The Great Turkey Heist

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Do you think Mr. Grayson is pretending, Jessie?” Benny asked.

  Jessie watched the fire crackle in the fireplace. “I don’t know, Benny. Mr. Grayson is Grandfather’s friend, and he seems very sincere.”

  “We will have to keep our eyes open tomorrow when we are in town,” Henry said. “Maybe we will find more clues.”

  The next day, Grandfather drove the children to the bike shop. Their bicycles all had brand-new tires. The first place they rode was to the office store. Violet handed her flyer to the lady at the copy center.

  “Why, this is wonderful!” the lady said. “I didn’t even know that we had a food pantry in town. I have a friend whose husband has been very sick. He has not been able to go to work for a long time. This food pantry could be just the thing to help her family.”

  “There is not much food in the food pantry yet,” Jessie explained. “We are hoping that these flyers will help us get more donations.”

  “I’m sure they will,” the lady said. She introduced herself. Her name was Colette. “It is a beautiful flyer. Whoever did it is a very good artist. It will get people’s attention.”

  Violet’s face colored. “Thank you,” she said shyly. “I drew it. Do you know how much it will cost to copy the flyers?”

  “It will not cost anything,” Colette said. “I would like to donate these flyers to help the food pantry. And I will hang the first ones up right here in my store.”

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny thanked Colette. They put the flyers in their baskets and rode down Chestnut Street. Their first stop was at Mr. Carroll’s hardware store. Mr. Carroll was happy to see them. “I’m so glad your bicycles are fixed,” he said. He gave the children a roll of tape and told them to put up as many flyers as they wanted in his front windows.

  The woman in the dress shop and the man in the bookstore were also very excited about the food pantry. They each helped to tape up flyers in their windows and on their front doors.

  “Look!” Violet said. “The grocery store. That would be a perfect place for our flyers.”

  Higgins’s Grocery Store had big display- windows. Outside, boxes were filled with pumpkins for sale. And there were beautiful mums in every color, all in a row. The children walked inside. The store was busy with shoppers.

  “Excuse me,” Jessie asked a cashier. “Would it be all right if we put these flyers up in your windows?”

  Before the cashier could answer, a man came rushing over to the children. “What do you want in here?” he asked. “If you are not here to buy anything, you must leave right now.”

  “We’re sorry to disturb you,” Jessie said. “We were just wondering if we could put these flyers in your window.”

  “Flyers? Let me see those.” The man grabbed the stack of flyers from Jessie’s hand. His face seemed to grow dark when he read the flyer. “I’ll think about it,” he said. He stormed off into his office. He slammed the door so hard that his brown hat and scarf fell from the hook on the back of the door.

  The cashier looked at the Aldens. She shrugged. “Sorry, kids. That was Mr. Higgins. He owns this grocery store.”

  The children walked back outside to their bicycles.

  “He took all my flyers,” Jessie said. “And I don’t think he’s going to hang them up.”

  “I don’t think so, either,” Henry said. “But why would he be angry about the flyers?”

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny continued down the street. They stopped in many stores and offices. Everyone was very kind and very excited about the food pantry. Mrs. James in the shoe store hung up the flyers and also gave Henry twenty dollars for the food pantry. Anthony in the tailor shop even offered to donate clothes to anyone who needed them.

  “The people in Greenfield are very generous,” Jessie said. The children were standing at the end of the street. Right in front of them was Harvest Restaurant—the restaurant owned by Ms. Matthews.

  “Do you think we should go in there?” Violet asked.

  “I don’t know,” Henry said. “Ms. Matthews does not seem to like Mr. Grayson.”

  Violet looked thoughtful. “I think that we should go in,” she said. “Maybe Ms. Matthews does not like Mr. Grayson, but she should not be against a food pantry. And if she is, maybe we can try to find out why.”

  Everyone agreed, and they went inside Harvest Restaurant.

  “We ate here before,” Benny said. “They have good food.” Benny stood by the case that held lots of delicious desserts. There were pies and cakes and puddings with whipped cream on the top.

  The hostess greeted them. “Would you like a table?” she asked.

