“Okay. Thank you, Queenie,” Raina said appreciatively.
So Jessie and Henry walked Raina back to the Java Café while Grandfather, Violet and Benny went back to the Game Spot with Queenie and Carter.
Chip stopped Jessie and Henry at the door. “You kids can wait here,” he said. “I don’t want you getting in the officers’ way.”
Neither Jessie nor Henry had any intention of getting in anyone’s way, but they didn’t want to upset Chip any further, either, so they stayed outside. But through the window they could see Chip following Raina all the way to the back room.
“I feel bad for Raina,” Jessie said. “She doesn’t seem like the type of person who would steal from her boss.”
“We don’t know her very well,” Henry said. “But I agree with you, Jessie. She’s clearly very upset about everything that’s happened.”
While Jessie and Henry waited in front of the Java Café, an older man with a binder full of plastic letters in his hand walked up to them.
“Hello, there,” he said to Jessie and Henry. “I’m George Berber, the mall owner. I understand you’re friends of Queenie’s.”
“That’s right,” Henry said.
“How would you like to help me put these letters up on that sign over there?” George asked.
“Sure,” Jessie said. She and Henry followed George across the parking lot.
“Be careful of the roses,” George said. “You wouldn’t want to get scratched.”
“Are the police finding any clues?” Henry asked as he and Jessie carefully picked their way over to the sign.
“I’m afraid not.” George shook his head. “It’s like Chip said. Nothing’s out of place. Nothing else has been touched. It looks like whoever broke in had a key.”
“How many people had a key to the Java Café?” Jessie wanted to know.
“Not many,” George replied. “Just Chip and Raina. And of course, me. I have a key to all the stores here. I hope your friend Queenie knows what she’s doing hiring that girl. I’m not sure I’d hire her.”
George opened his binder and took out some letters. He handed some to Henry and some to Jessie. “All you have to do is slide them into place like this,” he explained as he replaced the missing P, E, and I in the word OPENING.
Jessie added the M and N to the word MONDAY and the P and O to the word SPOT. And Henry added the E to the word THE and the A and E to the word GAME.
“There,” Henry said, stepping back to admire their work. “It’s all fixed.”
Raina came out of the Java Café with her jacket and purse slung over one arm. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. Before the door closed behind her, Chip ran out. “Hey! How about my key?” he called after her.
Raina stopped. She opened her purse, pulled out a single key on a chain, and slammed it into Chip’s hand.
“It’s too bad about the robbery at the Java Café,” Henry said that night when the Aldens all sat down to dinner.
“I hope the police catch the person who did it,” Violet said as she helped herself to a piece of fried chicken, then passed the platter to Jessie.
“I’m sure they will, Violet,” said Grandfather.
“And I hope Raina really is innocent,” Benny said.
“Queenie thinks she is,” Jessie said. “That was nice of her to hire Raina on the spot like that.”
“It was also nice of her to ask us to help her set up a Kids’ Korner in the store,” Violet said. “That’s going to be fun.”
“Yes, it is,” said Jessie and Henry.
Benny remained silent as he rolled his peas around on his plate.
“Don’t you think that’ll be fun, Benny?” Jessie asked.
Benny shrugged. “It sounds fun. I just wish that Queenie’s store was in a different mall.”
“Why?” Violet asked. “The Crossroads Mall is brand new. It’s a great place for a game store.”
“Yeah, but there’s already been a lot of trouble there,” Benny explained. “First the letters on the sign out front were all mixed up. Then somebody broke into the safe at the coffee shop. What’s going to happen next?”
“I don’t think anything else will happen,” Grandfather said. “The mall owner already replaced the missing letters. And the police are looking into the robbery. Everything is going to be fine there now.”
“But if it isn’t,” said Benny, “then maybe we’ll have another mystery to solve.”
CHAPTER 3
The Lost Key
The Aldens had been brainstorming ideas for the Game Spot’s Kids’ Korner all weekend. Queenie had asked them to come back on Monday afternoon with a list of possibilities. So after lunch they got on their bikes and rode over to the Crossroads Mall.
“GR … grand OPENING TODAY,” Benny read the new message on the sign in the mall parking lot. “THE GAME SPOT.”
“I’m glad all the letters are there today,” Violet said as they locked their bikes to the bike rack under a tall maple tree.
“So am I,” Henry said.
The children walked into the store and were happy to see that Queenie had customers already on her first day. Raina was at the cash register ringing up two puzzles for a little girl and her mother.
Raina looked a lot more cheerful today than the last time the Aldens had seen her. Her long blond hair was tied back neatly with a ribbon. She smiled and waved at the children, then turned back to her customer.
“That’s fifteen fifty-five,” Raina said.
The mother handed her a twenty.
“Four forty-five is your change.” Raina handed the mother some bills and coins. “Thank you.” Once they were gone, Raina turned to the Aldens. “It’s good to see you kids again. Queenie is over in the puzzles. I know she’s anxious to talk to you.”
“Thanks,” Henry said. “We’ll go find her.”
The children headed over to the puzzles Queenie and her friend Carter were talking at the opposite end of the aisle.
“We can move this shelf over here,” Queenie said. “Then we should have room.”
