Mystery in San Francisco by Charles Tang

they doubled back. He wasn’t there.
    “Let’s go get some lunch. We can talk more about what we know,” Henry said. They decided to go to Pier 39.
    When they were nearly there, they stopped short. Ahead of them, at the pier entrance, two men stood talking.
    One of the men was Charlie. The other was the mysterious man! The Aldens ducked around a corner so Charlie wouldn’t see them.
    “What could Charlie be talking to that man about?” Benny wondered aloud.
    “Maybe he found out the man has something to do with all the trouble,” Violet suggested, “and he’s telling him to stop.”
    “That’s possible,” Henry said.
    “It’s also possible that Charlie is part of the problem,” Jessie said.
    “Charlie?” Violet sounded surprised. “But most of the bad things have been happening to him. ”
    No one could deny that.
    “Well, one thing is sure,” Henry said. “We can’t tell Charlie what we suspect. Not now. Not until we know more.”
    “We’ll keep looking for proof after we eat,” Jessie said.
    They ordered pizza in one of the many pier restaurants. Waiting for their order, each Alden was silent, thinking.
    “I wonder where Tony was,” Jessie said at last.
    “When?” Henry asked.
    “Just now when we came back to shore.”
    “He’s probably still out fishing,” Violet suggested.
    “But every other time there was trouble, he was there,” Jessie reminded them. “Joe, Vito, Tony — they were all there.”
    Benny’s eyes widened. “Maybe he cut the nets, and he didn’t want to be around when Charlie found out.”
    “But if he did it to get Vito’s business, he’d want to be there when Vito came along,” Jessie said.
    “That’s right,” Violet said. “Joe was there, so he got the business.”
    The pizza arrived. For a while, they were too busy eating to talk. When they had nearly finished, Henry said, “We should stop thinking and talking about the trouble on the wharf.”
    “Why?” Benny wanted to know.
    “You can think about something too hard,” Henry explained. “Sometimes, if you put a problem in the back of your mind, the answer just . . . pops up.”
    “Oh, I get it,” Benny said. “It’s there all the time, but you can’t see it.”
    They all thought Henry might be right.
    “But if we don’t talk about the mystery,” Benny said, “what should we talk about?”
    “About the things we still want to see,” Henry answered. He pulled the rolled guidebook from his back pocket. “There are so many interesting places in San Francisco. We’ve only been to a few.”
    “Golden Gate Park is something we should see,” Jessie said.
    Henry agreed. “That’s one I’ve marked. Especially the Academy of Sciences. There’s a planetarium there and an aquarium.”
    “More fish ?” Benny said. “Haven’t we seen enough of those?”
    “They have a Touch Tide Pool, Benny, where you can actually hold starfish and sea urchins.” He opened the book and read aloud from it.
    “The Japanese Tea Gardens sound interesting,” Violet said.
    “We could spend the whole day in the park,” Jessie said. “There’s so much to see. We’ll make a list and give it to Uncle Andy,” she decided.

CHAPTER 10
The Catch of the Day
    W hen they returned to the docks, the Aldens met Kate.
    “I’ve been looking for you,” she said. “Your aunt phoned. She and your uncle will be late. They don’t expect to get here until dinnertime. I wish I had time to take you sightseeing, but with Charlie and all . . .” Her voice trailed off.
    “We’ll find plenty to do,” Jessie assured her.
    “How is Charlie?” Henry asked.
    Kate shrugged. “He wanted to be alone,” she said. Her green eyes were sad.
    “Alone?” Benny repeated. “But we just saw him with — ”
    Jessie gave him a poke.
    “It’s not at all like him,” Kate continued. “I’m going to find him now and try to talk to him. See you later,” she said, and started away.
    Kate could not be involved in the trouble. She