The Cupcake Caper Read online

  “I don’t think so, because none of it is gone,” Mama Tova said. “I’ve checked all around the shop and as far as I can tell, nothing is missing.”

  “Are you sure?” Henry asked.

  “All that happened here was that someone made a mess,” Mama Tova said. “I wish I knew who would do this and why.”

  “Maybe we can help,” Henry suggested. “We are good at solving mysteries.”

  “I’d be grateful,” Mama Tova said. Then she went to speak to the police officer.

  The Aldens walked over to a quiet corner of the shop. Jessie opened a clean page in her notebook and wrote SUSPECTS at the top. Tapping her pencil, Jessie asked the others, “Any ideas?”

  Violet spoke up. “I don’t know who would mess up the shop but I think I know why.”

  “Go on,” Henry said. “Explain.”

  Violet pointed all around the shop. “Remember when Mama Tova told us yesterday that she hid the secret ingredient for her cupcakes under the flower?”

  “Someone must have overheard,” Henry said. “And they messed up all the shop’s flowers looking for the recipe.”

  “I bet you’re both right!” Jessie said. “Maybe Mr. Kandinsky should be our first suspect.” She wrote down the BakeMart owner’s name in her notebook.

  “Is it because Mr. Kandinsky wants the cupcake recipe and Mama Tova won’t sell it to him? So maybe he tried to steal it?” Benny asked.

  “That’s right, Benny,” Henry said.

  “And then there is Mrs. Waldman and the mysterious flour,” Violet said. She remembered Jessie’s story. “I think she should be the next suspect.”

  “Mrs. Waldman also had four of Mama Tova’s cupcakes in a box, but nobody is ever allowed to buy more than one cupcake at a time at Sweets. Or take them home. That makes Mrs. Waldman even more suspicious!” Jessie said. She wrote down Mrs. Waldman’s name.

  “Should we tell Officer Montag what we know?” Benny asked.

  “Not yet,” Henry said. “So far we aren’t really sure about anything.”

  “We could talk to Mrs. Waldman right now,” Benny said. “We just saw her talking to the police.”

  But when the children looked around, Mrs. Waldman was gone. She had left the shop.

  “We’ll have to talk to her tomorrow, I guess,” Violet said.

  Jessie agreed, shutting her notebook. “We shouldn’t tell the police anything until we have more clues about who is trying to steal the recipe.”

  “We need to solve this mystery before the thief steals the recipe for real,” Benny declared.

  CHAPTER 4

  The Clue in the Flowers

  At lunch the next day, Grandfather had an announcement to make. “Mama Tova called a little while ago. She wants us all to come to Sweets before the store opens.”

  “Did something else bad happen?” Benny asked.

  “No,” Grandfather said. “She wants to thank you for helping her clean up yesterday, Mama Tova is going to make some special cupcakes.”

  Benny jumped up and ran out the door. A minute later, he stuck his head back inside. “Aren’t you coming?” he asked his brother and sisters.

  Henry laughed. “We’re coming, Benny.” He stood and began clearing the table. “We have plenty of time to clean up from our lunch and still get to the store when it opens.”

  “Oh. Right.” Benny grabbed as many dishes as he could carry from the table and quickly took them in one huge stack to the sink. When he came back for a second load, Violet had to grab her carrot sticks before her plate disappeared.

  “Okay,” Benny said, returning to the table. “Dishes are in the sink.” He looked at his family. “Can we wash them later? After the cupcakes?” He rubbed his belly. “My stomach can hear the cupcakes calling me.”

  Everyone giggled.

  “Grab your jackets,” Grandfather told the children. “You can ride your bikes over. I’ll wash up and meet you there.”

  Benny gave Grandfather a big hug. “Thanks!” he said, and rushed out of the house.

  Jessie grabbed her notebook on her way out the door. She hoped Mrs. Waldman would be at the cupcake shop too. There were some questions she wanted to ask.

  “Why is there dirt all over the sidewalk?” Jessie asked Violet as they parked their bikes in front of Sweets. The pavement was covered with crumpled flowers and dirt.

  Violet stared at the mess. “It can’t be!” she cried. “It looks like someone dug up Mama Tova’s beautiful flower boxes.”

