Mystery in the Snow

  Someone volunteered to look for them while he did his job. Finally, he flagged Freddy and started the stopwatch. Her team skied very well.

  “Do you suppose someone took Pete’s ear muffs?” Benny wondered aloud.

  “There are certainly a lot of things missing lately,” Jessie said.

  “Look,” Violet said. “Our team is skiing now.”

  Jimmy didn’t do very well. He skipped one pole and knocked over another. He left the ski hill after his run. Matt cleared the poles, but he was slow. Henry made up for lost points.

  The Aldens started for the lodge.

  Freddy caught up with them. “Is that my hat sticking out of your pocket?” she asked Henry.

  Henry pulled it out and handed it to her.

  Saying, “Thanks,” she took off the headband and put on the hat. “Where’d you find it?” she asked.

  As Henry was about to answer her, Jimmy approached from the opposite direction. He was carrying a pail.

  “Where are you going with that?” Freddy called.

  Jimmy dropped the pail into the snow. “I’m returning it to the kitchen,” he said. “Someone left it out by our snow sculpture.”

  Benny was surprised. “I thought Alan and Debbie took our buckets back,” he said.

  Jimmy shrugged. “They must’ve forgotten one. Unless someone else left it there…”

  With so much going on this morning, that was certainly possible.

  “What happened, Jimmy?” Freddy asked. “You blew the slalom.”

  Jimmy’s cheeks reddened. “I know. I was really mad at myself. I guess I was worried about Matt — how he would do.”

  “That’s too bad,” Freddy said. “But good for my team. Look, they found my hat. Every time I lose something, the Aldens find it. Pretty suspicious if you ask me.” Her tone was light and her eyes twinkled.

  It made Benny mad. She was the guilty one. How could she accuse them of anything?

  Freddy leaned over and picked up the bucket. “Come on, Jimmy,” she said, “I’ll walk you to the kitchen. We’ve hardly had any time to talk.”

  As soon as they were gone, Benny said, “How could she accuse us that way?”

  “She was only joking, Benny,” Violet said.

  “She has a point, though,” Henry said. “If she isn’t guilty, it must look strange to her. First we find her glove, and then I’m walking around with her hat in my pocket.”

  “She’s guilty all right,” Benny said.

  “Watch didn’t destroy your snow sculptures,” Jessie reminded him. “But your friends thought he did.”

  “And for a while you were sure Pete did it,” Henry said.

  Violet sighed. The more she thought about this puzzle the more confusing it became. “Is there anything we can be sure of?” she asked.

  “I’m sure of one thing,” Benny answered. “I can’t think another thought until I have something to eat.”

  CHAPTER 14

  More Mischief

  Inside the lodge, the Aldens got cups of hot chocolate and cinnamon buns and sat down by the fire.

  Grandfather and Mr. Mercer came in.

  “Congratulations, Henry,” Mr. Mercer said. “You skied well.”

  “Thank you,” Henry said.

  “And, Benny, your snow sculpture is something to see.”

  Benny smiled, but Grandfather could tell something was troubling him.

  “What’s wrong, Benny?” Grandfather asked.

  “Someone’s trying to keep our team from winning,” Benny blurted.

  Mr. Mercer’s dark eyes narrowed. “Is that so?”

  “It looks that way,” Henry said.

  Mr. Alden sank into a chair. “We heard there was some trouble with the snow sculptures, but…” his voice trailed off.

  “And someone took Matt’s skis to keep him from doing his best,” Benny said.

  Mr. Mercer shook his head. “Jimmy said something at breakfast about missing skis. He wanted me to call off the race. I thought they’d turn up — that they were just misplaced.” He paused. “Who could do such a thing?” he wondered.

  “So many things have been going wrong — even the missing keys and the flat tires,” Henry said.

  “But they have nothing to do with your team,” Mr. Alden said.

  Henry nodded. “That’s why this mystery is so confusing.”

  Just then, there was a commotion at the door. Nan and Pete were shouting at each other and tugging at something.

  “Here, here. What’s going on?” Mr. Mercer called.

