The Old Motel Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Oh, my, Benny,” Millicent Fair said, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. “You had a big day. Did Kay stay home?”

  “Yes,” Jessie said, setting a glass of orange juice in front of Millicent.

  “Did your Aunt Jane go on the tour?” Millicent questioned.

  “Yes,” Henry answered.

  “Well, I had quite a day, too.” She frowned. “There was not a drop of water,” she said in a disapproving tone. “No water!”

  “We know there was no water,” Henry said, wrinkling his forehead. “Someone deliberately shut it off!”

  “You don’t mean it,” Millicent said, sinking back in her chair in surprise. After a brief pause, she leaned forward. “There are some queer things going on around here.” With those words she drank her orange juice.

  Violet gave Millicent a sharp look. Why had she been so eager to know where they’d been and what they were doing?

  “Won’t you have some breakfast?” Jessie asked politely.

  Millicent jumped up, shaking her plump cheeks. “No, no, I must run. I have a hair appointment in Lyndale and the taxi will be coming any minute.” She backed out, nodding and smiling.

  After Millicent left, Henry said, “Millicent is certainly curious, isn’t she?”

  “I thought so, too,” Violet said, eating the last piece of her bacon.

  When they had finished eating and the dishes were washed, the Aldens chose four bikes from the bike shed for a ride. Waving to the painters, they pedaled past the swimming pool which Rolf had just filled that morning.

  After circling the motel’s grounds they headed out to the open road, riding beyond the store and to the edge of Lyndale.

  When they returned, they placed the bikes in the bike shed.

  “Let’s go for a swim,” Benny coaxed.

  “First,” Jessie said, “let’s see if Kay needs our help.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Henry said.

  The four children ran up the hill, eager to see what Kay needed.

  When they arrived, Kay and Aunt Jane were sewing and talking.

  “Hi, children,” Kay said. “What are your plans for today?”

  “We wanted to see if you needed anything done,” Jessie said.

  Kay smiled. “Aren’t you sweet? I did call in the order for the bedspreads and drapes and they should arrive tomorrow,” she said. “Then you could put them in each room, if you wanted to.”

  “Oh, yes we can do that,” Violet said. “It will completely change the look of the rooms.”

  “Thanks, everyone,” Kay said. “The painters should finish soon. Yesterday I placed an ad about my motel in several northern papers. In a few months it will soon be time for my ‘Snowbirds’ to fly south.”

  “Snowbirds?” Violet asked quietly.

  Kay smiled. “Yes, that’s what we Floridians call tourists from the north who fly south for the winter. I’m hopeful that I’ll soon be receiving reservations to fill my motel.” Her eyes began to sparkle and once again she seemed full of hope. “In the meantime, how would you like to pick oranges?”

  “Yes!” Benny shouted. “That will be fun.”

  “Good,” Kay said. “If we’re to serve orange juice every morning to tourists, I’ll have to squeeze the juice and freeze it.” She reached over and touched Benny’s hand. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re all as sweet and helpful as your Aunt Jane.”

  “Aw,” Benny murmured. “It’s nothing.”

  Jessie moved to the door. “The oranges are waiting for us.”

  They all laughed and followed her out to the backyard. They stood beneath the trees that were drooping with oranges ripe for the picking.

  Leaning against the house was a ladder that Henry carried to the first tree. Jessie and Violet brought six bushel baskets from the same spot. They began to pull big oranges off the branches and drop them in the baskets.

  The Aldens worked for an hour in the morning and came back in the afternoon. Catherine Wilson climbed the hill.

  “Why are you picking all these oranges?” the attractive tall girl asked, glancing at the two full baskets.

  “Kay intends to freeze juice for her winter tourists,” Violet said.

  “I hope her motel is better occupied than it is now,” Catherine said.

  “It will be!” Benny answered positively.

  “I hope so,” Catherine said, wiping her forehead with a handkerchief. “It’s hot today,” she said. “I just returned from the Seminole camp, and I think I need a swim.

  Why don’t you stop picking oranges and join me,” she urged.

  “We want to finish filling these baskets,” Jessie said. “We will later.”

