Konrad said something in German and patted June.
Instantly, Anna’s smile vanished. “We will speak English,” she said.
Again Konrad spoke in German.
“I know,” said Anna. “It is more like home if we speak German, but we will speak English, if you please.” She went to the man who still stood near the stairs and put her arm through his. “My husband does not speak German. We will not be rude to him.”
“Your husband?” said Konrad.
“Anna!” exclaimed Hans. “When did you —”
“Last week,” said the man. “Anna and I were married in Lake Tahoe last week. My name’s Joe Havemeyer.”
There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, “So that’s Cousin Anna’s surprise!” said Pete.
Anna laughed. Hans and Konrad hugged her and wished her well, and she showed them her wedding ring — a plain band of gold that fit loosely on the third finger of her left hand. Joe Havemeyer accepted the brothers’ congratulations.
Jupiter Jones hated unfinished business and unsolved mysteries. He waited until the laughter and the exclamations had run their course, then stepped into the office of Anna’s little inn and beckoned Anna to follow him.
“Look,” he said, waving a hand at the jumble of papers scattered on the floor. “Someone must have come in while you were away and searched this room. You may want to call the police, or —”
Cousin Anna laughed. “Oh, that is funny. Hans and Konrad have written that you are a detective. That is very funny.”
Jupe did not enjoy being laughed at. He felt his face getting hot, and he scowled.
“No, no. Do not be angry,” said Anna. “I think you are a good detective. You are right. This room has been searched. My husband and I, we searched it.”
Jupiter waited, not speaking.
“You see,” said Anna, “I have lost a key. It is an important key and I must find it, so I looked everywhere.”
“Maybe we can help,” offered Pete. “At least, maybe Jupe can help. He’s very good at figuring out where people put things.”
“And we’re awfully good at searching,” added Bob. “Jupe, do you have one of our cards that you can give Miss Schmi… I mean, Mrs. Havemeyer?”
Jupiter was still slightly annoyed that Anna had laughed at him, but he took out his wallet and fingered through it until he found a card, which he handed to Anna. It read:
Anna looked at the card. “Very nice,” she said.
“Thank you,” said Jupiter stiffly. “We have an enviable record. We have succeeded in solving puzzles that have bewildered people far older than we. The question marks on the card symbolize the unknown, which we are always willing to pursue.”
Joe Havemeyer grinned at Hans. “Does he always talk that way?” he asked.
“You mean like a book?” said Hans. “Jupe reads all kinds of things, and he can find out what happens, sometimes, when no one else can tell. You let Jupe look for your key and he will find it.”
“That’s very kind,” said Joe Havemeyer, “but I don’t think we need a firm of junior-grade detectives to find a missing key. It’s here, so it’s bound to turn up.”
Without a word, Anna handed the card back to Jupe.
“Very well,” said Jupe. “The key probably will turn up. In the meantime, we had better be moving. It gets dark early on this side of the Sierras and we want to get to the campground and pitch our tent while we can still see what we’re doing.”
“We go, too,” said Hans. “In a little while we can come back and visit some more, huh?”
“Oh, no!” said Joe Havemeyer heartily. “Anna, we didn’t have a wedding celebration. Now that your cousins are here, why don’t we have a party? And Hans and Konrad don’t have to camp out. We’ve got an empty room. They can stay with us.”
Anna appeared startled at the idea, and Hans, who was watching her face, began to object. Konrad quickly interrupted his brother. “It will be a good idea for us to be here,” he said firmly. “Anna’s father is dead.”
“Yes, Anna told me,” said Joe Havemeyer. “What about it?”
“So she has no father to watch out for her,” Konrad went on. “We are her only family here, and some relative should speak for Anna.”
He turned to his cousin and said something in German.
“We speak English, please,” Anna snapped. “Also, if you want to speak with Joe about me, you should have done it before we got married. That is the proper time.”
“But Anna, you did not tell us you would be married,” said Konrad reasonably.
“There is no need to tell you. There is no need to worry. Joe has a good income. And he will stay here in Sky Village and help me run my inn. In the winter he will manage the ski lift. It is all decided and it is not your place to make speeches.”
Konrad turned red and lapsed into silence. Joe Havemeyer made soothing sounds to Anna. She went off to the kitchen with her groceries, and she did not look at either of her cousins as she left the room.
“I think we should leave,” said Hans sadly. “Come on, now,” said Havemeyer. “Don’t take it seriously. Anna’s got a quick temper but by dinnertime she’ll be her usual cheerful self again. I know she’s glad to see you. She’s told me a lot about you. It’s only that she’s proud of being independent. She didn’t like it when you acted like a heavy male relative.”
Konrad rubbed his hand across his face. “I am stupid,” he said. “It is that I have not seen Anna since she was so young, and suddenly I think I am her father, huh?”
