Secret on the Thirteenth Floor

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  The kitchen island was unfinished and still open on the bottom half. Standing in the living room, the children could see through it to the kitchen floor. Benny couldn’t resist exploring such an inviting hiding place. He crawled inside.

  “Benny, that’s probably not a good idea,” said Henry, reaching for his arm.

  “Oh dear,” Gwen said. “There are a lot of tools in here. Please be careful, Benny.”

  Benny crawled out on the kitchen side of the island. He noticed something metal in the corner, behind a trash bag.

  “Hey, what’s this?” Benny said as he picked up the object. It was made of aluminum that had once been shiny but now was covered in black marks. On one end was a pointed nozzle. On the other end was a black handle and a plunger you could slide into the cylinder in the center. “It sort of looks like a water gun,” Benny said.

  He showed it to Henry. “I think it’s some kind of tool,” Henry said. “Maybe a caulking gun. You use those to seal the edges of windows and bathtubs and things like that.”

  Henry asked the worker in the kitchen if the tool belonged to him.

  The man shook his head. “We found that on the floor. I was going to throw it away—looks like it got burned up pretty bad.”

  “You found it?” Felix asked.

  “That’s right,” the worker said. He took a bandanna from his pocket and cleaned off his glasses. “We find all kinds of crazy things on job sites.”

  “I’m sure that’s true,” Felix said. “But there shouldn’t have been anything to find in here. This unit was empty before the fire.”

  Gwen looked perplexed. “That is odd, Felix,” she said. “But I guess it’s possible we just missed something.”

  Just then, a man with curly black hair entered the apartment with a stack of cookie tins in his arms. He made his way around the living room, handing the tins out to the workers. Soon, all the power tools had gone silent, and the workers were taking a break, smiling and laughing and munching on cookies.

  The scene made Gwen giggle. “It’s like I always tell you, Hayes,” Gwen said to the man when he joined the Aldens in the kitchen, “people get happier every time you enter a room.”

  “I think people just like cookies,” Hayes said with a laugh. He had a booming voice and broad shoulders. Jessie thought he looked more like a weight lifter than a baker.

  Hayes offered his hand and introduced himself to the children. “Would you like some cookies?” He opened the lid on a tin. Inside were three kinds: oatmeal raisin, chocolate peppermint, and coconut cream.

  “I thought you’d never ask!” Benny said, and everyone laughed. Even Felix took a break from his worrying to enjoy the treats.

  “Kids,” Felix said, “Hayes lives on the twelfth floor. And we have him to thank for saving this building.”

  Hayes smiled shyly. “Oh, Felix, you’re making too much of it.”

  “No, he’s right,” Gwen said. “If anything, I haven’t thanked you enough.” She turned to the Aldens. “Hayes smelled the smoke on the night of the fire, and that’s how the firefighters were able to get here in time to put it out before it destroyed the rest of the building.”

  “My apartment is directly below this one,” Hayes explained. “I was still awake when the fire started. As soon as I smelled it, I came up here to check it out. Then I called 911, which I’m sure you know is what you should do if you ever see a fire.”

  The children nodded. Felix told Gwen he wanted to show her the paint he had bought for one of the bedrooms, to make sure it was the right color. They left the kitchen, and Hayes remained with the children.

  “I’m so glad you could come to help Gwen with the cleanup,” Hayes said. “She works very hard to take care of this old building, and it’s just a shame to see what has happened.”

  “We’re happy to be here,” Violet said. “We’ve never seen anyplace like the Bixby.”

  Hayes scratched his whiskers. “While you were cleaning, did you happen to find anything…unusual?”

  “Well,” Henry said, “we just arrived and haven’t done much work yet. But there is one thing.”

  Henry looked at Benny. “Yeah,” Benny said, “just a minute ago, I found this on the floor. We were trying to figure out what it is. I thought maybe a squirt gun.”

  Hayes’s eyes went wide when he saw the tool. “How strange,” he said. “I’d be glad to take care of that for you. It looks damaged.”

