“That’s right,” said Henry, “but listen to the rest of the story.”

  Henry read the newspaper story aloud. It told all about the Muldaur shop. It explained that in the 1920s, two children had inherited the shop. The son, Aaron Muldaur, wanted to turn it into an antique shop. The daughter, Melissa Muldaur, wanted to stick to clock design and repair. For a few years, the shop did both things. But Aaron and Melissa could never agree. They fought over what the shop should be selling. Finally, Melissa left, and Aaron kept it as an antique shop. Melissa started her own business, one that only made and fixed watches and clocks.

  “And that’s why it is now Muldaur’s Antique Shop,” said Benny. “Not Muldaur’s Time Pieces.”

  “I think that’s also how the whole fight started,” said Violet.

  “What do you mean?” said Benny.

  “I see what you’re saying, Violet,” Henry said. “The fight that started it all was about more than just a clock. It was about what kind of shop the family should have and who would get to keep the shop. That was all very important to the brother and sister, Aaron and Melissa. I can see why the argument might have lasted for years and years.”

  “But we still don’t know who is threatening Mr. Muldaur today,” said Jessie.

  “It’s got to be someone in Mr. Muldaur’s family,” said Henry.

  “Wouldn’t Mr. Muldaur have known that person?” asked Benny. “We know who is in our family.”

  Jessie said, “Mr. Muldaur might have never known. It could be a second or third cousin. It’s probably someone from Melissa Muldaur’s side. After all, they were the ones who didn’t keep the shop.”

  The Aldens put away the books and newspapers.

  “We learned a lot tonight,” said Violet. “Maybe Mr. Muldaur can help us with the rest in the morning.”

  But the morning brought new surprises.

  CHAPTER

  Break-In, Breakthrough

  When the children arrived at Muldaur’s Antique Shop, Mr. Muldaur was outside. He stood on the sidewalk, staring at the door and scratching his head.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Violet. She was holding the mantel clock they had brought home. “Was there another accident?”

  “I don’t think this was an accident,” said Mr. Muldaur. “Someone broke into the shop last night.”

  The children looked at the storefront. Nothing looked to be wrong. “How did they get in?” said Jessie. She was sure Mr. Muldaur had locked up the day before.

  “I’m not sure,” said Mr. Muldaur. “There’s no broken glass or anything like that. But the door was open when I got here.”

  “Is anything missing?” asked Henry.

  Mr. Muldaur shook his head. “I’m not sure yet. But…”

  “Look!” said Benny, pointing to the ground. There were small screws and a bolt lying just inside the doorway. Benny knelt down and picked up something shiny and smooth.

  “That’s the doorknob,” said Mr. Muldaur. “Whoever broke in knew how to take the lock apart. Who could do that?”

  “Let’s go inside,” said Jessie. “We will help you find out what the person took.”

  “I’ll have a look at the safe and the cash register,” said Mr. Muldaur. “A robber would try to get into those, I bet.”

  “And I’ll see if I can put that lock back together,” said Henry. “I just need the toolbox from the office.”

  Inside the shop, some items had been taken down from their shelves, and some of the furniture was moved, but nothing appeared to be broken. In the office, papers were scattered over the floor. The file cabinet drawers were pulled out.

  “Someone was definitely looking for something in particular,” said Jessie. “Let’s get these papers back in order. Then we’ll know if anything is missing from the office.”

  After a little while, Mr. Muldaur came into the office. “The money is all here,” he said. “None of the jewelry is gone either. In fact, I can’t think of anything that’s missing!”

  Despite the mess, the Aldens could not find anything missing in the office either.

  “Why would someone break in and not take anything?” asked Jessie, closing up one of the file cabinets.

  “Maybe they were looking for something that wasn’t here!” said Benny. “Because we had it at home!”

  “The clock!” said Mr. Muldaur. “Do you think that is what they were after? Does this have something to do with that note?”

  The children told Mr. Muldaur what they had learned about the clock and the history of the shop.