“That’s it exactly,” said Havemeyer. “It’ll be all right. You’ll see.”
Havemeyer was right. By dinnertime, Hans and Konrad had moved their luggage into the big square room on the north side of the inn. Since there were only four bedrooms in the place, and since two were already occupied by paying guests, The Three Investigators pitched their tent under the pines on the right side of the house, to the north. Joe Havemeyer had insisted on this. The stream that ran through the campground was low, he told them, because there had been very little snow and rain during the year. The boys would be better off if they stayed close to Anna’s little inn — and a reliable source of water. Havemeyer also insisted that the boys join them for dinner that night. The two paying guests would have to be included in the family party, said Havemeyer, but he wouldn’t let Mr. Jensen and Mr. Smathers spoil things.
The boys met Mr. Jensen and Mr. Smathers just before dinner. Mr. Smathers was a skinny little man who might have been fifty and who might have been older. He wore shorts and had hiking boots that laced almost to his knobby knees. Mr. Jensen was younger and taller and heavier, with close-cropped brown hair and a face that was homely but not unpleasant.
When Anna carried the roast in from the kitchen, Mr. Smathers made disapproving sounds with his tongue, then said, “Beef!”
“No lectures, please,” said Mr. Jensen. “I’m very fond of roast beef and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make me feel like a murderer every time I pick up a fork.”
“Animals are our friends,” said Mr. Smathers. His watery blue eyes were fixed on Mr. Jensen. “Friends do not eat one another.”
Anna had plainly regained her good humor. She smiled at Smathers. “I did not know the cow who was kind enough to provide our dinner. Let us not worry for him, since now he is at least not unhappy.”
“Cows are female,” Smathers pointed out.
“That is of importance only to the cow. For you I have creamed spinach and raw carrots and alfalfa sprouts.”
“Excellent.” Mr. Smathers tucked his napkin into his shirt front and prepared to enjoy his vegetarian dinner, while Mr. Jensen watched Joe Havemeyer carve the roast.
“Ever think of serving venison in season?” Jensen wanted to know. “I got a couple of good shots of deer on the road to Bishop this afternoon.”
“Shots?” echoed Bob. “Mr. Jensen is a carnivorous animal,” said Smathers. “He would gladly shoot deer with a gun if it weren’t against the law. Fortunately it is against the law, so Mr. Jensen does his shooting with a camera.”
“I’m a professional photographer,” explained Jensen. “I specialize in animal pictures. There are plenty of magazines that pay good money for authentic wildlife shots.”
“Living off other creatures, just like any predator,” said Mr. Smathers.
“I don’t hurt them,” protested Jensen. “I only take their pictures.” Smathers sniffed.
Joe Havemeyer finished carving and handed a platter of sliced meat down the table. “Mr. Smathers came up to hike in the high country,” he explained to Hans and Konrad and the boys. “He’s given me a real inspiration. Up above the ski run there’s a meadow, and above that there are miles of real wilderness country. We’re going to try to get hikers to come here in the summer. We’ll advertise good food and good beds within a mile of nature’s unspoiled domain.”
Mr. Smather’s looked up from his alfalfa sprouts. “It won’t stay unspoiled for long if you do that”
“A few hikers won’t disturb the birds and the bears that much,” said Havemeyer. “In fact, the bears aren’t a bit shy.”
“Just because one got into the trash last night… ” began Mr. Smathers.
“Spilled it all over the back yard,” said Havemeyer.
“It isn’t their fault,” countered Smathers. “It’s been too dry this year. There isn’t enough forage for them in the high country, so they come into the village. Who’s got a better right? The bears were on this mountain before the villagers were.”
“Not this particular bear,” said Havemeyer. “And he’d better not come back.”
“Barbarian” exclaimed Smathers.
Cousin Anna struck the table with her fist. “Enough!” she cried. “Tonight we have a party for my wedding and it will not be spoiled by a quarrel.”
An uncomfortable silence settled over the group. Jupe, casting about in his mind for some neutral subject of conversation, thought of the excavation he had noticed that afternoon behind the inn.
“Are you planning to build an addition to the inn?” he asked Anna. “Someone’s been digging out in back. Is it for a foundation for another building?”
“It will be a swimming pool,” said Havemeyer.
“Swimming pool?” Hans was startled. “You want a swimming pool here? It is cool for swimming.”
“It can get hot in the middle of the day,” said Havemeyer. “Of course, it’ll be a heated pool. When we advertise for the hikers, we can throw in not only nature’s unspoiled domain, but also a refreshing dip in the pool at the end of the day. We might even roof the pool over and use it during the winter. Imagine skiing and swimming on the same day!”
“You think big, don’t you?” said Mr. Jensen. There was a bite to his words that caught Jupe’s attention.
“Something bothering you?” asked Havemeyer.
