The Niagara Falls Mystery Read online

  When Violet and Benny checked the table with the free brochures, they looked for new ones they didn’t have yet.

  “Wait a minute,” Violet said. “Where are the brochures Henry just put here? Henry! Henry!” she called out to her brother.

  When Henry came over, he noticed all the Lasalle’s Curiosity Shop brochures were missing — again. “I don’t believe it. They’re all gone. Something fishy is going on. Let’s get back to the shop. I want to tell Will about this. And we need to find out what happened to the Lundys’ wallet.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Another Disappearance

  The Aldens walked back quickly to Lasalle’s Curiosity Shop. They passed T-shirt shops, ice-cream stands, and souvenir shops, but they didn’t look in any of them. All they could think about was Mr. Lundy’s wallet and the missing brochures.

  “Police cars!” Jessie cried, as soon as they turned onto Waterfall Street.

  The four children ran to see what the flashing lights were all about. When they reached Lasalle’s Curiosity Shop, they saw a small group of people gathered on the sidewalk. The Aldens overheard bits of conversation.

  “It’s worth a fortune.”

  “I heard the Lasalles inherited it from a relative — someone who owned a hotel a long time ago.”

  “I always thought there was something suspicious about Angus Drummond.”

  “Angus!” Violet said to her brothers and sister. “I hope he’s okay. Look, there’s his suitcase on the sidewalk. But he’s not sitting in his chair!”

  “Would you tell me where Angus Drummond is?” Henry asked a police officer.

  “That’s what we’d like to know,” Robert McKenzie said before the police officer could answer. “He was working with you children this morning. Then you left him in the display room by himself. Now the Prince of Wales guest book is gone, and so is Angus Drummond.”

  Jessie was shocked. “But he left his things here.” She bent down to close the suitcase of old barrel chips. “He’ll be back. Angus wouldn’t steal anything.”

  Even the police didn’t want to believe that Angus had the missing guest book. One officer turned to Robert McKenzie. “Angus Drummond is an old-timer around Niagara Falls. He can be a bit of a bother, but he’s never caused any trouble, Mr. McKenzie.”

  Robert McKenzie didn’t want to hear this. “I tell you, he was in the display room alone. After he left, the guest book was gone. It seems to me that he’s your suspect.”

  The officer spoke to the Aldens next. “Is it true you left Mr. Drummond in the room with the guest book?”

  Jessie swallowed hard before she answered. “I did. I’m so sorry. Will Lasalle said Angus was welcome in the shop anytime. Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie were right in the next room. I didn’t think there would be a problem.”

  “Is Will here?” Henry asked. “He’ll tell you that Angus is welcome in the shop all the time. He even helps the Lasalles with their collection. The Lasalles have known him for a long, long time. Just ask Will.”

  Sally McKenzie joined her husband. “Will isn’t available right now.” She paused. “I’m sorry. He’s just not here.”

  The police officers didn’t know quite what to do. “Mr. Lasalle will have to file a report about the value of the guest book. We can’t do anything much until we get that — except keep an eye out for Angus. Maybe you can take this beat-up suitcase and this chair of his inside. If he returns for them, give us a call.”

  Henry and Jessie picked up Angus’s suitcase and folded his chair.

  Robert McKenzie reached for the chair and suitcase. “I’ll take those. There have been enough mix-ups already.”

  After the police left, the Aldens followed Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie into the shop. Everyone was quiet. The children headed toward the display room.

  Robert McKenzie blocked the way. “Sorry. This room stays locked until Will Lasalle gets back. It should have been locked when you left this afternoon.”

  Jessie sighed. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry I left Angus in there. I thought it was okay since I locked the back door and checked that all the cases were locked, too.”

  The children went outside to talk, away from the McKenzies. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Jessie,” Henry told her. “And don’t forget, we still have to find out about Mr. Lundy’s wallet. We know Angus didn’t steal that. Will locked it in the drawer. He and the McKenzies are the only ones with the keys. Let’s go back in and ask them about it.”

  Henry went over to Robert McKenzie. “We ran into the people who lost that wallet I found, and —”

  Before Henry could finish, Robert McKenzie broke in. “Wallet? There’s no wallet here.”

