CHAPTER 1
Missing Letters
“O_ _N_NG … _O_DAY,” six-year-old Benny Alden struggled to sound out the words on the sign in front of the newly built Crossroads Mall. “TH_ … G_M_ … S_ _T … ?” He scratched his head as Grandfather steered the van into the mall parking lot. “I don’t get it.”
“I think there are some letters missing on that sign, Benny.” Twelve-year-old Jessie smiled at her younger brother. “That’s why the words don’t make sense.”
“Oh.” Benny was already a pretty good reader, but he was trying to get even better. “What would the sign say if all the letters were there?”
Grandfather pulled into a parking spot right in front of the sign. Deep red roses bloomed all around it.
The children puzzled out the message a little longer. Finally, ten-year-old Violet spoke up. “I think it’s supposed to say ‘Opening Today. The Game Spot.’”
“Of course!” Fourteen-year-old Henry slapped his hand to his forehead. “Good job, Violet.”
The Game Spot was Queenie Polk’s store. Queenie was an old friend of their grandfather’s, and she had invited the Aldens to come down and see her new store today.
“I don’t know, kids,” Grandfather said as everyone hopped out of the van. “TH_ … G_M_ … S_ _T … must be the Game Spot. Those letters don’t fit the names of the other stores here. But I don’t think the Game Spot is opening yet today. Queenie said she had several last-minute details to take care of before she could open.”
“And look. There’s a space after the O and before ‘day,’” Jessie pointed out. “That means there’s another letter after the O in that word.”
“So what else could the word be?” Benny asked.
Violet walked closer to the sign. “Let’s see … there’s an O in Monday. It could be Monday. ”
“Is there an O in Tuesday ?” Benny asked.
“No,” Henry replied. “And there isn’t one in Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, either.”
“Then I bet the sign is supposed to say: THE GAME SPOT. OPENING MONDAY!” Violet said triumphantly.
Grandfather smiled at them. “You children are good detectives.”
“Yes, we are,” Jessie agreed, thinking of all the mysteries she and her brothers and sister had solved. “But we’re also good at word games. Figuring out what this sign was supposed to say is really just a word game.”
“That’s true,” Grandfather said. “Queenie likes word games, too. You’ll have to see if she’s got any new games to recommend to you. Shall we go say hello to her?”
“Oh, yes,” the children said.
The Game Spot was located right in the middle of the mall, between Lake’s Jewelry Store and an empty storefront. There was a drugstore at one end of the mall, a coffee shop at the other, and several empty storefronts in between.
The door to the Game Spot was propped open with a folding chair that had a “Help Wanted” sign hanging from it. A man dressed in old jeans and a faded shirt was carefully etching the store hours into the glass window. The Aldens walked past him and went inside.
A radio played country music in the background. Several people bustled around stacking merchandise on shelves. The whole place smelled like fresh paint.
“Hey, look at this!” Benny made a bee-line for a model train that was set up in the window. “Doesn’t the third car look like our boxcar?”
“It does, Benny,” Violet said.
The children had actually lived in a boxcar for a short time after their parents died. They didn’t know their grandfather then. They were afraid he’d be mean. So instead of going to live with him, they ran away. They found an old boxcar in the woods and made it their home. But when Grandfather found them, they saw he wasn’t mean at all. He even moved the boxcar to their backyard so the children could still play in it.
“James Alden? Is that you?” A middle-aged woman who was no taller than Violet came down the aisle toward them. Her
Missing Letters
“O_ _N_NG … _O_DAY,” six-year-old Benny Alden struggled to sound out the words on the sign in front of the newly built Crossroads Mall. “TH_ … G_M_ … S_ _T … ?” He scratched his head as Grandfather steered the van into the mall parking lot. “I don’t get it.”
“I think there are some letters missing on that sign, Benny.” Twelve-year-old Jessie smiled at her younger brother. “That’s why the words don’t make sense.”
“Oh.” Benny was already a pretty good reader, but he was trying to get even better. “What would the sign say if all the letters were there?”
Grandfather pulled into a parking spot right in front of the sign. Deep red roses bloomed all around it.
The children puzzled out the message a little longer. Finally, ten-year-old Violet spoke up. “I think it’s supposed to say ‘Opening Today. The Game Spot.’”
“Of course!” Fourteen-year-old Henry slapped his hand to his forehead. “Good job, Violet.”
The Game Spot was Queenie Polk’s store. Queenie was an old friend of their grandfather’s, and she had invited the Aldens to come down and see her new store today.
“I don’t know, kids,” Grandfather said as everyone hopped out of the van. “TH_ … G_M_ … S_ _T … must be the Game Spot. Those letters don’t fit the names of the other stores here. But I don’t think the Game Spot is opening yet today. Queenie said she had several last-minute details to take care of before she could open.”
“And look. There’s a space after the O and before ‘day,’” Jessie pointed out. “That means there’s another letter after the O in that word.”
“So what else could the word be?” Benny asked.
Violet walked closer to the sign. “Let’s see … there’s an O in Monday. It could be Monday. ”
“Is there an O in Tuesday ?” Benny asked.
“No,” Henry replied. “And there isn’t one in Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, either.”
“Then I bet the sign is supposed to say: THE GAME SPOT. OPENING MONDAY!” Violet said triumphantly.
Grandfather smiled at them. “You children are good detectives.”
“Yes, we are,” Jessie agreed, thinking of all the mysteries she and her brothers and sister had solved. “But we’re also good at word games. Figuring out what this sign was supposed to say is really just a word game.”
“That’s true,” Grandfather said. “Queenie likes word games, too. You’ll have to see if she’s got any new games to recommend to you. Shall we go say hello to her?”
“Oh, yes,” the children said.
The Game Spot was located right in the middle of the mall, between Lake’s Jewelry Store and an empty storefront. There was a drugstore at one end of the mall, a coffee shop at the other, and several empty storefronts in between.
The door to the Game Spot was propped open with a folding chair that had a “Help Wanted” sign hanging from it. A man dressed in old jeans and a faded shirt was carefully etching the store hours into the glass window. The Aldens walked past him and went inside.
A radio played country music in the background. Several people bustled around stacking merchandise on shelves. The whole place smelled like fresh paint.
“Hey, look at this!” Benny made a bee-line for a model train that was set up in the window. “Doesn’t the third car look like our boxcar?”
“It does, Benny,” Violet said.
The children had actually lived in a boxcar for a short time after their parents died. They didn’t know their grandfather then. They were afraid he’d be mean. So instead of going to live with him, they ran away. They found an old boxcar in the woods and made it their home. But when Grandfather found them, they saw he wasn’t mean at all. He even moved the boxcar to their backyard so the children could still play in it.
“James Alden? Is that you?” A middle-aged woman who was no taller than Violet came down the aisle toward them. Her
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