When the children returned to the Greenfield Four’s rehearsal studio, they told the band everything they’d found out.
“I’m glad my keyboards turned up,” said Amy. “But who is this man in the beret?”
The other members of the band shrugged. “We have no idea,” Karen said. “I suppose we’ll have to let the police figure it out from here.”
Later that afternoon the children went to the Greenfield Diner to meet Grandfather for dinner.
“When we told the band about the man with the beard and the beret, they said they had no idea who he was,” Jessie said.
“And aside from the keyboards,” Violet added, “everything else is still missing.”
“We told the police what he looked like,” Henry said. “Maybe that will help.”
“Perhaps it will,” Grandfather said.
The Aldens ate quietly for a few minutes. It was a busy night at the diner, filled with good smells and the sound of people talking. Whenever the Aldens came here, they always sat in the same place—a large booth by the front. It was quiet and cozy. One of the things Benny liked about it was that it was right by a big window. He could see everything that was happening on Greenfield’s main street.
He got up on his knees to look outside. He was chewing on another chicken finger when he noticed a van parked across the street. He stopped chewing. He remembered what Zoey had said about the van the thief was driving.
“Look!” Benny said. “A van! A white one with a blue stripe!”
Everyone, including Grandfather, got up to see.
“Oh my goodness, Benny’s right!” Violet said. “That’s exactly like the one we saw!”
“Did you see anyone get in or out of it, Benny?” Henry asked.
“No, no one,” Benny said.
Grandfather paid the check quickly, and soon the Aldens headed outside to look over the van.
Benny was right—it looked just like the one they saw earlier. It was white, with a thick blue stripe down each side, and it was dirty, dented, and rusty.
“I’m going to take a look in the window,” Henry said. Carefully, he walked around to the back window and peered inside. He was hoping to see the Greenfield Four’s stolen instruments.
Instead, the back of the van was filled with wood and tools—saws, hammers, drills, and jars full of nails and screws.
“What’s in there?” Violet asked. “Any guitars?”
“No,” Henry replied, disappointed.
“Can I help you?” said a voice from behind them.
The Aldens turned to find a man about Grandfather’s age standing on the sidewalk. He was dressed in jeans, a plaid flannel shirt, and leather work boots. His clothes were covered sawdust. The children could tell that the man was a carpenter. He looked at them with a friendly but puzzled expression.
Grandfather stepped forward and shook the man’s hand and introduced the children.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Jessie said, “we didn’t mean to snoop.”
“We were looking for some musical instruments,” Violet added.
The carpenter smiled. “Ah, well, I used to play a harmonica pretty well when I was your age, but that’s about it.”
“No, sir, we were looking for some stolen instruments,” Henry replied. He and the other children explained everything that had happened so far.
“And the thief was driving a van exactly like this one,” said Jessie. “Just our luck that there are two of them.”
“Oh, there are many vans like this around here,” the carpenter said. “It’s a rental.”
“A rental?” Benny asked. “What’s that?”
“It means I’m borrowing it,” the carpenter replied. “My own van is being fixed right now, so I’m renting this one from a place called Drive-It-Yourself. They have lots of vans just like this.”
Jessie’s eyes widened. “The thief must have rented a van from the same place!”
The others were nodding. They all thought the same thing. |