Mystery of the Runaway Ghost (3 page)

As the door closed behind them, Fran mumbled, “If Cora thinks I’m going to sit back and do nothing, she should think again. I mean, really!”

The Aldens exchanged worried looks. What was Fran planning to do?

“Now,” said Fran, who was back to her cheery self, “are you ready to hear about that mystery?”

The Aldens nodded eagerly. They were sitting in the living room, sipping apple cider and eating ghost pie and ice cream.

“All the clues are right here,” Fran said. She reached for a small wooden box on the table beside her. “But, for the life of me, I can’t make head nor tails of any of it.”

“We’ll do our best to help,” Henry promised.

“We’re good detectives,” added Benny.

“Detectives?” echoed Lottie.

“These children have a real knack for tracking down clues,” Fran told her. “They’ve offered to help me solve a mystery.”

“Oh?” Lottie raised her eyebrows.

“Yes, indeed. The mystery fell into my lap a few weeks ago, when I was having repairs done in the front hall. Some of the floorboards were warped and needed replacing.” Fran looked around at each of the Aldens. “One of the workmen found this under a loose floorboard.” She gave the mysterious box a little shake.

Violet knelt down beside Fran’s chair to get a closer look. “Oh, the box is decorated with pressed flowers.”

“Yes, it’s quite lovely, really,” Fran responded. “And very old, too. I would guess that it’s been hidden away for a long time.”

Jessie looked questioningly at her. “What makes you say that, Fran?”

“Take a good look at the box, Jessie. See how faded the flowers are? Time takes its toll on pressed flowers, I’m afraid. The colors eventually fade.”

“That’s good detective work,” praised Henry.

Violet ran her fingers gently over the box. A little shiver went down her spine as she made a discovery. “The flowers are buttercups!”

The others gathered round to check it out. Sure enough, the entire box was covered with nothing but buttercups.

“Is that why you think the mystery has something to do with the runaway ghost?” Henry asked Fran.

Nodding her head, Fran said, “There must be some kind of connection. I can feel it in my bones.”

“But what’s
inside
the box?” Benny asked, his mouth full of ghost pie. He could hardly stand the suspense.

With a quick motion, Fran flipped open the lid and removed a single sheet of paper, yellowed with age. “There’s a riddle inside,” she said. “And a rather strange one at that!” Putting on her reading glasses, Fran began to read aloud:

“The thing you hold

Is the thing you seek,

A treasure waits,

Shadows speak.

Solve this riddle,

And you will see,

You’re ready to solve,

Riddle three.”

The Aldens stared wide-eyed at Fran. Then Benny said, “Riddle three?” He looked confused.

“I guess there was once a riddle one that led to the secret hiding place under the floorboards,” Fran said.

“Well, one thing’s for sure,” said Jessie, “nobody ever figured it out.”

“What makes you say that, Jessie?” Benny asked.

“Because the box was still in its hiding place, Benny,” she explained.

“Oh, right!” Benny said.

“Just think,” put in Fran, “if I hadn’t decided to spiff up the front hall, the box would still be there.”

Benny was deep in thought. “But shadows can’t speak, can they?” he asked, his mind still on the riddle.

Shaking his head, Henry said, “I’ve never heard of it.”

Fran leaned close, as though about to share a secret. “It might have something to do with the elephants.”

“Elephants?” Benny almost choked on his pie. “
What
elephants?”

Fran reached into the box again and pulled out a handful of elephants cut from black paper. “There’s a whole herd of these … these shadow elephants inside,” she said, as if not knowing what else to call them.

“Hey, that makes it a shadowbox!” Benny realized.

Fran laughed a little. “Yes, I suppose it
is
a kind of shadowbox.”

Everyone had a turn inspecting the contents of the box. After thumbing through the shadow elephants once … twice … three times, Henry drew his eyebrows together in a frown.

“I don’t get it,” he said. “What do these elephants have to do with the riddle?”

The other Aldens crowded around to take another look.

