The Boardwalk Mystery

  Violet shook her head. “It is just another mean trick that someone has played on Mr. Hanson.”

  Mr. Hanson leaned on the deck rail. “I don’t know what to do. You children were right. Someone is trying to ruin my business. But who would do such a thing?”

  Wendy slid open the screen door and walked out onto the deck. Will was close behind. “Don’t worry, Dad. Will and I will put the zombie back.”

  “What?” Will said. “But I thought . . .” Wendy shook her head at Will and he stopped talking.

  “Thanks, Wendy,” Mr. Hanson said. “But you kids should go to the beach and have some fun. This is my problem. I have been asking you and Will to do too much.”

  “No, Dad,” Wendy said. “Will and I can put the zombie in the haunted house. We will go right now. We’ll be back in plenty of time for the beach.”

  “Thanks,” Mr. Hanson said. “The key to the haunted house is on my key ring. It is hanging on the hook by the door.”

  “Will and I have a spare key,” Wendy said. “We don’t need it.”

  Will looked down at the zombie. “You have to admit,” he said. “It does look kind of funny down there, doesn’t it?”

  Grandfather smiled. “It certainly gets your attention.”

  There were a few early morning joggers and walkers on the beach. Some of them were stopping to look at the zombie. They were admiring it.

  Violet looked thoughtful. “Mr. Hanson, maybe you could leave the zombie on the beach for a while. We could put a sign on it advertising the amusement pier.”

  “That’s a cool idea!” Benny said. “Violet is a great artist. She could make a really good sign!”

  “And we could dress the zombie up!” Wendy said. “What if we put a colorful inflatable swim float over one of his arms? And maybe we could find a big pair of sunglasses to put on his face? I think I saw some of those for sale in the dollar store.”

  Mr. Hanson nodded his head. “I think it’s a great idea!”

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny hurried upstairs to their rooms to find their bathing suits. Mr. Hanson left early to check on the amusement pier and Grandfather went to his business meeting. When the Aldens came back downstairs, Wendy and Will had set the table on the deck with a large platter of blueberry and strawberry waffles. There was even a bowl of whipped cream and a tall container of syrup.

  “Wow!” Benny said. “This looks great!”

  “Thank you so much,” Jessie said. “It is very kind of you.”

  Wendy smiled. “I hope you like it. It is the least we can do after . . .”

  Will poked Wendy in the arm. “You are our guests,” Will said. “What Wendy means is that it is the least we can do for our guests. We are going to go find the sunglasses for the zombie. We’ll be back soon. Enjoy your breakfast.”

  The children sat on the deck and ate the delicious breakfast. Soon there was only one waffle left on the big platter that Wendy and Will had set on the table.

  “May I have the last waffle?” Benny asked.

  “I think you have eaten more waffles than me, Benny,” Henry said. “I don’t know where you put it all.” Henry slid the waffle onto Benny’s plate.

  “Me either,” Benny said. “But my stomach sure does like this breakfast!”

  “Does it hurt to eat?” Jessie asked.

  Benny touched the side of his face. He had a purple bruise on his right cheek. It was swollen, too. “It hurts a little when I chew,” Benny said. “But if I didn’t eat, my stomach would hurt more!”

  “Who do you think could have done such a thing to Benny?” asked Violet. “It certainly was very mean. He could have been hurt very bad.”

  Henry poured himself a glass of milk. “I don’t know,” he said. “And I was quite sure that Mr. Hanson had locked up the haunted house. How did the person get inside? And who turned the ride on?”

  Benny wiped a drip of syrup from his chin. “It wasn’t locked when I went in,” he said. “But I did not turn the ride on. It went on all by itself.”

  “Someone turned it on,” Henry said. “Whoever it was must have sat at the control panel and turned the switches that make the ride start.”

  “But why would someone do that?” Jessie asked. “Turning the ride on only got our attention. It made us run to the haunted house. The person could have been caught if we were closer and had gotten there quicker.”

  “That is true,” Violet said. She suddenly remembered something. “When I was on the top of the Big Slide, I saw someone or something running down the steps from the pier onto the beach. It was very dark. But it might have been someone carrying the zombie.”

