The Animal Shelter Mystery

  The sight of the Greenfield Animal Shelter made them all feel a little better. It was in a big red barn, not too far from Seed’s Hardware Store and the Greenfield Bank.

  “I like going to work in a barn that’s practically in the middle of our town,” Benny said to his brother and sisters. “Especially a red one.”

  “Me, too,” Jessie said. She put her arm around Benny to give him a squeeze. She was glad that he was feeling better after their upsetting morning.

  “See you at lunchtime when I get off from work,” Henry told Jessie, Violet, and Benny when they reached the small parking lot at the shelter. “Tell Dr. Scott that Mr. Seed is giving me some leftover shingles from the store. I’ll use them to fix up that rundown toolshed in back of the shelter. It will make a good kennel once we clean it out and patch it up.”

  After Henry left, Benny lifted Patches from her carrier.

  “Uh-oh,” Jessie warned Benny. “You’d better put her back inside. That dog is coming straight for her.”

  Sure enough, a black and white dog with one floppy ear was headed straight for Patches. Behind him was a little boy trying hard to hang onto a leash.

  “I’m sorry,” said a woman with the little boy when she came over to the Aldens. “This dog is very nervous around all these animals.”

  Benny was still holding Patches. For some reason, she didn’t seem one bit scared of the large dog. The dog sniffed at the cat, then rubbed his nose against Patches’s nose.

  “Mom, look. Fred is kissing this cat,” the little boy said. “If we can’t keep Fred, can we get a cat like this one, Mom?”

  The woman bent down to talk with her little boy. She spoke softly, but the Aldens heard every word. “Maybe we can think about that, Jeffrey. I wish we could keep Fred, but we’ll lose our apartment if we bring him home again. It’s too bad the shelter can’t take him today. I just don’t know what we’re going to do with him.”

  Jessie coughed. “I’m Jessie Alden, and this is my brother, Benny, and my sister, Violet. We’re volunteers at the shelter this summer. I’m sure the shelter will take in your dog. They accept every animal.”

  The woman shook Jessie’s outstretched hand. “I’m Susan O’Connor, and this is my little boy, Jeffrey. I wish what you said were true,” Mrs. O’Connor told Jessie. “But the people in the shelter said they’re closing down in two weeks, and as of today they can’t take any more animals.”

  “That can’t be true!” Violet said in alarm.

  “I’m afraid it is,” Mrs. O’Connor said. “I explained that Fred isn’t even our dog, and that we found him wandering around last night in a parking lot. But we were told they don’t even know what they’re going to do with the animals they already have.”

  Now Jessie’s voice was full of worry. “There must be a misunderstanding. The shelter would never close down.”

  Mrs. O’Connor sighed. “I wish that were true, but the people inside seemed very certain. I even explained how I had already tried to find Fred’s owner this morning. See, there’s part of an address on his tag.”

  Jessie took a look at the tag. “It says, ‘264 Fox,’ then the rest is worn off. Why, we were just at 264 Fox Den Road ourselves,” Jessie told Mrs. O’Connor. “This calico cat lives there, too.”

  “We went to the house where this cat came from,” Violet explained, “but no one was home.”

  The woman looked upset. “Well, there was someone in the house when we were there. A horrible man.”

  “With a mean face,” the little boy added. “He yelled at us to go away.”

  Violet petted the friendly dog. “We thought someone named Miss Newcombe lived there. That’s her address. But the house was dark.”

  “And someone put up a mean sign,” Benny added. “ ‘No Trespassing!’ Then a rusty truck almost ran us over.”

  Jeffrey shivered. “An old bad rusty truck,” he said.

  His mother explained how a truck had almost run them over that morning, too. As they had stood in the driveway to check the address on the mailbox, the truck came out of the driveway.

  “I can’t help thinking it must be some other road that starts with the word ‘Fox,’ ” the woman went on. “This nice dog and that sweet cat couldn’t possibly belong to such a mean-looking person as the man who chased us away.”

  The woman sighed. “I must get to work soon. I was going to check if there’s another road in Greenfield that starts with ‘Fox,’ to see if Fred belongs to someone else.”

