Vampire Mystery (2 page)

“Yes, Benny. That’s the one. It became a popular book. It has been so popular that I am hoping to convince a producer to turn my book into a movie.”

“How exciting,” said Jessie. “Would it be filmed here in Greenfield?”

Mr. Hudson refilled Benny’s bowl with chowder. “I had hoped so,” Mr. Hudson said. “I was supposed to go out of town to meet with some people to discuss the project. But with the house for sale, I’m not sure that I can leave just now. There’s no one to look after the place while I’m away.”

“We would be happy to do it,” Henry offered.

“Yes,” Jessie added. “We could check on it every day if you like.”

“Are you sure?” Mr. Hudson asked. “You really wouldn’t mind? I would be happy to pay you.”

“We’re sure,” Violet said. “And you don’t have to pay us anything. We can ride our bikes over. I’ll water the flowers out front in the garden.”

“And I can cut the lawn,” Henry said.

“Benny and I will sweep the porch and dust the furniture for you,” Jessie said.

Grandfather smiled. “My grandchildren are very helpful.”

“I can see that,” Mr. Hudson said. “And I’m very grateful. Now I can go away without worrying that I might lose a sale because the house is not in good shape.”

After Grandfather left to attend a business meeting, Mr. Hudson walked with the Aldens to the back of the house. He opened the door to the shed. “The lawn mower is a little old,” he said to Henry. “Sometimes it acts up.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Hudson,” Jessie said. “Henry is very good with motors and with fixing things.”

The shed was large, but dark. Mr. Hudson called the children over to the corner. He lifted a clay flowerpot from a wooden shelf. “This is where I keep a spare key to the house,” he said. “It will be right here under this pot whenever you need to get inside.”

“Wow, this is a cool bike,” Violet said, running her hand over the shiny front fender of an old-fashioned blue bicycle.

Violet admiring old bicycle.

“Yes,” said Mr. Hudson. “It is very old, but I like to keep it in good shape. It belongs to my brother. It’s odd, though. I thought that I had stored the bicycle in the back of the shed. I wonder how it got up here?”

“Does your brother live nearby?” asked Benny.

Mr. Hudson dropped his hands into his pockets. He looked at the ground for a few moments before answering. “No. I’m sorry to say that my brother and I had a fight a long time ago when we were younger. My brother left town and I never heard from him again. It was a silly fight. I don’t even remember what it was about anymore. It happened over forty years ago.”

Suddenly, everyone heard loud shouts coming from the front of the house. They ran from the shed. An older woman was pointing at the Aldens’ bicycles and calling out for Mr. Hudson.

“Look at this!” she cried. “Bicycles are blocking the sidewalk! How am I supposed to get my shopping cart past? I think I hurt my ankle on this one.” Mrs. Fairfax pointed at Benny’s small bike.

“Hold on, Martha,” Mr. Hudson said. “We’ll get them out of your way.”

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny quickly moved their bicycles onto the lawn. Mrs. Fairfax glared at them.

“We’re so sorry,” Jessie said. “It was careless of us to leave our bikes there. We hope your ankle doesn’t hurt too badly.”

“Children are always careless!” Mrs. Fairfax said. “These children aren’t moving in here, are they, Charles?” she asked.

“These are the Aldens,” Mr. Hudson said. “They are the grandchildren of James Alden, an old friend of mine. They will be looking after my house while I am away on business.”

Mrs. Fairfax pushed her glasses up on her nose and stared at each of the Aldens. “Well, you better make sure they don’t leave their things lying around in my way.”

“We won’t do that, Mrs. Fairfax,” Henry promised.

Mrs. Fairfax marched up the sidewalk and into her home.

Mr. Hudson sighed. “I’m sorry about that, children,” he said. “Mrs. Fairfax is not a bad lady. She was a good friend of my brother’s and has lived next door to me for fifty years. But she is worried that I might sell my home to a noisy family with lots of children and barking dogs. She likes her peace and quiet.”

“We’ll park our bikes behind the house from now on,” Henry said. “We should never have left them on the sidewalk.”

