The Aldens pedaled downtown as fast as they could. They left their bikes in the parking lot behind the office building on Elm Street. As they raced around to the front of the building, they saw well-dressed people with briefcases coming and going.
The Aldens hurried inside the office building and up the stairs to the second floor. They walked along the hallway until they came to a door with PAINTNER AND BRADLEY written across the front in shiny black script.
As the door swung open, Melissa Campbell looked up from behind her desk.
“Hello, Melissa,” Jessie said politely as they stepped inside. “Remember us?”
The woman’s dark eyes narrowed in a frown. “Oh, yes.” Her tone made it clear she wasn’t pleased to see them.
“We came to visit Thomas,” Benny piped up. Then he quickly added, “He told us it was okay.”
“Mr. Paintner is busy with a client at the moment,” Melissa replied in an icy voice. “Maybe you children should come back another time.” She turned away.
But the Aldens didn’t give up.
“We don’t mind waiting,” said Henry.
Melissa faced them again. “I’m afraid Mr. Paintner already has someone waiting.”
When the children looked around, they noticed a young man sitting in the reception area. He was wearing a blue baseball cap with the letters GN on the front.
“We don’t mind waiting, too,” Henry said, a little more firmly this time. “We have all day.”
He went and sat down in the reception area. Jessie, Violet, and Benny did the same.
Melissa glared over at them. “This is a place of business,” she snapped, “not a playground.”
“That’s true,” said Jessie, who refused to be rude. “And we’ll try not to bother you.”
Benny looked at Violet. “Wow,” he said, his voice scarcely above a whisper. “Melissa doesn’t like us very much, does she?”
But Violet was only half listening. Out of the corner of her eye, she was watching the man in the baseball cap. She remembered seeing him earlier that morning at the Hollow Tree Restaurant. But the more she looked at him, the more certain she was she’d seen him somewhere else, too. Where was it?
Just then Thomas Paintner stepped out of his office. He looked surprised to see the Aldens sitting in the reception area.
Thomas walked over to them, smiling. “What’s up, kids?”
Henry got to his feet. So did his brother and sisters.
“We were hoping you might have time to talk,” began Henry. “It’s about—”
Melissa stood up so quickly, her chair scraped against the floor. “There’s a gentleman here to see you,” she broke in. “And he’s been waiting for quite some time.”
The man in the baseball cap suddenly stepped forward. “Ray Munch,” he said, holding out his hand to Thomas. “I’m here about the inheritance.”
The children could hardly believe their ears. They held their breath.
“What . . . ?” For a long moment, Thomas looked at the young man.
“I got this in the mail.” Ray Munch reached into his pocket and pulled out an engraved invitation. He handed it to Thomas. “It says I’ll get an inheritance if I come up with the right code word.”
“You got this in the mail?” Thomas stared down at the invitation. He looked confused.
Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. Why did Thomas find it so hard to believe?
“You bet I did,” replied Ray. “And I’ve got the code word all figured out.”
Benny couldn’t stand the suspense. “What is it?”
“Shakespeare,” Ray said. “The secret code word is Shakespeare!”
Thomas shook his head. “That’s not the secret code word at all.”
The four Aldens let out the breath they’d been holding.
Ray Munch looked over at Melissa in surprise. “But . . . I was so sure.”
The children caught the look. Thomas had seen it, too.
“What do you know about this, Melissa?” Thomas demanded.
Melissa looked angry. “How would I know anything about it?” she sputtered. “Why, I’ve never even seen that . . . that man before today.”
Violet suddenly gasped. Everyone turned to look at her.
“What is it, Violet?” asked Henry.
“I’ve seen him before.” Violet turned to Ray Munch. “The letters on your ball cap . . .” She paused for a moment. “‘GN’ stands for Greenfield Nursery. Right?”
“So what?” Ray shrugged. “What’s it to you where I work?”
Benny suddenly recognized the man who’d almost bumped right into him. Putting his hands on his hips, the youngest Alden looked accusingly at Ray and Melissa. Then, turning to Thomas, he said, “We heard them at the nursery the other day. They were talking about a big chance for something.”
“Is this true?” Thomas asked Melissa.
“I told you it wouldn’t work,” Ray muttered. “Didn’t I tell you?” Then, without another word, he stormed out of the office.
Melissa’s face turned a deep shade of red. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Suddenly her shoulders slumped, and she sat down in her chair, looking defeated.
“I think you have some explaining to do, Melissa,” Thomas said in a stern voice.
After a moment’s silence, Melissa began to speak. “Ray Munch is my cousin,” she confessed. Then she looked at Thomas. “I happened to pick up the phone the other day when you were talking to Sam Snow. He wanted to know if the invitation he got was genuine. You told him all about your client and the inheritance. When I heard you say you didn’t know who was on your client’s mailing list, it started me thinking.”
Melissa told them the rest of the story. When Sam read the invitation aloud over the phone, she wrote it down word for word. Then she had an invitation made up for her cousin. Their agreement was to split the inheritance. It seemed like the perfect plan. The only hitch was getting hold of the clues. By a stroke of luck, though, Melissa met the Aldens. That’s when she saw her chance.
“You stole my notebook,” guessed Jessie. “And Grandfather’s street map.”
Melissa didn’t deny it. For the first time she looked directly at the Aldens. “When you kids mentioned your boxcar, I decided to check it out. I thought I might find some clues for tracking down the secret code word.” She paused. “I was only there long enough to grab the notebook and the map. I got out pretty fast.”
Benny put in, “Only you broke the heel of your shoe getting away.”
Melissa looked at Benny and nodded. She didn’t seem surprised by what the Aldens knew. “I realized what good detectives you were when I looked through that notebook. Everything was in there. All Ray had to do was check out the spider plant at the restaurant.” She let out a long, weary sigh. “I can’t believe he botched it up.”
“And I can’t believe you actually stole from the Aldens,” said Thomas, disappointment in his voice.
“I’ve done a lot of things I’m not very proud of,” replied Melissa. She sounded sad.
Thomas shook his head. “I won’t be needing your services anymore, Miss Campbell,” he said. “Please clear out your desk as soon as possible.”
Just then the door opened. Sam Snow and Rose Hill stepped inside.
Sam was wearing his best shirt and pants, while Rose was dressed in pink again. Even her purse had a pink rose on the front.
As Benny looked over at the owner of the Hollow Tree Restaurant, he suddenly figured out the answer to one mystery. His mouth dropped open.
Rose Hill was Pinky! |