The Skeleton Key Mystery Read online

  “Violet,” said Jessie. “That’s your pumpkin! You won first prize!”

  “Congratulations!” the fair volunteer said. “What a perfect pumpkin for Hammond Hills.”

  Violet blushed as the volunteer gave her four tickets for the hot-air balloon at Dawson’s Farm.

  “Listen,” said Jessie. “The band sounds like it’s about to start playing. Let’s go see the concert.”

  In a few minutes, Nick took center stage. He had an electric guitar strapped to his chest. He grinned at the Aldens, who had managed to find front-row seats.

  As Nick started playing, his guitar sounded like something from a spooky movie. Then the organist added low, eerie chords. The bass player and drummer followed with a deep rhythm.

  “They’re really good,” said Henry. “Very professional!”

  Just then a cloaked figure with a skeleton face burst from behind a black curtain at the back of the stage.

  “That’s Zoey, from the corn maze!” said Violet. “I recognize her, even with the cape and the scary makeup.”

  “That’s strange,” said Jessie. “Nick didn’t mention she was in his band.”

  “And Zoey didn’t say anything either,” whispered Henry. “Even when Violet noticed she had on the same tee shirt as Nick.”

  Zoey sang haunting lyrics as the band played on. The crowd cheered after each spooky song. The Aldens cheered along with them.

  But as the musicians took their final bow, something happened to make the crowd’s cheers go quiet. A banner unfurled from the back of the stage, showing a smirking, black-and-white skeleton. Below it, in red letters, were the words, You will NEVER escape!

  “Wow!” said Henry. “Look at that!”

  Some people in the crowd started to laugh, thinking it was just another Halloween joke. Others weren’t so sure.

  “That’s the same message from that horrible escape room!” someone said. It was the woman who had stormed out of the Skeleton Key with her family the day before. “We were trapped inside!”

  “I heard about that,” someone said. “There is definitely something wrong with that house.”

  “It should be torn down, if you ask me,” said another person.

  As the crowd slowly went their separate ways, the Alden children waited to talk to Nick. They had promised to send good wishes from Maru. And now they had some questions for him too.

  CHAPTER

  Up, Up, and Away!

  Nick greeted the Aldens next to the stage. The other band members were packing up their equipment and loading it into a van. Zoey was nowhere to be seen.

  “That was a great concert,” said Jessie.

  “We all thought it was really good,” said Henry.

  “Thank you,” said Nick. “I’m glad you could come.”

  “The music was a little creepy!” said Violet.

  “Only a little?” Nick laughed. “We need to do better next time!”

  “Where did Zoey go?” asked Benny.

  “She had to get back to the farm to take care of the hot-air balloon,” said Nick. “And I need to go to the Skeleton Key to give Maru a break.”

  “The farm festival is just across the road,” said Jessie. “Maybe we can ride along with you?”

  “My jack-o’-lantern won four tickets for the rainbow balloon,” said Violet.

  “Congratulations!” said Nick. “Sure, you can have a ride. Let’s go.”

  Nick had to maneuver the van around booths, tents, and other cars to reach the main road. Soon they were on their way.

  “That big banner at the end—was that part of your act?” asked Henry.

  “Oh, that? No, it wasn’t,” said Nick. “But it was a nice way to end our concert, wasn’t it?” He smiled.

  Violet noticed that Nick seemed to like things to be as scary as possible. “But the banner frightened people,” she said. “A lot of them thought it had something to do with what happened at the Skeleton Key.”

  “I don’t know why someone would have it in for the Skeleton Key,” said Nick. “But still, it could turn out to be good advertising, don’t you think?”

  “We’re not so sure about that,” said Henry. “The people we overheard wanted the house to be torn down.”

  “Gosh, I hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Nick. “Do you believe the rumors? About the skeletons?”

  Benny was about to speak up, but Jessie spoke first.

  “There’s no such thing as living skeletons or haunted houses,” she said. “There is an explanation for what’s going on. We just don’t have it yet.”

  Nick drove along in silence until they arrived at Dawson’s Farm.

  “Here’s your stop,” he said. “Enjoy your balloon ride!”

  “Thanks,” said Jessie.

  “Say hello to Maru, please,” said Benny.

  “I will do that, Benny,” said Nick. “See you all later!”

  The Aldens walked around the edge of the corn maze and headed toward the open field where the balloon was anchored. On the way, they noticed Farmer Dawson next to the maze exit. He was loading something into the back of his truck.

  “Hi, Farmer Dawson,” said Benny. “Isn’t that the skeleton from the end of the maze?”

  Farmer Dawson seemed startled to see the children.

  “Oh, this? Yes, it is. I’m closing the corn maze for the day.” He scowled at the children. “Where are you off to, anyway?”

  “Violet’s jack-o’-lantern won first prize at the town fair competition,” said Henry.

  “The prize was four tickets to ride in the rainbow balloon,” said Violet.

  “Isn’t that swell?” said Farmer Dawson. He struggled with the skeleton, finally letting it drop with a clatter into the back of the truck. The skeleton knocked over a can, sending nails rolling under a pile of tree branches. Farmer Dawson grumbled and climbed into his truck. The children offered to help, but the man just waved them away.

