The Sea Turtle Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  Violet didn’t mind. She did not like how the man had yelled at them the day before.

  The ranger station was attached to the visitor center. Violet tied Watch’s leash to a railing on the deck, and they walked in the main entrance. Inside was a gift shop, which had posters on the walls of all the different kinds of birds and shells on Padre Island.

  “It’s amazing such a small place has so many different birds and animals,” Violet said as she studied one of the posters. “I wish I could see them all.”

  An older man stood behind a counter, arranging postcards. “Good morning,” he called out to them.

  Jessie walked up to the counter. She saw that the man’s name tag said Leo Halprin, Volunteer. “Hello,” she said. “We met Ms. Thakur yesterday on the beach. She said to stop by this morning so we could go through the junior ranger program.”

  The man smiled. “Excellent! We always need more rangers. I’ll check to see where she is and when she’ll be back.” The man spoke into a walkie-talkie. Then he listened and set it back down. “You’re in luck. She’ll be back in a few minutes. You can wait in her office if you’d like.”

  Ms. Thakur’s office was small and crowded with books. Most of them were nature guides about the birds, plants, and animals.

  Henry noticed a colorful brochure on the ranger’s desk. It had a picture of a leaping fish on it. “That’s the same picture of the fish we saw yesterday,” he said. “It was on the truck that was going too fast.” Henry leaned closer. “It’s a brochure for Mr. Fischer’s business.”

  There was a yellow sticky note on the brochure. The words on the note were written in big, swooping letters.

  “Is that real writing?” Benny asked. “I can’t read any of it.”

  “It’s real writing,” Jessie said. “It’s just extra fancy. It says, We should talk. I know how you can make more money.”

  “Why would Mr. Fischer want to help Ms. Thakur make more money?” Henry asked. “And why would he give her a brochure? If she wanted to go fishing, she probably already knows the places to go.”

  “I don’t understand how a fishing guide can help a park ranger make money,” Violet said. “I wonder if this has something to do with why Ms. Thakur left so suddenly yesterday.” Just as Violet finished speaking, the door opened. “Good morning!” said Ms. Thakur.

  Rangers on Patrol

  Violet jumped at the sound of the ranger’s voice. She hoped Ms. Thakur hadn’t noticed them looking at the brochure. Violet didn’t want the ranger to think they’d been snooping around her office.

  Ms. Thakur went around and sat behind her desk. She opened a drawer and took out four booklets. “I’m so glad you came in,” she said cheerfully. “We need all the help we can get! These are the booklets I was telling you about. You can sit out on the porch and work on them, and if you finish them before I leave, I can swear you in. You can be official junior rangers this very morning.”

  “Yes!” said Benny. “I want to be a junior ranger right away!”

  “We all do,” said Jessie.

  “Wonderful. Let’s get you some pencils.” They followed the ranger out of her office. “Leo, would you lend these future rangers some pencils?”

  The man handed them four pencils.

  “Just bring them back in when you are finished,” Ms. Thakur said.

  The children went to the porch and sat down at a picnic bench. The booklets were very interesting. Jessie helped Benny read some of the words.

  “I like that there are pictures of different kind of shells with their names listed,” said Violet. “I’m going to try to find one of each kind for my collection.”

  “I’d like to see some of the animals that live here,” said Henry. “It says many of them are nocturnal though. It’s probably hard to spot them in the dark. I’m sure if raccoons or coyotes were digging up the eggs, that would be the time when they would do it.”

  The children worked through each page. When they were finished, they took the booklets inside and gave Leo the pencils. The ranger came out of her office. “Perfect timing,” she said. “How did you do?”

  “We’re all done!” Benny blurted.

  “Excellent! Come over here and line up. Now raise your hands and repeat after me: ‘I am proud to be a National Park Service Junior Ranger. I promise to appreciate, respect, and protect all national parks. I also promise to continue learning about the landscape, plants, animals, and history of these special places. I will share what I learn with my friends and family.’”