“Each of the elephants looks different, but their trunks all point up,” Jessie noticed. “Do you think that could mean anything?”

“You’re right, Jessie, they’re all like that,” Henry said with a nod.

“But why are their trunks pointing up?” Benny wanted to know. “And what does the riddle mean?”

Henry scratched behind his neck. “Beats me!”

“What’d I tell you?” said Fran. “It doesn’t make sense, does it?” She took a sip of her apple cider.

The Aldens sat in puzzled silence. They had never come across a mystery like this one before. If shadows did talk, then what would the shadow elephants want to tell them?

Lottie spoke up. “If you ask me, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s probably just a game of some kind,” she said matter-of-factly. “That box has probably been hidden away since the Victorian era. Weren’t parlor games popular back then?”

Benny wrinkled up his forehead. “What’s the Victorian era?”

“The olden days,” explained Henry. “Before computers or television.”

“They didn’t have electricity back then,” added Jessie.

Lottie nodded. “That’s right. In the evenings, they’d read or sew or play games. This easily could be part of a game.”

Fran had to admit it was possible. “My great-great-grandmother Anne
was
a very creative person. She loved coming up with games to keep her children amused.”

Benny’s face fell. “You mean, there might not be a treasure waiting?”

“Maybe not,” said Jessie. “But we won’t know for sure until we do some investigating.”

“Why get yourselves all worked up about nothing?” insisted Lottie. “If there ever was a treasure, it must be long gone.”

Henry and Jessie exchanged glances. Why was Lottie so sure there wasn’t a treasure?

Before they had a chance to ask any questions, Lottie suddenly got to her feet. “Well, I think I’ll go up to my room and paint for a while,” she said.

“Oh, what are you painting, Lottie?” Violet asked.

Lottie shrugged a little. “Nothing special,” she said.

Fran chuckled. “Lottie’s very hush-hush about her art. I haven’t been able to get a word out of her.”

“Oh,” Benny said, disappointed. “So we can’t see it?”

Lottie shook her head firmly and went upstairs.

Violet couldn’t help wondering why Fran’s boarder was being so secretive.

CLANG, CLANG. CLANG, CLANG, CLANG.

Violet blinked and sat up in bed. It was the middle of the night. The house was dark and quiet. What had awakened her?

“Jessie?” she whispered, rubbing her arms to warm them.

Jessie didn’t answer. She was sleeping soundly.

Violet slid out of bed and padded across the room. She looked through the window down on the moonlit garden. Everything was still. The only sound was of crickets singing.

“Violet?” Jessie began to stir. “Is something wrong?”

“I … I thought I heard something,” Violet said.

“Like what?” Jessie asked drowsily.

“A clanging sound,” Violet whispered, “like a bell ringing.”

Jessie yawned. “It was probably just a dream.”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re right,” Violet said as she climbed back into bed. But there was a part of her that wasn’t sure at all.

The next morning, after a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausages, fresh fruit, and cinnamon toast, the Aldens set off with Fran for a walking tour of Cedarburg. Violet brought her camera along to take snapshots of the old mills that stood on the banks of Cedar Creek. As they walked through town, they stopped here and there to browse in several of the interesting little shops.

“This must be Cora’s store,” Henry said, tilting his head back to see the sign above one of the shops. The bright blue letters spelled
ROBACK’S ANTIQUE SHOP
.

“It sure is,” Fran said. “And it’s a great place to go treasure hunting.”

“
Treasure
hunting?” Benny looked surprised.

“Treasures from the past, Benny,” Fran explained. “Come and see.”

As the Aldens stepped inside, their gaze took in all the old-fashioned picture frames, coal-oil lamps, braided rugs, stiff-backed chairs, and dusty old books that filled the shop. Every nook and cranny was overflowing with antiques.

“These old treasures have seen better days,” Fran told them. “Every little scratch and scuff mark is a clue about the past.”

“Fran!” Cora walked toward them, looking surprised. “I’m glad you stopped by.”

