Mr. Tipton opened a metal panel. He put the tickets into the ticket machine. “Okay, Benny,” he said. “Push that button and see what happens.”
Benny pushed the button on the desk. An orange ticket popped out of a slot. “Cool!” Benny said. He pulled the ticket off.
“When the ticket comes out, you slide it through the opening to the customer.” Mr. Tipton showed the children the small opening in the window.
“But the canned goods will not fit in through this little opening,” Benny said. “Only money could fit through there.”
“We will set bins up outside by the door,” Mr. Tipton said. “After the customer puts in his or her donation, we will give them a ticket to the movie.”
“Do we have any bins?” Jessie asked.
“Yes. I have been collecting some. Come upstairs to the projection room, and I will show you.”
The children followed Mr. Tipton up a narrow staircase. He opened an old wooden door. He pulled a cord and a dim light went on.
“I have always wanted to see the projection room,” Violet said.
“But what do you do up here?” Benny asked.
“This is where we play the movies, Benny!” Mr. Tipton said.
“But I don’t see any movies. I don’t even see a DVD player.” Benny looked all around the room.
“Here are the movies,” Mr. Tipton said. He walked over to a shelf that held large tins. “Inside each tin is a reel of film. Here, Violet. Would you like to carry this over to the projector? You can help me set up the film for tonight.”
“Thank you!” Violet said. “I would love to.”
While Mr. Tipton and Violet were setting up the film in the projector, Benny was investigating the rest of the room. He found a small window. Jessie boosted him up so that he could look through.
“I can see the whole movie theater from up here!” he cried.
Mr. Tipton laughed. “Yes,” he said. “When I turn on the projector tonight, it will shine the movie through that little window and onto the screen. That is how a movie gets shown at a movie theater.”
Suddenly, Benny saw something moving down below. The theater was dark, but he was certain that a person had just run across the stage in front of the screen.
“Mr. Tipton,” he said. “There is someone else in the theater. Is that okay?”
“What?” Mr. Tipton rushed to the little window. “No one else should be in here! I don’t see anyone,” he said.
“Are you sure you saw someone, Benny?” asked Henry.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Benny said. “It is dark, but I know I saw a person down by the screen.”
Everyone rushed down the narrow stairs. Suddenly, they all heard a door bang shut. Mr. Tipton hurried into the lobby. “Someone was definitely here,” he said. “But it does not look like anything was stolen.”
Mr. Tipton and the children checked the whole theater. They made sure all the doors were now shut and locked. They did not see any damage.
“Why would someone come in an empty theater and just run around?” Jessie said. “It is odd.”
“It is odd,” Mr. Tipton said. “We will have to be careful. I did not mention this earlier because I thought it was just a prank. But someone called the theater today and demanded that I call off the special food pantry night.”
The children looked very surprised. “Did you recognize the voice?” Henry asked.
“No,” Mr. Tipton said. “It could have been anybody.”
“We will have to carefully watch the bins tonight,” Henry said. “Someone may try to take the donations.”
“I think you are right, Henry,” Mr. Tipton said.
“I can do it!” Benny said. “I am a good detective.”
“I am sure you would be good at the door,” Mr. Tipton said. “But I also need help at the snack counter. I was hoping you could do that.”
“Oh boy!” Benny said. “I sure can. I love snacks!”
Jessie laughed. “Mr. Tipton wants help selling the snacks, Benny, not eating them.”
Mr. Tipton took Benny behind the counter. He showed him how to make the popcorn in the big popcorn-popping machine. Benny scooped the corn kernels from a bin. He stood on a stool and poured the kernels into the machine. Then he pushed the button to turn on the popper. Soon, the whole place smelled wonderful.
Mr. Tipton gave each of the children a bag of the warm popcorn and a cup of lemonade. A phone began to ring and Mr. Tipton hurried to his office.
The children went into the theater to eat. They sat in a row in the soft, velvety seats.
“This popcorn is delicious,” Violet said.
