The Mystery of the Missing Pop Idol

  “Honey,” said Madlynn Rose’s mother, stepping up to the front, “why would you pull such a stunt?”

  “I’m tired of being a pop star,” said Madlynn Rose.

  “But why?” Violet asked. “You’re famous and everyone loves you.”

  “That’s the trouble,” said Madlynn Rose. “I can’t go anywhere without everyone noticing me.” The pop star pointed at the crowd who now surrounded her.

  “And when you’re a pop star,” she continued, “how do you know if people are cheering for your talent, or if they’re just cheering for you because you’re famous?”

  “You have talent,” said Wilfred Mayflower. “You might not have a good sense of knowing when not to worry all of us, but you are definitely not a terrible singer.”

  “I understand what she is trying to say, darling,” said Esty Gadooj. “As a pop star myself, sometimes all of the hubbub stops being fabulous and starts to be frustrating. Which is why when Madlynn Rose whispered her plan to me …”

  “So that’s what you two were whispering about on the video,” said Henry.

  “When I whispered my plan to Esty,” Madlynn Rose said, “she told me it was a marvelous idea. So I did it. I wanted to see if people would like me for who I am. I’m sorry that I caused all this trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble for me,” said Lester, his cameras catching every word. “This will be a ratings bonanza!”

  CHAPTER 10

  The Purple Guitar

  The two security guards from the front entrance of the Silver City Mall along with James Alden appeared at the door to the Pop Star Sensation studio.

  “I guess the secret’s not a secret anymore,” said the first guard.

  “And I guess the mystery’s been solved,” said the second guard, “thanks to your grandkids.”

  Grandfather was smiling proudly. He walked into the studio and was greeted by the warm hugs of his four grandchildren.

  “I can’t wait to tell you about our day!” said Henry.

  “We missed you, Grandfather!” said Jessie.

  “I got to meet Madlynn Rose!” said Violet.

  “And my lemonade spilled!” said Benny.

  “I’m glad to see you,” Grandfather Alden said.

  Then they all sat back and watched while Lester directed the cameras toward the judges’ table, where Wilfred, Esty, and Madlynn sat.

  Wilfred Mayflower looked slightly less grumpy than usual. “I’m sorry for many of the unfriendly things I’ve said in the past, Madlynn Rose,” Wilfred told the youngest judge. “My behavior was horrible, and I will try harder from now on to judge people fairly. You, my dear, have a wonderful voice, no matter who you are. Please stay here at this judging table, I beg you.”

  The flashing lights were blinking all over Esty Gadooj’s costume again. “My darling young lady,” she said to Madlynn Rose, “while I wasn’t worried about where you were, I was worried that you weren’t feeling marvelous. Please know that not only do I think you’re marvelous—but the whole world does too. Okay, darling?”

  Madlynn Rose smiled and thanked her two friends. Then she called out to someone in the audience.

  “Mom,” said Madlynn Rose, “I’d like to apologize for going missing and worrying you. I thought the only thing you cared about was my career and my fame. But I realize that you care about me. I don’t need to dress up as someone else or be anything other than your girl. And instead of worrying about my career, all I want you to do is be my mom. I might be famous, but I’m still your little girl. I’m still me.”

  Then Madlynn Rose pointed to someone else seated behind the cameras, motioning for that person to step forward.

  “Super Fan Sophia, please come up here,” said the pop star. “I’d like to thank you for all the hard work you’ve done, telling my fans about me and my music. I’d like to announce that your website will now be the official spot where my fans can hear my latest songs and read about my latest tours and all my latest news. Super Fan Sophia, you’re now officially my online Super-est Super Fan, and your website is now my official Internet home.”

  Sophia didn’t seem to know what to say. Tears streamed down her face and she had to put down her tablet to wipe them away and give her favorite pop star a great big hug.

