“No!” the other Aldens almost shouted.
True to their word, the moment they got back to the resort, the four children turned their attention once again to the latest riddle.
To refresh their memories, Jessie pulled out her notebook and began to recite, Backwards or forwards, / from left or from right, / it’s always the same, / by day or by night.
Nobody said anything. They were deep in thought as they continued to paint signs.
“I still don’t get it,” Benny said, dipping his brush into the can of Lavender Mist. “What’s the same backwards or forwards?”
Violet couldn’t help laughing when she looked over at her little brother. “Oh, Benny!” she said. “You look like you’ve been face-painting.”
The youngest Alden had a smear of Goldenrod Yellow on his chin, a drop of Dragonfly Blue on the tip of his nose, and a splattering of Lavender Mist on his forehead.
“Paint likes my face,” said Benny, making them all laugh.
“I think paint likes your clothes, too,” Henry joked, making them laugh even harder.
Just then, they heard the crunch of tires on gravel. They looked over to see Max getting out of his car. Smiling, he came across the grass, carrying a package under his arm.
“Great job!” He looked down at the signs approvingly. “They’ll be real easy to spot now.”
Benny gave him a half-hearted smile. “It won’t really matter.”
“Yeah, I heard the news.” Max stopped smiling. “I kept hoping Abby wouldn’t sell, but …” His words trailed away.
“We were all hoping Abby wouldn’t sell,” put in Jessie.
“Listen,” said Max. He lowered his voice as if about to share a secret. “I could use your opinion on something.” Taking the package from under his arm, he tore away the wrapping. “What do you think?” he asked, holding up a painting in a wood frame.
“That’s a picture of this place,” Benny realized. “And you can even see Ogopogo Lake in the background.”
Max looked puzzled. “Ogopogo Lake?”
“That’s what Benny calls Okanagan Lake,” Jessie explained.
“It’s a beautiful painting,” said Violet, taking a closer look. The watercolor showed a row of cabins nestled amongst the trees, with a lake in the background. “Oh—look at the bottom corner!”
“That’s Patch O’Brien’s signature.” Max was beaming.
Henry gave Max a questioning look. “Abby’s friend painted that?”
Max nodded. “I found it in our cabin—shoved in the back of a closet,” he said. “I got it framed to surprise Abby.”
“She’ll love it,” Jessie said, and the others nodded.
“You think the frame’s okay, then?” Max wanted to know.
Violet said, “That dark wood is perfect for the painting.”
“I thought so, too,” said Max, looking relieved. “At first, I thought a gold frame would be best. But then, on a hunch, I went with the dark wood.”
The Aldens exchanged glances. A gold frame? That must have been the phone conversation they’d overheard.
“I’ll give it to Abby tonight,” Max went on, “after Rilla Washburn leaves. I’m hoping this little surprise will cheer her up a bit.”
Violet nodded in sudden understanding. That’s what Max had meant about keeping things hush-hush. He had wanted the painting to be a surprise.
“Our lips are sealed,” Henry promised.
“Looks like that’s one suspect we can cross off our list,” Jessie said when Max was out of earshot.
Nodding, Violet smiled a little. She knew Max could never be Rilla’s partner in crime.
“I’m almost finished here,” Henry said, dabbing his brush into Dragonfly Blue paint.
“Me, too,” said Jessie.
“Violet and I just have the letters for OGOPOGO left,” Benny put in. “We already did RESORT.”
“How about this, Benny?” said Violet. “Ill paint the letters O—G—O at the beginning, and you paint the letters O—G—O at the end.”
“Sure,” Benny agreed. “And we can both do the letter P in the middle.”
Violet couldn’t help laughing. “Did you notice? OGOPOGO is spelled the same both ways.”
Benny took another look. “Hey, you’re right, Violet!” he said in surprise. “That’s kind of funny, isn’t it?”
“It’s called a palindrome,” said Jessie.
“A palin-what?” Benny asked.
