“What do you think?” said Mrs. Barrett.
“About what?” asked Buddy.
“The house,” said Mrs. Barrett. “It has a pool, six bedrooms, and a rec room in the basement.”
“Not to mention a really cool treehouse in the side yard,” added Mr. DeWitt. “And it’s near a terrific elementary school, and in a neighborhood full of kids your age.”
“It’s nice, I guess,” said Lindsey cautiously. “But why are we here?”
“Because the best thing about this house is that it’s in Greenvale, which means we can afford it!” said Mrs. Barrett. “Franklin and I made an offer on it yesterday and if all the paperwork goes through it’ll be ours!”
“Ours?” asked Buddy doubtfully. “We’re going to move here?” Then Jessi said, he must have seen his mother’s face cloud over a little. “Cool!” he added unconvincingly. “Is this the reason for the Mystery Tour?” The adults nodded, beaming.
“It’s wonderful!” said Lindsey, with a smile that looked, according to Jessi, a little forced.
“I like the porch,” said Taylor.
“Can my Barbie swim in the pool?” asked Suzi.
“Of course, of course,” said her mother happily. “We can all swim in the pool. It’s going to be just perfect!”
The kids smiled politely, but Jessi noticed that they didn’t have much else to say. It didn’t seem to matter. Mr. DeWitt and Mrs. Barrett were so thrilled and excited that they apparently didn’t notice the kids’ lack of enthusiasm. But Jessi did, and it worried her. As she said at the end of her letter:
“Why no, we don’t carry any clown masks,” said the clerk at Ellie’s, running a hand over her extremely high forehead. (She was dressed as a Conehead that day.) “We carry makeup and wigs, instead. I’d be glad to demonstrate some classic clown faces for you —”
“No, that’s okay,” I said quickly. “My cousin really had her heart set on a certain type of mask she saw, with pink hair and a big red smile.”
“Your cousin?” asked the clerk. “Didn’t you say it was for your sister?” She looked at me suspiciously. “This doesn’t have anything to do with that robbery over at Speedy Jack’s, does it? Poor Carlene. She was scared out of her wits.”
I avoided her eyes. I didn’t really want to spread the word that the We ♥ Kids Club was working on the robbery case. “Um, no,” I said. “And it is for my cousin. We’re just really close. Sometimes I call her my sister.” I glanced at Sunny, whose eyebrows were raised. I don’t think she’s ever seen me lie before. That’s because I rarely do it. Normally, I think honesty is the best policy. But now I thought my friends and I would be safer if nobody knew that we were investigating the case. After all, the criminal was still on the loose. If he heard that a bunch of kids — one of whom had seen him — were tracking him down … well, I didn’t like to think about what he might do.
Sunny and I had headed straight for Ellie’s Variety after school on Monday, hoping to find out where the robber’s clown mask had been bought. We figured it would be the first step in our investigation. Also, we had other business at Ellie’s: we wanted to ask for help with our party.
We’d already discussed the party with the clerk, whose name was Mrs. Stevens. She had said she was sure Ellie (there really was an Ellie!) would be glad to help. She’d promised to talk to her. Then I’d brought up the clown mask, but we weren’t getting such easy answers about that.
The night before, as I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I had spent some time thinking about the robbery. I went over every detail in my mind, trying to make sure I wasn’t forgetting any important clues. Then, out of the blue, I remembered something. I remembered staring at the robber’s back for a few seconds as he caught his balance. And when I brought that image to mind, I realized that there was one tiny clue I hadn’t mentioned to the police: on the back of that clown mask I’d seen a manufacturer’s tag. And when I remembered what it looked like, it gave me the shivers.
It was black, with a white skull-and-crossbones.
I hadn’t wasted any time telling Sunny and the others about my new clue. “Shouldn’t you call Officer Garcia?” Jill asked, as we discussed it during lunch on Monday. We were eating our sandwiches in the school courtyard, on a bench near the bougainvillea tree. That tree is always covered with gorgeous pink blossoms, and every time I look at it I’m reminded of how different California is from Connecticut. Back in Connecticut, I knew, my friends would be eating their lunches in a noisy, crowded cafeteria. But here I was, eating under the bougainvillea and watching the hummingbirds that always dart around it.
