The Mystery of the Purple Pool (8 page)

     
Dear Nancy:
     Things are going very well. Our plan is working. Soon I'll be running the hotel. Then we can get married as we have wanted. Just as we decided, I have done many things to make Joan Ames look as if she can't manage a big hotel like The Plymouth. I've messed up guests' rooms; switched the sugar and salt; pulled a switch to stop the elevators; and many other things. My favorite was dyeing the pool purple — my favorite color! All in all, it makes Ms. Ames look like she isn't doing her job. You know what that means. The owners will fire her, and I'll get her job.

“There's more,” Jessie said, “but I've read the most important part.”

“I can't believe it!” Violet said. “Mr. Parker was doing all that deliberately, to get Ms. Ames fired.”

“He really is a mean man,” Benny said.

“What should we do?” Violet asked.

Henry said, “Well, Grandfather is probably still in the coffee shop having his second cup of coffee. I think we should take the letter to him. He'll know what to do.”

The Aldens all walked to the coffee shop and looked around. When they saw Grandfather, they hurried to his table. He looked surprised to see them. “I thought you were going to sit in the lobby.”

“We were, Grandfather, but we found something you should see,” Violet said.

Jessie handed him Don Parker's letter. Mr. Alden looked at it. “But this is something Mr. Parker wrote. How did you children get it?”

“He dropped it in the lobby,” Benny said. “We ran after him but he went up in the elevator before we could stop him. Then I started reading it, just to practice and …” Benny stopped, out of breath.

“Grandfather, please read the letter,” Henry said. “It's important.”

Mr. Alden read silently and then looked at his grandchildren. “I can't believe it,” he said.

“Neither could we,” Jessie said, “but Mr. Parker
did
write it.”

Mr. Alden sighed. “I think we have to take this to Ms. Ames right away.”

In her office, Joan Ames read the letter carefully. Then she put it down and shook her head. “It's Don's handwriting. No doubt about it. I have to admit, I suspected that he was up to something, but I didn't want to believe it. He always seemed so pleased when it looked as if I had made a mistake.”

Just then Mr. Parker walked into his own office, which was right next to Joan's. As he went by, she called out, “Don, would you come in here for a minute?”

“Yes?” he asked, coming in.

Joan stood up and said sadly, “Of course, you know that a lot of things have been going wrong here.”

“That's been quite obvious,” Mr. Parker answered.

“Well,” Joan Ames said, “there are going to have to be some changes in management.”

A smile appeared on Don Parker's face and he quickly erased it. “Yes?” he said again.

In a strong voice Joan Ames said, “Don, you're
fired.
”

“Me?” he shouted. “
Me?
Why me?”

“Because of
this,
” Ms. Ames said, showing him the letter.

Don Parker's face paled. “I … I … didn't write that,” he stuttered.

“Don,” Joan Ames said, “It's your handwriting. It's written in the purple pen that you always use. And earlier this morning I went into your office to get some envelopes, and I saw the phone that belonged in room 501. I wondered about it then. Why would you have a guest's phone in your office?”

“That's the Grants' phone!” said Benny.

Don Parker saw that he had been beaten. “All right, I did do all those things. I wanted your job. I can do it better than you do it. I know it. I deserve it.”

At that moment, Lucille walked into the office, looking nervous but determined. “I have to talk to you and Mr. Parker,” she said to Ms. Ames.

“What's she doing here?” Benny whispered.

“Can it wait?” Joan Ames asked gently.

“No … please … it's about my brother, Malcolm,” Lucille began. “He worked very closely with Mr. Parker. Mr. Parker fired him last week for no reason at all. Malcolm was wonderful at his job, and there had never been any complaints about him. I think you should rehire him.”

Ms. Ames turned to Mr. Parker. “Why
did
you fire him, Don? You told me he wasn't efficient.”

“I might as well tell you the truth, since I'm leaving anyway,” Mr. Parker said. “Malcolm
was
good at his job — too good — and too smart. I was afraid that he would figure out what I was doing. So I fired him.”

Don Parker looked around the room. Then he looked at the Aldens. “You kids are too smart for your own good. Well, I guess there's nothing else to say. So long, Joan,” he said, and left.

Ms. Ames smiled at Lucille. “Of course, I'll hire your brother back. In fact, I happen to have an opening for an assistant manager.”

Lucille smiled happily. “Oh, thank you, Ms. Ames, so much.”

Violet said shyly. “Can I ask you a question, Lucille?”

“Of course,” Lucille answered.

“The other day we were walking in front of you and your brother on the street, and we heard you talking. We weren't eavesdropping. We couldn't help overhearing. You both were talking about ‘taking care of' something and ‘going to do something about it myself.' It sounded so mysterious.”

“And then yesterday we heard you saying you had a plan that made you nervous,” Benny piped up.

Lucille laughed. “The plan was to come in to see Ms. Ames and discuss Malcolm's problem with her. I was nervous because I didn't know what she'd say.”

The children laughed, and so did Joan Ames and Grandfather. “That certainly explains everything,” said Mr. Alden.

“Well,” Ms. Ames said, “you Aldens have been such a big help to me. I hope you will enjoy the rest of your stay. And everything will be on the house. No bill for anything, James.”

“Wow!” Benny said.

“Joan, thank you very much,” Mr. Alden said.

In the lobby they collided with Karen Walsh. Once again she was writing in a notebook.

“Why are you always writing in that?” Benny asked.

