Space Shuttle Scam Read online

  “Pleased to meet you,” Hanna said. “I’ll make y’all some lemonade.” She left the mail on the table and walked into the pantry.

  “That’ll be lovely, hon,” Alice said as she looked through her mail. “My husband liked the articles in this.” She slid a magazine called Super Science over to Dink.

  The magazine cover showed two guys in rubber boots wading in a green pond. The caption read GREEN GOO THAT CAN SAVE THE PLANET!

  Alice picked up a white card that was mixed among her envelopes. “Oh drat, here’s another of these dumb postcards!” she said.

  “What postcards, Auntie?” Wallis asked.

  “Someone wants to buy this house and property,” Alice said. “They keep pestering me. I’ve gotten half a dozen postcards in the past few weeks.”

  She slid it over to Wallis, who read it aloud:

  IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SELLING YOUR HOME, PLEASE CALL OR TEXT ME IMMEDIATELY!

  321-555-9000. SINCERELY, M.K.

  Wallis said, “Your address is on it, but there’s no stamp.”

  “I guess they just stick the postcards in my mailbox,” Alice said.

  “It’s signed M.K.,” Wallis said. “Who’s that?”

  Her aunt shrugged. “No idea,” she said, dropping the postcard into a drawer near the fridge. “I haven’t gotten back to the person. Then, a week ago, a woman started calling. Don’t know how she got my number, but she said she wanted to buy my house. Said she’d pay cash! Good thing Hanna took the calls, or I would’ve told her something not very nice!”

  “Are you thinking of selling?” Wallis asked.

  Alice shook her head, then sighed. “Maybe I should,” she said. “Just get a small, safe apartment in town. No animals, no burglars. But, darn it, I don’t want to move!”

  “Burglars!” Wallis said. She took her aunt’s hand. “Auntie, have you been robbed?”

  “Not the house,” Alice said. “A few weeks ago, I noticed that your uncle’s diary and his favorite fountain pen had gone missing from his desk in the barn. His father gave him that pen, and Barney treasured it. Oh, and a batch of letters he saved in a file folder are also gone.”

  “Are you sure the things were stolen?” Wallis asked. “Could Uncle Barney have put them away someplace?”

  “Hanna and I searched the desk and the barn,” Alice said. “Those things were there a few weeks ago, and then—poof!—they were gone. Maybe I have ghosts in my barn!”

  Josh gulped loudly.

  “Don’t mind me, young man!” Alice said. “I’m just fretting. Now, come see where you’re sleeping.”

  “And I’m going upstairs for a shower and a nap!” Wallis told her aunt.

  Alice slid a tray of cookies into the oven. “You kids follow me!”

  “I’ll bring the lemonade,” Hanna said.

  “Lovely, hon,” Alice said. She grabbed a key ring from a hook by the door and herded Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose out to the yard.

  “Aren’t we sleeping in the house?” Dink asked.

  Alice shook her head. “I have a special place just for kids!” she said. “Follow me.”

  Alice took them down a stone path across the lawn. Dink noticed a picnic table in the shade of some oak trees. A tall red barn stood at the end of the path, and Dink could see a pond behind it.

  Long sheets of feathery-looking gray stuff hung from the oak tree branches. “What’s that stuff?” Josh asked. He stood on tiptoes and tried to reach some that hung over his head.

  “Spanish moss,” Alice said. “My husband used to call it Grandpa’s beard. I wouldn’t touch it, though. All kinds of critters live inside it!”

  “What kind of critters?” Josh asked, pulling his hand back.

  “It’s a favorite place for mosquitoes to hide,” Alice said. “Spiders go in to eat the mosquitoes. Bats fly in to eat the spiders, and snakes climb up there to eat the bats!”

  Josh looked down at the ground. “Are there a lot of snakes around here?” he asked.

  Alice nodded. “Plenty of snakes live in Florida, but only a few types are venomous,” she said, walking toward the barn.

  “What’s VEN-uh-mus?” Josh whispered.

  “It means poisonous,” Ruth Rose said.

