Giant Yo-Yo Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “This?” Emily asked, pulling the rolled-up paper out and glancing at it.

  “Oh, that’s nothing,” she said. She quickly shoved the paper all the way down the bag and turned to her boyfriend. “We should go.”

  “Yes,” he said, his hand on the doorknob. “See you kids later.”

  “Make sure you lock up when you leave,” Emily told the children. “We wouldn’t want anyone to break into Jeff’s shop during the night.”

  Then Emily and Todd were gone.

  CHAPTER 6

  Sabotage

  “Did you all see that paper that was sticking up out of Emily’s bag?” Benny asked.

  “I noticed it when you asked her about it, Benny,” Violet said. “It looked like it had a yo-yo on it. And some math formulas.”

  “I saw that, too,” Henry said.

  “You don’t think Emily could have followed us downtown and then taken them out of Henry’s backpack, do you?” Jessie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Benny said. “She was here when we got here,”

  “Yes, but whoever took the plans out of Henry’s backpack left the library before we did,” Violet said. “He, or she, could’ve gotten back here ahead of us—especially if the person was driving. Driving is faster than walking.”

  “But Emily doesn’t drive a gray station wagon,” Henry said.

  “We don’t know what she drives,” Jessie said. “She always leaves the shop with her boyfriend.”

  “Maybe her boyfriend drives a gray station wagon.” Benny said.

  “There was a blue truck parked out front when we got here. I’m guessing that’s Emily’s boyfriend’s truck,” Violet said.

  “Could be,” Jessie said. “Or it could be Emily’s truck.”

  “Well, the person who picked up my backpack in the library was a man,” Henry said.

  “And the person who called here and told Jeff to stop building the yo-yo was also a man,” Jessie said.

  “But despite what Emily said, those sure looked like plans for the yo-yo in her bag,” Benny said. “So if she didn’t steal them out of Henry’s backpack, I’d like to know where she got them.”

  “Or why she would want them,” added Violet. “Emily could have taken the plans from the shop at any time.”

  Jessie sat down at Jeff’s computer and looked at the screen. Emily had never closed the file with her resignation letter.

  “I can’t imagine why Emily would want the plans for the yo-yo,” Jessie said as she closed the file on the computer. “She’s quitting her job.”

  “Maybe Todd wants them for some reason.” Henry said.

  “Why would he want them?” Benny asked.

  “I don’t know,” Henry said. “Maybe he wants to build the world’s largest yo-yo, too, but he doesn’t know how to do it.”

  Violet sighed. “It seems like we have more questions than we have answers.”

  The children waited a little longer for Jeff to come back, but after awhile, they decided to leave, too. They called Grandfather for a ride, then made sure to lock the door behind them as they left.

  “Tomorrow’s a new day,” Henry said. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll find the answers to some of these questions.”

  “I hope so,” Jessie said.

  The next morning, the Aldens got up early and rode their bikes over to Jeff’s shop. They were relieved that the gray station wagon didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight.

  As the Aldens turned onto Jeff’s street, they noticed a white sedan parked in front of Mrs. Thorton’s house. As the children got closer, they saw a tall man with a black jacket and baseball cap hurry out of the Thorton’s house. He quickly got into the white car and started it up.

  “Do you suppose that’s Erik Thorton?” Violet asked as the white car sped away.

  “I don’t know who else he could be,” Jessie said. “He came out of Mrs. Thorton’s house.”

  “He sure was in a hurry,” Benny said.

  “I wonder where he’s going in such a hurry?” Henry said.

  “I don’t know,” Violet said. “But he was driving a white sedan, not a gray station wagon. So he’s probably not the person who was following us.”

  “Unless the white car is his mother’s car and his car is in that garage over there.” Jessie pointed to a small one-car garage that sat behind the yellow house.

  “That’s possible,” Henry admitted.

  Just then, the children heard sirens. They turned and saw a police car barreling down the middle of the street with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

  “Hey, that police car is turning into Jeff’s shop!” Jessie cried.

