Free Tattletale Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

and Jessie looked at each other. If Janice wasn’t the Tattletale, who was? Could Benny have been right all along? Was the ghost of Milly Manchester behind everything?
    “Something baffles me, too,” put in Mrs. Spencer. “How did you ever get hold of that snapshot of mine, Janice?”
    Benny thought he knew the answer. “Rachel probably gave it to her.”
    “Right,” said Rachel, looking surprised that Benny knew that. “Milly’s portrait meant so much to you, Mother, I decided to do something about it. When I heard Janice was in the art program at the college, I asked her if she’d paint another portrait for you.”
    “But I had no idea what Milly looked like,” put in Janice. “I’d never even met her.”
    Rachel nodded. “She needed a snapshot. So I took one from your album when you weren’t looking, Mother. I wanted the portrait to be a surprise.”
    “But now you have the original portrait, Mrs. Spencer,” Janice pointed out. “Nothing can be better than that.”
    “I’m sorry for being so unfriendly the other day,” Rachel said, smiling over at the children. She was a changed person now that the mystery was solved. “I was upset about the strange things that were happening to my mother. I’m afraid I thought it was just a game to you.”
    “It was never just a game to us,” said Jessie, shaking her head firmly. “We wanted to help.”
    Still smiling, Rachel said, “I know that now. Because of you, my mother can hang Milly’s portrait on her wall.”
    “And don’t forget,” added Janice, “the library has a beautiful new art collection. Now everyone in Greenfield can enjoy Milly’s paintings.”
    Grandfather nodded. “Jem’s loss is the town’s gain.”
    “That man sees nothing but dollar signs!” Mrs. Turner suddenly blurted out as she refilled the saltshaker. “I’m not surprised he planned to keep all the money for himself. Can you imagine? Not a penny to go into Margaret’s pockets.”
    When he heard this, Henry was suddenly alert. “How did you know that, Mrs. Turner?” he asked suspiciously. The other Alden children were wondering the same thing.
    The question seemed to catch the waitress off guard. “What ... ?”
    Henry said, “How did you know they weren’t planning to split the money?”
    The saltshaker suddenly slipped from Mrs. Turner’s hand, spilling salt onto the counter.
    “Oh, dear, now what have I done?” The waitress looked flustered. “I’ll just go get a cloth. I’ll have this wiped up in a jiffy.” She turned and quickly walked away.
    “That was a bit strange, don’t you think?” Henry looked at Jessie, then over at Violet and Benny.
    Jessie nodded. “I’ll say.”
    “Something just doesn’t seem right,” Henry told them, keeping his voice low. He took another spoonful of chili and chewed thoughtfully. It was almost as if Mrs. Turner knew, somehow, about Jem and Margaret’s plans. Was she hiding something?
    Henry suddenly had a thought that hadn’t occurred to him before. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the gold hair clip, the one he had found in Mrs. Spencer’s garden. On a hunch that it just might come in handy, he had thought to bring it along.
    “Is this yours, Mrs. Turner?” he asked, holding it up when Mrs. Turner returned.
    The waitress smiled broadly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for that!” Taking the hair clip, she slipped it into her apron pocket. “Thank you, Henry. Where in the world did you find it?”
    “In Mrs. Spencer’s backyard,” Henry answered, watching her closely.
    A funny look came over Mrs. Turner’s face. “Oh ... that’s quite impossible. Why, I’ve never been anywhere near —”
    Henry cut in, “Maybe you lost it when you were planting that snapdragon in Mrs. Spencer’s pansy bed.”

    Without saying a word, Mrs. Turner busied herself wiping away the spilled salt. It was as if she hadn’t even heard Henry’s remark. A moment later, though, her cheeks turned bright pink as she