The Movie Theater Mystery

by Martin Widmark

  A few seconds later the film started rolling again. Thankfully there were no more problems.

  When the movie ended the lights went up in the theater. The moviegoers got up from their seats and started walking toward the exit.

  Popcorn Pete got up, too, and Maya frowned at him. Obviously he liked the movie more than selling snacks: His cheeks were red, but his tray was full.

  Outside it had begun to get dark. Maya was nearly jumping with curiosity.

  “Are you sure about what you heard?” she asked anxiously.

  “Wait,” said Jerry. “Not here. Someone might hear us. Let’s go to the café and talk it over.”

  Jerry and Maya walked across the square and sat at a table outside the café. They had a clear view of the Rio Cinema

  The square was full of people out for a walk, enjoying the mild evening air. The light from the town’s hotel illuminated the square and a ship’s horn could be heard from the sea in the distance.

  Sara Bernard, who worked in the café, walked over to Jerry and Maya and greeted them with a cheerful hello. Not so long ago, they had helped solve some burglaries at the café. Maya and Jerry each ordered a drink and a cinnamon bun.

  “I’m almost positive. I’m sure I heard a dog behind that door!” said Jerry, leaning across the table.

  “But it could have belonged to one of the staff. Maybe one of them keeps their own dog in there.”

  “Do you remember Ivy Rose from the newspaper?” asked Jerry. “The one who lost her poodle? She said her dog would sing when she whistled to him. I whistled through the keyhole, and the dog inside immediately answered. I don’t know if I’d call it singing, but I bet you my cinnamon bun that it’s Doodle Bug locked up in the storeroom.”

  “But then that means . . . ,” said Maya.

  “Exactly: Someone from the Rio is the dog thief!”

  “Let’s go over what we know,” said Maya. “And quickly. Who knows, maybe the other dogs are in there, too! A locked room is no place to keep an animal. Where do they keep the key to the storeroom?” asked Maya.

  “The door was locked with a big padlock,” Jerry told her, “but according to Zorba, the key has disappeared.”

  Jerry lowered his voice and gestured toward something with his head.

  Maya turned and saw Bert Anderson walking by with determined strides.

  Bert passed their table on his way to the movie theater.

  “This time he wants to be first in line.” Maya smiled.

  CHAPTER 5

  Cheats and Lazybones

  “What do we know about the people who work at the Rio?” asked Jerry.

  “Zorba the manager seems to have a surprising amount of money,” said Maya. “He had a big gold watch on his arm and all kinds of money poured from his torn pocket.”

  “If he has tons of money that’s because Miss Bloom from the box office is so short of money.”

  “What?” said Maya. She wasn’t following Jerry’s train of thought.

  “Zorba and Miss Bloom play cards while the movies are showing. They play for money! And I think that Zorba cheats with those extra cards he had tucked under his watch strap.”

  “That’s terrible!” said Maya in amazement.

  “Derek the projectionist has been coming to work in a taxi. Is he treating himself to a cab now that he’s suddenly rich?” said Jerry thoughtfully.

  “And Popcorn Pete doesn’t seem a bit interested in selling snacks,” said Maya. “Is he so well-off that he can afford the risk of losing his job? We can’t be the only ones who have complained about him.”

  “So those three seem to have a lot of cash . . . but have any of them left the Rio during the time of the thefts?” asked Maya. She shook her head. “Around that time they’re all busy in their different ways.”

  Sara came out with their order and put the drinks and buns on the table in front of them.

  Jerry and Maya moved their chairs closer to each other, still keeping the Rio Cinema in their sights.

  People had begun to gather for the 7:00 p.m. movie.

  And in the crowd was the police chief. For a moment Maya and Jerry wondered if he too had traced the dog thief to the Rio Cinema. But then they saw him buy a ticket for the cowboy movie.

  Maya took a big bite out of her cinnamon bun and thought for a moment. Finally she said, “The dogs have been stolen between seven and seven thirty in the evening. That falls during the second showing of the movie. The trail leads to the movie theater, but who can leave the Rio without being noticed?”

  Jerry thought.

  He couldn’t understand how it was being done, either.

  Zorba and Miss Bloom played cards with each other. Popcorn Pete was sitting right at the front throughout the whole show. The projectionist, Derek, proved that he was right where he should be when he repaired the movie in just seconds.

  Everyone was accounted for. Nobody seemed able to leave the theater without being noticed.

  “If we have guessed right,” said Maya finally, “someone who works at the Rio Cinema steals the dogs and then demands a ransom from their owners. Doodle Bug, and maybe even the other two dogs, are locked in the theater’s storeroom. But none of the employees leaves the Rio Cinema during the movies, and that’s when the dogs are stolen! How can that be?”

  “There’s only one way to find out the truth,” said Jerry darkly.

  “How?” asked Maya.

  “By snooping,” replied Jerry.

  They waved to Sara Bernard for the bill. But Sara reminded them that all of their café meals were on the house as a thank you for catching the café thief.

  Jerry and Maya got up from the table and strolled across the square toward the hotel.

