Max kicked at the grass with his sneaker. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “Mr. Jennings must have thought that we saw him start the fire or something, so he pretended it was an accident.”
The policewoman smiled. “Come on,” she said. “You kids did some really good detective work. And you were right! But Mr. Jennings isn’t a criminal, even if he wants the field house gone. Thanks for trying to help.”
“Argh! We were so close!” Max said as the policewoman walked away. “I knew that clue was real!”
“At least you were almost right, Max,” Alice said.
Nico clapped his hands. “The only way we’re going to stop Mr. Danforth is to get back to the fund-raiser and make more money,” he said. “Who’s ready to donate and try to score against Alex?”
Everybody raised a hand.
“Come on,” Nico said. He ran over to the donation table. Everyone followed his lead as he pulled out some money. Once they stuffed their bills into Kat’s field house model, they lined up on the sideline.
After they waited for the people in front of them to go, it was Nico’s turn. As soon as the whistle blew, he zoomed up the field, dodging left and right. Alex watched him like a hawk. When he finally kicked the ball, it sailed straight for the top left corner of the goal. But Alex was there and tipped it away.
Nico still looked determined as he jogged off the field. He slapped Max’s hand as he passed by. “I’m going to get more money to try again,” Nico said. “I know I can do it next time.”
One after another, Max, Luke, and Alice went up against Alex. Each time, she stopped their soccer balls before they were even close to scoring. Finally, it was Kat’s turn. She took the ball at midfield and ran toward the goal with it. She headed straight for Alex. But at the last moment, she zipped to the right and nailed the ball, just like Alex had taught her. Instead of flying straight, it bent around Alex, even though she jumped to stop it. The ball was headed for the side of the goal!
Max, Alice, and Luke held their breath. Would Kat be the first one of them to score against Alex?
No. The ball sailed right into the goalpost and bounced back into Alex’s hands. Kat hadn’t scored.
Kat shuffled back to the group.
“Don’t worry,” Alice said. “You’ll do better in the game. That was an awesome kick. You got it around Alex perfectly!”
“I know,” Kat said. “But I didn’t make the goal, just like the last game.”
The kids watched as the last few people took their turns against Alex. The fund-raiser was almost over. The girls’ soccer game was scheduled to start in fifteen minutes.
They wandered back to the donation table. Kat’s mom held up Kat’s field house model. “This is almost full! You kids did a great job!”
“I’ll say,” said Mr. Danforth, who was standing nearby. “I’m not sure you’ve raised enough to save the field house, but here’s a bit more.”
Kat looked at the others. None of them knew what to say. They watched as he stuffed the money into the model of the field house.
“Good luck,” Mr. Danforth said, and then walked away. He started to head toward the field house but then stopped to make a phone call.
“What was that?” Alice asked. “Why would Mr. Danforth donate money to us?”
Before anyone could answer, they heard Alex’s whistle. The fund-raiser was over! Alex ran off the field to cheers. She slapped outstretched hands as she jogged back to the donation table. When she got there, the kids all cheered.
Alice and Kat’s teammate Tasha came over and tapped them on the shoulders. “Coach wants us to warm up,” she said. “Get your cleats and shin guards on and meet us under the tree over there.”
“Okay,” Alice said. She and Kat picked up their equipment and headed for the tree. Max, Luke, and Nico waited near the sidelines as the girls practiced. They watched the Warriors go through their drills on the backup field.
All the while, Max kept glancing across the field at something. Finally, just as the referee blew her whistle, Max nudged Nico and Luke.
“Come on,” he said. “Something’s up. We have to go.”
Nico looked at Max. “What do you mean? Now?”
“We’ve got to get to the field house,” Max said. “Mr. Danforth is heading over there.”
“But what about the game?” Luke asked. “Kat and Alice are almost ready to play!”
Max tugged on their shirts. “We’ll be back soon,” he said. “But we need to follow Mr. Danforth to make sure he doesn’t try to do something like burn it down!”
As the girls ran to the soccer field, the boys headed for the field house.
They crept through the fans crowding the sidelines. Ahead of them, Mr. Danforth was cutting briskly across the grass.
When they got halfway to the field house, Max stopped near a tree along the road. He called Nico and Luke over. They huddled behind the tree, out of sight.
Mr. Danforth approached the front of the field house. They watched as he walked over to the window that Max had knocked out with the soccer ball. He waited until two cars passed by. As soon as the coast was clear, Mr. Danforth reached up and pulled down the board that Nico had put over the broken window!
Nico and Luke gasped as they watched Mr. Danforth climb through the window.
“What’s he doing?” Nico asked.
“Maybe he’s planning on finishing the job Mr. Jennings started,” Nico said. “Either way, we’ve got to keep an eye on him! Let’s go!”
The boys ran over to the field house. They walked up to the broken window and peeked inside. The room was empty. There was no sign of Mr. Danforth.
“Come on!” Nico whispered. He put his gymnastics skills to good use and hopped through the window like a rabbit. Then he reached out and pulled Luke and Max in.