  Mr. Muldaur shook his head. “It all makes sense. Now, if I could only remember who that person was,” he said. He took a deep breath. “Well, until then, let’s clean up.”

  The Aldens got to work putting the shop back in order. The doorbell jingled several times as customers came to browse and to buy. Then a familiar sneeze came from the doorway, and Mitzy bounded forward. The young man, Gary, stood in the doorway petting the dog.

  “Again?” said Violet to her sister quietly. “He keeps coming here.”

  Jessie put down the vase she was carrying and went to the front of the shop.

  “Hello there,” she said to Gary. “What brings you in today?”

  Gary blew his nose and looked up. He smiled. “Oh, just the usual,” he said. “I’m saying hello to my favorite dog.” He looked around. “It’s a little different here. Are you rearranging?”

  “Someone rearranged while the shop was closed last night,” said Jessie. “There was a break-in.” Jessie watched Gary carefully.

  “Uh-oh,” said Gary. He stopped petting Mitzy. “Was anything taken? Any damage?” He looked worried.

  “We don’t think so,” said Jessie. “That’s what is so strange. Do you know anyone who would want to break in and take something?”

  Gary shook his head. “I sure don’t,” he said. “Mr. Muldaur doesn’t have many friends, but I didn’t think he had enemies either. There’s never been a robbery here. I would know if there had been.”

  With that, the young man followed Mitzy down one of the aisles. Jessie thought he might buy something, so she went back to cleaning up.

  But Violet had other ideas. She had moved several tables to the middle of the shop, where they stood together. Then Violet had arranged ceramic figurines on each table. One table had animals and people that were painted in pale colors. Another table had figurines that were all in black and white. The middle table had brightly painted figurines. Most of those were painted in shades of purple, from grape to magenta to deep violet.

  “What do you think?” Violet asked Jessie. “Don’t these ceramics look good together? Wouldn’t you want to buy them now that I’ve set them this way?”

  Jessie smiled. “It’s beautiful, Violet,” she said. “You have a wonderful eye. I’m sure this will help Mr. Muldaur sell more of these antiques.”

  When things had been put back in the front of the shop, the girls returned to the office. Henry had stacked most of the loose papers into neat piles on the desk and was sorting through them.

  Benny was under the desk. “Hey, what is this?” he said. He crawled backward from under the desk and held up an envelope.

  “Whew,” he said. “It’s dusty under there! I wonder how long this has been hiding.” Benny wiped some dust off the envelope and gave it to Henry.

  “This has the name Gary Hughes on it,” said Henry. “It’s not sealed. Let’s see what’s inside.” Henry pulled out two pieces of paper. “This one is a check,” said Henry. “The other one is a letter.”

  Henry sat down and read the letter. “It says that Mr. Hughes’s last paycheck is in the envelope. The letter is from Mr. Muldaur. He says he’s sorry that he wasn’t a better boss. He wishes that he had cleared up the problem with the dust mites. Then Mr. Hughes might not have quit working for him.”

  “Dust mites?” said Benny. “What are those?”

  Henry said, “They’re tiny creatures that live in dust. People can be really allergic to dust mites.”

  Benny looked at his dusty hands. “I’ve never seen anything crawling in dust,” said Benny. “They must be invisible.”

  “No, Benny,” said Henry. “Dust mites are microscopic. That means you need a microscope to see them because they’re so small.”

  “Hold on,” said Jessie. “Did you say the person’s name was Gary Hughes?”

  “Hey, we know someone named Gary,” said Violet.

  “A Gary who sneezes a lot!” said Benny.

  CHAPTER

  A Test and a Tree

  “Mr. Muldaur!” The children rushed out of the office to the front counter, where the shopkeeper was working.

  “Is everything okay?” Mr. Muldaur asked.

  The children showed him the check and the letter he’d written. For a moment, he did not understand. Then a sad look appeared on his face as he finished reading the letter. He sighed. “I never gave Gary the check or the letter. He must be furious with me.”

  “Do you remember Gary now?” asked Violet.

