The Mystery at the Fair (7 page)

“Oh, my goodness,” Courtney whispered to Jessie. “What if they pick up the necklace again and it breaks?”

“We tied it pretty tightly,” Jessie whispered back. “I'm sure the knots will hold.”

“Look at Mrs. Stephens over there,” Violet said. “She's just as nervous as we are.”

Mrs. Stephens was seated in the front row. She was twisting a lacy handkerchief tightly in her hands. Her eyes followed the judges' every move. Kristie was seated beside her. She patted her mother on the arm.

The judges went back and forth between the pillow and the jewelry for a few minutes. Finally, the third judge stepped forward to the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the judge said. “We appreciate your patience. Unfortunately, the judges have not been able to reach a unanimous decision on the winner of the crafts contest. As you know, there can only be one winner in each category. At the present time, the judges have narrowed their choices down to the needlepoint pillow, submitted by Mrs. Kathy Stephens, and the African necklace and earrings, submitted by Jessie Alden and Courtney Jenkins.”

Jessie and Courtney smiled at each other.

“I'm so excited for you both,” Violet whispered.

“According to the contest rules, no ties are allowed,” the judge continued. “We are asking for a thirty-minute recess while we privately examine each entry. Afterward, we will consult with a contest official and re-tally all the points. We'd appreciate it if everyone would exit as quickly and as quietly as possible. Thank you again for your patience. Enjoy the fair.”

Everyone began filing out of the tent and into the bright sunshine.

“Well, I never,” Jessie heard Mrs. Stephens say. “All this waiting and we still don't know who the winner is.”

“Mother,” Kristie replied. “The judges just need a little more time in order to reach a decision.”

“Well, nothing has been done properly during any of these competitions,” Mrs. Stephens said. “It's simply not fair. I'm not going to put up with losing again just because these judges don't know the rules.”

“Why don't we get something to eat while we're waiting?” Kristie suggested. “It might make you feel better.”

“All right,” Mrs. Stephens said. “But after this event I'm going to go talk to the contest official. Something has to be done about these rules.”

Jessie couldn't hear anything else because Kristie and her mother were soon lost in the crowd. Henry tapped her on the shoulder.

“Jessie, everybody's sitting over there,” Henry said. He pointed to the other children who were seated underneath a tree.

“I'm sorry,” Jessie said. “I was listening to Mrs. Stephens. She's really upset about the competition.”

“One mysterious thing after another has happened at this fair,” Henry said. “Tonight let's see if we can put our heads together and find out why.”

“That's a good idea,” Jessie said. “I know that there must be a reason for all this trouble.”

“Maybe we can all try to think of every suspicious thing we've seen and heard while we've been here,” Henry suggested. “Then we might be able to solve this mystery.”

Henry and Jessie ran to join the other children. They were trying to decide what to do while they waited for the judges' decision.

“Let's enter the sack race!” Benny said. “That was fun last year.”

“That's a good idea,” Jessie said. “I love the sack races.”

“Do they give prizes for the sack race?” Michael asked.

“No,” Violet said. “It's just for fun.”

“Let's go!” Benny said.

The sack races were held in a large field next to the fair rides. Several children were already gathered around a pile of empty potato sacks.

“Whew,” Courtney said as she held the top of her sack and tried to walk. “Moving around in this sack is harder than it looks.”

“If you think this is hard,” Jessie said, “just wait until the three-legged race starts.”

When all the children had slipped on a sack, they waddled over to join the rest of the crowd.

“I feel like a duck,” Benny said.

“Well,” Courtney said. “You'll need to hop like a rabbit in order to win.”

After everyone was in line, the contest began.

“Ready, Set, Go!” the judge said as he waved his arms to start the race.

Everyone began hopping toward the finish line. Benny was halfway across the field when, suddenly, he tripped. Michael stumbled over him. Jessie collided with Michael. Violet and Courtney landed in a pile next to her. Soon Henry was laughing so much he could hardly breathe. All the other children began to laugh with him.

“Well, at least no one is hurt,” Henry said.

“Only my pride,” Jessie said as she struggled to her feet. Henry helped her up.

“Let's try the three-legged race now,” Violet said. “We had better luck with that race last year.”

“I didn't fall down during the three-legged race,” Benny said.

“Good,” Michael said. “We can race together.”

The children chose a brightly colored scarf from a pile that was marked Three-Legged Race. Henry helped Benny and Michael tie their ankles together. Then he pulled them up on their feet. The two little boys practiced hopping around and around while they waited for the older children to get ready.

“This is fun!” Michael said happily.

Finally, the race began. Violet and Henry hopped along together, followed by Jessie and Courtney. Benny and Michael were behind a large group of adults at the beginning of the race. Suddenly, the two little boys began to move faster and faster. Before long, they had hopped past everyone else and crossed the finish line.

“Hooray for Michael and Benny!” the older children shouted.

“We beat you to the finish line,” Benny said.

“We hopped as fast as we could,” Michael explained. “That's how we won.”

“Good job,” Henry said as he untied their legs. “There's nothing like teamwork.”

“I think we'd better get back to the craft competition tent now,” Jessie said.

“Oh, I'm getting nervous again,” Courtney said. “I was having so much fun, I forgot all about the competition.”

“I wonder if the judges have reached a decision,” Violet said.

“I'm sure they have by now,” Henry said. “Let's go.”

