The Black Widow Spider Mystery (5 page)

“Do you think it's hurt?” Violet asked, sounding worried. She walked over to the window next to Henry's bed and lifted the shade. The two children peered out into the dark yard, trying to see the cat. “I don't see anything,” said Violet.

“I do,” Henry replied. “Look.” He pointed to the Blackwells' house. The house was dark except for the light coming through one window on the first floor. Behind the drawn window shade was the shadow of a person.

“I think that's Mr. Blackwell's study,” Henry told Violet. “He's been up working all night.”

Violet's eyes popped open in surprise. She glanced at Henry's alarm clock. “But it's three o'clock in the morning!” she said. “What could he be working on at this hour?”

Henry shook his head and settled back into bed. “I don't know, Violet,” he said. “But we're good detectives. Maybe we can find out tomorrow.”

The next day, as the Aldens walked to the Blackwells' house, Henry and Violet told the others about seeing Mr. Blackwell working all night.

“Wow, they keep some late hours,” said Jessie.

“Whatever their secret mission is, it must be super urgent,” Benny said, sounding excited.

They were approaching the Blackwells' fence when a white car pulled up to the curb ahead of them. A man got out of the car and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He had dark, wavy hair and a small, well-trimmed beard. The man was holding a large piece of paper and looking up and down the street.

“I wonder if that man's lost,” said Violet. “It looks as if he's checking a map.”

When the Aldens reached the man, Henry said, “Excuse me, do you need help?”

The man looked startled. He quickly rolled up the paper and tucked it under his arm. Turning to face the children, he smiled broadly. “Hello!”

“We saw you were looking at a map,” Jessie said. “Perhaps we can help you. We live around here.”

“A map?” The man looked confused. Then he seemed to understand. He waved the rolled-up paper under his arm. “Oh, yes, this.” He shook his head. “No, I'm not lost, but thanks for offering.” He put out his hand to shake Henry's. “I'm Joe Toll.”

“Hello,” said Henry. “I'm Henry Alden. These are my sisters and brother.”

“You said you live around here?” Joe Toll asked.

“Yes, right up the street, Mr. Toll,” said Henry.

“Call me Joe,” the man said with a smile. “Seems like a nice neighborhood.”

“Yes, it is,” said Henry.

“How about your neighbors? Nice people?” Joe wanted to know.

“Yes,” said Jessie, raising one eyebrow. “Our neighbors are very nice. Why?”

“How about the people in this house here?” Joe motioned to the Blackwells'. “You seem to be headed in that direction. Do you know them well?”

“Not really,” Henry replied. “They just moved in.”

“Oh, they did?” asked Joe. “Did they just build the house?”

Benny spoke up. “You sure have a lot of questions! How come you want to know so much?”

For a moment Joe looked uncomfortable. “Me? Oh, I just …” His voice trailed off. Then he smiled. He gestured toward the Blackwells' front gate. “I was just admiring this nice spider gate,” he said. “I'm interested in spiders and I, uh, I wondered what kind of people would have a gate like that.”

Henry nodded slowly. For some reason he didn't quite believe Joe.

“We're about to go see them,” said Benny.

“You could go with us and we'll introduce you,” Jessie offered.

“Oh, I uh … um … since they just moved in, they must be very busy,” Joe said quickly. All of a sudden he seemed nervous. “Gotta run!” He quickly got back in his car and drove off.

“How odd,” said Henry.

“You said it,” said Jessie. “I don't think he was telling us the truth.”

“If he just wants to know about the gate, then why was he asking all those questions about our neighbors?” asked Benny.

“I have no idea,” said Violet.

“He seemed especially interested in the Blackwells,” Henry pointed out. “Just like that man yesterday.”

Benny's eyes opened wide. “Maybe Joe Toll is a spy, too.”

Henry ruffled Benny's hair. “Now you're starting to think
everyone's
a spy!”

“Not
everyone
,” said Benny. “Grandfather's not a spy. And Mrs. MacGregor's not a spy!”

“It's weird he was looking at a map, since he says he wasn't lost,” Violet pointed out.

“That is kind of odd,” Jessie agreed.

“I wonder if it really was a map,” Henry said. “I mean, most maps fold up, and he
rolled
that one.”

“Maybe spy maps roll instead of fold,” said Benny.

“And it looked like that paper was mostly white with only a bit of writing on it,” Henry continued. “Maps usually have lots of colors and writing on them.”

“Hey, look!” cried Benny, pointing to the sidewalk. He bent down and picked up a small piece of paper. “Joe must have dropped this.”

“What does it say?” Henry asked.

Benny was just learning to read. He sounded out the letters, “Bl … bl … black …” He took a breath. “Blackwell. Hey! I think it says Blackwell!”

Henry looked over Benny's shoulder. “You're right. It does say Blackwell. And that's their address. I wonder why he'd have that, especially since it sounded as if he didn't know them.”

The children were silent for a moment, wondering.

“I don't know,” Violet said at last. “But maybe we'll find some answers inside.”

“Come on, you guys,” Jessie said. “Let's see if Mrs. Blackwell was pleased with the way we set up the books.” She led the way to the door.

Mrs. Blackwell was very pleased with the books. As soon as the children came inside, she told them what a great job they'd done. “You organized the library really nicely.”

Jessie beamed.

“It was a huge help to me last night when I had some research to do,” Mrs. Blackwell went on.

“What kind of research?” asked Jessie. Mrs. Blackwell seemed a little friendlier than she had been before. Jessie hoped that meant she would answer the Aldens' questions.

“Oh, just something for my work,” Mrs. Blackwell responded.

“Were you working late last night?” Henry asked, remembering the light he'd seen.