  Benny pulled back his hand. “But I want to keep it.” Benny had a growing squirt-gun collection at home, and he was thinking this would make a great addition. By July, when it was really hot, the Aldens would be all set to host a squirt-gun party in the backyard.

  “Well,” Jessie said, looking at the black soot smeared on Benny’s palms from touching the tool, “let’s at least leave it in here. It’s too dirty to take back to the guest suite.” Benny agreed. He put the squirt gun inside the cupboard beneath the sink and wiped his hands on a rag.

  “Hayes, these cookies are awesome!” Benny said. “The coconut cream are my favorite.”

  “That’s my grandmother’s recipe,” Hayes said. “She made them every Christmas. Well, it was lovely to meet you all, and thanks again for your help. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around this weekend.”

  The children said good-bye and headed back to the guest suite to get washed up for dinner. Grandfather was setting the large dining table and whistling. He seemed to be in a better mood than he had been on the thirteenth floor when the elevator got stuck.

  Benny thought some of what had happened up there reminded him of watching a scary movie, but now that he was back in the guest suite, he was starting to relax a little. Nothing helped him get over being scared like the promise of food!

  “What’s for dinner?” Benny asked Grandfather.

  “You’re going to like this,” Grandfather said. “Thai food! I got a few different noodle dishes, plus some chicken and rice and spring rolls. I ordered it a while ago, so it should be arriving any minute.”

  Benny licked his lips. There was still hope for this day yet, despite its spooky beginning.

  “How was your nap, Grandfather?” Violet asked. “Did you finish your book?”

  “Yes, I did, and would you believe that the rich heiress turned out to be the one who stole the diamonds? No one suspected her. She was so wealthy they didn’t think she had a motive. But the diamonds belonged to the man who had swindled her father years ago—it turns out she wanted revenge!”

  Jessie smiled. “There’s nothing like a good book,” she said.

  “And now I get to start another one, though I wish this author would write a little faster,” Grandfather said. “I’ve nearly read them all. Maybe I will just have to settle for an interesting plot in real life when I see what jury duty is like.”

  The children laughed, then started getting ready for supper.

  “I’ll get us some cups,” Henry said.

  But Grandfather stopped him. “Actually, Henry, Gwen said we should use the crystal in the china cabinet for our drinks.”

  “Really?” Violet asked. “But it’s so fragile.”

  “That’s what I thought, but Gwen told me we shouldn’t worry,” Grandfather said. “These things were made to be used, not just looked at.”

  “This is going to be quite the fancy takeout dinner,” Henry said.

  “Cardboard and crystal,” Grandfather said with a wink. “Only the best for the Aldens.”

  A Crash and a Creature

  Late that night while the Aldens slept, the only sound in the guest suite was the ticking of an old grandfather clock that stood beside the fireplace. In one bedroom, Grandfather snored with his glasses still on and his new book open across his chest. In the other bedroom were the four children. Henry and Jessie slept in the matching twin beds under antique quilts. On the floor, Violet and Benny slept in sleeping bags.

  Suddenly, a huge crash thundered through the apartment. Henry bolted up in bed. “What was that?” he said. />
  Violet rubbed her eyes and unzipped her bag. “I don’t know. It sounded like it came from upstairs.”

  Benny and Jessie woke up too. “Do you think we should make sure everyone upstairs is okay?” Jessie asked.

  Henry nodded. “Someone might need help.”

  The Aldens crept out of the bedroom in their pajamas and slippers. Violet peeked in on Grandfather. “He’s still sound asleep,” she said. “Let’s not wake him.”

  Her sister and brothers agreed. They slipped into the hallway, which was dimly lit by brass light fixtures shaped like tulips, and walked single file to the elevator.

  “Look,” Jessie said, pointing to the half-moon dial. The hand was pointed to the number thirteen. “I think that means someone is upstairs.”

  “Let’s go check it out,” Benny said. He was about to press the up button when Henry put his hand on Benny’s arm to stop him.

  “Hang on,” Henry said. “Are we sure the elevator is a good idea?”

  “Good thinking,” Jessie said. “It could get stuck again, and then what would we do? Let’s take the stairs.”