Fran smiled a little. “Did you think I’d stay away?” she asked.

“I thought you might still be upset,” Cora said. She bit her lip nervously. “I sure hope there are no hard feelings about that article. I wouldn’t want it to come between us.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve forgotten all about it,” Fran replied — a bit stiffly, Jessie thought.

Cora let out a long breath. “That’s a load off my mind.” She noticed someone waiting by the counter and hurried away.

Fran went over to check out a basket of wooden clothes pins. Henry and Jessie walked over to the stamp collections. Benny dug deep into a bin of old cookie cutters. And Violet looked at some antique box cameras.

A short while later, Benny held up a cookie cutter shaped like a cow. “Look!” He tugged on Violet’s arm. “Do we have enough money to get this for Mrs. McGregor?” Mrs. McGregor was the Aldens’ housekeeper, and an excellent cook.

Violet counted her change. “Good idea, Benny. Looks like we have enough.”

As they waited in line, Benny said, “Now Mrs. McGregor can make ghost cookies — the kind that disappear just like that!” He snapped his fingers.

Violet laughed. “Oh, Benny! Mrs. McGregor’s cookies always disappear when you’re around.”

As they stepped up to the counter, Cora gave them a big smile. “Found something, did you?”

Benny nodded. “A ghost cookie cutter.”

“Well, now, that
is
quite a find.” Cora chuckled as she took the money that Violet handed her.

“It’s a present for Mrs. McGregor,” Benny added. “She makes the best cookies in the world! Right, Violet?”

But Violet didn’t answer. Something had caught her attention.

Benny followed his sister’s gaze to a dented old bell hanging on the side of the counter. “Hey, that’s just like Buttercup’s bell!” he said. “Except, Buttercup’s had the number one on it.”

“That old cowbell’s quite beaten up,” Cora said, as she slipped the cookie cutter into a bag. “But it still rings. Go ahead and give it a try.”

Violet picked up the bell. She was surprised at how heavy it was.

Clang, clang. Clang, clang, clang.

She recognized that sound! It was the same clanging she’d heard in the middle of the night!
Is it possible the runaway ghost has returned?
Violet wondered. Then she had a thought. “Do stray cows ever wander into town?” she asked Cora.

“Never heard of it.” Cora shook her head.

Violet had little time to think about it. They were soon waving good-bye and filing out the door.

Fran looked at her wristwatch. “It’s almost lunch time,” she said. “There’s a restaurant just down the street. Why don’t you go on ahead and get a table for us? I want to pop in to see my son for a moment.” She nodded toward the Cedarburg Insurance office across the street. “We had a silly squabble recently, and I’d like to patch things up.” With a little wave, she hurried off.

The Aldens headed toward the restaurant. They’d passed a bookstore and a pottery shop when Jessie stopped. She peered through the big plate-glass window of a gallery. “Oh, look,” she said. “There’s Lottie. This must be the gallery where she works.”

They all looked through the window. Sure enough, Lottie was sitting at a small table in a corner of the gallery, talking to a man the Aldens didn’t recognize. While Lottie talked, the man tapped his chin thoughtfully. He had broad shoulders and a beard, and his dark hair was slicked back.

Benny was about to rap on the window to get Lottie’s attention, but Jessie stopped him. “Hold on, Benny,” she said. “I don’t think we should bother her while she’s working.” With that, they set off again.

After settling into a table on the restaurant’s patio, the Aldens watched the tourists coming and going along the sidewalk. Then they turned their attention to Fran’s mystery.

“I don’t get it,” said Benny, scratching his head.

“What don’t you get?” asked Jessie.

Benny looked around at them. “The riddle says, ‘
The thing you hold/Is the thing you seek.
’ ” A frown crossed his round face. “Why should we look for something if we’ve already got it?”

Jessie had a thought. “I bet we’re supposed to look for more shadow elephants.”

“Or maybe we’re supposed to look for another shadowbox,” Violet offered. “Like the one with the elephants in it.”