Josh’s face was white. “It’s right from the book,” he said. “I’ve read it.”
“The Legend of the Vampire?” asked Benny.
“Yes,” Josh answered. “In the book, a vampire has his coffin hidden in the basement of an old home. A lonely old man lives by himself in the house. There is a cemetery behind the house. The vampire only comes out at night when the old man is sleeping. But one day the old man decides to sell the house. The vampire does not want his peace disturbed. He bites the neck of anyone who comes to live in the house.”
Violet shivered. “What a terrible story!”
“What happens in the end?” Benny asked.
“No one will live in the house,” Josh said. “The vampire has it all to himself.” Josh looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “And the vampire still roams the cemetery every night!”
Jessie put her arm around Benny. “But it’s just a story!” she said. “Everyone knows that vampires are not real.”
Josh looked down. “I guess you’re right, Jessie,” he said. He grabbed an uprooted plant that was sitting on the step and tossed it angrily onto the lawn.
Violet picked it up.
“We should get to work,” Henry said. “I need to cut the lawn.”
“I’ll replace the flowers the best that I can,” Violet promised.
Jessie stared at the red letters on the porch. “I’ll take care of cleaning that.”
“What about me?” asked Benny.
Henry put his hand on Benny’s shoulder. “Come with me, Benny,” he said. “You can rake up the grass as I cut it.”
“And I’ve got to make some phone calls.” Josh stood and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. He pointed to the front lawn. “Can you believe that someone stole the ‘For Sale’ sign again? I’m running out of signs. I’m not sure that I even have any left.”
The Aldens walked around to the shed to find the tools they needed. After the bright sunshine, the shed seemed very dark.
“Ouch!” Henry cried.
“Are you okay?” asked Jessie.
“Yes … I just stubbed my toe on the bike,” Henry said.
“I don’t remember the bike being in that spot yesterday,” Violet said.
Henry wheeled the bike to the corner. “You’re right, Violet. I think it was on the other side of the shed yesterday. That’s odd.”
Violet felt something fall down her neck. She cried out.
“What is it, Violet?” asked Jessie. “Are you okay?”
Violet laughed. “Yes,” she said. “I guess I’m a little jumpy. It’s the chain for the light bulb. I must have backed into it. It tickled the back of my neck.” Violet pulled the chain several times. It clicked, but nothing happened.
“The bulb must be out,” said Henry.
“It’s okay,” Violet replied. “I’ve found the trowel and some gardening gloves. That’s all I need. I’m going to go put those plants back in the ground right away. I don’t want the roots to dry out and die. I know how proud Mr. Hudson is of his flowers.”
There was a crash against the side of the shed. “I’ve found the rake!” Benny cried. “I’m all ready to help you, Henry.”
Violet carried her tools to the front yard. She decided to work on the plants closest to the porch first. She knelt down and began to dig. She could hear Josh talking on his cell phone inside the house. His voice got louder as he came closer to the screen door on the porch.
“Yes,” Josh said. “Mr. Hudson will have to lower the price now. Who will want to buy a house that has a vampire in the backyard?”
Then he laughed. “No,” he said. “I don’t really believe in vampires. But this is working out very well for us. When Mr. Hudson comes back from his trip, I will convince him that he should offer his house for much less money. Then you can buy it.”
Violet stood up. What was Josh talking about?
“Violet!” Josh said. He quickly flipped his cell phone closed. “I didn’t see you there! He walked out onto the porch.
“I’m sorry,” Violet said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was replanting the flowers.”
Josh stuck his hands deep into his pockets. He looked around the corner of the house. “Are the others still out back?” he asked.
“Yes,” Violet said.
“You shouldn’t sneak around like that,” Josh said. “Especially not with all the things that are going on around here.”
“I wasn’t sneaking,” Violet tried to explain, but Josh’s cell phone buzzed.
He looked at the number on the screen, but he did not answer it. He rubbed his stomach instead. “I am so hungry,” he said. “I think I will walk over to the diner for a sandwich.”
