The Mystery of the Hidden Painting Read online

  “And talk to Mrs. Harkins,” Jessie finished for him.

  “We’ll have to ask Grandfather if we can go,” Violet said.

  “He likes us to visit Aunt Jane,” Benny assured her.

  Henry looked thoughtful. “I don’t think we should tell Grandfather about Mrs. Harkins. If it turns out her necklace is a different one from our grandmother’s, he’d be so disappointed.”

  Violet agreed. “Henry is right. We don’t want to upset Grandfather for no reason.”

  “All right,” Jessie said. “We’ll ask him about visiting Aunt Jane tonight.”

  Violet went over to the desk in a corner of the room and took a large sheet of white paper and a pencil out of a drawer.

  “What are you doing?” Jessie asked.

  Violet sat down next to the painting and, leaning on a large book, started to draw. “I’m going to copy the necklace very carefully. So, if we do get to talk to Mrs. Harkins, we can show her what our necklace looks like.”

  Benny watched her carefully. “But ours is blue.”

  Violet smiled. “Right. I’ll color my picture when I’m finished.”

  “That’s a great idea, Violet,” Henry said, looking at his sister with admiration.

  CHAPTER 3

  A Visit to Aunt Jane

  After dinner, all the Aldens sat out on the wide green lawn and enjoyed the soft, cool evening breeze. When the children told Mr. Alden they wanted to visit Aunt Jane, he agreed right away. He thought it was a fine idea.

  “You haven’t been away this summer at all,” he said. “I’ll call her right now.”

  Aunt Jane thought the visit was a fine idea, too. “I’ll be especially happy to see you because Uncle Andy is away on business and I’m really lonesome,” she told Jessie on the phone.

  It was arranged that the Aldens would take the one o’clock bus the next day and Aunt Jane would be waiting at the bus stop for them.

  In the morning they all packed small, brightly colored suitcases. Benny made sure his pink cup was in his. At one o’clock Grandfather drove them to the bus station and waved good-bye. At three they were in Elmford where Aunt Jane was waiting for them. They couldn’t wait to get to Aunt Jane’s old farmhouse, thinking of the cold water in the pond not far from her house, and how they’d enjoy splashing in it.

  When they had unpacked and played in the creek for over an hour, they all joined Aunt Jane in her big kitchen. Benny tore lettuce for a dinner salad. Henry mashed potatoes. Violet cut string beans, and Jessie and Aunt Jane shaped turkey patties. Aunt Jane was very aware of healthy eating and tried to get the Aldens to enjoy her menus … even the turkey patties instead of hamburgers. They never told her they weren’t crazy about the turkey patties.

  Violet and Jessie exchanged a glance. Then Jessie quickly told Aunt Jane the story of their finding the portrait and then seeing Mrs. Harkins’ picture in the newspaper. Aunt Jane was astounded.

  “Your grandmother’s necklace has been missing for years. I can’t believe Mrs. Harkins’ necklace is the same one,” Aunt Jane said, looking at the Aldens.

  “Do you know Mrs. Harkins?” Henry asked.

  Aunt Jane shook her head. “A little. We aren’t really friends, but in a small town like Elmford, everybody knows almost everybody else.”

  “Could you call her and ask if we could talk to her?” Jessie asked, wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing. She waited eagerly for Aunt Jane’s answer.

  “I don’t know,” Aunt Jane replied. “I’m not sure she’d want to be questioned by four strange children she’s never met.”

  “Try,” Violet pleaded. “Please!”

  “Please,” Benny repeated.

  “All right,” Aunt Jane agreed. “I’ll call her.”

  Aunt Jane went into the sitting room next to the kitchen and made her call. She came back and said, “Mrs. Harkins said you could come by at eleven tomorrow morning. She didn’t seem too happy at the idea, but she did say she’d see you. She said to be on time.”

  Benny threw his arms around Aunt Jane. “You’re a good aunt.”

  After breakfast the next morning, Aunt Jane told the Aldens exactly where Mrs. Harkins lived. They had all visited Aunt Jane so many times that they knew their way around town very well. They took the bikes Aunt Jane kept for them and rode through the green countryside, passing well-kept farms and small houses. The air smelled sweet and fresh.

