The Great Shark Mystery Read online

  “No great white has ever survived in an aquarium for more than a few days,” Mac replied. “Anyway, it would cost a lot of money to build a bigger tank. And we don’t even have enough money to fix up the tanks we already have. We simply can’t afford to keep it.”

  “We can’t afford not to,” Ms. Carver said. “That shark has brought us more publicity and more visitors in the past day than we usually have in a month! You saw the headlines and the crowds clamoring to get in here today. At last we have something to compete with the big fancy theme parks.”

  Mac’s face was bright red with anger. “This isn’t a theme park. It’s a place where people care for and learn about ocean creatures.”

  “Without money, we can’t care for any animals,” Ms. Carver said.

  “But that doesn’t mean—” Mac began.

  Ms. Carver waved her hand. “Don’t worry. I have a plan to get some money for the park.”

  “What is it?” asked Mac.

  Ms. Carver bit her lip. “I can’t say. It’s risky. But I think it’s the answer to our problems.” She looked at the tank. “And the shark’s.” With that, she turned on her heel and left.

  Mac sighed heavily. He looked upset.

  Emily and the children walked to where he was standing. “I guess she didn’t agree with you,” Emily said.

  “No,” Mac said, his voice weary. “She just doesn’t get it.”

  “She doesn’t know anything about animals. All she knows is money,” Emily muttered angrily. “She’s been cutting the budget anyplace she can. She cuts care for the animals, cuts people’s salaries—she doesn’t care who she hurts—” Emily stopped abruptly, as if realizing she’d said too much.

  Mac looked at Mr. Alden and the children before replying. “That isn’t quite fair. Ms. Carver only took over here a month ago, when her uncle left her the park in his will. She can’t help it that she went to business school instead of studying animals. She’s doing the best she can. But with attendance at the park dropping, we soon won’t have the money to care for the animals properly.” He ran his hand through his short hair. “If only I could figure out a way to do something.” Mac walked off by himself, deep in thought.

  The Aldens spent several more minutes watching the shark. Benny was fascinated—the shark was frightening, but in a strange way it was also beautiful.

  “It’s getting late,” Emily said. “I’d better take you guys back to your cabin. Then I’ll give you a lift to my dad’s,” she told Mr. Alden.

  As they walked back to the cabin, Emily was quiet, thinking. Once inside the cabin, she turned to the Aldens and said, “I really shouldn’t have said all those things about Ms. Carver. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. She and I have just had a bit of a rocky start since she came here.”

  “What do you mean?” Violet asked gently.

  “I’ve worked here for five years, since when Ms. Carver’s uncle was the director,” Emily began. “He was a man who loved animals … but he didn’t have the best business sense. That’s why the park got into such bad shape in the first place. Ms. Carver is just the opposite. When she first came, she cut salaries because the park wasn’t making enough money. Then she told me I didn’t focus enough on my work—that I don’t always have my mind on the animals. But that’s not true! Ever since then I’ve been trying to prove her wrong.”

  “Sounds like a difficult situation,” said Mr. Alden.

  Emily looked at her watch. “I’d better take you to my dad’s before it gets too late, Mr. Alden.”

  Grandfather gave each of the children a hug. “If you need me, Emily has the phone number,” he said. “See you in a few days.”

  “I’ll come by tomorrow morning,” Emily told the children.

  “Good night!” they called as Emily and Mr. Alden left.

  The next morning, Emily arrived at the Aldens’ cabin with a bag of bagels in her hands. “I’ve brought breakfast.”

  “Thanks,” said Jessie. “But you don’t need to provide all our meals. Grandfather gave us money for that.”

  “There’s a grocery store right downtown,” Emily said. “It’s an easy walk. Have a bagel, and then I’ll tell you how to get there. When you get back, you can join me at the Dolphin Arena.”

  A short while later, the Aldens were on their way into town. They’d passed the post office and a toy store when suddenly they spotted a group of people and a police car up the road. “What’s going on up ahead?” Violet wondered.

