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nodded. “We’ll have to check with Grandfather. But I’m sure he won’t mind.”
    Amanda seemed pleased to hear this. “Steve’s giving me a lift into town tomorrow to run some errands. But Mrs. Dawson will be here,” she said. “And don’t forget your swimsuits,” she added. “If it gets hot, you can cool off in the creek.”
    The children agreed that it sounded like fun. Then Henry and Violet headed to the living room to find the Penner family album while Jessie and Benny went to look for a vase. In the corner of the dining room was a cabinet with glass doors. As Jessie reached a vase from the bottom shelf, Benny tapped her on the shoulder.
    “What is it, Benny?”
    “Look,” he said, pointing through the glass doors.

    There, on one of the cabinet shelves, was a set of Detective Club books. “Oh!” Jessie said. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
    Benny stood with his hands on his hips. “Amanda told us she’d never heard of the Detective Club books,” he said.
    “She said they ‘didn’t ring a bell.’” Jessie recalled.
    “Why would she lie to us?” Benny asked.
    Jessie pulled out a book and opened it to the first page. The inscription read: THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF AMANDA PENNER .
    There was no doubt about it. Amanda really did lie to them. But why?
    Henry and Violet came in and saw the books, too.
    “Maybe she just forgot she owns them,” Henry said.
    But Jessie wasn’t convinced. “Remember when I mentioned the Detective Club authors—Mila Jones and Jake Winston? Amanda changed the subject as fast as she could. Did you notice?”
    The others nodded. They’d noticed, too.
    “But why would she pretend she’d never heard of the Detective Club books?” Violet wondered. “That’s the part I don’t understand.”
    “It does seem odd,” Henry said. “But I think we should concentrate on one mystery at a time. “
    The others agreed. “Let’s find that picture of Dora!” said Benny.

CHAPTER 7
Pandora’s Box
    As they sat on the living-room couch, the Aldens turned the pages of the Penner family album. They found a photograph of Brandon Penner standing on the front porch. He had a mustache, and his dark hair was parted in the middle. But they didn’t find any photos of Dora.
    “That’s funny,” Violet said, pointing to an empty space where a photograph used to be. “A picture’s missing.”
    Benny’s eyes widened in alarm. “I wonder if Steve stole it. I bet he did!”
    “Oh, Benny!” Jessie exclaimed. “Why would Steve steal one of Amanda’s photos?”
    “Maybe it was a picture of Dora,” Benny guessed, “on her birthday number four.”
    The others had to admit this was possible. After all, they hadn’t found any other photos of Dora.
    “We can’t be sure it’s Dora’s picture that’s missing,” Violet said, as she put the album away. “I think we should look in her hope chest.”
    With that, the four children made their way up the carpeted stairs. At the end of the hall, they found a second flight of stairs. They soon found themselves in a dusty attic with a sloping ceiling. It was full of boxes, old furniture, stacks of magazines, and broken toys.
    “Dora’s hope chest must be up here somewhere,” Violet said, glancing around.
    Benny was the first to spot a wooden chest tucked away behind a rocking horse. Taped to the chest was a tag that read: Dora’s Hope Chest.
    “This is definitely it,” Henry said. As he lifted the lid, the smell of mothballs filled the air.
    The children set to work searching the chest. They found clothes yellowed with age, packets of letters tied with ribbons, and an old game of checkers. But not a single photo.
    “Well, that didn’t pan out,” Jessie said as they headed downstairs again.
    “You mean, it didn’t Pan dora out,” Henry joked. They all laughed.
    Once again, the children stopped in the hallway to look at Dora’s picture. “There must be another photograph of her around here somewhere,” said