The Mystery of the Forgotten Family by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Author:Gertrude Chandler Warner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The young man shook his head. “Yes, I heard that he had gotten hurt. But I didn’t know it was so bad.”

The young man was quiet for a moment. Then he let out a big sneeze, which seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

“I’m Gary,” he said, turning to the Aldens. He noticed the mechanical car Jessie was holding. “Hey, that’s the car we were trying to find last spring.”

Jessie handed Gary the car, and he admired the old toy. Then he sneezed again.

“Well, I’m glad you found it,” the young man told Jessie. He handed back the car. “Put it in a place where Mr. Muldaur can find it easily next time, okay?”

Jessie nodded.

Gary blew his nose. “Well, I’ve got to run now. Nice to see you all again.” He left the shop.

Jessie looked at the others. “That was a little weird, wasn’t it?” she said. “It’s the second time he has been here. He still wasn’t looking for something to buy. So why was he here?”

“It does seem strange,” said Henry. “I wonder. Is it possible Gary could be the missing family member? The one who wrote the note?”

“He could be,” said Violet. “He sure knows Mr. Muldaur. He didn’t seem very angry though.”

“He knows Mitzy,” said Benny. “He knows about things in the shop.”

“Too bad we don’t know Gary’s last name,” said Jessie. “If we did, we could call him and ask him some more questions.”

As the Aldens got back to work, a few customers came to the shop. One woman who came in with two small children bought a desk lamp. Another woman looked at the jewelry. She finally bought an old ring with a red stone in it. As Violet watched the customers, she kept thinking and thinking. Things were easier to find now, but there was still something missing.

Meanwhile, Benny had a very special job to do. He took all the wind-up toys off the shelf and placed them on a table. Next, he got the box of keys. He tried each key on the toys until he found a match. Then he wound up the toy to see if it worked.

Benny found keys for every toy that didn’t have one. The cars raced along, some in straight lines and some in circles. The animals walked or hopped or squawked and stood on their hind legs. The clowns turned somersaults. The kings and queens strutted around and bowed. The farmers raised their pitchforks or dug with hoes. The magicians laughed and spun around.

It had been a good morning. The shop was finally starting to become more lively. At lunchtime, the children took a well-earned break. They brought their lunches to the park, and Mitzy came along for a walk. On the way, Mitzy suddenly stopped and started to growl. A woman was coming toward them on the path.

“Look!” said Benny. “It’s that teacher you know, Jessie.”

It was Lydia Sweeting, Jessie’s history teacher. Jessie waved. “Hi, Ms. Sweeting!”

The woman looked up. “Oh! Hello, Jessie,” she said.

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