儿童英语读物 The Great Turkey Heist CHAPTER 6 A Clue in the Alley

“In celebration of Violet’s great idea!” said Mrs. McGregor as she set a plate of pancakes on the table. Each pancake was shaped like a turkey!

“How did you do that, Mrs. McGregor?” asked Benny. “How can a pancake look like a turkey?” He scooped several of the thick golden turkeys onto his plate.

Mrs. McGregor laughed. “It’s not so hard, Benny. I found a turkey mold in the store the other day. I thought it was a cute idea.”

“It’s a delicious idea! I’m going to give mine some eyes.” Benny put raisins on the turkey’s face. “Now he’s going for a swim!” Benny dunked the turkey in a pool of maple syrup.

Grandfather laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone enjoy food as much as you do, Benny.”

Just then, the phone rang, and Grandfather left the room.

Jessie noticed that Henry was holding his fork in a funny way. “What’s wrong, Henry?” she asked.

Henry looked at his finger. “Just a small cut,” he said. “I think when we were cleaning up last night, I got a piece of glass stuck in my finger. It’s just a little sore.”

“That’s terrible!” Violet said.

“Yes,” Jessie agreed. “I just don’t under-stand why someone would try to hurt the food pantry. Who could be against helping those who are hungry?”

“Ms. Matthews is against the food pantry,” Violet said. “She does not even believe that Mr. Grayson is trying to open a food pantry. She thinks Mr. Grayson is trying to put her out of business and steal her customers.”

“That’s true,” Jessie said. “And Mr. Higgins also seems to be angry about the food pantry. But I can’t figure out why he would feel that way. Mr. Grayson is not trying to put him out of business.”

Benny ate the head of his turkey. It made him remember something. “I saw someone last night,” he said.

“What do you mean?” asked Violet.

“When we were saying good-bye to Tom the turkey, someone was sneaking up. When I looked up to see who it was, he jumped into a doorway to hide.”

“That’s strange,” said Henry. “Do you think it was Mr. Higgins or Ms. Matthews?”

“I don’t know,” Benny said. “I couldn’t really tell. I did not see the person’s face. There was something that seemed familiar about the person, but I don’t know what it was.”

Grandfather came back to the table. “Sorry about that, children. But that was an important call. Do you remember my friend, Mr. Tipton?”

“Oh yes,” said Jessie. “Doesn’t he own the movie theater?”

“That’s right, he does. He saw Violet’s flyers and he would like to help. He is going to have a night at the movies for the food pantry. Admission is free as long as you bring some canned goods for the pantry.”

“What a wonderful idea!” Jessie said.

Grandfather opened up the newspaper. “Look. There is already an advertisement in the paper for the special movie night.”

The children gathered around. It was a big advertisement. Everyone in Greenfield was sure to see it. It was for a new, popular movie called The Secret Under the Stairs.

“Can we go, Grandfather?” asked Benny.

“Of course you can go, Benny,” Grand-father said. “You will have to stand at the door to help collect all those canned goods! I just hope the movie isn’t too scary for you.”

Benny jumped back from the table. “I’m not afraid of anything!” he said. “I won’t get scared by a movie!”

After cleaning the breakfast dishes, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny rode their bicycles into town. They wanted to thank Mr. Tipton and tell Mr. Grayson about the special movie night.

“Can we stop and see Tom the turkey first?” asked Benny.

“Sure,” Henry said. “We have to pass right by him. It’s just up around the corner.”

But when the children turned the corner, they did not see what they expected.

“He’s gone!” Benny cried. “I knew it! We should never have left him alone!”

“Maybe he blew away,” Violet said. “It was quite windy last night.”

Henry jumped off his bicycle. The bags of sand were right where Mr. Carroll had left them. Henry lifted up the string that was attached to the bags. He looked at it closely. “Someone cut this string,” he said. “Tom the turkey did not blow away. He was stolen!”

Benny ran down the alley. “Tom!” he called. “Tom! Where are you?”

When Benny came back, he was carrying Sunny, the yellow cat. “I couldn’t find Tom, but Sunny was in the alley.”

Jessie petted the little cat. “She must be hungry. And that gives me an idea,” she said. “We can go to Higgins’s Grocery Store to buy some cat food for Sunny. While we’re there, we could look around to see if Tom the turkey is somewhere in the store.”

“Do you really think Mr. Higgins would steal Violet’s sign?” Henry asked.

“I don’t know,” Jessie answered. “But it is worth investigating.”

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny rode their bicycles to Higgins’s Grocery Store. They carefully placed their bicycles on the side of the building so they would not be in anyone’s way.

“I don’t see Tom the turkey out front,” Benny said.

“If I stole a big turkey,” Henry said, “I would hide it in the back. I will go look in the alley behind the store.”

“We will check inside,” Jessie said.

