“What are you looking at?” a voice asked.
It was Aunt Jane.
“We keep seeing that man,” Henry explained. “We’ve been thinking he might have something to do with the trouble.”
Aunt Jane looked around. “What man?”
Jessie said, “He’s over there.”
But he wasn’t. He had disappeared again.
“You children shouldn’t worry about these things,” Aunt Jane said. “Let Charlie and the other fishermen take care of it.”
“But we’re very good detectives,” Benny said. “We’ve had lots of experience.”
“Even detectives need time off, Benny,” Aunt Jane said. She held up a bag. “I’ve brought lunch,” she told them.
After the morning’s fishing, they were all hungry.
“Where’s Uncle Andy?” Jessie asked.
“Working,” she answered. “After lunch, we’ll take the ferry to Sausalito. Uncle Andy will meet us there later, and we’ll drive home across the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Jessie was especially happy to hear that. “Sounds great!” she said.
“There’s Kate!” Henry said.
Waving, Kate headed their way.
“Let’s ask her if she wants to go to Sausalito with us,” Aunt Jane suggested. The Aldens liked that idea.
Kate couldn’t go. “I have studying to do,” she said. “But I have an invitation for you. Charlie wants you to come fishing tomorrow. He feels you were cheated today because of the trouble.”
“May we go, Aunt Jane?” Jessie asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Aunt Jane said.
“And you can stay with me again,” Kate said.
“Oh, but if you have studying to do . . .” Aunt Jane objected.
“I have all afternoon to study,” Kate assured her.
“Well, okay, then. It’s nice of you to ask, Kate,” Aunt Jane said.
Benny hopped on one foot. “Oh, good! We can stay!”
“I’ll meet you back here later,” Kate said, and hurried away
Aunt Jane and the children found a bench near the water. They ate peanut butter sandwiches, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and milk. Terns and gulls hovered overhead. When Benny dropped a bit of bread, one swooped in and caught it before it touched the ground.
Violet squinted, looking across the water. “Where is Sausalito?”
Aunt Jane pointed out a hill across the bay. “It’s only a twenty-minute ferry ride,” she said.
Henry collected the trash and dropped it into a can. “Are we ready?” he asked.
They walked along the waterfront to the ferry landing. “Looks like we just missed a ferry,” Jessie said.
“They run often,” Aunt Jane told her.
Waiting there, where the scenery was so beautiful, did not seem like waiting at all. Before long, a line formed behind them. Soon another boat was ready to make the trip.
Benny was the first down the long ramp. “Can we go to the top?” he asked.
“You children run along,” Aunt Jane said. “I’m going to stay inside out of the wind.”
The children clambered up the narrow stairway. “Be careful,” Aunt Jane called after them.
They took positions along the upper rail. As they cruised across the bay, Violet pointed out a small island. Atop it was a big building. “What’s that?” she asked.
“Alcatraz,” Henry told her.
“What a funny name,” Benny said.
Henry had read about the island. He knew its history. “In the beginning, no one lived there but pelicans.”
“Look!” Violet said. “There’re some now!” Sure enough, squat, brown pelicans floated nearby.
“That’s how it got its name,” Henry continued. “Alcatraces means ‘pelicans’ in Spanish. A long time ago, soldiers were stationed there. Later, it became a prison.”
Benny pulled his jacket tight around him. “A cold and windy prison,” he said.
Jessie pointed to a hill ahead. There were colorful houses on its steep slope. “That must be Sausalito,” she said.
The ferry nosed into the dock. Aunt Jane was waiting on the lower deck. They all followed the crowd onto the ramp. People were lined up, waiting for the return trip.
“There’s Uncle Andy!” Aunt Jane said. “He must have finished his work early.” She went on ahead to meet her husband.
Violet noticed a man and woman huddled together talking. She poked Henry. “There’s that strange man again,” she whispered.
“And there’s Kate!” Benny blurted. He was so surprised to see Kate in a yellow slicker, he didn’t think to keep his voice quiet.
Jessie studied the two people. The girl had her hood up and was turned away. Jessie couldn’t tell whether or not it was Kate. But she was sure the man was the one they kept seeing on Fisherman’s Wharf.
