Great Turkey Heist (9 page)

Jessie shook her head. “We think we know where the sign is,” she said. “We are on our way there now.”

Henry locked the door and everyone headed down Chestnut Street. When they were still a block away, they saw something strange. Ms. Sweeney, the reporter, was outside taking pictures. Tom the turkey was sitting on the roof of Green Fields restaurant!

“What is he doing up there?” Benny asked excitedly.

The children and Mr. Higgins rushed inside the restaurant. Mr. Grayson and Ms. Matthews were sitting at a table, but for once they were not fighting. Grandfather was there, as well.

Violet noticed that the chairs had green leaves painted on the sides. She remembered that the chair she had seen outside the theater had the same design.

Benny ran up to Mr. Grayson. “Tom the turkey is on your roof!” he cried.

“Mr. Grayson already knows that,” Jessie said. “Because he was the one who put Tom the turkey on the roof.”

Mr. Grayson’s face turned red. “You are right, Jessie.”

“But why would you steal the turkey?” Benny asked. “He was supposed to show everyone where the food pantry was. We have been trying to find him for days!”

“I know. I’m sorry, Benny. I did not mean to upset you. I did not steal the turkey sign first. Someone else did. But I found it in the alley behind Mr. Higgins’s grocery store. I wrapped it up in plastic and snuck it to my house. Ms. Matthews saw me carrying the package.”

“I was very suspicious,” Ms. Matthews said. “But I did not know that it was the turkey sign. You hid it very well in that plastic wrapping.”

“You should have given it back,” Benny said.

“I should have, Benny. But I will tell you why I did not. I kept it to help the food pantry. I wanted everyone to know that Greenfield had a food pantry. I called the newspaper to tell them about the missing turkey sign. The next day, the news about the food pantry was on the front page! I wanted more stories about the food pantry. If the turkey stayed missing, there would be more news stories.”

“You snuck into the theater, too.” Jessie said. “You are the one who ran with the turkey across the movie screen and across the football field.”

“I did,” Mr. Grayson said. “The first day, I needed to check to make sure that there was a door in the theater that I could use to escape without being seen. I had to run fast because Benny saw me from the small window in the projection room.”

Violet pointed to the chair that Mr. Grayson was sitting in. “You used one of the chairs from your restaurant to hold the door shut. That is why we could not catch you the night of the movie.”

“I almost did not get the door shut in time,” Mr. Grayson said. “It’s a good thing I had help.”

Noreen had brought in a tray of sandwiches and drinks. “Sorry, kids,” she said. “But it was all for a good cause.”

“It
was
for a good cause,” Mr. Grayson said. “Because now everyone in Greenfield knows that Violet’s beautiful turkey sign is for the food pantry. When we put it back outside the alley, no one will ever have trouble finding the food pantry again.”

“You sure can run fast with Tom the turkey,” Benny said. “I could not catch you. But at least I got to run on the football field.”

Mr. Grayson turned to Grandfather. “Your grandchildren are not only helpful, they are very good at solving mysteries, as well.”

“What happened to the money that was stolen from Mr. Tipton’s office at the movie theater?” asked Henry.

“It wasn’t
really
stolen,” Mr. Grayson said. “I still have it. I am going to use it tomorrow to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for the food pantry from Mr. Higgins’s grocery store. I am sorry about making a mess in Mr. Tipton’s office. I thought it would make the newspaper story more interesting. ”

“I would like to help,” Mr. Higgins said. “I know many things about how to run a store. I would be proud to be a part of the food pantry. And I feel very bad about some of the things I have done.” Mr. Higgins told Mr. Grayson what he had confessed to the children. “I want to make it up to you.”

“That would be wonderful,” Mr. Grayson said. “Thank you.”

Ms. Matthews stood up. “I need to get back to my restaurant,” she said. “There is a lot of work to do. A lot of people have made reservations for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. But I will be back to help here when I am done. I also want to do my part to help the needy.”

“So you are not angry about the food pantry anymore?” asked Jessie.