  “Please come,” Catherine coaxed. “I don’t want to swim alone.”

  “We’d like to,” Henry said, placing several oranges in the basket, “but we’d better finish.”

  “The oranges will be there tomorrow,” Catherine urged.

  “Sorry,” Violet said. “We’ll join you later.”

  “Oh, all right,” Catherine said in a disappointed voice. With a wave Catherine headed down the hill. How gracefully she moves, Jessie thought. She picked a big orange and tossed it down to Violet, still thinking about Catherine. Why did she want them to quit working? She had been so insistent.

  When Kay came out, Jessie forgot her suspicions of Catherine. “Hi, Kay,” she said, stepping down from the ladder.

  “Why, you have six baskets brimming with oranges!” Kay exclaimed. “How wonderful!” Thoughtfully, she tapped a finger on her chin. “Let’s see, we’ll put three baskets in the kitchen, and we’ll leave the rest by the back door. I’ll deal with those in the morning.”

  The children were pleased that they had helped Kay. “Now,” Benny said, “you’ll have lots and lots of orange juice.”

  Kay laughed. “You’re right, Benny.”

  “Can we go for a swim now?” Benny asked, squinting up at Henry.

  “You bet,” Henry said.

  They raced down the hill to change into their swimsuits.

  When they got to the pool, Catherine had already left, but they had a splashing good swim.

  After a supper of hamburgers, baked beans, and chocolate cake, they almost fell into bed. They were tired from a day of hard work and their long swim.

  As they slept, a soft rain fell, but the children didn’t awaken until Benny sat up in bed and complained, “Henry! Water is falling on my nose!”

  Henry threw back his covers and hurried to Benny’s bed. He pulled the bed away from the dripping ceiling. “It’s the roof, Benny,” he said. “I heard Rolf tell Kay that he’d repair it tomorrow.” Without waking Jessie and Violet he tiptoed into the kitchen and found a pan to put under the leaky roof.

  Benny and Henry went back to sleep and didn’t open their eyes until the next morning.

  Henry suggested a swim before breakfast.

  “Hurrah!” Benny said. “I love to swim!” He pulled on his swim trunks and ran to the pool. But he didn’t go in.

  Instead he rushed back to the motel. “The oranges,” he yelled. “Come, quick!”

  Henry raced outside, followed by Jessie and Violet, who were also in swimsuits. When they reached the edge of the pool, they halted. They were too stunned to move another step.

  There, before their eyes, three empty baskets and hundreds of oranges could be seen bobbing about on the clear water.

  CHAPTER 6

  Oranges, Oranges, Oranges

  “The prowler strikes again!” Jessie exclaimed as she jumped into the pool and grabbed one orange after another, which she placed on the edge of the pool.

  Benny, holding his nose, waded into the shallow end. He reached out and tried to catch an orange, but it rolled out of his hand.

  Henry and Violet captured oranges, one by one, and set them on the grass above the pool.

  “The oranges will soon dry in the sun,” Violet said, jumping up and sitting on the pool’s edge. “I wish we could catch this pr
owler.”

  “That’s the last one,” Henry said, getting out. “We’d better tell Kay.”

  “Do we have to?” Violet asked, a note of regret in her voice.

  Jessie jumped out, too, her wet skin glistening. “I agree with Henry,” she said. “Kay needs to know what’s going on at her own motel.”

  Violet breathed in deeply. “I suppose you’re right,” she said to Jessie, “but I’m afraid she’ll become discouraged and sell to the Adventure Hotel chain.”

  Just then Catherine appeared. She was dressed in white pants and a yellow top, and she wore a red scarf around her head. Her smile was puzzled. “What are you doing with all these oranges?”

  “Somebody threw them in the pool,” Benny shouted, climbing up the ladder at the shallow end. “And after we picked oranges all day yesterday!”

  Catherine’s eyebrows rose. “That’s strange,” she said, sitting in a canvas chair.

  Violet, her feet in the water, said, “It’s very strange!”

  Jessie vigorously dried down her brown hair. “We intend to find out who’s doing all these things to Kay,” she said.

  Catherine was silent. Too silent, Violet thought.