“Yes, but the aisle will still feel crowded. I don’t understand why you want this ‘Kids’ Korner.’ This isn’t a toy store.”
“No, it’s a game store,” Queenie explained. “Children play games too, Carter. And I want children to feel just as welcome here as adults do.”
“Whatever you say, Queenie,” Carter said with a sigh.
Queenie turned then and noticed the Aldens. “Oh, hello!” she said with a big smile. “I was hoping you kids would get here soon.”
But Carter didn’t look as happy to see them as Queenie did.
“I’m thinking of moving this shelf,” Queenie told the Aldens. “Then we can put the Kids’ Korner over there.” She pointed to the back corner of the store. Do you think that’s a big enough area?”
“I think so,” Henry said. The others nodded.
Carter sighed. “I guess I’ll start moving the merchandise off the shelf so it can be moved.”
“Thank you, Carter,” Queenie said. “I appreciate that.” Then she turned back to the Aldens. “Have you come up with any ideas to make the area look inviting?”
“Well,” Jessie began. “We were thinking you should start with some brightly colored tables and chairs. Something in red, yellow, blue, or green.”
“Maybe even all four colors,” Benny put in.
“That would be nice!” said Queenie.
“If you can’t find tables and chairs in bright colors, you could just get whatever you want and we’ll paint them for you,” Henry offered.
“I think you should have some big, fluffy pillows for kids who want to sit on the floor and put puzzles together,” Benny said.
“Those are both very good ideas,” Queenie said thoughtfully. She strolled slowly around the area as though trying to imagine it. “What about the walls?”
“We could paint a mural or something on this wall over here,” Violet suggested. “Maybe we could paint a row of children f
rom different countries all holding hands or something?”
“Could you?” Queenie asked.
“Violet’s a wonderful artist, Queenie,” Jessie said as Violet blushed.
“Yes, she is,” Henry agreed. “She could draw it all out in pencil first and then we could all help her paint it.”
“How soon do you think you could get started?” Queenie asked.
“I could start sketching right now, if you’d like,” Violet said.
“I’d like that very much,” Queenie said. “Let’s go see if we can find you a pencil.” She headed to the front of the store. The Aldens followed.
Tony Silver, the man who had installed Queenie’s safe last week, fell into step behind them. He had a Word Master game in his hands.
“Hello, Tony,” Queenie said, smiling at him. “How are you?”
“Just fine,” he replied as he set his box on the counter so he could pay for it. “I decided I needed a new copy of this game. My set is missing a few letters.”
Queenie walked back behind the counter. “It’s hard to play Word Master if you’re missing some letters,” she said.
“Yes, it is,” Tony agreed. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his billfold. “Say, I was wondering, Queenie. Have you thought about hosting a Word Master tournament in here?”
“Actually, I have,” Queenie said as she took Tony’s money. “Carter suggested it just a few days ago. He thought it would be a good way to get people into the store.”
“All you have to do is pick a date and put up some flyers,” Carter said.
Queenie thought for a minute. “How about two weeks from Saturday, starting at noon? We could have two divisions. One for adults and another for children.”
“That sounds good,” Carter said. The others nodded.
“We could help with the flyers,” Jessie said. “We could make them and distribute them.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Queenie said. She bent down and grabbed some paper and pencils from the shelf below the cash register. “Perhaps while Violet is sketching ideas for the mural, the rest of you can work on flyers?”
“We’d be happy to,” Henry replied.
“So, how’s that safe working out for you?” Tony asked. “Are you happy with it?”
“Oh, yes,” Queenie said. “It seems very secure. The only problem is I don’t like the combination. It’s hard to remember. Is it possible to change it?”
“Sure. I’d be happy to show you,” Tony said.
Tony and Queenie went to the back room. Violet took a pencil over to the wall. And Henry, Jessie, and Benny took their paper and pencils over to a table to work on the flyer.
Jessie started lettering the words WORD MASTER TOURNAMENT at the top.
“We should draw some people having fun playing Word Master, too,” Benny said.
“Good idea, Benny. Would you like to draw them?” Jessie slid the paper over to him so he could draw.
A few minutes later, Queenie and Tony came out of the back room. They stopped up by the cash register and Queenie lay a scrap of paper on the counter.
Carter was back behind the counter with Raina. He glanced at the paper Queenie had just set down.
“Is this the new combination to your safe?” Carter asked.
“Yes,” Queenie replied. “QUEEN. That should be easy to remember, don’t you think? At least it’s a word rather than just a series of letters.”
Carter grabbed the paper and tore it into little pieces. “Careful, Queenie. You don’t want to leave the combination to your safe lying around. And you certainly don’t say what the combination is out loud!”
“Oh, Carter. Don’t worry so much.” Queenie laughed. “There’s nobody in here.”
Carter glanced suspiciously at the Aldens. “There are kids in here,” he said in a low voice. But it wasn’t so low that the children couldn’t hear.
“We’re not going to break into any safes,” Benny said.
“Of course we’re not,” Jessie said to him. “But still, Carter has a point. If you have a safe, you shouldn’t say the combination out loud.”
