Finders Keepers Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

morning, right after breakfast, the four children and Watch walked to the old Bidwell house. This time, they didn’t use the shortcut. Benny was careful to let the others go first as they pushed open the rusty gate and headed up the front walk.
    “Look,” said Henry. He pointed to a battered green van parked in the shadows in the overgrown driveway.
    “I guess we didn’t notice that last night,” Jessie said.
    “I don’t think a ghost would drive a van, do you?” Violet asked her little brother.
    “Probably not,” Benny admitted.
    “And look,” Violet said. “The geraniums in the pots on each side of the front door look as if they’ve just been planted.”
    “They have,” said a voice.
    All of the Aldens jumped, which surprised Watch into giving a quick bark.
    “Hi there,” said the voice. Henry turned and saw that it belonged to a young woman leaning out of an open window at one end of the porch. The woman’s black hair was pulled into a long braid. She had brown eyes and she was smiling. “Are you my new neighbors?” she asked.
    “Not exactly,” Jessie said. “We live a couple of blocks away. But last night we noticed, well, that something about the house was different, so we came over this morning to check it out.”
    “Two blocks over is still close enough to be neighbors,” declared the woman. “Come on in.” Her head disappeared from the window, and a moment later the front door swung open.
    “Hi,” she said. “I’m Lina Diaz.”
    “We’re the Aldens,” said Benny. “Is this your house?”
    “It is,” said Lina. “I inherited it from my cousin. But he didn’t live here — the house has been empty for a long time.”
    “I know,” said Benny.
    “Oh,” said Violet. She frowned. “But if you’re Lina Diaz, why does everyone call this the Bidwell house?”
    “Well, it used to be owned by a woman named Hope Bidwell. She was my great-great-aunt,” explained Lina. “The house is still full of old-fashioned things. Would you like to come in and take a look?”
    “It’s not haunted?” asked Benny.
    “No!” said Lina. “At least, I’m pretty sure it’s not. I spent last night here and didn’t see a single ghost.” She gave Benny a reassuring smile.
    The Aldens followed Lina inside. The open windows let in fresh air and sunshine, but it still looked as if no one had lived in the house for a long time. Everything was dusty. Watch sneezed as he trotted after them.
    “It’s going to take a lot of work to get this place back in shape,” said Lina. “Fortunately that’s one of the things I’m good at. I’m an architect, and it will be fun to work on my own house.”
    “It’s a nice house,” Violet said politely. She looked around shyly.
    Lina laughed. “It was once,” she said, “and it will be again. I’ve been going through it and labeling things I want to keep and things I don’t want. I was just about to take a look in the attic and have some lemonade. Do you want to join me?”
    “Yes, please,” said Jessie.
    “Which do you want to do first? Have lemonade, or look in the attic?” Lina asked.
    “The attic,” Jessie said at once. The others nodded eagerly.
    So Lina led the way up a flight of stairs in the back of the house to a door on a dusty landing. She pushed the door open, and Watch sneezed again. So did Benny and Violet.
    “Very dusty, isn’t it?” said Lina. She pulled a flashlight from her pocket and used it to find a light switch. A dim light came on. “Oh, dear,” Lina said in dismay.
    The attic was fall of dust — and all kinds of boxes, chairs, tables, lamps, and mysterious, lumpy objects hidden by sheets and blankets. To walk, each of them had to turn sideways to squeeze between piles of furniture and boxes.
    Henry said, “I’ll go open the curtains on that window over there to let in some more light.”
    “Good idea,” Lina said. “But be careful.”
    Henry wriggled between two boxes, his feet kicking up dust. A moment later,