Candy Factory Mystery (4 page)

“He sure is good at his job, for someone who learned it kind of late,” Jessie noted.

“Maybe he's a fast learner,” Benny said. “Like me.”

CHAPTER 5

A Candy Mix-up

A
fter dinner that night, the children unpacked their things. The cozy loft apartment on the top floor of the candy factory was just the right size for the five Aldens. It had a living area and kitchen on one side and a sleeping area with several cots on the other.

When Jessie opened the cabinets, she was pleased to see a set of red and white dishes and pots and pans inside. “We'll be able to make our own meals when we want to.”

Benny flopped down on the couch and held his stomach. “You won't have to make any meals for me ever again.”

The Aldens had never heard Benny say
that
before!

“What's the matter, Benny?” Henry asked.

“I shouldn't have eaten all those broken chocolate egg pieces. Now I'm turning into chocolate.”

Henry laughed. “I thought you wanted to live in the candy factory. That's why Mrs. Winkles let us stay in this loft instead of at her house.”

“Here, have some of this ginger ale that Mrs. McGregor put in the cooler,” Jessie suggested. “That sometimes settles down stomachaches.”

Benny sat up and took a few fizzy sips. “I feel a little better.”

“Good,” Jessie said. “From now on, let's make sure we don't take so many samples even if Tom says it's okay. We'll mainly be working with Meg tomorrow anyway. That's what Mrs. Winkles said.”

The other children frowned when they heard this.

“Even though Tom wasn't so friendly when we left,” Violet began, “I'd still rather work with him than with Meg. I don't think she wants us around.”

Jessie found some blankets in a chest and lay one on each cot. “It's probably my fault for asking about her work gloves. I didn't mean to get her in trouble with Mrs. Winkles.”

“Well, tomorrow we can get a fresh start now that Tom showed us what to do,” Henry said. “He seems to know a lot about making candy. Now we know a little bit, too.”

“Like not eating too much candy while we work,” Benny said before he finally fell asleep.

By the next morning, Benny's stomachache was gone. “I could even eat chocolate chip pancakes,” he announced happily.

“Maybe you could,” Jessie told Benny. “But Henry and I made fruit salad from the fruit Mrs. McGregor sent along with us. We'll have it with nice, healthy cereal. No chocolate chip pancakes today.”

Benny wasn't too disappointed. After all, he was living in a candy factory. He could get sweets anytime he wanted. He went over to Violet and Soo Lee, who were still sleeping. He tickled their feet.

“Stop it, Watch!” Violet said before opening her eyes. “It's too early.”

Soo Lee giggled. “That's not Watch. It's Benny.”

Soon, the whole family was up and about, eager to begin the day. After Jessie and Henry's good breakfast, everyone helped tidy up the loft.

Henry went over by the window to hang up the dish towel. That's when he noticed someone down in the parking lot below. “Looks as if we're not the only early birds. Tom's down there.” Henry opened the window. “Hey, Tom,” he yelled. “We're up here!”

By this time, the other children crowded at the window to wave to Tom, too.

“We'll be right down!” Jessie yelled. Then she said to the other children, “That's fanny. Why is he getting in his car?”

Violet looked puzzled. “He didn't wave or say hi. Don't you think he saw us or heard us?”

“Maybe he forgot something at home and had to run back for it,” Henry said. “Oh, well, we'd better go downstairs. I'd like to get organized before Meg gets to work. I don't want her saying we're late or anything.”

Jessie checked the kitchen clock. “It's not even seven o'clock. I wonder why Tom got to work so early. Well, let's go. Mrs. Winkles told Tom and Meg to leave a key for us in the candy shop window box. She said we could go into the candy-making area that way.”

A few minutes later, the children found the key in the window box. Everyone huddled around Jessie as she fiddled with the lock.

“It doesn't fit,” Jessie said, trying the key one way, then the other. “I wonder if this is the right key. Let's go around back and see if it works on one of the other doors.”

Jessie tried out the key on several doors. The children could see right away that their small key didn't fit the big factory lock.

“Let's go back upstairs and call Tom or Meg to see when they're coming in,” Jessie suggested.

Henry called Tom's number first when the children went back to the loft. “Hi, Tom,” he said when someone picked up. “It's Henry. We're locked … Hey, don't hang up.” Henry put down the phone. “I must have dialed the wrong number. I thought it sort of sounded like Tom, but then the person hung up.”

Henry tried again, dialing more carefully this time. “That was Tom's answering machine,” Henry said when he hung up. “I'll try Meg. Does anybody have her phone number?”

No one did.

“You know what,” Jessie said. “Since we have to wait for Tom and Meg anyway, why don't we do our grocery shopping now for our lunch? Mrs. Winkles mentioned a store not too far from here that opens early. Maybe by the time we come back, Tom and Meg will be here.”

Violet started a shopping list. “What do we need?”

“Not candy!” Soo Lee and Benny cried out together.

By the time the Aldens returned from the store and put their groceries away, Meg's car was in the parking lot.

“That's fanny,” Jessie said when everyone discovered the candy kitchen was still locked. “I hear the candy machines humming inside. I wonder why Meg didn't unlock this.”

Henry banged on the big metal door as loud as he could.

“We're locked out,” Henry yelled. Finally, the door opened. Meg stood there and stared at the Aldens. “I can't just stop the candy making to open doors and such,” she said. “Well, go get dressed as long as you're here.”

Jessie showed Meg the key that didn't fit. “This is the wrong key.”

Meg stared at it. “Oh, that's a key for one of the storage areas. Sorry. I must have left it out by mistake. Well, it doesn't matter. Just go to the changing room to get your caps and aprons.”

