The Doughnut Whodunit

“This shop feels happy,” said Benny as he wiped crumbs from his mouth.

  Henry laughed. “I think you mean that you feel happy being here, Benny,” he said.

  “Delilah’s has lots of happy customers,” said Jessie. “Most of them stay and chat with each other.”

  “I like hanging out here too. The old photos and posters are so interesting,” said Violet. “They seem like old friends I’m visiting.”

  On the wall were photos of Steve’s parents, Delilah and Fred, who had opened the shop many years before. There were also old photos of the shop itself. One of them showed the huge neon sign that had once been outside.

  The posters were very old advertisements with drawings of smiling soldiers. Young women offered the soldiers doughnuts from huge tubs. Some posters mentioned National Doughnut Day. Others had photos of women called “Doughnut Girls.”

  Dawn was just passing by with her coffeepot. “Have you seen the new doughnut shop yet? My friend Hilda Ramirez is the owner.”

  “Your friend owns The Donut Dispensary?” asked Henry. “Aren’t you worried that her store will take away your customers?”

  “I don’t think that will happen,” said Dawn. “Our shops are different in many ways. I think Hilda will find her own customers. Besides, people who come to Delilah’s are very loyal. We always have the same five favorite doughnuts and the best coffee in town. More important, we give them a lot more than just doughnuts and coffee.”

  Dawn’s big, warm smile got even bigger.

  “What do you mean more than doughnuts and coffee?” asked Violet.

  “You know,” said Henry. “Like Benny’s happy feeling. Right, Dawn?”

  “Exactly!” said Dawn.

  The door banged open. “Oh! It’s Charlie,” she said. “I have to go.” Dawn hurried to help hold open the door.

  “That’s the same delivery man we saw at The Donut Dispensary,” whispered Henry.

  The tall, thin man in the brown uniform frowned as he wheeled his hand truck through the door. He seemed to be complaining to Dawn, who was helping him. The hand truck banged into Jessie’s chair, and the delivery man swerved to avoid hitting Benny in the leg. The children heard the man grumble, “If you’d just clear a path to the back instead of having all these tables here, I wouldn’t have so much trouble getting my hand truck through the room!”

  The Aldens watched the man push his hand truck toward the back room.

  “That was strange,” said Jessie. “That man seemed so nice when we saw him at the other doughnut shop.”

  “He was nice,” said Henry. “But not now. Not here.”

  Stranger with a Rolling Pin

  The next morning, the children headed toward Delilah’s at seven o’clock. They had decided to get up extra early so they could start helping as soon as possible.

  Main Street was quiet, and most of the shops weren’t yet open. So the Aldens were surprised when they got to Delilah’s and the lights were on and the Open sign hung in the window. Inside, no customers were there yet, but the smell of baking doughnuts wafted from the back room.

  Bells on the door jingled as it closed behind the children, and within seconds, Steve emerged from the back.

  “Wow,” said Benny. “You get up early!”

  “That’s what bakers do,” said Steve, grinning. “Come on back to the kitchen and I’ll show you.” The Aldens followed him behind the counter and into the baking area, where Dawn had an apron on and was rolling some dough.

  “Doughnuts take a lot of time to make,” Steve said as he laid out a batch of just-fried doughnuts on a tray. “We start the night before.”

  “I’ve made cookies and cake,” said Jessie. “But you don’t need hours and hours to make those.”

  “Doughnuts have yeast in them,” Steve explained. “We have to give them lots of time to let the yeast do its work, so the dough sits overnight. We fry the doughnuts the next morning. The ones that need icing have to cool for a while too, before we finish them. And our first customers will be here around eight o’clock.”

  “That’s a lot of work,” said Henry. “What can we do to help you?”

  “Jessie,” said Dawn, as she looked in from the doorway, “why don’t you get out the list of jobs we made yesterday?”

  Dawn and the Aldens went to the front of the shop. Jessie pulled out her notebook. “I put a name next to each job so we know exactly what to do,” she said. “It’s all organized.”