“I made it!” Benny said proudly.
Jessie smiled. “It is the best popcorn I’ve ever had.”
“Can you tell us anything about the person you saw, Benny?” asked Henry. “Are you sure you don’t know who it could have been?”
Benny shook his head sadly. “I don’t know,” he said. “It was very dark. The person looked mostly like a shadow. I could not see a face.”
“Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?” asked Violet.
“No,” Benny said. “But the shadow was big. I think it was probably a man.”
“Was he wearing a hat?” asked Jessie. She remembered the rude man who knocked into Mr. Grayson on the street. He had been wearing a brown hat.
“No,” Benny said. “I did not see a hat.”
Jessie pulled out her notebook. She wrote down everything that had happened at the theater. She tapped her pencil on her book. “Who could it have been?” she wondered.
“It could have been Mr. Higgins,” Benny said. “He does not like the food pantry.”
“It could have been Ms. Matthews, too,” Henry said. “She does not even believe that the food pantry will ever open,” Henry said. “She thinks Mr. Grayson is just being sneaky.”
“But why would either Ms. Matthews or Mr. Higgins sneak into the theater during the day?” asked Violet.
“It makes no sense,” Jessie said.
The children sat quietly for a few moments thinking about the mystery.
“There are a lot of seats in this theater,” Violet said. “If every person brings a donation, the food pantry shelves will be filled by tomorrow. We have to make sure there are no problems tonight.”
CHAPTER 8
A Turkey at the Movies?
The line to get into the movie was very long. Violet sat in the booth and sold the tickets as fast as she could. Everyone seemed to have brought bagfuls of donations.
“What a wonderful idea!” one woman said.
“How kind of you to support the food pantry,” a man said to Mr. Tipton. He dropped an armful of cereal boxes into the donation bins.
Henry and Mr. Tipton were very busy watching the bins. They soon became full. Henry had to empty them several times. He put all the items in Mr. Tipton’s office. Then he brought the empty bins back to the front of the theater.
Mr. Grayson came early and helped, as well. He shook Mr. Tipton’s hand. “This is wonderful!” he said. “With all these donations, we will be able to open the food pantry in time for Thanksgiving.”
Jessie and Benny were very busy behind the snack counter. They made a lot of popcorn and sold many candy bars. The line was growing long.
“Hi, kids!” Noreen, the waitress from Green Fields restaurant, stood in front of the counter. “Would you like some help back there?” she asked.
“Yes, please!” Jessie said.
Mr. Tipton stopped by the snack counter. “See anything suspicious?” he whispered to Jessie.
“No,” she said. “But we have been so busy selling snacks. I am afraid we have not been watching as best we can.”
“Keep up the good work,” Mr. Tipton said. “I will donate half of all the money you make here tonight to the food pantry. So, the more you sell, the more I will donate.”
Jessie smiled. “That is very generous,” she said.
There were crowds of people standing in t
he lobby. They were talking excitedly about the new movie. Jessie started when she saw Ms. Matthews. She was standing in a corner watching all the excitement. Soon, she saw Jessie looking at her. She walked over to the snack counter.
“I see that you children did not take my advice,” Ms. Matthews said. “You are still helping Mr. Grayson with the food pantry.”
“Yes,” Jessie said. “We believe that a food pantry in Greenfield is a very nice idea.”
“You still believe that he is going to open up a food pantry?” Ms. Matthews shook her head. “I do not think so.”
“So many people have come here tonight,” Jessie said. “They all believe in the food pantry.”
Ms. Matthews looked around the lobby. “The people of Greenfield are good and kind people,” she said. “They are also very generous. But they do not know Mr. Grayson like I know him. He is sneaky. He was sneaking around Mr. Higgins’s grocery store the other day. I saw him carrying a very big package out of the back alley. It was covered in plastic. When he saw me watching him, he hurried away. Do you know what he was doing?”
Jessie was surprised. “No. I do not.”