Most of the bleachers were filled by the time the children arrived. They found a place to sit near the top of the stands. The crowd whispered excitedly as the judges entered the tent. The judge with the flowered hat picked up the microphone.

“We are now ready to announce the winner,” the judge said.

Courtney and Jessie held hands tightly. Violet held her breath. Mrs. Stephens began to twist her handkerchief again. She leaned forward anxiously as the judge read the winner.

“The winning entry in the Greenfield County Fair Crafts Competition is the African necklace and earrings which were made by Courtney Jenkins and Jessie Alden. Girls, please come over to the winner's table.”

“You won, you won!” Benny and Michael said as they clapped the girls on the back. Cheers and applause rang out from the audience.

Violet hugged her sister and her friend. Courtney and Jessie walked down the aisle toward the winners' table. But as they approached the judges, they could see that something was terribly wrong.

“I can't believe this!” said one judge.

“It must be here,” said the woman in the flowered hat.”

“No — I've looked and looked,” said the third judge. “The money and the trophy are gone.” He turned to the girls. “I'm so sorry,” the judge said. “It appears that someone has taken the trophy and the envelope that had the check for $25 in it!”

“Oh, no,” Courtney said. “I can't believe this is happening.” Her eyes filled with tears.

“It'll be all right, Courtney,” Jessie said. “You'll see.”

The judges whispered together for a moment. Then the lady with the flowered hat picked up the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she began. “The trophy and prize money which were to be awarded to these young ladies is missing. The theft must have taken place while we were in the contest official's office. If anyone has any information on the identity of the person or persons who may have taken the prizes from the awards table, please contact us immediately.”

Henry, Violet, Benny, and Michael worked their way through the crowd until they reached Jessie and Courtney.

“This is awful,” Violet said.

“I can't believe someone would do something like this,” Henry said. “I think we need to talk to the judges about what's been going on since the contests were announced.”

“I think that's a good idea,” Courtney said.

“May we talk with you for a moment?” Jessie asked the lady in the flowered hat.

“Certainly,” she replied.

“Something very strange has been going on since the fair began,” Jessie said. “But we haven't been able to figure it out.”

“What do you mean?” another judge asked.

The children told the judges every suspicious thing they had seen and heard since the fair began.

“My goodness,” the judge with the flowered hat said. “Imagine someone deliberately trying to ruin the fair contests!”

“Well, someone is,” Henry said. “The question is who?”

“I know one thing,” Violet said. “Whoever took the trophy and prize money didn't have very long to hide it.”

“That's true,” Jessie said. “They wouldn't be able to carry that trophy around without someone seeing them.”

“Maybe,” Violet said, “they hid it somewhere nearby. Then, after the fair, they could go back and get it.”

“Let's look around,” Henry said.

Just then, Jessie saw the man with the baseball cap near the entrance to the tent.

“There's that man again,” Jessie whispered to the others. “I wonder how long he's been listening to us.”

“What man?” one of the judges asked.

“It's that man in the baseball cap we told you about,” Jessie said. “Look, he just ran outside.”

“Maybe if we hurry we can follow him,” Henry said.

“Let's go,” Jessie said.

The children hurried outside. They looked around carefully, but they couldn't find the man with the baseball cap in the crowd.

“He seems to have disappeared,” Courtney said. “What are we going to do now?”

“I'll take the boys and we'll look all around the area in back of the tent for the missing trophy and prize money,” Henry said. “Maybe the rest of you can search around the other sides.”

Jessie said, “Let's meet in front of the tent in about ten minutes. If no one has found anything we'll spread out a little farther.”

The children began searching the area around the crafts tent. After several minutes, the girls heard Benny calling their names.

“Violet, Jessie, and Courtney, come here,” Benny said. “Look what we found!”

The girls ran as fast as they could to the back of the crafts tent. Benny was holding a bag in one hand and the trophy in the other.

“Where did you find it?” Jessie asked.

“Someone stuffed it in this bag. It was partly hidden inside this empty box,” Henry explained.

“We saw the trophy shining in the sun,” Michael said.

“Let me see that bag, Benny,” Violet said. “This looks like the bag Kristie was carrying at the crafts store.”

“Look at the initials embroidered on the front of the bag,” Courtney said. “KGS.”

“Yes,” Violet said. “Those are Kristie's initials. But I can't believe she'd do something like this.”

“The judge said that Mrs. Stephens's first name is Kathy,” Henry said. “This could be her bag and not Kristie's.”

“Maybe,” Jessie said. “But Kristie was holding the bag as if it were hers.”

“Why do you think Kristie would take the trophy and the prize money?” Courtney asked.

“Let's see if we can find her and ask her before we tell the judges about this,” Jessie said. “Maybe she can explain what happened.”

“Where do you think Kristie went?” Henry asked.

“Mrs. Stephens said earlier that she was going to talk with the contest official,” Jessie said. “I'll bet we can find Kristie with her mother at the registration tent.”

The children hurried to the bright red registration tent. They could hear Mrs. Stephens before they saw her. She was loudly complaining to the contest official about the rules.

“I demand an explanation for all this confusion,” Mrs. Stephens was saying to the contest official.

“Mother, please,” Kristie said. She looked like she wished she were somewhere else.

“Excuse us, Mrs. Stephens,” Violet said. “We have something we need to talk to Kristie about.”

“That's my bag!” Kristie said when she saw what Violet had in her hand.