“Don’t worry,” said Jessie. “If we don’t find it by the due date, we’ll all chip in from our allowance money to pay for the book.”
“Hey! Is that you Alden children over there making all that clatter?” Mrs. Fairfax was leaning against the rail of her front porch.
“We’re sorry,” Henry called. “The wind knocked our bicycles over. We’re leaving now.”
“I hope so,” she said, turning away and stomping back toward her front door. “A person can’t get any peace around here. And stop running through my backyard!”
“But we …” Violet wanted to explain that they had not run through her yard, but Mrs. Fairfax was already inside, the screen door slamming shut behind her.
“Why is she so angry?” asked Benny.
“Mrs. Fairfax probably just likes her peace and quiet,” Violet said. “I suppose she’s not used to such noises on this street. Maybe we frightened her.”
“I hope I don’t upset her when I have to cut the lawn,” Henry added. “Lawn mowers make plenty of noise.”
“So does my stomach,” said Benny. “All this bike riding has made me hungry.”
Henry laughed. “Let’s go home and get you another piece of Mrs. McGregor’s pie.”
CHAPTER 4
Lost!
The next morning, Mrs. McGregor placed a large platter of steaming waffles on the breakfast table.
“Here you go, Benny,” she said. “I made a special waffle for you.”
Benny had been sitting with his head in his hands. He looked up to see what Mrs. McGregor had made. It was a large round waffle with strawberries for eyes and a blueberry mouth. Fluffy white whipped cream hair sat on top.
“Wow! Thank you, Mrs. McGregor.” Benny grabbed his fork.
“There’s the smile we like to see,” said Grandfather. “Are you feeling better now?”
Benny’s mouth was stuffed full with waffle and fruit.
Jessie answered for him. “Benny’s not sick, Grandfather. He feels badly because he can’t find The Legend of the Vampire, the book he checked out of the library yesterday.”
“Perhaps it’s in your room, Benny,” Grandfather suggested.
Benny shook his head.
Violet spooned fruit over her waffle. “We searched everywhere,” she said.
“It was in his backpack when we were at Mr. Hudson’s house. By the time we got home, it had mysteriously disappeared. We even checked at the library to see if anyone had turned it in.” Henry poured himself a glass of orange juice.
“That is a mystery,” Grandfather said. “But I’m sure you children will figure it out.”
The Aldens loved mysteries and they had already solved quite a few since coming to live with Grandfather.
“Maybe you can check at the library again today,” Grandfather said. “They are having their annual fair and bake sale on the front lawn. It might be fun to stop by.”
A timer in the kitchen rang. “That must be my pie,” Mrs. McGregor said, wiping her hands on her apron. “I made an apple pie and a lemon cake to donate to the bake sale. If you children want, you can come with me this morning when I drop them off at the library.”
“That reminds me,” Grandfather said. “Mr. Hudson called this morning. He will be leaving on his business trip shortly. He asked if you children could stop by the house later today to cut the lawn and make sure everything is neat and in order. A young couple from out of town will be stopping by to look at the house this afternoon. Mr. Hudson is hoping that they will be interested in buying it.”
“Are you sure Mr. Hudson called this morning?” asked Henry. “We thought he might have left for his trip last night.”
“No,” Grandfather said. “It was this morning. He said he was packing his bags as he spoke to me.”
“We’ll go to Mr. Hudson’s after the library,” Henry said.
“It’s such a beautiful house,” Violet added. “We’ll make sure it is in good shape when that couple arrives. I’m sure they’ll love it.”
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny helped Mrs. McGregor with the dishes and then carefully placed the baked goods in the car.
“The car smells so good!” Benny exclaimed as Mrs. McGregor drove into town.
Violet laughed. “You’re right, Benny. It smells like a bakery in here.”
Mrs. McGregor parked the car by the curb across the street from the library. Henry carried the apple pie and Jessie took the lemon cake.