  “Come on,” Henry said, getting back on his bike. “Let’s go see what’s going on.”

  The children pedaled the rest of the way to Jeff’s shop. They parked their bikes next to the “Jeff’s Custom Furniture” sign, then rushed to the door.

  Once inside, they found Jeff and Emily talking to a police officer. The other officer was looking around the shop.

  “What’s going on here?” Jessie asked. “Why are the police here?”

  “It appears someone broke into this shop and vandalized Mr. Naylor’s yo-yo last night,” a female officer said.

  The Aldens turned toward the yo-yo. It was covered in a brown liquid.

  “What is it?” Henry asked.

  “Looks like oil,” another officer replied as he wiped a finger across the liquid.

  Jessie gasped. “Who would come in here and pour oil all over the yo-yo?”

  “And why?” Violet asked. “Why would someone do such a thing?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Emily said coldly. “I was just telling Jeff that you kids were still here when I left last night. I don’t know if you are the ones who did this or if you just left the door unlocked—”

  “What!” Benny exclaimed.

  “You think we’re responsible for this?” Violet asked.

  “Now, wait a minute,” Jeff said. “These kids have been helping me build this yo-yo. I know they’re not involved.”

  The policewoman turned toward the children. The name on her badge was Maguire. “Were you the last ones to leave the shop?”

  “Yes,” Henry said.

  Officer Maguire turned to a new page in her notebook. “And approximately what time was that?”

  The children all looked at each other. “Probably around 4:30,” Henry said. The others nodded.

  “What were you doing here all by yourselves?” Officer Maguire asked.

  “We came back over here after we’d been to the library because we wanted to talk to Jeff,” Jessie explained. “That was at about four o’clock. He wasn’t here, but Emily was. And so was her boyfriend.”

  Officer Maguire turned back to Emily.

  “You didn’t mention any boyfriend.”

  “I-I didn’t think that was important,” Emi?y stammered. “But yes, my boyfriend, Todd was with me. He waited while I wrote my letter of resignation. Then, while I was printing it, these kids showed up. I don’t know why they came back. They’d been here all morning.”

  “We wanted to talk to Jeff,” Jessie said again. She turned to Jeff. “Did you know that Erik Thorton attempted to build the world’s largest yo-yo?”

  “But he wasn’t successful,” Henry added. “When he tried to launch it, it fell off the crane and rolled into the crowd where it injured some people, including Erik.”

  Emily frowned. “What are you kids talking about?”

  “This is why we came back yesterday afternoon,” Henry explained. “We wanted to talk to Jeff about all of this.”

  Officer Maguire kept writing in her notebook. “So, who’s Erik Thorton?” she asked, as she wrote.

  “He’s the son of the lady who lives in that yellow house across the street.

  He’s here visiting his mother right now. I don’t know how he feels, but I’m afraid his mother is not very happy I’m building this yo-yo.”

  “If her son was injured
while attempting to launch the world’s largest yo-yo, I’m not surprised to hear that,” Officer Maguire said as the other officer joined them.

  “Has she or her son made any threats?” the tall officer asked. His badge read: Sloan.

  “Well,” Jeff said slowly. “She did tell me she’d do anything she could to stop me.”

  “Did you tell the police about that phone call yesterday morning?” Jessie asked Jeff.

  “What phone call?” Officer Maguire asked.

  “Oh yes. I almost forgot about that,” Jeff said. “Jessie, you’re the one who answered the phone. Why don’t you tell them about it.”

  So Jessie did, and Officer Maguire copied down everything Jessie said in her notebook.

  “Is there anything else we should know about?” Officer Sloan asked.

  “Someone’s been following us,” Benny piped up. “Someone in a gray station wagon.”

  “Do either of you know anything about this?” Officer Sloan asked Jeff and Emily.

  “No,” Emily said.

  “The kids mentioned something about this yesterday morning,” Jeff said.