  Henry held open the heavy door at the end of the hallway for the children to pass through, and then he eased it shut and followed them up the flight of stairs to the thirteenth—or fourteenth, depending on whom they asked—floor.

  Except for a few tools piled outside the damaged unit, the thirteenth floor’s hallway was the same as the hallway below—same red carpeting, same brass tulip light fixtures on the walls. But something about this floor in particular gave Benny a shiver. It was so dark and quiet, it reminded him of a haunted house he had once visited at a Halloween carnival. But that house had been quiet only until something creepy jumped out of a doorway.

  Benny took a deep breath and tried to remind himself that the Bixby wasn’t a haunted house, but he still wasn’t completely sure as he followed his siblings to the damaged unit. Just before they reached it, something did jump out—a black shape—but it didn’t make any noise, and it disappeared into a shadow.

  Benny grabbed Jessie’s hand. “Did you see that?”

  Jessie nodded. Her eyes were wide. “It moved so fast. It has to be some kind of animal.”

  “This is creepy!” Benny said in a loud whisper.

  They waited to see if the shape would reappear. After a moment, two yellow eyes came into view, then two pointy ears, and a tail swishing back and forth. Jessie relaxed. “Oh, it’s just a kitty!” she said.

  The children got down on their knees and tried to call the cat over to them. It had a pretty face and a pink nose. “Meow,” it said once, sounding friendly but shy. Then, suddenly startled by something, the cat raced off to the other end of the hallway.

  Henry glanced behind them and was surprised to see Mrs. Mason standing in a fluffy blue bathrobe.

  “What are you children doing up here?” she said. “It’s the middle of the night.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Mason,” said Henry, standing up and smoothing his pajama pants. “A loud crash woke us up, and we came to make sure everything was okay.”

  “It woke me up too,” Mrs. Mason grumbled, leaning on her cane. “I can’t get any peace and quiet around here.”

  Without explanation, Mrs. Mason walked toward the door of the apartment damaged in the fire. She opened it, and her cane clicked on the hardwood floor as she entered the apartment. The children followed her. Inside, she walked right past the kitchen and living room and headed for the bedroom. The Aldens had never been in this room before.

  Mrs. Mason switched on the light. There on the floor was a pile of broken glass. Around the glass was a frame, with a few shards sticking from its corners.

  “Well, there you have it,” Mrs. Mason said. “The source of the big crash.”

  “Oh no,” Jessie said. “We just saw the workers carrying this mirror in yesterday. It was brand-new.”

  “It may have been new, but it sure was ugly,” Mrs. Mason said.

  Henry scratched his head. “That is really strange. How could a new mirror just break on its own like that? No one was in here.”

  “It’s possible it was damaged when they moved it or when they hung it up,” Jessie said. “Maybe it had a little crack and it finally gave out?”

  “Or maybe someone was in here, and they left after it broke,” Violet said.

  “Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Mrs. Mason said. “Who would be up here in the middle of the night?”

  “I don’t like this,” Benny said. “Remember what Felix said? It’s bad luck to break a mirror—seven years of bad luck! Does the bad luck affect just the person who breaks the mirror, or everyone nearby? Seven years means I would be”—Benny stopped to count on his fingers—“thirteen when the bad luck finally wore off!”

  “Oh, Benny, that’s just a superstition, remember?” Jessie said, patting Benny’s shoulder to reassure him. “Felix is a nice man, and he’s working very hard to take care of the building, but there are other explanations for these things. We don’t have to worry about bad luck.”

  Benny wasn’t so sure.

  “I think we all need to get some sleep,” Mrs. Mason said.

  “Yes,” Henry said. “You’re right. Good night, Mrs. Mason.”

  She only harrumphed and walked back into the hallway. The children turned off the light and closed the door to the apartment. On the way back to the stairs, Violet said, “I wonder what happened to that cat. She looked really afraid.”

  Benny stopped, his eyes suddenly wide. “Wait. Remember when Felix said, ‘Never break a mirror’?”

  Jessie sighed. “Really, Benny, we’ve been over this. Everything’s okay.”

