Rock 'n' Roll Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

worked great. So I gave him the money, and off he went.”
    â€œWhat did he look like?” Jessie asked.
    â€œHe was tall and thin. He had very dark hair, and a beard and mustache. He was also wearing glasses.”
    â€œHmm,” Henry said. “That could be a lot of people. Anything else?”
    â€œWell, the van he was driving was white,” Zoey replied. “And it had a big blue stripe running across the sides. It was all beat-up, too. Kind of old.”
    Jessie was carefully writing down Zoey’s description on a spare page in Violet’s sketchbook. Beard and mustache, glasses, white van —it wasn’t much to go on. Was it someone the children had seen working at the festival? Jessie tried to remember. Maybe this person isn't right under our noses after all, she thought. Was there anything else she could ask Zoey?
    â€œWhat was the man wearing?” she asked.
    â€œOh, my goodness, I almost forgot!” said Zoey. “He was wearing a beret. One of those funny little hats that artists wear.”
    Jessie nodded excitedly and looked at Henry. They were both sure they’d seen someone wearing a beret recently. But who?
    â€œI’m glad you asked me,” Zoey went on. “I guess I don’t tend to imagine hats on people, because so few people wear them. But I did notice the beret. And I’m definitely going to remember it when I call the police and tell them what I know. In fact, I’d better do that now.” She reached for her cell phone.
    â€œThat’s a good idea,” Henry said. “And thank you for talking to us, too.”
    Zoey waved good-bye to the children from the parking lot as they walked back to the street.
    â€œI know we saw a man wearing a beret sometime today,” said Violet. “Was it at the festival?”
    â€œI think so,” said Jessie. “But we saw a lot of people there.”
    â€œWhoever the man in the beret is,” said Henry, “he certainly didn’t steal any of those instruments for the money.”
    Jessie agreed. “He sold those keyboards for nearly nothing. He must have some other motive, which is—”
    â€œâ€”to ruin things for the Greenfield Four,” Violet finished.
    Benny had been quiet all this time.
    â€œWhat does a beret look like?” he asked finally. “Because that man we talked to this morning, the one with the beard—he had something funny on his head.”
    The children stopped in their tracks.
    â€œYou mean, the man who was working around the stage?” Violet asked. She remembered how he’d stopped to admire the sign she’d painted.
    â€œAnd then later we asked him if he’d seen Raymond,” Jessie said, remembering.
    â€œHe was friendly,” Henry noted. “But you know what’s odd? First he said he didn’t know who the Greenfield Four were. But then when we talked to him again, he knew Raymond was their roadie.”
    â€œThat is strange,” Jessie said. “Very strange. We ought to tell the band that this man might be the thief. We can tell the police, too! If only …” her voice trailed off. “If only we knew his name.”
    The other children nodded sadly. There wasn’t much they could do without knowing the man’s name.
    â€œMaybe the Greenfield Four will know who he is,” Violet said, hopeful. “We can describe him.”
    â€œThat’s true,” said Henry.
    â€œSpeaking of the Greenfield Four,” Benny thought of something. “What happened to their poster?”
    He pointed to a nearby phone pole. The children could see that a poster had been torn off recently—only a few scraps at the corners remained. Even from the torn pieces they could tell it had been a poster for the Greenfield Four’s show at the festival. The children had helped design the poster, and they could recognize Violet’s artwork in the corners.

    â€œLook! There’s