  What was going on? Henry looked at Sally McKenzie. She fiddled with some papers on the counter.

  “The wallet Mr. Lundy left behind in the display room,” Henry explained. “Will said he keeps lost things in that drawer in case people come back. If they don’t, he turns them over to the Lost and Found Department at the police station.”

  Without looking up from the papers in her hand, Sally McKenzie spoke up next. “The police station. Yes … that’s … uh … where we dropped off the wallet.”

  Even though Violet was usually quiet, this was too much for her. “The Lundys said there were no wallets turned in at the police station.”

  Before Violet could say another word, Robert McKenzie spoke up. “It’s closing time. The police get a lot of lost items. They probably forgot all about the wallet. Now I have to let you out. It’s getting late.”

  Henry would not give up. “When is Will coming back?” he asked. “Will can straighten out some of this.”

  “Not tonight, he can’t,” Mr. McKenzie answered. “We told him everything was under control. He’s staying downriver with the Maid of the Mist crew for a while. We don’t know when he’ll be back. Good evening.”

  Robert McKenzie held open the back door to the shop. The children had no choice. They left the shop without another word to the McKenzies.

  “I wish Will were here,” Jessie said when they went inside their bungalow. “He’d tell the police and the McKenzies that Angus has always been welcome in the shop.”

  Henry came over to his sister. “Don’t worry. We didn’t do anything wrong leaving Angus in the shop. The McKenzies are new to the shop, not Angus. If you ask me, they’re pretty suspicious. On top of everything, they acted as if they’d never seen the Lundys’ missing wallet.”

  Jessie sank back into the couch. The phone interrupted her thoughts.

  “Grandfather? Oh, hello,” she said when she picked up the phone. “We’re so glad to hear from you. There was a theft at the shop. I think it was partly my fault.”

  The other children listened in. Jessie told Mr. Alden about the missing wallet and about Angus and the missing guest book, too. The Aldens took turns speaking with their grandfather. By the time they put down the phone, all of them felt a little better.

  “Grandfather is right,” Jessie told the others. “We just have to wait for Will to get back. Guess what? Grandfather called in dinner reservations for the four of us at the revolving restaurant in the tower — the one that overlooks the falls.”

  “Great!” Henry said. “That’ll give us something to do to pass the time. I’m not hungry right now, but I bet we will be by the time we get to the restaurant.”

  At the thought of food, Benny finally perked up. “Tonight’s fireworks night. We’ll be able to see them while we eat.”

  The children decided to go for a walk until it was time to go to the restaurant. Waterfall Street was filled with people. When they passed the shop, the children saw the McKenzies arranging the display windows. They waved at the couple, but the McKenzies didn’t wave back. Sally and Robert stared at the children. Robert McKenzie went over to the front door. He pulled down the shade. Lasalle’s Curiosity Shop was closed.

  CHAPTER 7

  A Sky-High Mystery

  Henry was right. By the time he and the other children arrived at th
e restaurant, everyone was plenty hungry.

  “The falls are so pretty from way up here,” Violet said when the Aldens stepped into the tower dining room.

  “And you’ll get to see our famous fireworks at nine o’clock,” the restaurant manager said. “Just follow me to your table.”

  “I’m not dizzy at all,” Benny said when the children were seated. “Are you sure this restaurant goes around?” he asked the manager.

  “Once an hour,” the woman said, smiling at Benny. “Just keep your eye on one fixed place in front of you. Soon you’ll notice that it isn’t in front of you anymore. This way you get a view of Horseshoe Falls and everything around it.”

  Sure enough, twenty minutes later, Benny was no longer looking down at the falls but at another tower across the way.

  “Hey, this restaurant does move!” he said. “I’m glad it doesn’t go too fast, or I might not be able to eat.”

  After the children ordered their dinners, Jessie decided to take snapshots of everyone. “I want Grandfather to have a picture of us in this restaurant.”