Balloons were everywhere. They were tied to the tables and the street lamps and to the backs of chairs. Colorful streamers hung from the library windows and rippled in the wind. On one side of the lawn, a man with a beard played a guitar while children sang along. A storyteller in a long dress sat in a circle and used puppets to tell her tale.
“Hello!” Mrs. Skylar called. I’m so glad you could come to the library fair.”
“We wouldn’t think of missing it,” Mrs. McGregor said.
“Mrs. McGregor made this cake and the pie,” Jessie explained. “They’re for the bake sale table.”
“They look beautiful!” Mrs. Skylar exclaimed. “I’m sure we’ll get a very large donation for them.”
Mrs. McGregor beamed.
“Do you think this is a big enough donation for Mrs. McGregor’s lemon cake?” Benny pulled a fist from his pocket. He opened his hand to show three nickels, a dime, two quarters, a rubber band, a gum wrapper, and a small rock.
Mrs. McGregor laughed. “Oh, Benny,” she said. “I can make another lemon cake for you at home.”
Henry plucked the rock and the gum wrapper from Benny’s hand. He chuckled. “I don’t think these are worth very much, Benny,” he said.
“The rock does have pretty colors in it, though.” Violet smiled at her little brother.
“Why don’t we take the pie and the cake over to the bake-sale table for Mrs. McGregor,” Jessie suggested. “Maybe you can buy some cookies or a cupcake with your coins.”
“Okay. Let’s go!” Benny darted off through the crowd.
“Benny! Wait for us!” Henry called. But it was too late. Thinking only of cookies, Benny had run far ahead.
Henry, Jessie, and Violet said goodbye to Mrs. McGregor and thanked her for the ride to the library fair. Then they headed toward the bake sale. They set Mrs. McGregor’s pie and cake on the table.
“Where’s Benny?” asked Jessie.
“I don’t know,” Henry replied. “I thought for sure we would see him here picking out some cookies.”
“Excuse me,” Violet said to the lady behind the table. “Was there a six-year-old boy with dark-brown hair here a few moments ago?”
“The table has been crowded,” the lady said. “I’m not sure. Is that him over there?” She pointed through the crowd.
Violet ran toward the little boy, but it was not Benny.
Henry and Jessie looked worried.
“Maybe he couldn’t find the bake-sale table,” Violet said. “He’s probably wandering nearby.”
“Let’s split up,” Henry said. “We’ll each go a different way and meet back here in ten minutes.”
“Benny! Benny!” Henry, Jessie, and Violet ran through the crowd calling their brother’s name. But he was nowhere in sight.
CHAPTER 5
A Vial of Blood?
Jessie found Benny walking down the sidewalk. There was a scrape on his knee and a trickle of blood running down his leg.
“Benny!” she cried, “Where have you been? We were so worried. What happened to your leg?”
Just then, Henry and Violet came running up to them.
Jessie settled Benny on a soft patch of grass under a tree. Violet ran to borrow the first-aid kit from Mrs. Skylar.
“Are you okay?” Henry asked.
Benny nodded bravely. He was almost as breathless as Violet when she returned with the first-aid kit.
Jessie cleaned the blood from his knee and squirted a bit of antiseptic on his cut. She covered it up with a bandage.
“I was running to the bake-sale table,” Benny said. “I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going. I crashed smack into a man and I fell to the ground.”
“Is that how you hurt your knee?” Violet asked.
Benny nodded. “The man leaned down to help me up. I was so surprised. It was Mr. Hudson!”
“Mr. Hudson?” Henry said. “But he’s away on his business trip. Are you sure it was him?”
Benny scratched his head. “Now I’m not so sure. I thought so at first. I called him Mr. Hudson when I apologized. When I said that name, he looked upset. He turned and left really fast.”
“But where have you been?” asked Jessie. “We looked all over for you.”
“I followed him,” Benny said.
“Benny! You shouldn’t have done that. You should have stayed here by the library,” Jessie said.
