Mystery in the Fortune Cookie by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

the barbecue going,” she said. “I thought we’d have hamburgers and salad for dinner. How does that sound?”
    “Sounds great!” said Benny, finishing his last sip of lemonade.
    “And we’ll help,” said Violet, speaking for them all. The Aldens hurried away to wash up.
    During dinner, the children told their aunt everything that had happened in town. “Martin Howard seems to be up to something,” Jessie said as they sat around the picnic table on the back lawn. “We just don’t know what.”
    “Auntie Two said the strangest thing,” put in Violet. She remembered Auntie Two’s exact words. “ ‘Soon Howard will be the only name on the door to The Underground.’ ”
    Aunt Jane seemed shocked to hear this. “It’s hard for me to believe that Martin would hurt Dottie,” she said with a concerned look on her face. “They’ve always made such a great team.”
    “Martin said she’s ruining everything. I guess that’s why he doesn’t want her to be part of the business anymore.” Benny wiped some mustard from the corner of his mouth.
    “Well, we can’t be sure that’s what Martin meant, Benny.” Jessie helped herself to a spoonful of potato salad.
    “It is a pretty strong case against Martin,” admitted Aunt Jane. “But I hope you’re not going to jump to any conclusions.”
    “Don’t worry, Aunt Jane, we won’t,” Henry assured her. He knew their aunt was right. They might suspect Martin was up to no good, but they didn’t have any proof. “But we’re not going to rest until we solve this mystery,” he added.
    Benny lifted sliced tomatoes onto his plate. “I just wish we could figure out how Drum Keller fits into the whole thing.”
    “You mean, the famous mystery author?” Aunt Jane put down her fork. She looked startled. “The man who wrote the Fortune Cookie Mysteries?”
    “Have you heard of him, Aunt Jane?” Violet asked.
    “Drum Keller was one of my favorite authors. He wrote a whole series of books about a detective who keeps finding mysteries in fortune cookies. Oh!” Aunt Jane suddenly gasped. “What a strange coincidence.” Her eyes widened as she looked around at them. “You children found a mystery in a fortune cookie, too!”
    “What else do you know about Drum Keller?” asked Henry.
    Aunt Jane took a sip of her iced tea. “I remember how shocked I was when Drum Keller disappeared.”
    “ Disappeared ?” the Aldens echoed in unison.
    Nodding, Aunt Jane said, “It was almost as if he vanished into thin air.”
    Henry was baffled. “But he couldn’t just ... vanish!”
    “Apparently he did, Henry,” insisted Aunt Jane. “That was about fifteen years ago. And as far as I know, he stopped writing books and hasn’t been heard from since.”
    “I can’t believe it!” said Violet.
    Henry spoke up. “Remember that customer in The Underground? Didn’t he mention a mysterious disappearance?”
    Benny looked over at his aunt as she dished up the fruit salad. “But ... exactly why did Drum Keller vanish, Aunt Jane?”
    “Some people think his disappearance was all about money,” she told him. “But nobody knows for sure.”
    “Now I’m really confused,” Benny said. “What did money have to do with it?”
    “Well, it was rumored that Drum Keller wanted more money for his books. When the publishing company refused, he decided to quit writing and — ”
    “Disappear,” finished Henry.
    Aunt Jane nodded. “And when he did, he left behind a lot of disappointed readers. His mysteries were always very popular.”
    Jessie shook her head slowly. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
    “Nothing about this mystery makes sense,” said Henry.
    Later that evening, the children sat out on Aunt Jane’s front porch. They discussed the case while they watched the stars come out. “I can’t stop thinking about Drum Keller,” said Violet. “Why would a famous author decide to just vanish?”
    Jessie sighed. “We have so many questions. And so few answers. We