Seattle Puzzle (2 page)

Violet nodded slowly, her eyes still fixed on the woman under the blue umbrella. “I think so.”

“That lady wasn’t very nice,” said Benny, as they stepped inside the Hungry Heart Diner.

“No, she wasn’t,” Jessie was quick to agree. “She didn’t even stop to apologize.”

The Aldens left their drippy umbrellas in a stand by the door, then made their way to an empty table by the window. No sooner had they sat down than the waitress hurried over, shaking her head.

“This section’s closed, kids,” she said. “If you’ll follow me, there’s a spot over here.”

“No problem,” Jessie said. They headed for an empty booth nearby.

Henry craned his neck as he glanced around. “I don’t see Reena anywhere,” he said. “Do you?”

Jessie shook her head. “No, but I think we’re a bit early. What time do you have, Violet?”

Violet didn’t answer. She seemed to be deep in thought.

“What’s wrong, Violet?” Jessie asked, giving her sister a gentle nudge. She could see that something was troubling her.

“Nothing really,” said Violet. “I was just thinking about that woman outside.”

“The one who bumped into you?” asked Henry.

Violet nodded. “For a second, I thought it was Aunt Jane.”

The others looked at her in surprise. “Aunt Jane’s back in Connecticut,” Henry reminded her. “Miles and miles away.” Aunt Jane and Uncle Andy lived in the small town of Elmford. The four Alden children often took the bus from Greenfield to visit them.

“Besides,” added Jessie, “Aunt Jane would never be that rude.”

Benny was quick to agree. “She’d never bump into somebody and then just hurry away without even saying she was sorry.”

“I know.” Violet laughed a little. “That’s what makes it so weird.”

“We might as well take a look at the selections while we’re waiting,” Henry suggested. He reached for the menus tucked behind the shiny napkin dispenser.

“Good idea!” said Benny scooting closer to the table. “I wonder if they have any—oh!”

“What is it, Benny?” Jessie asked.

“There’s a piece of paper stuck to the bottom of the table,” he answered in surprise.

“Maybe it’s a list of the specials,” joked Jessie.

“It’s a note!” said Benny, prying the folded piece of paper loose. “Can you read it, Jessie?”

Taking the note, Jessie began to read silently. Then her eyes widened and she gasped.

Violet asked, “What does it say?”

“It … it’s some kind of message,” Jessie said in a quiet voice.

The others were instantly curious. “Read it, Jessie,” urged Benny.

“All right.” Jessie nodded. Then she read aloud:

Through the eye of a needle

a clue can be found

where a saucer is resting

high off the ground.

“That sure isn’t a list of the specials!” noted Benny.

Violet laughed. “We were close, Benny,” she said. “It’s a mystery, and that’s
our
specialty.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Henry, when Jessie passed him the note. “How can you find a clue through the eye of a needle?”

“It must be a teeny-weeny clue,” Benny said. “I wonder who left the message here?”

“And why,” added Jessie.

“Oh, here comes Reena!” Benny put up a hand and waved.

Jessie quickly put the note in her pocket. “Let’s keep this to ourselves for now,” she said in a low voice.

Nobody argued. The Aldens wanted to figure a few things out on their own first.

“Hi, kids!” Reena greeted them with a cheery smile. “I was afraid the rain might keep you away.” She slid into the booth beside Violet.

Henry grinned. “Nothing keeps Benny away from food,” he teased. Everyone laughed, including Benny.

Just then, the waitress came over to take their order. Henry chose a cheeseburger and a glass of lemonade. Jessie and Violet both had chicken strips, coleslaw, and milk. Reena ordered a garden salad and iced tea. And Benny decided on a grilled cheese sandwich, fries, and a chocolate milkshake.

“That should do it for now,” said Reena, closing her menu. She glanced at the name on the waitress’s uniform. “Oh, your name’s Gwen? That’s one of my favorite names.”

The waitress smiled a little. “It’s short for Gwendolyn,” she said, tucking a wisp of red hair behind her ear. With that, she quickly hurried away.

“It started with a contest, you know,” Reena told them as they waited for their food to arrive. “That’s how they chose Seattle’s nickname.”

Violet was surprised to hear this. “You mean, the Emerald City?”

“Didn’t Seattle have a nickname before then?” Benny wanted to know.

“Oh, yes,” said Reena. “It had several. It was known as the Queen City for a while. The problem was, other cities had the same nickname. And some people called it the Rainy City because it rains so much here.”

“I like the Emerald City best,” said Violet. “Don’t you, Jessie?”

But Jessie wasn’t listening. She was watching their waitress lead a young couple to the table by the window. “That’s funny,” she remarked. “I thought that section was closed.”

The others glanced over. “Our waitress asked us to move over here,” Violet explained to Reena.

“It probably just opened up,” guessed Reena. “The lunch crowd’s trickling in.”

Jessie nodded. But she couldn’t help noticing that there were still some empty booths.

“I’m hoping the rain will let up,” said Reena, quickly changing the subject. “I want to show you a very special place.”

Benny’s eyes lit up. “Is it the underground city?”

“No, Benny,” Reena told him. “We’ll be going
up,
not down.” Seeing their puzzled faces, she added, “I’m taking you to the top of the Space Needle!”

Jessie and Henry looked at each other. Was it just a coincidence that the strange note had mentioned a needle?

“I was reading about the Space Needle in one of the brochures,” Violet said. “Wasn’t it built in 1962 for the World’s Fair?”

“Yes—exactly,” said Reena. “The view from the observation deck is amazing. At least, it is on a clear day.”