  When the Aldens got closer, they saw the police car was parked in front of a small store called Wilson’s Jewelers.

  “What’s happening?” Jessie asked a woman who was standing nearby.

  “It’s just awful!” said the woman. “There was a burglary here last night!”

  CHAPTER 3

  The Key to the Mystery

  “Excuse me, did you say a burglary?” asked Jessie.

  “Yes, someone stole some diamond jewelry,” the woman said. “The owner of the store, Pete Wilson, is talking to the police.”

  “Let’s get a closer look,” Benny said.

  “I think we should stay out of the way,” Jessie began, but Benny had already run right up to a pair of police officers who were speaking with Mr. Wilson. One of the officers was holding a small notebook and making notes in it.

  “So you said there were several people in the shop last night?” the officer with the notebook asked.

  “Yes, it was quite busy,” said Mr. Wilson. “And my sales assistant was out sick, so I was on my own. Anyway, I locked up at the usual time and went home. When I came in this morning, I noticed one of the cases was unlocked. And a whole tray of diamond jewelry was missing.”

  “Looks like an inside job,” one of the officers said. The other nodded.

  Benny waited for the men to finish talking and then said, “Hello, I’m Benny Alden. Those are my two sisters and my brother. Maybe we can help. We’re good at solving mysteries.”

  The officers smiled at Benny. “Thanks for offering, but I think we can handle it.”

  “Well, if you need us,” Benny said, “we’re staying at the Ocean Adventure Park.”

  Jessie caught up with her little brother. “Sorry for the interruption, officers,” she said, taking Benny’s arm. “We’re going now.”

  As they walked off, Benny turned to his sisters and brother. “Can you believe it? A mystery!” The Aldens loved to solve mysteries.

  “I think we’ll let the police handle this one,” Henry said, ruffling his brother’s hair.

  Benny looked disappointed. “Okay,” he said softly. Then his face grew thoughtful.

  “What is it?” Jessie asked.

  “I was just wondering,” Benny said. “I heard the police saying something about this looking like an ‘inside job.’ What does that mean?”

  “That means that it was done by someone who works there,” Jessie explained.

  “I wonder why they think that,” said Benny.

  “Probably because there’s no sign of someone breaking into the store,” Henry said.

  “That’s true. I don’t see any broken windows or anything,” Benny said.

  Violet had been walking off to one side. Suddenly, she stopped and bent to pick up something off the ground. She stood looking at the object for a moment, turning it over in her hands.

  “What’s that?” asked Jessie.

  “It’s a card key,” said Violet. “One side is blank, but the other side says ‘Ocean Adventure Park.’”

  “That’s like the key Emily used back at the park to get through the gate to our cabin,” Jessie said.

  “I think we’d better show it to the police,” said Henry. “It may be evidence.”

  The Aldens started walking back toward the police officers, who were getting into their patrol car. Mr. Wilson had gone inside the store.

  “Excuse me!” Jessie called, waving to the officers. “Excuse me!”

  The officers had just shut their doors, and the Aldens heard
the engine starting.

  “Officer!” Henry cried out.

  But they were too late. The police drove away.

  “Oh, well,” Henry said. “You know this key may not have anything to do with the burglary anyway.”

  “You’re right,” Violet agreed. “Maybe whoever dropped it was here yesterday before the store was robbed.”

  “Maybe …” said Jessie. “But it does make me wonder.”

  “When we get back to the park, we’ll take the key to the main office,” Henry suggested. “Then whoever lost it can come claim it.”

  “Good plan,” said Jessie. “Now let’s go get our groceries.”

  The grocery store was two blocks farther down the main street. The children loaded up with eggs, milk, juice, bread, jam, butter, ham, cheese, and fruit. They also bought some spaghetti and a jar of sauce for dinner. Then, carrying their bags, they headed back to their cabin.

  On the way, the Aldens stopped to drop off the card key at the main office. It was a small room with a counter containing brochures about the park. Behind the counter was a door leading into a smaller office. The sign on the door read, PARK DIRECTOR.