Henry pushed the lawn mower to the front yard. Benny pulled the rake behind him.
“This is going to be fun!” Benny said. “I wish there was a yard full of leaves for me to rake. Then I could make a big pile and jump in it.”
“You’ll have to wait a few weeks for the leaves to fall,” Henry said.
“I’m going to ask Mr. Hudson if I can come back then and rake for him,” Benny said.
Henry smiled. “I’m sure he would like that. But maybe he will have sold his house by then.”
Violet was about to tell Henry about the person Josh had been speaking to on his cell phone. But just then Henry pulled the cord on the lawn mower. It roared to life.
“Sorry for the noise, Violet!” Henry shouted. “I will try to stay away from the flowers!”
Jessie had gone into the house and found a bucket and a scrub brush. A bottle of cleaner was under the kitchen sink. She filled the bucket with hot soapy water. Then she set to work trying to clean the red words from the porch.
Violet carefully placed the flowers back into the garden. Some of their stems were broken. It made her sad. She smoothed the loose dirt around each plant. Then she found a watering can in the shed and gave each plant a drink. She worked so hard that she forgot all about the conversation that she had overheard.
Mrs. Fairfax came out on her front porch every once in a while. She watched the Aldens with a wary look on her face. But the children were careful not to make too much noise and to stay off Mrs. Fairfax’s property.
“There,” Henry said, brushing loose grass from his jeans. “I think the house looks fine now.”
“I don’t know, Henry.” Jessie shook her head. “The lawn looks nice and the flowers are beautiful. But I could not wash the letters off completely. If you look closely, you can still read what it says.”
Henry walked up the steps to the porch. “I see what you mean. The porch might need to be repainted.”
“We could never do that in time. The buyers will be here soon.” Jessie sighed.
“I know what we can do!” Benny flung the door open and ran into the house. He returned a minute later. “How about this?” he asked. He held up a small rug.
“Great thinking, Benny!” Henry said.
“I remembered that it was in the kitchen by the sink,” Benny said. “It will look nice out here, too.”
Jessie took the rug and spread it in front of the porch door. “It doesn’t cover everything,” she said. “But it is a big improvement. Way to go, Benny.”
Jessie locked the door and put the key back under the pot in the shed. Henry tied the bag of grass clippings and walked it to the curb.
“Isn’t this Josh’s car?” Henry asked.
“Yes,” Violet answered. “Josh hasn’t left yet. He walked to the diner for a sandwich about a half an hour ago.”
“What’s that in the back seat?” asked Benny.
The windows were up, but the Aldens could see something large in the back of Josh’s car. Most of it was covered with a blanket. But two black metal stakes poked out from beneath the covering.
“It looks like a ‘For Sale’ sign is under that blanket,” Jessie said.
The Aldens were puzzled.
“I thought Josh said he didn’t have any more signs left,” said
Henry.
“It could be for a different house,” Violet said. “I’m sure Josh has more than one house to sell. Or maybe it is a ‘For Rent’ sign for an apartment.”
“You could be right, Violet,” said Jessie.
Just then Josh came hurrying up the street. “What are you kids doing?” he called crossly. Josh quickly stood in front of his car with his hands on his hips.
“We’re only putting the trash bag to the curb,” Benny said. “Look at the lawn. Don’t you think it looks good? I raked it!”
Josh’s face relaxed. “Yes, Benny,” he said. “Everything looks very nice again. Thank you. The Bensons should be here soon.”
Jessie decided not to tell Josh about the red letters that did not wash off the porch. He still seemed too upset. He leaned back against his car and crossed his arms. His foot tapped nervously against the curb. And maybe Josh and the Bensons would not notice the few faint words that were not covered up by the rug.
The Aldens said goodbye to Josh and headed home.
CHAPTER 7
Three Suspects
Grandfather arrived for dinner just as Mrs. McGregor was setting a pot roast on the table.
“Smells great!” Grandfather said. “I’m sorry I’m late. My meeting lasted longer than I had thought.”