“I’ll call Officer Garcia after school,” I said. “But she’ll probably think I’m being silly.”
That was when Sunny suggested that we try to track down where the mask had come from. “The police probably won’t have the time to do that, but I happen to have the afternoon free,” she said.
So now that we were running into a dead end at Ellie’s, I decided to try one more question. “This mask my sis — cousin — wants,” I said. “I think it’s made by this company, um, I don’t remember their name, but their logo is a skull-and-crossbones.”
“Oh!” said Mrs. Stevens, nodding so fast that her cone started to sway. “Jolly Roger! Sure. They make great stuff.” In her enthusiasm for anything to do with costumes, she seemed to have forgotten about being suspicious. “There’s only one place in town that carries that line, though: the Halloween Shoppe. You know, that place down the road, next to Sears? It’s only open during October, but they always have the best costumes and masks.”
“Great!” I said. “Thanks a lot!”
“No problem,” she said. “Hey, by the way, did you think about maybe dressing up? Don’t forget, I’d love to help.” She tilted her cone and gave me an appraising look. “I was thinking you’d make a terrific Little Bo Peep.”
“I’ll let you know,” I said, laughing. I imagined myself dressed up in a shepherdess outfit, with Sunny, Maggie, and Jill running behind me dressed as sheep. The idea was hilarious. As we left Ellie’s, I told Sunny what I was picturing, and we giggled all the way to the Halloween Shoppe.
“Whoa! What a cool store,” said Sunny, as soon as we walked in the door.
I gazed around. “It sure is,” I said. The store was like a little cave. It was small and dark and kind of spooky. Every inch of wall space was covered with masks that hung eerily, their empty eyes seeming to follow us as we walked around looking at them. There was Aladdin, with Dracula right next to him. A little farther down the wall hung a Ninja Turtles mask, and near it was Snow White. I saw one clown mask, but it wasn’t like the robber’s at all.
A jumble of accessories lay on the counters: I saw witches’ brooms, fake arms with hooks for hands, magic wands, “diamond” tiaras, gorilla feet, and a bunch of other weird items. A clothing rack held full-length costumes: the gorilla that went with the feet, a princess gown, a space suit, a vampire cape.
I picked up a bloody hand made out of rubber and shoved it up my sleeve. “Hey, Sunny,” I said. She whirled around to look and I lifted the hand as if to scratch my head.
“Oh, gross!” she said.
“Can I help you?” I turned to see a cute guy — he looked as if he might be a senior in high school — stepping out from behind the counter.
“I, uh, well …” I stammered. I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to say.
“We’re looking for a certain clown mask,” said Sunny confidently. She smiled at the boy.
He smiled back. “We only have a couple left,” he said. “They’ve been popular this year, for some reason.” He pointed out the mask I’d seen, which had blue hair and a white frown and looked as if it were cheaply made. Then he showed us another, which was hard plastic instead of soft rubber like the robber’s mask.
By that time I’d figured out what to say. “Actually,” I said, “we were looking for a Jolly Roger mask. Do you have any of those?”
He shook his head
. “We only had a few in, and they’ve all been sold.”
“Really,” I said, shooting Sunny a glance. “Um, could you maybe tell us who bought them? My cousin’s looking for one, and she’s desperate. Maybe one of those people would sell her theirs.” I seemed to be getting better at lying. It was easier every time.
“Well, I don’t know their names or anything,” said the boy hesitantly.
“Could you describe them?” asked Sunny, flashing him another of those irresistible smiles.
“Let’s see,” said the boy. “There was a guy, like, my age. He had longish brown hair and — hey, I remember!” He snapped his fingers. “He must be on the track team at Palo City High, because he was wearing one of their shirts. He left on a skateboard.”
“Great,” said Sunny. “Who else?”
“Um, a guy who must work at Hank’s Flower Basket, down the road. At least, he drove off in one of their vans.”
I nodded. “Terrific,” I said. “He shouldn’t be hard to find.”
