The Day of the Dead Mystery Read online

  Mateo looked at Tina, and she nodded. He took a deep breath. “The truth is that I took the bracelet.”

  Gloria gasped. The Alden children looked at each other in surprise, but they didn’t say anything. They knew it was important for Gloria and Mateo to talk things out without being interrupted.

  “Why would you do that?” Gloria asked. Her voice quavered as if she might start to cry.

  “I wasn’t trying to steal it or anything like that,” Mateo explained. “The night we went trick-or-treating all together, when you were telling the stories about Great-Grandma Luisa, I started to feel sad. You have lots of memories of her, but I don’t. I was too young the last time we visited Mexico. So I decided to wear the bracelet while we were out—just for a couple hours—because it helped me feel a little closer to her. I planned to put it back when we got home, I swear!”

  “Oh, Mateo,” Gloria said. She felt bad about how angry she had been with her brother. It was easy to forget that he could feel left out of the memories sometimes.

  “Except,” Mateo continued, “when we got home from trick-or-treating, I realized the bracelet must have fallen off somewhere in the neighborhood.”

  “That’s why you two were walking in that strange way on the sidewalk yesterday,” Jessie said. “You were looking for it.”

  Finally, Tina spoke up. “Yes. But we didn’t find it. I think we’ve been over every inch of this neighborhood. I just don’t understand where it could be. I’ve been telling Mateo he should just tell you the truth.”

  “I should have listened,” Mateo said. “I’m very sorry.”

  Gloria hugged her brother. “The most important thing is that you’re telling the truth now,” she said.

  “That’s right,” Jessie said. Henry nodded.

  “And where does your mother’s bracelet come in?” Violet asked Tina.

  “Mateo asked if I could help him find something to put in the box, just until we could find the real bracelet. I didn’t think my mom would miss it because she never wears it, and I didn’t think anyone would look inside the box because Day of the Dead was still a day away.”

  “Well, at least that mystery is solved,” Violet said.

  “But there’s one mystery left: Where is the first bracelet?” Henry asked.

  The children thought back to the night of Halloween. Violet remembered that she had heard something jingling as they’d walked out the door of Gloria and Mateo’s house. She told the others about it. “That sound must have been the bracelet. I heard it all through the night, when we were walking around, and even when we came back home.”

  “Which means,” Gloria said to Mateo, “that you must have still had the bracelet on when we got home.”

  “Mateo,” Henry said, an idea flashing through his mind, “have you checked your candy bag?”

  Mateo nodded. “I checked it when I went to my room after trick-or-treating. No bracelet.”

  That gave Jessie an idea. “Remember what we did before Mateo went to his room? We poured some of the candy into the other bags so everyone would have the same amount. Gloria, Violet, and Benny—you should check your bags too.”

  “Well,” Benny said, “I know it’s not in my bag, because I’ve already eaten all my candy.”

  “All of it?” Jessie said, her eyes wide.

  Benny gave her a sheepish smile. “Yes. But I do happen to have Violet’s candy bag. It’s outside with my bike.”

  Now it was Violet’s turn to laugh with surprise. “I told you, didn’t I? Benny always eats my candy.”

  “Well,” Henry said, “let’s look inside!”

  Benny ran and grabbed the bag and brought it into the backyard. He turned the bag upside down and dumped the contents out onto the grass. Among the candy bars and empty wrappers, something shiny sparkled in the sunlight.

  “The bracelet!” Gloria said. She threw her arms around Benny. “You found it!” She held the bracelet in her hands, her face beaming. Mateo gave her a hug and then Tina gave him a high five. All the children were happy that the mystery was finally solved. But suddenly Gloria raised her eyebrows.

  “We’d better return this soon,” she said. “Mamá and Papá have already left to set up for the Day of the Dead celebration at Greenfield Park, and that means they took the altar with them!”

  Family First

  Mateo put their great-grandmother’s bracelet back in the jewelry box and zipped it in the pocket of his jacket. Tina waved good-bye to the others, and they jumped onto their bikes and pedaled toward Greenfield Park. As they got close, they saw families carrying large baskets of food and colorful decorations. Many people had Catrina makeup on their faces, just like Gloria and Mateo, and it made it look like the sidewalk was fully of happy skeletons on their way to a party.

