When the Aldens arrived back at the Penner place, they headed straight for the attic. They checked every inch of the hope chest for secret compartments. But they turned up nothing.
“I don’t get it,” Benny said, the game of checkers tucked under his arm. “I was so sure we were on the right track this time.”
Jessie could feel her brother’s disappointment. “Never mind,” she said, putting a comforting arm around him. “We’ll have a nice game of checkers tonight. That’ll be fun, right?”
Benny gave a half-hearted smile.
“Do you think we should’ve checked with Amanda first?” Violet wondered. “Before bringing the game downstairs, I mean.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Violet,” Jessie said as they walked along the hallway.
Once again, the four children paused in front of the photograph of Dora. “There must be a clue we’re not seeing,” Henry said thoughtfully.
Nobody said anything for a moment. Then Violet suddenly gasped.
“Carly Boyd!” she cried, her eyes wide.
“Are you talking about the waitress at the diner?” Benny asked.
Violet nodded. “I couldn’t figure out where I’d seen her before.” Seeing their puzzled faces, she added, “Don’t you get it? Carly Boyd looks exactly like Dora!”
“What?” Henry laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
Violet pulled the flyer from her back pocket. “Take a look for yourself,” she said, flattening out the creases.
The other Aldens looked from the flyer to the photograph and back again. “I can’t believe it!” Jessie said in astonishment.
“Carly looks enough like Dora to be her twin sister,” added Henry.
“They have the same heart-shaped faces and fair hair,” said Violet, who had an artist’s eye for detail.
“And they’re both tall and slim,” added Jessie. “Carly’s the spitting image of Dora, as Grandfather would say.”
“It’s the strangest thing.” Violet felt an icy chill up her spine. “What do you think it means?”
“Maybe Carly’s related to the Penner family,” Jessie said. “That would explain why they look so much alike.”
“We can ask Amanda about it when she gets home,” Violet proposed.
Henry had an idea. “Why don’t we cool off in the creek while we’re waiting?” And the others were quick to agree.
The Aldens changed into their swimsuits, then made their way to Fudge Hollow. They lost all track of time as they splashed around in the creek. The afternoon shadows were growing longer when they finally headed back to the house. After changing back into T-shirts and shorts, they went downstairs to help Mrs. Dawson with dinner. But when they got close to the kitchen, they paused at the sound of Mrs. Dawson’s voice.
“No, I’m sure they don’t suspect a thing, Steve,” Mrs. Dawson was saying. She was talking on the phone, her back to the children. “Yes … I know it would ruin everything if they figure out what’s really going on.”
The Aldens couldn’t believe their ears. Was it possible that Mrs. Dawson and Steve Kooner were partners in crime?
“No, not yet,” Mrs. Dawson went on. “But I’m keeping my fingers crossed … If I can open Pandora’s box, my dreams will finally come true.”
This made Benny gasp, and Mrs. Dawson whirled around. Her eyes widened when she saw the Aldens in the kitchen doorway.
“Oh, you gave me a start!” she cried, hanging up the phone. “I … um, was just …” She didn’t seem to know what to say. It was almost as though she’d been caught doing something wrong.
“We thought we’d help with dinner,” Violet said quietly.
“Oh, everything’s ready, Violet,” Mrs. Dawson told her. “I thought chicken and salads would hit the spot. I always say, nothing beats a cold dinner on a hot day.” She seemed relieved to be talking about something else.
As the Aldens sat down at the table, Mrs. Dawson hurried out of the room, looking troubled.
“Can you believe it?” Jessie said, keeping her voice low. “Steve and Mrs. Dawson are working together.”
“You don’t really think they’re trying to steal Amanda’s gold, do you?” Violet asked.
“I don’t want to think that, Violet,” Jessie said. “But she was talking about Pandora’s box. What else can it mean?”
“It means she’s tracking down clues,” said Benny.
“And did you notice?” Henry added. “Mrs. Dawson couldn’t even look us in the eye.”
Violet had to admit it seemed suspicious. But she didn’t want to believe Mrs. Dawson would do something so awful.
They were quiet for a while as they ate their dinner. It wasn’t until they were clearing the table that Benny spoke up.