“Palindrome,” Jessie repeated. “That’s a word that’s spelled the same backwards or—”
“Forwards!” finished Henry, snapping his fingers. He sounded excited.
Violet and Benny looked over at their older brother and sister, puzzled.
“Remember the riddle?” Jessie explained, slapping Henry a high-five. “Backwards or forwards, / from left or from right, / it’s always the same, / by day or by night.”
“Wait a minute,” cried Benny. “Ogopogo is the answer to the riddle? Is that what you mean, Jessie?”
Jessie nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean, Benny.”
“Yeah!” shouted the youngest Alden. So did the others.
“But what does Ogopogo have to do with the treasure?” Violet wondered.
Benny’s face lit up. “I bet the treasure’s hidden in one of Ogopogo’s underwater caves!”
“Could be,” said Henry. “But I have a feeling it’s closer than that.”
“Do you think it’s on the property somewhere, Henry?” Violet wanted to know.
Henry didn’t seem to hear the question. He was busy fishing around in the can of purple paint. “That’s weird,” he said. “There’s something floating in here.”
Curious, the other Aldens moved closer. Henry removed a small object from the can. It was dripping with paint.
“What is that?” Benny wanted to know.
“I’m not sure.” Henry reached for a rag to wipe away the paint. “Looks like jewelry.”
“What’s jewelry doing in a can of purple paint?” Benny asked as Henry held up a long, dangly earring.
“Wait a minute,” said Violet, leaning in closer. “Are those green stones?”
Henry grabbed the rag and gave the earring another once-over. “Yeah, the stones are definitely green.”
Jessie turned to her younger sister. “What are you thinking, Violet?”
“It looks familiar,” Violet said. “I’ve seen that earring somewhere before.”
Just then, another car pulled into the driveway. They watched as Rilla Washburn climbed out and made a beeline for the gift shop.
“Of course!” Violet cried. “Rilla was wearing the same earrings. When we ran into her in town, I mean.”
“Are you sure about that, Violet?” Henry asked.
Violet nodded her head up and down. “I remember how well the stones matched her dress.”
“But … how did Rilla’s earring get into the paint?” Benny wanted to know.
Henry had an answer. “It probably fell in when she was leaving that message.”
“Right before she stole the picture of Patch’s cats out of Jessie’s backpack,” added Violet.
“You think Rilla is the person who left the message telling us to mind our own business—or else, and stole the picture?” asked Jessie.
“It had to be her,” Henry insisted. “How else can you explain her earring getting into the paint?”
“Shouldn’t we tell Abby?” Benny wondered.
“The problem is,” Jessie told her little brother, “we can’t prove the earring belongs to Rilla.”
“And she’d never admit it was hers,” added Violet. “Otherwise, she’d have to explain how it got into the paint.”
“Maybe she doesn’t even know that’s what happened,” Henry said. “Let’s tell her we found her earring and see what happens.”
CHAPTER 10
Case Closed
The Children could hear voices in the living room. “Something’s come up,” Henry said as they went in.
/> “What is it, Henry?” asked Grandfather. He was sitting on the couch, with Rilla Washburn perched in a chair nearby. “Is anything wrong?”
Henry shook his head. “No, but—” “Well, if nothing’s wrong,” Rilla cut in sharply, “I suggest you come back later. We’re trying to have a business meeting here.”
“We’re sorry to interrupt,” said Jessie, who was always polite. “We’ll be out of your way in a minute.”
Henry held the earring out to Rilla in the palm of his hand. “We thought this might be yours.”
“Oh!” Rilla’s face perked up. “I’ve been looking everywhere for that.” She snatched the earring from Henry’s hand. “Where did you find it?”
“In a can of paint,” Henry answered, watching her closely.
“What …?” A funny look came over Rilla’s face. “Why, I can’t imagine how—”
Henry cut in, “Maybe it fell in when you were leaving that message for us.”
“On one of Abby’s signboards,” added Benny, his hands on his hips.
