Mystery of the Empty Safe (8 page)

“Yes, that’s right,” said John. “I was injured falling off a horse many years ago, and my leg never healed properly.”

“You were following the children?” Mrs. Woodruff asked, disbelieving.

“I know it sounds ridiculous,” said John. “I finally decided that today, Sara’s birthday, it was time to just come on in and apologize.”

“Well, we’re glad you did,” said Mrs. Woodruff. “Now come join the party!”

All the Aldens and the Woodruffs returned to the family room, where the Aldens led the children in a few more games. Bob and John Woodruff sat side by side, smiling at Sara and her friends.

Soon it was almost time to serve the cake. “I’ll go pour the juice and get everything ready,” Jessie said, heading down the hall. She was passing through the living room when she stopped and gasped. She grabbed the window curtains and shook them frantically to signal Grandfather.

Standing in the living room was a tall person wearing a black mask, taking the Woodruffs’ jewelry and stuffing it into a bag.

“Help! Thief!” Jessie loudly screamed.

The person dropped the bag and ran out the other door of the living room.

“Stop!” Jessie screamed again, chasing after the burglar.

The person was almost to the front door, but just at that moment Grandfather opened the front door and stepped inside, blocking the stranger’s way out. Henry and the others heard Jessie scream and came running. In no time they raced down the hall to the front door.

The person stopped and turned around, looking frantically from side to side for a way out. By now the Woodruffs and most of the children from the party had come into the hall as well.

The burglar realized there was nowhere to run, no way to escape.

“Cassandra, is that you?” Benny asked boldly.

The thief didn’t answer. Instead, she slowly began to peel off her mask. When at last the Aldens could see her face, they couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Ms. Fox?” Jessie asked.

“Aren’t you the woman from the party store in town?” Mrs. Woodruff asked.

“Yes,” Ms. Fox admitted. “I am.”

“But what are you doing here? Are you the thief who’s been breaking into houses in Greenfield? The Pierces’ and the Graysons’?” Benny asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid I am,” she said quietly.

“But—but … why?” Violet asked in a sad voice.

“Same reason most people steal,” said Patti Fox. “For the money.”

“Why was it always the houses where we were giving parties?” asked Henry.

“It was such a perfect plan,” said Ms. Fox. “When you told me about the people who’d hired you, they always had lots of money and valuables in their homes. And with all the commotion of a birthday party going on in a separate part of the house—or even outside the house, like at the skating rink—I knew it would be easy to sneak in without anyone noticing.”

“So whenever we told you we were planning a party—” Jessie began.

“I’d find out where and when, and I’d plan a robbery,” Patti Fox said.

“How awful,” Violet said sadly. “How did you open all those safes?”

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Ms. Fox explained. “My father used to design safes, so I know all about them.”

Just then, there was the sound of a siren outside as a police car pulled up, its lights flashing. While they’d all been talking, Bob Woodruff had called the police.

When the officers came into the house, they recognized Patti Fox immediately.

“We’ve been looking for you,” the tall one said. “You’re Patricia Fox, aren’t you? Wanted for burglary in three states.”

“Yes, that’s me,” Patti Fox said quietly.

In a few minutes, the officers had taken Patti Fox away.

Over the next few days, the Aldens got several more phone calls from people asking them to plan parties. They hated to turn anyone down, but it would be hard to prepare for so many parties and do a good job.

Then Violet came up with a good plan. Now that they knew Cassandra the Great wasn’t a burglar or out to get them, she suggested they pay her a visit.

The children met Cassandra at her office in Greenfield. She was just as tall and beautiful as she looked onstage, but now she was dressed casually in jeans and a sweater.

“So what can I do for you?” she asked the children once they were seated in her office. Her voice was businesslike, but she had a warm smile on her face. “You said on the phone you had a business proposition for me?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “You entertain at a lot of birthday parties in Greenfield, and so do we. We don’t want to compete with you, and we’re getting so busy we can’t keep up with all the parties. So we were thinking maybe we could work together.”

