“I think Watch has found another treasure!” said Benny.
“Yes, he has,” said Violet, picking up the object. “It’s a silver earring, shaped like a dragon! Do you think it came from the backpack?”
“Adelita said the backpack was zipped up tight when Twila put it into the baggage compartment,” Jessie pointed out.
“But it was partly open when Watch found it,” Violet said. “I have photos.” Violet took her camera from her pocket and the others gathered around. They peered at the photos of the yellow backpack full of jewelry.
“I remember now,” said Jessie. “The backpack was open about halfway when Watch found it.”
“Somebody must have opened it after it fell from the airplane,” Henry said. “Or else there would be jewelry scattered all over the place.”
“This earring doesn’t look like the other jewelry in the backpack,” said Violet. “Look, you can see that all the jewelry in the backpack had pretty gems. And it was all made with gold, not silver.” She showed more photos on her camera then held up the earring. “This earring is silver, and it has no gems. It’s different from everything else that we saw in the backpack.”
“I think we might have a very good clue,” said Henry.
“I do too,” said Jessie. “Whoever owns this earring might be the thief!”
Violet remembered something. “Jason wears a lot of jewelry,” she said.
“And I watched him admire the jewelry in the backpack,” said Benny. “I remember him leaning over me to look at them. He said he also made jewelry.”
“I noticed that he frowned when he talked about how he could not afford to have a store like Twila does,” said Jessie. “Maybe he’s jealous of her.”
“Jason said he and Bounce were at the river when we saw someone in the woods,” said Henry.
Violet thought of something else. “Jason also has a pierced ear but no earring,” she said. She looked at her sister and brothers sadly. “Do you think this is Jason’s earring? And he’s the one who stole the necklace because he is jealous of Twila?”
“It would be terrible if a SAR member did something like that,” said Jessie. “We need to talk to Jason.”
Chapter 7
Dock Diving for Answers
“Hey,” said Benny, “here come Marianella and Goyo!”
The children and Watch greeted the newcomers. The dogs pawed at each other and played like they’d been friends for years.
The children told Marianella about finding her sister Adelita and the backpack falling out of her airplane. Then they told her about Watch finding the silver earring.
“Wow, you have been busy!” said Marianella. “That is great news that Adelita is innocent!”
Violet looked down sadly.
“What’s wrong, Violet?” asked Marianella.
“Actually, we wanted to talk to Jason,” said Henry. “Is he coming back here too?”
“Jason took Bounce down to the lake to practice dock diving,” said Marianella. “The lake is straight down that path.” She pointed. “It’s not very far. What’s up?” Marianella looked at Violet but Violet looked away.
“We just want to talk to him,” said Jessie.
“Okay then, let’s go,” said Marianella. She led the Aldens down the path to the lake. She looked back at Violet as she trailed behind her brothers and sister and wondered what was wrong. Watch walked at Violet’s side and kept nudging at her hand.
* * *
“There’s Jason,” said Henry. “He’s on the dock and Bounce is with him.” The children walked to the dock and waved when Jason saw them. Bounce raced down the dock to greet Watch. They wagged their tails and sniffed each other.
“Dogs make friends so easily!” said Benny.
“And they remember their friends too,” said Jason. “Nice to see you again, Benny. Are you here to teach Watch dock diving?”
Henry looked at Violet. She was staring at Jason’s ear. “We wanted to ask you a question,” said Henry. “It’s about a…”
“It’s about a dog that needs to learn how to dock dive!” blurted Violet. She smiled.
“Well, okay,” said Jason, laughing. “Let Bounce and me show you. Come on, Jessie. Since you are Watch’s handler, you should be the one to teach him.”
Jessie shook her head at Violet, wondering why her sister hadn’t asked Jason about the earring. She followed Jason and Bounce to the end of the dock. Watch was ahead of them all, barking and racing back and forth.
“Look at Watch,” said Benny. “He’s ready to dock dive!”
“He sure is,” said Violet. “Jason will be a good teacher.”
“Why didn’t you want to ask Jason about the earring, Violet?” Henry asked.
Violet watched as Jason gave instructions to Jessie. She smiled again. “Because I know it’s not his,” she said. “I remembered something!”
“Oh, I know!” said Benny. “I remember too!”
“What did you two remember?” Henry asked, smiling at his younger siblings.
“Jason likes only gold jewelry,” said Benny.
“That’s right,” said Violet. “He wore only gold yesterday. And today, he has just gold on again. He’s also wearing a gold and turquoise earring. I saw it just now.”
“Hm,” said Henry. “Maybe he wears silver sometimes. We could show him the dragon earring and see what he says.”
“Okay,” said Violet. “But I don’t think that it’s Jason’s earring.”
“Hey!” yelled Benny. “They’re going to start!”
Henry, Violet, and Benny watched in wonder as Jessie yelled, “One, two, three…Go!”
Three things happened at once: Watch and Bounce raced toward the end of the dock when Jessie let them go. Jason tossed a red rubber float toy into the water. Watch and Bounce leaped after it.
