Mystery of the Empty Safe Read Online Free

up, he saw the man in the dark coat who’d been following them the day before. He was walking about half a block behind Benny, limping, just as Benny had noticed the day before.
    But now the sun wasn’t in his eyes, and Benny immediately recognized the man. “Mr. Woodruff!” he said under his breath. He started to say hello. But before he could, Mr. Woodruff turned and went behind a truck.
    “That’s strange,” Benny said to himself. If it had been someone else, Benny would have gone after him and said hello. But he was a little frightened of grouchy Mr. Woodruff.

    So instead, Benny ran ahead to tell the others. But as he got closer, he began to feel funny. How could he tell Sara that her father was snooping around after them? He decided to tell Jessie or Henry and let them figure out what to do.
    When Benny reached the playground, Violet and Sara were climbing on the monkey bars, and Jessie and Henry were sitting on the swings. Benny went straight over to the older children and told them whom he’d seen.
    “That’s strange,” Jessie said. The children looked back down the road, but now there was nobody there.
    “Where do you think he is now?” asked Henry.
    “I don’t know. Maybe hiding behind a tree or bush or something,” said Benny. “But he was definitely following us.”
    “And you’re sure it was Mr. Woodruff?” Henry said.
    “Yes,” Benny said.
    “Why would he be following us?” Henry asked.
    “Two days in a row!” added Benny.
    “Maybe he just wants to keep an eye on his daughter,” Jessie suggested.
    “Yes, but sneaking around behind her is kind of a strange way to do it, isn’t it?” said Henry.
    Just then Sara ran over with a big grin on her face and grabbed the ball away from Benny. “I thought we were going to play soccer!” She ran onto the field. “Come on!”
    The others followed Sara. But before Benny began to play, he looked down the road and around the playground. There was no sign of Mr. Woodruff. Still, Benny wondered if he was hidden somewhere nearby, watching them.
    That night, the Aldens had just finished a delicious dinner of crispy fried chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, and buttery biscuits when the phone rang. Mrs. McGregor answered it. She was the family’s housekeeper and the one who had made the wonderful meal. “Yes, they’re right here,” they heard her say. “Hold on just a minute—I’ll put Jessie on.”
    Jessie took the call and talked for a moment before hanging up. “We’ve got another job!” she told the others excitedly.
    “Really?” said Violet.
    “That was a man named Mr. Grayson. He lives in the same neighborhood as the Pierces and the Woodruffs. In fact, it was Mrs. Woodruff who told him about us. He’s planning his daughter Hallie’s birthday party. It’s this Saturday, and he needs us to help him.”
    “This Saturday! A rush job. I wish he’d called sooner,” Henry said.
    Jessie explained, “Mr. Grayson said they were going to have a skating party, and they rented the party room at the rink to serve the cake in. But now Hallie’s broken her ankle. So they obviously can’t have a skating party anymore. But he still wants to use the party room because he doesn’t want kids running all over his house. He said he has a lot of fancy artwork and stuff there.”
    “We could plan some sitting-down games that they could play in the party room,” Henry pointed out.
    “That’s just what I had in mind,” said Jessie. “I told him we’d come up with some ideas and meet with them tomorrow afternoon.”
    “Sounds great,” said Violet.
    The children spent the evening thinking of ideas for Hallie’s party. Since she’d wanted to have a skating party they tried to keep the theme of winter sports. At last they’d come up with a bunch of fun games and interesting crafts for the kids to make.
    “I think Hallie and her father will like these ideas,” said Henry.
    The following afternoon, the Aldens arrived at the Graysons’ house.