“And the last one went to this tall blonde woman,” he went on. “I don’t remember anything else about her, though,” he said, scratching his head.
“That’s okay,” I said. “Thanks for all your help. Maybe my cousin can get her mask after all.”
“Good luck!” he called, as the two of us ran out the door.
“I think he kind of liked you,” I said to Sunny, as soon as we were outside.
“Oh, don’t be silly,” she said, blushing. “He was cute, though, wasn’t he?”
“Cute, but a little old,” I said. “Anyway, how about if we head for Hank’s? That seems to be the obvious place to start.”
“Cool,” said Sunny.
Ten minutes later, we walked into Hank’s Flower Basket. A little bell jingled as Sunny pushed the door open. The flower store was a cheerful, bright, sweet-smelling place. There were glass cases filled with buckets of colorful flowers, and tables covered with healthy-looking houseplants. A man was standing behind a long counter, putting together a bouquet of yellow and red flowers. He smiled when he saw us. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“We’re just looking,” Sunny said quickly.
“Fine,” said the man. “Let me know if I can help you find something.” He went back to working on the bouquet.
Then I saw a little girl who was sitting on a stool by the end of the counter. She was playing with something. I took a closer look and nudged Sunny. Sunny gasped.
The little girl was playing with a clown mask.
I walked over to her. “Hi,” I said.
“Hello,” she answered, grinning up at me. “See my mask?” She held it up. “Daddy bought it for me. It’s for my Halloween costume.”
“Nice,” I said, staring at the mask. It was exactly like the one the robber had been wearing. I looked back at the man behind the counter. He was smiling fondly at his little girl.
“Tiffany’s going to be a clown this year,” he said. “Aren’t you, honey?”
Sunny and I smiled at Tiffany and then looked at each other and shrugged.
* * *
A minute later we were standing on the sidewalk outside of Hank’s. “Well, we can cross him off the list,” said Sunny. “He’s way too nice to be the robber. Plus, the mask is right out there in plain sight. No way would the robber leave evidence like that lying around.”
“You’re right,” I said. “That just leaves the track-team guy. I mean, the tall blonde woman doesn’t fit as a suspect. But the case will have to wait awhile, anyway. I have to be home for dinner, and tomorrow I have to sit for Erick and Ryan. I guess trick-or-treating is still off, at least for now.”
I headed home, wondering if we were on the right track. Was there really any chance we could catch the robber before Saturday? If not, I knew, there were going to be a lot of disappointed kids in Palo City.
“I think it’s just marvelous,” said Cynthia DeWitt. “The kids are so excited, and of course we parents are very grateful.”
“Um, good,” I said. I had arrived at the DeWitts’ door in plenty of time for my sitting job that Tuesday afternoon, but it didn’t look as if Cynthia were ready to go out. I knew she was talking to me about the Halloween party we were planning, and I knew she was happy about it, but her words weren’t sinking in very well. The fact was, I was more than a little distracted by her outfit.
She was wearing this dowdy housedress with a tacky daffodil print. On her feet were clunky brown shoes that looked like something my grandmother might wear. She had on a pair of turquoise cat’s-eye glasses, and she’d thrown a yellow cardigan over her shoulders. “Uh, Cynthia?” I began.
She laughed. “I know, this outfit is ridiculous, isn’t it?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to insult her. After all, if that was what she wanted to wear, it was fine with me. I just couldn’t help thinking that she looked a whole lot better the way she usually dresses.
“It’s for an audition,” Cynthia said, giggling. “They’re looking for a matronly type, somebody who’s totally out of the fashion loop. It wasn’t easy for me to figure out what to wear, but this is what I came up with. What do you think?” She twirled around — not too gracefully, because of the clunky shoes.
“I think you look perfect for the part,” I said, laughing. I have to confess I was a little relieved to find out there was a reason she looked like that.
“Thanks,” she said. “Anyway, the audition should be over by six, so I won’t be late. The boys are upstairs, along with Timmy. I think they’re working on their Halloween costumes.”
“Great,” I said. “Break a leg!” I saw Cynthia out the door, and then headed up to find the boys.