  “I deliver newspapers around town and I know most of the roads. I’ve never seen another road that starts with ‘Fox,’ ” Jessie said. “Maybe you could leave the dog with us. We’ll talk to Dr. Scott for you. I’m sure she would take Fred in.”

  “Look, Mom, Fred likes this girl,” Jeffrey said to his mother. “Maybe she can be his mom.”

  Violet smiled at the little boy. “I’ll make sure this dog gets a good home and that you can come and visit,” she told the O’Connors. “For now, we’ll take him inside and see what Dr. Scott says.”

  After the O’Connors gave the Aldens their telephone number, Violet walked the dog inside the animal shelter. Behind her, Benny and Jessie carefully carried Patches in her carrier.

  The waiting room of the shelter was crowded with barking dogs and meowing cats. One person even had a crow with a broken wing flapping inside a cardboard box.

  “What’s going on, I wonder?” Jessie said. “I’ve never seen so many animals here in one day. I’m glad today’s our day to work. Dr. Scott’s going to need a lot of help.”

  “I certainly will,” the Aldens heard next. Jessie and Violet stepped into the examining room. Benny stayed in the waiting room with Patches and Fred. Dr. Scott, an attractive black woman, was giving a cat a flea bath, which the cat didn’t much like. Dr. Scott’s own dog, a black poodle named Major, sat right by the doctor’s feet. “You children came just in time to help out.”

  “Dr. Scott, is it true the shelter can’t take any more pets?” Violet asked. She handed the animal doctor a fat fluffy towel to dry the wet skinny cat.

  Dr. Scott frowned. She looked very upset. “A terrible thing has happened,” she began. “Last night we received a telegram from our founder, saying we must close down the shelter in two weeks. We can’t use this building or the land around it anymore.”

  “The Greenfield Animal Shelter can’t close down!” Violet cried.

  “Can’t you ask the founder why they have to shut down the shelter?” Jessie wanted to know.

  Dr. Scott stopped rubbing the wet cat for a second. “As I’ve told you, girls, the identity of the shelter’s founder has been a secret for many years. We don’t know who the person is except that it’s someone who must love animals very much.”

  “Then why would they close the shelter?” Violet asked.

  Dr. Scott drained the sink, then ran more warm water into the basin for another flea bath. “I don’t know, Violet. I’m very worried. Whoever this person is must be in some trouble to close this shelter after so many years. I’ve made quite a few phone calls to see if I can solve the mystery of our founder’s identity.”

  At the sound of the word mystery, Benny stuck his head into the examining room. “We solved a mystery today, Dr. Scott, and now we need another one!”

  “Do you now, Benny?” Dr. Scott answered. “And what mystery did you solve so early in the day?”

  Benny picked up the cat carrier and showed Patches to Dr. Scott. “A cat and dog mystery,” he said. He called Fred over. “We think these animals belong to a lady named Miss Newcombe, and she lives on Fox Den Road. Except somebody mean is there, and we almost got run over. But we’re going to go back again. Henry said so.”

  “You’re a good detective, Benny,” Dr. Scott told her youngest helper. “These animals do belong to Clara Newcombe. That’s her dog, Lad, and her cat, Patches. She brings them for checkups along with many of her other pets. I wonder how these two got loose.”

  “Patches didn’t get loose,??
? Jessie said. “Someone dropped her off at our house with a note saying she needed a good home. A little boy and his mother found Fred, I mean Lad, wandering around in a parking lot.”

  Dr. Scott looked alarmed. “Oh, my. I’ll have to look into this. Miss Newcombe would never give her animals away or let them wander off.”

  “ ’Morning, Dr. Scott,” a white-haired man carrying a black-haired cat said as he came into the examining room. “Wondered if you heard anything from Clara lately. She or somebody dropped off Midnight here in my barn last night. The Newcombe place is locked tight. Not like Clara to go off without making arrangements for her pets.”

  “It certainly isn’t, Jeb,” the animal doctor told the man. “Something very strange seems to be going on with Clara Newcombe. If I weren’t up to my eyebrows in animals, I’d look into it right away. But my first job is to see what I can do about all these strays. Why, I haven’t even a matchbox to keep a mouse in!”

  The Aldens looked at each other without saying a word. Then Jessie made an announcement. “We have something bigger than a matchbox, Dr. Scott. Much bigger. Something that could shelter a lot of your animals.”