“A message on a signboard?” Rilla lifted her hands as if she was confused. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It was a message telling us to mind our own business,” Jessie reminded her, “or else!”
“Oh, my goodness!” A look of shock crossed Abby’s face. “What is this about?”
“You think I’d do such a thing, Abby?” Rilla looked hurt. “I have no idea what these kids are up to,” she added, “but you can be sure they didn’t find this earring in a can of purple paint!”
“Nobody said it was purple paint,” Violet said quietly. “How did you know that?”
“Uh, well … I, er …” Rilla struggled to find something to say.
“Rilla!” Abby cried. “Is this true? Did you leave a threatening message for these children?”
Rilla opened her mouth, then closed it again. Finally, she slumped back against the cushions. “Yes, I did leave that message, and I feel terrible about it.” She lowered her head and sniffed, pretending to cry.
Abby was so startled, she needed a few moments to collect her thoughts. “But … why?”
“That’s just what I was wondering,” Grandfather said sternly.
Rilla looked up and gave a little smile.
“It’s really not such a big deal, is it?”
“You wanted us to stop looking for the treasure, didn’t you?” guessed Violet.
Rilla didn’t deny it. “Treasure-hunting does sound harmless,” she said. “But I knew it would cause problems later on.”
“Problems?” Abby looked even more confused. “What kind of problems?”
Jessie spoke up. “If we found the treasure, there’d be no reason for you to sell the resort, Abby.”
“And if you didn’t sell the resort to Rilla, then she would miss out on the top sales award again,” added Henry.
“That’s why Rilla was trying to scare us by leaving us that message, and why she stole the picture Patch left Abby with the riddle leading to the treasure,” added Violet.
“What?” Rilla exclaimed. “I did nothing of the sort!” Rilla began to defend herself and then quickly gave up as she saw that everyone in the room knew what she had done.
“Fine,” she said. “When Benny mentioned Jessie had a photo in her backpack with a clue to the treasure written on it, I decided to take it.” Rilla reached into her purse, pulled out the old snapshot, and handed it to Abby. “I couldn’t let anything get in the way of this sale! I’ve missed out on the top sales award too many times, and if I sold this resort, nothing could stop me from winning,” Rilla explained.
Abby looked hurt. “You know how much this resort means to me, Rilla. I would have hoped our friendship was more important to you than the top sales award.”
Rilla sat quietly.
“And that’s not all,” Benny chimed in. “Rilla even made a fake monster to scare us away!”
“No, I didn’t do any such thing!” Rilla’s dark eyes suddenly flashed. “I don’t know anything about a fake monster.”
The Aldens looked at each other. They had a feeling Rilla was telling the truth.
“I did leave that message and I stole the picture, but that’s all,” she went on. “I’m so sorry, Abby. I never meant for this to go so far.”
“Sorry isn’t enough,” said Abby. “I draw the line at leaving threatening messages for children.”
“You’re right, Abby. I did get carried away,” said Rilla. “But the resort still needs to be sold. My client made you a good offer.”
Abby got to her feet. “I’ll have to pass.”
Rilla waved away Abby’s words. “Now, none of that. We can’t let friendship get in the way of business, can we?” she said. “Or business get in the way of friendship, for that matter.”
Abby had heard enough. “You and I have different ideas about friendship, Rilla. I’m afraid I must ask you to leave.”
“You can’t mean it!”
“Yes, I do, Rilla.” Abby folded her arms, a no-nonsense look on her face.
“Fine!” Rilla headed for the door. As she left, she called back, “You won’t be seeing me around here again!”
“I’m counting on it,” replied Abby.
As the door slammed shut, Grandfather said, “I guess that’s that.”
“Actually, it’s a load off my mind, James.” Abby sat down again. “I really wasn’t ready to sell the resort. Not just yet, anyway.”
“Is the coast clear?” asked Max, sticking his head into the room.
Nodding, Abby gestured for him to come in. “Rilla’s gone.”
Max stepped into the room, the painting tucked under his arm. Adam was close behind.