  The Aldens repeated the words. The ranger smiled. “I declare you junior rangers.”

  Leo took four park ranger hats from behind the counter and handed them to the children. Then he handed out four badges, each with a picture of a sea turtle and the words Junior Ranger, Padre Island.

  Benny was so excited, he had trouble putting his pin onto his shirt, so Jessie helped him. “I’m going to wear it every day!” Benny said. “Even when we get back home.”

  “I hope you do,” said Ms. Thakur. “Now I need to go out on turtle patrol. My new junior rangers can come along if they’d like.”

  Violet got Watch, and they all followed Ms. Thakur to the beach. It was a nice day but very windy. Benny’s hat blew off, and he had to chase it down. They had gone only a short way before Henry noticed something.

  “Are those turtle tracks?” he asked, motioning to two sets of marks in the sand.

  “Good eyes,” the ranger said. “They definitely are.”

  Jessie followed the tracks up toward the dunes. “I don’t see a turtle,” she called.

  “It’s already come and gone,” Ms. Thakur said as she followed Jessie. “I hope the eggs are still there.” The ranger knelt down and dug very slowly. Violet thought it felt like they stood there for a long time.

  Finally, Ms. Thakur announced, “They’re here. Would one of you get a cooler from the UTV?”

  Jessie ran to get it, and the ranger started collecting the eggs just as she had done the day before. Before Ms. Thakur was finished, Martina and Sandy approached, and Sandy started to dig a few feet away from the nest.

  This time, Martina was holding Sandy’s leash, and she pulled him back.

  “Look!” said Benny. “Sandy found something!”

  “It’s a little red plastic ball,” Violet said.

  Sandy barked and wagged his tail. “Good dog,” Martina said. She rubbed the dog’s head and then put the ball into one of her many bags.

  Again, Benny thought back to the night before. This time there was no mistaking the voice. It had been Martina and Sandy walking along the shoreline!

  “Sandy sure likes to dig,” Benny said. “He must be good at finding things.”

  “Yes, he…” Martina trailed off. “I mean, maybe he is…I can’t say I’ve ever noticed.”

  Benny wanted to ask Martina more about how Sandy had found the red ball. And about why they had been out in the middle of the night. But before he could, Ms. Thakur spoke, “See what I’m doing?” The ranger was moving the last couple of eggs from the nest to the cooler. “This is very important. I’m not turning the eggs over. We need to keep them right side up. If they aren’t kept this way, they might not hatch.”

  Ms. Thakur finished explaining the process, and then Martina and Sandy continued down the beach. The children followed the ranger back to the UTV. As they went, Benny noticed the turtle tracks had disappeared. “Where’d they go?” he asked, looking around.

  “The wind blows the sand and erases the tracks,” Ms. Thakur explained. “It makes it very hard to find nests that aren’t marked. That’s why we put the rope into the nesting site or mark them with flags.” She lifted the cooler into the back of her vehicle. “Would you like to see the incubation area? It’s my favorite place in the station. You can learn a lot more about the turtles.”

  “Yes!” Jessie said. “We’d like that.”

  “Terrific! Meet me back there, and I’ll show you around.” The ranger drove off, and the Aldens
walked back in the direction of the station.

  When the children got there, they tied Watch’s leash to the railing. He lay down to wait for them. Inside, Leo led them into a back room where Ms. Thakur was working. It was full of different kinds of equipment and containers.

  “It takes quite an effort to get them to hatch,” Ms. Thakur said. “When we have eggs here, we sometimes take turns spending the night. We get up every few hours and spritz water on them. The ones nearing the end of the incubation period need fans put on them. We also monitor temperatures and check to see if any eggs are close to hatching.”

  “That is a lot of work, but it sounds exciting,” Jessie said.

  “It is very exciting,” said Ms. Thakur. “And it’s interesting to watch. Each baby turtle has one small tooth, called a caruncle, just to help them break out of the shell. Since we hatch the eggs here, the turtles get a little time to rest after all that effort. Then we release them at the beach.”