“I’m going to try to get a look at that woman,” Henry said. He threaded his way through the crowd. But it was too late. The woman and the man had already boarded the ferry.
“That was Kate, all right,” Benny said.
“We can’t be certain, Benny,” Jessica said.
“She said she was going to study,” Violet reminded her little brother.
“Suppose it was Kate,” Henry said. “Why would she be meeting that man?”
“Maybe she and the man are causing all the trouble,” Benny suggested. “They met to plan more bad stuff.”
“But why would she meet him here?” Jessie wondered aloud. “She knew we were coming.”
Uncle Andy waved and called to them. “Hurry up, slowpokes!”
The Aldens quickened their pace. “Let’s give this some thought,” Henry said. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Uncle Andy and Aunt Jane led them to the main street. “This street is called Bridgeway,” Uncle Andy said.
Lots of interesting shops were clustered along one side. Across the way, two elephant statues marked the entrance to a park. Beyond, yachts rocked in the blue waters of the marina.
“What does Sausalito mean?” Violet asked.
“Sauces in Spanish means ‘willow trees,’ ” Uncle Andy explained.
“And lito means ‘little,’ ” Henry said.
Benny looked around. “I don’t see any willow trees,” he said.
Uncle Andy laughed. “They must be here somewhere.”
After a while, Benny said, “All this walking makes me — ”
“Hungry,” everyone else finished.
“Then it’s time to go back,” Aunt Jane said.
Uncle Andy led them to his car. “I thought you might like to eat dinner at Vito’s.”
“Vito’s Vittles,” Benny said, chuckling to himself.
Uncle Andy drove out of Sausalito to the main road. They rode through a tunnel and then they were on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Jessie didn’t know where to look. To the west, the sun spread a golden path on the water. To the east, San Francisco was outlined against the brilliant sky. Straight ahead, the orange towers of the bridge rose high above them.
“Well, Jessie,” Uncle Andy asked, “is it what you expected?”
“Much more,” Jessie answered.
Back at the wharf, they parked and headed toward the restaurant.
On their way, they passed the docks. Kate and Charlie were on Charlie’s Chum. Kate was not wearing a yellow slicker.
“How about dinner?” Uncle Andy called to them.
Charlie said, “Not tonight, thanks.”
“I’d better help Charlie,” Kate said.
But Charlie wouldn’t hear of it. “You go along. I’m about finished here.”
Kate joined them. “I am hungry,” she said.
“Did you finish your studying?” Jessie asked.
“Every bit of it,” Kate answered. “Seems I know more than I thought I did.” She smiled broadly and looked them in the eye. Either she wasn’t the person they had seen in Sausalito or she was a very good liar.
The restaurant was bustling with activity. Vito greeted them at the door. “I have the perfect table for you,” he said, and he led them to a round table that looked out on the harbor. He handed menus all around.
“I suppose we shouldn’t order fish,” Henry said.
“Why not, Henry?” Aunt Jane asked.
Before Henry could answer, Vito said, “Not order fish? Vito’s is known for its fish. What do you want? The catch of the day? Salmon? Tuna? Sea bass? You name it; I have it.” Then he quickly walked away.
“That’s strange,” Jessie said.
“What is this about?” Uncle Andy asked.
“We ran out of fuel this morning,” Kate explained, “and we had to cut the fishing short.”
“And Vito told Charlie he wouldn’t have enough fish for tonight’s dinner,” Henry concluded.
“Vito was really angry,” Benny added.
Uncle Andy shrugged. “He seems to have all the fish he needs.”
“Maybe he bought some from someone else,” Violet suggested. Everyone sat and thought about the mystery.
Finally they opened their menus. They had a difficult time making a selection. Everything sounded so good. Each of them decided to order something different. That way they could sample many dishes.
Benny looked around the restaurant. Old anchors, wheels, and other boat gear hung on the walls. The window in the kitchen door was a round porthole.
Suddenly Benny pulled at Henry’s sleeve. “There’s that man again!” he muttered. Henry looked up in time to see the mysterious man at the round window. Jessie and Violet saw him, too.
The Aldens exchanged puzzled glances. Each wondered the same thing: What is that man doing in the kitchen of Vito’s Vittles? |