The next morning the children went to Cogwheel Stadium with Grandfather. They arrived so early they had time to play in the ballpark outside the stadium. As soon as they saw cars arriving for the game, the Aldens put away their bats and balls.
Just inside Cogwheel Stadium, they waited for Emma Larke to show up. “I wonder what Emma will be wearing today?” said Benny.
They saw her coming through the turnstile. Today she was wearing a Cogs baseball cap, an orange Cogs baseball shirt, and white baseball pants.
“I thought Emma hated the Cogs,” whispered Jessie.
“Emma looks very sad,” said Violet.
Henry said hello and asked Emma if they could talk to her.
“Talk?” said Emma. “What about?”
Before Henry could start asking the questions they needed to ask, Benny blurted out, “Why are you wearing a Cogs uniform?”
Emma started to cry. “I’m a Cogs fan, really I am. I should have been rooting for them all along. And now,” she said, crying harder, “the Cogs won’t win the pennant. It’s all my fault!”
“How is it your fault?” asked Jessie.
“I rooted for Cody Howard,” said Emma, “just because I was so mad at Reese Dawkins! And look what happened—every time I cheered for Cody, he hit a home run! Or a triple! If only I hadn’t cheered for him.”
Emma wiped tears from her eyes. “It’s all my fault,” she repeated.
“It’s not your fault,” said Henry, “unless you were telling Cody which pitch was coming.”
Emma stopped crying and looked at Henry. “Huh?” she said. “You mean like in sign stealing?”
“Yes,” said Jessie, “that’s what we mean.”
Emma looked at the Aldens without saying anything. She seemed to be thinking. “Do you mean somebody is stealing signs and giving them to Cody?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Henry, “that’s what somebody is doing.”
Suddenly Emma’s eyes grew wide. “So you think I’ve been stealing signs?”
“Are you?” asked Jessie.
“No!” shouted Emma, who was now angry. “Why do you think it’s me?”
“You wear a lot of different hats,” said Benny. “And you wave them around when Cody comes to bat. Then he gets a big hit.”
Emma became silent. The children waited for her to speak, but she didn’t say anything. Finally Henry asked, “Why do you stand up and wave your hat whenever Cody is at bat?”
“I want to explain,” said Emma, “but I can’t.”
“Why not?” asked Henry.
“Because it involves another person,” said Emma. “Somebody I shouldn’t be talking about.”
“That’s okay,” said Violet. “I know what you mean.”
Emma stared at Violet. “You do?”
Violet smiled shyly. “Yes,” she said. “The other person is Simon Brock.”
All sadness vanished from Emma Larke’s face. Her eyes lit up. She smiled happily. “Do the four of you know Simon Brock? I saw you sitting right next to him two games ago!”
“Yes, we know Mr. Brock,” Jessie replied. “We know that he’s a movie producer.”
“Shhhh!” warned Emma, putting her finger to her lips. “Mr. Brock doesn’t want anybody to know who he is. He wants to watch the games without being bothered.”
“That’s true,” said Henry, “but how do you know that?”
“Oh,” said Emma, twirling a lock of her hair around a finger, “I read film magazines all the time. I’ve seen photos of Simon Brock, so I recognized him in line one day. And,” she said, “I could tell by how he dresses that he doesn’t want people to know who he is. You know, the baseball cap pulled low, and the dark sunglasses.”
“I know why you wear different clothes every day,” Violet told Emma. “I know why you stand up and wave your hat.”
Emma looked at Violet and smiled. “I believe you do know,” she said.
“You want Mr. Brock to notice you,” Violet said. “You want to be a movie star.”
“Yes!” shouted Emma, clapping her hands together. “I want Simon Brock to see that I can act many different roles. One day I was an average fan. The next day I was a Southern lady. Yesterday I was a gangster! And today I’m a diehard Cogs fan.”
Emma changed from happy to worried.” Do you think that Mr. Brock has noticed me?” she asked.
“Yes,” Henry answered. “He has definitely noticed you.” Henry did not tell Emma that Simon Brock suspected her of being the sign stealer.
“Oh!” shouted Emma. “That’s wonderful!” She became quiet and looked at Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. “Do you think … do you think that you could introduce me to Mr. Brock?” she begged.
“Sure,” said Jessie, “if you answer one question for us.”
“Okay,” Emma said. “What question?”
“We saw Carlos Garcia slip an envelope into your purse two days ago,” Jessie explained. “What was in the envelope?”
Emma Larke blushed. “Oh, that,” she said. “That was a note from Carlos asking me for a date.”
“Thank you,” said Henry. “We’ll introduce you to Mr. Brock, but first we have a meeting with Mr. Tanaka.”
“Emma Larke looked guilty,” said Jessie as the four of them walked to the owner’s office. “But she isn’t guilty. So now we’re down to two suspects.”
“But if Carlos wrote a letter asking Emma for a date, maybe he’s innocent, too,” said Violet.
“Maybe,” Henry replied. “But remember that Carlos also gives envelopes to Wheelie. We don’t know what’s in those envelopes.”
When the children entered Mr. Tanaka’s office, they found him walking back and forth, back and forth.
“At last!” he said when he saw them. “Who’s the spy?”
“It’s not Simon Brock,” Jessie told him. “And it’s not Emma Larke.”
“So,” said Mr. Tanaka. “Is it Carlos Garcia? Or is it Wheelie?”
“We can’t prove which of them is the spy,” said Henry.
Mr. Tanaka sat in his chair and put his head in his hands. “Then it’s all over,” he moaned. “The Hatters will win.”
Henry shook his head. “No. We have a plan to prove whether the spy is Carlos or Wheelie.”
Mr. Tanaka looked up. “You do?” he asked, studying the children.
“Yes,” said Jessie. “In order to prove which one is the spy, we have to separate them. We have to stop either Carlos or Wheelie from being where they can see the signs.”
“And where Cody can see the spy,” added Violet.
Mr. Tanaka thought about this a while. “It’s a good plan,” he said. “Which one should we take out of the bleachers?” he asked.
“We’ve talked about this,” said Henry, “and we think Wheelie should leave the bleachers.”
“Hmmm,” said Mr. Tanaka, rubbing his chin. “I will invite Winn Winchell to sit with me in the owner’s box today. In fact, I will insist that he sit with me.”
“That’s good,” said Henry. “Do you have another person to play Wheelie?”
Mr. Tanaka looked at him. “Yes,” he said,” I certainly do.”
“Good,” said Jessie. “But if Cody Howard hits a home run the first time he comes to bat, you must act fast.”
Mr. Tanaka nodded. “Excellent plan,” he said. “If Cody hits a home run, then the spy is Carlos. I will have Carlos removed from the bleachers immediately, so that he won’t be able to signal to Cody for the rest of the game.”
Mr. Tanaka picked up his telephone and spoke to his assistant. “Have Winn Winchell come to my office,” he said. “Immediately!”
In less than five minutes, Winn Winchell walked into the owner’s office. As he walked in, the Aldens walked out.
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