  “I’d like to introduce some other folks,” Madlynn Rose continued. She waved her hand to the show’s technical crew, and with a flick of a switch, the wall behind the judges’ table rose out of the way. For the first time in front of the cameras, stood the band behind Madlynn Rose’s music. The drummer tapped his sticks, the bassist thumped his bass, and the guitarist strummed some chords on his red guitar. Then he stopped and picked up the purple guitar. He handed it to Madlynn Rose and the two of them began to play.

  “In just a moment, we’re going to start the show and let these wonderful people in to audition for Pop Star Sensation,” said Madlynn Rose. “But before we do that, I’d like to sing a new song.”

  The chords and notes of the song sounded familiar to Violet. It was a song she’d heard earlier that day. And then she heard her own name being spoken … by Madlynn Rose!

  “Violet Alden, I’d like you to come up here and help me sing this song. I hear you’re pretty great at solving mysteries and finding missing people, but that you’re even better at singing!”

  Violet jumped out of her seat and ran up to join Madlynn Rose and the band. She happily sang the words she’d learned earlier that day, singing them with the pop star whom she’d found:

  “Everybody telling me what to do,

  Everyone telling me who I should be,

  But I can’t be you or you or you.

  I’ll follow my dreams and be me.

  So let me be me.

  Please let me be me.”

  When Madlynn and Violet finished singing the song, the entire audience cheered, along with millions of people watching at home. But nobody was prouder than Henry, Jessie, Benny, and Grandfather, who were happy that Violet was Violet.

  Turn the page to continue reading from the Boxcar Children Mysteries

  CHAPTER 1

  Stolen Bones

  “Look at the huge, blue sky!” said Violet Alden. She snapped photos through the window of the shuttle van. Violet was ten, and she loved to paint and photograph beautiful things.

  Her twelve-year-old sister, Jessie, sat next to her. She looked out the window over Violet’s shoulder.

  “I’ve never seen so much blue sky either. It seems to go on forever,” she said.

  “That’s why people call Montana ‘Big Sky Country,’” said Henry. Violet and Jessie’s older brother sat behind his sisters. He was reading from a brochure he had picked up at the airport. Henry was fourteen and liked to learn all he could about things. “It looks like we’re getting close to the Hell Creek Formation. Paleontologists from around the world come to study the fossils that are found there.”

  “Elliot’s ranch must be close too,” said Jessie. “It will be fun to join him on his dinosaur dig!”

  The Aldens were going to visit Elliot Boyce, a paleontologist who was a friend of their grandfather’s.

  “Hell Creek Formation was once home to thousands of dinosaurs,” said Henry. “And their bones have been found all throughout this area. Including T. rex bones!”

  “I hope we find a T. rex,” said Benny. “Or maybe we’ll find a dinosaur that nobody has ever seen before!” Benny was six-years-old, the youngest of the Alden children. He was always excited about new adventures.

  James Alden looked back at his four grandchildren from the front passenger’s seat. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a dinosaur named after you, Benny,” he said. “You children never fail to amaze me!”

  The four Alden children smiled at their grandfather. When their parents died, they had run away and lived in a boxcar in the woods. They knew that they had a grandfather, but they had heard that he was mean. When Grandfather finally found them, they learned that he was a very nice man. They went to live wit
h him along with Watch, the dog they had rescued while they lived in the boxcar. Grandfather had a big house in Greenfield, Connecticut. He also had a big backyard and moved the boxcar there for the children to play in.

  Watch leaped onto Henry’s lap and started barking at something outside the window. Henry laughed as he rescued his brochure. “What do you see, Watch?” he asked.

  “It’s a herd of bison!” exclaimed Violet. She took photos of the grazing animals.

  “There are all kinds of wildlife that live in Montana,” said Henry. “In fact, Montana might have more animals than people!”

  “And some of those animals were huge!” said Benny. “Like an apatosaurus!”

  “You’re right about that, Benny, “said Jessie. “It’s fun to think about dinosaurs out there grazing, just like that herd of bison.”

  The driver pulled the van into the parking lot of a large wooden building with a big sign.

  “Hogan’s Museum and Diner,” said Benny, carefully pronouncing each word. Benny was just learning how to read big words. He loved to practice by reading signs.