  “But the ride did not turn on until you were already at the bottom of the Big Slide,” Jessie said. “The person could not have run onto the beach, and then snuck back to turn on the ride. We would have seen something.”

  “That is true,” Violet said. “And a person cannot be in two places at the same time. That is a hard mystery to figure out.”

  While the children discussed the mystery, Violet had finally finished her sign. She turned it around for her sister and brothers to see. “What do you think?” she asked.

  “Oh, Violet! It’s perfect,” Jessie exclaimed.

  Henry read the sign aloud. “ ‘I love the beach. But I can’t wait till dark. I am going to go to Hanson’s. It is the best amusement pier on the boardwalk!’ ”

  As the children were washing the breakfast dishes, Wendy and Will returned. They had a giant pair of sunglasses, a big yellow duck float, and a colorful beach towel.

  “Are you ready to dress up our zombie?” Wendy asked. She handed the float to Benny.

  “I’m ready!” Benny ran down the steps and out into the sand. Everyone followed him. Benny gazed up at the giant zombie. “He doesn’t look so scary when he is not in the haunted house,” he said.

  Will agreed. “He looks pretty silly on the beach.”

  Henry placed the silly sunglasses on the zombie’s nose. Benny hung the duck float from the zombie’s right arm. Jessie draped the colorful towel over the other arm. A group of people on the beach came over to watch. Many were laughing and calling to their friends.

  Violet took her sign and hung it from the zombie’s neck.

  Two little boys with buckets and shovels ran up to the zombie. “Mommy!” they called. “Come look!”

  A woman in a pink bathing suit hurried to stand behind her boys. “Can we go to Hanson’s pier tonight? Pleeeease?” the boys asked.

  The mother laughed. “I think we should,” she said. “It looks like a fun place!”

  Violet noticed a woman taking photographs of the zombie. “This is so great!” the woman said. “Would anyone like a picture taken with this zombie?”

  Benny raised his hand. “I would!” he said.

  Benny stood beside the zombie with a great big smile on his face. He looked very small next to the big zombie.

  The photographer snapped several pictures. When she was done, she handed Jessie her card. “My name is Donna Mancini,” she said. “I work for the local paper taking shots for stories. But I also have my own shop.

  Jessie looked down at the card. “Thank you very much,” she said.

  A man wearing a red baseball cap came to admire the zombie with his children. “Is it safe at Hanson’s pier?” he asked. “I have heard rumors that they are having lots of trouble with their amusements.”

  “It is perfectly safe!” Jessie said. “Those rumors are false.”

  “Mr. Hanson is my dad,” Wendy said. “He is a great mechanic and he loves the amusement pier. He would never let anyone get on one of his rides unless it was perfectly safe.”

  The man folded his arms across his chest. “That is good to know,” he said. “But I heard that the roller coaster was broken twice this week.”

  “It wasn’t really broken.” Will looked down at his feet before continuing. His face was very red. “Someone accidentally turned off the power. That is all. It is a very fun ride and a great a
musement pier. You should come and see for yourself.”

  “Can we, Dad?” asked the man’s children.

  The man smiled. “I suppose we can. We’ll stop by tonight after dinner.”

  The children clapped their hands and ran away toward the ocean.

  Violet looked up just in time to see Benny racing toward the water as well.

  “Benny! Wait!” she called. “Where are you going?”

  CHAPTER 7

  A Mysterious Find in the Ocean

  Hunter waved at the Aldens and at Will and Wendy with his one free hand. He was walking at the edge of the ocean. He had a surfboard and a boogie board under his right arm.

  Hunter set his things down in the sand. When Benny reached him, he gave Benny a high five. “Ready to ride the waves?” he asked.

  “I sure am!” Benny said.

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny waded into the ocean. The water was cold, but it was refreshing on such a hot day.

  Hunter held the boogie board still. He showed Benny how to grip the front of the board with his hands and wait for a good wave.

  “How about this one?” Benny called over the roar as a big whitecap came crashing toward him.

