Windy City Mystery

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Authors: Gertrude Chandler Warner
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said. “Solid as a rock. They don’t build ’em like this anymore.”
    â€œAre there things about it people don’t know?” Violet asked.
    â€œAhhh, this grand old place keeps its secrets.” Willard’s eyes twinkled.
    â€œWhat secrets?” Benny asked.
    â€œIf I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets, would they, now?”
    â€œYou could tell us,” Benny said. “We won’t tell anyone.”
    Willard threw his head back and laughed. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I’m sorry,” he said.
    Just then several people came in. Willard went to greet them.
    The Aldens looked around the lobby. Was there anything here that might help in their search? Henry noticed two doors. Painted the same color as the walls, they were barely visible.
    â€œWait here,” he whispered. Hoping Willard wouldn’t notice, he slipped across the lobby. He tried one door and then the other. Both were locked.

CHAPTER 11
    Buried Treasure
    D isappointed, the Aldens went back upstairs.
    Just inside the apartment door, Violet picked up something. “What’s this?” She held it in her open hand. It was fuzzy and black.
    â€œIt looks like some strange caterpillar,” Jessie said.
    Benny took it between two fingers. He held it under his nose. “Do I look like the man with the mustache?”
    Jessie laughed, then grew serious. “Let me see that.” She turned it over. “The back is covered with something — dried paste or glue.”
    All at once, the four Aldens came to the same conclusion: “It’s part of a disguise!”
    â€œThe man in the overalls wore it!” Jessie said.
    â€œThat would explain why the mustache was crooked. The glue was dry, so it no longer stuck as well,” Henry said.
    Violet took the object from Henry. “But it isn’t big enough to be a mustache. It’s more like” — she put it above her eye — “an eyebrow!”
    Jessie sank to a chair. “Do you suppose …”
    â€œYes! That’s it!” Henry said. “The man with the mustache and the one with the bushy eyebrows — they’re one person!”
    â€œThe same person!” Violet said.
    â€œ What person?” Benny asked.
    â€œWhoever was up here while we were talking to Willard,” Henry said. “Whoever dropped the eyebrow — that person!”
    â€œChad has a key,” Jessie reminded them.
    â€œWe would have seen him come into the building,” Violet said.
    â€œUnless there’s another way in,” Henry added.
    â€œMaybe he hid somewhere in the hall until we went out,” Benny suggested.
    Jessie’s mind took her in another direction. “Chad was never with us when we saw that strange man,” she said. “But he was always nearby.”
    Slowly, the others understood her meaning. Chad could be the man in the disguise!
    â€œBut he never wore overalls,” Henry said.
    â€œMaybe he carried them in his knapsack,” Benny said.
    â€œWhere would he have changed into them?” Henry persisted.
    They were getting nowhere. Every question about the man led to several new questions. Finally they sat down with the clues and began listing everything they knew.
    Violet puzzled over the lines “Buried deep/Beneath the rest.”
    â€œThe X is marked on this building. Do you think there could be something underneath it?” she asked at last.
    Henry thought about that. Then he remembered: “Chad told us Chicago has a lower level.”
    â€œWith train tracks and everything,” Benny added.
    â€œMaybe it runs under this building,” Jessie said.
    Benny sprang out of his chair and headed for the door. “Let’s go find out!”
    Downstairs, Grandfather Alden huddled with someone wearing bib overalls — a man with a mustache and one bushy eyebrow! Talking intently, the two stepped out of sight. By the time the Alden children

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