The Mystery Girl

  “Good morning,” said the young man.

  Violet smiled shyly. “Good morning,” she said. She was a little nervous about waiting on someone by herself. “May I help you?”

  “No, thank you. I just came in to look around,” the man said. He walked over to the building tools.

  Violet finished with the carrots and went to the counter. The young man was still walking around. He had light brown hair and a friendly face. He looked familiar to Violet, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen him.

  After a few minutes, the man came to the counter. “Is Nancy here?” he asked. “Nancy Baldwin?”

  “This is her morning off,” Violet told him. “She’ll be back after lunch.”

  “Then she does work here!” the man said. He seemed happy. “I’ll come back later,” he said to Violet.

  “What’s your name?” Violet asked. “I’ll tell Nancy you were here.”

  The man suddenly looked concerned. “No, please don’t do that!”

  “But . . .” Violet started to say.

  “It’s a . . . a surprise visit,” the man said, smiling again. “It would spoil it if you told her.”

  Before Violet could say anything, the young man walked to the door. “Remember,” he called as he left, “don’t spoil the surprise!”

  Violet waited until Jessie’s customer was gone. Then she told Jessie about the young man.

  “I heard you talking,” Jessie said. She looked worried. “He sounded afraid that Nancy might not want to see him.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Violet said. “But I wonder why she wouldn’t. He was nice.”

  “I think we should tell Nancy about him,” Jessie said. “She can decide if she wants to see him or not.”

  When Henry came out of the storeroom, they told him about the man. He agreed that they should tell Nancy about her “surprise” visitor.

  A few minutes later, Violet stepped outside to shake out the dust cloth she’d been using. As she shook it over the side of the porch, she glanced down the path toward the cabins. There were two people standing in front of Nancy’s cabin. One of them was Mrs. Edwards. The other was the young man who had been in the store earlier.

  As Violet watched, Mrs. Edwards gestured toward Nancy’s cabin. Then the young man walked up on the porch and turned the door handle. Violet gasped. The door opened, and the young man walked right inside!

  Violet wanted to tell Henry and Jessie, but she didn’t want to leave until she saw what happened. Before she could decide what to do, the young man came back out and shut the door behind him. From the way he shook Mrs. Edwards’s hand, Violet could tell he was excited. In just a couple of seconds, the two of them walked to the end of the path and went into Mrs. Edwards’s cabin.

  Violet ran back into the store. “Jessie, Henry!” she cried, when she saw her sister and brother. “I just saw the man who was here, asking about Nancy. He was with Mrs. Edwards. Nancy must have left her cabin door unlocked, because he opened it and went inside. I thought for sure he was a robber, but when he came back out, he wasn’t carrying anything.”

  As Violet told them what else had happened, Jessie and Henry looked worried. “Even if that man didn’t steal anything, he shouldn’t have gone into Nancy’s cabin,” Jessie said. “And I wonder how he happens to know Mrs. Edwards.”

  “I wish Nancy would hurry and come back,” Violet said. “We have to tell her everything.”

  Later, Violet saw Nancy walking up the path to the store. “Here she is,” she said to Jessie and Henry. “I’ll tell her now.”

  Violet walked to the door with Henry and Jessie. But just as Nancy got to the front steps, a car pulled up and stopped quickly.

  “It’s him,” Violet said. “He’s back.”

  Nancy heard the car and turned around. The young man was getting out. “Nancy!” he cried. “It is you!”

  The young man ran to the steps. “I have to talk to you,” he said to Nancy.

  “Not now!” Nancy said. She sounded upset. “Not here!”

  “I won’t go until we talk,” the man said.

  The Aldens heard Nancy sigh. “All right,” she said. “I’ll meet you later, after the store closes.”

  “Where?” he asked.

  Nancy described the place where she and the Aldens had their picnic dinner. “But nothing is going to change,” she told him.

  “We’ll see about that,” the man said angrily. He turned around and walked toward his car.

  The Aldens moved away from the door.