  “Go for it!” Hunter yelled.

  The wave pushed under Benny’s boogie board and shot him toward the beach. He had a very long ride. When it was over, he jumped up and splashed back to Hunter.

  “Great job, Benny!” Henry said.

  After a long swim, everyone rested in the sand. Wendy had brought a blanket and a cooler full of sandwiches and cold drinks. Hunter’s friends joined them.

  “Will and Wendy surfed for the first time today,” Hunter told his friends. “And they already can catch waves.”

  Wendy smiled. “We had a good teacher,” she said.

  “You two should hang out with us,” said a boy named Zach. “We come to the beach a lot. And tonight, I am having friends over to my house. Would you like to join us?”

  “That sounds like fun,” said Will. “But we may have to work. We help out at Hanson’s Amusement Pier.”

  “You work there?” Zach looked down the beach toward the amusement pier. “I heard that place isn’t safe. They have been having lots of problems since the new owner took over.”

  “Who told you that?” asked Jessie.

  Zach shrugged. “I don’t know. Just people talking. I suppose they are only rumors.”

  “They are only rumors!” Wendy said. “Hanson’s is a great amusement pier. It is very safe.”

  “I agree with Wendy and Will,” said Hunter. The pier is safe. And they should know. Their dad is the owner.”

  Zach’s face turned red. “I’m sorry,” he said to Wendy and Will. “I didn’t know that your dad was the owner. I didn’t mean to say anything against him.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Wendy said. “We know that there are false rumors going around.”

  “Someone is trying to ruin Hanson’s,” Jessie said.

  “Why would someone do that?” asked Tori.

  Just then, the lifeguards stood up in their stands and began to blow their whistles. They began to wave at all the swimmers to get out of the ocean. Everyone jumped up and ran to the water’s edge to see what was going on.

  “There’s something in the water!” a woman cried, picking up her toddler.

  “Maybe it is a whale!” Benny said.

  “It’s big, whatever it is,” said a man. “There are three strong lifeguards dragging it out of the water.”

  Suddenly, there were gasps from the crowd. The lifeguards came out of the water and the people all moved out of their way. They were carrying the zombie from the haunted house!

  “It’s our zombie!” Benny cried.

  “This is yours?” asked a dark-haired lifeguard.

  Wendy stepped forward. “It is from Hanson’s amusement pier,” she said. “It belongs to my father.”

  “How did it get into the water?” asked the lifeguard. “You cannot dump things you do not want in the ocean. That man over there hurt his ankle banging into your zombie. He could not see it beneath the waves.”

  An older man sat on a blanket in the sand. He rubbed his ankle as he talked with one of the lifeguards. “I’m fine,” the man said. “It’s just a little bruise. No need to make a fuss.”

  “We’re so sorry that anyone got hurt,” Wendy said. “But we did not dump the zombie in the ocean.”

  “Someone stole the zombie from the haunted house!” Benny said. “The thief must have put the zombie in the ocean.”

  The lifeguard looked concerned. “A thief? You should call the police,” he said. “They should investigate this.”

  “No!” Will said quickly. “We do not need the police.” He looked at Wendy. “I’m sure it was just a prank.”

  Wendy nodded. “We’ll get to the bottom of it,” she said. “We will take the zombie back to the haunted house right now. No one else will get hurt.”

  Henry, Will, Zach, and Hunter lifted the zombie. Saltwater ran out of holes in his metal shoes and from his eyes.

  “It looks like the zombie is crying,” Benny said.

  “Yes, it does,” Wendy agreed. “I feel like crying, too. I feel so bad.”

  Hunter put his arm around Wendy. “You don’t have anything to feel bad about,” he said. “This is not your fault.”

  Wendy looked down at her feet. “In some ways . . .” she began.

  “Let’s go!” Will said. “Let’s get this zombie back right away!”

  After the older kids had left with the zombie, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny cleaned up the sandwich wrappers and napkins from their picnic and folded the towels.

  “I sure could go for some ice cream,” Violet said.

  “That’s a great idea, Violet,” Jessie said. The children headed up toward the boardwalk.

