The Boardwalk Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  The name “Hanson’s Amusement Pier” flashed in red letters high over Benny’s head. There was a log flume that splashed water on the passengers. A tall roller coaster with lots of twists and turns made the boards under Benny’s feet rumble. A scary monster with green eyes looked out from the top floor of the haunted house. There was even a giant slide and swings that flew round and round out over the beach below.

  “I’ll go ask where we can find Mr. Hanson,” Henry said. He walked toward the ticket booth. For a moment, he was confused. He thought he saw Wendy’s face in the booth window. But she could not have been there. Then he realized that it was a boy in the booth. The boy had the same blond hair and blue eyes as Wendy. He also had the same unhappy look on his face.

  “Excuse me,” Henry said to the boy. “But would you please tell me where I can find Mr. Hanson?”

  The boy opened a door and walked out of the booth. He was a little taller than Henry and he looked a few years older. “Are you those Alden kids?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Henry replied. He introduced his sisters and brother.

  “I’m Will Hanson,” the boy said.

  “You look just like Wendy!” Benny said. “We do look alike,” Will said. “Wendy and

  I are twins. My father is in the shed at the back of the pier.”

  “Thanks,” Henry said. “We promised we would stop by.”

  Will shrugged. “Suit yourself. If I were you kids, I wouldn’t hang around this pier. I would go relax on the beach. I’m sure it is much more fun.” Will went back into the booth and closed the door behind him.

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny walked back toward the shed at the end of the pier. There, Mr. Hanson was painting something on a white cloth. He smiled when he saw the Aldens.

  “Hello! Welcome to my workshop.” Mr. Hanson had a big smile on his face. He held up the white cloth. “What do think?” he asked.

  Benny cocked his head. “What is it?” he asked.

  Mr. Hanson’s shoulders slumped. “It is supposed to be a ghost. Someone stole the family of ghosts from my haunted house. I need to replace them. But I guess I am not doing a very good job.”

  “Violet is a terrific artist!” Benny said. “She can draw anything!”

  Violet blushed. “I do like to draw, Mr. Hanson,” she said. “If you would like, I could make a family of ghosts for you.”

  Mr. Hanson jumped up. “That would be great!” he said. He showed Violet all the materials that he had bought for the job. “Now I can go fix the motorcycles.”

  “You fix motorcycles?” Benny asked.

  “Not real ones,” Mr. Hanson said. “I have a motorcycle ride for children. They can sit on small motorcycles and pretend that they are riding them. But two nights ago, someone took all the handles off the motorcycles. I had to order new handles. Now I have to screw all the new handles back on to the motorcycles.”

  “I can do that for you,” Henry offered. “Thank you so much,” Mr. Hanson said.

  “Now I just have to fix up the house of mirrors and the boat ride.”

  “What’s a house of mirrors?” Benny asked. Mr. Hanson smiled. “Have you never been in one? It is a lot of fun. It is a maze where all of the walls are made of glass. It is fun to try to find your way out. But first I need to clean it up. Someone has written all over the walls.” “That’s terrible!” Jessie said. “Who would do such a thing?”

  Mr. Hanson shrugged. “Probably one of my customers. It is a big amusement pier. I cannot watch every ride at the same time. Some customers are not very respectful. They break things when I am not looking. I don’t know why they do that.”

  “You should fix the boat ride, Mr. Hanson,” Jessie said. “Benny and I will clean the house of mirrors.”

  Benny and Jessie grabbed some sponges and a bucket of soapy water and headed to the house of mirrors. Just before they got there, a man rudely bumped into Jessie and she almost spilled the bucket of soapy water.

  “Watch where you are going!” the man shouted.

  “Excuse me,” Jessie said. “But I believe you bumped into me.”

  The man was tall with dark, curly hair. He looked down at Jessie. “Maybe I did. I don’t know. Do you kids work here?”

  “We are helping out,” Jessie said. “Is there something that you need?”

  Just then, Mrs. Reddy walked toward them, shaking her cane. “Get off this pier, Bob Cooke!” she shouted.

  The man rolled his eyes, but he did not move. “You don’t own the pier anymore, Mrs. Reddy. You can’t order me off.”