  Nan and Pete marched over. Each had hold of one of Pete’s blue earmuffs. They were tugging so hard that the metal connecting band was stretched to its limit.

  “She won’t give me my earmuffs!” Pete complained.

  “He ruined our ice carving!” Nan snapped. “We were making a castle. Now, the tower’s gone.” She wiped her tears with her red scarf. “Pete did it,” she concluded. “We found his earmuffs right there in the snow.”

  Pete rolled his eyes. “I didn’t do it,” he defended. “Someone took my earmuffs.”

  The Aldens exchanged disbelieving glances. Now, the mischief was aimed at both teams.

  Everyone trekked outside to look at the ice carving Freddy’s team had made. The entire castle tower had melted away.

  “The sun didn’t do it,” Mr. Mercer decided. “It doesn’t work that fast.”

  “I didn’t do it, either,” Pete said.

  The Aldens thought he was telling the truth. He was too busy with his stopwatch. He wouldn’t have had the time to melt the ice.

  “What happened?” Jimmy asked, walking up to the group clustered around the melted ice sculpture.

  Nan told him.

  “We have to call off this event,” Jimmy said. “There isn’t enough time to finish before the judging tomorrow.”

  Mr. Mercer shook his head. “Don’t worry,” he said to the ice carvers. “We’ll figure out something.”

  “How can we make a castle without a tower?” Nan asked.

  “Make something else,” Benny suggested.

  “We’d better go check our sculpture,” Violet said, and they all paraded over there. Violet’s team’s ice carving had not been damaged.

  “That’s a relief,” she said.

  Just then, Freddy and Beth ran to join them.

  “What’s up?” Henry asked.

  Freddy raised her hand. In it was Benny’s pink cup.

  “Hey,” Benny said, “what’re you doing with my cup?”

  “I found it at the rink, Benny,” Freddy told him.

  Benny’s mouth dropped open. The last time he had seen his cup, his snow self was holding it.

  “Someone’s ruined the ice,” Beth said. “Patches are chipped and broken. People trying to skate there would have trouble staying on their feet. Racing or figure skating would be impossible.”

  Freddy held up a chisel. “Whoever did it used this.”

  “Who could’ve done this?” Benny wondered aloud.

  Beth and Freddy stared at him.

  “Wait a minute,” Benny said. “You don’t think I did it?”

  “Of course they don’t, Benny,” Jessie assured him.

  Freddy held up the cup again. “Whoever left this here wanted us to think you did it,” she said and gave it to him.

  All of a sudden, Jimmy said, “I’ll see you later. I have to talk to Mr. Mercer. Maybe he’ll call off the games.” He dashed away.

  Watching him, Freddy said, “He is really acting weird. I don’t know how many times he’s said we should call off the games.”

  Everyone headed toward the lodge.

  “He probably just wants everything to go right,” Beth said.

  “With his parents coming for the awards dinner and everything,” Jessie put in.

  Freddy looked at her in disbelief. “His parents aren’t coming for dinner,” she said. “They never come for anything. They just drop him here. They don’t even pick him up until everyone else has
gone home.”

  “But he told us they were coming,” Benny said.

  “Wishful thinking,” Freddy responded.

  Matt rushed up. “My skis are back,” he told them. “I just found them in the equipment shop.”

  “This is getting stranger and stranger,” Freddy commented.

  After dinner, Mr. Mercer clapped for silence. “As you all know, we’ve had some trouble this year,” he said. “First the keys to the equipment shop were missing, then my tires were flat. Someone damaged the snow sculptures and one of the ice carvings.” Then, he went on, “Jimmy Phelps came to talk to me at breakfast this morning. He thought we should call off the ski race because Matt’s skis were missing.”

  Henry leaned toward Jessie. “Didn’t Matt say he left the skis by the rack just before breakfast?” he whispered.

  Jessie searched her memory. “I think so,” she said.

  “And he didn’t know they were missing until the race?”

  Jessie nodded.

  “How did Jimmy know they were missing at breakfast?”

  Her eyes wide, Jessie looked at her brother. Did he think Jimmy had caused all the trouble?