  “I’ll meet you back at the motel for breakfast,” Henry said. “I’ll run up and tell Kay the bad news.”

  Catherine rose. “I must go, also.”

  “Are you visiting the Seminoles today, Catherine?” Violet asked.

  “Yes, I’ve almost completed my paper so I only need to visit them two more times.”

  “What do you write about them?” Benny asked.

  “I write about their habits and their camps,” Catherine answered. “You know, Benny, the Seminoles who lived in Florida in the nineteenth century were forced to leave and re-settle in Oklahoma. Some, under their great chief, Osceola, tried to fight, but when Osceola was captured they hid out in the swamps and they still live there today.”

  “Wow,” Benny said. “You’re lucky, Catherine, to have Indian friends.”

  “I know, Benny,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I’d better leave. Lacota will be waiting for me at the dock.” She hesitated. “I’ll be gone for a couple of days.”

  “ ’Bye, Catherine,” Violet said. “Thanks for taking the time to tell us about the Seminoles.”

  “I was glad to,” Catherine said with a sweet smile.

  Violet watched Catherine’s car leave. Catherine was such a lovely girl. She certainly couldn’t be guilty of doing anything bad.

  “Do you think Catherine would introduce me to Lacota?” Benny asked.

  Violet shook her head. “I doubt it, Benny. The Native Americans are friends with Catherine, but they might not like a stranger coming into their homes.”

  Disappointed, Benny said only one word. “Oh.”

  “Are you hungry?” Violet asked, standing.

  “Breakfast!” Benny said. “I almost forgot.”

  “Come on, then, let’s give Jessie a hand.” Violet and Benny dashed back to their unit.

  When they arrived, they found Jessie mixing pancake batter, and Henry, who had returned from Kay’s, broiling sausages.

  “Just in time to eat,” Henry said, dishing up the sausages. “Sit down, Benny.”

  Violet set the syrup and butter on the table and poured the milk while Jessie placed a steaming stack of pancakes before Benny.

  “How did Kay take the news about the oranges?” Violet asked.

  Henry helped himself to several sausages and passed them to Jessie. “Kay wasn’t happy about it, but she’s determined to go ahead with redoing the motel.”

  “Good,” Violet said, breathing a sigh of relief.

  “Aunt Jane is going into Lyndale this morning with Kay. They’re stopping at the bank where Kay plans to ask for a loan,” Henry added.

  “I hope she gets it,” Jessie said.

  “I hope so, too,” Henry replied. “After they go to the bank, Aunt Jane and Kay are staying in town for shopping and lunch.”

  “Good for them,” Violet said.

  “W-e-ll,” Jessie said, drawing out the word and smiling slyly. “Kay did say the bedspreads and drapes will arrive today and if we wanted to—”

  “If we wanted to!” Violet said eagerly. “Of course we want to!”

  “Want to what?” Benny said, licking his fork for the last drop of syrup.

  Violet’s brown eyes twinkled. “Want to unpack the bedspread and drapes and fix up each room.”

  “Yes!” Benny said. “We’ll have a big surprise for Aunt Jane and Kay.”

  “We sure will,” Henry said with a chuckle. “Kay said we all needed a break and that we should loaf today and go biking and swimming.”

  “We can do that and put on the spreads, too,” Jessie said, clearing her plate and glass. She smiled at Benny.

  CHAPTER 7

  Glittering Yellow Eyes

  The Aldens made up the beds with the brightly flowered bedspreads. Then they unpacked the matching drapes and in the afternoon, using the master key that Kay had given Jessie, hung them in Millicent’s and Catherine’s units. Neither was home so it was easy to work in their rooms.

  While stripping off the pillows in Catherine’s room, Jessie brushed her arm against a book on the end table. The book clattered to the floor and a map fell out. She glanced at the map, noticing it was of the area. She was about to slip it back in the pages, when she glimpsed a red marking. “Look, Henry,” she said in a puzzled tone. “This map has Kay’s motel circled in red.” She stopped. “And Adventure Hotel is circled, too!”

  “That is strange,” he said. “But put it back. It probably doesn’t mean anything.”