  They snuck around to the back of the hotel—a place where they had a good view of the Rio Cinema . . . but where no one could get a good view of them.

  The perfect place for some detective work!

  CHAPTER 6

  The Ice Cream Consolation Prize

  “What time is it?” asked Maya in a whisper. Jerry pressed a button on the side of his watch, and a little light came on.

  “Seven on the dot,” he replied.

  “That’s when the movie starts at the Rio,” hissed Maya. “I’ll bet that anyone who leaves the theater now is the dog thief!”

  A young couple strolled past Maya and Jerry’s hiding place. They were walking hand in hand, on their way to the boardwalk by the sea. To avoid being spotted, Jerry and Maya moved even farther back into the shadows, toward the cold stone walls of the hotel.

  “Those two wouldn’t have noticed us even if we had been dancing the tango in pajamas under that streetlight over there,” said Maya.

  “Ssshh!” whispered Jerry. “Look! Someone’s coming out of the Rio!”

  “It’s probably Bert—thrown out again.” Maya laughed quietly.

  “Look, Maya! Over there!”

  Maya looked so intently at the glass doors of the Rio that her eyes started to sting. And yes—one of the doors opened softly, and out came . . .

  Zorba! The movie-theater manager. He stood for a moment in the doorway and listened to the sounds coming from the theater. Then he looked along the street and started walking toward the café.

  Jerry and Maya crept along the side of the hotel, as silent as two shadows.

  When Zorba walked past the tables outside the café, the two detectives scampered across the road and hid behind a tree.

  The theater manager continued along Church Street, past Mohammed Carat’s jewelry store.

  Maya and Jerry trotted across the road to the church on the other side. Zorba continued to the post office.

  Then he suddenly stopped and looked to the right and left.

  Then he crossed the road! Straight toward Jerry and Maya!

  They threw themselves down
behind the wall of the church. Very slowly and carefully they peeked out around the corner. And there they saw him again.

  The theater manager had stopped by the ice-cream vendor—to buy ice cream!

  He was not in any hurry. Taking his time, he stood by the ice-cream stand eating his ice cream. Jerry and Maya realized that Zorba could not be the dog thief.

  Someone who was planning to commit a crime would not stand and eat ice cream in full view of everyone on Church Street.

  After Zorba had finished his cone he bought another and turned back toward the Rio. With ice cream in hand he walked right by Jerry and Maya’s hiding place—so close, one of them could have taken a lick of his ice cream!

  From where they were they could see him cross Market Square and go into the movie theater. The wind from the sea had picked up a little, and there was now hardly anybody left in the square.

  “The ice cream must be for Miss Bloom,” said Maya as they were walking along the street again.

  “He must feel guilty about winning all that money from her,” said Jerry.

  Maya nodded slowly but didn’t answer. She had noticed something.

  “Look, Jerry,” she said, pointing toward the other side of the hotel, down toward the harbor.

  A hunched-over figure was scuttling along, clutching a large bundle.

  Down by the lighted steps of the hotel, the person looked around anxiously, adjusted the bundle, and then hurried toward the doors of the cinema.

  “Did you see who it was?” asked Maya excitedly.

  “I think so . . . ,” replied Jerry. “But minus a hat!”

  Jerry and Maya saw the mysterious person disappear through the doors of the movie theater.

  “Let’s go,” said Maya. “We need to get a move on!”

  CHAPTER 7

  But—That’s Impossible!

  Maya and Jerry ran as fast as they could across Market Square. When they reached the Rio Cinema they stopped to catch their breaths. Now they needed to move without making a sound.

  Maya opened one of the doors to the theater and let Jerry through. Then she crept in after him. They stopped in the foyer and listened. From inside the little room on the right, they could hear Miss Bloom and Zorba.

  Jerry tiptoed forward and peered cautiously through an opening in the doorway. The manager and the woman from the box office had started playing cards again.

  Zorba had his back to the door, and Miss Bloom was eating ice cream and concentrating on her cards. Jerry waved to tell Maya that the coast was clear. Quickly they hurried into the theater.

  “One second,” said Maya as she opened one of the doors to the auditorium. “I want to check something.”

  Jerry waited and shuffled his feet nervously. They had to hurry! What was she doing now? Jerry scowled after Maya. But when she returned and Jerry saw her look of surprise, his anger faded away.

  “He’s still in there,” hissed Maya. “Hat and all!” She was stumped.

  “But . . . ,” said Jerry. “That’s impossible. Derek is running the film, Miss Bloom and Zorba are playing cards. It must be him! Come on! We need to get a move on now!”

  Jerry and Maya ran down the stairs to the bathrooms. When they got down there, they discovered that someone had unlocked the padlock to the storeroom. The padlock was hanging open on the door!

  “Now’s our chance!” said Jerry and rushed to the door.

  “What are you doing?” asked Maya.

  Jerry grabbed the padlock. Just then they heard someone moving toward the other side of the door.

  “Hurry!” said Maya, who now realized Jerry’s plan.

  Jerry fumbled with the padlock—and dropped it on the floor!

  “Quick—hold the door,” he said to Maya.