  Just as Nancy walked into the store, Mr. Taylor came out from his office and asked her to go on an errand for him in Elmford. He gave her the keys to his van. Nancy waved to the Aldens and left the store again.

  Violet looked worried. “What are we going to do now?” she asked.

  “I know one thing we should do,” Jessie said. “Nancy might need our help. When she goes to meet that man later, we should follow her.”

  “You’re right,” Henry said.

  “Yes,” Violet agreed. “No matter what kind of trouble Nancy’s in, she’s still our friend.”

  CHAPTER 9

  A Secret Meeting

  When work was over, Nancy quickly left the store. The Aldens said good night to Mr. Taylor and hurried outside. The young man’s car was back. From the porch, they saw Nancy walking in the direction of the picnic spot.

  “We should wait a couple of minutes,” Henry said. “We don’t want her to see us.”

  “Why not?” Benny asked.

  Jessie put her hand on his shoulder. “We haven’t had time to tell you, Benny,” she said. “But you’ll see.”

  “I hope I see soon,” Benny said. “I’m hungry.”

  Violet smiled and held up a paper bag. “Mr. Taylor gave us some apples, Benny. You can have one now.”

  Benny took an apple and bit into it. Jessie, Henry, and Violet were too nervous to eat.

  “Nancy is far enough away now,” Henry said. “Let’s go.”

  Quickly, but not too quickly, the Aldens walked toward the picnic spot. When they were almost there, they heard voices.

  Henry pointed to a big willow tree up ahead. “We can sit under there,” he whispered. “It will hide us, and we’ll be able to hear.”

  They went to the tree and sat down under the hanging branches. Then they listened.

  The young man was speaking. “You look different,” he said.

  “Not different enough, I guess.” Nancy laughed.

  Jessie felt a little better. At least Nancy wasn’t afraid of the young man. But the young man didn’t laugh. He said, “Why did you do it, Nancy? You’re hurting everybody.”

  “That isn’t fair, Tony,” Nancy said.

  “You’re acting like a baby,” Tony said.

  Benny kept quiet, but his eyes got wide.

  “I am not!” Nancy said.

  “You’re only nineteen,” Tony said. “Do you want to keep hiding for the rest of your life?”

  “No, I don’t want to hide,” Nancy said. Her voice sounded sad. “I just want everyone to leave me alone.”

  “Well, we won’t,” Tony told her. “We’ll always find you.”

  Now Nancy sounded angry. “Not if I can help it!” she shouted.

  The Aldens heard footsteps. Nancy was walking away. She passed by their tree, but she didn’t see them.

  “I don’t care what you say, Nancy!” Tony called after her. “What you’re doing is wrong!”

  There were more footsteps. Then Tony walked by the Aldens’ tree. From where she was sitting, Violet could see his face. It was shadowed by the leaves of their tree. Suddenly, Violet gasped. Now she knew where she had seen him before.

  A few minutes later the Aldens were back in their cabin. They had seen the young man drive off. Now they were fixing a dinner of hamburgers and baked beans and fruit.

  “What happened when Tony walked by our tree, Violet?” Henry asked as he poured milk for everyone. “I heard you gasp. You looked lik
e you’d seen a ghost.”

  “Not a ghost,” Violet said, putting the beans into a serving bowl. “It was Tony. And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him before.”

  “Where?” Henry asked. “Today was the first time he came to the store, wasn’t it? Where could you have seen him?”

  “I saw him in Nancy’s cabin,” Violet said.

  “Oh, I know!” Jessie cried. “The photograph on the mantel.”

  Violet nodded. “He was younger in the picture, but his face was in shadow, just like it was when he walked by our tree. I’m sure it’s the same person.”

  “There was a girl in the picture, too, wasn’t there?” Jessie asked.

  Violet nodded. “She had light brown hair like the boy’s. Like Tony’s hair. But I’m almost positive it’s Nancy.”

  “Nancy has red hair,” Benny said. “Real red.”

  “She must have colored it,” Jessie said. “Remember, Tony said she looked. different.”

  “She probably cut her hair, too,” Violet added. “The girl in the picture has long hair.”