  “Yes!” Benny said before anyone else could answer. “I’m starved!”

  Henry, Jessie, and Violet were surprised. Jessie was about to object. They had not come in to eat. They only wanted to ask about the flyers. But it was lunch time. And Benny seemed so eager. The children followed the hostess to a table by the front window.

  Benny leaned forward. “You’re not mad at me, are you?” he whispered.

  “Of course not,” Jessie said. “But we were surprised. I thought we would go to Green Fields for lunch and tell Mr. Grayson about the flyers.”

  “I know,” Benny said. “But Ms. Matthews will be happy that we are eating in her restaurant. Maybe she will give us some clues!”

  “That’s very smart, Benny,” Henry said.

  “And it smells good in here, too,” Benny admitted. “And all those pies and cakes looked so delicious. My stomach knew it was the right thing to do!”

  After the waitress brought their food, the children asked her if they could see Ms. Matthews. They wanted to ask her about putting the flyers in her restaurant. Very soon, they saw Ms. Matthews hurrying up to their table. She had an angry look on her face.

  Benny took a big bite of his hamburger. “Your food is delicious!” he said. “I could eat ten of these hamburgers!”

  The look on Ms. Matthews’s face changed. She smiled at Benny. “I’m glad you like it,” she said. “How can I help you children?”

  Violet showed Ms. Matthews the flyers. She asked if they could put some around the restaurant.

  “No! No flyers! Do you see any signs or flyers anywhere in my restaurant? No! People do not like to look at such things when they come here. They want to relax and have a nice meal.” Ms. Matthews tried to take the flyers from Violet’s hand.

  Violet did not let go. She handed one flyer to Ms. Matthews, but she kept the rest. “We could put them outside,” she said. “It would not bother anyone’s meal out there.”

  Ms. Matthews read the flyer. Then she crumpled it in her hand. “Look, kids. You are being duped. Brian Grayson doesn’t care about any food pantry. I’ve seen that place. No one goes there. No one is helped. He collects food and he uses it in his restaurant. He wants to drive me out of business!”

  “But Mr. Grayson is —” Violet tried to explain that the food pantry was just getting started. But Ms. Matthews cut her off.

  “And now I hear he is having a free Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who shows up at his restaurant!” Ms. Matthews tossed the crumpled flyer onto the table.

  “But that’s nice, isn’t it?” Benny asked.

  Ms. Matthews shook her head. “Nice? I have been open for business for Thanksgiving for twenty years. I have worked hard to have a good business. Now Brian Grayson is trying to ruin my restaurant. He is not nice. You children should beware. Brian Grayson is sneaky.” Ms. Matthews walked slowly back into her kitchen.

  “Do you really think Mr. Grayson is sneaky?” Benny asked.

  Henry looked out the window. Green Fields restaurant was right across the street. “I don’t know,” he answered. “Mr. Grayson seems like a good man to me. But maybe he does want Harvest Restaurant to go out of business. Then more people would eat at Green Fields.”

  Jessie had pulled out her notebook. She was writing down the things that Ms. Matthews had said. “But aren’t there enough customers for both restaurant
s?” she asked.

  Violet looked around Harvest Restaurant. Ms. Matthews was stopping at tables and talking with customers. She picked up a napkin that had fallen on the floor. She helped a waitress who was struggling with a heavy tray. “Ms. Matthews cares a lot about her restaurant,” Violet said. “I didn’t know she had been working here for twenty years. That is a long time.”

  “Look!” Jessie said. She pointed out the window. Mr. Grayson was walking down the street. He was carrying a very big bag. It looked heavy. He turned to stare at Harvest Restaurant before he opened the door to Green Fields. He suddenly seemed surprised. Then he quickly went into his restaurant.

  “I think Mr. Grayson saw us eating in here,” Jessie said.

  “But what’s wrong with that?” Benny asked. “The food is good here.”

  Jessie sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with it, I suppose,” she said. “But Mr. Grayson and Ms. Matthews are competitors.”