  Jessie reached into her backpack for her camera. Out fell the picture the Lundys had taken of the children at Journey Behind the Falls. “I forgot all about this,” Jessie said. “We look so funny in those raincoats.” She handed Henry the picture.

  Henry studied the photo. “Hey, wait a minute!” he said. “Look who else is in this picture. Isn’t this the man we saw at the visitors’ center?”

  “The one who took all the brochures?” Jessie asked. “Are you sure?”

  “Take a look,” Henry said. “In this picture, it looks as if he’s watching us. I’ll bet it’s the same person who left the group we were in.”

  Jessie examined the photo. She could see a tall blond young man in the background. “Maybe you’re right, Henry. I’m not sure. I didn’t get a very good look at him at the visitors’ center. Anyway, why would he be following us?”

  Henry shook his head. “Who knows? Maybe he wasn’t. But it does seem odd that he keeps turning up in the same places as us.”

  “He doesn’t look too friendly,” Violet said when she looked at the photo.

  Jessie stepped away from the table to take the picture. “Well, make sure to look friendly for this one,” she said before she pushed the button.

  After Jessie sat down again, dinner arrived. The waiter appeared with plates of crispy roasted chicken for Henry and Jessie. Violet and Benny had spaghetti and meatballs. Then the waiter explained that their grandfather had arranged to pay for the meal when he made the reservations. While the children enjoyed their good dinners, there were no more thoughts of the man in the photo. It was time to eat.

  “Do you feel a little better, Jessie?” Henry asked after everyone finished dinner.

  Jessie smiled. “Much better. I’m glad Grandfather arranged for us to eat in this restaurant. Everything looks really neat from up here, especially the fireworks.”

  By the time the Aldens were ready for dessert, the fireworks over the falls were over. The Aldens looked around at everyone in the restaurant enjoying their night out.

  “Goodness!” Jessie whispered. “Look over there — not all at once, though.” She nodded toward a table across the dining room.

  “The McKenzies!” Henry said after he turned around ever so slightly. “What are they doing in this restaurant? I thought they had no money. I don’t think Will could have paid them so soon that they could afford to eat here.”

  “Let’s not stare,” Jessie whispered. “I hope they didn’t see us. Let’s just look at our food and each other.”

  Benny had trouble doing this. “I can’t just watch my peach pie. I have to eat it,” he said to his sister. “But I’ll keep my head down while I’m eating.”

  Violet gave Jessie a gentle nudge. “They’re leaving now. I don’t think they saw us. They would have said something.”

  Without looking up, Jessie whispered, “Let’s follow them. We’ll take the next elevator down. Maybe we can find out where they’re going.”

  “Let’s go!” Benny said. “A mystery is even better than dessert.”

  The Aldens caught the next elevator down to the lobby of the tower.

  Finding the McKenzies didn’t take long. When the children stepped outdoors, the young couple was sitting in a horse and carriage, holding hands and smiling. They didn’t see the Aldens.

  “Now they look just like happy honeymooners,” Violet said.

  After the horse and carriage clip-clopped away, Jessie was puzzled. “I wish they were just happy honeymooners. What I can’t figure out is where they got the money for the dinner in the restaurant. The horse and carriage ride costs a lot. Maybe they’re spending money from the lost wallet. I hope they didn’t take the guest book and sell it. After all, Angus wasn’t the only one in the shop after we left. The McKenzies were there, too.”

  By the time the Aldens returned to the bungalow, they felt very tired. It had been a long day.

  By ten-thirty all four were fast asleep. They didn’t hear the first thumps down the back stairs of the shop.

  But when there were more thumps, Jessie sat up. “What’s that, Watch?” she asked. But the Aldens’ dog, Watch, was far away, back home in Greenfield.

  Jessie saw moonlight coming in through the window. She yawned. “Oh, that’s right. We’re in Niagara Falls. Watch is at home.” She pulled the covers tighter.

  Another thump and some footsteps followed. Although it was chilly in the bungalow, Jessie slipped out of bed. When she looked out the window, she saw Robert McKenzie walk down the passageway next to the shop. He had a suitcase in each hand.

  Jessie searched for her slippers but couldn’t find them. Barefoot, she stepped outside just in time to see the McKenzies’ car pull away.

