Boxcar Children 56 - Firehouse Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

big hurry to get away?” Violet added.
    “Do you think he has something to do with the spilled paint or the false alarms?” Benny asked.
    “Maybe,” Henry said.
    The children woke up bright and early the next morning. They were going to paint the living room of the firehouse that day and knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. Jessie tucked the petition carefully in her knapsack, so they would be able to get more signatures.
    But as they rode up to the front of the firehouse an awful surprise awaited them.
    “What happened to the window boxes?” cried Violet, who was the first to notice.
    The beautiful evergreens had been knocked to the ground, where they lay bent and trampled, covered with dirt.

CHAPTER 6
“A Whole Lot of Money!”
    N ot again!” said Jessie. “Yesterday the paint was all a mess, and today it’s the window boxes!”
    “What do you think happened?” asked Violet.
    The children knelt down and examined the trampled evergreens. “Look at the ground under the windows. It’s all scuffed up with footprints,” said Henry.
    “Everything we do to improve the firehouse backfires,” said Violet with a sigh.
    “Maybe that’s the person’s plan,” said Henry.
    “Well, we’re not going to give up,” said Jessie. “That’s just what someone wants us to do.”
    “That’s what Janet Lerner said yesterday!” Benny exclaimed. “She said, ‘You might as well just give up!’ ”
    “I wonder what she was doing downtown,” said Violet.
    “She was going to Rebecca Wright’s studio. You know, the architect. It’s near where we were standing,” said Jessie.
    “You know, we have to go downtown again today to buy the ingredients for the chili we promised Steve. Maybe while we’re there we should talk to Rebecca,” suggested Henry. “She might be able to change Ms. Lerner’s mind.”
    “I doubt it,” said Jessie. “Ms. Lerner seemed pretty angry yesterday.”
    “It’s worth a try,” said Violet. “We can also pick up some more evergreens. It’s a good thing they were half-price!”
    They rode their bikes downtown, and Jessie showed the others where Rebecca’s studio was. The Aldens entered the building and found themselves in a large, airy room, with a slanted drafting table in the center and some other tables along the walls. Large drawings of buildings were spread out on the tables or rolled up in stacks. At the back they could see a smaller office.
    “Rebecca must be back there,” said Jessie. “It sounds like she’s talking on the telephone.”
    As the children waited for her to finish her phone call, they couldn’t help hearing what she was saying.
    “I know, isn’t it great?” she said, excitement in her voice. “We’ll finally have some money. A whole lot of money, if everything goes as planned.”
    Benny was looking at a can of colored pencils, and just then he knocked them over.
    “It sounds as if someone’s come in,” they heard Rebecca say. “I’ll call you later.” In a moment she came out from a door at the back.
    “Hello,” she said. “You’re the kids from the firehouse, aren’t you? The Aldens?”
    “Yes. We want to talk to you about the firehouse,” said Henry.
    “Isn’t it exciting?” said Rebecca. “A brand-new building!”
    “But lots of people like the old building,” said Jessie. “Just look.” She pulled the petition out of her knapsack and put it on Rebecca’s drafting table.
    “Yes, I see,” said Rebecca, looking at the page. “But why are you telling me this?”
    “We were hoping you could change Ms. Lerner’s mind about tearing the firehouse down,” Henry said.
    Rebecca shook her head. “You don’t understand. I’m just starting out as an architect. This is a really big break for me.” She picked up her sketch pad and put it on her drafting table. “Look at my sketches for the new firehouse. It’s going to be wonderful.”
    The children crowded around as Rebecca flipped one page after another. “Here’s the new