The Clue in the Recycling Bin Read Online Free Page A

a plate full of vegetables and another plate full of kebabs—small pieces of chicken on skewers. Finally, she gave each of the children a bowl of dipping sauce.
    â€œChicken!” said Benny. “I love chicken.” He dipped a carrot into the sauce. “I love carrots, too.”
    â€œThis is so good,” said Violet. “Thank you, Mrs. McGregor.”
    Mrs. McGregor smiled. “You’re welcome,” she said.
    â€œSo,” said Jessie, pointing to the newspaper Mrs. McGregor had been reading, “what’s in the news?” All the Aldens loved to read and get information, but Jessie loved it the best.
    â€œWell,” answered Mrs. McGregor, “the police still haven’t caught the person who robbed Jonah’s Jewelry Store a few weeks ago. Somebody broke into the store around midnight, stole a bag of diamonds, and got away before the police arrived.”
    â€œDid the store have a burglar alarm?” asked Henry.
    â€œYes,” said Mrs. McGregor, “but the thief must have moved very quickly—just like Benny is moving for more chicken!”
    Indeed, Benny was in the middle of piling more kebabs onto his plate.
    â€œIf there’s food around, Benny will eat it,” Henry kidded.
    Then Henry also reached for more chicken. So did Jessie and so did Violet.
    â€œMaybe the thief was Ethan,” said Benny. “Ethan moves very, very fast!”
    Jessie explained to Mrs. McGregor who Ethan was.
    â€œSo,” asked Mrs. McGregor, “what will you children be doing the rest of the afternoon?”
    â€œWe’re going back to the recycling center,” said Violet. “We have a mystery to solve.”
    â€œA mystery?” asked Mrs. McGregor. “What kind of mystery can there be at a recycling center?”
    â€œSomebody is breaking in at night and opening bags of leaves,” Benny explained. He stopped eating long enough to make a big circle with his arms, to show how big the bags of leaves were. “And they tipped over a big Dumpster, too,” he added. “The one your frog came from.”
    â€œAnd my notebooks,” said Jessie.
    â€œAnd Benny’s piñata,” said Henry.
    After the children had eaten lunch and helped Mrs. McGregor with the dishes, they pedaled back to the recycling center. Everything at the center looked neat and clean. All the bins were lined up, and except for the bags of leaves and grass in the corner, all the trash was off the ground.
    â€œMrs. Wickett should be happy with how neat this looks,” said Violet.
    â€œYes, but we worked all morning to help sort the bags and boxes,” said Henry. “After the center closes, people start leaving more boxes and bags out on the sidewalk. That’s what gets Mrs. Wickett upset.”
    Jessie and Benny hadn’t met Mrs. Wickett, but Henry and Violet told them what had happened earlier that morning.
    â€œI wonder why Kayla won’t leave the center open at night,” Jessie said. “That way people could bring their recycling inside.”
    â€œShe said she doesn’t want people going into her studio,” said Violet.
    The center was very quiet. The children went to see if Kayla was in her studio.
    The door was open and Kayla was inside, reading the newspaper.
    â€œOh, hi,” Kayla said when she heard them. She stood up quickly and spread the open newspaper across the top of a bench.
    Jessie noticed that Kayla had placed the newspaper on top of something sparkly.
    â€œI didn’t expect you again until tomorrow morning,” Kayla said.
    Jessie noticed that the page Kayla had been reading showed a picture of Jonah’s Jewelry Store. She’s reading the same article that Mrs. McGregor was reading , thought Jessie. The one about the stolen diamonds.
    â€œWe can sort more recycling,” said Henry. “And we promised we would find out who’s breaking into the center.”
    â€œOh.” Kayla