  Ms. Thakur checked a thermometer on one of the containers and wrote a number on her clipboard. “I’ve got some paperwork I have to do. Thank you all for your help. If you want to keep looking for turtles, there are some orange flags in a bucket on the front porch. You can take a few.” She pulled a card out of her pocket. “If you spot a turtle, mark the nest, and then call this number. A ranger will come out and take care of the eggs.”

  The children walked toward the main entrance. “Can we look at the guidebooks before we go to the beach?” Violet asked. “I want to see if they have one about the birds on Padre Island.”

  While they were looking at the display of books, the front door opened. Martina and Sandy came in. Martina didn’t notice them. She walked up to the counter and spoke to Leo. Because the store was so small, the children couldn’t help but overhear her.

  “I’d like to buy one of those white foam containers the rangers use,” Martina said.

  “I’m sorry. We don’t sell those,” Leo told her. “We have our own supply for the eggs, but we get them in town. I’m sure you could find one at a store there.”

  “I really want one just like yours,” Martina said. “A used one would be perfect. I’ll pay extra for it.”

  Leo shook his head. “I’m sorry. We don’t have any for sale, new or used.”

  “That’s too bad,” Martina said. She sounded disappointed. “I could really use one.”

  “I’m sorry,” the man said again.

  Martina frowned. “Come on, Sandy,” she said, and then she turned and left without another word.

  Once Violet had paid for her book, the Aldens went outside too.

  “I wonder why Martina wanted a cooler so badly,” Jessie said, untying Watch from the porch.

  “Maybe she wanted a container to keep all the things she found on the beach in,” Violet suggested.

  Henry got two orange flags out of the bucket. “Maybe. It is strange though. If she is the person taking the eggs, it would be much easier to carry them in a cooler than in one of her bags.”

  “That’s not the only thing,” said Benny. “When Martina was talking, I recognized her voice from last night. I think it was her and Sandy on the beach!”

  “Something strange is going on,” said Jessie. “But we still need more information before we can come to any conclusions.”

  Henry nodded. “In the meantime, let’s go save some turtles!”

  Too Many Suspects

  The beach was crowded. There were people hunting for shells. Others were sunbathing or building sandcastles. A few people were fishing.

  “There are so many people out today, it’s going to be hard to figure out who we should suspect,” said Jessie.

  “I’ll be able to tell,” Benny said. “Anyone who steals turtle eggs must be mean, and they’ll have a mean face too.”

  “I don’t know about that, Benny,” Henry said. “But we will keep looking.”

  Jessie stopped to take a picture of the beach. As she did, a motion in the viewfinder caught her attention. She zoomed the lens in on it. “I see a turtle up ahead!” Jessie said. “It’s heading into the water.”

  The Aldens hurried toward the spot where the turtle gone into the ocean. Then they followed the tracks up toward the sand dunes. The tracks stopped at a smooth area that looked exactly like what they’d seen at the other turtle nest.

  Jessie took out her cell phone. “I’ll call Ms. Thakur.”

  Watch edged in to sniff around at the nest, but Violet held him back.

  “I suppose all dogs can smell that a turtle has been here,” Henry said. “And coyotes too. It’s probably easy for either of them to find the eggs.”

  “I hear a car coming,” Violet said. She looked up the beach and saw the silver truck from the day before. Again, it was racing toward them.

  Jessie took hold of Benny’s hand. “We should move back,” she said. “He’s driving so fast, it’s like he doesn’t even see us.” The Aldens moved closer to the turtle nest. The truck did slow down as it passed them. There was a man driving and two women in the truck. The man leaned out the window. “Don’t stand in the tracks for vehicles,” he shouted. “You’re slowing people down!”

  The truck sped away just as Ms. Thakur arrived.

  “That Mr. Fischer acts like he owns the beach!” Violet cried.