  Mrs. Reddy banged her cane into the boardwalk. “You don’t belong here!”

  “You don’t, either,” he said. Mr. Cooke pointed to Jessie and Benny. “Do you see that Carl is making little children work for him now? He is desperate.”

  Jessie’s face flushed with anger. Before she could answer, Mrs. Reddy did. “These are just kids helping out. But Carl Hanson is ruining this amusement pier.”

  Mr. Cooke smiled. “I know,” he answered. “He will be out of business by the end of the summer. And then I will buy the amusement pier. I will own more amusements than anyone on this boardwalk.”

  “You will never own this pier!” Mrs. Reddy said.

  “Come on, Benny,” Jessie said. She felt uncomfortable listening to the two adults arguing. Jessie and Benny walked into the house of mirrors.

  “Wow!” Benny cried. “Look at it!”

  There were walls of glass as far as Jessie and Benny could see. Every time they turned one corner, another wall of glass was in front of them. It was hard to know which way to go. Jessie set her bucket down. She was about to ask Benny for a sponge when she noticed that he was gone!

  “Benny!” Jessie cried. “Where are you?” But there was no answer. Jessie began to run through the maze of mirrors. Several times she banged hard into a glass wall that she did not see. She could not find her way out!

  CHAPTER 3

  A List of Clues

  Jessie stood very still for a moment and listened. She could hear footsteps from somewhere inside the maze. She tried calling to Benny again, but he did not answer. She put her hands in front of her face and felt her way around the glass walls. Then, suddenly, it became easier. Someone had splashed a red liquid on the glass. Now Jessie could see where she was going. Soon, she saw black scribbles on the glass walls, too. And she saw words. “This way out” was written on one wall. Arrows pointed the way. “This is a stupid ride,” read another wall. Finally, Jessie saw “Go to Cooke’s Amusement Pier. It is much more fu—” The sentence was not finished.

  Jessie looked down. A black marker was laying on the ground. She picked it up and put it in her pocket. She felt a tap on her back and she jumped!

  “Benny!” Jessie cried. “Where were you?” Benny rubbed his forehead. “I was just trying out the maze, Jessie. It is hard. I ran right into the glass walls two times. But then I saw the red paint. I was going to come back to you.”

  “Didn’t you hear me calling to you?” Jessie asked.

  “No,” Benny said. “I got too far away. There was someone else in the maze with us. I thought it was you. But it wasn’t. The person was writing on the walls. The person saw me coming and ran away.”

  Jessie pulled the marker out of her pocket. “I found this,” she said. “Did you see who was writing on the walls?”

  “No,” Benny said. “I could not see the person. There were too many glass walls in the way. But the person was wearing blue pants. I could see that.”

  Jessie and Benny carefully retraced their steps. They found the bucket with the soapy water. They worked hard and rubbed off all the red splashes and all the black words from the maze walls. When they finished, they walked back toward the shed.

  They passed Henry. He was just screwing on the last handle on a motorcycle. “That should do it,” he said. Then he joined Jessie and Benny.

  “Wow! Look at what Violet has done!” Benny cried as they arrived at the shed.

  A family
of scary-looking ghosts stood on the table.

  “Listen to this,” Violet said. She pushed the button on a recorder. Benny jumped and grabbed Jessie’s hand. The frightening wail of ghosts filled the shed.

  “It’s just pretend, Benny,” Violet said. “Mr. Hanson recorded it. The ghost sounds will play when customers ride through the haunted house. We are going to set up the ghosts soon.”

  “You kids have been working very hard,” Mr. Hanson said. “Why don’t you go get some dinner on the boardwalk? We can set up the ghosts in the haunted house when you get back. There is a wonderful pizza place called Mack’s. I will write down the directions for you.”

  Mr. Hanson walked toward the ticket booth. Will was there. He looked bored. There were no customers buying tickets yet.

  “Will, where is the black marker? I need to write something down for the Aldens,” Mr. Hanson said.

  Will stood up. He patted the counter. “I don’t know. It was here earlier. I guess someone took it.”

  Jessie suddenly remembered something. She pulled the marker from her pocket that she had found in the house of mirrors. “I have a marker,” she said. “You may have this one if you like.”