  Maya threw her shoulder against the door. And none too soon—someone was pulling on the door handle, trying to open it from the inside.

  They heard angry muttering and then rapid footsteps as the person inside took a run at the door!

  Jerry picked up the padlock from the floor. Just as the unknown person inside threw themselves at the door with all their might, Jerry pushed on the padlock—it locked with a click!

  The person on the other side hit the door with a great thud. But both the door and the padlock stood firm. The dog thief was trapped!

  Maya and Jerry looked at each other with wide eyes. They were breathing heavily.

  “Okay, now what?” asked Maya.

  Jerry looked at her uneasily. He hadn’t actually thought about that.

  If the person inside went on throwing themselves at the door, either the door or the padlock would eventually give way.

  “The police chief!” said Maya. “He’s sitting in the theater. I’ll run and grab him.”

  CHAPTER 8

  As Good as a Lamppost

  Maya opened the door to the theater and stepped into the dark. She searched the rows of seats to find the police chief. And there he was, in one of the back rows.

  Maya waved to him but he was completely absorbed in the movie and didn’t see her.

  Maya had to reach past a few other people to tap the police chief on the shoulder.

  “Oh, now you want to sell me candy?” he asked crossly.

  “What’s that?” asked Maya.

  “Oh, I thought you were Popcorn Pete.” The police chief laughed. “I’ve been trying to get his attention for ages!”

  “We think we’ve caught the dog thief,” whispered Maya. Up above, she saw Derek looking down at them from the projection room.

  “What did you say?” asked the police chief.

  “The dog thief is locked in a storeroom downstairs. But we’ve got to hurry! Jerry’s keeping watch. Come on!” said Maya and pulled the police chief by the arm.

  When Maya and the police chief came out into the lobby, they could hear banging from below.

  They rushed down the stairs. Miss Bloom and Zorba were already there. They looked surprised by the commotion.

  The padlock was starting to give way from all the rough treatment it had been getting from the other side of the door.

  “What’s happening?” asked Miss Bloom.

  “There’s something in there!” said Zorba.

  “What’s going on?” called Derek from the top step. He came limping down the stairs. He had a bulky cast covering half his leg and held the banister for support.

  So that’s why he’s been taking a taxi to work, thought Maya.

  “We think the dog thief is inside and trying to get out,” replied Jerry.

  “The dog thief? Who could it be?” asked Miss Bloom. “The staff are the only ones who have access to the key to that room. Or I should say had, because the key has disappeared. And it would mean it’s one of us . . . and there’s only one person not here . . . so it must be . . . !”

  Now it was the police chief’s turn to be confused.

  “But that lazybones is up in the auditorium, watching the movie—as if that’s his job,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse employee. I wanted to buy a bag of chocolate Kisses from him, but he refused to look at me, no matter how much I waved. And during the movie he sat right in the front the entire time, not moving a muscle.”

  The police chief looked at Maya and Jerry, but they didn’t really understand what was going on either.

  Just then the door opened with a crash. The padlock flew through the air and out tumbled—Popcorn Pete!

  “But! You’re sitting up there,” said the police chief and pointed toward the theater.

  Popcorn Pete straightened up. All that effort had made him very red in the face. He tried to rush past, but the police chief grabbed him in an iron grip.

  “Well now,” said the police chief calmly, hanging on to the struggling man. “Why don’t we ask “Mr. Chocolate Kisses” here to expla
in himself. Are you the one who steals dogs and torments their owners? And if that’s the case, who on earth is up in the theater?”

  “Nobody, of course!” scoffed Popcorn Pete.

  “I put my hat on the back of the seat so that nobody would notice when I left the theater. Then I slide down to the floor and creep out through the emergency exit.”

  Popcorn Pete continued angrily, “It would have worked this time, too, if this blasted door hadn’t gotten jammed. Now I’ll never pay off my debts. I’ll probably have to give the whole system back, too.”

  “What are you talking about?” asked the police chief.

  “My home entertainment system, obviously. Eight speakers—surround sound, of course, a sixty-inch flat-screen TV—the works!”

  “Your interest in movies has gone too far,” said the police chief. “You’ll definitely have to return that entertainment system—and the money—but let’s start with the most important thing. You must return the dogs you’ve stolen! Their owners have been worried sick.”

  “Goodness gracious!” said Miss Bloom suddenly. “What’s the time? The movie will be finishing soon.”

  “Ask Zorba,” said Maya craftily.

  Zorba pulled up his sleeve and then realized his mistake. There, for everyone to see, were two playing cards tucked under his watch strap.

  “So that’s it! That’s how you do it!” exclaimed Miss Bloom. “Fortune comes and fortune goes . . . and lucky Zorba knows no woes! Well, thanks a lot.”

  Zorba looked down at the floor. He was obviously ashamed of himself.

  The discovery of Zorba’s cheating was interrupted by a pitiful whining.

  There in the doorway of the storeroom were four small, shivering dogs. They looked back and forth between the Rio staff, the police chief, the two young detectives, and the man who had stuffed them into a sack.