  “Look! Cows!” Benny shouted, pointing to three cows grazing lazily behind a wire fence next to the road. “I like farms,” he said positively.

  “You just like cows, because they give you the milk you love so much,” Jessie said, laughing.

  The children pedaled slowly so that they arrived at Mrs. Harkins’ just at eleven. They remembered her instructions to be on time. Her home was a large, redbrick house with white shuttered windows. A maid answered Jessie’s ring and took them into a large, comfortable living room. Mrs. Harkins stood waiting for the Aldens.

  She was a small, attractive woman of about fifty. “Well,” she said. “Your aunt said you wanted to talk to me about a necklace … or something like that. Why would four young children be interested in a necklace?”

  Jessie took the newspaper picture out of her pocket and showed it to Mrs. Harkins. “The necklace you’re wearing—” she began.

  “Why don’t we all sit down,” Elizabeth Harkins said, leading them all into the living room. “We’ll be more comfortable.”

  “The necklace—” Jessie continued.

  “It looks like our grandmother’s,” Benny blurted out.

  Mrs. Harkins frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  Violet reached into her knapsack and smoothed out her drawing of the Alden necklace. “You see, our grandmother had this necklace. We think it looks like the one you wore to the dance.”

  Suddenly a man appeared in the doorway. “Elizabeth,” he said firmly, “please come in here.”

  Mrs. Harkins stood up. “Excuse me. My husband wants to talk to me.”

  She walked into the next room. First there was just a murmur of voices. Then the sounds were louder, as if the Harkins were arguing. The Aldens looked at each other.

  “Maybe we should leave,” Violet said. “I think we’ve upset them.”

  Mr. Harkins then said, loud enough to be heard in the next room, “Be careful!”

  Mrs. Harkins came back and sat down again. “I really only have a couple of minutes to talk to you children. What do you want?” Her voice was cold.

  Henry said, “We just were wondering if your necklace could possibly be—”

  Mrs. Harkins interrupted him. “The necklace isn’t mine.” Now she smiled. “The Elmford Museum lent it to me to wear to the dance, because it was a charity affair for the hospital. I don’t know anything about the necklace at all.”

  She stood up and held her hand out to Jessie. “It was very nice meeting all of you. Now I have an appointment I must get to. I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

  Outside the house, Benny said, “She wasn’t very friendly. Was she?” He looked very puzzled.

  Henry put an arm around Benny’s shoulders. “You’re right, Benny. She wasn’t.”

  “What do we do now?” Violet asked.

  “Eat!” Benny said. “I’m hungry.”

  Jessie turned to Henry. “Remember that nice little coffee shop on Main Street? Let’s go there for lunch.”

  “Good idea,” Benny said.

  In minutes they were seated in a booth in the small coffee shop. “First let’s order, then we can talk about Mrs. Harkins,” Violet said.

  When the waitress stopped at their table, Benny ordered a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, chocolate cake, and milk. He smiled when he finished ordering.

  “Can you eat that much, Benny?” Jessie asked.

  “Sure can. Watch,” Benny answered.

  Henry ordered a grilled cheese and a cola. Jessie had tuna fish and a milk shake and Violet ordered a hamburger and milk. Then Jessie said, “I d
on’t understand, if Mrs. Harkins doesn’t even own the necklace, why was she so cold to us?”

  “And why did Mr. Harkins tell her to ‘Be careful’?” Henry asked.

  “Well, I think the next thing to do is go to the museum and talk to someone there,” Jessie suggested.

  “We’ll do that right after lunch,” Henry said.

  As soon as they finished eating, the Alden children biked to the small museum. When they got there, they saw a sign on the door that read:

  CLOSED ON MONDAY

  HOURS: TUES-SUN. I 2-5.

  “Oh, no!” Violet cried out. “Maybe we should have called first.”

  “Now what should we do?” Benny asked. “I’m getting hot.”

  Henry glanced down the street where he saw a small movie theater. “How about a movie to escape the heat? It should be cool in there.”