  Will narrowed his eyes at Jessie. “That looks just like our marker.” He turned toward his father. “You better watch these kids, Dad. You don’t know very much about them.”

  Jessie’s face flushed. “I found that marker in the house of mirrors,” she said.

  Mr. Hanson held up his hands. “Will, please don’t say such things. I trust the Aldens.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t.” Will walked out of the ticket booth. He pointed to Jessie and Benny. “I saw those two talking to Bob Cooke and Mrs. Reddy earlier today. Who knows what they were plotting?” Then Will stomped off down the boardwalk. Benny noticed something odd about Will’s sneakers as Will walked away. They had the same red splatters on them as Wendy’s shoes.

  “Don’t mind Will,” Mr. Hanson said. “He and Wendy have had a hard time moving here to Oceanside. They miss their friends in Colorado. They haven’t been themselves lately.”

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny headed down the boardwalk toward Mack’s. Jessie was still upset at Will’s accusation. The children found Mack’s without any problem. The smell of baking pizza wafted over the boardwalk.

  “Hello!” called a friendly man in a white apron. “Are you the Aldens? Carl Hanson just called to tell me how hard you have worked today. I saved the best booth for you.”

  “Thank you so much,” Jessie said.

  The children slid into a booth. On the side of the restaurant that faced the ocean, there was no wall. A fresh ocean breeze blew through the restaurant.

  “I’m sorry that Will accused you,” Henry said to Jessie and Benny. “That was wrong of him.”

  Jessie explained how she and Benny had run into Mr. Cooke. She told Henry and Violet about the argument between Mr. Cooke and Mrs. Reddy.

  “Do you think Mr. Cooke or Mrs. Reddy could be causing the problems at Hanson’s Amusement Pier?” Violet asked.

  “It is possible,” Jessie said. “Mr. Cooke wants Mr. Hanson to fail. Mr. Cooke wants to buy Hanson’s Amusement Pier so that he can own the most amusements on the boardwalk.”

  Jessie pulled out a notepad. When the Aldens were faced with a mystery, Jessie liked to keep notes. Many times her notes helped solve the mystery. Jessie wrote Mr. Cooke’s name in her notepad. She wrote down the things he had said.

  “What about Mrs. Reddy?” asked Benny. “She seems angry at Mr. Hanson.”

  “That’s true, Benny,” Jessie said. She added Mrs. Reddy’s name to her list. “Mrs. Reddy thinks that Mr. Hanson is ruining the amusement pier. The amusement pier was owned by her family for a long time. She seems to want it back.”

  “I don’t understand why she sold it,” Violet said.

  “She told Mr. Hanson that she wanted to retire,” Henry said.

  Jessie continued to write. She looked thoughtful. “But Leslie, the lady from the tramcar, said that Mrs. Reddy was upset about why she had to sell the amusement pier.” “That’s true,” Henry agreed. “I wonder what she meant by that.”

  Just then Mack delivered a large, hot pizza with bubbling cheese to their table. A boy followed him with four glasses of ice-cold lemonade.

  “Wow!” Benny cried. “This pizza looks great! I think I could eat the whole thing by myself.”

  Mack introduced the boy with the lemonade as his son, Hunter. Hunter had soft brown hair and a dark tan. He looked like he was a few years older than Henry.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Hunter said. “Are you kids here on vacation?”

  “Yes,” Henry answered. “And we’re helping out at Hanson’s Amusement Pier, as well.”

  “That’s very nice of you,” Hunter said. “Mr. Hanson can use all the help he can get. His kids, Will and Wendy, don’t seem to like to work. And they’re not very friendly.”

  Mack shook his head. “They’re just having hard time. They moved here from far away and left all their friends behind.”

  “Then they should make new friends here,” Hunter said. “There are lots of great kids in Oceanside.”

  “Maybe you should invite them surfing with you,” Mack suggested.

  “Surfing? Are you a surfer?” Benny asked. “I would like to surf too!”

  Hunter smiled. “I do like to surf. You might be a little small to surf, Benny. But I could teach you how to boogie board.”