  “Oh no!” Benny exclaimed, getting off his bicycle. “It is another mess!”

  Alicia came out of the store just then. She was holding a shovel. “Oh,” she said when she saw the Aldens, “What are you doing here?”

  Benny said, “Mama Tova invited us to a little thank-you party she was having at the shop today. She said to come before the store opened.”

  “I didn’t realize Mama Tova was coming to the store early today,” Alicia said, looking down at the dirt. “I was walking by the shop, on my way to the bookstore when I saw this big mess. So I went inside and got a shovel so I could start cleaning it up for her.”

  Henry said, “We can help, too.”

  “Mama Tova should know what happened.” Jessie said. “I think we need to go call her.” She and Violet went to use the phone. Benny and Henry and Alicia started to pick up the flowers, hoping some of them could be saved.

  “I’m glad Grandfather taught us how to plant flowers,” Benny said, looking at a wilted marigold’s roots.

  Henry smiled. “Maybe you’ll be a gardener when you grow up.”

  “I don’t think so,” Benny said, shaking his head. “I would rather be a chef. I’ll make steak, and baked potatoes, and delicious desserts, and then more steak!”

  “Mmmm. I’ll come eat at your restaurant every day,” Henry said, grinning at his brother.

  Mama Tova arrived with Jessie and Violet. She was carrying a bag of soil and a watering can.

  Grandfather pulled up in his car at the same time.

  “The girls just told me about the mess,” Mama Tova said. “I brought some supplies.” She set down the soil and picked up one of her torn plants. “So sad,” she said, inspecting it closely. “I don’t understand why someone would dig up my flowers!”

  “I’ll go fill the watering can,” Alicia said, and rushed off behind the building.

  “We think we know why someone would dig them up,” Jessie said, taking out her notebook.

  “Remember when you told us that the secret ingredient for the cupcakes was under the flower?” Henry reminded Mama Tova. “We think someone overheard you and now they’re searching for your recipe.”

  “They are looking under all your flowers!” Benny added.

  “Flowers?” Mama Tova said. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “I don’t understand. And what does this have to do with the mess from yesterday?”

  “I know!” Jessie exclaimed. “Someone heard you say where the secret is kept, but they didn’t know if you meant f-1-o-w-e-r, like plants and decorations, or f-1-o-u-r, as in the white powdery stuff for baking.”

  “Flower or flour?” Mama Tova wondered aloud. “Well then, now I see why someone tore up all my decorations and spilled my baking flour everywhere, too. Goodness me, I can’t let them get my family recipe! What am I going to do?”

  “We are here to help,” Benny said. “We’ll clean up today and also to find out who did this.”

  “Thank you,” Mama Tova replied with a sigh as they all set to work replanting the flowers. Alicia came back with the water and then, using her shovel, prepared the planter. She put in new soil while Jessie and Violet dug little holes for the plants.

  “There are a few plants missing,” Grandfather said, counting the holes and the healthy plants. “Unfortunately some flowers lost all their petals. But don’t worry, Mama Tova,” he said, putting his arm around her. “I’ve got plenty of flowers in my own garden. I can bring some here.” Grandfather left for a few minutes while t
he children worked on cleaning off the sidewalk. He returned with some beautiful daisies and snapdragons.

  After Alicia and the Alden children were finished planting and watering, Mama Tova apologized to them. “I am so sorry. With the flower mess, I don’t have time to make a special cupcake party for you children today. I need to get ready to open the store for customers now.”

  “No party?” Benny said in a sad voice. “But we are already here. Maybe we could wait until the cupcakes are ready.”

  “Tell you what,” Henry said to Benny, “We can come back for cupcakes another day. Today, let’s go have an ice cream cone instead.”

  At that, Benny’s face lit up. “Really?” he asked his brother.

  Henry looked to Grandfather for approval. Grandfather said, “A terrific idea.”

  Alicia and Mama Tova went inside to get Sweets ready for business. The Aldens walked across the street to the ice cream parlor and went inside.

  Pauly Tova was sitting at a table near the door. He was eating a chocolate sundae.

