Candy Factory Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Read Free Book Online

the inspector wouldn’t see the open door.
    In a few minutes, Meg and the inspector rejoined the Aldens.
    As everyone walked back to the candy kitchen, the inspector finally put his pen away. “I’ll be making my report in a few days. I’ll come back for another visit so you have a chance to fix some of the problems that came up today.” As he was about to leave, the inspector froze dead in the doorway. “What is that cat doing in the candy kitchen?”
    The Aldens crowded behind the man to see what he was talking about. Under the mixing counter, a cat the children had seen around the factory was enjoying a speck of chocolate the children hadn’t noticed.
    â€œWhy, I never!” the inspector sputtered. “Children in the kitchen is one thing in these family businesses, but a cat?” Out came the man’s pen once again.
    Meg ran over to the spilled chocolate. She tried to clean it up. “Shoo! Shoo!” she yelled at the cat.
    â€œYeow!” the cat answered before he licked himself and strolled out the door that Meg had left open.

CHAPTER 8
    Something’s Cooking
    W hen the Aldens returned to the loft, Henry made a decision. “You know,” he began, “it seems as if Meg is so careless, she’s hurting Mrs. Winkles’s business even if she’s not doing it on purpose. We’ve got to find out what is going on with her and with Mr. Boxer.”
    Jessie agreed. “She even let him into Mrs. Winkles’s office. Something’s going on with those two.”
    â€œTom’s the one who brought over the containers of sugar chicks with the candy ghosts mixed in,” Henry reminded everyone. “Maybe he mixed up the candies before he gave them to Meg.”
    â€œI don’t like to think anything bad about Tom,” Violet said in her quiet way. “Tom might not have known anything about the mix-up.”
    Benny tapped Jessie’s elbow. “Know what? All the candy came from Mr. Boxer’s warehouse — the candy ghosts, the candy hearts with the scary messages, even the mice.”
    Henry put his hand up for a high five. “You’re right! Here’s what I’m thinking. Mrs. Winkles said we could visit the warehouse to see how they ship the candy. Let’s go now. Maybe we’ll clear up a few mysteries there.”
    The Aldens were soon on their way to Boxer’s Shipping Company, which was about a mile from Winkles Candy Factory. When they arrived, the children found more than a mystery to clear up.
    â€œMrs. Winkles’s egg cartons — the ones we packed. Look!” Jessie pointed to the loading platform. “Somebody just left them sitting out in the sun. I know it’s cold out, but the chocolate eggs will be ruined if they stay there too long. They should be in the shade or in a cooler place.”
    â€œWhy would Mr. Boxer let all of Mrs. Winkles’s candy get ruined?” asked Benny.
    â€œI don’t know,” said Violet, “but we better do something before this chocolate melts!”
    The children noticed two men loading a truck.
    â€œHey, hey!” Henry yelled out when the men shoved the boxes into the truck any which way. “We’re working for Mrs. Winkles. Those are her candy shipments. See, the shipping boxes say, Handle With Care . And there’s a pile of her chocolate egg cartons just sitting in the sun. They’re going to melt if someone doesn’t move them to someplace cooler.”
    The two men looked at each other. Who was the teenage boy telling them how to do their job?

    â€œThe boss says we have to get this truck loaded in a hurry,” one of the men told the Aldens. “He told us to leave those boxes over there. He must know what he’s doing.”
    â€œThat’s what we’re afraid of,” Jessie whispered to Henry. She looked up at the men. “Could we at least get them out of the sun? We’ll move them for you