Before Jensen could answer, there was a metallic clattering from the back of the inn, then the crash of a garbage can being overturned.
Havemeyer pushed back his chair and strode to the little closet under the stairs.
“Don’t!” shouted Smathers.
Havemeyer turned away from the closet. He had a sophisticated-looking gun in his hands.
“No, you won’t!” Mr. Smathers jumped up and raced for the kitchen.
“Stop that, Smathers!” Havemeyer hurried after the little man. Hans, Konrad, and the boys followed. They were in time to see Smathers snatch open the back door.
“Go away!” cried Smathers. “Hide! Keep away!”
Havemeyer seized Smathers by the arm and yanked the little man out of the way. The boys had a fleeting glimpse of a large, dark shape fleeing toward the trees that edged the ski slope. Then Havemeyer was in the doorway. He threw up his gun and aimed. The gun made a little pinging noise.
“Blast!” said Havemeyer.
“Missed him, didn’t you?” exulted Mr. Smathers.
Havemeyer stepped back into the kitchen. “I ought to belt you!” he told Smathers.
Pete touched Jupe’s arm and headed for the living room.
“Did you see that gun?” whispered Pete before they returned to the dinner table.
Jupiter nodded. “A tranquilizer gun,” he said softly. “Odd. Why go after a bear with a tranquilizer gun when there’s a shotgun in the house?”
3
The Night Prowler
Jupiter Jones wiggled his toes against the lining of his sleeping bag and stared into the darkness. “The Three Investigators have a case!” he said aloud.
Bob lay next to Jupe in the tent. He turned over and hoisted himself on one elbow. “Do we get to hunt for Cousin Anna’s key after all?” he asked.
“No. Hans and Konrad talked to me after dinner. They want us to investigate Cousin Anna’s new husband. They are very uneasy about him.”
Next to Bob, Pete yawned loudly. “I’m a little uneasy about him myself,” he said. “The guy’s gun-happy. I mean, all we were doing this afternoon was looking at the office and he practically threatened to shoot us.”
“And he used a tranquilizer gun to scare off a bear,” said Jupiter. “That makes no sense at all. Why would he even own a tranquilizer gun? But it isn’t the guns that are worrying Hans and Konrad, it’s the swimming-pool. They are afraid that their hardworking, practical cousin has married a man who’ll fritter away her money on silly projects. I think we must agree that a swimming pool will not be an asset to an inn with only three guest rooms. It couldn’t pay for itself.
“Hans and Konrad are also disturbed by the fact that Havemeyer has no job. They feel that a man his age should be working. While he was helping them move their things into the inn, he told them that he had inherited money from his family, and that he lived in Reno until he met Anna and decided to marry her. The red sports car in the parking lot is his, and it has Nevada plates, so that part of his story checks out.”
“What do we do?” asked Pete. “Go on to Reno and talk to his former neighbors?”
“I hardly think that will be necessary,” said Jupe. “Bob, does your father know anyone in Reno?”
Bob’s father was a newspaperman in Los Angeles, and he knew other newsmen in many of the cities in the West.
“Reno?” said Bob. “No, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him mention anyone in Reno. But I could ask Dad to have the credit bureau in Reno report on Havemeyer. If Havemeyer ever opened any kind of a charge account, the credit bureau will have a file on him. Dad says credit files give you loads of information about people — where their bank accounts are and how much money they have and whether they pay their bills on time — lots of stuff.”
“Good,” said Jupiter. “We can call your father tomorrow.” He sat up and lifted the tent flap. Across the yard, all the windows of the Slalom Inn were dark except one. “Joe Havemeyer is in Anna’s office,” reported Jupe.
“I guess he doesn’t have to pay attention to that No Admittance sign,” said Pete. He sat up, too, and peered out of the tent.
Through the uncurtained window of the office, the boys could see Cousin Anna’s husband. He sat at the desk with his back to the window, sorting papers and putting them into file folders.
“Tidying up,” said Pete. “I’m surprised Cousin Anna isn’t doing that. She’s supposed to be so neat.”
“I think I am a little disappointed with Cousin Anna,” said Jupe. “I’m afraid Hans and Konrad are, too. She didn’t seem pleased when Havemeyer asked them to stay at the inn. She won’t speak German with them. In fact, she doesn’t talk to them much. She lets her husband do all the talking.”
“Family reunions don’t always turn out as advertised,” Pete remarked. He had gotten into his sleeping bag wearing jeans and a warm sweatshirt. Now he fumbled in the dark for his shoes. “At least Cousin Anna’s pastries lived up to their reputation,” he said. “Since Havemeyer’s up, I’m for going over to the inn. I could use a glass of milk and something to nibble on.”
“You would mention food,” Jupe moaned, but he too began to put on his shoes.
Bob unzipped his sleeping bag. “Count me in.”