In the store, they split up. Jessie and Benny went up and down the first six aisles. Violet looked over the last six aisles. She ran into Mr. Higgins in the frozen food section.

“What are you doing here?” he asked gruffly.

Violet was surprised. “I’m looking for . . .” she almost said “turkey” but remembered at the last moment. “I’m here for some cat food,” she answered.

Mr. Higgins glared at Violet. “Cat food is not in the frozen foods,” he said. “It is in the pet food aisle.”

“Of course,” Violet said. “That is where I am going.”

Just then, there was a commotion in the back of the store. Mr. Higgins glanced at Violet, then hurried toward the noise. Violet followed.

Mr. Higgins pushed through the swinging doors into the storage area. Benny was sitting on the floor. Boxes were scattered all around him.

“What is going on here?” Mr. Higgins shouted.

Jessie helped Benny to his feet. She brushed him off.

“I’m sorry,” Benny said. “I thought I saw a turkey up there.” He pointed to the top of a high shelf. A colorful cardboard turkey sat next to some boxes. It was not as big as Violet’s turkey. It held a sign that advertised stuffing. “And then I accidentally backed into these boxes.”

“You should not be back here,” Mr. Higgins said. “This is not an area for customers. You could have been hurt.” He turned to Jessie. “You should do a better job of watching your little brother.”

“We’re sorry,” Jessie said. She squeezed Benny’s hand. His eyes were turning red.

“I must ask you to leave the store,” Mr. Higgins said. “For some reason, we are having an extra-busy day today. We are working very hard to keep our shelves stocked with canned goods. And you children are causing trouble.”

Outside, Benny rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Jessie,” he said. “I didn’t mean to get us in trouble. I just wanted to peek in the back. I thought I saw Tom the turkey.”

“It’s all right,” Jessie said. “You should not have gone back there. But you didn’t mean any harm. And nothing was damaged.”

Henry came around the corner. He did not find Tom the turkey in the alley. “But look at this,” he said. Henry held up two long pieces of string. “This looks just like the string Mr. Carroll used to tie the turkey sign to the sand bags.”

Jessie took the string from Henry. “I think you are right, Henry. It does look the same. But Mr. Higgins may use the same kind of string in his store.”

“He might,” Henry answered. “But it is a coincidence.”

“But if the string is there, where is the turkey?” asked Violet. “It is too big to hide in a trash can and it was not in the store.”

Just then, a lady in a red jacket and a dark pair of slacks walked up to the children. She was carrying a notebook and a pen. “Are you the Aldens?” she asked.

“Yes,” Jessie answered.

“My name is Gail Sweeney. I am a reporter for the Greenfield Times. We had an anonymous call today. Someone told us that you are helping to set up a food pantry in Greenfield and that your turkey sign is missing.”

The children looked surprised. “We have been helping,” Henry said. “But it is Mr. Grayson from the Green Fields restaurant who is setting up the food pantry.”

“Can you tell me about the giant turkey sign that is missing?” asked the reporter. “I think that would make a great story for our paper.”

“His name is Tom!” Benny said. “Someone stole him! Can you write in the paper that we want him back?”

The reporter smiled. “Of course I will,” she said.

“Violet drew the turkey,” Jessie explained. “She is a wonderful artist. Colette from the copy center made Violet’s turkey into a big sign. She was very kind. She donated the sign.”

“And why did you need such a big sign?” asked the reporter.

“The food pantry is at the end of a small alley,” Henry explained. “Most people did not know it was there. We thought a big sign would help everyone find the food pantry.”

“I see.” The reporter jotted notes in her notebook. “Do you think that perhaps the sign blew away?”

“No,” Henry replied. “Mr. Carroll from the hardware store has been helping with the food pantry, also. He tied the sign down. It was very secure. Someone cut the string.”

“Do you have any idea who could have stolen the turkey sign?” asked the reporter.

The children looked at one another, but they did not answer. They had suspects, but they had no proof. They did not want to accuse anyone.

“C’mon kids,” said the reporter. “You can tell me. I would like to interview this person if you know who it is.”

“We’re sorry,” Jessie said. “We do not know. But we know something else for your story.”

“What’s that?” the reporter asked.

“Tomorrow night there will be a free movie at the movie theater. You only have to bring some canned goods for admission. All the donations will go to the food pantry. Can you put that in your story?”

The reporter smiled. “You care a lot about this food pantry, don’t you?”

Jessie nodded.

“I will put it in my story,” she said. “And I will come to movie myself!”

The reporter asked each of the children to spell their names. “You will all be in the newspaper tomorrow.” She thanked them and left for her office.

Benny ran down the sidewalk, away from his siblings.

Jessie called after him. “Benny, wait! Where are you going? You forgot your bike!”

“I’m going to be in the newspaper!” Benny called. “I have to go tell Grandfather. I am going to be famous!”