  “And what would that be?” the doctor asked.

  “Our boxcar!” Jessie, Violet, and Benny cried out at the same time.

  Dr. Scott looked surprised. “You mean the boxcar you lived in before your grandfather found you?”

  Jessie’s big brown eyes were shining. “Yes. Grandfather had it moved to our backyard.

  We use it as a playhouse, but it would make a good kennel for some of your strays. Henry’s been helping Mr. Seed put up new fences this summer. He gets to keep the old fences and chicken wire. We could use them to build animal cages inside the boxcar.”

  Violet looked up at Dr. Scott’s thoughtful face. “You’ve taught us so much about taking care of animals, Dr. Scott. I know we could do a good job taking care of your strays until we find homes for them.”

  “I’ll walk them and feed them every day,” Benny said. “I gave this cat the rest of my blueberries and ice cream last night. These animals would be happy in our boxcar. So would that crow out there.”

  Dr. Scott smoothed back Benny’s hair. “You know, Benny, I think even that crow would like your boxcar. But one thing.”

  Benny looked up at Dr. Scott. “What’s that?”

  “Just give the crow plain blueberries. No ice cream.”

  Benny nodded. “Okay, no ice cream. Just blueberries.”

  CHAPTER 4

  The Hidden Notebooks

  That day when the Greenfield Library bell rang out at noon, the Aldens could hardly pull themselves away from their work at the shelter. Jessie wanted to finish lining the indoor cages with newspapers. Violet was busy making flyers for adopting cats and dogs and more FOUND CAT notices to put up around town. And, for a change, Benny Alden wasn’t chattering or hungry.

  “Even animal doctors stop for lunch,” Dr. Scott said when she found the three Aldens still hard at work at twelve-fifteen.

  Dr. Scott smiled down at Benny. “I’ve never known you to forget about your lunch.”

  Everyone was laughing when Dr. Scott put up the CLOSED FOR LUNCH sign on the front door of the shelter. “Have a nice big lunch so you can tackle that old shed when you get back with Henry. Maybe by then I’ll have some information about our mystery founder. I’m going to spend my lunchtime making phone calls. Now off you go.”

  On the short walk to the hardware store, Violet stopped to post one of her FOUND CAT signs on a telephone pole in front of the bank. “Our phone number is on these posters. I hope Grandfather or Mrs. McGregor is home in case anyone calls,” she said.

  Benny ran up ahead. He expected to see Henry waiting in front of Seed’s Hardware the way he usually did at lunchtime every day. But Henry was nowhere around.

  “Maybe we came too late,” Jessie said. She tried the door and it opened. “That’s strange. Usually Mr. Seed closes up right at noon. He must have a customer.”

  In fact, Mr. Seed had three customers.

  One man was at the cash register where Henry was carefully counting out money. The Aldens could see two other men in back with Mr. Seed.

  “Don’t bother with the change, sonny,” the man told Henry. “It’s not worth counting just a lot of loose coins.”

  That didn’t stop Henry. “My grandfather says every dollar starts with a penny, sir. Besides, Mr. Seed wouldn’t like it if his customers didn’t get the change they were due.”

  “Whatever you say, sonny, but make it fast.” The man grabbed the change Henry gave him and shoved it into his pocket without even counting it.

  Everyone looked up when Mr. Seed came in from the loading dock with the two men following behind. Mr. Seed was talking slowly, but the men didn’t seem to be paying any attention.

  “Now, you’ll want to drive slowly and avoid any bumps with that box of dynamite in your trunk,” Mr. Seed said. “Your whole car could blow up if you hit a pothole too hard, you know.”

  “No problem, old man,” one of the men said to Mr. Seed.

  Mr. Seed noticed Jessie, Violet, and Benny waiting for Henry, who was busy looking for a receipt book. “Henry, why don’t you leave those receipts so you can have lunch with your brother and sisters? I’ll get them signed.”

  One of the men stepped up to the register where Mr. Seed was filling out the receipt book. “No need to sign anything, is there, mister? This is a cash deal. No need for receipts. We’re going to use that dynamite. Don’t worry, we won’t be back to exchange it for one of these flowerpots or maybe a nice pack of marigold seeds.”