  “Don’t pay any attention to Tommy,” Ms. Thakur said. “He is only thinking about getting his customers to the best fishing spots. Now, I need to get these eggs out of the nest and back to the incubation area.”

  Jessie was surprised that Ms. Thakur wasn’t more upset by the way Tommy Fischer broke the rules on the beach. She thought back to the note on the brochure they’d seen on the ranger’s desk. What was going on between them?

  The ranger collected the eggs and put the cooler into her vehicle. “You four are already proving to be excellent junior rangers!” she called as she drove off. As with the day before, it seemed like she was in a hurry to get somewhere.

  “We should go eat lunch,” Jessie said. “We need to be ready when the windsurfer instructor meets us.”

  The Aldens headed back to their campsite. They ate quickly and finished their meal just as the instructor pulled up.

  The young man introduced himself as Finn. “Your grandfather told me all your names.” He turned to Benny. “I’m sorry, Benny. Your grandfather didn’t know you have to be eight years old to take a lesson, but he suggested we split up the lessons so someone can stay with you while I take the others out. Then we’ll switch.”

  “I’ll stay with Benny first,” Henry said. “We can build a giant sandcastle together.”

  “Sounds good,” the instructor said. “Girls, let’s drive a little farther down the beach. There’s a spot where the water is the perfect depth for your first lesson.”

  After Jessie and Violet had gone, Henry and Benny found a place to build their sandcastle.

  They worked for a long time, with Watch laying in the sand beside them. After a while, a silver truck pulled up. It was Tommy Fischer. But instead of the two woman they had seen him with earlier, he was now with a father and son. The boy looked only a little older than Benny.

  “This should be a better fishing spot,” Tommy said to the pair. He took fishing rods and other supplies out of the back of his vehicle and showed the pair what to do.

  The father and son cast their lines into the surf. Benny and Henry kept working on their sandcastle. Henry looked up from time to time to watch the fishermen. He didn’t see anyone catch anything.

  After a while, the boy said, “This is boring. I thought we were going to catch buckets of fish.”

  “We almost always catch something here,” Tommy told him. “I guess it’s just a bad day today.”

  After a few more tries, the boy set down his rod. He came over to Benny and Henry. “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Benny said. “You can make a big tower right here if you want.”

  The boy worked on the tower for a while, but then he got up aga
in and went down to the water.

  “Look at all the birds!” he called, pointing to the small brown and white birds poking their beaks down into the wet sand. “What kind are they?” he asked Tommy.

  “Uh…I…I don’t know,” Tommy said.

  “They’re funny!” the boy said, running toward them and flapping his arms. The birds scurried away from him. The boy walked back to Tommy.

  “I heard there were turtles here,” he said. “Can you show us some turtles?”

  Tommy shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just do fishing.”

  The boy came back and worked on the tower for a little while. Then he said, “Dad, I’m hungry.”

  “We already ate all the snacks we brought. You don’t have any, do you?” the father asked Tommy.

  Tommy shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. Fishing guides aren’t allowed to sell food in the park. It’s against the rules.”

  A few minutes later, the father handed Tommy his fishing rod. “We’re done fishing,” he said. “We’ll go find some food and then find something else to do. It’s not worth our time standing out here all day if we don’t catch any fish. We’d like our money back.”

  Tommy tried to talk them into trying another fishing spot, but the man refused. “I’m sorry. I can’t give refunds,” Tommy said. “I can’t guarantee people will catch fish.”

  The man looked upset. “Just take us back to our car then,” he said.

  The boy and his father got into Tommy’s truck, so Henry and Benny couldn’t hear any more of the conversation.

  “It’s too bad,” Henry said. “It wasn’t Tommy’s fault they didn’t catch any fish. I’ve been fishing a lot of times when I didn’t catch anything.”

  “I still don’t like him,” Benny said. “He has a mean face.”

  Henry gave Benny a disapproving look.

  “Plus, he drives all over with that big truck,” Benny continued. “It would be easy for him to hide the turtle eggs in the back.”