  “You are so good at seeing things, Violet,” Jessie said admiringly.

  “But who is Tony?” Henry asked.

  “Maybe he’s her brother,” Violet said. “In the picture, they looked a little bit alike.”

  “He might be her boyfriend,” Jessie suggested. “Or just a friend.”

  “She didn’t sound very friendly to him,” Benny remarked.

  “You’re right, Benny,” Henry said. “Nancy sounded mad. And she said she wanted everyone to leave her alone.”

  “Maybe she’s running from someone,” Jessie said.

  “I just had an idea,” Henry said. “Nancy told everyone she has been on her own for a year. But if she had been, she’d have plenty of things like socks and shirts, wouldn’t she?”

  “Yes,” the others agreed.

  “But if she was on the run, she wouldn’t have enough things,” Henry said.

  Jessie put some ketchup on her hamburger. She started to take a bite, but then she set it down and sighed.

  “What’s the matter, Jessie?” Violet asked.

  Jessie said, “Tony told Nancy that she’s doing something wrong,” she said. “Mrs. Edwards and Nancy both have bags from the Elmford Shopping Center. And they went somewhere together last night. I keep worrying that they’re doing something to hurt Mr. Taylor’s store. That would be wrong.”

  “But how would Tony know about that?” Violet asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jessie said.

  Henry thought for a minute. Then he said, “I think it’s time to talk to someone about this.”

  “I do, too,” Jessie said. “I’ll feel a lot better when we know what’s going on.”

  “I wish we could call Aunt Jane right now,” Violet said. “But we don’t have a telephone.”

  “Mr. Taylor has one in his cabin,” Jessie said. “But he said he was going into Elmford for dinner.”

  “Then we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to call,” Henry said. “But we’ll take care of it the first thing in the morning.”

  Very early the next morning, Violet heard a noise outside their cabin. At first she thought it might be an animal. Then she heard voices. One of them was Nancy’s. Violet sat up and looked at Jessie.

  Jessie was awake, too. Jessie said to Violet, “Go wake Henry.”

  Jessie got out of bed and went to the window. It was just starting to get light. When she looked out, she saw Nancy and Mrs. Edwards. Nancy was dressed. Mrs. Edwards was in a blue bathrobe.

  Violet came back into the room with Henry. “What’s happening?” he whispered, tying the belt of his bathrobe.

  “I’m not sure,” Jessie whispered back.

  The three of them stood close to the window and peered outside.

  “Please!” Nancy said to Mrs. Edwards. “I have to get to town.”

  Mrs. Edwards shook her head. “It’s too early.” She sounded nervous. “Why don’t you wait a while?”

  “I can’t!” Nancy said. “It’s too important to wait!”

  “I’m sorry,” Mrs. Edwards said.

  “Please,” Nancy said again. “I have to go!”

  Jessie looked at Henry. He nodded. If Nancy was going somewhere, they had to talk to her first.

  The three Aldens opened the door and went outside. When Nancy and Mrs. Edwards saw them, they were surprised.

  “Jessie, Henry, Violet,” Nancy said. “What are you doing up? Did we wake you?”

  “Yes, but we’re glad you did,” Jessie said. She took a deep breath. “Nancy, we need to talk to you. It’s important.”

  “Jessie, you look so worried,” Nancy said. “I don’t understand.”

  “There are a lot of things we don’t understand, Nancy,” Henry said. “Things about you.”

  “About me?” Nancy bit her lip. “But. . .”

  Before Nancy could say anything more, the door to Mr. Taylor’s cabin opened and Mr. Taylor came out. He was dressed, but he looked very sleepy. “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Oh, Mr. Taylor, I’m sorry,” Nancy said. “I wanted to use a telephone, but I didn’t want to wake you. So I was going to ask this lady to drive me to the nearest phone.”

  “The phone?” Mrs. Edwards said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I was in such a hurry,” Nancy explained. “I couldn’t think straight.”

  “Nancy, why did you call Mrs. Edwards ‘this lady’?” Jessie asked. “We thought you knew her.”

  Nancy shook her head. “She gave me a ride to town the other night, but she never told me her name.”

