Tattletale Mystery (9 page)

“But then you wrote a message on the back of the sketch,” guessed Violet, “and you folded it into a paper airplane. Right?”

“Right.” Mrs. Turner nodded. “I was planning to leave the message somewhere in the house that day. But you kids were flying paper airplanes in the backyard. On a whim, I sent the message to you like that.” The waitress looked over at Mrs. Spencer. “I’m afraid it’s true. I planted the snapdragon in your garden when you were out one day. I sent the coded message in the mail. And I tucked that bookmark inside your book one afternoon in the park.” She sighed deeply. “The bookmark was one Milly made for me on my birthday.”

“Then you wanted it to look like Milly was doing all these things?” Mrs. Spencer asked, disbelieving.

Nodding, Mrs. Turner lowered her eyes. “I didn’t want anyone to suspect I was the Tattletale. And yet ... I had to let somebody know about Jem and Margaret. So what else could I do?” She didn’t look as if she expected an answer.

“How did you know what they were up to?” asked Rachel.

“They were in here planning the whole thing over lunch. I heard every word. But I really didn’t think they’d go through with it. Later, I found out Margaret had won the art contest and I knew they’d carried out their plan.”

After a moment’s stunned silence, Edmund said, “Why didn’t you just tell someone about it? Why all the elaborate clues?”

“When you’re a waitress, you overhear things,” Mrs. Turner confided. “You really can’t help it, you know. I think my customers forget I have ears.” She paused for a moment. “When I first started working here, I didn’t know how to hold my tongue. I’m afraid I had a reputation for being a gossip.”

The children looked surprised to hear this.

Mrs. Turner went on, “It wasn’t long before my customers were calling me Turner the Tattletale. Oh, it took me years to live that down! After that, I promised myself that never again would I repeat something I overheard.”

The Aldens nodded as they began to understand. Nobody liked being called names.

Benny looked puzzled. “But, Mrs. Turner, why did you use that name when you signed the messages? If you didn’t like being called a tattletale, I mean.”

“I was telling secrets about people again, Benny.” A sad smile crossed Mrs. Turner’s face. “The name just seemed to fit.”

“But you couldn’t just stand by and let Milly’s paintings be sold,” insisted Janice.

“Sometimes being a tattletale isn’t such a bad thing,” Violet added softly. “Not if you know somebody’s doing something wrong.”

Mrs. Turner nodded, but she looked troubled. “Still ... I hope you won’t mention my role in all of this,” she said. “You see, I don’t want to hear that name Turner the Tattletale again. Not ever!”

“You did everyone a great service, Mrs. Turner,” Grandfather said, speaking for them all. “Your secret’s safe with us.”

Mrs. Turner looked relieved.

“And I’ll return that bookmark,” Mrs. Spencer told her. “After all, it was a gift from Milly.”

Edmund took a napkin from the dispenser. “I wish I’d known Milly Manchester,” he said. “She must’ve been a remarkable person to make such an impression on so many people.”

Mrs. Spencer nodded. “She was one of a kind.”

“Milly followed her dream, and she never let anything stand in her way” Rachel commented thoughtfully Then suddenly she turned to her mother. Taking a deep breath, she said, “If that offer’s still open, I just might take you up on it and move back home for a while.”

“Oh, you’ll make a wonderful nurse, Rachel!” Mrs. Spencer looked close to tears. She reached out and gave her daughter’s hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s never too late to follow your dreams.”

For a moment, nobody said a word. Then Edmund spoke up. “I think this calls for a celebration. How about dessert all around?” he suggested. “Any takers?”

“It just so happens I make a great chocolate sundae,” put in Mrs. Turner.

Benny grinned. “With extra sprinkles?”

“You’d better believe it!” answered Mrs. Turner.

“I bet that’s why Mona Lisa was smiling,” said Benny. “I bet she was thinking about a chocolate sundae with —”

“Extra sprinkles!” everyone finished in unison.

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
YSTERY

T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING

T
HE
A
MUSEMENT
P
ARK
M
YSTERY

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

T
HE
C
AMP
-O
UT
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
G
IRL

T
HE
M
YSTERY
C
RUISE

T
HE
D
ISAPPEARING
F
RIEND
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
INGING
G
HOST

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
NOW

T
HE
P
IZZA
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
H
ORSE

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
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

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
F
AIR

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
OST
M
INE

T
HE
G
UIDE
D
OG
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
URRICANE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
P
ET
S
HOP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
ECRET
M
ESSAGE

T
HE
F
IREHOUSE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN
S
AN
F
RANCISCO

T
HE
N
IAGARA
F
ALLS
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
A
LAMO

T
HE
O
UTER
S
PACE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
S
OCCER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN THE
O
LD
A
TTIC

T
HE
G
ROWLING
B
EAR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
AKE
M
ONSTER

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT
P
EACOCK
H
ALL

T
HE
W
INDY
C
ITY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
B
LACK
P
EARL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
C
EREAL
B
OX
M
YSTERY

T
HE
P
ANTHER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
Q
UEEN’S
J
EWELS

T
HE
S
TOLEN
S
WORD
M
YSTERY

T
HE
B
ASKETBALL
M
YSTERY