The four Aldens said goodbye to Mr. Hudson. As they pedaled toward home, they saw Mrs. Fairfax staring at them from the front window of her house.

After dinner, the Aldens each took a slice of Mrs. McGregor’s apple pie and headed outside to the front porch. Watch, their wire-haired terrier, raced outdoors with them.

“How did the smallest Alden end up with the biggest piece of pie?” asked Henry.

Benny, his cheeks stuffed with the delicious dessert, shrugged his shoulders.

“Henry,” asked Violet, “what do you really think about the vampire story? It seems like Mr. Hudson did see something in the cemetery that scared him.”

“I’m sure the vampire’s not real, Violet. But something odd does seem to be going on at Mr. Hudson’s house.”

“Yes,” said Jessie. “Why would someone steal the ‘For Sale’ sign on his front lawn?”

“I’m not sure,” said Henry. “Maybe it was just a joke.”

Violet shook her head. “Josh certainly wasn’t laughing.”

“No,” Jessie replied. “And Josh seemed really upset by the vampire story. I wish we knew a little more about that legend. It might help us to solve the mystery of what is going on at Mr. Hudson’s house.”

Benny jumped from his chair and dashed into the house. He returned with his backpack. Watch barked excitedly.

“Benny, what are you doing?” asked Jessie.

“It’s a clue!” Benny replied. “The book I got at the library yesterday that Mr. Hudson wrote. I put it in my backpack.”

“That’s right, Benny!” Henry said. “I had forgotten about
The Legend of the Vampire
.”

“And didn’t Mr. Hudson say that he based his book on the old vampire legend?” asked Violet.

“Yes, he did,” said Jessie. “Good work, Benny.”

Benny reached into his backpack. A funny look came over his face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jessie.

“I know I put the book in my backpack,” he said. “But now it’s not here.”

“Maybe you took it out when you got home,” suggested Violet.

“No, I’m sure I didn’t,” Benny said.

“Could it have fallen out?” asked Jessie.

“I don’t think so,” Benny said. “There are no holes in my backpack. But maybe I didn’t zip it closed all the way.”

“We should ride our bikes back to the library and to Mr. Hudson’s,” Henry suggested. “We can look along the streets to check if the book fell out.”

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny strapped on their helmets and rode to the library. It was almost closing time.

“Hello, children,” said Mrs. Skylar. “The library will be closing in about ten minutes. Can I help you find something?”

“No, thank you, Mrs. Skylar,” said Henry. “We were wondering if anyone turned in
The Legend of the Vampire
.”

Mrs. Skylar went to her computer and clicked the keys. “No,” she said. “The computer shows that it was checked out this morning by Benny. Did something happen to the book?”

“We seem to have misplaced it,” said Jessie. “But I’m sure we’ll find it soon.”

“I hope so,” said Mrs. Skylar. “Good luck.”

“Don’t look so sad, Benny,” said Jessie. “We still might find the book outside Mr. Hudson’s house.”

The four Aldens rode quickly through Greenfield until they arrived at Whittaker Street. It was still light out, but the sun was beginning to set behind Mr. Hudson’s house.

The woods and the cemetery were full of shadows.

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny spread out and searched the sidewalk and the lawn. There was no sign of the book.

“Maybe Mr. Hudson found it already,” Violet suggested. “He might have the book inside.”

Henry knocked on the door, but no one answered. It was very quiet.

Suddenly, a loud clatter came from the side yard. The children ran to the edge of the porch. Their bicycles were lying in a heap on the ground.

“That’s odd,” said Henry.

“Maybe it was the wind,” Violet suggested.

Benny jumped over the porch rail and picked up his bike. “It’s not very windy.” Something caught his eye and he pointed toward the cemetery. “Look!”

“What do you see?” asked Jessie.

But whatever it was, it was gone.

“I don’t know,” Benny said. “I thought I saw someone in a dark cape running. But I guess it was just a shadow.”

“We should get home,” Henry said. “Grandfather doesn’t like us riding our bikes in the dark. And it is getting late.”

“But what about the book?” asked Benny. “We still haven’t found it.”

“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.”

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.”