  The barn door was secured with a padlock. The sliding door was decorated with a painting of a space shuttle hurtling across a blue sky. A sign above the door said WELCOME TO THE SPACE SHUTTLE.

  “Howie painted this door and sign last week,” Alice said. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  “He’s really good,” Josh said.

  To the right of the door, a small room had been added to the barn. Dink saw a sign that said COMET CAFÉ. There were a few tables and chairs in front, sitting in the shade of a tall palm tree.

  “Teachers bring classes of kids to see the barn,” Alice said. “No kids are coming this week because of spring vacation, but when schools are in session, I get a couple of busloads a week.”

  On the left side of the sliding door, another room jutted out from the barn wall. The room had four windows and a bright yellow screen door.

  “This is the bunkhouse, where you’ll sleep,” Alice said. She pushed the screen door open, making the hinges creak like a door in a scary movie.

  Alice flipped on a light switch. The walls were light purple, like the sky just before it gets dark. A mobile of the planets and the sun hung from the ceiling. Bunk beds stood against opposite walls. Dink noticed a bathroom at the end of the room.

  “This is excellent!” Josh said. “Who made the cool mobile?”

  “Howie, and he did all the painting, too,” Alice said. “When horses lived in the barn, the saddles and food were kept here. My husband and Howie added a bathroom and built the bunks.”

  Josh leaned toward Ruth Rose’s ear. “The walls almost match your outfit,” he said with a grin. “Like a blueberry milkshake.”

  “My outfit is the color of spring flowers,” Ruth Rose told Josh.

  Dink looked through one of the window screens. “Why is the pond all green?” he asked.

  “That’s algae,” Alice said. “Green slimy stuff that grows like crazy here. My husband asked some scientists about it, and they told him algae grows so fast because of the fertilizer people use on their lawns.”

  “This bunkhouse is perfect,” Ruth Rose said. “Thanks a lot, Auntie A.”

  “You’re entirely welcome,” Alice answered. “Pick your beds, but check the blankets for scorpions.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Josh asked.

  “We have three kinds of scorpions in Florida,” Alice said. “None of them are deadly, but they have a nasty sting!”

  She pulled a purple blanket off one of the lower bunks and shook it out. Then she ran her hand inside the pillowcase and sheets. “Nothing hiding in there,” she said.

  Josh threw his backpack on the bed Alice had just checked.

  “Oh, and peek inside your shoes before you put ’em on in the morning,” Alice said. “Scorpions like to hide in dark places.”

  “No way!” Josh said. “I’m sleeping with my sneakers on!”

  Dink tossed his backpack on the bunk above Josh’s. “I won’t let any critters get you, Josh,” he said.

  Josh shook his head. “We don’t have scorpions in Connecticut!” he mumbled.

  “I’ll leave you to get settled,” Alice said. “Come for lemonade when—”

  Suddenly a scream came through the windows.

  “WHAT ON EARTH!” Alice cried.

  Dink looked out the window again. “It’s Hanna!” he said.

  Alice and the kids ran outside. Hanna was standing next to the picnic table. On the ground by her feet were a tray, a pitcher, and four plastic drinking glasses. She was crying and shaking her head. Alice grabbed Hanna in a hug. “Honey, what is it?
” she asked. “What happened?”

  Hanna wiped her eyes. “It…it was under the table!” she said, pointing. “It ran right over my foot!”

  “What ran over your foot?” Alice asked.

  “A rattlesnake!” Hanna said.

  “Goodness!” Alice said. “Did it bite you?”

  “No, it slithered away,” Hanna said, holding Alice’s hand.

  Just then, Howie came running. “What’s going on?” he asked. Bear showed up and started lapping at the spilled lemonade.

  “Hanna saw a rattlesnake under the table!” Alice said.

  Howie looked to where Alice was pointing.

  “Are there really rattlesnakes around here?” Josh asked.

  “Yup, but I’ve never seen one,” Howie said. “They’re shy and keep out of sight.”