  “We saw the car again when we were having lunch downtown,” Violet said.

  “And then while we were at the library, somebody took my backpack,” Henry added. “I got it back, but I’m afraid whoever took it stole your plans for the yo-yo. I’m really sorry. I should have been more careful.”

  Jeff’s jaw tightened. “Fortunately, I have other copies. But I’m concerned about you kids. You said someone was following you. I had no idea it was this serious.”

  “I don’t think they’re following us anymore,” Jessie said. “I think they got what they wanted—the plans for your yo-yo. And now someone has broken in here and damaged the yo-yo.”

  “Can the damage be cleaned up?” Violet asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jeff replied. “But I’m starting to think I should forget about building the world’s largest yo-yo. I don’t want any trouble.”

  “Oh, don’t do that!” Jessie begged.

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Officer Maguire promised as she closed her notebook.

  “That’s right,” Officer Sloan agreed. “And I think we’ll start by paying a visit to your neighbor across the street.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Pizza!

  “Do you mind if we come with you when you talk to Mrs. Thorton?” Henry asked the police officers.

  “Not at all,” Officer Maguire said. “Come on.”

  So the children followed Officer Sloan and Officer Maguire across the street.

  Officer Maguire knocked on Mrs. Thorton’s door.

  She opened it almost immediately. She looked surprised to see the police officers. “What’s this all about?” she asked.

  Officer Sloan told Mrs. Thorton that someone had broken into Jeff’s shop and poured oil all over it. “Would you know anything about that?” he asked.

  Mrs. Thorton drew in her breath. “No, I certainly wouldn’t know anything about that.”

  “It happened early this morning,” Office Maguire said, holding her pen to her notebook. “Did you see anyone suspicious hanging around?”

  “No,” Mrs. Thorton replied. “But then again, I hardly have time to just stare out the window all day.” She let out a short laugh.

  “Are you here alone, Mrs. Thorton?” Officer Sloan asked.

  “Yes. My son Erik is visiting from New York, but he left a little while ago to look at a house for sale. His company is transferring him back to the Connecticut office, so as soon as he finds a place to live, he’s moving back here.” Mrs. Thorton smiled.

  “Well, I’m sure that makes you happy,” Officer Sloan smiled back. “What time did he leave this morning?”

  Mrs. Thorton checked her watch. “Oh, about twenty minutes ago. He was running late.”

  “Can you tell us what kind of car he drives?” Officer Maguire asked.

  “He drives a white sedan. Why?” Mrs. Thorton frowned. “Y-you don’t think he had anything to do with the trouble across the street, do you?” She looked from one officer to the other with concern.

  “We’re just gathering facts, Ma’am,” Officer Sloan said.

  “Then you probably already know that Erik tried to build an over-sized yo-yo, too,” Mrs. Thorton said. “And you also know what happened when he tried to launch it.”

  The officers didn’t say anything in response. They just let Mrs. Thorton talk.

  “Erik and I are very concerned about this yo-yo that Mr. Naylor is building, and I can assure you that if there’s been some trouble over there, neither one of us had anything to do with it!”

  The officers thanked Mrs. Thorton for her time, then headed back across the street to Jeff’s shop.

  Jeff and Emily were mopping up the oil as best they could, but it looked like a lot of the boards on the yo-yo would have to be replaced.

  Officer Sloan turned to the children. “Are you kids sure you locked the door when you left the shop last night?”

  “Positive,” Jessie replied.

  “Well, there were no signs of a forced entry,” Officer Sloan said. “I think whoever broke in here must have had a key.”

  “Who all has a key to this place, Mr. Naylor?” Officer Maquire asked.

  “Just me and Emily,” Jeff said. Then he scowled. “Actually, my former partner, Gary Richmond may still have one, too. We had a falling out … I don’t think he’d do something like this, but you never know.”

  Officer Maguire shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to check him out.”

  Emily glared at the children. “I still think these kids had something to do with it,” she said. “Maybe you should check them out a little more, too.”

