The next morning, the four Alden children made their way to the Greenfield Public Library. After propping their bikes against a tree, they hurried up the steps. Jessie suddenly stopped with a hand on the doorknob.
“What is it, Jessie?” Violet asked.
Jessie nodded towards a bronze plaque above the door. “I never really noticed the words on that plaque before.”
“What does it say, Jessie?” Benny asked.
Jessie read the words aloud. ‘“The Greenfield Public Library is dedicated to Abigail Penner.’”
Henry frowned. “That’s weird.”
“What’s weird about that, Henry?” asked Benny. “The Penner family gave the town money to build the library. At least, that’s what Grandfather told us last night.”
“Grandfather said something else, too,” Henry added in a puzzled voice. “He thought Brandon Penner had married somebody named Abigail. Remember?”
“I guess Grandfather got it wrong,” said Violet, as they stepped inside the library. “Maybe Abigail was Brandon’s sister.” With that, they made their way to a long table with a row of computers on it.
“Let’s look up ‘Pandora,’” Henry said.
“Good idea,” said Jessie.
It wasn’t long before the children found five books. As they made their way to an empty table, Jessie looked over her shoulder uneasily.
“What is it, Jessie?” Henry whispered. He could see that something was troubling her.
“I’m not sure,” Jessie said, keeping her voice low. “I just have the strangest feeling we’re being watched.”
Henry took a quick glance around the room. “I don’t see anyone suspicious.”
“It’s probably nothing,” Jessie said. Still, something didn’t seem quite right.
As they looked over the titles, Violet remarked, “These books are all about Greek myths.”
“What’s a myth?” Benny wanted to know.
Jessie smiled at her little brother. “A myth is a kind of story from a long time ago,” she explained. “It isn’t true. It’s just made up.”
With their heads bent over their books, the Aldens searched for information about Pandora and her box. Henry came across a story about a winged horse named Pegasus. Then Benny and Violet found one about a girl named Echo, who could only repeat what other people said. Finally, Jessie hit the jackpot.
“I found it!” she said in a loud whisper.
The others leaned closer while Jessie read them the story of Pandora’s Box. It was about a girl who received a box on her wedding day. The box came with a warning—it must never be opened. But Pandora, who was a very curious girl, couldn’t resist. One day, she opened the lid and peeked inside. All sorts of troubles flew out into the world. When Pandora closed the lid, there was only one thing left inside the box—hope.
As Jessie finished reading, the Aldens looked at each other in bewilderment.
“That was a good story,” Benny said. “But how does it fit into the mystery?”
“I can’t help wondering about that myself,” said Violet. “Any ideas, Henry?”
But Henry didn’t answer. His head was bent over another book.
“Henry?” said Jessie. “What are you reading?”
Henry held the book up. “It’s called Fun Facts About Leap Years,” he said. “And guess what? 1904 really was a leap year.”
“Well, at least that’s one thing we’re sure about,” Violet said, as they pushed back their chairs. “Now if only we could make sense of Pandora’s box.”
“What do you make of it, Henry?” asked Jessie, as they walked out of the library.
“I think we found another piece of the puzzle,” Henry said after a moment’s thought. “But I have no idea where it’s leading us.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Jessie said, trying to sound positive. “We always do.”
Benny rubbed his stomach. “I’m too hungry to think.”
“Okay, Benny.” Henry laughed. “We’ll stop for a bite to eat before we bike out to the Penner place.”
It wasn’t long before the children had settled into a booth at the Greenfield Diner. A teenaged waitress came over to take their order. She was tall and slim with a heart-shaped face. Her fair hair was pulled back with a headband.
“What will it be?” she said with a friendly smile.
Henry ordered macaroni and cheese and a glass of milk. So did Jessie and Benny.
As the waitress jotted down their orders, Violet couldn’t help thinking she’d seen the waitress somewhere before.
“Violet,” Jessie prodded, “do you know what you want?”
But Violet was only half-listening. The more she looked at the waitress, the more certain she was she’d seen her somewhere before. Where was it? Although she was trying not to stare, the waitress caught her look.
“Shall I make it four orders of macaroni and cheese?” she questioned Violet.
“Oh!” Violet suddenly snapped out of it. “I’m sorry. I … I was thinking about something.”
“Macaroni and cheese?” the waitress asked again.
Violet nodded, then she said, “Don’t I know you?”
The waitress giggled a little. “It’s funny you should ask me that,” she said. “You’re the second person to recognize me today.”
“Have we met before?” Violet asked.
“No, it’s nothing like that.” The waitress leaned forward as if about to share a secret. “I just signed on with the Greenfield Modeling Agency. I’ve already had a few jobs.” She pulled something from her apron pocket and handed it to Violet. It was an ad for Gorman’s Drugstore. She pointed to a photograph on the flyer. “That’s me holding the bottle of sunscreen lotion.”
Benny looked closely at the flyer. “Wow, you’re famous!”
The waitress beamed. “You can keep it if you want. I autographed the flyer already. See?” She pointed to a signature—Carly Boyd—at the bottom of the ad. “When I become a supermodel, my signature will be worth a fortune!” With that, she dashed away.
“No wonder you recognized her, Violet,” said Jessie. “Carly’s face is all over town.”
Violet frowned. She thought there was more to it than that. But she didn’t say anything.
While they waited for their food to arrive, the children talked about the spy game.
“So …” said Jessie. “Pandora closed the box just in time to save hope.”
Benny nodded. “Just like Dora.”
“What do you mean, Benny?” Henry asked.
“Dora had a box with hope in it, too,” Benny explained.
Violet gasped. “Her hope chest!”
“Way to go, Benny!” said Henry. “You’re a genius.”
The youngest Alden beamed proudly.
“There’s only one problem,” Jessie pointed out. “We already looked through Dora’s hope chest. We didn’t find the gold.”
“Maybe we missed something,” Henry said.
“Like what?” Benny wondered.
Henry grinned. “Like a secret hiding place.”
The others thought Henry might be right. They all agreed it was worth checking out.
“One thing we know for sure,” said Jessie. “1904 really was a leap year.”
“We found out something else, too,” put in Violet. “Brandon had a sister named Abigail.”
“At least, that’s what we think,” Henry said.
As they were leaving, Violet turned around for one last look at the waitress. She still had the oddest feeling she’d seen her somewhere before—and not on the flyer. |