  Hanna bent to pick up the tray. “Leave that,” Alice said. “We’ll take care of it. You go in the house and relax. Maybe check on my cookies?”

  Hanna hurried across the yard to the house.

  “What other poisonous snakes live in Florida?” Ruth Rose asked Howie.

  “We have several,” he said. “The ones I know about are rattlesnakes, water moccasins, copperheads, and coral snakes. Those are the pretty ones—the coral snakes. They have red, yellow, and black bands around their bodies, like ribbons.”

  Everyone looked at the ground.

  “Do any poisonous ones come near the bunkhouse?” Josh asked.

  Howie shook his head. “Not likely. If a snake sees a human or a dog, it’ll hide,” he said. “Plus, we have skunks and raccoons around here, and the snakes are afraid of them, too.”

  “Skunks?” Josh whispered.

  “I’ll clean up this lemonade stuff,” Howie offered.

  “Thanks, you’re a dear,” Alice said. “Come on, kids.”

  Alice unlocked the padlock and slid the barn door open. When the kids stepped inside, dim blue lights came on.

  “Wow!” Josh said.

  The inside of the barn had been turned into a night sky. All four walls, the ceiling, and the floor were painted dark blue with bright stars. Planets hung from the ceiling on thin wires. A large white moon had been painted on the back wall. In front of the moon stood cutouts of three astronauts in space suits.

  “This is incredible!” Dink said. He spun around, trying to take it all in. “It’s like being…in outer space!”

  Alice twisted a dimmer switch on the wall, and the lights got brighter. “My husband worked for Kennedy Space Center. He and some of his engineer friends built it all in their spare time.”

  “What’s that?” Ruth Rose asked. She was pointing at a twenty-foot-tall metal contraption leaning against a wall. One side was open, and leather seats were visible. A ladder was attached to one side.

  “That’s a small replica of a space shuttle,” Alice told her. “My husband saw the real ones at Kennedy Space Center.”

  Josh was looking up at a silver tube hanging from the ceiling by cables. It was the same length as the space shuttle. “Is that a submarine?” he asked Alice.

  “It’s a space simulator,” Alice said. “Barney made that, too. It moves forward and backward and rolls from side to side, making you think you’re traveling in space with no gravity!”

  “I definitely have to try that!” Ruth Rose said. “How do you get up there?”

  Alice pointed to a switch on the wall. “I can lower it, and there are buttons inside to control the thing. Howie’s kids love playing astronaut in it!”

  “Why did your husband build all this?” Dink asked.

  Alice smiled. “He was a space nut,” she said. “Always regretted he couldn’t go into space. So he started building and collecting stuff.”

  She walked over to a small desk in one corner. “This is where Barney wrote in his diary,” she said. “He also sent letters to scientists, and a lot of them wrote back to him. He kept the letters in a fat folder. Now the folder’s gone, along with his diary and pen.” She pulled open the desk drawer. It was empty.

  “Why was he writing to scientists?” Dink asked.

  “Barney was concerned about the environment,” Alice said. “He walked this property every day, taking notes. He even made trails through that jungle out there. Then he wrote to scientists at NASA and the Space Center with his ideas: how to turn Spanish moss into food for cattle, how to use pond algae for running cars, how to bring in seaweed from the coast to fertilize crops.”

  On the desk was a green blotter stained with ink. A jar of pencils sat on the blotter. Taped to the jar was a sign that said BARNEY’S STUFF.

  Josh pulled a shiny pen from the jar. “Is this your husband’s pen?” he asked.

  “Oh my goodness, it is!” Alice said. She grabbed the pen and gave Josh a hug. “My eyesight!”

  The little sign on the jar caused a thought to pop into Dink’s mind. Then it popped out again. He closed his eyes, trying to remember something he’d noticed earlier. Dink felt it was important, but he couldn’t bring the thought back.

  Around the huge room were displays of space suits and packages of the food astronauts ate while in space. Autographed pictures of at least twenty astronauts hung on one wall. Samples of moon rocks were lined up on a shelf.