Just then, there was a loud clap of thunder, and the lights flickered off and on for a minute. Rain drummed against the side of the house. The children quickly closed all the windows.
“You got home just in time, Grandfather.” Violet spread her napkin on her lap. “One moment later and you would have been caught in the storm.”
“That’s true. My timing was perfect.” Grandfather smiled. “I’m glad my grandchildren are not out in this storm.”
During dinner, the children told Grandfather about the vandalism at Mr. Hudson’s home and the work that they had done to clean it up.
“That was very kind of you,” Grandfather said. “I wonder who would do such a thing?”
“We’ve been wondering the same thing, Grandfather,” said Henry.
Jessie spooned some warm applesauce onto Benny’s plate. “We think that whoever it is does not want Mr. Hudson to sell his house.”
Violet was thinking hard. She’d heard Josh on the phone the day before. She knew he had said something about selling the house. But she couldn’t remember what he’d said.
Grandfather shook his head. “I suppose the vandalism is why Mr. Hudson cut short his business trip.”
“Mr. Hudson is home?” asked Henry. “I thought so.” Grandfather passed the mashed potatoes to Benny. “But I could be wrong. Driving home this evening, I thought I saw Mr. Hudson walking down the street near the library. I called out to him, but he turned a corner and disappeared.”
After dinner, Grandfather went into his study to make some phone calls. Mrs. McGregor brought out an iced lemon cake and four plates.
“You brought home the lemon cake from the bake sale?” Benny clapped his hands.
“No, Benny,” Mrs. McGregor replied. “Someone bought that cake and donated twenty dollars to the library for it.”
“Twenty dollars! That must have been the biggest donation at the bake sale!” Violet smiled at Mrs. McGregor.
Mrs. McGregor’s face flushed red with pride. “I don’t know about that,” she said.
“I don’t think twenty dollars is enough.” Benny held out his empty plate. “I would pay one hundred dollars for your lemon cake!”
“That’s why I made another one for you when I came home.” Mrs. McGregor laughed. “And I’ll even waive the hundred–dollar fee!”
The Aldens each ate a big slice of the good cake.
“Do you think the man that Grandfather saw today was Mr. Hudson?” asked Violet.
“I don’t know,” Henry said. “If it was Mr. Hudson, why didn’t he say hello when Grandfather called out to him?”
“Maybe he didn’t hear Grandfather,” said Jessie.
“I thought I saw Mr. Hudson, too,” said Benny. “But now I know it wasn’t him.”
“How do you know? “Jessie refilled Benny’s glass with milk.
“The man I saw did not dress like Mr. Hudson. His clothes were old and not very clean. There was dirt on them and even some stains that looked like oil.”
Violet tapped her fork on the table, thinking. “You’re probably right, Benny. Mr. Hudson seems to be a very neat person. I don’t think he would wear dirty clothes.”
Benny took a big gulp of milk. “He did look like Mr. Hudson, but it was probably just his white hair and mustache that confused me.”
“I wonder if the Bensons showed up to look at the house this afternoon,” Jessie said.
Benny wiped away his milk mustache. “I hope that Josh didn’t say anything about vampires to them.”
“Josh wouldn’t do that,” Henry said. “Not if he wants to sell the house for Mr. Hudson. Doesn’t he want everyone to be interested in buying it?”
This reminded Violet of something. Something important. Suddenly she remembered what Josh had said on the phone. “Maybe he doesn’t!” Violet said.
Henry, Jessie, and Benny looked very surprised.
“Why not, Violet?” asked Jessie. “Selling the house is Josh’s job.”
At last Violet told the others about the conversation she had overheard. “He told the person on the phone that everything was working out well. When Mr. Hudson came back from his trip, Josh would convince him to lower the price for the house.”
“That is very suspicious,” Henry admitted.
Jessie crossed her arms. “And Josh did act strange when he noticed us standing next to his car.”
“He knows all about the legend of the vampire,” Benny added. “Remember how he told us the whole story?”