  “Well,” Benny said, thoughtfully, “if the movie’s not mushy. I don’t want to sit through a mushy movie.”

  Jessie laughed. “It isn’t mushy at all. It’s a western.”

  “Let’s go!” Benny shouted.

  “I’ll call Aunt Jane and tell her we‘ll be home later,” Violet said.

  CHAPTER 4

  At the Museum

  The next day the Aldens were at the museum at exactly twelve o’clock. The entrance lobby was cool and quiet. The highly polished wood floors made their footsteps echo throughout the room. Henry pointed to an office to their right. They all walked to the door and peered in.

  “Anyone here?” Henry called out.

  A small, gray-haired man came out of a supply closet. In his hands were some pads of paper. He smoothed his mustache and walked toward the Aldens.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, smiling. “I’m Carl Mason.”

  At first the children were silent, not knowing where to begin. Then Jessie said, “Mrs. Harkins told us the necklace she wore to the hospital dance belonged to the museum.”

  “Indeed it does,” Mr. Mason said. “But why are you youngsters interested in the necklace?”

  “Because we think it belonged to our grandmother,” Benny blurted out.

  Mr. Mason laughed loudly. “That’s a good joke!”

  “Could we see your necklace?” Violet asked.

  “No reason not,” Mr. Mason replied. “Follow me.” He led the children to a small room with a display case in the center. In the case was the necklace. It glittered under the light.

  “Oh,” Violet whispered. “Its so beautiful.” “Oh, yes,” Jessie agreed. She took the newspaper picture and Violet’s drawing out of her pocket and put them on top of the display case.

  The Aldens gathered closer and looked at the necklace and the pictures.

  Quickly Henry explained about the necklace to Mr. Mason.

  “So you think this necklace might be your grandmother’s?”

  Mr. Mason asked.

  Jessie examined Violet’s drawing again. “It looks like your necklace. Don’t you think so?”

  Mr. Mason laughed again. “First of all, there are probably many necklaces that look exactly like these.”

  “Oh, no,” Violet said. “Grandfather said his was designed just for our grandmother.”

  “Well now, children,” Mr. Mason said, “you know that everyone isn’t always totally honest. This designer might not have kept his word.”

  Benny looked upset. “Oh!” he said.

  Mr. Mason looked at the Aldens and cleared his throat. “Why don’t you just leave this drawing? When I have more time, I’ll look at it closely.”

  Violet frowned. “When do you think that will be?”

  “I don’t know,” Mr. Mason said, curtly. “Come back tomorrow afternoon after three. We’ll talk again if I have time.” Mr. Mason led the Aldens to the front door and made sure they left.

  As they walked to their bikes, Benny said, “I don’t think anyone in this town likes us. ”

  Violet laughed and put an arm around him. “I like you,” she said.

  Jessie sighed and said, “Let’s go back to the pond and cool off.”

  “Right,” Henry agreed. “First, we can go to that little market.” He pointed to a store across the street. “We’ll buy things for lunch and take Aunt Jane on a picnic.”

  “You’re a smart brother,” Benny said, heading for the store.

  In the market, they bought bread and ham and cheese for sandwiches. Benny lifted a container of chocolate milk from a case. Violet picked out fresh fruit while Jessie added cookies to their order.

  Aunt Jane was folding laundry in the kitchen when the children came home. “We’re going to take you out to lunch,” Benny told Aunt Jane proudly.

  “Right,” Henry said. “We’re going to picnic at the pond.”

  “Wonderful,” Aunt Jane said. And then she asked, “What happened at the museum?”

  She listened with total attention as the Aldens took turns telling her about their conversation with Mr. Mason.

  “We did see the necklace,” Violet said. “It’s so beautiful.”

  “I think it could be Grandmother’s,” Jessie said.

  As the children made the sandwiches and packed the picnic basket, Aunt Jane thought about their visit to the museum. Finally she said, “It is really very hard to believe that after all these years, the necklace in the museum is the Alden necklace.”

  “I think Aunt Jane is probably right,” Henry said. “After all when the robbery took place it must have been reported in the Greenfield newspaper. Elmford isn’t that far away. People here would have read about it.”

