The Mystery of the Tiger's Eye (4 page)

“Oh.” Dorsey stood aside and let the man wheel his trunk away. His expression became sullen again.

Jessie held up the book. “Do you want to come learn more about Harry Houdini?”

“No,” Dorsey said flatly. “I don't care about some old magician. I can't wait to get out of this weird house.”

“This house isn't weird,” Henry argued. “It's really pretty neat. Why don't you want to stay here?”

For an answer, Dorsey gave them a glowering look, then went into his room and slammed the door.

T
he next morning was sunny but cool. Edward cooked a pot of hot oatmeal and set out an array of toppings — fresh fruit, brown sugar, honey, raisins, and walnuts.

Benny held up his heaping bowl. “I made an oatmeal sundae!”

“Only you could turn breakfast into dessert,” said Henry.

Everyone joined in the laughter, except Dorsey. He slouched at the table, morosely stirring honey into his cereal. While everyone else chattered, he ate in gloomy silence.

“It's such a nice day,” Edward said brightly. “Let's go into town. You haven't seen Heron's Bay yet.”

“Sounds like fun,” Grandfather said. “Let's wash up the dishes and we'll be on our way.”

When they were ready, the Aldens climbed into Grandfather's minivan.

“Where's Dorsey?” Violet asked. “Isn't he coming?”

In the front seat, Edward fastened his seat belt. “He said he'd rather stay home. Melanie is there, so he won't be alone.”

Violet exchanged a glance with Jessie, who was sitting next to her. They only had a few days to solve the mystery. But even if they solved it, would Dorsey want to live with his great-uncle? It didn't seem likely.

Grandfather steered the minivan down the steep driveway and onto the road that led to Heron's Bay. They drove into the village, which was spread along the Chesapeake. Neat cottages and white-painted churches sparkled in the bright sunshine. Grandfather parked by the harbor.

They strolled along the waterfront. High on a bluff overlooking the town were several redbrick buildings.

“That's the college where Melanie goes,” Edward said.

Ambling past little shops that were once homes, the Aldens looked in the windows. One store sold candles. Everything Sailboats sold things for boat collectors.

Violet giggled at the next shop. “ ‘Paws and Claws,' ” she said. “What a cute name for a pet store!”

In the window, bunnies slept or hopped.

“Here's Iona's shop,” said Edward, stopping in front of a little white house next to Paws and Claws.

Purple and yellow fall flowers spilled from window boxes. Pumpkins perched on porch steps. A hand-painted sign proclaimed,
BAYSIDE TREASURES
.

“May we go in?” asked Henry.

“Please do,” said Edward. “It's a little tight inside, so your grandfather and I will sit out here on the bench.”

Iona Levitt was working behind the counter. When she saw the Aldens, she glanced up and smiled.

“Hi there!” she greeted. “Welcome to Bayside Treasures. Feel free to browse.”

Jessie thought she had seen a lot of knickknacks and collections at Cliffwalk Manor. Iona's tiny shop appeared to have as much stuff as Mr. Singleton's entire house!

There were boxes made of seashells, rainbow-striped pencils, tinkling wind chimes, hand-painted flowerpots, patchwork pillows, duck decoys, and pale green glass globes suspended in a string net.

“Those are called witch balls,” Iona said, noticing Jessie's curiosity. “Actually, they are floats — used by fishermen to keep their nets from sinking.”

“Is this a magic store?” Benny asked Iona.

“I think so,” she replied. “When people come in here, they always smile. That's magic, don't you think?”

Grandfather had given them some money to spend on souvenirs. Jessie bought one of the witch balls. Violet chose a miniature pewter fairy. Henry selected a brass kaleidoscope for him and Benny to share.

While Iona was writing up their receipt, Benny glimpsed a bracelet by the counter. Its gold links were set with odd stones that reminded him of something.

“This old machine!” exclaimed Iona in exasperation. She thumped the buttons of her old-fashioned cash register.

“Is it broken?” asked Henry.

“No, just contrary, like a mule.” Iona unscrewed a metal plate that exposed the inner workings. With her screwdriver, she fiddled with some knobs. At last, the machine began working.

“You're pretty handy,” Henry observed.

“I've always been good with contraptions,” Iona said with a grin. “Thanks for coming in. Tell Edward I'll be there at five this evening. My night to cook dinner.”

Out on the sidewalk, the children relayed Iona's message. Talking about dinner made the children realize they were hungry for lunch.

“There's a great café on the next block,” Edward suggested. “I hope you like crab cakes.”

Inside the cheery restaurant, they all ordered crab-cake sandwiches with onion rings.

“How is the investigation going?” Edward asked the children.

“We found a photograph of Harry Houdini,” Henry answered. “It was in a box of postcards Melanie was sorting.”

“And then we read about him in a book from your library,” Jessie said. “He was a great magician!”

Edward nodded. “He predicted he would become world-famous, and he did.”

“Could Harry Houdini have done something to Cliffwalk Manor?” Violet wondered.

“He said he left something behind that night at the party,” Edward reminded them. “But nobody knows what it was.”

“Maybe he put a magic spell on your house,” said Benny. He was remembering the fairy tales Jessie had read to him.

Grandfather shook his head. “That kind of magic is only in storybooks, Benny. Magicians like Harry Houdini are illusionists.”

“What's that?” asked Benny.

“You know the expression ‘the hand is quicker than the eye'?” said Henry. “That means magicians do tricks that make you
think
it's real magic. But it's not — all the tricks can be explained. You could even do them yourself!”

After lunch, they walked around the rest of the town, then drove back to Cliffwalk Manor.

“Let's go down to the beach,” Jessie suggested. “It's too nice to go inside.”

