head to look at Jessie’s watch. “The mall closes in a while. We can’t stay there because Hap doesn’t like that. It’s the rule.”
Now Mr. Bolt threw his head back and laughed. “That’s my rule! But since I own the mall, I think we can break that rule tonight.”
Benny’s face lit up. “Goody! Now nobody can kick us out.”
The children walked back to the mall with their grandfather and Mr. Bolt. They told them more about the mysterious happenings.
“Here’s a mystery,” Jessie said. “Who returned Benny’s second monkey?”
Benny shook the monkey to hear it rattle. “Know what? This coconut Grandfather found doesn’t rattle. It’s empty.”
Henry picked it up. “Hey, this isn’t the one I gave you, Benny, just one that looks like it. Now things are getting stranger than ever.”
“Your grandfather and I have a few calls to make in my office,” Mr. Bolt said. “You children can come up now or hang around the mall for a half hour until we’re finished. What do you say?”
The Aldens weren’t children who liked to hang around when they had to finish solving a mystery.
“We’re going to find out who left this monkey at your house,” Benny said.
The other children nodded in agreement. They were going to get to the bottom of this.
Their first stop was Penny’s store. When they showed up, Hap and Janet were standing outside the shop, arguing. They grew silent when they noticed the Aldens staring at them.
“I think I left something in the storeroom,” Jessie told Janet. “We’ll only be a minute.”
Before Janet could answer, the children walked briskly through Penny’s shop and went straight to the storeroom.
“There are the monkey boxes,” Henry said. “Hap must have brought them back here. But it looks as if some of the coconuts are missing from the boxes. I bet the one Grandfather found with the note came from here.”
“Hey, I just remembered something,” Benny said. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the note he had found at the restaurant. It was wrinkled, but he could still see the handwriting. “It’s the same as the handwriting on the monkey note. Maybe Janet wrote it, even though these aren’t her initials.”
“Or that crewman,” Violet said. “Remember, he was at the restaurant with Janet, too?”
“Are you talking about me?” Janet said, standing in the doorway. “And why are you shaking those?” she asked when she saw Benny pick up each coconut and shake it.
“To see if they make noise,” Benny said. “The one I lost made noise, but this one doesn’t. It’s not the same one.”
The Aldens were shaking all the coconuts now.
“None of these make noise,” Jessie said. “Where are all the other ones that were in these boxes?”
Janet was about to answer when the back door of the storeroom opened. The young crewman stood in the doorway. In his arms were two boxes of plastic souvenir snow globes. “Oops,” he said. “Wrong door.”
Henry stepped forward. “No, it’s the right door, and you know it’s the right door. We’ve already figured out that you and Janet know each other and that you’ve been coming to the storeroom on purpose. The only thing we don’t know is why.”
“Maybe you can start out by explaining why you have those snow globes,” Jessie said. “They belong to Penny, and there’s no reason you should have them. But you do.”
Janet and the young man looked at each other.
Benny took the wrinkled note and showed it to the crewman. “Did you write this note?” Then he held up the other note. “And this one?”
The crewman looked at Janet. The storeroom was so quiet everyone could hear one another breathing.
That’s when Penny appeared in the doorway. “Everybody come out here. Mr. Bolt, Hap, and Mr. Alden are here. We all have a lot of questions to ask.”
Janet and the crewman stepped back.
“We have other things to do,” Janet told Penny.
Jessie slipped behind Janet, blocking the
Now Mr. Bolt threw his head back and laughed. “That’s my rule! But since I own the mall, I think we can break that rule tonight.”
Benny’s face lit up. “Goody! Now nobody can kick us out.”
The children walked back to the mall with their grandfather and Mr. Bolt. They told them more about the mysterious happenings.
“Here’s a mystery,” Jessie said. “Who returned Benny’s second monkey?”
Benny shook the monkey to hear it rattle. “Know what? This coconut Grandfather found doesn’t rattle. It’s empty.”
Henry picked it up. “Hey, this isn’t the one I gave you, Benny, just one that looks like it. Now things are getting stranger than ever.”
“Your grandfather and I have a few calls to make in my office,” Mr. Bolt said. “You children can come up now or hang around the mall for a half hour until we’re finished. What do you say?”
The Aldens weren’t children who liked to hang around when they had to finish solving a mystery.
“We’re going to find out who left this monkey at your house,” Benny said.
The other children nodded in agreement. They were going to get to the bottom of this.
Their first stop was Penny’s store. When they showed up, Hap and Janet were standing outside the shop, arguing. They grew silent when they noticed the Aldens staring at them.
“I think I left something in the storeroom,” Jessie told Janet. “We’ll only be a minute.”
Before Janet could answer, the children walked briskly through Penny’s shop and went straight to the storeroom.
“There are the monkey boxes,” Henry said. “Hap must have brought them back here. But it looks as if some of the coconuts are missing from the boxes. I bet the one Grandfather found with the note came from here.”
“Hey, I just remembered something,” Benny said. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the note he had found at the restaurant. It was wrinkled, but he could still see the handwriting. “It’s the same as the handwriting on the monkey note. Maybe Janet wrote it, even though these aren’t her initials.”
“Or that crewman,” Violet said. “Remember, he was at the restaurant with Janet, too?”
“Are you talking about me?” Janet said, standing in the doorway. “And why are you shaking those?” she asked when she saw Benny pick up each coconut and shake it.
“To see if they make noise,” Benny said. “The one I lost made noise, but this one doesn’t. It’s not the same one.”
The Aldens were shaking all the coconuts now.
“None of these make noise,” Jessie said. “Where are all the other ones that were in these boxes?”
Janet was about to answer when the back door of the storeroom opened. The young crewman stood in the doorway. In his arms were two boxes of plastic souvenir snow globes. “Oops,” he said. “Wrong door.”
Henry stepped forward. “No, it’s the right door, and you know it’s the right door. We’ve already figured out that you and Janet know each other and that you’ve been coming to the storeroom on purpose. The only thing we don’t know is why.”
“Maybe you can start out by explaining why you have those snow globes,” Jessie said. “They belong to Penny, and there’s no reason you should have them. But you do.”
Janet and the young man looked at each other.
Benny took the wrinkled note and showed it to the crewman. “Did you write this note?” Then he held up the other note. “And this one?”
The crewman looked at Janet. The storeroom was so quiet everyone could hear one another breathing.
That’s when Penny appeared in the doorway. “Everybody come out here. Mr. Bolt, Hap, and Mr. Alden are here. We all have a lot of questions to ask.”
Janet and the crewman stepped back.
“We have other things to do,” Janet told Penny.
Jessie slipped behind Janet, blocking the
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