“I bet the sun comes out soon,” said Benny.

Sure enough, by the time they had finished lunch, the rain had stopped.

“Will it take us very long to get there?” Benny asked, as Reena led the way along the busy sidewalks. “To the Space Needle, I mean.”

“Not if we take the Monorail,” Reena told him with a grin.

Benny scrunched up his face. “The Monorail?”

“It’s an elevated train, Benny,” Henry explained. “It rides along one rail above the ground.”

“Oh, I like trains!” chirped Benny.

Jessie laughed. “We all do!”

“The Monorail was also built for the World’s Fair,” Reena told them. “It takes people to the Space Needle.”

They were soon on the Monorail speeding above the streets and past the buildings. In no time at all, they arrived at the Seattle Center. The Aldens could hardly believe their eyes when they caught sight of the Space Needle. Craning their necks, they stared up at the slender steel beams reaching into the sky, topped by a round observation deck. Henry gave a low whistle.

“Wow!” he said, astonished. “Are we really going all the way to the top?”

“We sure are,” said Reena. “Just as soon as I get the tickets.”

“No wonder it’s called the Space Needle,” Benny remarked, while Reena went over to the box office. “It goes right up into space!”

Henry nodded. “It’s pretty cool.”

“I’m glad you brought your camera along, Violet,” said Jessie. “I bet you’ll get some great shots up there.”

But Violet was only half-listening. She had spotted someone coming out of the elevator. Jessie saw her, too.

“Isn’t that the woman who bumped into you outside the diner?” she asked Violet in surprise.

“I’m sure of it,” said Violet. Then she added, “She still has her umbrella up. I guess she doesn’t know it stopped raining.”

Jessie nodded. “No wonder she reminds you of Aunt Jane.”

“What do you mean, Jessie?”

“It’s the umbrella,” Jessie pointed out. “Aunt Jane has one just like it. It’s always hanging from a hook in her front hall. Remember?”

Violet snapped her fingers. “Of course! A blue umbrella with yellow ducks around the rim.”

“That’s one mystery solved,” said Jessie.

Violet soon put all thoughts of Aunt Jane aside when Reena returned with their tickets.

“Next stop—outer space!” Benny said, as they headed towards the elevator.

The elevator zipped up towards the sky. When they stepped out onto the observation deck, the four Aldens all cried out at once, “Ohhhh!”

Reena smiled. “This is the first place I bring out-of-town guests. It’s a great place to get a bird’s-eye view of the city.”

For a moment, the children were too amazed to speak.

“The view takes my breath away,” Violet said at last.

“I had a feeling you’d enjoy it.” Reena sounded pleased.

“The buildings look like Legos,” Benny said.

“You’re right, Benny.” Henry gazed through the safety grid around the outside of the deck. “Seattle looks like a miniature city from up here.”

As they made their way around the circular deck, Reena stopped to point out the sights. “Seattle’s surrounded by water and mountains,” she told them. “Look over there. That’s Mount Rainier in the distance.”

Jessie nodded. “It’s like a big snow cone.”

“That’s a good way to describe it, Jessie.

Everything looks small from up here. See that boat heading out on the water? It’s a giant car ferry,” Reena told them. “It’s on its way to that island out there.”

“Wow,” said Henry. “Look at all those big ships out there.”

“Yes, there’s everything from cargo ships to fishing boats on Puget Sound,” said Reena. “Back in 1897, miners came to Seattle to board ships that were headed for the Klondike gold fields up north. Nowadays, tourists travel here to take cruise ships up to Alaska.”

“You can really see for miles and miles,” Henry remarked.

All around them, people were pointing to the sights, some peering through telescopes set up on the deck.

“Can we look through a telescope?” Benny asked Reena.

“Go right ahead, Benny,” said Reena. “That telescope over there has the best view of the city,” Reena said, pointing to an open telescope on the other side of the deck. The children walked towards the telescope as Reena walked to the other side of the deck.

“If it has the best view of the city, I wonder why no one else is using it,” said Jessie.

“I have an idea,” said Violet. “Why don’t I take a photo of everybody?”

“Sure!” Benny was quick to agree. “Mrs. McGregor asked us to take lots of pictures.”

Jessie, Henry, and Benny posed in front of the telescope, and Violet snapped a picture.

“Mrs. McGregor will think we’re in a flying saucer,” Benny said.

Saucer.
The word reminded Jessie of the mysterious riddle. “Wait a minute!” she exclaimed. “I think that’s it.”

Benny blinked in surprise. “It is?”

“What are you thinking, Jessie?” Henry could tell by the look on his sister’s face that she was onto something.

Jessie tugged a piece of paper from her pocket. It was the riddle they’d found in the menu. She read it aloud once again:

“Through the eye of a needle / a clue can be found / where a saucer is resting / high off the ground.”
She looked around at the others. “When Benny said ‘flying saucer,’ it suddenly clicked. This observation deck is the answer to the riddle.”

“The saucer resting high off the ground!” Violet exclaimed. “That’s good detective work, Jessie!”

Henry added, “The riddle
did
mention a needle.”

“And this is the Space Needle!” cried Benny, his voice rising with excitement. Then he frowned. “But what’s the eye of the needle?”

Henry had an answer. “The telescope!”

“Of course!” said Jessie. “It’s like an eye looking out at the city.”

“Do you see anything?” Benny asked as Henry peered through the telescope. The youngest Alden was hopping from one foot to the other with excitement.

Henry shook his head. “No wonder no one was around this telescope,” he said. “I can’t see anything at all.”