After the children put on caps, gloves, and white aprons, they stepped into the candy kitchen. Right away, they noticed some chocolate egg molds moving along the conveyor belt. No one seemed to be watching them.

“What's the matter now?” Meg asked.

Jessie pointed to the machinery. “Isn't someone supposed to supervise the conveyor belt when it's on?”

Meg didn't appreciate the reminder about this. “Never mind. Just go to the other room. Make sure the eggs I made yesterday all have sugar chicks in them. Then start packing the eggs into the egg cartons the way Tom showed you. And don't break any.”

The Aldens were glad to begin work away from Meg.

“Remember what Mrs. Winkles said,” Jessie reminded everyone. “Make sure all the eggs are smooth and completely sealed up before you put them into the egg cartons.”

“I know, I know,” Soo Lee said. “And make sure that we can hear a little chickie inside each one. We have to pick the eggs up softly to make sure the chick is in there.”

Pretty soon the Aldens were hard at work. Only checking and packing the beautiful chocolate eggs into cartons didn't seem a bit like work.

“Do we get to keep the ones that don't have a chick inside?” Benny asked after several of his eggs sounded empty. “Don't worry. I won't eat too much chocolate today. I promise.”

After a while, the Aldens had a pile of cartons ready for shipping. But they also had a pile of empty eggs, too.

“Uh-oh,” Henry said. “I hate to say it, but look how many eggs went through without any chicks inside.” He walked over to the phone on the wall. “The red phone light is on. Meg must be using it. Let's go tell her the machine missed a bunch. Violet can stay here with Soo Lee and Benny to finish up.”

Jessie frowned. “This is terrible. Mrs. Winkles loses money when she has to throw out the imperfect eggs.”

When Henry and Jessie joined Meg, she was still using the phone.

“No wonder there are always problems,” Jessie whispered to Henry. “She doesn't seem to pay attention to what she's doing.”

The two children caught the last few words of Meg's conversation. “I have to go, Mr. Boxer. I can't keep talking to you so much. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Now what?” Meg asked Henry and Jessie. She reached over to turn off the machine. “Whenever you leave the packing or cooling rooms, you're supposed to call me to slow down the machine so there's no pileup.”

Jessie stepped forward. “Violet, Benny, and Soo Lee are still working in there. We tried to call, but the line was busy. So we came over instead.”

“A whole bunch of eggs came through without any chicks inside,” Henry said. “Something must be wrong with the machine.” He went over to check it.

Jessie looked upset. “Maybe when Tom gets back we can figure out a solution.”

“We don't need Tom today” Meg told the Aldens. “Get away from that machine, Henry. Go finish packing the rest of the eggs.”

Meg came over to the chick machine and looked underneath it. “This part jammed up the opening. That's why the chicks didn't drop down. Did you do something to this just now or when you were working with Tom yesterday?”

Henry shook his head. “I never touched it.”

“Well, somebody must have done something,” Meg said, her voice shaking. “I can't get it going at all now.”

“Maybe Tom can help,” Jessie suggested. “In fact, he was already here this morning. He's probably on an errand and coming back.”

Meg's eyebrows shot up. “Tom was here already? So I guess he was the one who left the lights on. I'm always getting blamed for every little thing that goes wrong. Mrs. Winkles thinks he never makes mistakes, but he even forgot to lock the door. That's why I locked it after I got inside, so I wouldn't forget. Well, I guess I have no choice but to call him.”

“Good luck reaching him,” Henry said. “I thought he answered the phone. But after the line got disconnected and I redialed, all I got was his answering machine. Wherever he went, it wasn't back home. I don't know where he is.”

“Probably making more problems,” Meg muttered, “instead of helping me out.”

CHAPTER 6

Broken Eggs

W
hen Meg still couldn't get the sugar chick machine going, she sent the Aldens home for an early lunch. “I'll call you when Tom arrives,” she told the children. “I left a message for him to come in and fix the machine.”

“And we can fix lunch!” Benny announced.

When the children returned to the loft, Benny and Violet headed straight for the refrigerator. They lined up all the lunch fixings on the kitchen counter, just like a conveyor belt.

“This is the Alden Tuna Fish Factory,” Benny said. “First, Soo Lee puts lettuce on the bread then slides it to me. Then I plop the tuna on the lettuce and slide the bread to Violet. She cuts the sandwiches and adds pickles. Then we do the next sandwich and the next one and the next one.”

Jessie and Henry got a kick out of Benny's system.

“You don't even need a machine, either,” Henry said. “Boy, was Meg ever upset about that broken machine! I hope it gets fixed soon so Mrs. Winkles doesn't lose any more business.”

The phone rang just as Violet passed around the sandwich plates. “That's probably Meg calling to tell us when to come back.”

Jessie picked it up. “Oh, hi, Mrs. Winkles. We thought it was Meg. Yes, we're on our lunch break.” Jessie paused. “Oh, so Meg told you about the problem with the chick machine? Sure, we can bring the part to get fixed.” Jessie grabbed a pencil and paper. “Just give me the address. We'll go to the repair place this afternoon. I'll put on Benny and Soo Lee so Grandfather can talk to them.”

As the younger children chatted on the phone with James Alden, Jessie explained what Mrs. Winkles wanted the children to do. “She gave me the name of the tool-maker who takes care of the candy machines. She said Tom took the part in to get it fixed a couple of times before. She couldn't believe that it was broken again.”

Violet looked thoughtful. “Was Mrs. Winkles upset?”

“A little,” Jessie answered. “Here's the strange thing. She spoke to Tom, and he made it sound as if there was a problem with the machine when he showed it to us yesterday — that it broke while we were working with him.”

“But that's not true!” Henry said. “Besides, how could Tom know about the part being broken? He wasn't even there when Meg got to work this morning.”