“Good dog, Watch!” Jessie yelled.
Watch swam to the floating toy and grabbed it before Bounce could get there. Then Watch turned and paddled back to the dock. Bounce splashed after him, barking happily.
Jessie hugged and petted her soaking wet dog when he climbed back onto the dock. She was proud of how Watch had caught on to dock diving so quickly. The rest of the Aldens joined them on the dock and cheered.
“That was terrific!” said Jason. “Watch caught on right away. Good job, Watch! You too, Jessie.”
Henry and Violet looked at each other and Henry nodded.
“Jason, we have something to show you,” said Violet. She pulled the silver dragon earring from her pocket. “Watch dug this up near the site where he found the yellow backpack.”
“Wow,” Jason said. He took the earring from Violet’s hand and looked at it closely. “This is beautiful. Look at the fine detail. You can even see scales on the dragon’s body.” Jason turned the earring over in his hand. “This is handmade, using lost-wax casting.”
“Lost what?” Benny asked.
“Lost wax,” said Jason. “It’s a process to make jewelry pieces like this. The artist creates the form out of wax. It is shaped and carved. Then the wax piece is set in a container and a mixture poured over it. The mixture hardens into a mold. Then the wax is burned away, or lost, in a hot kiln. The artist pours hot liquid metal, like gold or silver, into the mold. The metal takes the wax shape that was left behind.”
“So the wax really is lost!” said Violet.
“That’s right,” said Jason. “And then replaced.”
“Do you make lost-wax pieces like this one?” Violet asked. She loved the jewelry that Jason wore, especially the blue turquoise.
“Yes, I do, for other people, but I never wear silver,” said Jason. “I’m allergic to it! Plus, I really like gold.” Jason studied the earring again. “You know, this piece looks like one of Twila’s designs.”
“But it was nothing like anythi
ng else we saw in the yellow backpack,” Henry said. “Those pieces all had gems and were made of gold.”
“Then the thief who stole the backpack must have lost this earring,” said Jason.
“So, the thief was already a fan of Twila’s Handcrafted Jewelry Creations,” said Violet. “That’s interesting.”
“I think you have a clue,” said Jason. “You just need to find the owner of this earring. Perhaps Twila will remember who she sold it—or the pair—to.”
“Do you want me to take you back to her store?” asked Marianella.
“Sure,” said Henry. “We’ll see if she remembers.”
“We also need to talk to Rick again,” Jessie reminded her brother.
“That’s right,” said Henry. “We should go there first if Marianella doesn’t mind dropping us off at the airport.”
“No problem,” said Marianella.
“It sounds like you have a busy day ahead of you!” said Jason. “Come back anytime to practice more dock diving.”
“We will,” promised Benny. “And if it’s warm enough, I’ll dock dive too!”
Chapter 8
Things Are Sticky
Once at the airport, the Aldens looked for Rick. No one seemed to be around.
“He’s probably in the office if he’s here,” said Henry. “But where is the office?”
“There,” said Benny. “I see the sign on that big building,” he added proudly. “It reads office.”
“Thanks, Benny,” said Henry. “Your reading is a very big help!”
They found Rick inside, sitting behind a desk piled high with papers and notebooks.
“Hey, Henry, Violet, Jessie, and Benny,” he greeted them. “And you too, Watch. What can I do for you all today?”
“Watch found Adelita,” said Jessie. “She was in the foothills, camping out and searching for the yellow backpack.”
“I know,” said Rick. “She called me a little while ago. She said she’s coming here after she talks to Twila.”
“You also saw her yesterday,” said Henry quietly. He watched Rick, looking for a reaction.
Rick smiled. “You’re right, I did see her,” he said. “She was the person we saw from the air wearing the red jacket and waving.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” asked Violet. “You knew that we were trying to find her so we could tell her we had the backpack.”
“I told you Adelita wasn’t a thief,” said Rick. “And I still believe that. But I didn’t want her to be found until I could talk to her. But I guess you found her without my help.” Rick petted Watch, and Watch licked Rick’s hand. “I know you were doing your job, Watch.”
“Adelita told us about her broken baggage compartment door,” said Jessie. “And that you fixed it for her.”
“That’s right, I did,” said Rick. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
Henry noticed that Rick was acting cross.
“The door flipped open and the backpack fell out,” said Henry.
“No way!” said Rick. “I installed all new hardware and latches. That baggage door wouldn’t flip open if it was locked properly.”
“Could it be shut and not locked?” Violet asked.
“Nope,” said Rick. “The door is designed to pop right open once the latch is unlocked.”
“What if the door was stuck?” Benny asked. Then Benny told everyone about the sticky stuff he’d felt on the bottom of the baggage compartment opening.
“I have no idea what that could be,” said Rick. “Let’s check it out!”
They walked down the row of hangars to Adelita’s plane. Benny felt the doorway again and showed them the light-green goo that stuck to his fingers.
“I wonder what it is,” said Rick. “I didn’t use anything like it when I installed the new parts. Let’s see if the door sticks to it.” He lowered the door so it touched the goo. The door didn’t pop open.
