After dinner, the children took turns telling Grandfather about their day as they relaxed on the front porch. Watch was dozing nearby while the evening shadows grew longer. Benny finished by saying, “We kept striking out.”
James Alden smiled over at his younger grandson. “I have a hunch there’s a clue just around the next corner, Benny,” he said. “Speaking of WGFD,” he added, “here comes Jordan Porter.” Grandfather waved as a man in shorts and a white T-shirt came jogging by. Waving back, the silver-haired man turned into the walkway and ran up the porch steps. Grandfather introduced the children to Mr. Porter, the owner of the WGFD radio station.
“Guess what?” Benny said as he shook hands. “We just signed up for the Great Detective Race!”
Jessie nodded. “We’ve been looking for clues all day.”
Mr. Porter nodded approvingly. “We’re hoping to drum up more listeners with the race,” he explained. “The station just hired someone new. The race was her idea.”
“Debra Belmont,” guessed Violet. “Right?”
“Right!” Mr Porter said. “So far, she’s been doing a great job. But I must admit, she hasn’t had an easy time of it.”
Grandfather raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Mike Devlin can be a bit difficult sometimes,” said Mr. Porter. “He’s a good deejay. But I’m afraid he thinks he’s too important. He seems to forget it takes teamwork to make a successful radio station.”
“Or solve a mystery!” said Benny.
Mr. Porter smiled at the youngest Alden.
“You’ll get no argument from me, Benny.” With that, the station owner gave them a friendly wave and hurried away.
“Well, I still have paperwork to finish,” Grandfather said, getting to his feet. “Sounds like you have your work cut out for you, too,” he added. “So I’ll leave you to your detective business.”
As the screen door closed, Jessie fished the riddle from her pocket and glanced at it again. “There must be something here we’re not getting,” she said.
Just then, Watch let out a whine. He tilted his head as if he were listening to something that no one else could hear. A moment later, an ice cream truck came around the corner, a happy tune coming from its speakers.
“Do we have enough money for ice cream, Henry?” Benny wanted to know.
Henry took out his money and counted the change. “You’re in luck, Benny. Looks like we have enough.”
The four Aldens were soon racing down the street with Watch close behind. When the truck slowed to a stop, they joined a long line of children waiting for ice cream.
Violet had a sudden thought. “The ice-cream man is a bit like the Pied Piper,” she noted. “Don’t you think?”
Henry turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, he plays a tune and all the kids follow him down the street,” Violet explained. Then she caught her breath, surprised by her own words. “Oh my gosh!” she cried. “The Pied Piper’s tune is the sweetest of all!”
“And ice cream is sweet!” Benny exclaimed, catching on.
“I think you just found the Pied Piper, Violet!” Jessie said.
Henry added, “Now let’s see if the magic words work on him.”
When they got to the front of the line, Benny piped up, “We listen to the Big G!”
The young man handing out ice cream suddenly smiled. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a WGFD envelope. The Aldens raced home with ice cream bars and the next clue.
“Read it, Jessie,” Benny urged, inching his porch chair closer. He couldn’t read very well yet.
“Here goes,” said Jessie, tucking her long hair behind her ears. She read aloud:
Make your way to an alley,
that’s what you should do.
Three strikes in a row
and you’ll find the next clue.
Benny looked confused. “We already struck out three times.”
This made Jessie smile a little. “That’s true, Benny,” she said. “But I think this means something else.”
Violet giggled. “Grandfather was right.”
Henry looked over at her. “Right about what, Violet?”
“He said there was a clue coming around the next corner,” she reminded them. “And there was!”
Benny nodded. “The Pied Piper came around the corner driving his ice-cream truck.”
“Grandfather was right about something else, too,” Henry said thoughtfully. “We’ve really got our work cut out for us.”
Violet nodded. “Greenfield has dozens of back alleys.”
“Let’s take another look at the map,” Jessie said.
In no time at all, the Aldens were huddled around the street map again. Jessie put a red check mark beside every alleyway.
“Whew!” Benny licked a drop of chocolate ice cream from the back of his hand. “This’ll take forever.”
Violet agreed. “Looks like we have a lot of ground to cover. Any idea where we should begin?”
“I’m not sure,” Jessie answered, without taking her gaze off the map.
Henry smiled. “I think we can narrow it down a little,” he said. “I have a feeling we should start right here.” He placed a finger on the map.
Jessie looked from her older brother to the map and back again. “Behind the ballpark?” she said. “Why do you say that, Henry?”
“I know!” said Benny. “Three strikes in a row. That means baseball!”
Henry nodded. “Exactly.”
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