  The man and his two friends seemed to find this very funny and laughed loudly. The Aldens could see Mr. Seed’s face turn red. He was proud of everything in his store, including the flowerpots.

  Jessie couldn’t bear to see Mr. Seed upset. “Excuse me, Mr. Seed. I’d like two starter pots for geraniums,” she said.

  “Sure thing, Jessie,” Mr. Seed said in a shaky voice. “And what about you, Violet? Can I get you anything?”

  “Just a piece of tape to put up this FOUND CAT sign. We found Miss Newcombe’s animals, but we can’t find her. Maybe one of your customers will see my sign and tell us where she is.”

  At this, all three men stared hard at the Aldens. The man who had made fun of the flowerpots stepped up to Jessie. “You kids didn’t happen to follow us here, now, did you?”

  “Of course not,” Jessie answered. “We came to meet our brother for lunch. And buy some flower seeds for our grandfather’s garden. May I have two packs of the marigolds, Mr. Seed?”

  Mr. Seed didn’t answer right away. He was studying the way the three men were staring at the Aldens. He didn’t like what he saw one bit.

  “Of course, of course, Jessie,” he finally answered. “But let’s let these customers out first.” He hurried the men to the front door. “Good day,” he told them, though it was plain from his voice that this hadn’t been a good day at all. The brass bell at the top of the door jingled when he opened the door, then jingled again when he shut it and turned the big brass lock so the men couldn’t come back in.

  Everyone started talking at once. “Who were those men, Mr. Seed?” Jessie asked first. “And why did they talk to you and Henry that way?”

  Mr. Seed wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. The Aldens could see he wasn’t his usual cheery self. His hands shook, and his eyes darkened. “I got a call a few days ago from one of them, I’m not sure which one. They’re all demanding and impatient. Said they were from a construction company and then ordered a box of dynamite, which I had to get special from one of my suppliers. When they came to pick it up, I almost changed my mind about selling it to them, but they had a purchase order from a construction company upstate.”

  “Have you or Henry ever seen them before?” Jessie asked.

  Henry frowned and seemed to be thinking hard. “That’s the odd thing. I kept thinking I’d seen them somewhere, but I can’t figure out where or when
.”

  Mr. Seed locked up the register. “I don’t even like to take money from people like that. And I didn’t like the once-over they gave all of you when you came into the store. That’s why I wanted them to leave before the four of you went outside.”

  “They did look at us kind of funny,” Benny said. “But not really funny. That one guy looked mean when Violet said she wanted to put up the flyer to find Miss Newcombe.”

  Violet hugged the sheets of paper close to her. “Why would that bother them, I wonder? Well, I don’t care. I am just going to post these all over town. We have Miss Newcombe’s pets, and now we need to find Miss Newcombe.”

  “Well, here’s some tape, Violet,” Mr. Seed said. “When you go back to the animal shelter later, you can tape up a few of your flyers on the outside of my windows. For now, I think it would be a good idea to eat your lunch in here, so that those men are well out of town when you go back to the shelter. Henry and I loaded up the truck already with plenty of shingles and nails and whatever else you need to fix that toolshed Dr. Scott wants repaired.”

  “Would you like a meat loaf sandwich, Mr. Seed?” Jessie asked when she opened her knapsack. “I’m not too hungry today. You can have mine.”

  Mr. Seed shook his head. “I’m afraid those men took my appetite with them. They’re up to no good, and I’m sorry I ever let them in the store. No, I’m not hungry, either. But you should eat. You’ll need all the energy you can muster when you work on that old toolshed. Last time I was at the shelter, I noticed there was a lot of water damage on one side. Just taking out the rotted shingles is going to be a big job.”

  “We like big jobs,” Benny announced, “so I’d better eat two sandwiches for lunch!”

  This made everyone laugh and realize they were hungry after all. Jessie unwrapped all the sandwiches and put a fat pickle next to each one. “There’s plenty of ice-cold lemonade, too,” she said as she twisted the cap off a tall red thermos.

  When the library bell rang a half hour later, the Aldens packed all their lunch things in Mr. Seed’s truck along with the materials he was giving to the shelter. Mr. Seed drove on a dirt path in back of the red barn that led to the far end of the property.