That night, Grandfather and the children ate dinner at the inn where they were staying. After dinner, the children talked in their room.
“Winn said the envelopes he gets don’t have money in them,” said Benny. “But Henry and I saw money fall out of an envelope in his pocket.”
“Yes,” added Henry. “There were lots of one-hundred dollar bills in the envelope. I don’t think anybody would pay a hundred dollars for a Wheelie autograph.”
“Me, neither!” shouted Benny.
“We didn’t know that Reese Dawkins used to be Emma’s boyfriend,” said Jessie. “I think she wants him to fail at his job as catcher.”
“We didn’t know that Carlos wants to be the Cogs catcher,” added Henry. “He also wants to see Reese fail.”
“Mr. Tanaka was very upset when we mentioned Mr. X,” said Violet. “I wonder why.”
“Wheelie was making fun of us,” said Benny. “It’s not nice to make fun of people.”
“You’re right, Benny, it’s not,” said Jessie.
“Tomorrow is the third of the five games,” Henry said. “Tomorrow we have to figure out which of our suspects is the spy.”
The next morning the children walked straight to the owner’s office.
“We would like to help you again today,” they told Mr. Tanaka.
“Thank you,” he said, “but I think the best way you can help me is to find the spy. So I would like you to spend all the time you need doing that. Where would you like to sit today?”
The Aldens had talked it over the night before. They told Mr. Tanaka that they needed to sit in the bleachers. He handed them tickets to the same four seats they’d had the first day.
“Before you go,” said Mr. Tanaka, “there’s something I must tell you.”
The children waited.
Mr. Tanaka cleared his throat. “Yesterday I did not tell you something—something I should have told you. It is about the man you call Mr. X.”
“What about him?” asked Violet, who could see that Mr. Tanaka was having trouble talking about this.
“Mr. X is really Simon Brock. Do you know who Simon Brock is?”
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny all shook their heads.
“He’s a famous movie producer,” said Mr. Tanaka. “He grew up in Clayton. For three summers, he was batboy for the Clayton Cogs. Now he likes to come back each summer and watch the games. He’s a big Cogs fan.”
“We could tell that he likes the Cogs,” said Henry. “But why did he want us to call him Mr. X?”
“Simon Brock doesn’t want to be recognized,” explained Mr. Tanaka. “He’s afraid that if anybody knows who he is, they’ll bother him. So many people want to be movie stars, they might not let Mr. Brock watch the game in peace.”
Jessie nodded. “What is Mr. X—I mean, Mr. Brock—doing with a notebook and headphone?” she asked.
“Oh, that,” laughed Mr. Tanaka. “He told me he’s working on an idea for a new movie. Whenever he gets an idea, he writes it down. Or he records it by talking into his headphone.”
“Wow!” said Benny. “He must be working on a baseball movie!”
Everybody looked at Benny. “Why do you say that?” asked Mr. Tanaka.
“Because every time something exciting happens in the game, Mr. Tanaka takes out his notebook,” said Benny. “Or he talks into his headphone.”
“Hmmm,” said Mr. Tanaka. “Well, if he is working on a movie, I hope he films it in Cogwheel Stadium.”
“We’re down to three suspects,” said Jessie. “Each of us should watch one person very closely.”
“I’ll watch Emma Larke,” said Violet.
“I’ll watch Wheelie,” said Henry.
“And I’ll watch Carlos Garcia,” said Jessie.
“I’ll watch the game,” said Benny. “I want the Cogs to win!”
The others laughed. “Somebody has to watch the game,” said Henry.
“It’s an important job,” said Benny. “Do you think we have time for some hot dogs before we begin work?”
“There’s Carlos,” said Jessie as Carlos walked toward them.
“Hello,” said Carlos. “Ready for some red hots?” he asked.
“We’re hungry,” said Henry. “We’d like eight hot dogs.”
“Good choice!” said Carlos with a smile. “If I remember right, all four of you like mustard.” He topped their dogs with mustard and passed two hot dogs to each of the children.
“Do you think the Cogs will win today?” Jessie asked him.
Carlos no longer smiled. In fact, he looked very sad. “I don’t think so,” he said. “Every time Cody Howard comes to bat, Reese Dawkins calls the wrong pitch.”
“Is it true that you tried out for the team?” asked Jessie.
“Who told you that?!” Carlos looked at them suspiciously.
“We heard Sam Jackson, the manager, say so,” said Jessie.
“Oh,” said Carlos. “Yes, it’s true. The manager didn’t pick me. But look at the bad job Reese is doing—I’ll bet Sam Jackson picks me next year.”
Carlos walked up the aisle to sell more hot dogs. The Aldens ate their food.
A woman in tan pants and a light trenchcoat sat down in front of them. She wore dark sunglasses and a big hat with a brim.
Violet thought they were strange clothes to wear on a hot summer day.
The woman turned around and said, “Hello to all of you.”
Violet realized that the young woman was Emma Larke.
The Aldens said hello. Violet asked Emma if she thought the Cogs would win today.
“No,” said Emma sadly. “I don’t think so.”
Violet didn’t understand why Emma looked sad. Didn’t Emma want the Cogs to lose?
Carlos returned and said hello to Emma. He sold her a hot dog. As he handed it to her, she whispered something to him. Carlos smiled.
Henry saw Wheelie coming down the aisle. Every few steps Wheelie did a little dance.
When he reached the Aldens, Wheelie sank to his knees. He clasped his hands together as if begging. He shook his head back and forth. Then Wheelie stood up and pointed a hand down toward Emma Larke’s head. Wheelie nodded his head up and down. Wheelie was telling them that he thought Emma was the sign stealer.
Wheelie went to his special platform and sat down. Carlos brought him a hot dog and a soft drink.
“Yesterday Winn thought Carlos was the sign stealer,” Henry told the others. “I wonder what made him change his mind?
The game began. When Reese Dawkins came to bat, Emma stood up and pointed at him. “You’re history,” she growled in a deep voice. “You’re gone, Reese Dawkins. Gone!”
“Look,” Benny whispered to Violet. “She’s pointing with her left hand.”
“Yes,” said Violet. “I noticed that Emma is left-handed.
“Maybe she’s the one who wrote Wheelie’s name on that envelope,” said Henry. He remembered the funny slanted handwriting.
Reese Dawkins hit a home run right at Emma. She ducked, and so did everybody else around her. Wheelie turned three cartwheels on his platform. The Cogs were leading, 1-0.
When Cody Howard came to bat, Emma stood again. She pulled her hat lower on her head and thrust out her arm. She pointed at Cody and growled, “Get the job done, Cody!”
Jessie watched Carlos, who stood staring at Cody Howard. Carlos banged the lid of his hot dog box three times.
Henry watched Wheelie, who was leaning back in his special chair. Wheelie looked like he was relaxing and wasn’t worried.
Cody Howard smashed a triple and drove in one run.
“What if there are two sign stealers?” asked Jessie. “What if Carlos and Emma are a team?”
“Or Carlos and Wheelie,” said Henry.
“What if we can’t prove who it is?” said Violet.
The children looked at each other. They had promised Mr. Tanaka and Sam Jackson that they would discover who was stealing signs. What if they just couldn’t find the proof?
The Cogs lost the game, 2-1.
The Aldens watched as the fans started to leave.
Violet noticed that Emma Larke did not look happy. But if Emma wanted the Hatters to win, shouldn’t she be happy?
Jessie noticed that Carlos slumped down into an empty seat. He looked very sad.
Henry watched Wheelie walk away. It was impossible to see inside Wheelie’s costume, to see if he was happy or sad. |