  Mr. Muldaur scratched his head where his bandage had been. “Yes, it’s coming back to me now. Gary worked in the shop for years. We were friends. But he had to quit about a month ago. His allergies had gotten too bad for him to stay.”

  “Gary stopped in a few times,” said Violet. “He asked about you every time.”

  “In fact,” said Jessie, “he might still be here! Mitzy, where did Gary go?” Mitzy just wagged her tail and turned toward the back of the shop.

  A sneeze came from the direction of the office.

  “I think I know the answer to that question!” said Benny. Henry stayed to help the other customers in the shop. Everyone else rushed to the office.

  They found Gary sifting through papers on the desk. He looked up suddenly and dropped the papers he was holding. “Oh! Whoops!” he said. “I was just trying to find…”

  “Your paycheck?” asked Mr. Muldaur. He held up the check and the letter.

  “I’m really sorry,” said Gary. “I got tired of coming over and not being able to get my paycheck. And with you not remembering, Mr. Muldaur…I thought I’d look for the check myself. I didn’t mean to snoop around.”

  “It’s all right, Gary. I understand,” said Mr. Muldaur. “I should have given you your check some time ago. I should have cleaned up this place so you could stay and work here too.”

  Mr. Muldaur sat down at the desk. Then he continued, “Now that my memory is coming back, I can see how I treated you. I wish I had done something about your allergies. I guess I was a pretty bad friend.”

  “But, Mr. Muldaur, you were planning to do something,” said Jessie. She pulled the to-do list off the bulletin board. “See? It says, ‘Pick up air cleaner from hardware store.’ You had your accident before you could run that errand.”

  Mr. Muldaur gave a small smile. “Still, it seems as if I closed the barn door after letting out the horses.”

  Benny was confused. “Where are your horses now, Mr. Muldaur?” he asked. “We can help you find them!”

  “Oh, Benny,” said Mr. Muldaur, smiling. “That’s just an expression.”

  “He means that he did try to take care of the problem,” said Jessie. “He just waited until after Gary quit his job.”

  “I’m really sorry I don’t work here anymore,” said Gary. “Mr. Muldaur, you and I really did well together. Do you remember?”

  Mr. Muldaur nodded.

  Gary went on. “The only problem for me was my allergies. If you could fix that problem, I’d be happy to come back to work.”

  Mr. Muldaur handed Gary his check. “I intend to make this shop much less dusty,” he told Gary. “And more organized! I hope you can come back soon.”

  Gary promised to stay in touch. Then he left the shop.

  “It’s time for me to go take care of customers,” said Mr. Muldaur. “I’ll send Henry back here. You children can take a break and have a snack.”

  Henry, Violet, and Benny shared some fruit and homemade cookies Mrs. McGregor had packed for them. But Jessie didn’t stop to eat. She kept looking at Mr. Muldaur’s to-do list.

  “I think this list is starting to make sense now,” she said. “Look.” She showed the piece of paper to the others.

  Schedule cuckoo clock appraisal

  Meeting in park at 7:30—wrap and bring package!

  Send letter to G. H.

  Pick up air cleaner from hardware store

  “I see what you mean,” said Henry, munching a berry. “Mr. Muldaur scheduled the appraisal with Ms. Spritz. We were in the shop when that happened.”

  “G. H. stands for Gary Hughes,” said Violet. “That explains the letter we found in Mr. Muldaur’s office. And…”

  “‘Pick up air cleaner’ means that Mr. Muldaur was going to get rid of the dust mites,” said Benny. “So Gary wouldn’t sneeze so much.”

  “Right,” said Jessie. “We also know something about that meeting in the park that never happened.”

  “It was about the clock,” said Benny.

  “But we still don’t know who Mr. Muldaur was going to meet,” Violet added.

  “I don’t think it could have been Gary,” said Jessie. “What do you think, Henry?”

  Henry shook his head. “Gary wasn’t interested in getting a package from Mr. Muldaur,” he said. “He just wanted his paycheck. And his old job.”

  Jessie nodded. “Now we need to find out who Mr. Muldaur was going to meet,” she said. “That’s the person who’s angry with him.”