“It didn’t take you long to close the deal, Abby,” Max remarked, pulling up a chair.
“I decided not to sell the resort, Max.”
Max and Adam stared at Abby in surprise. “You mean, you still own the Ogopogo Resort?” Adam wanted to know.
“For the moment, at least.” Abby quickly explained what had happened. She finished by saying, “When I do sell the resort, it won’t be with Rilla Washburn’s agency. You can be sure of that.”
“Well, Adam and I brought you a present,” said Max. “We figured it would help cheer you up.”
“For me?” Abby wasted no time tearing the wrapping away from the package Max handed her. When she caught sight of the painting, she caught her breath. “Oh, my!”
“Well, look at that!” said Grandfather, admiringly. “It’s the Ogopogo Resort.”
“And look!” Abby cried out with delight. “There’s Patch O’Brien’s signature in the corner!”
“We found it in the cabin,” Adam told her. “So we got it framed.”
“Thank you so much!” Abby gave them each a warm hug. “Now I’ll have two wonderful treasures.”
“Two?” Benny looked puzzled.
“I’m talking about the painting and my wonderful Ogopogo.” Abby looked at the carving of Ogopogo beside the fireplace resting on a special wooden stand.
“Omigosh!” exclaimed Jessie.
The others turned to look at her. “What’s the matter, Jessie?”
“I know where the treasure is!” she told them in an awestruck voice.
“Where?” Henry wanted to know.
Everyone followed her gaze to the carving of Ogopogo on the wooden stand.
“I don’t get it,” said Violet. “You think the carving is the treasure? Is that what you mean, Jessie?”
“No, Violet.” Jessie shook her head. “I think the treasure’s hidden inside the carving.”
“There’s just one catch, Jessie,” said Abby. “There’s no way Patch could hide anything inside that Ogopogo carving. It’s made from solid wood.”
“Oh.” Jessie’s face fell. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling they were on the right track.
Henry had been thinking. “Unless …”
“Unless what, Henry?” Violet wante
d to know.
It took Henry a moment to answer. “Unless the treasure’s hidden inside the stand.”
“Do you mind if we check it out, Abby?” Jessie asked.
“My grandchildren are seldom wrong when it comes to solving mysteries,” Grandfather was quick to add.
“Go for it!” Abby exclaimed as everyone gathered round. “Hurry, I can’t stand the suspense!”
“Careful now,” said Max, giving Henry a hand. Together, they managed to tip the carving onto its side.
Henry knelt down, then rapped his knuckles against the stand. “Sounds hollow.”
Jessie noticed something. “Isn’t that a hole on the bottom?” She crouched down beside her older brother to get a closer look.
Henry nodded. “Just big enough for my finger.”
“I’ve got a pencil box with a lid that slides open,” said Violet. “Maybe the bottom of the stand slides open, too.”
“It’s worth a try.” Henry stuck his finger into the hole and pushed with all his might. The base of the stand jerked a little to the side. He pushed again. This time, the base slid far enough to leave a small opening.
“That should do the trick,” said Grandfather.
Henry reached into the hollow stand and patted all around.
“Can you feel anything, Henry?” Benny was bouncing from one foot to the other.
Henry shook his head. “I don’t—wait!”
Everyone gasped when Henry pulled out a red velvet pouch. “I think this belongs to you, Abby.” He stood up straight and held it out to her.
“Oh, my!” cried Abby.
“That’s not a very big pouch,” said Benny, who sounded a bit disappointed.
Jessie smiled over at her little brother. “You know what they say, Benny,” she reminded him. “Good things come in small packages.”
“Well, let’s find out if that old saying is true,” said Abby. She took a deep breath, then shook the contents of the pouch onto the coffee table.
For a moment, no one said a word. They just stared in amazement. Then Violet whispered, “Diamonds!”
Abby sank back against the cushions. “Bless his heart!” she said, in a daze. “Patch really did find treasure on a sunken ship, after all!”
“Those diamonds must be worth a small fortune,” said Max.