“Would it stay shut even if the plane was flying?” Henry asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” said Rick. “Let’s take her for a spin!”
“Oh boy, another plane ride!” said Benny. Rick laughed and helped Benny climb into Adelita’s plane. Henry followed close behind, excited about another chance to be Rick’s copilot.
“Are you girls coming?” Rick asked, looking back.
“I think I’ll skip it,” said Violet, remembering the bumpy ride from the day before.
“I’ll stay here with Violet and Watch,” said Jessie. “We can see what happens from down here.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Rick. “Here, you can probably see better with these.” He pulled a pair of small binoculars from his jacket pocket and handed them to her.
Jessie used the binoculars to watch as Adelita’s plane taxied down the runway and took off. She and Violet took turns with the binoculars as the plane rose, circled Sunriver, and headed toward the foothills.
“Look, the door just popped open!” said Violet.
“I saw that. It took a while, didn’t it?” said Jessie. She spied Adelita’s plane as it circled around and headed back to the airport. She could see the door very clearly using the binoculars. “I guess Rick, Henry, and Benny saw the door pop open too,” she said.
“Hey, who’s got my plane?” said a voice. Jessie and Violet turned to see Adelita standing behind them, petting Watch. He was enjoying the attention. Jessie and Violet hadn’t heard Adelita walk up behind them but Watch had.
“Rick took your plane for a test ride,” said Jessie. “He’s coming right back.”
“I see him returning,” said Adelita. “Are your brothers up there with him?”
“Yes,” said Violet. “Benny and Henry love to fly! But I am happier to be here on the ground.”
Adelita laughed. “You just have to get used to flying in a little plane,” she said. The three watched as the plane landed and slowly taxied back to the hangar.
Rick opened the door and helped Benny out. Henry followed.
“Did you see what happened?” Benny asked. “The door stuck for a while, then it popped open.”
“The door was rigged to come open during the flight,” said Henry. “Somebody wanted the backpack to fall out.”
“Wow,” said Adelita. “Who would have done that?”
“Hello, Adelita,” said Rick. “We’re trying to solve your mystery. Benny noticed sticky goo on your door. We just found that the goo would hold the door shut even if the door was not latched.”
“But Twila was the one who put the backpack inside the baggage compartment and shut the door,” said Adelita. “Nobody else was around.”
“Maybe Twila thought the door was locked,” said Rick. “You would also think it was locked, Adelita. You didn’t know about the goo that was making the door stick shut.”
Henry thought of something. “But if someone rigged the door to open so the backpack would fall out, how would they know where it landed?” he asked.
Jessie recalled how easily she and Violet had seen the plane just now. “Maybe they used binoculars,” she said.
“But they could only see where it fell out,” said Henry. “How would they find where it landed?”
“The backpack was bright yellow,” said Violet. “It would be easy to spot.”
“It was a very clever plan,” said Jessie. “And I guess it worked. But why would the thief take only the necklace?”
“Speaking of the missing necklace, I talked to Twila about that earlier,” said Adelita. “I apologized and promised to keep looking for it. But Twila acted like it was no big deal.”
“That is strange,” said Violet. “Twila was very upset when she told us the necklace was missing. She said it was the best creation she ever made. It could not be replaced.”
“That’s right,” said Adelita. “She told me the sa
me thing when she showed it to me before she zipped it into the backpack. But today she said her insurance was going to cover it, and not to worry about it.”
“We were going to talk to Twila next,” said Violet. She showed Adelita and Rick the silver dragon earring and told them how Jason had said it looked like one of Twila’s creations.
“If she remembers who bought it, we might have our thief,” said Jessie.
“Hm,” said Henry. “I just thought of something. Maybe Twila has already figured out who took it. That’s why she isn’t worried.”
“I just thought of something too,” said Benny.
“What is that?” asked Violet.
“We haven’t had lunch yet!”
“That is true,” said Jessie. “We can stop at the diner in the village before we see Twila.”
“Oh, please join us for lunch,” said Rick. “I’ve got all the makings for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the office. You do like P-B-and-J, right?”
“You bet!” said Benny.
Henry helped Rick put two tables together in the airport office while Jessie and Violet helped Adelita smear peanut butter and raspberry jelly on wheat bread. Benny found a large bag of corn chips in a cupboard. Rick brought out paper plates and napkins and opened cans of cold orange soda for everyone. Henry put water in a bowl for Watch, but Watch seemed more interested in the sandwiches and corn chips.
“You’ll eat when we get home,” said Jessie. “No more people food for you!”
Everyone sat down to eat lunch.
“How’s this for a fancy spread?” Rick asked, smiling.
“It’s just perfect,” said Adelita. “As always.”
Jessie noticed that Rick and Adelita kept exchanging looks and smiling. Were they hiding something? Were they really innocent?
The children thanked Rick and Adelita for lunch. Then they headed back to the village to talk to Twila. As they walked, they talked about the mystery.
“Did you see how Adelita and Rick kept looking at each other?” Jessie asked. “It’s like they were sharing a secret.”