Ms. Matthews smiled. “No. But I was right about Mr. Grayson. He certainly is sneaky. I think he should have let us know what he was doing. We all could have helped him. And I would not have been so suspicious. But it was for a good cause. So I am not angry. I know now that he is a good man. I hope we will be neighbors for a long time. Green Fields is giving a free Thanksgiving dinner to the needy tonight. But Harvest Restaurant will also be full of customers. There is room enough for two good restaurants in Greenfield.”

Later that night after all the food was cooked, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny helped to serve all the people who had come to Green Fields restaurant for the free Thanksgiving meal. It was hard work, but they were glad to do it. They were thankful that they lived with Grandfather, that Mrs. McGregor cooked good meals for them every day, and that they had made wonderful friends in Greenfield. They were happy that so many hungry people had a good Thanksgiving meal at the restaurant.

After all the dishes had been cleaned up and all the guests went home, Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, Grandfather, Mr. Grayson, Noreen, and Ms. Matthews sat down to eat their Thanksgiving meal. The food was delicious. Afterward, they ate more of Mrs. McGregor’s pumpkin pie.

“I can’t eat another bite,” said Mr. Grayson. “I am stuffed.”

“Me, too,” said Ms. Matthews.

Benny finished up his second piece of pie. “Listen, everyone!” he said.

The table became very quiet. Everyone listened.

“I don’t hear anything,” Grandfather finally said.

“Neither do I,” said Henry.

“I know!” cried Benny. “I don’t hear anything either. My stomach has finally stopped growling!”

Everyone laughed.

“It is a good feeling to know that no one in Greenfield will have to have a growling stomach tonight,” Ms. Matthews said. She raised her glass to toast Mr. Grayson.

“Thank you,” Mr. Grayson said. “But I could never have done it without the Aldens.”

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were very tired. Their arms ached from all the platters of food they had carried out of the kitchen all night long. But they had helped to feed many hungry people. They raised their glasses of apple cider.

“To our best Thanksgiving ever,” Henry said.

Jessie, Violet, and Benny smiled and clinked their glasses with Henry’s. “To our best Thanksgiving ever!”

G
ERTRUDE
C
HANDLER
W
ARNER
discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book,
The Boxcar Children,
quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car — the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible — something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

T
HE
B
OXCAR
C
HILDREN

S
URPRISE
I
SLAND

T
HE
Y
ELLOW
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY
R
ANCH

M
IKE’S
M
YSTERY

B
LUE
B
AY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
W
OODSHED
M
YSTERY

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
M
YSTERY

M
OUNTAIN
T
OP
M
YSTERY

S
CHOOLHOUSE
M
YSTERY

C
ABOOSE
M
YSTERY

H
OUSEBOAT
M
YSTERY

S
NOWBOUND
M
YSTERY

T
REE
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

B
ICYCLE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
AND

M
YSTERY
B
EHIND
THE
W
ALL

B
US
S
TATION
M
YSTERY

B
ENNY
U
NCOVERS
A
M
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T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
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T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
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T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
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T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
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T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING

T
HE
A
MUSEMENT
P
ARK
M
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T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
IXED
-U
P
Z
OO

T
HE
C
AMP
-O
UT
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
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G
IRL

T
HE
M
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C
RUISE

T
HE
D
ISAPPEARING
F
RIEND
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
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S
INGING
G
HOST

M
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S
NOW

T
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P
IZZA
M
YSTERY

T
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M
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H
ORSE

T
HE
M
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D
OG
S
HOW

T
HE
C
ASTLE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
OST
V
ILLAGE

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON THE
I
CE

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
P
URPLE
P
OOL

T
HE
G
HOST
S
HIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN
W
ASHINGTON
, DC

T
HE
C
ANOE
T
RIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
B
EACH

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
ISSING
C
AT

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT
S
NOWFLAKE
I
NN

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON
S
TAGE

T
HE
D
INOSAUR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
TOLEN
M
USIC

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
B
ALL
P
ARK

T
HE
C
HOCOLATE
S
UNDAE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
OT
A
IR
B
ALLOON

T
HE
M
YSTERY
B
OOKSTORE

T
HE
P
ILGRIM
V
ILLAGE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
TOLEN
B
OXCAR

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN THE
C
AVE

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON THE
T
RAIN