  “Now Emily.” Jeff held up his hand. “We’ve talked about this already. I’m sure the Aldens are not to blame.”

  “Don’t be too sure about that,” Emily said.

  On Monday, Jeff called the Aldens on the phone and invited them to go out for lunch. “I know you kids aren’t responsible for the damage to the yo-yo,” he explained. “And I’d like to prove it by taking you and your grandfather out for a nice lunch at the Leaning Tower of Pizza. Do you like pizza?”

  “Yes, but you don’t have to take us out for lunch,” Jessie said.

  “I know I don’t have to,” Jeff said. “But I want to. Are you available?”

  Grandfather already had lunch plans, but the children were free. So Grandfather dropped them off at the Leaning Tower of Pizza at 11:30.

  When the children arrived, Jeff was already there. He waved to them from a back booth.

  “Hi, Jeff.” Jessie slid into the bench next to Jeff while Henry, Violet, and Benny sat down on the other side of the table that was covered with a red and white checked table cloth.

  “Hi, kids. I’m glad you could make it.”

  Jeff passed the menus around and for the next couple of minutes everyone read them over. They finally settled on two pizzas: a large pepperoni with extra cheese and a medium sausage and mushroom.

  A waitress whose name tag said Adele came over with a tray full of glasses and a pitcher of soda. Then she took their order. “I’ll get those pizzas out to you as soon as I can,” she said.

  The pizza place was busy, so the Aldens knew there would be a bit of a wait.

  “Do the police have any idea who broke into your shop the other night?” Henry asked as he took a sip of his soda.

  “I’m afraid not,” Jeff replied. “They talked to Gary, but he didn’t know anything about it.”

  “Have you worked on the yo-yo at all since we were last in your shop?” Violet asked.

  “I’ve cleaned it up some. But at this point, I’m not sure how much of it is really salvageable.”

  “Still, you’re not really going to quit building it, are you?” Benny asked.

  “No, I guess not,” Jeff admitted. “I started this project, so I’d really like to see it through. I don’t know whether I’ll get credit for the recor
d. Not unless I find that missing flash card with all the footage from when we first started building.”

  “You still haven’t found that?” Henry asked, surprised.

  “No,” Jeff said as he stirred his soda. “I’ve looked everywhere. But I’m not going to worry about it. At this point, I just want to finish the yo-yo. I don’t care about the record.”

  “We’ll help you any way we can,” Violet promised.

  “I appreciate that,” Jeff said. “With Emily quitting, I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

  “You can count on us,” Jessie said.

  “I’m glad,” Jeff said. “I had no idea Emily and her boyfriend were planning on starting a woodworking business. I certainly thought she’d stick around until after the yo-yo was finished. She seemed really interested in that project. I even gave her a copy of the plans.”

  “You did?” Henry asked.

  “Sure. She asked if she could have a copy as a souvenir,” Jeff said.

  “Do you have anybody else in mind for Emily’s job?” Violet asked.

  “No. I called the newspaper this morning and told them I wanted to place an ad. The ad will run this weekend. We’ll see if I get any calls,” Jeff said.

  “More soda, please,” Benny said, sliding his glass toward the pitcher.

  Jessie reached for the pitcher, but something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. “Not again,” she said, staring out the window. Her hand still gripped the pitcher.

  “What?” asked Henry. He, Benny, and Violet all turned to see what she was looking at.

  “That gray station wagon,” Jessie said. “I just saw it drive by.”

  “I sure wish I knew whose car that was,” Henry said.

  A few minutes later, a tall, skinny man walked into the pizza shop. He was alone. He was wearing a red baseball cap that was turned backwards and chewing on a toothpick.

  “Be with you in a minute, sir,” Adele said as she rushed past him with two pizzas. She set the piping hot pizzas down in the middle of the Aldens’ table.

  “Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Henry said. He turned to Jeff, but Jeff’s eyes were glued to the man standing in the doorway.