Well, who was it?” Jessie demanded.
“It was Mr. Frederick! He had a notebook with that gold design on the front,” said Benny. “He must be the thief!”
“Wait a minute,” said Steve. “We can’t just accuse someone unless we’re sure. I’m going to call the police. They should see that notebook.”
Steve called, and two police officers arrived a few minutes later. They looked at the notebook and immediately agreed with the children. “It certainly seems that the man who owns this book had something to do with the burglary,” said one of the officers. “We need to ask him some questions.”
“But if he is the thief, we don’t want to scare him off,” the other officer pointed out.
“I could call him and just say that we’ve found the notebook and that he should come pick it up,” said Jessie.
“Good idea,” said the first officer. “We’ll handle things when he gets here.”
Henry looked up Ralph Frederick’s number in the phone book and Jessie called him.
“I’ve been looking all over for that notebook,” Ralph said when she told him what they’d found. “I must have dropped it when I was out in back the other day. I’ll be right over to pick it up. Oh, and please don’t look inside. It’s some . . . uh, notes for my book, and I’d like to keep them private.”
The police officers parked their car around the corner so Ralph wouldn’t see it when he arrived. Then they waited in Mike’s office, while Steve and the Aldens stayed in the living room. Not long afterward, they saw an old station wagon pull up in front. Mr. Frederick got out, looking nervous.
“Here’s your notebook,” Jessie said when he’d entered the firehouse.
“Thanks,” said Mr. Frederick, turning to leave. “Gotta run.”
“Mind if we ask you some questions first?” asked one of the police officers, stepping out into the living room.
Just then there was the sound of a dog barking excitedly out in front.
“That sounds like Sparky,” said Jessie, running outside to see what was the matter.
The others followed her. They found Sparky standing by Mr. Frederick’s car, his paws up on the back door. The back window was open and Sparky was looking inside.
“What is it, boy?” Jessie called. When she and the others looked into the car, they saw why Sparky was so upset. An old blanket was spread out across the back seat of the car.
“That’s Sparky’s blanket!” said Benny. “He must have been able to smell it.”
“No, no, that’s just an old — ” Mr. Frederick began.
But it was too late. Everyone had already spotted what he had been trying to hide under the blanket. Peeking out from beneath it were a couple of silver trophies.
“The missing antiques!” cried Violet.
“Just as we thought,” said one of the police officers. “We’ve been looking for a pair of thieves who specialize in valuable antiques. Their names are Ralph and Lenny. And I think we’ve just found Ralph.”
“You weren’t writing a book about historic buildings, were you?” asked Jessie.
Ralph shook his head. He knew he’d been beaten.
“But why did you take Sparky’s blanket?” Violet wanted to know.
“I needed something to hide the antiques when I sneaked them out of the building. It was handy, so I grabbed it,” Ralph explained.
“Did you knock over the paint cans and trample the evergreens?” asked Benny.
“I didn’t mean to. I was just trying to find a way to get inside,” said Ralph. “I tried the garage, but in the dark, I didn’t see those paint cans. I was afraid the sound of them clattering gave me away. And I had paint all over my shoes, so I had to go home and change. The next night, when I tried to come in through the side windows, those window boxes got in my way.”
“And you called in the false alarms, too, didn’t you?” asked Henry.
Ralph nodded.
As the police officers walked off with Ralph, Benny said, “We’ve solved another mystery.”
“With a little help from Sparky,” Violet added, rubbing the dog’s head.
Just then, an alarm began ringing and several firefighters ran out to the trucks.
“What is it?” Steve called to Christine.
“Fire in an abandoned building down by the river,” she called back.
“Can we go watch?” asked Benny.
“I’ll take you in my car,” said Steve. “But we’ll stay far away from the fire and out of the way of the firefighters.”
As Steve’s car approached the burning building, the Aldens began to smell smoke. Large flames were coming from the windows of the two-story building. Several firefighters with hoses stood around the outside, shooting streams of water up at the building. A couple of firefighters were standing up on ladders, spraying water into the top of the building.
Two firefighters came running out of the building, their oxygen masks over their faces. “They must have gone in to make sure there wasn’t anyone inside,” Steve explained.