  Jessie read from her list. “Violet, Steve can show you and me how to arrange the doughnuts on trays and how to put icing on the chocolate ones. Henry can carry the trays from the baking area and put them on the racks in the front of the shop. And Dawn is going to show Henry how to take orders from customers and how to run the cash register.”

  “What can I do?” asked Benny.

  “You have a fun job,” Jessie told Benny. “Henry will tell you which doughnuts people order. You can put them on plates or in bags to give to customers.”

  “I like that job!” said Benny.

  “This is a big help,” said Dawn. “Steve and I can manage the rest of the work more easily when each of you does your part.” Dawn looked at Jessie again. “What about the last job?”

  “You’ll need all of us for that,” said Jessie. The other Aldens crowded around her to find out what the job was.

  “Delilah’s needs redecorating,” said Jessie. “We’re going to help make a plan with Dawn and Steve. If there’s time this week, we can paint and do other things to make the shop look brighter and more fun.”

  “We’d like to keep our tables and chairs, and of course the counter. We’re just thinking about repainting the walls, and maybe replacing those curtains.” Dawn waved her arm toward the windows.

  “Please keep the photos and the posters forever,” said Violet.

  “Absolutely!” said Dawn. “Now, let’s get to work.”

  Everyone worked hard all morning. Delilah’s had plenty of customers. In the kitchen, Jessie and Violet set up clean trays, placed the doughnuts in rows, and added the icing to the doughnuts. This last part was a messy, sticky job until the girls got the hang of it. Henry helped Steve bring in the finished trays of doughnuts and made sure the labels with their names were correct. He also got his own order pad for writing down what people wanted. Dawn complimented Henry on his friendly service to customers.

  Benny was happy when he was busy—and he was busy! Dawn made sure he scrubbed his hands, and then Benny took over serving customers. He placed each doughnut on a small, white plate and carefully walked the order to the person who sat waiting for it. Then he would race back to get the next order. Dawn took care of milk and coffee that people wanted. Benny also put doughnuts in white paper bags, making sure the doughnuts didn’t get mashed or crumbled.

  Around lunchtime, most customers were gone. The doughnut racks were full, waiting for the late-afternoon crowd. Steve hung up his apron. He and the children sat down at a table for a much-needed break and some lunch.

  “I’m glad you’re all here today,” Steve said, smiling. “I’m making a very special kind of doughnut. Once in a while I like to change up the menu, just a little bit.”

  “What kind of doughnut is it?” asked Benny.

  “It was one of my mother’s very favorites, from a secret recipe my dad developed after World War II. I’m the only person who knows how to make it.”

  “What makes it special?” Violet asked.

  Steve opened his eyes wide and whispered, “It’s made from potatoes! We call it The Masher.”

  “Potatoes!” said Jessie. “I’ve never heard of doughnuts made out of potatoes. That sounds weird. Sorry!”

  “That’s perfectly okay, Jessie. Some people really love The Masher,” Steve said. “But not everyone. I make them only in small batches—and not very often either. Come on.” He stood up. “I’ll show you what they look like. They’re tricky to make because the dough has an unusual texture. There’s a special way that I cut them out too. And
they’re kind of difficult to fry.”

  “They’re square!” said Violet when they were all in the kitchen. “How did you do that?”

  Steve laughed. “That’s the easy part. And it’s not a family secret.”

  Steve showed the children a special cutter for making square doughnuts. “We still give them round holes,” he said.

  “It smells familiar in here. Sort of like dinner… like mashed potatoes,” said Henry.

  “That’s right, Henry,” said Steve. “You have a very good nose.”

  Steve took his jacket down from a hook on the wall. “These doughnuts still need to rise for a while,” he said. “Now that it’s quieted down, Dawn and I need to run some important errands. We’ve been so busy this week, we could hardly leave the store. Do you think the four of you could keep an eye on things while we’re gone?”

  Jessie nodded. “We’ve learned a lot this morning. We can do it. Because we have plenty of doughnuts ready, Violet and I can help Henry and Benny.”

  “That’s great!” said Dawn, coming into the kitchen. “I’ll just get my coat, and we’ll be on our way. We’ll be gone for a couple of hours.”