  While Grandfather ordered ice cream cones, the Aldens talked to Mama Tova’s nephew.

  Pauly pointed at his watch. “Sweets doesn’t open for a while. I couldn’t wait that long to get a treat.”

  “Did you hear about the mess over at Sweets?” Benny asked.

  “Sure,” Pauly said. “I went there yesterday as soon as I heard, but you had already been there. The whole place was cleaned up.”

  “I didn’t mean that mess,” Benny replied. “I meant today’s mess.”

  “What are you talking about?” Pauly said.

  “Didn’t you see what happened to the flower planter boxes?” Jessie asked. Pauly was sitting at the window right across from Sweets.

  “Huh?” Pauly looked out the window. “What happened?”

  Violet explained what had happened.

  “I can’t believe it!” Pauly exclaimed. “I’ve been here for a while and never saw anything. I must have been concentrating on my ice cream.”

  Pauly took a long look at his aunt’s shop and then told the Aldens, “You know, some day I’m going to take over Sweets. The secret recipe has to go to someone in the family. And I am family.” He paused then added, “When I get that recipe, I won’t hang onto it like Aunt Tova. I’ll sell it for sure to the person who offers the most money. I’m going to drive a fancy car and have so many baseball cards that they will fill a whole room in my mansion.” Pauly pulled a small stack of baseball cards out from his pocket. “I already have a few, but I am going to have way, way more!”

  “Really? You want more baseball cards?” Benny asked, looking at the pile. “But that’s not what Mama Tova wants. I don’t think she likes baseball.”

  While Pauly was showing the cards to Henry, Jessie saw that his fingernails were very dirty. But as soon as Pauly noticed her looking at his fingers, he dropped the cards and slid his hands under the table.

  “All my aunt wants to do is to make cupcakes! Her little store is too small to ever make her rich!” Pauly told Benny. “But someday there will be Pauly Tova cupcakes in every store all over Greenfield. You’ll see.”

  Just then Grandfather came over with the ice cream cones.

  “I better go over and make sure Aunt Tova is okay,” Pauly said. “Maybe I can help get the shop ready to open.” Pauly took his trash to the can and waved goodbye.

  “Did you see his fingernails?” Jessie asked the others. “I really think we need to put Pauly on the suspect list. Not only does he want to sell the recipe, but he had a lot of brown stuff under his finger nails. Maybe it’s dirt from the planter box!”

  “Or it might just be chocolate from his sundae,” Violet noted.

  Henry said, “It’s impossible to tell.”

  “Well, then,” Jessie said, pulling out her notebook and clicking open her pen, “until we are sure what it is, Pauly Tova has just become Suspect Number Three.”

  CHAPTER 5

  A Visit to BakeMart

  The next afternoon, Grandfather drove the children to the BakeMart factory. When he pulled up in front, he told them, “I have some errands to run nearby. I’ll be back for you children in half an hour.”

  “Perfect,” Jessie said. “That’s just long enough for us to see who is signed up for Saturday’s contest.”

  “We’re looking for more suspects,” Benny told Grandfather, before opening his door and popping out of the car.

  “You really think that whoever is doing this to Mama Tova’s store has already entered the contest?” Violet asked Jessie.

  “Maybe,” Jessie told her. “Today is the last day to sign up. Even if they don’t have the recipe yet, the thief knows that Mama Tova’s recipe would win for sure. I think they won’t give up looking for it until they have that recipe!”

  BakeMart was a large concrete and brick building. “Wow!” Benny said, counting the rows of windows. “Six floors! This place is huge.”

  “Yes, it is,” Grandfather said, as the children got ready to go inside. To Benny he said, “Be careful. Be polite. And don’t get lost, or in trouble.”

  “I’ve been here before,” Henry said. He reminded Grandfather of the school trip he’d taken. “I know my way around.” Henry assured Grandfather that he’d take care of the others.

  “All right. Thirty minutes,” Grandfather repeated. “Then meet me right here.” There was a sign that said BakeMart—Breads.

  “We’ll be here,” Henry told him, taking Benny’s hand in his, ready to walk in the front door of the factory.