  “I was afraid to say much,” Mrs. Edwards said. “I was afraid you might guess who I am and why I’m here.”

  Nancy looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do I,” said Mr. Taylor.

  “I think I understand a little of it,” Jessie said.

  “Me too,” Henry said. “But not everything.”

  Nancy smiled. “Everybody’s confused,” she said. “I guess I owe all of you an explanation.”

  Just then, Benny came out of the cabin, rubbing his eyes. “What’s everybody doing out here?” he asked. “What happened?”

  “Good question, Benny.” Henry laughed and put his arm around Benny’s shoulder.

  “And I think we’re about to get some answers.”

  “Let’s all go into our cabin,” Jessie suggested. “We can have breakfast and talk.”

  Benny yawned again.

  Henry laughed. “I said we’d take care of this first thing in the morning, didn’t I?” he said. “And that’s just what it is—the first thing in the morning!”

  CHAPTER 10

  Last Day at Work

  Everyone started to go into the Aldens’ cabin. But suddenly Nancy stopped. “I almost forgot,” she said. “I need to make a telephone call. Mr. Taylor, may I use the phone in your cabin?”

  “Of course you can,” he said, gesturing toward his cabin door. “Go on inside, Nancy. The phone’s on the wall, next to the refrigerator.”

  “Thanks.” Nancy started toward his cabin, then turned back. “Don’t worry,” she said to the others. “I won’t be too long. When I come back, I’ll tell you the whole story.”

  The others went into the Aldens’ cabin. Jessie got out the things she needed to make pancakes. Henry took out glasses and started pouring orange juice for everyone. Benny and Violet put plates and silverware and napkins on the table.

  Jessie was stirring the pancake batter when Nancy came back in. She was smiling.

  “You look so happy, Nancy,” Violet said.

  “I am,” Nancy said. “I just talked to my parents. I haven’t spoken to them since I ran away from home.”

  “We were right,” Jessie said. “She was running away.”

  Nancy smiled. “Why don’t we all sit down and I’ll tell you everything.”

  Everyone found a place to sit. Nancy sat on one of the chairs by the fireplace.
She still looked very happy. “It was so good to hear my parents’ voices,” she said. “I can’t stop smiling.”

  “You sound like you love them,” Benny said.

  “I do love them, Benny,” Nancy told him.

  “Then why did you run away?”

  “Let me start from the beginning,” Nancy said. “You see, my family is very wealthy,” she explained. “There was almost nothing I wanted that I didn’t get.”

  “That doesn’t sound too terrible,” Mr. Taylor said with a smile.

  “No. I know I’m very lucky to have so much,” Nancy said. “But there was one thing I wanted that I didn’t get. That was the chance to make my own decisions about things.”

  “Like what?” Henry asked.

  “Oh, about how late I could stay out and the places I could go,” Nancy said. “My parents and I even argued about the kind of clothes I should wear. I felt like a baby. It seemed like they were always telling me what to do.”

  “And you wanted to decide things for yourself?” Jessie asked.

  “That’s right,” Nancy said. “When I graduated from high school, they expected me to go straight to college. They even had the school all picked out.”

  “But you didn’t want to go?” Violet asked.

  “Actually, I did,” Nancy said with a smile. “But it was just one more thing they were telling me to do. And I got stubborn and said I wouldn’t go at all. We had some awful arguments about it. Finally, two weeks ago, I ran away.”

  “Two weeks?” Henry said as he passed out glasses of orange juice to everyone. “Then we were right. You never worked, did you? This is your very first job.”

  “You’re right, it is,” Nancy admitted. “But you sound like you already guessed. How did you do that?”

  “Because you couldn’t work the cash register or anything,” Henry said. “If you had worked a lot, you would have known how.”

  “You’re right,” Nancy said again. She took a sip of juice. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Mr. Taylor,” she said. “I needed the job so much.”

  Mr. Taylor chuckled. “I had a feeling you hadn’t worked much,” he told her. “But it’s all right, Nancy. My customers liked you a lot.”