  “This is where we’re supposed to meet Elliot,” said Jessie.

  The Aldens unloaded their bags and waved good-bye to the shuttle driver.

  Just then a young man with curly red hair and a scraggly beard approached them. He smiled when he saw Grandfather Alden and held out his hand. “James! My goodness, it has been a long time!”

  He and Grandfather shook hands. “Yes, it has, Elliot,” said Grandfather. “I haven’t seen you since you graduated from college.”

  Violet shyly studied Elliot. He was wearing muddy work clothes, which Violet thought was an odd way to dress in public.

  “You’ve never met my grandchildren,” said Grandfather. He introduced Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny to Elliot, and Elliot shook each by the hand.

  “It’s very nice to meet you,” said Elliot.

  “Same here!” said Benny. “When will we start digging dinosaur bones?”

  “Let’s go in the diner for some lunch first,” said Elliot, laughing. “Then we can visit my dig. It’ll be fun to show you my exciting find, but we should eat first!”

  “Lunch is a great idea!” said Benny. “I like to dig for dinosaurs, but I also like to eat!”

  “Thank you, Elliot,” said Jessie, laughing. “Lunch sounds like a good idea.”

  The Aldens put their bags into Elliot’s jeep. Watch jumped into the jeep and wagged his tail. They gave him some water then headed into the diner, which was right next to the museum. They sat down at a table and looked around. The walls were covered with mounted dinosaur skulls.

  “This place is sort of scary,” said Violet. “All those skulls look as if they’re alive!”

  Jessie smiled. She was always motherly toward her younger siblings. “Those dinosaurs have been dead for a long time, Violet. They can’t hurt you.”

  “Hello.” A woman wearing a colorful apron over a T-shirt and jeans appeared at their table. She had a pad and pen in her hands. “What can I get you?” she asked. “We have a soup and sandwich special this weekend.”

  “That sounds perfect,” said Mr. Alden. Everyone agreed. The woman took their order and quickly walked away. Jessie noticed that she had scowled at Elliot before turning away.

  The woman soon returned with a tray of soup and sandwiches.

  “I like your apron!” said Benny. “That’s a triceratops, right?”

  “It’s a Torosaurus,” said the woman. She wasn’t smiling.

  “I haven’t seen you before,” said Elliot.

  “Mickey is on a break,” said the woman. “I’m the owner. I’m usually in back. Do you folks need anything else?”

  “I think this will do,” said Mr. Alden. “Thank you.”

  The woman hurried away.

  “It seemed as if she didn’t want to talk to us,” said Jessie.

  “She looks sort of familiar,” said Elliot. “But I don’t know where I’ve seen her before.”

  After lunch the children decided to look around the museum while Grandfather and Elliot had coffee and visited. The museum walls were covered with fossils, tools, framed photographs, and clippings from newspapers and magazines. The children got closer to study the photographs. The woman who had served their lunch joined them.

  “That’s my great-grandfather,” she said. She pointed to one of the photos on the wall. “His name was Bones Hogan. This was his museum a long time ago.”

  “And now you own it,” said Jessie. She wondered why the woman was being friendly to them now.

  “That’s right,” said the woman. “My name is Jolanda Hogan.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” said Jessie. “My family is here visiting. We want to dig for dinosaur bones!”

  “You kids have come to the right place,” said Jolanda. “You may even find a real dinosaur while you’re here! My great-grandfather used to say that dinosaurs are still among us.” Jolanda laughed. “Of course we all know that dinosaurs are extinct,” she said.

  “Wow, look at the scary skull in this photo,” said Violet. She pointed to a photograph of a large, bearded man pointing at fossil remains next to him.

  “That T. rex was one of my grandfather’s best finds,” said Jolanda. “Bones Hogan sold that dinosaur to a big museum in Washington, DC.

  “I bet he got a lot of money for it!” said Benny.

  Elliot had explained over lunch that collectors and museums bought dinosaur bones. The rarer the bones, the more valuable they were.

  “Oh, money wasn’t important to Bones,” said Jolanda. “Though he needed money to run this museum.” She sighed. “Bones is long gone now anyway.”