“Maybe Josh is behind the vandalism,” Henry said. “He could be using scenes from the book to scare people away. If no one wants to buy the house, Mr. Hudson will have to offer it for a very low price.”
Violet nodded. “And the person who Josh was speaking to on the phone would get a great house for not much money. That would be so unfair!”
“Maybe if we read Mr. Hudson’s book, we can find more clues to this mystery,” Henry said. “We might be able to find out what Josh will be up to next.”
“If it is Josh, that is,” Jessie added. “But what if it’s Mrs. Fairfax? She doesn’t want the house sold either. And since she lives next door, it would be easy for her to cause the damage and sneak back home.”
“That’s true.” Violet folded her napkin. “And Mrs. Fairfax always hears us when we are at Mr. Hudson’s house. Don’t you think she would have heard the person who broke the flowerpots and wrote on the porch?”
“There is another suspect as well,” Henry said. “We shouldn’t forget about the man who ran into Benny at the library fair.”
“But what could he have to do with it?” asked Benny.
Henry looked thoughtful. “I don’t really know. But it is suspicious that he ran away from you when you called him by Mr. Hudson’s name. And don’t forget that he had your library book. He must have taken it from your backpack at Mr. Hudson’s while we were inside having lunch.”
“The book! It’s gone again! I can’t believe it!” Benny slapped the side of his head.
“What’s wrong?” asked Jessie.
“I left it on the kitchen table at Mr. Hudson’s house. I set it down there so I could pull up the rug to use to cover the words written on the front porch. Afterwards, I forgot to go back inside for the book.”
Henry laughed. “I think there is something mysterious about that book. It never stays in the same place.”
“Can we go get it?” asked Benny.
“I suppose we can,” said Henry. “But it will be dark soon. We can’t ride our bikes.”
Violet looked out the window. “The rain seems to have stopped.”
The children cleaned up their dessert plates and put the cake away. They each found a flashlight to take
on their nighttime walk. The air was slightly cool and the storm clouds were moving away. A round, full moon shone over Greenfield.
CHAPTER 8
Intruder
“What’s that?” Violet asked as the children walked up Whittaker Street. “Did you see that light in Mr. Hudson’s house?
The others had not seen it. “Maybe it was the moon shining on the window glass,” Jessie suggested.
Violet was not so sure. But now the light was gone.
The rain had made the ground wet and muddy. The children’s shoes squished in the lawn as they made their way toward the shed to retrieve the key to the house.
They each flicked on their flashlights. Jessie shone her beam on the shed door. Henry lifted the latch and the door squeaked open. The four Aldens stepped into the dark shed.
“Careful,” Jessie warned. “Don’t trip over the bicycle again.”
“That’s odd.” Henry pointed his flashlight at the bike. “Didn’t we move the bike to the left side of the shed today?”
“We did,” Jessie agreed.
“Well, now it is on the right side of the shed.”
Benny stood beside the bike. “And it’s wet!” He shone his flashlight on the roof above the bike. “Even though there aren’t any leaks in the roof.”
“Someone has been riding this bike.” Henry ran his hand over the dripping handlebars.
Violet walked over to look at the bike, but stumbled over an old suitcase. “What is this doing in the middle of the floor?”
“A suitcase?” Benny grabbed the handle and moved the suitcase against the wall. It was heavy. “Wouldn’t Mr. Hudson have taken his suitcase with him when he went on his trip?”
“It looks old,” Henry said. “Maybe Mr. Hudson has a newer one that he uses.”
Jessie shone her light on the flowerpot. She lifted it up. “It’s gone!” she cried. “The key is not here. I know I put it right back under this pot before we left this afternoon.”
“Are you sure?” Henry felt around on a lower shelf. “Maybe it fell down here.”
Violet and Benny searched the floor.
“I’m positive,” Jessie said. “Someone has taken it!”
The Aldens hurried from the shed. They quickly shut and latched the door and ran to the front of the house.