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

that other man,” Henry said. “He was talking to Willard, too.”
    The others hadn’t thought about the strange man. No one had ever suggested he had anything to do with this mystery.
    Thinking about the man always made Benny giggle. “The man with the big mustache,” he said. “How did it get so crooked?”
    â€œIt wasn’t crooked the first time we saw him,” Jessie said.
    â€œThat was later, Benny — at the ball game,” Violet reminded him. “Maybe he made a mistake trying to trim it.”
    â€œDid anyone notice that man with Willard today?” Henry asked.
    â€œThe man in the raincoat?” Jessie said.
    Henry nodded. “Did anyone see his face?”
    No one had.
    â€œI thought he might be the man with the mustache,” Henry continued. “When we pulled up, he hurried away. It was as if he didn’t want us to see him.”
    None of the others had noticed that.
    â€œHe had something sticking out of his pocket,” Henry said. “It looked like a striped cap.”
    â€œThe man at the ballpark wore a striped cap,” Violet remembered.
    â€œAnd the man we saw talking to Willard that morning was carrying one,” Jessie added.
    â€œLike a railroad engineer’s hat,” Violet said.
    â€œSo the man downstairs today could be the same man,” Henry concluded.
    â€œLet’s say he gave Willard the first clue.” Jessie held up the second clue. “But what about this one? I found it in my backpack after we had been to the Water Tower. We didn’t see him there.”
    Benny frowned in thought. “Maybe he put the clue there before we got there. Or Willard — he went there early in the morning and hid the envelope.”
    â€œI looked all around that building,” Henry said. “Inside and out.”
    â€œThen I dropped the leaflets,” Jessie said. “We already decided I must have picked up the clue then.”
    â€œI picked up most of the leaflets,” Benny said. “And I didn’t see an envelope.”
    â€œAnd Grandfather picked up the others,” Violet said. “The envelope must have been with those.”
    â€œThe person who dropped that envelope knew we’d find it,” Henry said. “Whoever did it had to be right there with us.”
    Henry smiled triumphantly. “There were only two people who could have done that: Chad or Grandfather.”
    Benny stood up. “Chad did it,” he said. “Now can we eat?”
    â€œNot until Grandfather comes back,” Jessie said.
    Suddenly they realized that Mr. Alden had been downstairs a long time — much longer than it would take to buy a newspaper.
    â€œHe always takes a long time,” Benny said. “He’s probably talking to Willard.”
    But the others weren’t so sure. They remembered last night’s telephone call, and Grandfather’s long walk that morning. None of the Aldens could remember seeing Grandfather reading the first newspaper he’d bought.
    â€œLet’s go look for him!” Henry said.
    Before he could finish the thought, Jessie was out the door, Violet at her heels.
    Henry sprinted after them, saying, “Come on, Benny!”

CHAPTER 9
    Another Phone Call
    T he elevator seemed to take forever. None of the Aldens spoke. They were wondering what they would find when they reached the ground floor. Grandfather had been strange during this trip. How did he know they would be at the Water Tower that day? He said Chad told him. No one remembered that — not even Chad. And later, at the ball game, he disappeared. He told them he stopped to buy Benny a cap, but that wasn’t true. Henry was with him when he bought it. Then there was the phone call in the night. And all the trips to get newspapers! Added together, these events got the Alden children thinking.
    â€œMaybe he decided to read the paper down in the lobby,” Jessie