“I know. I’m sorry, Jessie. But the man dropped something. I tried to catch up with him so I could give it back. I didn’t go far.”
“Did you catch him?” asked Violet.
“No. He had an old blue bike down the street behind a tree. He rode away.”
“What did he drop?” asked Henry.
Benny held out his hand. “This,” he said.
Henry took the small plastic bottle from his brother. It was filled with a red liquid.
“What do you think it could be?” Jessie asked.
“I don’t know,” said Henry.
“I do,” said Violet, putting her hand to her mouth. “It looks like … like … blood!”
The Alden children stared at each other for a few seconds. “I know it looks like blood,” Henry said. “But it is probably something else. It could be ink.”
“Or medicine,” Jessie added. “Remember your cough syrup from last winter, Violet? It was red.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Violet said. “But that is an odd bottle for cough medicine.”
Henry put the bottle in his pocket. I’ll hold onto it in case we see the man again.”
“Let’s go to the diner,” Jessie said. “I think we could all use a cool drink and some time to think.”
“And some food!” Benny added.
It was lunch time, and the diner was very crowded. Nancy, a thin waitress with short blond hair, showed the Aldens to a booth in the back.
“How’s this kids?” she asked.
“It’s perfect. Thank you,” said Jessie.
After they had placed their order, Jessie pulled out her notebook and a pencil. When facing a mystery, the Aldens often found that writing all the facts and clues on paper helped them to see what was going on.
Jessie wrote “Vampire Legend” at the top of the page. “What do we know about the vampire legend?” she asked.
Henry took a long drink of his lemonade. “People around Greenfield used to tell stories about a vampire. We know that vampires are not real, so the people must have done it for fun or to scare each other.”
“And Mr. Hudson heard those stories when he was growing up. He turned them into a book,” Violet added.
“Then Mr. Hudson saw a vampire in the cemetery behind his house.” Benny leaned across the table, his eyes wide.
“No, Benny. He saw something that concerned him. He didn’t actually see a vampire,” Henry said.
“Then what did he see?” asked Benny.
“We’re not sure,” Henry said.
Nancy stopped at the table with an armful of plates. “Here you go, kids,” she said, setting down the plates of burgers and sandwiches.
Violet chewed thoughtfully on her grilled cheese. “One thing we do know,” she said. “Mr. Hudson is trying to sell his house, but strange things are happening there that keep buyers away.”
Jessie made a list. “There was the ‘vampire’ in the cemetery,” she said. “And the broken flowerpots on the front porch.”
“And someone keeps stealing the ‘For Sale’ sign.” Violet finished her sandwich and placed her napkin on her plate.
“But why would anyone care if Mr. Hudson sold his house?” asked Benny.
“Mrs. Fairfax does not want him to move,” Jessie said.
“That’s true,” Henry replied. “Do you think she could be the one behind all the strange happenings?”
Benny suddenly sat up very straight. “It’s him,” he whispered. “The man from the library.”
“Where?” asked Henry who was across the table from Benny and facing the opposite direction.
“He’s at the other end of the diner, sitting at the counter. I could give him back his bottle of blood … I mean, red stuff.” Benny slid out of the booth. “Hurry, Henry. Give it to me. He’s just about to leave.”
Henry reached into his pocket, but it was too late. The man quickly jumped off his stool, his head lowered into his shirt, and darted out of the diner.
A few minutes later, Nancy stopped at the table to clear the plates. “Would you like to order dessert?” she asked.
“No, thank you,” Jessie answered. “Not today.”
“Excuse me,” Henry asked. “Did you happen to wait on the man who was at the end of the counter? The one who left a few minutes ago?”
Nancy looked toward the empty stool. “Yes, I did,” she answered. “Why do you want to know?”
“We have something of his,” Henry said. “He dropped it earlier today and we wanted to give it back. Do you know where we can find him?”
“No,” Nancy replied. “I’m sorry. I never saw him before. But it’s odd that you say that. I have something for him too. He left the diner so quickly that he forgot to take his book with him.”
