After their ice cream, the children headed back down to the beach. They arrived just in time.
“Hurry!” Jessie called.
The tide had come in. Their blanket and towels were just about to get drenched by the ocean! The children grabbed their things and moved them back out of the way of the water.
“That was close,” Jessie said.
“Hunter told me about the tides,” Benny said. “He said that when the tide goes out, I might be able to find some cool seashells to take home as souvenirs.”
“It will be fun to look for them,” Violet said. “But would you like to help me build a sand castle right now?”
“Sure!” Benny said.
When the castle was finished, the children sat in the sand and waited for the tide to come in.
Violet watched the waves breaking. “Do you think that Mrs. Reddy made up the story about the zombie hitting the man in the head? Or do you think she heard it from someone else?”
“I don’t know,” Jessie said, tracing her finger through the sand. “It is always hard to tell where rumors start.”
“One thing we do know,” Henry said, “is that Mrs. Reddy certainly enjoys spreading rumors.”
“I think she is just lonely and bored,” Violet said. “I think she is sorry that she sold the amusement pier.”
“I wonder what was she talking to Mr. Cooke about,” Jessie said. “Do you think that Mr. Cooke and Mrs. Reddy could be working together to ruin Hanson’s Amusement Pier?”
“Last time Benny and I saw Mr. Cooke and Mrs. Reddy together, they were fighting,” Jessie said. “But today they were not. Mr. Cooke was smiling.”
“I’m not sure if they are working together or not,” Henry said. “But if Mr. Hanson cannot stop these rumors soon, his amusement pier will fail. No one will go there.”
“We have to think of something to stop all these rumors,” Violet said.
“Watch out!” Jessie cried.
A big wave came. It hit the castle and the walls fell away. Big chunks of sand slid into the ocean. Only the very top of the tower with the sea grass flag still stood.
“That was so cool,” Benny said. “I love playing in the sand. Can we build another castle?”
“We can, but not right now,” Jessie said. “I think we should go back to the house and get cleaned up. It is getting late.”
The children splashed into the ocean and rinsed the sand from their arms and legs. They collected their things and walked back to the Hanson’s beach house. Wendy waved to them from the porch.
“I was just going to come to look for you,” she said. “How was the beach?”
“It was great!” Benny said. He told Wendy all about their sand castle and how the tide had come in and knocked it down.
“That does sound like fun,” Wendy said. “Do you kids have any plans for tonight?”
“No,” Jessie said. “We have not planned anything.”
“I hate to ask this,” Wendy said. “You have already done so much to help. But my father has lost two more employees today. There are so many rumors. People think that the amusement pier is unsafe. They think it is going to close soon. My father could really use your help tonight.”
“Of course we’ll help,” Jessie said. “We’ll be glad to,” Violet added.
The children showered and dressed. They rinsed their bathing suits and hung them to dry out on the line in the sun. Benny had a small collection of seashells that he had found. He set them in a pile by the steps.
Benny sat beside the shells. “Jessie, do you think I could buy a big bucket to put my shells in?” he asked.
“I think that is a good idea,” Jessie said. “We should get some shovels, too, Benny,”
Henry said. “We can build an even bigger castle with shovels.”
“I would like to stop in the souvenir shop as well,” Violet said. “I want to buy something to remember our trip.”
“We should leave right away,” Jessie said. “That way we will have time to go into the stores before we are needed at the amusement pier.”
“I’ll be right out,” Violet said. Violet went back into the house. She wanted to get her money from her bedroom. She had just opened her drawer and was looking through her things when she heard Wendy and Will talking in the hallway.
“Did the kids leave yet?” Will asked in a quiet voice.
“Yes,” Wendy said. “Did you get the zombie back in place in the haunted house?”
“Dad was working on it,” Will said. “But there is a bolt missing. I don’t know if the zombie will be working by tonight if we can’t find that bolt.”
“Where could it be?” Wendy asked. “Are you sure that you don’t have it?”
“I don’t have it, Wendy,” Will said.
“Okay. I’m just checking,” Wendy said. “Because we agreed that our plan was . . .”
Violet felt uncomfortable listening to a private conversation. She grabbed her money and closed the drawer very loudly.
Wendy and Will stopped talking. Wendy peeked around the corner and into Violet’s room. “Violet!” she said. “I thought you had gone to the boardwalk.”
“I forgot my money,” Violet said. “I want to buy a souvenir in one of the shops. I am leaving now.”
Violet joined Henry, Jessie, and Benny outside, and the children headed down the boardwalk. On the way, Violet told her sister and brothers what she had overheard.
“What kind of plan do you think Wendy meant?” Jessie asked.
“I don’t know,” Violet said. “And why would Wendy think that Will had the missing bolt?”
“It could be that Will misplaced the bolt when he was putting the zombie back,” Henry said. “Sometimes, when I am fixing things, I misplace a bolt or a screw. It can happen very easily.”
“Look!” Benny cried. “Here is the store! Can we go in?”
At the Beach Stop Shop, Benny picked out a blue bucket and a large red shovel. Violet found a small jewelry box decorated from top to bottom with very tiny seashells.
Then the children paid for their purchases and left the store. They soon passed a woman in a white apron and a tall chef’s hat. She stood outside Laura’s Fudge Shop with a tray. “Would you like to try some of our fudge for free?” she asked the children.
“Free fudge! I would like some,” Benny cried. He tried the chocolate peanut butter flavor. “It’s so good!” he said.
“I’m glad you like it,” the woman said. “We also have delicious saltwater taffy.”
Benny shivered. He remembered when he accidentally got saltwater in his mouth when he was boogie boarding with Hunter. It did not taste good. “You put saltwater in your taffy?” he asked.
The woman laughed. “No. There is no saltwater in our saltwater taffy.”
“Then why is it called that?” Benny asked.
“A very long time ago, a man had a taffy stand on the boardwalk in Atlantic City,” the woman explained. “One night a big wave came and hit his stand. It ruined all his taffy. He was upset. He had nothing to sell the next day. When a customer asked for taffy, the man said that all he had to sell was saltwater taffy. He had to throw all the taffy away. The man worked hard and made more taffy. But he thought the name saltwater taffy was catchy. And he was right! We still call it saltwater taffy more than one hundred years later!”
The woman reached into her apron pocket. She pulled out some saltwater taffy. She gave one to each of the Aldens. “Try some,” she said.
Benny took a bite of the soft candy. “This one tastes like peppermint!” he said. The soft and chewy candy seemed to melt in his mouth.
“Mine is butterscotch,” Violet said. She laughed after she took a bite.
“Thank you very much,” Jessie said, swallowing a chocolate-flavored taffy. “It is delicious. We will stop back later to buy some more! We don’t have time right now.”
“You kids are in a hurry?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Jessie said. “We are on our way to Hanson’s Amusement Pier.”
The woman looked concerned. “Be careful, kids,” she said. “I’ve heard that it might not be safe at the pier.”
“Someone is spreading false rumors,” Jessie said. “Please do not believe them. The pier is very safe.”
The children thanked the woman and left. “It was nice of that lady to give us free samples,” Benny said.
“Yes, and smart, too,” Violet said. “It makes us want to go back and buy more candy. And it has given me a very good idea for Hanson’s Amusement Pier.”
“Free candy?” Benny asked.
“No,” Violet said. “Something even better. Something that will help stop all of the false rumors.”
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