Read Online The Castle Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner - Free Book Online Page B

doesn’t leave Drummond Castle until the police get here.”
    Benny’s big brown eyes got even bigger. “The police are coming?”
    Jessie nodded. “They will be when I get Grandfather away from Mr. Tooner and Carrie away from Sandy, so Grandfather and Carrie can call the police. I’m still not sure who knows about the violin.”
    â€œNot Mr. Tooner!” Benny whispered. “I think he’s nice.”
    Jessie smiled. “I think so too. But I can’t understand why we found him in Grandfather’s room and why he didn’t seem to want us at Drummond Castle.” Jessie stopped talking. A sad look passed over her face. “We know he plays the violin. I’m afraid that makes him a suspect.”
    This made Benny sad, too. “Grandfather likes Mr. Tooner. He wouldn’t like someone who would take things.”
    â€œI know,” Jessie said. “That’s why we have to find out more about Tom. Then maybe we can figure out Mr. Tooner.”
    â€œAnd Sandy!” Benny said. “Maybe she and Tom are friends, and they took the violin together.”
    â€œThat is just what we have to find out. Now let’s find Grandfather, then Carrie.”
    Jessie took Benny by the hand. They walked out to the grounds to see Mr. Alden.
    â€œWell, hello, you two,” Mr. Alden said. “Have you found that violin yet?” he joked.
    â€œWe found lots of things up in the other tower,” Benny answered truthfully.
    While Benny chatted with Mr. Alden, Jessie studied Mr. Tooner’s face. He seemed curious about what Benny was saying, not angry like Tom.
    â€œGrandfather, could you come in and talk to Carrie now that she’s back?” Jessie asked.
    As soon as they were inside the castle, Jessie and Benny told their grandfather that Tom had found the Stradivarius.
    â€œThen we must call the police right away,” Mr. Alden agreed. “I will tell Caroline what has happened.”
    â€œPlease be careful not to tell her in front of Sandy,” Jessie reminded her grandfather. “We don’t know if she and Tom are trying to steal the violin together.”
    As planned, Mr. Alden went down to get Carrie. He was going to tell Sandy the children needed her to help up in the secret room of the tower.
    Jessie and Benny climbed the tower stairs. Henry and Violet were already busy at work. Tom had the violin case right by his side as he took notes on a piece of paper. Every few minutes he walked over to the window to look out. He seemed restless, but not too restless to keep a close watch on the violin case.
    Jessie knew she had to keep Tom away from the tower windows. She didn’t want him to see the police pull up. She found some beautiful old books in one of the bookcases.
    â€œTom, could you look through these books to see whether they are valuable?” Jessie asked. “If they’re not, then maybe we can donate them to the library.”
    Tom didn’t seem to be interested, but this didn’t stop Jessie. “You know, we’re leaving in a couple of days. We really should decide about these right away.”
    â€œAll right, all right,” Tom said. He walked over to the bookcase in the corner, away from the windows. He kept the violin with him.
    For someone who was an expert on rare books, Tom handled the old fairy tales roughly. He opened and shut the delicate covers as if these were ordinary books.
    This upset Violet. She had a feeling Jessie wanted Tom to stay busy. She went over to the bookcase, too. “I could read off the titles of the books and the names of the authors and illustrators,” she suggested to Tom. “Then you could write down the information. That would take less time.”
    â€œFine, fine,” Tom said impatiently.
    Violet and Tom had just settled down to do this when Sandy came into the secret room.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” she asked Tom. “This is just an old