The children showed the Greenfield Four the flyer with Violet’s drawing. One by one, Alan, Amy, Karen, and Dave passed it around. They didn’t speak for a moment.
Finally, Alan Keller said, “His name is Jon Emmott. And yes, I think he’s the thief.” The other band members nodded. “Jon was part of the group for about a year,” Alan went on. “He played a few different instruments and could sing pretty well. He wasn’t bad.”
“But …” Amy said, and her frown told the Aldens that she didn’t care much for Emmott. “He was a tough person to deal with every day.”
“How so?” Jessie asked.
“He had a lot of talent,” Karen replied, “but not as much as he thought he did. He acted as if he was the greatest musician and singer in the world.”
“Is that why he left?” Violet asked.
“No,” Alan said. “He left because we had a big argument one day about what kind of music we should play.”
“We had one idea,” Amy continued, “and he had another. So he decided to leave.”
“He was pretty nasty about it, too,” Karen said. “I remember that last day very well. He was telling us how he was going to put his own band together, and it would be so much better than ours.”
The Aldens shook their heads. “Sounds like a pretty angry person,” Henry said.
“Yes,” Alan said. “Jon could also be very jealous. When he left, he moved out to California. He started his own band, just like he said he would. But they didn’t do too well. The last I heard, they broke up, and he had to go back to his old job as an electrician. At the same time, our band was doing really well.”
“He must have heard about the man from the record company coming to the festival, and he decided to come back and try to ruin the show,” Amy said. “But we’re not about to let it get ruined.”
“That’s right,” Karen and Alan added. The children could see that the band was determined to succeed.
Just then the door to the rehearsal studio opened and Raymond came in.
“It’s time to get ready for the show,” he told the band. Then he turned and noticed the Aldens. “Did you manage to find the thief?” he asked.
The children showed Raymond the scrapbook and the picture of Jon Emmott. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I’ve seen him before!” he said.
“So have we,” Henry said. “We saw him helping out at the festival. Violet recognized him through his disguise. She drew the beard, glasses, and the beret.”
“But now we don’t know where he is,” Jessie said.
“He could be anywhere!” Benny added.
“That’s true,” Raymond said. Just then, the children noticed he had a wry smile on his face. “Anywhere—like the Greenfield Inn!”
Everyone seemed stunned by this announcement.
“The Greenfield Inn? The little hotel right here in town?” Karen said.
“How in the world do you know that?” Alan asked.
“It was the oddest thing,” Raymond said. “Some of the other roadies I know—the ones who are here from out of town—are staying at that same hotel. Just before I came here, I gave an old buddy a ride back to the hotel, and that’s when I saw him in the parking lot.” He pointed at the picture. “I’d seen him helping out yesterday and he’d seemed friendly enough, so I waved hello. But this time, he wasn’t friendly at all.”
“What did he do?” Violet wanted to know.
“He didn’t wave back. He looked at me as if I were a ghost. And then he hurried back to his room,” Raymond replied.
“He must know you’re the Greenfield Four’s roadie,” said Alan.
“He does,” said Jessie. “When we were looking for you yesterday, Raymond, he knew who you were.”
“It sounds like he didn’t want you to know he was at the Greenfield Inn,” said Henry.
“When did this happen?” Alan asked.
“About an hour ago,” Raymond answered.
“Oh, no,” said Jessie. “He might not be there much longer. We need to hurry!”
At the Greenfield Inn, darkness was beginning to fall, and crickets were chirping in the bushes. The Aldens and Raymond glanced around the parking lot, looking for the white van. There were several other cars and trucks parked in front of the rooms where people were staying, but no sign of the van.
“What do we do now?” Benny asked.
“We’ll wait for Officer Weiss,” Jessie reminded him. They had called him to tell him what they’d discovered about the man with the glasses and beret. Now, as they stood and waited behind Raymond’s car, they wondered what would happen next.
“I think the thief is staying in Room 12,” Raymond said, pointing to a door at the very end of the long motel building. “That’s where he was going when I saw him earlier today.”
A light was still on in the window of Room 12, but the shades had been pulled down.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Jon Emmott stepped out. He was still wearing his black beret, but he no longer had his glasses on. He looked around, but he didn’t notice the children watching him from across the parking lot. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked to the corner of the building, then turned and headed towards the back.
“Where’s he going?” Violet whispered. Her heart was racing. Was he going to get away?
“Let’s go see,” Henry said.
“Yes, but let’s try to keep our distance,” Raymond said.
They followed Jon Emmott as he turned another corner and disappeared. They turned the corner, too, and at last they saw the white van with the blue stripe.
“He parked it where no one would see it,” Jessie whispered.
They could see Jon Emmott grinning to himself as he started the van and waited for the engine to warm up. “Excuse me,” Henry called out. “Aren’t you Jon Emmott?”
The man’s smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. “How do you know that?” he demanded.
Raymond spoke up. “That’s not important right now,” he said. “What’s important is that you give back all those instruments you stole from the Greenfield Four.”
“Forget it,” Emmott said in a nasty voice. “Now get out of my way.”
“I don’t think you’re going anywhere,” said a voice behind the Aldens. The children turned around. It was Officer Weiss.
Jon Emmott turned off the engine of the van. His shoulders sagged, and he put his head down.
It was over. |