“Mrs. Dawson’s dream is to open a bookstore,” he reminded them. “And that costs a lot of money.”
Henry stacked the plates on the counter. “Maybe she’ll do whatever it takes to make her dream come true.”
“Even stealing from Amanda?” cried Violet.
“We all like her,” Jessie told her sister. “But we have to consider every possibility.”
Violet opened a drawer. She was looking for a dishtowel. “I know how it sounds, but—” She suddenly stopped talking.
“What’s wrong, Violet?” asked Jessie, who was up to her elbows in soapy water.
“There’s something here I think you should see.” Violet’s eyes were huge. “Something very strange.”
The other Aldens hurried over. “I found this under the dishtowels,” Violet said, as she removed a photograph from the drawer.
The photo, badly faded with age, showed a dark-haired young woman in a white gown. There was a man in the picture, too. He had a mustache, and his hair was parted in the middle.
Benny had a thought. “I bet that’s the missing picture from the family album.”
Jessie was staring hard at the photo. “Isn’t that Brandon Penner?”
“Got to be,” said Henry.
“How can you be so sure?” Benny asked.
“Remember the photo in the family album?” Jessie reminded her little brother. “The one of Brandon Penner, I mean.”
“Oh, right!” said Benny. “That does look like the man in the album.”
“There’s only one problem,” Jessie said. “Who’s the woman in this photo?”
“Turn it over,” Violet instructed her sister.
Jessie flipped the photograph. She read the words on the back aloud: “The Penners’ wedding day—February, 1904.”
For a moment, the Aldens just stared at one other in stunned silence. Finally, Henry spoke up.
“How can that be Brandon’s wedding day?” he said. “The woman in the wedding dress sure isn’t Dora.”
“Then … who is she?” Benny asked in a hushed voice.
“It must be Abigail,” Violet said as she put the photograph back in the drawer.
Jessie nodded. “Grandfather seemed sure Brandon had married someone named Abigail.”
Benny scratched his head. “But … how can there be two brides?”
Jessie shrugged. Benny looked at Henry and then at Violet. They didn’t seem to have any answers, either.
“If Brandon married Abigail,” said Violet, “then who on earth was Dora?”
“I was just wondering the same thing,” said Henry. “I can’t get my head around it. Can you, Jessie?”
But Jessie didn’t answer. She was thinking hard. She had the strangest feeling that she knew something—something important. But it was stuck in the back of her mind and she couldn’t shake it loose. Then a funny look suddenly came over her face.
“Don’t keep us in the dark, Jessie,” Henry pleaded. “What are you thinking?”
“Remember when Amanda dropped a business card the other day?” Jessie said.
Violet nodded. “She tore it up.”
“Well, I just remembered something,” Jessie continued. “It was a business card for the Greenfield Modeling Agency!”
Henry’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure, Jessie?”
“Very sure.”
“Hey!” said Benny. “Isn’t that where Carly Boyd works?”
“Yes, it is,” Jessie said with a nod.
“Do you think it’s just a coincidence?” asked Violet.
“Maybe,” said Jessie. “Or maybe … maybe Carly Boyd doesn’t just look like Dora Penner—maybe she is Dora Penner.”
“What do you mean?” Henry asked.
“Listen, Carly looks just like Dora, right? Plus, she’s a model for the Greenfield Modeling Agency,” said Jessie. “And on top of that, Amanda just happened to have their business card.”
“You mean … you think Amanda hired Carly to pose for that photo?” Violet wondered.
“I think it’s possible,” Jessie replied.
“Amanda tried to fool us?” Benny asked. A frown crossed his round face.
“I can’t be sure,” said Jessie. “But it looks that way.”
“That’s interesting Jessie,” Henry said. “But why would she do such a thing?”
Before Jessie could answer, they heard the front door open.
“That must be Amanda!” said Violet.
“Let’s find out what this is all about,” Henry said.
Violet wasn’t so sure about this. “But … what if we’re wrong?”
“Don’t worry, Violet,” Henry assured her. “We’ll just ask a few questions and see how Amanda reacts. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”
“No, I suppose not,” Violet said.
The Aldens had plenty of questions. The problem was, they didn’t have any answers.
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