Once inside, they stayed near the wall and tiptoed over to the doorway to the back room. They listened for a minute, trying to hear Mr. Danforth, but they couldn’t. Finally, Nico peeked through the doorframe into the kitchen area. That room was empty, too.
“Maybe he went upstairs,” Nico whispered.
They kept going through the rooms. They paused before checking each one, but Mr. Danforth wasn’t in any of them. The only place left to check was upstairs.
They quietly made their way to the stairs. Nico was just about to climb the first step when Max accidentally bumped the banister. A big, round wooden ball at the end of it popped off.
THUNK! The wooden ball landed on the floor with a crash.
Nico and Luke both looked at Max.
“What’s that?” said a voice from the top of the stairs. The kids looked up.
It was Mr. Danforth!
“What are you kids doing here?” he asked. “I thought you were at the fund-raiser.”
“Um, um…” Max nodded. “We were, but then we saw you come down here. When you came in, we had to check and make sure everything was all right!”
“Yeah,” Luke said. “Mr. Jennings almost burned this place down yesterday. We wanted to make sure no other accidents happened.”
Mr. Danforth stared at them for a moment. And then he laughed. He started down the stairs.
“You don’t think I’m going to burn the place down, do you?” he asked.
Max, Nico, and Luke looked at each other.
Max cleared his throat. “Um, we didn’t know what you were doing here,” he said. “That’s why we wanted to check.”
Mr. Danforth nodded as he reached the last step. “I get it,” he said. “It’s good to keep an eye on things. I just wanted to come over here before the game to think for a minute. I’ve spent a lot of time working on new plans for this place. I can’t wait for the meeting with the town council this week.”
Max’s eyes narrowed. “We know all about that meeting,” he said. “Kat and Luke are going to be there with their mom. They’re going to present the money we’ve collected. If only the town knew all the cool things they could do with this old field house.”
Max stood up a little straighter. “Well, um, a few of us were in here a while ago looking around,” he said. “And we noticed that the field house could be turned into a real community center. Kids could come, and there would be good food and sports equipment for playing. It just needs some fixing up.”
“We can show you,” Nico said. “Come to the kitchen.”
When they got there, Nico pointed out how they could make a cool snack bar for the recreation fields. Maybe visitors could try Nico’s special vegetable zingers. Next, Max led them into the side porch area. He told Mr. Danforth that they thought about making a golf practice room out of it.
Mr. Danforth walked to one side of the room. He settled his feet in position and took a few big swings with a pretend golf club. Then he studied the room and nodded. “I could see that,” he said. “If we set this up as a golf practice range, a lot of people might use it.”
They continued through all the rooms on the first floor. As they walked from room to room, Max kept talking and Mr. Danforth kept nodding.
All of a sudden, they heard a loud cheer outside.
“Hey, we have to get back to the soccer game,” Luke said.
Nico nodded. He checked the time. “Wow, you’re right!” he said. “They’re probably almost finished with the first half.” Nico headed for the front window.
“Sorry, but we should go,” Max said as Nico and Luke crawled out the window.
“That’s fine,” Mr. Danforth said. He waved to them. “You don’t have to worry about me here. I’m just going to think a little more. Thanks for the tour. It was very interesting.”
Once they were outside, Max, Nico, and Luke ran back to the soccer field. Nico had been right. There was only five minutes left in first half of the game. But Alice and Kat’s team was losing 0–1.
The Franklin girls had just taken possession of the ball. The Franklin School students and parents were going wild cheering.
Max, Nico, and Luke pushed their way through the crowd until they found a spot up near the halfway line.
The girls moved the ball up the field. They looked in control. They made pass after pass, and the other team seemed tired from running after the ball. But then a redheaded girl from the Warriors intercepted a pass and dribbled back downfield with it. She streaked down the left side, passing Franklin midfielders and defenders. As she neared the corner flag, she drove a long crossing pass toward her teammates in front of Franklin’s goal. A Warriors player jumped high in the air. She smacked her head into the incoming ball and sent it toward the upper corner of the goal. But at the last second, Franklin’s goalie hurled herself up and snagged the ball.
Franklin’s goalie waited for the players to spread out, and then she threw the ball downfield. It landed right in front of Tasha, who dribbled it for a few feet and passed it to Alice.
Again, the Franklin girls moved the ball toward the other team’s goal. They passed it back and forth easily as the crowd cheered.
With seconds left, Tasha passed the ball to Kat. There would only be time for one chance at a goal before the whistle blew.
Kat raced toward the goal with the ball. One of the Warriors headed right for her, but Kat spun around and moved past her. She cut past another defender who tried to win the ball back. Now there was nothing between her and the goal except the goalie.
Kat wound up and kicked the ball. It sailed right toward the top corner of the goal!
The crowd held its breath. They waited to see if the ball would slide into the net.
But it didn’t.
The soccer ball hit the top post of the goal and bounced up and over it. The referee’s whistle blew. The half was over. Franklin was still behind. Kat had blown Franklin’s chance to tie the game.
