Old Motel Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

been scared to death. Shall we call Grandfather and go home?”
    â€œWe weren’t afraid,” Jessie said boldly. She didn’t want to alarm her aunt. But the image of Benny’s face when he’d said the motel was jinxed stuck in her mind.
    Kay chatted on, trying to sound unconcerned, though she looked very concerned. “Rolf was over for dinner last night and stayed quite late. He promised to come over today and check on the painters. It’s their last day to finish some retouching. He also promised to shingle parts of the roof.”
    Jessie became instantly alert. The water had been turned on about midnight, when she’d been awakened. “What time did Rolf leave?” she asked in a casual tone.
    â€œOh,” Kay said, “I guess it was midnight.”
    So, Jessie thought, was Rolf the guilty one after all? Had he been prowling about outside their motel? But why? He seemed to really like Kay.
    â€œIs something wrong?” Aunt Jane questioned.
    â€œWhat?” Jessie said weakly. “Oh, no, no.” She backed up, a nervous feeling in her stomach. She liked Rolf. “I have to go,” she said lamely, trying to smile. “Or they won’t leave me a bite of breakfast.”
    Slowly Jessie walked down the hill. How she hated to tell her sister and brothers about her suspicions. But the sooner they knew and Kay knew, the sooner these awful things would stop. She wondered if Rolf would be sent to jail.
    Entering the motel, Jessie brushed back her hair. Benny was the first to greet her. “Pancakes, Jessie,” he said, smiling. “We’ve been waiting for you to get back.”
    â€œWe’ve kept breakfast hot,” Violet said.
    Sitting down, Jessie dully told them about Rolf. “And,” she ended, “midnight was when the running water woke me up.”
    â€œI can’t believe that Rolf is the one. He always wants to help.” Henry hesitated. “Yet he did haul the shingles in his Jeep. It would have been easy to pour tar on them.”
    â€œBut there’s no proof,” Violet said, a slight frown creasing her forehead. “We must be certain.”
    She passed the bacon to Jessie, but Jessie shook her head. “I can’t eat,” she said miserably. Rolf had been everyone’s friend.
    Benny drank his orange juice and said, “Rolf isn’t the mean one. I rode piggyback on his shoulders downhill.”
    â€œI don’t think we should overlook Catherine,” Violet said. “As much as we all like her, Catherine was here all day and night yesterday.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Jessie said thoughtfully.
    â€œI don’t know,” Henry said. “She’s so sweet.”
    â€œAnd pretty!” Benny added.
    â€œWe can’t blame anyone,” Violet said practically. “We have no proof.”
    â€œMaybe it’s Millicent,” Benny said. “She’s a spy who learns a lot about Kay’s motel by giving us things to eat.”
    â€œMillicent?” Henry asked with a chuckle. “She’s just a nice little old lady.”
    Quietly they sat at the table, each thinking about the suspects.
    They spent the afternoon at the pool and that night they had one of Benny’s favorite suppers, hamburgers, tomatoes, baked potatoes, and hot fudge sundaes.
    They slept well.
    In the morning, as they were eating their cereal with sliced bananas, Millicent called, “Yoo-hoo, may I come in?”
    Henry glanced at Jessie. “Here’s Millicent again,” he whispered, smiling. “I wonder what she has today.”
    Benny jumped off his chair and ran to the door.
    Millicent hurried in. “I woke up at six so I baked chocolate chip cookies this morning.” Benny rolled his eyes at Violet. Millicent smiled. As she set the plate on the table, she stumbled. Her large handbag dropped to the floor, and the contents spilled out.
    â€œDear, dear,” she said,