  “What a grump,” said Benny. “Let’s get going before the balloon ride closes.”

  “Why was he loading the maze skeleton into his truck?” asked Jessie. “He’ll just have to bring it back tomorrow.”

  “That does seem strange,” said Henry.

  “Maybe he’s afraid the skeleton will run away,” said Benny.

  “You and your skeletons,” said Henry, laughing. “Look, I see Zoey up ahead. Let’s get there before she closes down for the day!”

  The children hurried to where Zoey stood, leaning on the hot-air balloon basket and texting on her phone. She put her phone away when the Aldens approached.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she asked. “We were about to close.”

  Zoey had changed out of her stage costume. Violet noticed only a little bit of the scary makeup on her face.

  “Are we too late for our free hot-air balloon ride?” Violet asked. She showed Zoey the four winning tickets.

  “Um, I guess not,” said Zoey. “I was planning on going up one more time today anyway. Get in!”

  “Thank you,” said Jessie. She wondered why Zoey would want to take the balloon up with no customers.

  The Aldens piled into the big wicker basket. Zoey worked some controls, and flames appeared over their heads.

  “Oh my goodness!” said Violet. “Why is there a fire?”

  “The balloon needs hot air to rise,” said Henry. “Don’t worry, the balloon is fireproof.”

  “That’s right,” said Zoey. “The balloon traps the hot air that those burners make.” She waved at a crew member and said, “Let her go!”

  The crew member untied the ropes, and the balloon slowly lifted into the air.

  “But how do we get back down?” asked Benny. He peered down at the landscape getting smaller and smaller.

  “I just pull this cord,” said Zoey. “It controls a vent on the top. When the vent opens, the hot air escapes, and we slowly go down to the ground.”

  “That’s a relief,” said Violet.

  As the balloon rose, Zoey pulled out her ph
one and started texting again. The children perched on the other side of the wicker basket and watched the scenery below. With the sun just beginning to set, it was the perfect time to go up in the balloon. For a little while, the children were quiet as they drifted higher and higher.

  “Everything seems so far away when we’re on the ground,” Violet said. “But up here, you can see it all at once.”

  “The people look like little ants!” said Benny.

  “Look, there’s the Skeleton Key,” said Henry. “Nick just pulled up to the front.”

  “And there goes Maru,” said Jessie. She pointed at the cherry-red pickup truck heading away. “She’s probably tired from working all day by herself.”

  Violet noticed that Zoey was still busy texting on her phone and not paying attention to the balloon. “I hope customers came to the Skeleton Key today,” Violet said.

  This seemed to catch Zoey’s ear. She finally put her phone back into her pocket. Zoey fiddled with the controls and looked out over the scenery.

  “I just love it up here,” she said, changing the subject. “You can see the town fair over that way.” She pointed in the other direction.

  Henry noticed how Zoey seemed to avoid the subject of the Skeleton Key. “We sure enjoyed your dad’s corn maze yesterday,” he said.

  “We liked the riddles as clues to solve the maze,” said Jessie. “The sign on the corn maze said that part was new this year.”

  “I solved the penny clue!” said Benny.

  Violet picked up on what her older brother and sister were getting at. “The puzzles reminded us of the riddles at the Skeleton Key,” she said.

  The children looked at Zoey.

  “My dad’s corn maze has been in business for a very long time,” said Zoey, scowling. “He came up with something new this year. So what?”

  “I guess people can come up with the same ideas at the same time,” said Jessie.

  “It just seems like a big coincidence,” said Violet.

  “Whatever,” said Zoey. “The corn maze has been a successful business year after year. A stupid escape room opening up close by doesn’t bother us at all.”

  For a little while, no one spoke. Jessie was surprised at how defensive Zoey seemed to get. She looked down at the corn maze and noticed Farmer Dawson’s truck heading out of the farm.

  “Look at the colors over to the west, where the sun is setting,” said Zoey. “This has been one of our most colorful autumns ever.”

  The balloon floated along on a gentle breeze, revealing a landscape painted in bright colors. The Aldens admired the colorful rolling hills and golden fields. After a little while, Zoey stood up and adjusted the controls.

  “That’s the end of the ride,” she said. “Let’s bring her down.” She pulled the vent cord and carefully let the balloon descend. It drifted down on the far side of the field near the corn maze. Near the ground, Zoey threw a line to a crew member, who began tying it off.

  “I hope you enjoyed your prize-winning ride,” she said.

  “It was lots of fun!” said Benny.

  “Yes it was,” said Jessie. “Thank you very much for your tour of the beautiful landscape.”

  “No problem,” said Zoey. She helped the crew anchor the balloon, turning her back on the children.

  “Let’s go over to the Skeleton Key,” said Henry. “Maybe Maru is back from her break by now.”

  The children walked down the road. As they approached, they saw Maru’s cherry-red pickup parked outside the Skeleton Key. Nick’s car was parked in front of it.

  This time, no one was running out of the old house screaming. Instead, Maru was sitting on the porch with her head down, staring at the porch floor.

  CHAPTER

  Close to the Bone

  The children surrounded Maru on the porch.