“Well,” Karen said, “I'm checking out, so I can let you in on my secret. I write travel books. I don't like anyone to know what I'm doing, so that I can see a hotel at its best and worst. Well,
this
one is the worst. I would never recommend it.”

“That's why we saw you snooping around!” Benny said.

“You saw
what
?” Karen asked.

Jessie sheepishly explained that they had followed her the afternoon before because they thought she was behind the pranks.

Mr. Alden raised his eyebrows, a bit disturbed that his grandchildren had been following people around. But before he could say anything, Karen Walsh did something unexpected. She laughed. “Yes, I guess you could call me a snoop,” she said. “That's my job. I was just checking out some of the rooms, seeing how well they keep their supplies, that sort of thing.”

The Aldens explained to her everything that had been going on at The Plymouth. “I think you have to give The Plymouth another chance,” Grandfather said.

“Well,” Ms. Walsh said, “I guess I'll have to. I'll come back in a couple of weeks and stay here again. I hope things will be better.”

“I know they will be,” Jessie said.

CHAPTER 11

The Mystery Man

T
he Aldens all stood in the lobby and Grandfather said, “This is our last day in New York. I have an appointment this afternoon. What do you children intend to do?”

“I want to swim in the purple pool,” Benny said.

Henry laughed. “I'm sure by now the pool is filled with plain,
clear
water — without any purple.”

“I think a swim would be very nice,” Jessie said.

“I wonder why,” Violet said, giggling.

Jessie blushed. “Violet, you are reading things into that.”

“How can she
read
what you said when you didn't write it down?” Benny asked.

“We'll explain some other time,” Henry said. “Let's go for a swim.”

The Aldens went back to their rooms and changed into their suits. When they went up to the pool, Mike was sitting in his usual place. “Hi, Aldens,” he said.

“Can we swim today?” Benny asked.

“Sure can,” Mike replied. “Everything is in top shape.”

The children went into the pool room and saw that the water was crystal clear, sparkling in the sunlight. They dived right in. “It's perfect,” Violet said. “Not too hot or cold.”

They swam and played and splashed for half an hour. After they had dried off, they stopped at Mike's desk.

“We're leaving tomorrow morning, so we won't see you again,” Henry said.

“Well,” Mike said, “I hope you had a good visit. Come back soon.”

“I hope we can,” Jessie said quickly. She heard Violet giggle behind her.

Back in their room, they dressed. “Let's find a hot dog stand for lunch,” Benny said.

“I'm ready for that,” Henry agreed. “Then what should we do?”

“I want to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Violet said.

“The guidebook said they have great old suits of armor there,” Henry said. “Let's go.”

“We mustn't forget that Grandfather is taking us to dinner and the theater tonight. We need to get back in time to dress,” Jessie reminded them.

“We have to dress up?” Benny asked.

“Of course,” Violet answered. “When you go to the theater in New York, you have to look nice.”

They left the hotel and luckily found a hot dog vendor a block away. They bought hot dogs and cold drinks and sat down on a bench in the park to eat. When they had finished they took a bus uptown to the museum. Together they roamed around the huge building. They looked at wonderful things: the armor, famous paintings, Egyptian mummies, a Japanese garden, and at last they all agreed they were tired.

On the way back to the hotel, Jessie said, “I never realized a museum could be
that
big.”

“And we didn't see a quarter of it,” Violet said. “At least according to our guidebook, we didn't.”

Grandfather was waiting for them in their suite when they got back to the hotel. “Now, you all have to look your best tonight for the theater. Girls, wear your best dresses. Boys, jackets. We'll have dinner at the restaurant here in the hotel and then off to the theater.”

“Are we going to eat in the coffee shop?” Benny asked.

“No, this time we'll eat in the big restaurant,” Grandfather answered.

The restaurant had tables with pink cloths, candles, and flowers. The food was delicious, and after dinner Benny said, “You know, I think I'm full.”

“That's a first,” said Jessie, and they all laughed.

They took a taxi to Broadway.

“Wow!” Benny said when they entered the theater. “Now I can see why we got dressed up. This is much nicer than the movie theater back in Greenfield.”

“Yes, isn't it pretty?” said Violet.

The seats were dark red, and the stage was hidden by a dark-red velvet curtain. An usher took them to their seats. Soon afterwards, the lights dimmed and the orchestra played a lively overture. The Aldens could hardly wait for the curtain to go up.

And when it did, they were very surprised!

In the center of the stage was a man with silvery hair and a long, pointed nose. The mysterious man!

“That's him!” Benny whispered.

Several people around Benny said, “Ssh.”

The musical was wonderful, with lots of colorful costumes and exciting dancing. But all Benny could think about was the mysterious man.

At the intermission he told Grandfather, “That was our mystery man.”

Grandfather laughed. “
That
was Frederick Astor, one of Broadway's biggest stars.”

“Why was he always going around the hotel in dark glasses with his coat collar pulled up around his face?” Violet asked.

“Well,” Grandfather said, “often big stars don't want to be recognized and bothered by the public, so they try different disguises, as Mr. Astor obviously did.”

“Now
all
the mysteries have been solved,” Henry said.

The next morning as the Aldens were leaving, a woman rushed in wearing dark glasses and a hat pulled low over her face. “Is it another mystery?” Benny asked hopefully.

Just then a man ran over to the woman in sunglasses and asked her for her autograph. The Aldens all laughed.

“Benny, I guess you are just going to have to find a mystery somewhere else,” Grandfather said as they all left the hotel.

About the Author

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 each 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.