  “Look, there are Grandfather and Elliot. It must be time to go,” said Jessie. “We’ll come back soon!”

  Jolanda looked over at Elliot standing by the doorway. Violet noticed that she was scowling. Jolanda turned and smiled at the Aldens. “Please come visit my museum anytime,” she said.

  In the parking lot, a tall man with dark, slicked-back hair greeted Elliot. They shook hands and Elliot introduced the Aldens to Warren Gordon.

  “Mr. Gordon buys fossils for a museum back east,” said Elliot.

  “Nice to meet you all,” said Mr. Gordon. “Elliot, we’ll talk later about that find you told me about!”

  “Yes, we will,” said Elliot, smiling.

  Mr. Gordon waved as he headed into Hogan’s Museum.

  The Aldens piled into Elliot’s jeep and headed down the bumpy and dusty road. Watch barked when a roadrunner raced by.

  “Did you know that birds are descendants of dinosaurs?” asked Elliot.

  “There are a lot of theories about that,” said Henry.

  “That’s true, Henry,” said Elliot. “We learn new things about dinosaurs almost every day!”

  “Birds today are much smaller than most dinosaurs,” said Benny. “That’s a fact.”

  “That’s okay with me!” said Violet.

  Everyone laughed as Elliot pulled onto a side road.

  “Let’s stop at my dig and I’ll show you my latest find,” said Elliot. “I’m so excited about it. From what I’ve read, nothing like it has ever been found before!”

  He pulled the jeep over and everyone got out. Elliot led them to a spot in the brush. There was a big hole that was almost hidden from view.

  “It’s a cave!” said Benny. “We love caves.”

  “Well, then, follow me!” said Elliot. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket.

  “Watch and I will stand guard,” said Grandfather. He smiled as the children crawled after Elliot through the hole. The hole led to a passageway.

  Elliot shined his flashlight to light their way. Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny followed. The passage soon opened up into a tall cavern. The children could hear water dripping somewhere in the dark. The air was much cooler than outside. Elliot leaned down and flipped on a lantern sitting on the cave floor. The cave suddenly lit up in the soft glow.

 
“This reminds me of Dragon’s Mouth Cavern,” said Violet.

  “Yes, it does!” said Jessie. “Remember when we …”

  Suddenly Elliot gasped. “Oh no! Oh no!” he exclaimed. “Somebody stole my dino­saur bones!”

  CHAPTER 2

  Caving Adventure

  Elliot shined his flashlight around the edges of the cave. “The dinosaur bones that I stored here are all gone! They’ve been stolen!”

  “How awful!” said Jessie.

  “Were there a lot of bones?” asked Henry.

  “It was just a small collection of leg bone fragments, but they were part of my big find,” said Elliot. “I had them stored in a cloth sack.” He slumped against a wall and shook his head. “If I don’t have all the bones, I won’t get to say I found it all by myself.” He looked around the cave again and sighed. “I’m going to look outside. He headed toward the passageway.

  “We’ll be right there,” said Henry.

  Suddenly the Aldens were alone in the cave.

  “It’s spooky in here,” said Violet. “Look at the scary shadows on the walls!”

  “It’s just the light from the lantern playing tricks,” said Jessie. She put her arm around her sister.

  “I’ve heard of bank robbers, but who would take dinosaur bones?” asked Benny.

  “That’s a good question,” said Henry. He picked up the lantern and shined it around the cave, making the shadows move.

  Violet tried not to look at the creepy shadows. She noticed two square-shaped marks in the floor in front of a wall. “Look at those marks,” she said, pointing.

  Henry shined the lantern close to the marks. “I wonder what made those.” He shined the lantern up the wall. “Hey,” he said, “there’s a big hole up there!”

  “Oh,” said Jessie. “We’ll need a ladder to get that high.”

  “Maybe that’s what these square marks are,” said Violet. “A ladder was placed here.”

  “You have good eyes, Violet,” said Jessie. “You’ve already solved the mystery!”