“How would we do that?” Cassandra asked.

“We could do the preparation and the cleanup, make decorations, buy party favors and paper plates, things like that,” Jessie explained. “We could make the cake and take care of all the refreshments. Maybe even plan a few small activities for the kids to start with. But you could do most of the entertainment with your magic act.”

“I see,” said Cassandra thoughtfully. She drummed her fingers on the desk for a couple of minutes as she mulled over what the Aldens had just suggested.

“I like the idea,” she said at last. “I’ve never been interested in handling the food or the cleanup, but some parents have asked me to. I think working with you kids might be just the answer.”

“Great!” said Jessie.

“I should be honest with you,” Cassandra said. “I was worried about your party service taking some of my business. I depend on that business for a part of my income, and it hasn’t been doing so well lately. Several parents I spoke with chose you over me. I was starting to wonder who you Aldens were and what was so special about you.”

“Is that why you tore down our posters?” Benny asked.

Cassandra’s face turned red. “That wasn’t me—that was my manager. He tends to get a little carried away sometimes. I’m sorry about that.”

“We thought maybe you recognized our name when we came up to volunteer in your show,” said Jessie.

“Yes, I did.” Cassandra laughed. “I was quite surprised when you said your name was Alden, and I wondered how a bunch of kids could be causing me so much trouble!”

“We’re not just kids, we’re detectives!” Benny said, drawing himself up to his full height.

The others laughed and Jessie mussed Benny’s hair.

“Detectives, and great party planners. Working together might solve a lot of problems,” said Cassandra.

“That way you wouldn’t have to get rid of us,” Benny said.

“Get rid of you?” Cassandra repeated, confused.

“Yeah, you know, like you told your manager when you were in the party store,” Benny explained.

Cassandra looked puzzled for a second, and then she burst out laughing. She laughed for several moments, while the Aldens just looked at one another.

“What’s so funny?” Benny asked at last.

Cassandra stopped laughing and caught her breath. “You heard me say something about ‘getting rid of’ someone and you assumed it was you?” she asked.

“Well, yes,” Jessie said.

“I wasn’t talking about you,” Cassandra said. “I was talking about Larry and Betty.”

“Who are they?” asked Benny.

“My doves! I’ve been having trouble with the trick where I make them disappear. I told my manager that if I couldn’t get it to work, I’d have to get rid of the birds and return them to the animal trainer.”

Cassandra was no longer the only one laughing. The Aldens couldn’t help but laugh over the misunderstanding. Cassandra leaned down and reached under her desk.

“I’m glad to know you weren’t planning to get rid of us,” said Benny.

“Rid of you?” Cassandra laughed as she drew something out from under the desk. “It would take more than a magician to get rid of the best detectives in Greenfield,” she said, placing a white dove on Benny’s head.

G
ERTRUDE
C
HANDLER
W
ARNER
discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book,
The Boxcar Children,
quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car — the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible — something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

T
HE
B
OXCAR
C
HILDREN

S
URPRISE
I
SLAND

T
HE
Y
ELLOW
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY
R
ANCH

M
IKE’S
M
YSTERY

B
LUE
B
AY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
W
OODSHED
M
YSTERY

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
M
YSTERY

M
OUNTAIN
T
OP
M
YSTERY

S
CHOOLHOUSE
M
YSTERY

C
ABOOSE
M
YSTERY

H
OUSEBOAT
M
YSTERY

S
NOWBOUND
M
YSTERY

T
REE
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

B
ICYCLE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
AND

M
YSTERY
B
EHIND
THE
W
ALL

B
US
S
TATION
M
YSTERY

B
ENNY
U
NCOVERS
A
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING

T
HE
A
MUSEMENT
P
ARK
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
IXED
-U
P
Z
OO

T
HE
C
AMP
-O
UT
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
G
IRL