Ms. Matthews started to walk away. She turned back to Jessie. “I do think a food pantry would be a good idea for our town. And I would like to be wrong about Mr. Grayson. But I don’t think that I am.”
Noreen handed a drink across the counter to a customer. Then she hurried over to Jessie. “What was that all about?” she asked. “Ms. Matthews is always so angry.”
“She does not believe that there is really going to be a food pantry,” Jessie said. “But she was not angry.”
Noreen untied the apron that she had been wearing. “Is it okay if I leave?” she asked. “I need to go get ready.”
“Get ready?” asked Jessie.
“I mean . . . get ready . . . get ready for the movie, of course!” Noreen handed the apron to Jessie.
“Oh yes,” Jessie said. “I hope you enjoy the movie.”
All the customers had filed into the theater. The lobby became quiet. Benny dramatically slid to the floor.
“Are you okay?” asked Jessie.
“That was hard work!” Benny said, hopping back to his feet. “I’m tired. But selling snacks is almost as fun as eating them.”
Mr. Tipton, Henry, and Violet joined Jessie and Benny at the snack stand.
“Thank you for all your help,” Mr. Tipton said. “This night is a big success because of you.”
“It was fun!” Benny said. “I had never worked at a snack stand before.”
“We collected so many donations,” Henry said. “You should see Mr. Tipton’s office. It is piled high with canned goods and cereal boxes. All of the customers were very generous.”
Jessie showed them the donation jar on the counter. It was filled with coins and dollar bills. “People even made donations at the snack counter,” Jessie said. “Mr. Grayson will be very pleased. Where is he?”
“He said he would watch over the donations in my office,” Mr. Tipton said. “We are trying to be very careful tonight.”
Just then Ms. Sweeney, the reporter from the newspaper, walked up to the snack counter. “Congratulations, kids!” she said. “You have done a great job here. This movie theater is packed with people.”
“Your article was very helpful,” Henry said. “Thank you for printing it on the front page.”
Ms. Sweeney smiled. “Just doing my job,” she said. “I would like to write another article about this movie donation night,” she said. “Can I interview you, Mr. Tipton?”
Mr. Tipton looked proud. “Of course,” he said. “But I could not have done it without the Aldens. Let me show you my office. You will see how many donations we received tonight.”
Everyone walked back toward Mr. Tipton’s office. When they opened the door, they were shocked! All the stacks of donations that Henry had piled so neatly were knocked to the floor. The room was a mess.
Ms. Sweeney took out her camera. She took many pictures. “Who could have done this?” she asked.
The children and Mr. Tipton looked at one another. “We don’t know,” Mr. Tipton said.
“Do you think any of the food was stolen?” asked the reporter.
Mr. Tipton looked around the room. “I don’t think so. But there was a donation jar on my desk and it is not there anymore. It was filled with money. Many people put dollars in it as they came into the theater. Someone has stolen it.”
The reporter quickly scribbled notes in her notebook. Then she left. The children helped Mr. Tipton straighten up his office. He sat behind his desk.
“I am going to stay here,” he said. “You children go enjoy the movie now. You deserve it.”
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny found seats at the very back of the theater. It seemed like an exciting movie. Something scary was hidden under the stairs. The actress walked carefully down the creaking stairs. Spiderwebs hung in front of her face. She carried a candle. Noises came from under the stairs.
Suddenly, Benny cried out. Jessie turned to him. “It’s just a movie,” she whispered. “Don’t be scared.”
“No,” Benny said. “It’s not just a movie! Look there!”
A loud gasp went up from the theater. Everyone saw it. It was Tom the turkey! He moved across the front of the movie screen.
“Hey!” someone called. “What’s that giant turkey doing? Get that out of here! We want to see the movie.”
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny jumped from their seats and raced to the front of the theater. But whoever had the turkey moved faster. Henry jumped up on the stage and ran to the edge of the screen. A door on the side opened and shut. Henry grabbed the doorknob, but the door was stuck. Someone was holding it from the other side! He could not get it open.