  “Can I have a doughnut while you’re gone?” asked Benny. “I’ll work extra hard.”

  Dawn laughed and she put on her hat. “You can pick out whichever one you want, Benny. You’re my chief server, after all.”

  It didn’t take long before the children got busy again. Customers came in wanting doughnuts to go and doughnuts with coffee. Henry even took phone orders, writing on his notepad by the cash register. Benny scooped up doughnuts and put them on plates and in bags. Violet and Jessie served drinks and cleaned up tables when customers left.

  Jessie was clearing a table when the bells on the door gave a jingle. She noticed a young man with curly red hair and freckles looking around the shop. He didn’t seem to want to buy anything—he just stood near the door. Then he turned and walked straight into the back room.

  Who is that strange man? Jessie wondered. She followed him into the back.

  At first, she couldn’t see anyone, but then she heard some shuffling and banging. Jessie looked around the big work table. The man was on his hands and knees, moving some boxes around and digging through them.

  “Hello?” said Jessie loudly. “Can I help you?”

  The young man jumped up, holding on to a rolling pin. Jessie took a step backward.

  “Oh!” said the man. “I thought I was here alone. I…I was looking for my rolling pin. I left it here last week.” He blushed red.

  “Are you Nathan?” asked Jessie. The man nodded.

  “So…you found your rolling pin?”

  “Yes. I’m really glad,” said Nathan. “I’m going to need it right away—at the other doughnut shop. I work there now.” He put the rolling pin into his backpack, hurried out of the back room, and left the shop.

  A little while later, Dawn and Steve came back, carrying a few packages.

  “We served eighteen customers,” Benny told them. “And we sold thirty-three doughnuts, nine cups of coffee, and four glasses of milk. We were busy!”

  “Well done!” said Steve. “Now I’d better get busy putting this extra butter in the freezer.” Steve hurried to the back room.

  “We have a surprise for each of you,” said Dawn, reaching into a shopping bag. Dawn pulled out four bright blue aprons in different sizes. They were the same style as the ones Dawn and Steve wore. A loop at the top went over the person’s head, and the apron covered them from neck to knees and tied in the back.

  “These are for my favorite assistants,” she said. The children tried on their aprons.

  “Wow!” said Benny. “I’m a real doughnut shop helper now.” He gave Dawn and Steve his biggest grin.

  “I love these,” Violet told Dawn. “They’re such a beautiful color. Thank you so much. I’m bringing my camera tomorrow so we can take our picture wearing our new aprons.”

  “You didn’t have to think of us, Dawn,” said Henry. “You have enough to think about now.”

  “Speaking of which…” Jessie hesitated. “Something happened while you were gone. Something strange.”

  “What happened?” Dawn asked.

  “Nathan was here. I followed him into the back room,” said Jessie. “He went in there without telling us. I thought maybe he was avoiding us.”

  “Oh?” said Dawn. “Why on Earth would he want to avoid you?”

  Jessie shrugged. “He said he came for his rolling pin.”

  “Ah, yes,” said Dawn, nodding. “Nathan did leave his rolling pin here last week.”

  “But why would he go straight to the back room without talking to any of us?” asked Henry.

  “I don’t know,” Dawn replied. “Maybe he was embarrassed about quitting so suddenly.” Dawn sat down at a table and continued. “Nathan was often unhappy about things at Delilah’s.”

  “Unhappy?” said Violet. “But this is such a great place to be.”

  “Well, not so much for Nathan, it seems,” said Dawn. “He had trouble remembering the recipes and techniques that we use. And Steve wouldn’t let Nathan write anything down while he was learning.”

  “Why did Steve stop Nathan from writing things down?” asked Henry. “Isn’t that a good thing, like taking notes in school?”

  Dawn explained. “Steve’s recipes come from his parents. Steve memorized them all, and he didn’t want anyone to write them down. That way, no one could copy them.”

  “You mean steal them? Who would want to steal a recipe?” asked Benny.

  “Another doughnut shop might,” said Violet.