  Benny bit into his last french fry. “I think I get it,” he said. “It’s like a game. Because we ate lunch here today, Ms. Matthews won.”

  “Something like that,” Jessie said.

  After lunch, the children headed across the street to Green Fields. Mr. Grayson seemed very pleased with the flyers that Violet had made. He taped them up all around his restaurant.

  “Your flyers have already worked,” Mr. Grayson told Violet. “Someone saw them and made a wonderful donation. Come back in the kitchen and I will show you.”

  The children followed Mr. Grayson into the kitchen. It was very busy. Cooks in white hats were shaking sizzling pans over a fire. Waiters and waitresses were arranging food on the plates. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Jessie held Benny’s hand as they walked through the rush of workers.

  Mr. Grayson stopped in front of a large silver door. “This is a freezer,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind the cold.”

  Benny’s eyes grew large. “A freezer?” he said. “It is almost as big as my bedroom!”

  Mr. Grayson laughed. “Yes,” he said. “It is big. It is called a walk-in freezer. Because we have so much food at the restaurant, we need to have a lot of space in our freezer.”

  “What’s that?” Benny cried, shivering. He pointed at a huge turkey wrapped in plastic. It was so cold, his breath came out in little clouds.

  “That’s what I wanted to show you,” Mr. Grayson said. “It is a donation. Mr. Beckett, who runs a farm near Greenfield, has donated this turkey. He saw Violet’s flyer and he wanted to help. He couldn’t find the food pantry, so he called me. He said that you helped solve a mystery on his farm about a pumpkin head ghost! You kids sure seem to get involved in a lot of mysteries.”

  “That is the largest turkey I have ever seen,” Henry said. “It must be very heavy.”

  “I was planning on cooking this turkey for Thanksgiving dinner,” Mr. Grayson said. “I am going to have a free dinner at the restaurant for the needy. It will be a good way to start off our food pantry and let everyone know that no one in Greenfield should ever have to be hungry.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” Violet said. But she knew that Ms. Matthews did not feel the same way.

  Back in the kitchen, Violet saw a recycling bin filled with used glass jars. “Could we take these jars?” she asked. “We would like to make them into donation jars and place them on the counters in the stores on Main Street.”

  “That is a terrific idea,” Mr. Grayson said. “Take all that you need.”

  The children carefully put the jars into bags and placed them in the baskets of their bicycles.

  “We better get home quickly,” Henry said. “I think a storm is coming.”

  A cold wind had begun to blow. Dark clouds were swirling in the sky. The children pedaled quickly down Main Street. The street was mostly empty. Just as they were about to turn toward home, they saw a man wearing a dark brown scarf and a hat. He was hurrying down the street, ripping Violet’s flyers off each window that he passed!

  CHAPTER 5

  A Giant Flying Turkey

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny had gotten wet in the storm. They changed into warm, dry clothes when they got home. Mrs. McGregor made steaming hot chocolate and put some pumpkin bread into the oven.

  “You poor children. You must have been freezing!” she said. “What do you have in those wet bags?”

  “These are used jars, Mrs. McGregor,” Jessie said. “We are going to clean them out and make them into donation jars.”

  Mrs. McGregor peeked into the bags. “They need cleaning, for sure!” she said. She filled a tub with hot, soapy water. She dumped the jars into the water. “I would like to help. I will clean the jars, and you children can dry them and decorate them.”

  While the children drank their hot chocolate, Mrs. McGregor used a brush and scrubbed the jars clean. Henry, Jessie, and Benny dried the jars while Violet sketched a small sign to place on them.

  “I was thinking about something that Mr. Grayson said.” Violet shaded in the words in her sketch. “He said that Mr. Beckett could not find the food pantry.”

  “We couldn’t find it, either,” Henry said. “If it weren’t for Benny, we would not have known where to look.”

  Jessie rubbed a smudge from one of the jars. “So even if we get a lot of food to put on the shelves in the food pantry, how will anyone find it?”

  “That’s what I was thinking, too,” Violet said. She turned her sketch pad around so her sister and brothers could see it.

  “It’s a turkey!” Benny cried. “It’s really good, Violet.”