  “Did those really come from the moon?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “They sure did,” Alice said. “Astronaut Neil Armstrong gathered rocks when he walked on the moon.” She pointed to one rock. “See, he signed this one.”

  “What’s this?” Josh asked. He was standing at a plastic display case. Inside was a strange-looking object shaped like a capital letter H. It was about four feet long, and sat on a sheet of plywood lying across two wooden trestles. Part was cut away to show compartments inside it. “There are itty-bitty people inside!” Josh said.

  “That’s my husband’s replica of the International Space Station,” Alice said. She pointed up. “The real one is up in the sky right now, with real astronauts living in it!”

  Josh peered inside the miniature space station. “What do astronauts in space eat?” he asked.

  “From what I hear, nothing very tasty,” Alice said, heading for the door. “But you get to eat some of my famous cookies!”

  The kids followed Alice back to the house. They stopped to admire Hanna’s motor scooter. It was painted the same blue as a robin’s egg. There were two side compartments under the rear seat. One was open and held books. The cover of one of the books showed a woman who was an old-timey movie star. The word FILM was printed in silvery letters beneath the actress’s face. The other compartment was closed.

  Hanna had left the scooter’s key in the ignition. The key was on a thin chain holding more keys.

  “I’m getting a scooter like this someday!” Josh said. “Here’s where I’ll keep my snacks.” He tapped the closed compartment.

  “Get one that holds three people,” Ruth Rose said. “You can drive Dink and me around town!” She bent down and plucked a limp flower that was stuck in the front wheel spokes. “This flower matches my outfit!”

  They went inside, where the kitchen smelled like warm cookies. Wallis and Hanna were sitting at the table, drinking lemonade.

  Ruth Rose put her flower in a small glass of water and set it on the table.

  “Everyone sit,” Alice said. She arranged some cookies on a plate and brought it to the table. “Help yourselves!”

  “Hanna was telling me about the rattlesnake,” Wallis said. “I would have screamed and dropped the lemonade, too!”

  “Not me,” Josh said, reaching for a cookie. “I love snakes!”

  “And snakes love you,” Dink added.

  Everyone laughed and began eating Alice’s cookies.

  Hanna stood up and put her glass in the sink. “I’m going to go study with Kenny,” she said. S
he took two cookies off the plate and left by the back door.

  “I think Hanna and Kenny are sweethearts,” Alice said. “They spend a lot of time together.”

  “Do they go to the same school?” Wallis asked.

  Alice nodded. “They both go to the community college, but I let them study here because it’s a lot quieter than their dorm,” she said. “Hanna wants to be a movie producer!”

  “Awesome!” Josh said. “Maybe she can make a movie of one of your books, Wallis.”

  “Lovely idea,” Wallis said. “Why don’t you kids do some exploring before supper? Uncle Barney found some arrowheads in the dirt behind the barn, right, Auntie?”

  “He sure did,” Alice said. “There are shovels in the toolshed behind the café. But stay away from the pond.”

  “You might want to put on some mosquito repellent,” Wallis suggested.

  “I have some in my backpack,” Ruth Rose said.

  Alice stood up. “Goodness, it’s almost five o’clock!” She covered the plate of cookies with aluminum foil and handed it to Ruth Rose. “Give these to Howie, would you?” she asked. “His kids will be upset if he doesn’t bring some of my cookies home!”

  Dink took his glass to the sink and placed it next to Hanna’s, glancing at the magnets on the fridge door. The alligator’s mouth was empty—the note was gone. But he remembered the lost thought that had been bothering him. He opened the drawer in front of him, picked up what was inside, and slipped it into his back pocket.

  The kids trooped out the back door. “Remind me to tell you something later,” Dink whispered to Josh and Ruth Rose.

  In the yard, Bear appeared from around the corner of the house, followed by Howie.

  Bear ran up to Ruth Rose to sniff what she was carrying.

  “Are those cookies, by any chance?” Howie asked.

  Ruth Rose handed over the plate. “Auntie Alice said they’re for your kids,” she said. “Can we meet them?”