“Quick!” he said to his brother and sisters. “Let’s go out the front door.”
The Aldens ran through the lobby. They went outside and raced to the side of the theater. But no one was there.
“This is why I could not get the door open,” Henry said. A chair was pushed up against the door. It was a wooden chair with green leaves painted on the sides.
“That chair looks familiar,” Violet said.
“Violet is right. I have seen that chair somewhere, also,” Jessie said. “But we should probably get back inside. The movie will be over soon, and we should help Mr. Tipton clean up.”
After all the customers had left the theater, Mr. Tipton and the children walked to the screen. All the lights were on. They checked the stage and the screen. There was no damage. Most customers had thrown away their trash, but a few did not. The children picked up a few candy wrappers and popcorn boxes. Henry and Jessie swept the rows, and Mr. Tipton vacuumed the aisles. Soon, the theater was clean and ready for its next movie.
Everyone turned sharply when they heard the door open. But it was just Mr. Grayson. He seemed very happy. “We got so many wonderful donations!” he said. “My thanks to all of you.”
“Yes,” Mr. Tipton said, “but someone stole one of our donation jars. We could have had much more money for the food pantry.”
“Oh well. I wouldn’t worry about that. We’ll get more. There will be another story in the paper tomorrow. People will want to read about the theft and about the giant turkey waddling across the movie screen,” Mr. Grayson said. “C’mon kids, I will give you a ride home.”
On the way to Grandfather’s house, Mr. Grayson talked excitedly about the food pantry. He asked the children if they would help set up the donations on the shelves.
“Of course we will help,” Jessie said.
“And I have more good news,” Mr. Grayson said. “Some of the players from the Greenfield High football team want to help, also. At tomorrow’s division championship game against Westtown High, everyone must bring a donation to get a ticket.”
“That’s wonderful,” Jessie said.
“The football stadium is very large,” Henry said. “And this is a big game for our team. If Greenfi
eld High wins, they win the championship. There will be a lot of donations.”
“Exactly!” Mr. Grayson said. “I think that several exciting things will happen tomorrow!” He winked at the children and dropped them by the front porch of Grandfather’s house.
CHAPTER 9
Jessie Finds a Clue
After dinner, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny sat around the fire in the living room.
Mrs. McGregor carried in a pitcher of warm apple cider and a plate of pumpkin bread fresh from the oven. “You children have had a long day,” she said. “I thought you could use a snack before bed.”
“Thank you, Mrs. McGregor,” Henry said. “We would love a snack.”
“Especially me!” Benny said, jumping to his feet.
“That is why I am cutting you an especially big piece of pumpkin bread!” Mrs. McGregor said. “I heard your stomach growling all the way from the kitchen.”
Benny put his hand on his stomach. “It does that when I’m hungry,” he said. “I can’t help it.”
“I know,” Mrs. McGregor said. “And I am glad that I know how to make it quiet!” She handed Benny his plate and a fork.
The other children were hungry, as well, and took big slices of pumpkin bread. Benny lay on his stomach on the floor while he ate.
“Mr. Grayson sure seemed happy tonight,” Benny said.
“He was happy,” Violet said. “He was not even upset that the money in the donation jar was stolen.”
“That’s true,” Henry said. “He wasn’t surprised, either. When Mr. Tipton told him about the theft, he acted as if he already knew about it.”
“And wasn’t Mr. Grayson supposed to be watching Mr. Tipton’s office?” Violet said.
“Yes,” Henry said. “Mr. Tipton was nervous that something would happen. He said that Mr. Grayson was watching the office for him.”
“Maybe he liked the movie too much and he forgot,” Benny said.
“I don’t remember seeing Mr. Grayson when the movie was over,” Violet said. “He was missing for a while. He came back when the theater was cleaned up.”
“It’s a big movie theater,” Henry said. “Mr. Grayson could have been somewhere else.”