The three of them were in Erick’s room. Erick was wrestling with a huge, cylindrical roll of cardboard. Ryan was by the mirror, combing his hair. And Timmy was lying on the bed, looking at a comic book.
“Hi, guys,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Dawn!” Erick cried. “Why didn’t you tell us about the party? It sounds so cool. Now we get to wear our costumes after all.”
“I didn’t want to tell you about it until it was a sure thing,” I said. “But it looks like it is.”
“Will there be games?” Ryan asked.
I nodded. “We’ll have bobbing for apples, and pin the broom on the witch. And maybe disappearing chairs.”
“What’s that?” Erick asked.
“It’s the Halloween version of musical chairs,” I explained.
“Cool,” said Ryan. “Can we decorate pumpkins, too?”
“Good idea,” I said. “We can probably do that.” Suddenly, I realized something. Erick and Ryan had been asking all the questions, and Timmy hadn’t said a word. I knew he was shy, but I couldn’t believe he wasn’t interested in the party at all. What was going on with him?
“So, guys,” I said, “tell me about your costumes.”
Erick ran over to the cardboard cylinder, lifted it above his head, and slipped it over his body. “I’m going to be a roll of Life Savers!” he said, in a muffled voice. “I have these new green sneakers I’ll wear. All I have to do is buy some paint, and I’m all set.” He walked toward me and ran smack into a chair. “Whoops!”
“Great!” I said. “Uh, maybe you’ll want to cut some holes for your eyes, too,” I added. “How about you, Ryan?” I asked.
“I’m going to be Elvis,” he said. He grabbed his comb again and swept his bangs into a pompadour. “What do you think? I’m going to wear jeans and blue suede shoes. And I might carry a toy guitar, if I can find one.”
“Terrific,” I said. “I love it.” Then I turned to Timmy. “What are you going to be, Timmy?” I asked.
He muttered something, but I couldn’t hear him.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“I’m not going to the party,” he said in a low voice.
“Not going?” I asked. Erick and Ryan looked shocked. “But why not? It’s going to be fun, and you’ll know most of the kids there.” I thought Ti
mmy might feel shy about the party.
“I know,” he said. He glanced up at me, and my heart nearly broke when I saw how sad his eyes looked. “But I don’t have a costume.”
“No costume?” I said. “That’s okay. There’s plenty of time left. You can still get one.”
“I don’t have enough money.” Timmy dug the toe of his shoe into the carpet. “Plus, my mom always helped me, and she’s not around this year.”
Oh, poor Timmy. I realized right away what was going on. Timmy was missing his mom, now more than ever. “I’m sure your mom wishes she could help you with your costume, Timmy,” I said. “But since she can’t, maybe I can.”
“We’ll help, too,” said Erick. “Right, Ryan?”
“Sure,” said Ryan. “Want to wear my costume from last year, Timmy? I was Batman.”
I smiled at Ryan. “I think your old costume might be a little small,” I said. “But I’m sure we can figure something else out. Now, you said you don’t have enough money for a costume, right, Timmy?”
He nodded. “I only have three dollars. That won’t get me anything.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” I said. I was working on an idea. “I know a lady who could probably help you figure out how to put together a costume for only three dollars. How about if we pay her a visit?” I was thinking, of course, of Mrs. Stevens at Ellie’s Variety. She seemed to love everything about Halloween. If she couldn’t come up with a costume for Timmy, nobody could. “And I bet she could help Erick pick out some paints, and she might even have a guitar for you, Ryan.”
I left a note for Cynthia, in case she came home early, and then the four of us headed for Ellie’s.
“Why, hello again!” said Mrs. Stevens, when we walked in. This time, she was dressed as Lucille Ball from the I Love Lucy show. She had on a curly orange wig, bright red lipstick, and a funny but cute old-fashioned dress. “How can I help you today?” she asked.
“Well,” I said, “Erick needs some paint, and Ryan is looking for a toy guitar. And Timmy,” I said, putting my hand on his head, “is starting from scratch. I thought you might have some costume ideas. We don’t want to spend more than three dollars, though.”