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have proof.
    As their ice cream arrived, the Aldens ate in silence. They were each thinking the same thing. Nothing was going to stop them from winning the Great Detective Race!
    “Did you see how fast I went down that last one?” Benny asked the next afternoon. The Aldens were sitting on the edge of the pool, taking a breather from the waterslides.
    Jessie grinned. “I think you broke all the records, Benny,” she said, as she rubbed sunscreen on her shoulders.
    Violet looked over at her little brother. “I got a good shot of you coming down, Benny.”
    Benny beamed. “Cool!”
    “I wonder where the next clue could be,” Henry said thoughtfully. He was craning his neck as he glanced around.
    Jessie slapped a hand against her forehead. “I almost forgot why we came.”
    Benny noticed a lifeguard wearing a WGFD baseball cap standing nearby. On the spur of the moment, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, “We listen to the Big G!”
    The lifeguard jerked his head around in surprise. He was all smiles as he walked over. “Are you sure about that, young man?” he asked, a twinkle in his eye.
    Benny paused. “We do listen to it sometimes,” he replied. “But just not all the time.”
    The lifeguard laughed. “At least you’re honest.” He reached into the backpack slung over his shoulder and pulled out an envelope. “I haven’t given away too many of these yet.” He held the envelope out to Benny. “Good luck!”
    “Wow!” Henry shook his head in disbelief. “How easy was that?”
    “It was a nice change, that’s for sure,” said Jessie, as Benny pulled the next clue from the envelope.
    Violet unfolded the sheet of paper Benny handed her. Then she read the words aloud:
Through a looking glass
    all will be shown;
    the code word you’re seeking
    is made out of stone.
    “It’s the last clue!” Jessie said.
    “Got to be,” said Henry. “It leads to the code word.”
    Violet couldn’t help noticing that her little brother was unusually quiet. She could tell something was troubling him. “Is anything wrong, Benny?”
    “The lifeguard said he gave away some of these clues already,” Benny answered. “Somebody might beat us to the code word.”
    “The lifeguard said he hasn’t given away too many,” Henry said. “We still have a chance.”
    At that, Jessie read the riddle aloud a second time. After some thought, she said, “If the answer is made out of stone, maybe we should be looking for a statue.”
    Henry nodded. “That makes sense.”
    “Wait!” Violet snapped her fingers. “How about the Minuteman statue in the town square?”
    “That’s a good guess, Violet,” Henry told her. “But the Minuteman statue is bronze—not stone.”
    “You’re right, Henry.” Violet nodded. “I forgot about that.”
    “What does it mean about a looking glass?” Benny wondered.
    “A looking glass is an old-fashioned word for a mirror,” Jessie told him.
    “Oh, I get it,” said Benny. “Because you look at yourself in it, right?”
    “You catch on fast,” said Henry.
    “I read a book about a girl who steps through a looking glass,” Violet said thoughtfully. “She suddenly finds herself in a different world.”
    Jessie nodded. “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” she recalled. “It’s about the same girl from Alice in Wonderland.”
    Nobody said anything for a while. They were each lost in thought about the riddle.

CHAPTER 8
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
    “I was just wondering,” Violet said at breakfast the next morning, “do you think we should check out the House of Mirrors?”
    “That store in the mall?” Henry paused as he cut his pancake with the side of his fork. “Seems a bit far-fetched, don’t you think?”
    “It might be worth a shot,” Jessie said. She passed the platter of bacon to Henry. “Don’t you think?”
    “I suppose you’re right.” Henry nodded. “The riddle did mention a looking glass.”
    Benny nodded as he polished off his orange