  Ms. Carver came out of her office when she saw the Aldens come in.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  “Hello,” Henry replied. “We found this card key someone must have lost.” He placed it on the counter.

  “Thank you,” said Ms. Carver. “Where was it?”

  “It was in front of Wilson’s Jewelers,” Jessie said.

  Ms. Carver looked up sharply. “In front of Wilson’s?” she repeated.

  “Do you know that store?” Jessie asked.

  “Yes,” Ms. Carver said. “Mr. Wilson is … a friend of mine.” She picked up the key and turned it over in her hands.

  “The store was robbed!” Benny said.

  “Really?” Ms. Carver said. “How terrible.”

  “Has anyone reported their key missing?” Henry asked.

  “No, not yet,” Ms. Carver said. “Actually, only a few people in the park carry this kind of card key—people at the director level. The others have blue card keys.” She handed the key back to Henry. “You keep it. You’ll need it to get in and out of your cabin and around the park.”

  “But what about the person who lost it?” Jessie asked.

  “That’s not your concern,” Ms. Carver said. “But I do have extra keys for people who’ve lost them.” Then she walked quickly into her office and closed the door.

  Outside of the building, Violet said, “It was nice of her to give us the key.”

  “I don’t know if nice is a word I’d use to describe her,” Jessie said.

  “No, she isn’t very friendly,” said Henry.

  “We’ll have to check back later and see if anyone came in to get a new key because they’d lost theirs,” Jessie suggested.

  “Do you think the person who lost the key is the one who robbed the store?” Benny asked.

  “That might be,” Jessie replied.

  “Ms. Carver mentioned that only a few people have that kind of key,” Henry pointed out. “Like Emily and Mac.”

  “I can’t believe either of them would rob the jeweler’s,” said Violet. “They could have just shopped there and dropped their card, you know.”

  “That’s possible,” said Jessie. “We can ask them.”

  The Aldens used their new key to open the gate leading to their cabin. After they’d put away their groceries, they went to the Dolphin Arena, where Emily had said she’d be. The arena was a small stadium with a pool of water in the center and rows of seats in a semicircle, sloping up from the pool.

  The children followed the crowd of people who were entering the stadium.

  “I wonder where Emily wanted to meet,” Henry said, looking around.

  The Aldens scanned the stands, looking for Emily. They didn’t see her anywhere.

  Just then, over the loudspeaker, they heard a familiar voice say, “And now, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats. The show is about to begin!”

  The Aldens looked at the platform beside the tank and saw Emily in a bright blue bathing suit, holding a microphone and waving to the crowd.

  “Cool!” said Benny. “She’s doing the show!”

  The Aldens quickly found seats a few rows up from the pool.

  “Welcome to Ocean Adventure Park,” Emily said. “I’m Emily Ballard, head animal trainer here at the park. I’d like to introduce two of my friends, Pearl and Rainbow.”

  She blew on a whistle that was hanging on a cord around her neck, and two sleek dolphins raced from the dolphin tank into the pool. They swam right up to the shallow end where Emily was standing. When Emily leaned over and made kissing noises, the dolphins lifted their heads to hers and gave her “kisses” on the cheek. The crowd cheered.

  Emily reached into her hip pouch and pulled out some small fish, which she tossed to the dolphins. Then she swung her arm in a large arc and the dolphins raced around the pool, chasing each other. Suddenly, perfectly timed together, both dolphins leaped out with a giant splash, flipped in the air, and dived back into the water. The crowd roared with excitement.

  “Aren’t they wonderful?” Jessie said.

  While the dolphins played, Emily talked to the audience. “Everybody knows dolphins live in water. Does that mean they’re fish?”

  Several voices shouted out from the audience. “Yes!” cried some people. “No!” shouted others.

  “No, they’re mammals!” shouted Benny.