Slowly but surely, the Aldens could see that the flames were beginning to die down. At last the fire was out.
“Wow, that was amazing,” Benny said as Steve drove them home. “Especially those two who went inside the building. That takes courage. I want to be a firefighter when I grow up.”
“It’s hard work,” said Steve, “and it’s dangerous. But it’s one of the greatest jobs in the world.”
The following morning, the Aldens were just finishing breakfast when the telephone rang and Jessie answered it.
“That was Mike,” Jessie said when she hung up. “He asked if we could come down to the firehouse right away.”
“Did he say why?” asked Henry.
“No,” said Jessie. “He just said it was important.”
When the Aldens arrived at the firehouse, they found Mike, Steve, Ms. Lerner, and Rebecca waiting for them. Rebecca was holding a large rolled-up piece of paper in her hands and had a mysterious look on her face.
“We thought you should be among the first to see our plans for the new firehouse,” Ms. Lerner told the children.
“You mean you’re still planning on tearing the old one down?” Jessie asked. She couldn’t believe it. “Even after the rally?”
“Why don’t you take a look,” said Rebecca, unrolling her drawing of the proposed new firehouse.
“That looks just like the old firehouse,” Henry said, “but bigger.”
“Exactly,” said Ms. Lerner. And for the first time, she smiled at the children. “Rebecca has come up with a way to repair the old building and add a wing on to the side. That way there will be more room.”
“And I’ve designed the new wing to match the old building,” said Rebecca, pointing to one side of the drawing.
“That’s wonderful!” said Violet.
“I can’t believe we thought you two might be trying to hurt the old firehouse,” said Benny.
“Benny!” Jessie said, embarrassed.
“What do you mean?” asked Ms. Lerner.
It was too late. There was nothing the Aldens could do but explain.
“You always seemed so angry,” Violet said to Ms. Lerner.
Ms. Lerner smiled again. “I was upset. I love old things, and it made me miserable to think that we’d have to tear this place down. But I knew the fire department had outgrown this building. The town couldn’t afford two buildings. I couldn’t think of any way around it. Until Rebecca’s brilliant plan.”
“We were afraid that maybe you’d even taken the antiques to convince the town council to tear down the firehouse,” said Jessie.
“I would never do that! But it did upset me that those beautiful works couldn’t be properly displayed. But now Rebecca has designed a special display area for them — with a lock,” Ms. Lerner explained. “I can’t believe you suspected me!”
“And you suspected me, too?” Rebecca asked in surprise.
“We thought you took our petition to try to stop us,” Benny explained.
“Took it? You left it in my studio the day you stopped by!” she said.
“So that’s what happened!” said Jessie. “Now I remember. We were showing it to you just before you took out your stack of drawings — ”
“And I put them right on top of the petition,” said Rebecca. “I found it later when I’d put the drawings away. You didn’t think I’d taken the antiques, too, did you?”
The children nodded, slightly ashamed.
“But why?” Rebecca asked.
“You had been studying them so closely,” said Violet. “We thought maybe it was because you were plotting to take them. You also said something about old things being valuable.”
“I’ve always liked modern art, modern buildings. . . .” Rebecca began. She paused and looked down at her hands, then back up at the children. “Seeing those nozzles and speaking trumpets was the first time I really thought about the value of old things. And that’s what led me to design a new wing on the firehouse, but keep the old part.”
“Why were you studying the trophies so closely the day of the burglary?” asked Henry.
“Because I thought some were missing,” Rebecca said. “But I wasn’t quite sure, so I didn’t say anything. I can’t believe you thought I was a thief.”
“We didn’t really,” said Jessie. “But we did overhear you say something on the phone about making a lot of money, and it made us wonder.”
“Oh, that,” Rebecca said, blushing. “I was talking to my husband, about this project. As I told you, I’ve only recently started out as an architect. This project is a big break for me. Mostly I’m excited about the work, but I have to admit, I’ll also be happy to make a little money and pay some of my bills!”
At last all of the mysteries had been cleared up. “Thanks for all your help,” Mike told the Aldens as they headed home.
“Anytime,” said Benny. “Just give us a call next time you need a mystery solved!” |