and forced his bike through the crowd away from them.

Laughing a little, Nan said, “Speaking of people who might be bike creeps, isn’t that May Whatney over there?”

They all turned to stare across the crowd. Sure enough, standing by her car was Ms. Whatney and her chauffeur, Ronald.

“That’s Ms. Whatney, all right,” said Henry. “And her chauffeur, Ronald.”

“I wonder what she’s doing here,” Jessie said, half to herself.

Ms. Whatney was staring at the riders, her expression more curious than angry. Beside her, Ronald was talking and gesturing. Just then, a man in a thin windbreaker split at one elbow, wearing a backward baseball cap and dark glasses, stopped at Ms. Whatney’s other side. The three of them talked for a few minutes. Then the man drifted away.