Free Mystery in the Mall by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

didn’t. And even if you did, I wouldn’t mind. The view is there for the looking. Now, I hope you young people plan to stick around Hope Harbor Mall while your grandfather and I go to our college reunion. Just enjoy this place. I could use some young folks like you to tell me what you like and what you don’t like, so I can keep my customers happy.”
    “We saw all the jobs posted on the bulletin board down the hall,” Henry said. “Since you asked what we like, we like working. That’s what keeps us happy.”
    “Work on a vacation?” Martin Bolt asked. “Nonsense. You children are my guests. Mrs. Frye, my housekeeper, will set you up in my house. The top rooms are fixed up just like cabins on a ship. You’ll have a fine view of the harbor, and it’s just a few minutes from the mall. I want you to have fun.”
    Mr. Alden laughed deeply. “You don’t know my grandchildren, Martin. Work is fun for them. If you have anything at all that needs doing around here, my grandchildren would love nothing better.”
    “Hmmm,” Mr. Bolt said. “I’ve got a good idea of a store where you could work and have some fun. Let me check with my mall manager, Hap Merchant, first.”
    Martin Bolt came back a few minutes later. “Hap is on his way over to meet you. Tomorrow morning, he’ll bring you to Penny’s Emporium, a shop that just opened. Hap’s been helping out Penny Block there while she breaks in a new store manager. But I need Hap for other things. If Penny has some extra helpers, Hap can get on with his other jobs.”
    At that moment, the grouchy man who had scolded Benny stepped into the office. Seeing the Aldens didn’t make him any more friendly.
    “This is my manager, Hap Merchant,” Martin Bolt told the Aldens. “Hap, meet my good friend James Alden and his four grandchildren. Oldest to youngest, they’re Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. I thought they could give Penny a hand with her new shop. That will free you up a bit.”
    Hap Merchant ignored the Aldens’ outstretched hands. “Well, I don’t know that Penny needs a bunch of kids running loose in her shop.”
    Mr. Bolt’s smile disappeared for a second. “Now, Hap, I want you to know the Aldens have worked in stores before. If James Alden tells me they’re hardworking, I know Penny will be tickled to have them.”
    Everyone noticed Hap Merchant’s frown. Mr. Bolt waved him into a back office. The Aldens could hear the low, serious voices of the two men. A few minutes later, Martin Bolt and Hap came out. Hap brushed by everyone, then left.
    “Sorry about that, James,” Martin Bolt said. “If I let him, Hap would run the whole mall by himself. I can’t have him spending so much time at Penny’s shop. I need him to supervise workers all over the mall. Anyway, he’ll call you children tomorrow at my house to give you the details.”
    “Let’s hope Hap Merchant is friendlier to us tomorrow,” Jessie whispered to Henry. “I wonder if he’ll really call.”

CHAPTER 2
A Mixed-up Day
    The next morning, Benny woke up to the sound of tooting. He kicked off his covers and went to the window. Down in the harbor, a red tugboat tooted again. Slowly, it pulled a barge away from the dock.
    “Henry,” Benny whispered. “Time to get up. Come look outside.”
    Henry opened one eye, then the other. “Where are we? Why are there round windows in this room? Are we on a boat?”
    Benny pulled off Henry’s covers. “We’re in Mr. Bolt’s house. The windows are round, like on a boat. Come look outside.”
    Henry pulled the covers over himself again.
    “You’re no fun,” Benny complained. “I’m going to wake up Jessie and Violet.”
    Benny tiptoed down the hallway. The floor creaked. When Benny opened the door to his sisters’ room, that creaked, too. Mr. Bolt’s house was like an old, creaky boat.
    Violet stood at the window. “Hi, Benny,” she whispered. “Look, there’s a tugboat pulling a barge. Come see.”
    “I saw it already,”