The Franklin girls slumped off the field. Ms. Suraci, the team’s coach, gathered them in a huddle for a quick pep talk and then let them take a break for oranges and water.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Luke said. “Kat had been working so hard on her shooting.”
“But she was really close,” Max said. “Let’s go over and try to cheer her up.”
Max, Nico, and Luke wound through the crowd of fans. Many of them had headed to the bake sale table or were hanging out in the shade of the nearby maple trees. The three boys found Kat and Alice resting on the grass.
“Kat, that was a nice try,” Max said. “You almost had it!”
Kat hung her head. “It’s just the same problem all over again,” she said. “I should have tied the game.”
“You will tie the game,” said a voice from behind them. It was Alex. She walked over to Kat and hunched down. She patted Kat’s back.
“You have great form!” Alex said. “All you need to do is make sure your knee is over the ball when you shoot. That way you’ll be right on target. And don’t forget that chip shot I taught you if the goalie comes out of the net. It’s harder in the middle of a game than in practice, but don’t let that stop you. You can do it!”
Kat smiled. “Okay,” she said.
“Just go out there for the second half and pretend it’s a practice with me,” Alex said. “You’ll do great.”
Alex gave Kat a high five and stood up. A few minutes later, the coach called the girls to huddle again. They talked for a while and then took the field for the second half with big whoops.
When the whistle blew, the Franklin girls got off to a good start. They moved the ball downfield toward the Warriors’ goal. Alice took a shot, but the Warriors goalie stopped it.
A few plays later, a Franklin defender fouled a Warriors attacker who was dribbling in the penalty area. The ref held out her hand and pointed to the ground. She was giving the Warriors a penalty kick!
The Warriors player who had been fouled got set and kicked the ball to the left. The Franklin goalie dove to the right but missed it.
Another goal for the Warriors! Now they were ahead 0–2!
Each team ran to its side of the field for the kickoff. The referee placed the ball on the center spot in the middle of the field. Tasha from Franklin’s team stepped up to the ball. When the referee blew her whistle, Tasha pushed the ball to Alice.
“Shift with the ball, Alice! Go, Franklin!” Alex shouted from the sidelines.
Alice and her teammates brought the ball up the field. When they got close to the Warriors’ goal, Shauna had the ball. She ran toward the goalie and a line of Warriors defenders. Right as she was about to run into them, she brought her leg back like she was going to shoot, but instead of kicking the ball, she tapped it to Tasha. Shauna had tricked the Warriors! Nobody was in front of Tasha to stop her. She dribbled it once and then smashed the ball directly into the net!
Franklin had scored! But they were still down by one.
With five minutes left in the game, the teams were tired. Unless Franklin could find some extra energy, it looked like the Warriors might win.
On their next possession, Franklin seemed to find a spark. Tasha threw the ball in, and Alice ran hard up the field.
“Out wide! Out wide!” Alex called.
Alice dribbled the ball expertly and easily went around two tall Warriors. Although she wasn’t very close to the goal, Alice saw an opening and belted the ball. It was a hard-driving shot. It lifted slightly off the ground and sailed through the air. By the time the Warriors goalie spotted it, it was too late.
The ball flew past her and into the net!
Another goal for Franklin! The game was tied! The Franklin team exploded in cheers.
But time was starting to run out. Franklin would need to score again in order to win the game or it would go into overtime.
The Warriors passed the ball back and forth, up the field. They charged toward Franklin’s goal. A tall girl with glasses wove through Franklin’s defense and took a powerful shot at the goal. But Franklin’s goalie blocked it.
“I’ll bet the regular time will end in a tie,” Max said to
Nico and Luke. They nodded in agreement.
The game was coming down to its final minutes.
Tasha passed the ball to Kat. She ran it up the field straight for the goal. But one of the Warriors slid in and knocked the ball out of bounds!
TWEEEET!
The referee stopped the game.
“Woo-hoo! You can do it, Franklin!” Alex shouted from the sideline.
Kat went to the edge of the field and threw the ball in. She was aiming for Alice, but one of the Warriors players intercepted it!
“Oh no!” Luke cried. “That’s gonna be it for Franklin! I don’t think they’ll have another chance!”
The Warriors passed the ball back and forth to move downfield. One of their players was just setting up for a shot on goal when Kat emerged from behind her. Kat knocked the ball away with her right foot and zoomed up the field with it. Most of the Warriors were still down at the other end of the field when Kat came in close to their goal.
She was going to have the last play of the game. There were only seconds left. It was all up to Kat.
She raced for the goal. Suddenly, the Warriors goalie came sprinting toward her. Kat had to make up her mind fast or else the goalie would get the ball! Just as the goalie dove at her feet, Kat kicked at the bottom of the ball, with her foot pointed toward the ground.
Max, Nico, Luke, and the rest of the crowd went nuts screaming and yelling.
Kat’s ball arced high in the air, over the goalie and toward the top of the crossbar.
The kids held their breath.
Kat clenched her hands.
The ball sailed past the top bar of the goalpost.
But this time it was underneath!
The ball bounced into the back of the Warriors’ net.
Kat had scored!
The ref’s whistle blew. The game was over.
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