“Great idea,” Violet said. “I wonder if Dorsey wants to come with us.”

They found Dorsey in his room, tinkering with the box Violet had seen the first night. Tubes and tangled wires lay on the carpet.

“What are you building?” asked Henry.

Dorsey looked up with a scowl. “A radio. I had it working. But then something broke again.”

“Do you want to go down to the beach with us?” Violet invited.

“I guess,” he replied without enthusiasm. “Nothing else to do around this old place anyway.”

Outside, the children took a flight of steps from the back deck down to the beach.

It was too cold to go in the water, but they searched for shells and watched birds skimming over the waves until suppertime.

“Come and get it!” Iona Levitt called from the deck. She had dressed up for supper and was wearing a flowing turquoise caftan with bell-like sleeves.

A tureen of steaming clam chowder waited on the merry-go-round table. Iona brought in a towel-wrapped basket of freshly baked bread.

Melanie joined them, sitting across from Jessie in the swan chariot. Since the swan chariot seated two, Dorsey sat beside her.

“Things seem pretty normal lately,” Iona remarked. “Maybe those silly pranks have stopped.”

“I certainly hope so,” said Edward.

Melanie spoke up. “You don't think Harry Houdini is making them happen somehow?”

Henry helped himself to a second piece of bread. “We were talking about that at lunch today. Harry Houdini was talented, but he was just an escape artist.”

“Yeah,” Dorsey agreed. “He couldn't do real magic.”

“But Houdini was the best magician ever,” Grandfather put in. “I doubt anyone will ever be as great as he was.”

At that moment, Melanie dropped the butter dish she was passing to Henry.

“Sorry,” she said.

Jessie wondered why Melanie wanted to be an actress. She seemed nervous, always dropping things and speaking so shyly.

“We need more bread,” Iona said, picking up the basket. “Why does this feel so heavy?”

She unfolded a corner of the towel, revealing the twitching pink nose of a white baby rabbit!

“O
h, boy!” Benny exclaimed. “A bunny!”

Edward stood up, shocked. “Where did that rabbit come from? If this is a joke, it's not funny. Iona, did you put the rabbit in there?”

“Don't be ridiculous!” she snorted.

“Then who did it?”

But Edward's question hung in midair, like a puff of magician's smoke.

“I've heard of pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but never a bread basket!” Iona cuddled the rabbit in her lap.

“He's so cute,” said Melanie. “Can I hold him?”

Iona handed the baby rabbit to her. The children gathered around Melanie to pet him.

“What are you going to do with him?” Dorsey asked his great-uncle.

“I guess I'll go into town tomorrow and buy a cage for him,” said Edward. “He can stay in a box in the laundry room tonight.”

“I'll help Iona with the dishes,” said Grandfather, picking up soup bowls. “You kids can fix a place for our new guest.”

“I'd better get home,” Melanie said, giving the rabbit to Edward. “It's almost dark.”

After she left, Edward fetched a large cardboard carton and some clean, soft rags from the basement. He led the children into the laundry room beside the kitchen.

Violet arranged the rags in the bottom of the box. Jessie found two small dishes and filled one with water.

“I'll get some food,” Dorsey offered. He came back with chopped carrots and shredded cabbage leaves.

Soon the rabbit was snug in his box, happily chewing on his supper.

“He needs a name,” said Violet.

“Houdini,” said Benny immediately. “Because he came out of nowhere.”

“Good name!” Jessie praised. “But this little guy didn't really come out of nowhere.”

“Then how did he get in the bread basket?” Dorsey asked, stroking Houdini's ears.

“Somebody put him there,” Henry said firmly. “Maybe it was Iona. She had on that dress with the big sleeves.”

Jessie nodded excitedly. “She could have smuggled the rabbit inside those sleeves. And slipped him into the basket when no one was looking.”

“Her shop is right next to Paws and Claws,” Violet said. “She could have bought one of the bunnies we saw in the window.”

“But why would Iona put a rabbit in the basket?” Dorsey questioned. “She's my great-uncle's best friend. It doesn't make sense that she'd pull a prank on him.”

“Right now, nothing makes sense,” Henry commented.

“Anyway,” Dorsey pointed out, “everyone is wearing something kind of loose. We all have on sweaters. Melanie had on a big sweatshirt. Anybody could have smuggled this little guy in.”

“True,” Violet agreed. She noticed that Dorsey seemed happy about the rabbit. Did
he
buy the rabbit on a trip into town and sneak the animal into the house so he could have a pet?

They played with Houdini until the rabbit fell asleep in a nest of rags.

Iona had gone home. Edward and Grandfather were reading the newspaper in the parlor.

“We named the bunny Houdini,” Benny told them.

Edward laughed. “Perfect name for a rabbit that appeared at our table!” He glanced outside the window. “Full moon tonight. There's something I want you to see.”

They all went out on the deck in the chilly air. Lights from barges sparkled on the water like fireflies. A huge pumpkin-shaped moon lit a path across the bay.

Benny stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. The cold, dark sky was filled with loud twitterings and calls.

“What is that noise?” he asked.

“Birds,” Edward replied. “The Chesapeake Bay is a major migration route for birds flying south every winter. They follow certain paths that are called flyways. This is one of them. Have a look.”

He focused the telescope, then helped Benny up on the stool.

Benny stared through the eyepiece. Soon he saw a black mass crossing in front of the yellow moon.

“I see them!” he cried. “Must be a zillion birds!”

“Where are they going?” Violet asked, taking her turn at the telescope.

“Some go to Florida. Some to Mexico,” Edward answered. “Some fly as far as South America. It's amazing that they do this every year. They just know where to go.”