  Jessie wasn’t as sure as Henry that it didn’t mean anything.

  “Won’t Catherine and Millicent be surprised when they return?” Violet asked.

  Jessie nodded, replacing the map and saying nothing.

  After lunch, they decorated their own rooms. Henry stood on a ladder, pulling the lovely lavender drape across the rod, while Jessie and Violet made the beds.

  Violet stood back and gazed at her bed. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked, admiringly.

  “Won’t Kay be pleased when she returns?” Jessie said.

  “Can we go for a swim now?” Benny asked. “I’m hot.”

  “Even in this air conditioning?” Violet asked.

  “Yes.” A smile lit Benny’s round face. “I could go swimming in the winter.”

  “I’m ready for a swim, too,” Jessie said.

  So once again they pulled on their swimsuits and raced to the pool.

  Henry made a clean dive into the clear water. Jessie stood on the diving board and dived into the water. Violet waded in with Benny at the shallow end.

  Henry swam under the water and came up underneath Benny, who screamed with delight when he was lifted on Henry’s shoulders. Jessie and Violet swam easily around their brothers.

  The Aldens were swimming and laughing so hard that they didn’t hear Aunt Jane and Kay arrive until the two women were at the edge of the pool.

  Kay smiled. “You darlings! Jane and I went to your room and peeked in, and what a wonderful surprise! We saw the whole motel changed with new spreads and drapes.”

  Aunt Jane smiled warmly at each child. “We couldn’t resist checking out the other units, too, and it was hard to believe our eyes! What a difference to see each room with a style and color of its own.” She held out her hand, pulling Violet out of the water. “You must have been working ever since we left.”

  Kay looked around. The painters had finished, except for the trim and the bike shed, and the white motel gleamed in the sun. Kay gave a contented sigh. “I almost received my bank loan. I’ll know tomorrow morning after the bank inspector comes to look over the motel. If he likes what he sees, I’ll get the money.”

  “He’ll like the motel!” Benny said in a loud voice. “How couldn’t he not like it?”

  Kay laughed and leaned over, giving him a hug.

  “Have any r
eservations come in yet?” Henry questioned.

  A brief frown flickered across Kay’s face. “Not yet. I should be receiving the reservations from my regular Snowbirds and also a few from my newspaper ads.”

  Aunt Jane removed her straw hat and brushed back a loose strand of hair. “I’d like an iced tea, wouldn’t you, Kay?”

  “Yes,” Kay responded. “That sounds like an excellent idea. Won’t you join us, children?”

  They looked at one another and shook their heads. “No, Kay,” Jessie said, “but thank you. We want to go for a bike ride and then—”

  “And then,” Benny piped up, “we’ll eat!”

  Henry’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, we have a special supper planned.”

  Benny rubbed his stomach. “Chicken and mashed potatoes.”

  “And broccoli,” Violet said.

  “And strawberry Jell-O,” Jessie added. “Topped off with ice cream and cookies.”

  “Ummm,” Kay said, “that does sound good.”

  “Boy, I can’t wait to eat. I’m going to have two helpings of everything!” Benny said.

  And that night for supper that’s exactly what he did.

  They all went to bed with full stomachs and a happy feeling that they had had such a successful day.

  As she was drifting off to sleep, Violet turned in bed and was astonished to see a shadow outlined in her window. Then it disappeared. Her heart pounded and she jumped out of bed. “Jessie! Henry! Someone just went by my window!”

  Without a second’s delay, Henry found his flashlight and flung open the door.

  Sleepily, Benny joined them. “What’s wrong?” he said with a wide yawn.

  “Shhh,” Violet cautioned. “Someone’s out there.”

  Benny tiptoed outside behind Henry.

  Henry shone the flashlight into the trees, but nothing stirred.

  Suddenly Jessie’s hand flew to her mouth, stifling a scream. “H-he’s on top of the motel,” she stammered.

  Henry shot the beam up on the roof. He stiffened with fear.

  The white beam of light caught two yellow eyes.

  Frightened, they stared at the glittering yellow eyes that moved closer and closer.

  CHAPTER 8