Windy City Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Read Free Book Online Page A

it now,” Jessie said.
    Chad shook his head. “Sorry. I can’t. I have an appointment.” He stepped back toward the doors. “You talk it over. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    They headed toward the elevators.
    Grandfather stopped suddenly. “Why don’t you go on upstairs,” he said. “I want to get a newspaper.”
    â€œDo you have the key, Henry?” Violet asked.
    Henry patted his shirt pocket. “I remembered it today.”
    â€œGo along, then,” Grandfather said. “I’ll be up shortly.”
    While they were waiting for the elevator, Benny said, “It sure seems like Grandfather is reading a lot of newspapers.”
    â€œYou’re right, Benny,” said Jessie. “He just bought one this morning.”
    On the way up to the twentieth floor, they talked about the museum.
    â€œOf all the things we saw, I liked the model train best,” Benny said. “It reminded me of our boxcar.”
    The elevator doors snapped open.
    As they approached 2004, Jessie saw something. One by one, the other Aldens saw it, too. Someone had put an envelope under their door. Part of it stuck out into the hall.
    Jessie picked it up. “This must be the fourth clue,” she said.
    Benny sighed. “We haven’t even solved the third one!”
    â€œYes, we have, Benny,” Violet said. “It was the Fire Academy.” She looked at Henry and Jessie. “Right?”
    Henry nodded. “Had to be,” he said. He opened the door and they all went inside.

    Jessie slipped off her backpack and set it on a chair. Then, she examined the envelope.
    â€œOpen it, Jessie,” Violet urged.
    Jessie opened the envelope. “It’s another collage,” she said.
    Benny stood up and leaned across the table. “Of what?”
    Jessie laid the paper on the table where they could all see.
    â€œIt’s more like a map,” Henry said.
    Violet turned the paper toward her. “It’s a map and a collage!”
    She was right. The crudely drawn map was topped with cut-out pictures of all the places they had been. The Water Tower was at the top and the Museum of Science and Industry was at the bottom. In between were the Michigan Avenue Bridge, the Art Institute, Grant Park, the Fire Academy — even their apartment building and the pizza place!
    â€œHow can this be a clue?” Henry wondered aloud. He held the map up.
    â€œThere’s writing on the back, Henry,” Benny told him.
    Henry turned the paper over. “Here we go,” he said. “This says, ‘The Final Clue.’” He continued reading:
    Buried deep
    Beneath the rest
    Is the treasure
    I think best .
    Can you find
    A place like home
    Resting on
    A bed of stone?
    Henry stopped reading. No one said a word. He reread the clue to himself. Once, twice, three times. Finally he looked up. “Any ideas?” he asked the others.
    They stared at him with wide eyes. No one knew what the clue meant.
    â€œWho is doing this?” Jessie’s tone was full of frustration.
    â€œChad was here when we got back,” Violet reminded them. “He could have slipped the clue under the door.”
    â€œBut he has a key,” Henry said.
    â€œI think Willard did it,” Benny piped up.
    â€œWillard could have brought the envelope up here,” Henry said.
    â€œAnd he could have made the map and written the clue, too.”
    â€œLet’s go back over what we know.” Jessie took the first two clues out of her backpack.
    Henry removed the third clue from his back pocket and set it and the final clue beside the others. “Go back to the first day,” he said.
    â€œWillard gave us the clue about the Water Tower,” Benny said.
    Violet nodded. “We were waiting for Chad in the lobby.”
    â€œAnd Chad talked to Willard outside,” Jessie added. “Then Willard gave us the envelope.”
    â€œDon’t forget