  “I hope it’s not too late to bring back the bracelet,” Gloria yelled over her shoulder to the others, who were riding behind her. Benny noticed that she looked pretty worried.

  The bike path curved beneath a stone archway and into Greenfield Park. Along a tall fence on the west side of the park, families were setting up their altars. The sun was getting lower in the sky, with evening not too far behind. The children knew they didn’t have a moment to waste.

  They locked up their bikes and ran, with Gloria leading the way, until they found the Hidalgo family’s altar. Mr. Hidalgo stood in front of it, and deep lines creased his forehead. He seemed to be arguing with a man the Aldens had never met.

  “You should have been more careful with the bracelet,” the man was saying. He sighed. “I can’t believe you let this happen.”

  “Uncle Jorge,” Gloria said to the man.

  He turned to the children, and his face softened. “Hello, kids,” he said. “Your dad and I were just talking about—”

  “This?” Mateo asked. He pulled the jewelry box from his pocket and opened it to show his father and uncle that the bracelet had been safely returned.

  Mr. Hidalgo and Uncle Jorge stood with wide eyes as Mateo explained the whole story of what had happened with the bracelet. “I should have told you sooner,” Mateo said, “but I was so afraid that Great-Grandmother Luisa’s spirit wouldn’t make it back to visit us for Day of the Dead, and it would be all my fault.”

  “Mateo,” said Mr. Hidalgo. He put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you felt that way. Even though this bracelet is worth a lot of money and is very important to our family, the objects are not as important as the memories and stories of your great-grandmother. Those can never be lost,” he said with a tear in his eye. “And no one can ever take them from us.”

  Mr. Hidalgo pulled up one of the charms on the bracelet and turned it over so Mateo could see an inscription on the back. “La familia es primero,” Mr. Hidalgo read. “That means ‘family comes first.’ Even if you had lost the bracelet for good, Mateo, your great-grandmother would not have wanted the family to be divided.”

  “That’s right,” Uncle Jorge said, looking at Mr. Hidalgo. “Your dad was there for me this year when the library lost funding for my job. And I would do the same for him if he ever needed my help. Family comes first.”

  “Is that why you took the bracelet to the jewelers, Papá?” Gloria asked her father. “To see how much it was worth?”

  Mr. Hidalgo sighed. “I will admit I did think about selling it, but only so that I could give the money to Jorge. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would make more sense to have him stay with us for good, even when he gets another job. That’s what my grandmother would have wanted, for all of us to be together.”

  Uncle Jorge nodded. “That’s what I think too, even when we argue.” He smiled. “Remember when she used to say we were como uña y mugre? That meant we were always together…and always getting into trouble.”

  Mr. Hidalgo laughed. “She would say that when she found us getting into the cookies. But only because she loved to eat them so much herself and wanted to be sure we didn’t take them all.”

  As
the brothers shared their memories, Gloria glanced over at the family’s altar. “This is exactly what Day of the Dead is for, isn’t it?” she said. “To tell the stories and remember.”

  “Papá,” said Mateo, “will you tell us more stories about Great-Grandmother Luisa?”

  “Of course!” said Mr. Hidalgo. “But first, let’s get everyone some food. Kids, would you like some tamales?”

  “Yes!” Benny said, almost before Mr. Hidalgo had finished speaking.

  But Jessie looked at her watch and then put her hand on Benny’s arm. “We’d love to,” she said, “but, actually, we have to get going.” She looked at her siblings. “Remember, Grandfather told us to be home by five thirty, and it’s already five fifteen!”

  Celebrate!

  The Alden children put their bikes in the garage. Just as they were about to go inside, they saw Grandfather waving to them from the door of the boxcar in the backyard. Henry and Jessie looked at each other in surprise.

  “I wonder what Grandfather’s doing out here,” Henry said.

  “Let’s find out,” Violet said.

  The children ran across the yard to join him.

