The Pizza Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Read Free Book Online Page A

shouted before she went outside ahead of her brothers and sister.
    Violet handed everyone a shovel. “Now dig as much snow as you can.”
    â€œI get it!” Benny said after the first shovelful. “We’re not looking for a freezer, we’re making one! Just like we made a refrigerator in a brook when we lived in the boxcar.”
    â€˜That’s right, Benny,” Violet cried. “Only now it’s a freezer, not a refrigerator. And we’re using snow, not a brook.”
    Henry held up his shovel like a flagpole. “Let’s hear it for Violet! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!”
    The Aldens cheered and shoveled as fast as they could to make their “outdoor freezer” for Mrs. Piccolo. They couldn’t see that Laurie Baker was watching them from the kitchen window and that she didn’t look at all happy with what the Aldens were doing.

CHAPTER 8
    A Surprise Confession
    T he next morning, the sun was shining, and so was every light at Piccolos’ Pizza. The children ran outside to see how their “freezer in the snow” was working. The Piccolos were already packing up the frozen meats and sauces to bring inside.
    â€œWhen did the power come back on?” Jessie asked.
    â€œThis morning at six,” Mr. Piccolo answered. “I came out early to cover your little freezer before the sun came out. When I arrived, the electricity was back on. The emergency people from the light company said a truck from the muffler company backed into the pole last night. This knocked out the electricity for a while. Now it’s all fixed.”
    Henry and Jessie walked back to the shed to get some carrying crates.
    â€œI’m glad the power is back on,” Jessie said. “I guess we were wrong to think that Laurie or Nick caused the blackout.”
    Henry nodded. “Still, I can’t figure out why Laurie didn’t seem upset. She almost seemed glad to have to make the new sauces.”
    When Henry and Jessie came back with the crates, they saw Laurie Baker coming up the driveway.
    â€œI see everything was saved,” Laurie said without a smile. She only stopped frowning when she saw the Piccolos.
    â€œGood morning, Laurie,” Mr. Piccolo cried. “I guess you know that Violet here rescued everything last night. My homemade sausages, Nina’s tomato sauces, everything is still frozen solid.”
    â€œSo I see,” Laurie said before she went inside.
    Mr. Piccolo brought in the last of the freezer containers. “Well, now that everything is set for the day, Nina and I can go out for the morning shopping,” Mr. Piccolo told the children.
    Mrs. Piccolo reached for the marketing basket she kept by the freezer. “With these children and Laurie and Nick working together, we could take the whole day off!”
    But Mrs. Piccolo was wrong about everyone working together that day. The minute the Piccolos left, the phone rang in the dining room. When Jessie answered it, Nick told her he wasn’t going to be in.
    â€œWho was that?” Laurie asked when Jessie hung up.
    â€œNick,” Jessie answered in a puzzled voice. “He can’t come in today. He didn’t say why.”
    â€œFine,” Laurie said. “It’s easier without him underfoot. Now I need all of you to hand out these flyers in town for today’s special. You don’t need to come back until eleven.”
    The children knew what Laurie expected them to do. They put on their warm clothes and took the stack of flyers. When they went past the muffler factory, they handed out a few flyers to some of the workers going into the building.
    Jessie tried to hand one young man a flyer, but he went by too fast. “Here, try our . . . Nick!” Jessie suddenly cried. “What are you doing here?”
    Nick pulled down his hat and pulled up his scarf to cover his face before he disappeared into the building.
    â€œAre you sure that was Nick?”