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in the room that Violet and Jessie shared, “Someone’s going to a lot of trouble to make us think the bridge is haunted.”
    Violet frowned. “Who would do such a thing?”
    “And how?” Benny demanded.
    “Beats me,” said Jessie, who was sitting on the bed next to Benny. “But it sure sounds like water’s flowing under that bridge.”
    “Do you think anybody else heard it?” Benny wondered.
    “Not likely,” said Henry. “Norah and Mrs. McGregor have rooms facing the front of the house. So does Annette.”
    “What about Pam?” said Benny. “Her room faces the back.”
    Jessie shrugged. “Maybe she’s a sound sleeper.”
    “Or maybe she has heard it,” suggested Violet. “She does seem to think the bridge is haunted.”
    Henry said, “There’s another possibility.”
    The others turned to him, puzzled.
    “Maybe Pam’s behind the whole thing.”
    “Oh, Henry!” cried Violet. “You don’t really mean that, do you? You can’t suspect Norah’s niece.”
    “We have to consider everybody,” said Henry.
    “But why would she want to play a trick on us, Henry?” Violet couldn’t believe Pam would do such a thing.
    “You know, I’ve been thinking about Pam,” said Jessie. “She said she never hiked as far as the woods. I wonder why she lied to us,”
    “That was weird,” admitted Violet.
    “What I can’t figure out,” said Henry, “is why Pam would lie about something like that.”
    “Or why she’d try to scare us,” put in Benny.
    “Maybe it’s her idea of a joke,” offered Jessie.
    “Well, if it’s a joke,” said Henry, “it’s not a very funny one.”
    “You know,” said Violet, “There’s somebody else we might want to include on our list of suspects.”
    “You’re thinking of Spence Morton, right?” guessed Jessie.
    Violet nodded. “Maybe he figures it’s the only way to get Norah to sell her bridge.”
    “You mean, by convincing her it really is haunted?” asked Benny.
    Violet nodded again. “He said he’d do whatever it takes.”
    Jessie looked thoughtful. “It’s funny that he was sitting with Darlene last night. I didn’t think he knew anyone in town. He said he was just passing through.”
    “Maybe they’re working together,” Henry suggested.
    “You think Spence and Darlene are partners in crime?” asked Jessie.
    “Could be,” said Henry.
    The others had to admit it was possible. After all, it was Darlene who first told them about the bridge being haunted.
    “I thought of someone,” Benny said. “Annette.”
    Violet looked puzzled. “Annette’s a suspect?”
    “She’s trying to scare us away,” said Benny. “And you know why? Because she wants to find the secret hiding place herself!”
    That made sense to Henry. “You might be right, Benny,” he said. “Annette’s whole attitude changed as soon as Norah mentioned we’d be working on the mystery.”
    “And that would explain why she insists the brooch was stolen,” Jessie realized. “She doesn’t want anyone else looking for it.”
    Violet raised her eyebrows. “You think Annette wants to steal the brooch?”
    “Could be,” Henry answered. “Don’t forget, the brooch is made from valuable jewels. Maybe she needs money for school.”
    Violet still looked doubtful. “I know Annette isn’t very friendly, but that doesn’t make her a thief.”
    “No, but it does make her a suspect,” Henry insisted.
    “I don’t think we should jump to any conclusions,” said Violet, “until we have more evidence.”
    Jessie nodded. “We’ll keep our suspicions to ourselves for now. Let’s try to figure a few things out on our own first.”
    On one thing they were in complete agreement—there were a lot of strange things going on at Eton Place.
    After breakfast the next morning, Norah and Mrs. McGregor set off for town to do a bit of shopping. After waving goodbye, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny went into the backyard to do some investigating. Maybe the person who had been on the