  “How was the party?” Grandfather asked.

  “Really fun,” Jessie said. “Gloria and Mateo found their great-grandmother’s bracelet.”

  “That’s good news,” Grandfather said. “I knew they would.”

  “Their whole family seemed really happy,” Benny said. “The bracelet isn’t the most important thing, but having it does help them remember her and pass the memories down to the kids who were too young to know her.”

  “Benny, it’s funny you should mention memories,” Grandfather said. “Before the Hidalgos moved to our neighborhood, I never knew much about Day of the Dead. But as we have become friends, I have been lucky to learn about the ways they celebrate and remember their ancestors. It’s inspired me to honor our own family memories in a new way.”

  Grandfather Alden opened the door to the boxcar, and the children peered inside. There was a long dining table that nearly filled the whole space, covered in a white tablecloth with enough place settings for their family. Standing beside the table was Watch and Mrs. McGregor. She had a big smile on her face.

  “What’s all this?” Jessie asked.

  “Go on in and see for yourself,” Grandfather said.

  The Aldens climbed inside. Lanterns on the table lit the space, and after the children’s eyes adjusted to the light, they noticed another smaller table behind Mrs. McGregor. It too was covered in a tablecloth, and it held a row of framed photos.

  “Look,” Violet whispered. She touched the edge of a silver frame. “It’s Mom and Dad at their wedding.”

  “And here they are holding you, Benny,” Henry said, pointing to another photo that showed Mr. and Mrs. Alden cuddling a baby in a snowsuit. In front of the picture frame was a hammer. “What’s this for?” Henry wondered.

  Jessie remembered what they had learned about the objects families placed on altars in memory of their loved ones. “I think the hammer is there because Dad was a carpenter.”

  Grandfather nodded. “And I’ve included sheet music, in honor of your mother. She was a wonderful pianist,” he said.

  “And look,” Violet whispered. She pointed at a teacup that looked a little worse for wear. It had been broken and not quite perfectly glued back together. “Mom’s teacup. Do you remember what she said when I broke it? ‘I can always get another teacup. I can’t get another you.’ That was just a little time before…” Violet couldn’t quite say the words before the accident.

  Jessie and Henry looked at her with sad eyes and nodded. “And there is the spool of thread,” Violet said. “The one the sheriff found in the car. These were the only two things I brought with us from the farm. Grandfather, you thought of everything.” Violet carefully set the items back on the table and turned to give him a hug.

  Jessie came over to them. “Thank you, Grandfather,” she said. He hugged Jessie and Henry next. But Benny stayed quiet and continued to look at the pictures.

  “Are you all right, Benny?” Mrs. McGregor asked.

  Benny looked thoughtful. “When Mateo told us he decided to take the bracelet because he was upset that he didn’t have any memories of his own with their great-grandmother, I knew what he meant.” Benny’s voice sounded a little shaky.

  Violet reached over and squeezed his hand. “I feel the same way. Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember the times our family had together before the accident—before we had to move away. Sometimes it feels like the memories are slipping away.”

  “I feel that way too sometimes,” Henry said softly. “But do you remember what Gloria told us the first night she showed us her family’s altar?”

  “Yes,” Jessie said, nodding. “That Day of the Dead is a celebration of people loved and lost, and that honoring them is an important job.”

  “That’s right,” Grandfather Alden said. “And I say we begin our celebration right now.”

  The Aldens took their seats around the table, and Mrs. McGregor uncovered the hot serving dishes in the center. One held roast chicken with lemon slices and fragrant sprigs of rosemary. The next held broccoli and carrots, and the third dish was a steaming hot casserole full of macaroni and cheese.

  Jessie smiled at Grandfather. “I’m so glad you remembered! Macaroni and cheese was Mom’s favorite!”

  “It was?” Benny asked. “I can’t believe it. That’s my favorite food too!”

  “I can believe it, Benny,” Grandfather Alden said. “You are like your mother in so many ways. For one thing, you have her smile.”

  “I do?” Benny said, then smiled and glanced at the photo of his mother on the table, wondering if his and hers really looked the same.