  “Thank you,” Violet said. “I thought maybe the turkey could help people find the food pantry.”

  Benny’s hand was stuck inside a small jar. He struggled to slip it out. “But how can a turkey do that? It is a just a little picture.”

  Henry smiled at Violet. “I think I know what Violet is thinking. We can go back to the copy center. They can make giant signs from small drawings.”

  “Yes!” Violet said. “We could get the turkey made into a big stand-up sign. Then we could place it on the street outside the alley.”

  “Everyone would see that!” Jessie said.

  “A giant turkey on Chestnut Street! This is going to be so cool!” Benny said.

  The next day, the children placed all their donation jars carefully back into their bicycle baskets. They rode into town. Their first stop was the copy center. Colette was at work behind the counter. She loved the idea of the giant turkey sign.

  “It might take me an hour or so to make it, kids,” she said. “Do you think you could come back a little later?”

  “Of course,” Jessie said. “Thank you so much.”

  The children rode down the street and stopped in all the same stores as yesterday. They left donation jars with all the kind shopkeepers. They did not stop in Higgins’s Grocery Store or in Harvest Restaurant.

  “Do you have any more of those flyers?” asked Mrs. James in the shoe store. “Someone ripped them off the outside of my window yesterday. Who would do such a thing?”

  Violet explained that someone was trying to stop the food pantry from opening. They did not know who it was.

  “I will keep my eyes open,” Mrs. James said. “I’ll let you kids know if I see anything suspicious.”

  The children rode back to the office store. They had a few jars left in their baskets. Colette was waiting for them. She had a big smile on her face.

  Benny raced across the store. He shouted. “Wow! Violet, your turkey has grown into a giant!”

  Even Violet was surprised. Her turkey was six feet tall! It could stand all by itself. It held a sign with an arrow that said, Food Pantry This Way.

  “Thank you so much!” Jessie said. “We could not ask for a better sign. Now everyone will know where the food pantry is.”

  “I am very happy to help,” Colette said. “If you need any more signs or flyers, please let me know.”

  Henry carried the giant turkey out of the store. All the customers
watched, laughing.

  “Let’s leave our bicycles here,” Henry said. “We’ll set up the giant turkey in front of the alley, and then we will come back for them.”

  Everyone outside stopped to see the turkey being carried down the street. Mr. Carroll came out of his hardware store.

  “That’s quite a sign you’ve got!” he said. “Would you like some help setting it up?”

  “Yes, thanks,” Henry said.

  Henry set the turkey at the front of the alley. The arrow pointed down the alley to the food pantry. Suddenly, a gust of wind picked the turkey up and it began to fly!

  “Whoa! Come back, Tom!” Benny called. He ran after the turkey and grabbed its wing. “I got it!”

  Henry and Benny brought the turkey back.

  “Tom?” Mr. Carroll asked.

  “I named him Tom,” Benny said. “I didn’t know turkeys could fly.”

  Mr. Carroll laughed. “Mr. Tom Turkey needs to be tied down to his spot. I will be right back.”

  Mr. Carroll brought some heavy bags of sand and some twine. He poked a few holes in the bottom of the sign and he tied the sign to the sand bags. “This turkey won’t be escaping anymore!” he said.

  Tom the turkey seemed very secure. A crowd of people gathered to look at him.

  “A food pantry?” asked one woman.

  “I didn’t know Greenfield had a food pantry. What a wonderful idea. I have a friend who just had a new baby. She could really use some help. This would be wonderful for her.”

  Jessie explained how Mr. Grayson was trying to gather donations to get the food pantry started.

  “I saw the flyers!” one man said. “Now I know where the food pantry is. I will make sure to tell all my friends.” He handed a ten-dollar bill to Jessie. “This is so you can buy some food for the pantry,” he said. “It is wonderful that you kids are helping.”

  “Thank you!” Jessie said.

  More people in the crowd opened their purses and their wallets. They gave a lot of money to Henry and Jessie. The food pantry would soon have lots of nutritious food on its shelves.

  “Your turkey is a great success, Violet!” Henry said.