Free Movie Star Mystery by Charles Tang Page B

two mysterious men. They all agreed that they had never seen them around Greenfield before.
    “And if they were from Greenfield, they would know the community center was closed now,” Benny reminded everyone.
    Henry took a bite of his cheese sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. Then he said, “They talked about hiding loot. We all heard them. That really does sound as if they had robbed a bank.”
    “Maybe, if they are bank robbers, their pictures are on wanted posters at the post office,” Benny said.
    “It’s possible, Benny,” said Jessie.
    “The loot could have been in that big black leather bag Harpo was carrying,” said Violet.
    “But there haven’t been any robberies around Greenfield,” Jessie said. “Or even in Silver City.”
    “What I wonder is where George Smith could be taking photography lessons. They have classes at the community center sometimes, but not now,” said Henry.
    “When we heard them talking about loot, maybe they were just practicing the play,” Violet said. “Maybe Harpo plays a bank robber in the play.”
    “If Harpo and George are telling the truth, then why did they lie about the play being at the community center?” asked Jessie.
    “If they aren’t from around here, maybe they got it mixed up. Maybe they meant the community center over in Silver City,” said Violet.
    “But they wouldn’t even tell us the name of the play,” Jessie argued. “And you know why? Because there isn’t a play.”
    “I think they are bank robbers and we should catch them and get a big reward,” said Benny. He reached into the bag of chocolate chip cookies, then stopped. “Uh-oh,” he said. “I ate the last cookie. How did that happen?” Benny held up the bag with a look of comic dismay on his face.
    “I guess that’s a mystery, too, Benny,” Jessie teased him.
    After cleaning up and making sure they hadn’t left any litter, the Aldens walked down the hill onto Old Farm Road.
    Henry pointed and said, “If we go that way, we’ll come to the road that leads straight back into Greenfield.”
    “I don’t think this road is used very much anymore, except by the farmers who live along it,” Jessie said.
    They began to walk along the grassy edge of the road. Benny held Jessie’s hand. Violet looped Watch’s leash around her wrist so he couldn’t pull away. She didn’t want him to run in front of a car.
    But Jessie was right. Nobody used the old road very much anymore. The children didn’t see a single car.
    “Up ahead, just around this curve, is a mansion,” Henry remembered aloud. “The Radley mansion. No one lives there now. It’s been deserted for years.”
    “Is it haunted?” Violet asked.
    Henry chuckled. “I don’t think so. Not every deserted house is haunted, you know.”
    “I’m not afraid of ghosts,” Benny said. “We even caught one once, don’t forget.”
    Just then, Henry stopped and pointed. “Look,” he said in a hushed voice. “The gates to the Radley mansion are open!”
    “Did a ghost do that?” asked Benny, his voice getting squeaky with excitement.
    “No,” Henry answered. He paused, studying the rusted gates that had been pushed back to reveal a weed-covered, rutted driveway. He added, “At least, I don’t think it was a ghost.”
    Just then they heard the sound of a motor. A truck came into view from the other direction. It slowed down in front of the open gates, then turned up the driveway and disappeared in a cloud of dust.
    “That definitely wasn’t a ghost,” Jessie said. “That was a moving van.”
    The Aldens walked up to the open gate and peered down the driveway. They could see a long stretch of recently cut lawn. Curious, they walked a short distance up the drive past piles of branches beneath trees and recently trimmed shrubbery.
    At the end of the curve in the driveway, they stopped.
    “Look at the house,” Violet said. “It’s beautiful!”
    The big old house sparkled in the afternoon sun, shiny with a fresh coat of