Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Aunt Freda walked over to their booth. "My, you did a good job on those fries," she said. "Anything else?" "No, thank—" Dink started to say.

"Yes!" Ruth Rose interrupted. "Could you show us how you make your fabulous fries? Donald here is really interested in cooking." I am? thought Dink. Aunt Freda beamed at Dink. "Of course, dearie. Come on back to the kitchen," she said. Ruth Rose nudged Dink, and they all followed Aunt Freda. On the other side of the swinging door, the smell of frying potatoes hung heavy in the air. A row of wall shelves held pots and pans, cooking spices, cookbooks, and a bunch of bottles and jars. Against one wall stood a pile of crates bulging with raw potatoes. The woman with short dark hair was standing at a counter, slicing potatoes. She was wearing earphones and didn't seem to notice the kids. Dink stared at the woman. As she stooped over a pile of potatoes, Dink imagined her stooped over a case of Egyptian gold. Aunt Freda interrupted his thoughts. "Come over here," she said, leading the kids to a deep-fry machine. She lowered her voice. "Here's my secret. I put a little garlic and vinegar right in the olive oil,"

she said, then winked. "Promise you won't tell?" Dink nodded. "Promise," he said. "Boy, cooking potatoes is really interesting!" From the corner of his eye, Dink saw Josh scoop something off the kitchen floor and shove it in his pocket. Then Ruth Rose poked Dink. She pointed her chin at a coatrack by the back door. A black jacket hung from one of the pegs. On the floor sat a black gym bag. "Anything else you want to know?" Aunt Freda asked. "No, thanks," Ruth Rose said, smiling. "We've seen everything we need." The kids left the kitchen, with Aunt Freda following them. They paid for their food and started for the door. Suddenly, Aunt Freda put her hand on Dink's arm. "Wait!" she said, digging into the pocket of her apron. "Put out your hands!" The kids obeyed, and she dropped a candy into each palm. "Have a nice day," Aunt Freda said, then opened the door for them. The kids popped the candies into their mouths as they hurried back to their bus stop.

"Did you see that jacket?" Ruth Rose said. "If that woman put it on over her apron, the white edge would show. Is that what you saw last night, Dink?" "It could be," Dink said. "And that gym bag looked like the ones the robbers were carrying." Josh shook his head. "You guys are such amateurs," he said. "The jacket could belong to anyone, and there are a million black gym bags in Hartford." He reached into his pocket. "But I found a real clue!" He held out a smooth pebble the size of an M&M. "What's that?" Dink asked. "Come on, I'll show you." Josh headed for the museum steps. Dink and Ruth Rose followed Josh through the lobby. In front of the tomb, they found a sign announcing that the mummy exhibit was closed. Behind the sign, the sliding door was shut. Josh walked over to the wall and pressed the stone. With a rumble, the wall slid open. Josh leaned inside and scooped a handful of the gravel off the floor. Then he closed the door again.

"See, they're the same," Josh said, holding up the gravel and the pebble he'd found at Aunt Freda's. "I don't get it," Dink said. "I found this pebble on the floor in Aunt Freda's kitchen," Josh explained. "It matches the pebbles in the tomb. The only way it could have gotten from the tomb floor to Aunt Freda's floor was on the bottom of one of the crook's shoes!" "Okay" Ruth Rose said. "But that still doesn't tell us where the gold is." "Or who the second crook is," Dink added. "Maybe not," Josh said, "but something in that restaurant smells!"