  CHAPTER 15

  The Solution

  “Now I’ve just learned that the ice at the rink has been ruined. But we’re not going to cancel anything,” Mr. Mercer said. Then he announced a new schedule. The ice-carving judging would be postponed. A crew was hosing the ice, and the skating competition would take place when it was ready. Sledding would be moved into its time slot.

  “My message to whoever caused the trouble is this,” Mr. Mercer concluded. “It won’t work. Snow Haven Lodgers never quit!”

  Everyone cheered.

  Henry and Jessie were on their feet, ready to go.

  “Come on,” Henry urged Violet and Benny. “Let’s go back to the cabin.”

  “But I haven’t finished my cake,” Benny protested.

  Jessie pulled a paper napkin from the holder in the center of the table. “Wrap it in this,” she said, “and bring it with you.”

  Grumbling, Benny did as he was told.

  Henry and Jessie raced through the lounge with Violet and Benny trailing along behind.

  Outside, Violet asked, “Why are we in such a hurry?”

  “We have a new suspect,” Henry told them.

  “Not another one,” Benny groaned. “There are already too many.”

  “But this might be the right one,” Jessie said.

  They wouldn’t say another word until they were settled back at the cabin with a fire burning in the fireplace.

  Then, Henry said, “So far the clues have pointed to Freddy and Pete.”

  “And all of us,” Jessie added.

  “Watch, too,” Benny put in.

  “We know it wasn’t Watch or us,” Violet said.

  “It looks as if it wasn’t Freddy or Pete either,” Henry said.

  Violet and Benny couldn’t stand the suspense. “Then who was it?” they both asked.

  “Violet, remember what you said?” Jessie asked. “That it might be someone we hadn’t even thought about?”

  Violet nodded.

  “Well, you were right,” Jessie said.

  “It’s the last person we would have thought,” Henry added. He paused to let that sink in.

  “Don’t tell me it was Mr. Mercer!” Benny exclaimed.

  They all laughed.

  “No, no, Benny,” Henry said. “Jessie and I think it was…Jimmy.”

  “Jimmy?” Benny repeated.

  “But why?” Violet said.

  Henry glanced at Jessie.

  “Don’t look at me, Henry,” she said. “I don’t have the answer to that question.”

  “We’ll leave the why till last,” Henry decided. “Maybe it’ll come to us as we answer the other questions.”

  “What made you think of Jimmy in the first place?” Violet wanted to know.

  “He asked Mr. Mercer to cancel the ski race at breakfast,” Henry explained, “but not even Matt knew his skis were missing until after lunch.”

  “The only way Jimmy could have known is if he took them,” Violet concluded.

  “What about our snowpeople?” Benny asked. “Freddy came late for supper. She had time to smash them.”

  “Jimmy was late, too,” Jessie remembered.

  “There’s the ice sculpture,” Violet said.

  They fell silent trying to figure out when and how Jimmy could have done that.

  Suddenly, Benny knew the answer. “The pail!” he said.

  They looked at him curiously.

  “Don’t you remember? We were going for a snack and Jimmy came along carrying a pail.”

  “That’s right,” Jessie said. “He told us he’d found it by your snow sculpture, Benny.”

  “But Alan and Debbie brought our pails back to the kitchen,” Benny said. “I’m sure of it.”

  “Jimmy must have carried hot water in it,” Henry concluded. “He probably poured it on the ice castle to melt it.”

  “There’s still the ice rink,” Jessie reminded them.

  “Everyone was too busy today to do much skating,” Henry said. “Jimmy could’ve chopped up that ice any time.”

  “He left the ski hill after his turn,” Benny said. “He probably did it then.”

  “Before he melted the castle,” Jessie added.

  “What about the missing keys?” Violet asked.

  “And the flat tires?” Benny added.

  “I’m not sure about those things,” Henry said. “Jimmy did have the chance to do them, but — ”

  “That’s right!” Benny interrupted. “Mr. Mercer said he parked the truck by the ice rink. Jimmy went skating that morning — before breakfast!”