  “Well, we know a few things about that person,” said Violet. “We know they probably broke into the shop.”

  “They’re really smart about taking things like doorknobs apart,” said Benny.

  “They are probably related to Mr. Muldaur too,” said Henry.

  The children stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Then Violet spoke up. She was holding the to-do list in her hand. “There’s one more thing on this paper. It talks about ‘ancestors.’” She pointed to the writing above the list. “Could it be a clue?”

  Henry, Jessie, and Benny gathered around. They had been so focused on the items on the list, they had forgotten all about the website and login information scribbled at the top.

  “Good thinking, Violet,” said Jessie. “Mr. Muldaur must have visited that address before the accident. Let’s see what it is.”

  The children used Mr. Muldaur’s computer in the office. They discovered that Find Your Ancestors was a website that helped people find their relatives.

  “This company asks you to take a DNA test,” said Jessie. “You send in your test, and they can find people you’re related to.”

  “How do you take a DNA test?” asked Benny. “Is it like a spelling test?”

  “This is a much different kind of test, Benny,” said Henry. “I learned about it in science class. You have to send a small amount of your saliva to the company.”

  “It’s a spit test?” said Benny. “Gross!”

  Henry shook his head. “Your DNA is in your saliva,” he explained. “DNA is like an invisible code that tells a lot about you. It can tell who you are, where you come from, and who might be in your family.”

  “All that just from a little saliva,” said Violet. “And you can see your whole family tree!”

  Benny was still confused. “A tree?” he asked. “What does a tree have to do with a family? Is that another one of those expressions?”

  “That’s exactly what it is, Benny,” said Violet. “A family tree is just a chart of the people in your family.”

  Jessie entered the username and password from the to-do list. A chart came up on the screen. The children studied it.

  “This is definitely Mr. Muldaur’s chart,” said Henry.

  “I see his name,” said Benny.

  “I see Jeanie Muldaur’s name too,” said Violet. “It’s right there, under ‘sister or brother’!”

  Jessie said, “Let’s follow this chart back a few generations. Remember that Muldaur’s Antique Shop was in the family. But then a brother took over and a sister decided to go into business for herself.”

  “Look!” said Benny. “There’s Melissa Muldaur, right next to her brother, Aaron.”

  The Aldens followed the chart down Melissa Muldaur’s family tree, hoping to find a name they might recognize. But when they came to a name they all knew, it was not a Muldaur at all.

  “Lydia Sweeting!” said Henry.

  “My history teacher?” said Jessie.

  “And Mr. Muldaur’s second cousin!” said Violet.

  CHAPTER

  Family Reunion

  The children excused themselves from the shop. With the new information, they needed to see someone right away.

  “Ms. Sweeting said she works in a watch repair shop in the summer,” said Jessie.

  “There’s only one of those in Greenfield,” said Henry. “Let’s go there.”

  Right down Main Street went the Aldens. Just as they got to the watch repair shop, they saw Ms. Sweeting. She had just stepped outside and was holding her big black bag, the one with the motorcycle with clocks for wheels. She looked up and seemed startled to see the children.

  “Hi, Ms. Sweeting,” said Jessie. “We came to talk to you. Do you have some free time?”

  “Um, yes, I suppose so,” said Ms. Sweeting. “I was leaving work for the day. What is it you children need?”

  “We want to talk to you about a clock,” said Jessie. “A particular clock in Mr. Muldaur’s shop.”

  “Oh my,” Ms. Sweeting sighed. She looked up and down the street. “Can we go somewhere more private and sit down to talk?”

  “How about the park?” said Violet. “It’s right nearby.” Ms. Sweeting agreed.

  When they were all seated on park benches, Henry began. “Did you know that you and Mr. Muldaur are in the same family?”

  “Yes, I did know that,” said Ms. Sweeting. “He and I are distantly related. Our family tree goes back a pretty long way.”

  “We saw your tree,” said Benny. “We saw it on a computer. And we read a story about an old family argument.”