  When Grandfather drove off, Violet pointed at the sign. “Look at that. There’s just enough room at the end of the sign to add ‘And Cupcakes,’” she said.

  “Mr. Kandinsky can make all the cupcakes he likes,” Benny said, stomping his foot. “But not Mama Tova’s.” There was a small room at the side of the long main building. There was a poster and balloons to show where to sign up for the contest.

  Benny pulled free from Henry and led the way, going into the room first. “I’ll get that list!” Benny headed toward the counter but on his way he stopped and looked around the room. On long tables were samples of all the products BakeMart made. Benny’s nose led him to a tray of pecan bread slices. He snatched one up and was about to eat the whole piece all at once.

  “Slow down,” Jessie said. “Remember, Grandfather said to be polite.”

  Benny looked down at his treat and took a small bite instead. “Mmmm.”

  A girl in a BakeMart uniform came over and handed each of the Aldens a card and a mini pencil. “Please fill out these comment cards. Here at BakeMart, we like to hear what our customers think.”

  Benny immediately gobbled up the rest of the pecan bread. “How do you spell ‘Yummy’?” he asked Henry.

  “We don’t have time to sample everything,” Henry told Benny. “Did you already forget why we are here?”

  “I didn’t forget, but I also didn’t know there’d be snacks!” Benny looked at the trays all around him and said, “Maybe we can eat while we look at the contest list?”

  “Sorry.” Jessie shook her head. “Let’s do what we need to first. If there is extra time, we can try a few things.”

  They walked over the counter to talk to the girl in the BakeMart uniform. She was brunette, with her hair in a pigtail.

  Her name tag said Gretchen.

  Violet noticed that she was wearing a gold letter A on a chain around her neck.

  She pointed out the necklace to Jessie, saying quietly, “Isn’t that odd? Her name starts with a G.”

  “Maybe it’s for her mom’s name or a nickname,” Jessie whispered.

  “I swear I’ve seen one kind of like it before.” Violet shook her head to clear her thoughts. “But I can’t remember where.”

  Jessie decided to see if she could help Violet remember. She went over to Gretchen and said, “I think your necklace is terrific. I was wondering where you got it.”

  Gretchen put her hand on the glittery letter and smiled.
“It was a present for my birthday. It’s called a ‘Best Friends’ necklace. They are really popular.”

  “I like it,” Violet said.

  “We can find out where to buy one if you want,” Jessie told her sister.

  “I don’t think we need to.” Violet shrugged. “There’s just something about it pulling at me, but my mind’s blank. Oh well. Not important, I guess.”

  “We should really get a look at that list,” Henry told the others.

  Benny asked Gretchen, “Can we see who has signed up for the BakeMart Cupcake Contest?”

  Gretchen took a list out of a drawer. She looked down at Benny and asked, “Are you signing up?” She held out a pen.

  “No,” Benny said. “I don’t make cupcakes. I just eat them.”

  Gretchen put the list back away. “Mr. Kandinsky told me that I can only show people the list if they are going to sign up. It’s a contest rule.”

  Henry had an idea. He spoke up. “But Benny wants to be a chef when he grows up. Right, Benny?”

  Benny nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  “This is his first contest.” Jessie said. “We are going to write his name down on the list.”

  “Are you sure?” Gretchen asked. She had one hand on the drawer with the list, while looking sideways at Benny. “You said you weren’t signing up. Now your brother and sisters say you are. What’s going on?”

  “I was confused,” Benny told her. “All the treats around here … I can’t think when I am surrounded by so much bread! It’s like kryptonite. Of course I am going to enter the contest.” He gave Gretchen a very big smile. She could see where he’d lost his front tooth. Gretchen pulled the list back out.

  “Put your name here,” she said. She pointed at an empty line.

  Henry quickly read over the other names. Benny was nineteenth on the list. There were too many contestants and not enough time to study every name. But he saw Gretchen’s name on the list. “You’re entering the contest?” Henry asked.

  “Of course,” Gretchen said. “A thousand dollars would be a big boost to my college fund.”

  She handed Benny a ballpoint pen. “You can sign up, but I wouldn’t bother if I were you. I know I’m going to win. I’ve got a great plan. So you shouldn’t waste your time.”