  Aunt Jane thought for a moment. “As a matter of fact, it wasn’t in the Greenfield paper. The printing press was broken and the paper wasn’t published for a week. I remember your grandfather telling me that.”

  “I’m tired of the necklace,” Benny said. “Let’s go to the pond.”

  At the pond, Uncle Andy had hung a big, old rubber tire to a tree on a long rope. One by one the Aldens sat in the center of the tire, swung out over the pond, and dropped in. Benny and Henry went in together, since the middle of the pond was over Benny’s head. They all forgot about the necklace as they sailed out over the pond and then fell in.

  They didn’t think about it much either, while they ate dinner and listened to Aunt Jane tell funny stories about her growing-up years. When the phone rang in the next room, Aunt Jane said, “Jessie dear, will you answer it?”

  Jessie ran in and picked up the receiver. “Hello,” she said.

  A woman’s voice asked, “Who is this?”

  Jessie said, “I’m Jessie Alden … Jane Bean’s niece. I’m visiting her for a few days.”

  “I think you should go home,” the woman said. “I think you and your brothers should just go home. Right away.”

  “Who is this?” Jessie asked nervously.

  But all she heard was the phone being hung up.

  Slowly Jessie walked back into the kitchen.

  “Who was it?” Aunt Jane asked.

  “It was a woman who said we should all go home … right away. When I asked who it was, she just hung up.”

  Henry said angrily, “Well, she had some nerve.”

  “Did you recognize the voice?” Violet asked.

  “Was it that Mrs. Harkins, who didn’t like us?” Benny asked.

  “It didn’t sound like her at all. But I don’t know who it was,” Jessie replied.

  “I don’t like this,” Aunt Jane said. “Not one bit. Maybe you should go home. Maybe I should call your grandfather and tell him—”

  “Oh, no,” Jessie interrupted. “We want to try to find out about the necklace just a little bit longer. Think how happy Grandfather would be if we found the necklace.”

  “He’d love that,” Aunt Jane said, “but he wouldn’t want any harm to come to you children. He’d be very angry with me if I let that happen.”

  “Aunt Jane,” Henry said, “we’re not going to get hurt. It’s probably just someone playing a joke on us.”

  “Ex
cept,” Benny said, “we don’t know anyone here who would play a joke on us.”

  They all silently agreed with Benny.

  “We have to go back to the museum tomorrow,” Violet said.

  “Please,” Jessie added.

  “Well, all right,” Aunt Jane finally said. “But I’m going with you. I’ll drive you into town and we’ll all talk to Mr. Mason together.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Follow the Leader

  The Aldens could hardly wait until it was time to go to the museum. They ate breakfast and lunch as slowly as they could so the time would pass. They played three games of badminton. Finally, they all piled into Aunt Jane’s car and drove into town.

  When they got to the museum, Mr. Mason looked startled to see Aunt Jane. Violet and Jessie exchanged a glance when they saw Mr. Mason’s surprised face. “Well, Mrs. Bean,” he said, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “I just thought I’d drive the Aldens into town,” she said.

  “Mr. Mason,” Henry asked, “have you had time to look at Violet’s drawing of the necklace yet?”

  “Well now, young man,” Carl Mason began. “A very strange thing happened. The drawing is gone.”

  “Gone!” Violet and Jessie said at the same time.

  Mr. Mason cleared his throat. “The cleaning man was here last night, and I guess in his effort to straighten up my desk he just threw out some things he shouldn’t have. I’m really very sorry.”

  All the Aldens secretly thought he didn’t look sorry.

  “My sister took a lot of time to make that drawing,” Benny said. “I’ll bet she feels really bad that you threw out her picture. It was very good, too.”

  Violet raised her chin and looked at Mr. Mason. “It’s all right, Benny. I can make another one when I get home.”

  “Well, my dear, you just do that,” Mr. Mason said.

  Aunt Jane took Benny by the hand and said, “Mr. Mason, I wonder if I could see the necklace, please.”

  Carl Mason looked very unhappy. “Of course, Mrs. Bean. Just come right this way.”

  They all walked into the room that held the display case. Aunt Jane looked at the necklace and said softly, “It is lovely.”