After Mr. Percy left, the children put the new inventions that had arrived on display in the house. They could hear Brad working in the kitchen, but Martha seemed to have disappeared.
“I wish Mr. Percy had tried on my flashlight hat,” Benny said. “People who fix things could use it, too. Or the deliveryman could use one when he’s looking for packages in his truck. Do you think I’ll win a prize at the invention convention?”
Henry was still thinking about getting trounced in checkers. “Oh, I don’t know, Benny. Suppose somebody comes along with a hat that has a fan in it or something? Or a hat you could put an ice pack in to stay cool on a hot day?”
Benny could tell Henry was just kidding. “But no hats came in those invention boxes.”
“You’re right,” Henry agreed. “When you get rich and famous from your flashlight hat, just remember to send me one.”
By this time, the Aldens were walking to the diner. Up ahead, they could see the wooden rooster perched on the roof.
“That rooster makes me think of chickens, and chickens make me think of eggsalad,” Benny announced.
Violet wasn’t thinking about eggsalad. She was still wondering about Mr. Percy. “Mr. Percy was so nice about Benny’s hat today. But yesterday he shooed us away. I wonder if he was just having a bad day.”
Henry didn’t wonder about that at all. “Violet, you’re too nice. If you ask me, Mr. Percy’s hiding something. Didn’t Ms. Putter say he shows up at all hours? And he was really weird about that box Benny’s penny fell into. As soon as we weren’t around, he started snooping inside the invention boxes. Looking at those boxes is our job, not his.”
“I think Mr. Percy just likes seeing how inventions work so he can do a good job fixing them, especially Alice Putter’s,” Violet said. “He just seems absentminded about everything else except inventions and loses track of the time. That’s what Ms. Putter seemed to think.”
“I think he’s nice, too,” Benny said, taking Violet’s side.
“Aw, that’s just because he liked your hat,” Henry said. “He’s up to something. Remember how Ms. Putter told us he once came to the house at midnight to check the grandfather clock? That’s pretty strange.”
Jessie listened carefully to everyone’s opinions before she said anything. “Well, Mr. Percy’s not the only one visiting the grandfather clock at twelve. Martha’s the one who has been spending time there lately. You know what? I think she figured out that the riddle we found has something to do with the clock. She even had the riddle book in her pocket the other night.”
When the Aldens got close to the diner, Benny skipped ahead. He couldn’t wait to eat in a restaurant with a big red rooster on the roof.
The diner was busy with the lunch crowd. Fortunately with four pairs of sharp eyes, the Aldens were champions at finding empty tables. They made their way toward an empty booth in back. A waitress stopped by to hand them four huge menus. The Aldens were silent for a moment as they began to study the menu.
“It’s hard to decide what to get in a diner,” Violet said. “There’s so much to choose from.”
“You can have breakfast all day,” Henry added, “even at lunchtime. That’s what I like about diners.”
“I like that diners always have big, squishy eggsalad sandwiches,” Benny said. “I’ve already decided.” Benny switched off the light on his flashlight hat and closed his menu. He adjusted the hat’s side mirror to get a better view. It was fun watching people walk into the diner through the door behind him.
“Hey,” Benny said suddenly His brother and sisters didn’t pay him any mind. They were still reading their menus. “Guess who just came in. Martha, with a man in a suit. She doesn’t even see me! Let’s hide behind our menus.” Benny was thrilled to be an invisible spy in the busy diner. “Guess what,” he whispered. “She just sat down in the booth behind us.”
“Who?” Henry didn’t look up. He was still trying to decide between a turkey club and a grilled cheese sandwich. Maybe he’d have one of each.
Benny tapped Henry’s arm across the table. He mouthed the name Martha.
Finally, the other Aldens realized what Benny was whispering about.
“Maybe we should say hello,” said Violet.
Benny looked disappointed. Then something in the mirror caught his eye. “Hey!” he whispered. “She’s taking out the riddle book!”
“Here’s the clue I told you about on the phone,” the Aldens could hear Martha saying to the man sitting across from her. “If you compare it to these samples I showed you before, I think it proves Isabel has something to hide.”
“What going on?” Henry asked Benny.
Benny adjusted the little mirror on his hat. “She’s showing that man two of those black books Isabel got out of the cabinet. Remember? Uh-oh. What if one of them is the missing plan book we tried to find? Gosh, Martha looks upset. I wonder who the man is.”
Martha’s voice grew louder. “I just know this isn’t Alice Putter’s design.”
Benny couldn’t see the man’s face in the little mirror, but he heard his words. “At first glance, it is convincing,” the man said. “I may not be able to get back to you until after the invention convention. I have a lot of work to do before then. I’m one of the judges.”
“Well, let’s skip lunch so you can return to your office right away,” Martha suggested. Benny saw Martha put the notebooks and the riddle book into an envelope. She pushed it across the table to the man.
The man took the envelope, then got up from his seat.
“Hey,” Benny whispered. “They’re leaving, and they didn’t even order anything.”
Henry laughed. “Don’t worry, we’re not leaving and we’re probably ordering everything. Here comes our waitress.”
The waitress passed the empty booth and came over to the Aldens. “Sorry I took so long,” she said. “We sure are busy today. I guess the couple behind you got tired of waiting. They just left without ordering anything!”
“We know them — I mean, the lady,” Benny said. “She wasn’t hungry, but we are. I’m having an egg salad sandwich.” Then he remembered his manners. “Please.”
The waitress wrote down everyone’s order and then left for the kitchen.
Henry frowned thoughtfully. “Doesn’t it seem as if Martha’s trying to prove somebody else thought up some of Alice Putter’s inventions?”
Violet couldn’t bear this thought. “Ms. Putter would be so upset! Martha must be wrong,” she protested. “All those bird clocks in our room, even the spinning scarecrow, all seem to come from the same artist. And so does Grandfather’s nightingale clock at home.”
Always sensible, Jessie tried to smooth out everyone’s worries. “Whoever that man is knows about inventions — and about Alice Putter. After all, he’s a judge at the invention convention. Everything will be okay.”
“But what kind of clue is the riddle book?” Violet asked. “I wish we had it back.”
Soon a tray of huge sandwiches appeared. The waitress’s head was hidden behind all the food. She set down the tray and handed each of the Aldens a plate with a tall sandwich on it. Each sandwich was held together with a ruffled toothpick so it wouldn’t topple.
Benny removed his toothpick and tried to take a bite of the eggsalad sandwich. It was too big. “I can’t figure out how to eat this,” he said. The food looked so good, his mouth had already started watering.
Jessie handed Benny a knife. “Here, scrape half the eggsalad onto your plate. Then I think you can manage the sandwich. We’ll have the restaurant wrap up the extra. You can save it for lunch tomorrow.”
“I’m eating my turkey and bacon club sandwich in one sitting,” Henry said. “No leftovers for me!”
But Henry was wrong. When lunch was over, the waitress handed the Aldens a large brown bag to bring home. “Here are your leftover sandwich halves,” the waitress said. “The cook put in some extra pickles. Oh, one other thing. Your friend left a business card in the booth. Do you want to give it to her?”
“Sure,” Benny said, taking the card. He handed Henry the leftovers bag to carry.
“Well, I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I couldn’t eat another thing!” Henry said after he paid the bill. He pushed the door open to let the others out.
Benny walked out first, clutching the business card that Martha had left behind. “This was a good diner,” he said. “We got sandwiches and a clue.”
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