  “Oh, yes,” Grandfather said, laughing. “And, of course, your mother absolutely loved food.”

  “She was such a good cook,” Henry said. He looked at Jessie. “Remember that time at the farmer’s market when she bought out all the blueberries they had? They filled up the whole back seat of the car. She baked so many pies that we had enough to give one to every family on our road.”

  Jessie laughed. “Yes. It took me days to get the stains from the berries off my hands.”

  “When our parents died, so many people talked about how generous Mom was,” Violet said. “It sounds like they were right.”

  “Now, your father, Ben,” Grandfather said, “was a little bit more of the quiet type.”

  “But what a talented man,” Mrs. McGregor chimed in. She reminded the Aldens that she had known their father since he was a little boy.

  “From the time he was very young, your grandmother and I knew he would grow up to do something with his hands. He was always taking things apart—the toaster, a radio—just to see if he could put them back together. Your grandmother could not have been prouder of him.” Grandfather closed his eyes, as if he were lost in the memory for a moment.

  This gave Jessie an idea. She asked to be excused for a moment and slipped out the door of the boxcar.

  “Would anyone like seconds?” Henry asked.

  “Yes, please!” Benny said, passing his plate to his brother. “I’ll take more of Mom’s favorite.”

  “And what was Dad’s favorite food, Mrs. McGregor?” Violet asked.

  Mrs. McGregor grinned. “That’s coming up next,” she said. She took a brown paper bag from under her seat, opened it, and poured the contents on the tablecloth.

  “Saltwater taffy!” Violet said, delighted. “Just the same as me.”

  Mrs. McGregor nodded. “He would have eaten it every day if he could have.”

  “A man with very good taste,” Violet said, which caused Grandfather to laugh.

  Just then, Jessie came back into the boxcar. She was holding two things behind her back. “Grandfather,” Jessie said. “I thought some things were missing from our family’s altar. Is it okay with you if I add this?”

  Jessie showed him a framed p
hotograph. The children crowded around so they could see.

  “Is that Grandmother?” Benny asked Grandfather Alden. The woman in the photograph was wearing a sundress and riding a bicycle with a basket tied to the handlebars. In the basket was a puppy.

  Grandfather nodded. “That was the day we found Pal, the dog we had when your father was a little boy. She found him wandering in the park and never could find his owner, so we brought him home to live with us.”

  “That sounds like the way we found Watch!” Benny said.

  “Mrs. McGregor,” Jessie said, “I hope you won’t mind, but I brought the prayer book you keep next to your bed. You told me once that your husband gave it to you as a gift.”

  Mrs. McGregor’s eyes filled with tears. “That’s right,” she said, and wiped them away with the back of her hand. “It belonged to his mother before that, and then he gave it to me.”

  “Well, you are like family to us, and I think this should be on the altar too.”

  Mrs. McGregor nodded, and Jessie placed the new additions on the small table. Finally, the Alden family altar was complete.

  “Thank you, Jessie,” Grandfather said, patting her on the shoulder. “That was a very thoughtful thing to do.”

  Henry glanced at his watch. His mouth was still full of taffy, so he had to chew an extra moment before he could say, “It’s getting late. We should get back to the party!”

  The Aldens helped Mrs. McGregor carry the dishes from the table back inside the house. Then they jumped on their bikes and rode back to the park. At the corner, they saw Mrs. Hayes and Tina walking in the same direction. They were carrying a plate of food and a huge bouquet of marigolds.

  Mrs. Hayes waved to the children. “Isn’t this a wonderful celebration? See you at the park!”

  The children waved back and rode on. The streetlights had come on, and through the windows of the houses they passed on Miller Street, Benny could see families, some large, some small, sitting together at their kitchen tables, eating and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. He realized that memories weren’t just something in the past. They were something families were making all the time. When Grandfather had taken the children’s picture before they went trick-or-treating, that had become a memory. This right now—riding his bike with Henry, Jessie, and Violet to be with their friends for Day of the Dead—this would become a happy family memory too. The thought made Benny smile.