  Benny hopped out of his seat. He turned to Jessie. “Can I boogie board? Please? Can I go now?”

  Hunter laughed. “I’m sorry, Benny, but I have to work right now. But maybe I can take you another day.”

  “Thanks!” Benny said.

  The children began eating the delicious pizza. Benny was so excited about boogie boarding that he almost dropped his slice of pizza. Some of the red sauce squirted onto his T-shirt. Violet tried to clean it off with her napkin.

  “It won’t come off, Benny,” Violet said. “We’ll have to wash it when we get home.”

  Benny looked down at the red stains on his shirt. It reminded him of something. “Now my shirt looks like Will’s and Wendy’s shoes,” he said.

  Jessie thought for a minute. Benny was right. She did remember seeing red stains on the twins’ shoes. She pulled out her notepad. She added Will’s and Wendy’s names to her list. She told Henry and Violet about the red liquid that was spilled on the walls of the house of mirrors. Benny explained about the words written in black marker. He also told how he had seen someone in blue pants running away through the maze.

  “Jessie,” Henry said. “Is that the marker you found in the house of mirrors?”

  Jessie looked down at the marker in her hand. “Yes, it is. I suppose that I was so upset at Will’s accusation, I forgot to put it back on the counter.”

  “Look at what is printed on the side of the marker,” Henry said.

  Jessie turned the marker on its side. She read out loud, “Captain Cooke’s Amazing Amusement Pier.”

  The children were surprised.

  “I have another clue for your notepad, Jessie,” Benny said. “Mr. Cooke was wearing blue pants.”

  “You are a good detective, Benny,” Violet said. “But I think that Will was also wearing blue pants today.”

  Jessie wrote all the information down in the notepad.

  “It’s getting late,” Henry said. “We promised Mr. Hanson that we would come back to help set up Violet’s ghosts in the haunted house.”

  “Yes,” Jessie agreed. “But perhaps we should take a look around Captain Cooke’s pier first.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Benny Disappears

  Captain Cooke’s pier was smaller than Hanson’s, but there were many exciting rides there.

  “Look!” Benny cried. He pointed to a very large pirate ship. The ship rocked high into the air, back and forth.

  There were also games where people could win prizes. One booth had a big wall filled with balloon
s. People threw darts and tried to pop the balloons.

  “Can I try that?” asked Benny. “It won’t take long. Please?”

  Henry laughed. “Sure, Benny,” he said. “Let’s see if you can win a prize.”

  Henry paid the man in the booth. The man handed Benny three darts.

  Benny rubbed his hands together. He was excited. He reached back and threw his first dart very hard, but he missed. The dart stuck into the corkboard wall.

  “Almost, Benny!” Violet said. “You’ll get the next one.”

  Benny took aim again. He threw his second dart and it hit a small yellow balloon. But the balloon did not pop!

  The man in the booth whispered to Benny. Benny looked confused, then he nodded. He aimed for a big red balloon down in the corner. He let the dart fly. It hit the red balloon and there was a loud pop!

  “You did it, Benny!” Violet cried.

  A green ticket fluttered to the ground. The man in the booth picked it up and handed it to Benny. “Looks like you are a winner!” he said. The man smiled and gave Benny a long rubber snake.

  “Cool!” Benny showed his snake to his brother and sisters. “It looks so real! Do you think I can scare Grandfather with it?”

  Henry laughed. “Maybe you can.”

  The children were so busy looking at Benny’s prize that they did not see Mr. Cooke walk toward them. He was carrying a folder and some papers. He stopped at the dart-throwing booth.

  “I see you have come to the better amusement pier,” Mr. Cooke said. “Did you get tired of all the broken rides at Hanson’s?” Mr. Cooke spoke very loudly. He spoke like he was an actor on a stage. People on the boardwalk turned and looked at him.

  “Not at all,” Jessie said. “And the rides at Hanson’s are not broken. We are just on our way there right now.”

  The man in the dart booth was counting money. He handed the bills to Mr. Cooke. Mr. Cooke took a paper out of his folder.

  “Be careful over at Hanson’s,” Mr. Cooke said. “They have been having so much trouble with their rides, it might not be very safe over there.”