“His book?” asked Violet.
“Yes.” Nancy reached into the deep pocket of her apron. “It’s a library book. He left it on the counter beside his plate.”
She set the book on the table.
Jessie gasped. “The Legend of the Vampire!”
Benny pulled the book toward him and stared down at the blood red fangs of the man on the cover. “We could take it back to the library for you,” he offered.
“Why, thanks,” said Nancy. “I appreciate that. It will save me a trip. If the man comes back, I’ll tell him that his book is at the library. Have a good day, kids.”
When Nancy had left, Benny leaned across the table. “It’s not his book. It’s mine!”
CHAPTER 6
Accused
The Aldens walked slowly to Mr. Hudson’s house on Whittaker Street.
“I don’t understand why he would take Benny’s book,” Jessie said.
“Maybe it was an accident,” Violet offered. “Maybe the book dropped out of Benny’s bag and the man found it.”
The children had no more time to talk. As they turned the corner onto Whittaker Street, they saw police cars in front of Mr. Hudson’s house!
“There they are! They’re the ones who did it!” Mrs. Fairfax stood on the sidewalk pointing at the Aldens.
The police turned to look at the children. A tall officer with black hair held a pad and a pen. “Excuse me, but who are you?” he asked.
“We’re the Aldens,” Henry said. He introduced himself and his sisters and brother. “Is something wrong, Officer?”
Officer Franklin wrote their names on his pad. Then he looked up. “Someone vandalized this house last night.”
“Oh, my!” Violet cried. A number of Mr. Hudson’s beautiful flowers had been ripped from the ground and were lying across the walkway.
Benny was the first to see the words written across the porch boards in bright red letters. “‘Leave … me … to … rest … in … pea … pea …’” He turned to Henry for help.
“Leave me to rest in peace,’” Henry read. “‘Or you will be sorry.’”
“It was those children who did it!” Mrs. Fairfax said. “I saw them here last night. They were right there on the porch.”
Officer Franklin looked at Henry. “Were you here last night?” he asked.
“Yes, officer,” Henry replied. “But we sure didn’t
do this.”
“Then what were you doing here?” the officer asked.
Just then the front door of Mr. Hudson’s house opened. Josh rushed out.
“Thank goodness you children are here!” he said.
“You know them?” Officer Franklin asked Josh.
“Of course!” Josh replied. “These are the Aldens. Mr. Hudson told me that they would be stopping by today.”
“And you don’t suspect that they could have caused this damage?” the officer asked.
“What? No! Of course not. Mr. Hudson trusts them and so do I. He asked them to look after his place while he was away.”
“Sorry, children,” Officer Franklin said. “I hope you understand that it is my job to ask questions.”
“We understand,” Henry said.
Mrs. Fairfax banged her cane against the ground. “Seems to me you don’t ask enough questions!” she said. “This used to be a nice, quiet street until that realtor and those children started coming around. They’re up to something. You need to investigate them!” She stomped back to her house.
Josh ran his hands through his hair. “What am I going to do?” he asked. “The Bensons will be here in a few hours to look at the house. When they see this, they will never want to buy it.”
“We’ll clean it up,” Jessie said. “We’ll start right away.”
“No,” Josh said. “We can’t clean it up. It is evidence. The police might need it. We should leave everything just the way it is.”
Officer Franklin overheard them. “It’s okay for you children to clean up the mess,” he said. “We have taken pictures of everything. That is all we need.”
Josh bit down on his lower lip and kicked at one of the upturned plants. “Are you sure?” he asked. “We want you to find the person who did this.”
“I’m sure,” Officer Franklin replied. “We have all the information that we need.”
The police officers left and Josh dropped onto the porch steps. “This is too much,” he said.
“What do you mean?” asked Henry.
“Don’t you see?” Josh asked. “It’s the vampire!”
“But there’s no such thing,” Jessie said.