  Emily heard Benny’s answer and smiled. “That’s right, they’re mammals just like us. They give birth to live babies instead of laying eggs. And they breathe air, instead of using gills. See that hole on top of their heads? They use it to breathe. It’s called a blowhole.”

  Emily waved her hand above her head and the dolphins jumped in the air and sprayed water out of their blowholes.

  “That looked like a fountain!” said Violet.

  “Did you know that dolphins are some of the smartest animals around?” Emily asked the crowd. “They have many ways of communicating.” Emily motioned and the dolphins came over to where she was standing. On command they made a series of different noises—clicks, whistles, even something that sounded like a person laughing. “That was great, guys,” she told the dolphins, rubbing their heads affectionately and tossing them some more fish from her pouch.

  “Scientists are working to understand what all of these sounds mean,” Emily told the audience. She made another signal, and the dolphins dived underwater and smacked the surface loudly with their tails. “This is another way dolphins talk to one another,” Emily explained. “Perhaps to warn others of dangerous animals nearby, like sharks.”

  “That is so cool,” said Henry.

  “Dolphins are so smart, they’ve been known to rescue people who are shipwrecked and save people from sharks. Some have been trained to help children who are physically or mentally challenged,” Emily said.

  “I didn’t know they could do all that,” whispered Violet.

  Emily went on, “And they’re also able to learn a lot of commands and signals, so they can do some neat tricks.” She whistled and then held her arm up straight in the air. The dolphins came up out of the water as if standing on their tails. When Emily waved her arm in a circle, they spun around as if dancing. Then she swung her arm a different way. The dolphins went down in the water and swam very fast. All of a sudden they leaped out and touched a ball that hung from a wire high above the water. With each new trick the audience cheered more loudly.

  Violet looked around at the cheering crowd. Suddenly, she noticed someone she’d seen before. He was sitting at the other end of their row, watching the dolphins perform. It was the man in the blue baseball cap who had watched them through the gate the night before.

  Who was he? And why did he keep showing up where they were?

  CHAPTER 4

  Playing with Dolphins

  “Jessie, look!” Violet whispered to her sis
ter.

  “What is it?” Jessie asked.

  “Look down there!” Violet motioned with her head. “The man in the blue baseball cap.”

  “What about him?” Jessie asked.

  “Remember, we saw him yesterday, and he seemed to be trying to get our attention?” Violet said.

  Jessie wrinkled her forehead. “Oh, yeah, when we first got here.”

  “He stayed by the gate after Emily took us down the path to our cabin,” Violet said. “He stood watching us for a long time.”

  “He did?” Jessie said.

  “Yes, and now he’s sitting right near us,” Violet pointed out. “Does that seem a little … strange to you?”

  “It could be a coincidence,” Jessie said. But she knew what her sister was thinking—that the man was there for a reason. “Let’s tell Emily about it after the show,” she said.

  The dolphins did several more tricks, but Violet wasn’t able to concentrate. She kept wondering about the man in the hat.

  The show ended with the dolphins waving good-bye with their flippers and blowing kisses at the crowd. As the dolphins swam away, the audience cheered with delight.

  “Wasn’t that great?” Benny said.

  “It was,” Jessie agreed. “It’s amazing what the dolphins can do and how well they understand Emily.”

  Violet nodded her head absently. She looked to see if the man in the baseball cap was still there. His seat was empty. She looked around but didn’t see him anywhere. Maybe he was just here to see the show, she thought. I’m probably just imagining there’s more to it.

  Violet followed her brothers and sister down to the platform where Emily was standing.

  “That was great!” Benny cried.

  “I wish I could play with the dolphins like you did,” Jessie said.

  “Then go get your swimsuits on,” Emily said.

  The Aldens looked at Emily their eyes wide. “Really?”

  “Sure! I could use some helpers,” Emily told them.

  “We’ll be right back!” Henry cried, as the children took off for their cabin to change.

  Ten minutes later the Aldens were back, dressed in their swimsuits. Emily was standing at the far end of the arena.