  “Oh!” said Jessie. “I almost forgot. Nathan said he’s going to work for The Donut Dispensary.”

  Dawn’s smile faded and she sighed. “Steve and I really like Nathan. I’m sure he would have gotten the hang of things here. I think Nathan really did enjoy the business.” Dawn shook her head. “I wish he hadn’t quit. We were hoping he could take over Delilah’s when we retire someday.”

  “And now that Nathan’s working for the other shop, I guess he’ll never take over Delilah’s,” said Henry.

  “No,” said Dawn. “It doesn’t seem that way. Nathan will be so hard to replace. We need a reliable worker who can learn from us. We also need someone who’s interested in staying with our business for a long time.”

  “We’ll keep helping you this week, Dawn,” said Henry. “And we can come on the weekends when we go back to school. You’ll find a new apprentice soon.”

  “Thanks again, all of you,” said Dawn. “You’ve come at just the right time. You’ve done a great job so far, and there’s more to do today. In fact, soon it’ll be time to close up for the day. We need to show you how it’s done.”

  The Aldens helped close up the shop. They bagged unsold doughnuts to give to a homeless shelter. Then they wiped down the countertops and washed the floors. Steve stayed in the back, making up the next day’s doughs, which had to rise overnight. Henry helped Dawn tally up the day’s receipts.

  Benny looked at the doughnut racks. “Now all we have left are The Mashers—one dozen of them,” he said.

  “They’ll still be fresh for tomorrow,” said Steve, “because we made them late in the day.”

  Closed!

  When the Aldens arrived at Delilah’s the next morning, the lights were on in the shop as usual. But the sign on the door said CLOSED, and the door was locked.

  “That’s strange,” said Jessie. “The shop is usually open by now.”

  “Maybe Dawn and Steve woke up late,” said Benny.

  Henry tapped on the glass, and after a moment, Steve came to the door.

  “Hi, helpers. You can come in,” he said. “But we won’t open till the afternoon.”

  “Why aren’t you open this morning?” asked Henry. “Did something happen?”

  Steve ran his hands through his hair. “Someone broke into the shop last night.”

  “Oh no!” said Jessie. “Was anything taken
?”

  “We don’t think so,” said Steve, “but we’re still figuring out if anything is missing. Nothing of value is gone—no money or special equipment. A lot of things have been moved around, though.”

  After they were all inside, Steve locked the door. The children looked around the shop. Photos and posters had been taken down and now lay on the floor. Behind the counter, the cash register sat on its side. Notepads, pens, and receipts were all jumbled up on the floor. In the back room, boxes had been pulled out. Utensils, spices, and bags of ingredients were shifted out of place.

  Jessie pulled out her notebook and took notes about the changes.

  “Who would have done this?” Violet asked.

  “I’ve got a pretty good idea,” said Steve as he started walking around the kitchen, picking up things and putting them where they belonged.

  “Do you think it was Nathan?” asked Henry.

  “Whoever got in here last night didn’t break the lock,” Steve said. “Nathan had a key to the shop when he worked here. He could have made a copy before he gave the original one back to me.”

  “Nathan was here yesterday,” said Jessie. “He got his rolling pin. Why would he want to break into the shop after that?”

  Steve just shook his head without answering. “Maybe he didn’t find what he was really looking for.”

  Everyone gathered at a table in the front of the shop.

  “Does anyone else have a copy of your key?” asked Henry.

  “Charlie, the delivery man has one,” said Dawn, who was picking up decorations that had fallen to the floor.

  Steve stood up again and started pacing. “Charlie would never do anything like this,” he said. “We’ve known him…” He trailed off. “We’ve known him for a very long time.”

  “Charlie isn’t all that nice,” said Violet. “Remember? He came here to deliver things yesterday. He was rude to Dawn.”

  “He can be cranky, Violet,” said Dawn. “But Charlie is someone we trust. Besides, he has no reason to come into the shop without our being here.”

  “Hey!” Benny suddenly shouted. “I know what’s missing—The Mashers! There were twelve of them last night. I remember—I counted them. Now they’re gone.”