“Well, I’d better be going,” Tony said. “I’d sure like to have a game of Word Master with you sometime before the tournament, Carter.”
Carter’s shoulders relaxed a little. “I’d like that, Tony,” he said. “Stop back anytime. I’ll be here almost every day.”
“Maybe on Saturday,” Tony said. Then he left.
“How are you kids coming on those flyers?” Queenie asked.
“Pretty good,” Benny said. “We’ve got a couple done. See?” He held them up to show Queenie, Carter and Raina.
“Those are beautiful!” Queenie exclaimed. “Aren’t they beautiful, Carter?”
“They’re okay,” Carter said, barely glancing at them.
“Why don’t you take them down to Bob’s drugstore and make copies,” Queenie suggested. “I’ll give you some money.” She opened the drawer, took out a couple of dollars, and handed them to Henry.
“In fact, while you’re there, perhaps you can have a key made for Raina,” Queenie added. “Would you mind?”
“Not at all,” Jessie said.
“Let me just go into the back room and get the spare key,” Queenie said.
While Henry, Jessie and Benny waited, they wandered back to check on the progress Violet had made. Her pencil marks were very light, so they had to get close to the wall to see.
“This is nice, Violet,” Henry said.
“Thanks.” Violet grinned.
Queenie came back with a frown on her face.
“What’s the matter?” Carter asked her.
“You know that spare key I had hanging on a nail in the back room? It’s gone!”
“Gone?” Carter repeated.
“You didn’t take it, did you, Carter?” Queenie asked.
“No.”
“How about you, Raina?” Queenie turned to the girl at the cash register.
“No.” Raina shook her head. “But I remember seeing it there when I hung up my coat this morning.”
“Hmm.” Queenie’s forehead wrinkled. “I wonder what happened to it? Well …,” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her own key. “Why don’t you take this one and make two copies of it,” she said, handing the key to Jessie.
“Okay,” Jessie replied. Then she and Henry and Benny headed out the door.
“See? Now there’s been more trouble at this mall,” Benny said as the trio walked down to the drugstore. “Somebody took Queenie’s key. Maybe this mall is bad luck!”
“There’s no such thing as bad luck, Benny,” Jessie said.
“And we don’t know for sure that someone took it,” Henry pointed out. “It may have just been misplaced.”
“Maybe,” Benny said. But he didn’t think so. He opened the door to the drugstore. Bells jangled, announcing their arrival.
“Can I help you?” a man in a blue smock asked as he came toward them. He was tall and thin and the name tag on his smock said “Bob.”
“We need to make copies of these papers,” Jessie said, holding up the flyers they’d made. “And then we need two copies of this key, too.” She held up the key.
“The copy machine is over there.” Bob pointed. “And I can help you with the keys.”
Jessie handed Henry the flyers so he could make the copies while she and Benny watched Bob grind the new keys.
When Bob finished with the keys, Jessie asked, “Could we also put up a flyer in here? Queenie is hosting a Word Master tournament at the Game Spot in a couple of weeks and she’d really like to get the word out.”
“Sure,” Bob replied. “You can leave one with me and I’ll put it up on the board in the entryway. But I have to warn you, if Carter Malone is playing, there may not be much response. Everyone knows Carter is an expert at word games.”
“Yes, but it’s fun just to play, even if you don’t win,” Jessie said.
“I guess you’re right,” Bob gave
in. He handed Jessie the two keys. “Be careful with these now. You know there’s been a robbery in this mall. You wouldn’t want these keys to fall into the wrong hands.”
“We’ll be careful,” Jessie promised. “Thanks.”
CHAPTER 4
More Missing Letters
“Uh, oh,” Benny said when he and Jessie and Henry came out of the drugstore a few minutes later.
“What’s the matter, Benny?” Jessie asked.
“Look!” Benny pointed to the sign in the parking lot. “More letters are missing.”
Benny was right. The sign that had read GRAND OPENING TODAY … THE GAME SPOT earlier this morning now read G_AND OP_NING … THE GAME SPOT.
“There’s an R and an E missing,” Henry said as he shifted his stack of flyers from one hand to the other.
“Did either of you notice whether the letters were all there when we went into the drugstore?” Jessie asked.
“I didn’t notice,” Benny said.
“Neither did I,” Henry said.
The children went back into the Game Spot. They handed Queenie the flyers and the spare keys, then told her about the sign. Violet heard what they were talking about and came over to see what was going on.
She and Queenie and Raina all stepped toward the window and peered outside.
“My goodness,” Queenie said. “There are more letters missing. Raina, you’ve been working in the front of the store all day. Did you see anyone over by that sign?”
“No,” Raina said. “But I wasn’t looking, either.”
“I wonder if Carter saw anything when he left?” Queenie asked. “It’s hard to believe someone would take letters off that sign in the middle of the day.”
“Why would someone take letters off that sign any time?” Violet asked.
“I don’t know,” Henry replied. “Someone probably thinks they’re being funny.”
“Well, I know George won’t be laughing when he hears about this,” Queenie said. “He was just out here replacing letters.”
“Why don’t we go outside and see if we can find any clues,” Henry suggested. “I’d like to find out who’s taking letters off that sign.”