Ice Cream Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Author:Gertrude Chandler Warner [Warner, Gertrude Chandler]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-2151-8
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2011-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Nasty Notes and Sticky Clues

Katy met them at the door of the shop. In each hand, she held several slips of paper. “Can you believe this? Some people!” she fumed, waving the papers in the air.

“What is it, Granna?” asked Brianna, jumping quickly down from the wagon and tying Butterscotch to the front step rail.

“Someone stuffed the suggestion box full of blank slips of paper,” said Katy. “I noticed all our suggestion slips were gone—and the pencil, if you can believe that—so I opened the box and found this.”

She stormed back inside, followed by Brianna and the Aldens. The top of the suggestion box was open. Dozens of suggestion slips had been crammed inside.

“They’re not all blank,” said Henry. “This one says, ‘Caramel is my favorite flavor. Make ice cream with caramel in it.’ ”

“And this one says, ‘Can you make bubble gum ice cream?’ ” Brianna read.

“Ick,” said Violet.

“I don’t know,” said Jessie. “It doesn’t sound so bad.”

Katy made a face. “It takes all kinds,” she said.

“Here’s another. It says...” Violet’s voice trailed off.

Brianna read over her shoulder. “ ‘You’re a terrible ice-cream shop. Why don’t you close and give someone who knows how to make ice cream a chance?’ ”

“Oh, that’s terrible,” said Benny.

“And this one says, ‘Greenfield doesn’t need a new, improved Ice Cream Barn. No matter how much you improve, you’ll still be no good. Give up now.’ ”

“That’s not true!” said Brianna furiously. “And we’re not giving up.”

“Do you recognize the handwriting?” Henry asked Brianna and Katy.

“If I did, do you think I’d just be standing here?” Katy said. “Besides, the writer has obviously tried to disguise it. Look at those big block letters.”

Just then the phone rang. Katy picked it up. “Ice Cream Barn,” she said. She didn’t sound as cheerful as she usually did. She listened and frowned. “No...No!...The answer will always be no. I already told you. I—we—don’t want to be a big business!”

When Katy hung up, she turned to Brianna. “That Jean Johnston keeps calling. I wish she would stop! Her ideas are good, but she just won’t listen when I tell her we don’t want to make the Ice Cream Barn into that kind of business.”

Brianna made a face.

“Did you notice anyone hanging around the suggestion box?” asked Jessie, getting back to the business of finding clues. “Marcos? Preston? Someone else?”

“Marcos? He was in earlier to try out the new flavor, just as he usually does. But he didn’t go near the suggestion box. And I haven’t seen Preston for a while.” Katy looked puzzled. “But it’s been so busy today. The ice-cream wagon has brought in a lot of new customers lately. When it was busy I hardly looked up, and when it was quiet I went to the back to work on new flavor ideas. I just came out whenever I heard the bell ring or saw a customer who needed ice cream.”

Brianna shook her head in disgust. “Disguised handwriting. Nasty notes. Crank calls about Butterscotch...Okay, I’m beginning to be convinced that this is more than someone’s idea of a joke.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.