  “Are you okay?” asked Henry.

  “I’m fine, thanks,” said Maru. “But my business isn’t. I’m ruined.”

  Jessie looked inside the window and saw Nick sitting at the desk, wearing headphones.

  “Did you have any customers?” she asked.

  “Oh yes,” said Maru. “I had several customers this morning. Everything was going great.”

  “Did something happen while you took a break?” asked Henry.

  “Yes. Nick had a big group. He said they’d just heard that the Skeleton Key was haunted but wanted to try it anyway.”

  They must have heard about the banner at the concert, Henry thought.

  “What happened to the group?” asked Violet.

  “While they were in the escape room, they heard that scratching sound,” said Maru. “You know, the one from yesterday? The group didn’t think anything of it at first. Then they got really scared.”

  “Why?” asked Benny. “Was it a skeleton?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” said Maru. “They said they heard the sound of marching bones—an army of them.”

  “Marching bones?” asked Violet. “What does that sound like?”

  Maru shook her head. “I don’t know. But it scared the wits out of them.”

  “Did Nick hear anything?” said Henry.

  “I haven’t spoken to him,” said Maru. “I got here just as the group was running out. They told me what happened and promised to tell others not to come.”

  “Let’s talk to Nick,” said Jessie.

  “Do you want me to stay out here with you?” asked Violet.

  “That’s sweet of you, Violet,” said Maru. “But I’ll be okay. I’m just going to sit and think about what happens next.”

  Violet followed her siblings into the house. Nick was tapping his fingers and staring at the desk. It didn’t seem like he knew they were there.

  “Nick?” Henry rapped on the desk. Nick looked up and took off his headphones.

  “Oh, hi,” he said. “Did Maru tell you what happened?”

  “Yes, she did,” said Jessie. “Did you see or hear anything?”

  “I didn’t,” said Nick. “You see, once I let the group into the escape room, I put on my headphones to listen to a new playlist Zoey sent me.”

  “How did the people get out of the room?” asked Henry.

  “Oh! I felt them banging on the door,” said Nick. “I let them out, and they ran out of here like a ghost was after them. That’s when Maru pulled up.”

  “Why didn’t you go outside and ask what was going on?” asked Violet.

  “I heard them yelling about it,” said Nick. “I was too embarrassed to talk to Maru. I’m sure I’m fired now.”

  “She’ll probably understand,” said Violet. “But this was very bad for her business.”

  “We should check outside,” said Jessie. “Maybe there are clues out there about what the group heard.”

  “As long as we stay together,” said Benny.

  “Of course,” said Henry, mussing Benny’s hair. “Let’s go.”

  Henry opened the back door, and they all headed into the yard. As the children were walking around the corner, Violet tripped. Jessie caught her just in time.

  “Look,” said Violet. “A bone!”

  There wasn’t just one bone. There were dozens. They seemed to be forming a path toward the graveyard.

  “Some of the skeletons lost their bones while they were marching!” said Benny.

  “Oh Benny,” said Jessie. “That doesn’t even make sense. Remember? In the story, the skeletons only came out at night. The sun is barely setting.”

  Benny thought about this. Jessie had a good point. “But how else could the bones have gotten here?” he asked.

  “Wait a minute,” Henry said. He noticed something strange about one of the bones. He rolled it over with his foot. “There’s a sticker on this one!”

  “It’s a barcode,” said Jessie. “This is a dog bone treat!”

  “So, they aren’t from the graveyard?” asked Benny.

  “No,” said Henry. “They’re just like the ones we buy from the pet store for Watch.”
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br />   “Someone put them here to scare people,” said Violet.

  Henry snapped his fingers. “We saw Burke and Hannibal going into the pet store today,” he said. “Maybe we can find out what they were doing there!”

  The children headed back to the porch, where Maru was loading things into her truck.

  “I was just coming to get you,” she said. “Let’s get out of here. I already sent Nick home.”

  “Okay,” said Henry. “We’ll change our clothes, and then we have an errand of our own to run.”

  “Oh look, puppies!” said Benny. “This one looks like Watch.”

  The children crowded around a playpen where five puppies romped around.

  “Those puppies are rescues,” said a voice behind them. A short woman with kind eyes appeared from the back room of the pet store. “Would you like to hold one?” she asked.

  “Yes, please!” said Violet.

  The woman picked up a squirming puppy and put it in Violet’s arms. The puppy immediately began to lick Violet on the face.

  “Stop! Stop!” Violet closed her eyes and giggled.

  “It would be fun to have a friend for Watch,” said Benny. He stroked the puppy’s head.

  “I think Watch would get jealous,” said Jessie, laughing.

  “You are probably right,” said Violet. She handed the wiggly puppy back to the woman, who returned it to the playpen.

  “What can I do for you young people?” she asked.

  “We are wondering if you sell large dog bone treats,” said Henry.

  “Oh, of course!” said the woman. “Follow me.”

  She showed the children a shelf full of bones, from small to gigantic. Violet noticed that most of them had little stickers like the one they found behind the Skeleton Key.

  “This one looks like a dinosaur bone,” said Benny, holding up a bone almost as big as himself.