  Benny shook his head. “He also said, ‘Don’t let a black cat cross your path.’ We never saw that cat anywhere in this building—except the thirteenth floor. What if this is part of the curse? I’m going to have bad luck until I’m twenty!”

  Violet looked at Henry and Jessie with worry in her eyes. “It is a strange coincidence,” she said. “And it was completely black—it didn’t even have a spot of gray or brown.”

  “That was just a sweet cat, not a bad sign,” Henry said. “In the morning, we can ask Gwen about it. It probably belongs to one of the tenants. You’ll see.”

  The children crept back into the apartment and were relieved to see that all the noise had not woken Grandfather. They got back into their beds and sleeping bags, and soon Henry could hear Benny’s and Violet’s breathing change. He knew they were asleep.

  “Jessie? Are you still awake?” Henry whispered.

  Jessie turned onto her side and propped her head up on her elbow. “Yeah.”

  “I’m not scared of that cat, are you?”

  “No,” Jessie said. “You’re right. There’s no such thing as a curse.”

  “But I am worried about something else,” Henry said. “Upstairs, Mrs. Mason seemed to appear out of nowhere. And she took us right to where the broken mirror was, almost like she already knew what had made the noise. How did she get upstairs so fast?”

  Jessie thought about this for a moment. “That’s a very good question,” she said.

  The next morning was Sunday, and the Aldens were up and dressed before Grandfather was awake. He was enjoying his last morning of sleeping in before his jury duty would begin Monday morning.

  “I want one more look at that mirror,” Benny said. “I almost wonder if it was all a bad dream.”

  This time the children took the elevator to the thirteenth floor, and it worked just fine. When the doors opened, they realized they weren’t the only ones curious about what had happened the night before. As they walked down the hallway, they heard voices coming from the damaged apartment.

  “Listen, Gwen,” Felix was saying as the Aldens entered the bedroom to find him, along with Gwen, Hayes, and Mrs. Mason. “I know you’ve been skeptical of my thoughts on this, but you can’t get a worse sign than a broken mirror! Especially since there wasn’t a soul around—it really looks like this mirror broke out
of the blue. Now, how do you explain that?”

  Gwen had her arms crossed and looked like she was struggling to be patient as she listened to the others’ opinions. While Felix worriedly kneaded the back of his neck and rubbed his rabbit’s foot between his fingers, Mrs. Mason poked the pile of broken glass with her cane. “Maybe the Bixby doesn’t like these new decorations you keep trying to put up on her walls. This beautiful old building is fighting back. That’s what I think!” Mrs. Mason said.

  “I wouldn’t blame the Bixby for rejecting some of these changes, but let’s be reasonable,” Hayes said. “Did anyone see anything strange last night?”

  “No one could have been in here. The door was locked last night,” Felix said. “I’m sure of it. I’ve been extra careful since the fire.”

  The Aldens shared a glance. They had seen something strange, but they kept the details about the black cat to themselves. They wanted to be able to ask Gwen about it in private first.

  Gwen cleared her throat. “Thank you for your interest in figuring out what happened, but right now, my main concern is to get this room cleaned up before someone gets hurt on the glass.” She gestured toward the children. “And I see that my helpers have arrived just in time, thank goodness. Why don’t the rest of you get on with your day? I promise to let you know as soon as I learn anything about how the mirror got broken.”

  After Hayes, Mrs. Mason, and Felix had left the apartment, Gwen found a broom and dustpan and handed them to Henry.

  “Henry, I’ll take that,” Benny said, sweeping up the glass. “Maybe if I help clean up the broken mirror, I can get some of my luck back.”

  “Benny, I don’t think you have to worry about your luck, but I do appreciate all the help you kids have been,” Gwen said.

  “We’re happy to do it,” Jessie said.

  Gwen held open a trash bag so Benny could pour the glass into it from the dustpan. “If I can’t get to the bottom of the problems on this floor, I’m worried people will start moving out. The new high-rise building next door—the one with a pool on the roof—is running a special to attract new tenants: half off your first month’s rent and free cable. I just can’t compete with that,” Gwen said.