  “The keys disappeared the first day,” Violet said. “Jimmy could have taken them when he signed the guest book.”

  They decided to take a break from thinking. Jessie got out their homemade cookies and poured juice. Benny unwrapped his cake. They ate in silence.

  Finally, Violet said, “I guess we’ve answered all the questions.”

  “Except the most important one,” Henry responded. “We still don’t know why he did it.”

  Jessie nodded her agreement. “The only person who knows the answer to that is Jimmy.”

  “Well, then,” Benny said, “we’ll have to ask him.”

  CHAPTER 16

  The Motive

  The children agreed to talk to Jimmy privately and ask him why he had tried to ruin the games. But, the next morning, Jimmy did not show up for breakfast. And no one had seen him.

  “Maybe he’s in his room,” Benny said.

  Henry asked Freddy for Jimmy’s room number.

  “I don’t think he’s there,” Freddy said. “I knocked this morning. He didn’t answer.”

  “Do you suppose he’s sick?” Violet asked.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Henry replied.

  The Aldens headed down the long lodge hall. They stopped before Jimmy’s door.

  Benny’s idea had sounded simple. But now that they were about to face Jimmy, they were having second thoughts.

  “What’ll we say?” Benny whispered.

  “We’ll think of something,” Henry said. He took a deep breath and knocked.

  No answer.

  He knocked again. “Jimmy?” he called. “It’s Henry Alden.”

  “Ask if he’s sick,” Violet urged her brother.

  “Are you all right, Jimmy?” Henry called.

  Silence.

  The Aldens stood quietly for several seconds.

  “Maybe we should get Mr. Mercer,” Violet whispered. “If Jimmy’s sick, he might need help.”

  They turned to leave. The door opened slowly. Jimmy peeked out. He looked pale. Even his cheeks had lost their rosy color.

  “Oh, Jimmy,” Jessie said. “You weren’t at breakfast; we thought you might be sick.”

  “I — uh — just wasn’t…hungry,” Jimmy said. br />
  “Then you must be sick,” Benny commented.

  That made everyone — even Jimmy — smile.

  “We’d like to talk to you,” Henry said. “About the games.”

  At first, Jimmy was silent. Then, he said, “Come on in.”

  They followed him into his room.

  Henry cleared his throat. “We’ve been trying to figure out who’s responsible for all that’s happened,” he began.

  “We thought it might be Freddy or Pete,” Jessie added.

  “So their team could win,” Benny said.

  “But then their own ice carving was melted,” Violet said.

  “I did it.” Jimmy’s voice was so quiet the Aldens weren’t certain they’d heard it.

  After a brief silence, Henry said, “You did?”

  Jimmy sank down on the edge of his bed. “All of it,” he said.

  Benny nodded. “We thought so,” he said.

  “You planted Freddy’s glove and hat?” Henry asked.

  Jimmy nodded.

  “And Pete’s earmuffs?” Jessie asked.

  Jimmy nodded again.

  “And my cup?” Benny wanted to know.

  “Yes,” Jimmy told him.

  “That’s what was so confusing,” Henry said. “There were so many suspects.”

  “I didn’t want anyone to take the blame,” Jimmy explained. “First, I took the keys and let the air out of the tires. I didn’t leave clues then. I thought that would be enough. Mr. Mercer would stop the games. But it didn’t work.”

  “Why did you want the games stopped?” Jessie asked.

  Jimmy sighed deeply. After a long pause, he began, “I’ve been coming here for years. Alone.” He paused again to take a deep breath. “It was my idea to begin with. I was six or seven. I thought it’d be neat, you know, to be…on my own. And it was fun. I liked it a lot. But it got to be a regular thing. Every year, my parents would drop me here and go to some other place.” He rarely saw his parents, Jimmy told them. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps were busy lawyers. Now Jimmy wanted to spend vacation with them. If the Snow Haven winter games were canceled, maybe they’d start taking him along with them.

  “Have you ever told them how you feel?” Violet asked softly.

  “No,” Jimmy admitted. “They’re my parents; they should know how I feel.”