  “Where shall we go?” asked Benny. “There are so many different places!”

  Just then, someone called out to them. “Hey, kids!”

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny turned. Mrs. Reddy was hurrying toward them.

  “I heard that Carl Hanson is so upset with the things going on at his amusement pier that he threw his own zombie into the ocean! Isn’t that terrible?”

  Violet’s lips were pressed tightly together while Mrs. Reddy spoke. “Mrs. Reddy,” Violet said. “I am sure that Mr. Hanson would not have thrown his own zombie into the ocean.”

  “Well then, how did it get there?” she asked. “When I ran the amusement pier, none of the ghosts or zombies from my haunted house ever went missing. And none of my property ever ended up in the ocean! And did you hear that some poor man got hurt by the zombie in the ocean? I heard that a wave threw the zombie on top of the man and he got knocked out. He almost drowned!”

  “We were there on the beach,” Henry replied. “The man only banged his ankle into the zombie under the water.”

  Mrs. Reddy clicked her tongue. “I don’t know,” she said. “But that is what I heard. Things are getting bad on that amusement pier. Carl Hanson needs my help. You should tell him that.”

  Violet looked thoughtful. Mrs. Reddy seemed like a person who liked to be busy and useful.

  “Maybe you can help us,” Violet said. “We are looking for some ice cream. Do you have a favorite ice cream stand on the boardwalk? Would you have the time to take us there?”

  Mrs. Reddy smiled. “Of course!” She linked her arm through Violet’s. “Come with me!”

  The children walked a half block to Kohr’s frozen custard stand. Mrs. Reddy waved to the man behind the counter. “Noah!” she said. “Here are some special guests. These are the Alden children. They have never been to our boardwalk before. I told them that you serve the best ice cream on the whole coast!”

  Noah smiled at the compliment. He introduced himself and welcomed the children. While he made their cones, Mrs. Reddy talked nonstop.

  “Noah, did you hear that Hanson’s zombie knocked out an old man in the ocean? Poor man almost dro
wned!”

  “I did hear that,” Noah said. “Your friend Karen stopped by earlier. She told me. As a matter of fact, there she is now.” Noah pointed across the boardwalk.

  “Oh yes,” Mrs. Reddy said. “I see her. I promised to help her out in her souvenir shop today. Take care, kids. Enjoy your ice cream. And make sure you tell Carl Hanson that he can call me any time he needs advice.” Mrs. Reddy hurried off to join her friend.

  The children walked toward a bench to eat their ice cream. Benny’s cone was vanilla dipped in a hard chocolate shell. Violet got a twist of orange crème and vanilla with rainbow sprinkles. Jessie chose strawberry with chocolate sprinkles and Henry had a thick milkshake.

  “This is delicious!” Violet said. She watched the people stroll along the boardwalk while she ate her cone. “Look,” she said. “There is the photographer.”

  Donna Mancini was snapping photos of a small sandwich shop with a “Grand Opening” banner hanging over the front door. A man in an apron stood under the banner.

  “I wonder if that man will get his picture in the paper,” Benny said.

  “The picture might be for the paper Benny. But it might be for an advertisement for the new store as well.” Violet was very interested in photography and she enjoyed watching Ms. Mancini work.

  As she watched, Violet saw someone familiar pass by. “Isn’t that Bob Cooke?”

  Henry, Jessie, and Benny looked across the boardwalk. Mr. Cooke was alone. He was walking quickly. Suddenly, Mrs. Reddy and her friend approached Mr. Cooke. He stopped to talk with them. The children were too far away to hear what he was saying. But Mr. Cooke was smiling.

  “What is wrong with Mr. Cooke’s pants?” Benny asked.

  “I noticed it, too, Benny,” Violet said.

  Mr. Cooke was wearing a pair of long tan pants. But from the knees down, the pants were very dark. The children also noticed that Mr. Cooke’s sneakers left footprints on the boardwalk. It looked as though he had gotten wet somehow.

  Mr. Cooke looked up from his conversation with Mrs. Reddy. He saw the Aldens. He looked down at his pants, then quickly hurried away.