The Mystery in the Snow Read Online Free PDF Page B

some things for tomorrow. I’ll see it in the morning.”
    â€œOkay,” Benny said. “By then we’ll have even more work finished.”
    He didn’t sound disappointed, but the other Aldens knew he was.
    â€œCan we see your masterpiece?” Henry asked.
    Benny brightened. “Let’s go!”
    Jessie laughed. “Aren’t you forgetting something, Benny?”
    Benny was puzzled.
    â€œDessert!” Jessie, Violet, and Henry said all together.
    Benny glanced around. People were still eating their hamburgers.
    â€œWe’ll be back in time,” he assured them.
    They trooped out of the dining room and into the lounge, where Watch was lying by the fire. He joined the parade. Benny led them all outside, down the stairs, and across the lawn. It was dark, but floodlights poured bright pools onto the snow.
    Nearly running now, Benny said, “It’s around the side.” When he turned the corner, he saw a long shadow disappearing behind the lodge.
    Watch began to bark.
    â€œQuiet, boy,” Jessie directed. “Everything’s all right.”
    But as she and Henry and Violet came up beside Benny, Jessie knew she had spoken too soon.
    Chunks of snow were scattered everywhere. Two of the forms were completely bare. Pieces of wood and bits of pipe stuck out from the other snowpeople like broken bones.
    Watch ran around, sniffing and barking.
    â€œOur snowpeople!” Benny said, stunned. “What happened?”
    No one had an answer.

CHAPTER 9
    Tracks
    T he Aldens stood close together, silently looking at the fallen snow figures.
    Henry put an arm around Benny’s shoulder. “Maybe it was an accident,” he said, hoping to comfort his brother.
    Benny didn’t respond.
    â€œWhat kind of accident?” Violet asked.
    Henry shrugged. “Not an accident exactly,” he answered. “What I mean is, maybe an animal did it. A raccoon or something.”
    Benny shook his head. “A person did it,” he said angrily. “On purpose. I just know it.”

    Jessie saw something on the path beside the snow sculptures. She squatted down for a better look. “Benny’s right,” she said. “Look at these.”
    â€œThey’re tracks,” Violet said.
    â€œ Boot tracks,” Henry added.
    Benny knelt down on the snow. “Pete’s boots,” he said.
    â€œHow can you tell?” Henry asked.
    â€œLook at the pattern,” Benny said. “It’s the same as the one Pete’s boots made in the dining room at lunch.”
    Violet searched her memory. Pete’s large orange boots did leave a pattern of snow on the wood floor. “Stars,” she remembered.
    Henry examined the print. The star shapes were barely visible outlines on the surface of the snow. Other shapes stood out more. It was the reverse of the pattern on the floor.
    â€œThe stars on the boot must be indented — sort of like cookie cutters,” he said.
    â€œSo the snow packs into them and drops out later,” Jessie concluded.
    â€œPete did it,” Benny said.
    â€œYou can’t be sure, Benny,” Violet said. “There could be other people with boots like that.”
    â€œHe left the dining room early, didn’t he?” Benny argued. “And I saw him out here.”
    Henry was surprised. “You saw him?”
    Jessie asked, “When?” and Violet, “Where?”
    Benny pointed toward the back of the lodge. “He was just going around that corner when we came out here.”
    â€œYou’re sure it was Pete?” Henry asked. “It’s pretty dark out here. Could it have been someone else?”
    Benny shook his head. “It was Pete’s shadow,” he said.
    â€œPete’s shadow?” Violet repeated.
    â€œIf it was only a shadow, Benny, you can’t be sure it was Pete,” Jessie said.
    â€œLet’s go back to the lodge, and think this through,” Henry