  “Too bad!” Jessie said, shivering in her pajamas. “They’re gone.” She turned back to the bungalow. In the moonlight, she noticed an envelope taped to the door. “What’s this?”

  She opened the envelope and read the note by the light of the moon:

  Dear Aldens:

  Tomorrow is Sunday. The shop will be closed all day. Will is coming back tonight. If you need anything you can call him. Robert and I have returned to the Rainbow Inn. We will see you Monday morning. You can take the day off.

  Sally McKenzie

  P.S. Will left you these free tickets for rides on the Spanish Aero Car and the Maid of the Mist.

  Jessie checked the envelope. Sure enough, there were tickets inside. What a strange note to find so late at night.

  Back inside, Jessie snuggled under the covers. There was no use waking up everyone. It would be morning soon enough. She would wait to tell her sister and brothers about the strange thumps in the night.

  CHAPTER 8

  High Above the Raging Waters

  There were no more suspicious sounds outside the bungalow that night. The moon moved across the sky while the Aldens slept. Hours later, the morning sun awakened the children one by one.

  Benny opened his eyes before the others. The first sound he heard was his growling stomach. Time for breakfast, he thought to himself, and tiptoed to the kitchen.

  Benny poured cereal and milk into a bowl. Then he took out his old cracked pink cup and poured himself some orange juice.

  By the time Benny finished, Violet was awake, too. “I had the strangest dream last night that someone came into the bungalow,” she said as she walked into the living room.

  Henry brushed his hair from his eyes when he came into the living room. “Know what? I had the same dream. I thought I heard something on the stairs, but there are no stairs in here.”

  Jessie jumped out of bed when she heard the voices. Joining her brothers and sister, she described seeing the McKenzies leave their apartment during the night. “… And then they drove away. When I turned around, I saw this note on the door. It said to take the day off. Will gave us free passes for the Spanish Aero Car and the Maid of the Mist.”

  “Goody!” Benny
cried. “Can we go on the Maid of the Mist today, Jessie?”

  Jessie knew there was no stopping Benny. “We might as well go on the Maid of the Mist, since the shop is closed anyway. Let’s have some breakfast. Then we’ll head out.”

  Something bothered Henry when he read Sally McKenzie’s note over breakfast. “Where did the McKenzies get the money to go back to the Rainbow Inn?”

  “I wish we didn’t have to think about that,” Violet said. “They looked so happy last night in the restaurant and in the horse and carriage.”

  Jessie thought for a minute. “We don’t know the McKenzies very well. Except for last night, they’ve always seemed so miserable. I don’t understand why they refused to talk about the Lundys’ wallet, too. I hope we get to know them better so we can figure out how they got more money. Now let’s clean up before we leave.”

  After washing the dishes, the Aldens headed for the Maid of the Mist docks on foot. It was a beautiful day for a walk and a boat ride.

  “The shops are just opening up,” Violet said when the children stopped in front of an antiques store. “Look, they have some old Navy Island canes in the window, too. Angus was right. They really are expensive.”

  Benny pressed his face against the display window. “What I like are those old glass snowballs that have Niagara Falls inside. The ones now are made out of plastic.”

  Henry laughed. “You sound just like Angus Drummond, complaining about plastic souvenirs.”

  “I wish we could find Angus,” Violet said. “I hope he’s not in any trouble. Maybe we’ll run into him today.”

  “Can we go into this store?” Benny asked. “Maybe Angus is in here. He likes old things.”

  The children entered the antiques shop. Except for a man talking to the clerk in back, the Aldens were the only customers.

  Benny ran over to the display of glass snowballs. “Neat,” he said when he got a close look at them. “Too bad they cost so much. I guess I’ll just look.”

  As they examined the antique souvenirs, the children were very quiet. That’s how they happened to overhear the salesperson talking to the other customer. “What do you mean, how much is the Prince of Wales guest book worth, young man? Mrs. Fustworth is off on the weekends, so I really couldn’t say. In any case, an object like that belongs in a museum, not in a shop. We wouldn’t buy or sell such a thing.”