“No, I go to bed early,” she answered. “I'm a morning person.”

Violet and Henry exchanged glances.
Now we know that was
Mr.
Blackwell at three in the morning
, Henry thought. He didn't mention the light, however, because he didn't want Mrs. Blackwell to feel he was spying on her.

“Today it would be great if you could unpack the pots and the dishes,” Mrs. Blackwell said, leading the way to the kitchen. “My husband and I are getting tired of eating take-out food.”

In the kitchen, the boxes were stacked up against the cabinets and on the counters. There were large boxes filled with pots and pans and serving bowls, and smaller boxes of dishes, glasses, and silverware.

“Where would you like us to put everything?” Violet asked.

“You kids did such a good job in the library,” Mrs. Blackwell said. “Why don't you arrange it the way you'd like.”

“Okay!” said Jessie. She was pleased that Mrs. Blackwell trusted them with that responsibility.

“We'll get right to work,” said Violet.

As she was walking out, Mrs. Blackwell noticed a box with a red marking on the top. “This one doesn't belong in here,” she said to herself.

Jessie jumped at the opportunity to ask, “What does that marking mean anyway?”

“I told you, those boxes are my husband's,” Mrs. Blackwell said.

“I was just wondering if that shape meant something,” Jessie said.

“That shape?” Mrs. Blackwell seemed to be considering something. After a few seconds she said, “No. Nothing.” As she turned to walk away, the phone rang. Mrs. Blackwell hesitated, then handed the box to Benny. “Could you take this to my husband, please? I'm going to answer that in the other room.” She turned quickly and walked out.

Benny looked down at the box.

“I'll take that,” Jessie said. “Mrs. Blackwell said to be very careful with those.”

“
I
can be careful,” Benny told her. “She asked
me
to take it.”

Before Jessie could stop him, Benny walked out with the box. Although the box was small, it was a heavy one. He groaned softly so the others wouldn't hear and carried it to the back hall.

When Benny reached the hallway, he stopped and put the box down. He shook out his arms, which were tired from carrying the heavy box. “Now where do these marked boxes go?” he said to himself.

He looked down the hall. It was long, dark, and narrow. At the end was a closed door with a light glowing underneath. “That must be the place,” Benny said to himself. It didn't look very welcoming.

Benny took a deep breath and began to walk slowly down the hallway toward the door, wondering what he would find behind it. When he got to the end of the hallway, Benny set the box down again. He looked at the closed door in front of him. Then he knocked softly on the door. There was no response, so he knocked a little bit louder. Still no response.

Benny cautiously tried the doorknob.

The door creaked open, revealing a brightly lit room.

A male voice called out angrily from within, “Please don't come in!”

“I'm sorry!” Benny said. He quickly shut the door. He hadn't seen who the voice belonged to. Mr. Blackwell must have been on the other side of the room, behind the door.

Benny had seen only one thing clearly before shutting the door. Next to the door was a large glass case.

Inside the case was a large web and the blackest spider Benny had ever seen.

CHAPTER 5

Following the Map

B
enny turned around and was startled to find Mrs. Blackwell standing right behind him. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“I, um, was just bringing the box back here,” Benny said.

“Didn't I tell you not to go in there?” Mrs. Blackwell asked.

Benny gulped. Mrs. Blackwell looked very angry. “Yes,” said Benny. “I'm sorry. I thought you wanted me to bring Mr. Blackwell this box.”

Mrs. Blackwell stared at Benny for a moment, then her face softened. “You're right, Benny,” she said. “I did say that. But what I meant was for you to leave the box in the hallway. I should have been more clear.”

Benny stood still for a minute, unsure of what to do. Then he handed the box to Mrs. Blackwell. “I'm sorry,” he repeated.

“It's okay, Benny,” she said. “Just don't come near this room again.”

Benny headed quickly back toward the kitchen. When he came to the end of the hallway he turned around and looked back. Mrs. Blackwell was standing motionless, watching him.

Benny was relieved when he reached the kitchen where his sisters and brother were unpacking a large box of dishes. He had been walking so quickly he was breathing heavily.

“What's the matter?” asked Violet. “You look as if you'd seen a ghost!”

“Not a ghost,” Benny replied. “A spider.”

“What?” asked Violet, putting down the stack of plates she was holding.

Benny told the others what had happened.

“Wow,” said Henry when Benny had finished. “Cool.” Henry loved finding bugs in the backyard.

“Yeah, but Mrs. Blackwell looked really mad to see me back there,” said Benny.

“I wonder why it's so important not to go in that room,” said Jessie.

“That seems to be where Mr. Blackwell works,” Henry said. “You know how Grandfather doesn't like us to disturb him when he's working.”

“Yes, but Grandfather doesn't get so upset,” Jessie pointed out.

“Everybody's different,” said Violet.

“What about that spider?” said Benny. “Who keeps a spider for a pet?”

“That depends,” Henry said. “What kind of spider was it?”

“I don't know,” Benny said. “A black one. Very black.” He paused, remembering. “And it had a really messy web.”

“As messy as your room?” Violet teased.

“My room isn't messy!” Benny said.

“Hmmm …” said Henry thoughtfully.

“What is it?” asked Jessie.

“I was just thinking about that science book I took out of the library a few weeks ago,” Henry said. “It was all about spiders. I wish I still had it.”

“The Blackwells have lots of books about spiders in their library,” said Violet. “Remember?”

Henry smiled. “Why didn't I think of that? We'll check it out after we've unpacked these boxes.”

An hour later the Aldens had finished organizing the kitchen. They looked with satisfaction at the cabinets filled with neatly stacked dishes and carefully placed cups.