The Capital Catch

by David A. Kelly

  Chip turned to Mike and Kate. He crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “Now, my brother told me you were coming,” he said. “But he didn’t tell me why.”

  Mike and Kate looked at each other. “Pres-ident Diaz told Mike that some of your stuff has been stolen,” Kate said. “Mike and I are pretty good at figuring out mysteries, so I guess your brother thought we might be able to help.”

  Chip shook his head and smiled. “Stolen, eh?” he asked. He pointed to the bottom of his locker. There was a big flat wooden shelf with nothing on it.

  “Like that?” he asked.

  Kate tilted her head. “Like what?” she asked. “There’s nothing there.”

  “Exactly!” Chip said. “There’s nothing there because my brother thinks my travel bag has been stolen!”

  “So the president was right!” Kate said.

  Chip let out a big sigh. He slumped down onto the bench in front of his locker. “Not really,” he said. “My brother’s always trying to help. But sometimes he overdoes it.”

  “But he also told us you had a hat and batting gloves stolen!” Mike said. “Were they?”

  Chip shook his head. “Well, I have had some problems finding stuff lately,” he said. “But it’s not because it was stolen. It’s lost. I’ve lost stuff all my life. I used to lose my homework at school. I lose socks all the time. I’m just losing a little more than usual right now.”

  Chip moved some of the shirts in his locker. He seemed to be looking for something. “Like my new batting gloves. They have my number, eight, on them. I just opened them yesterday, but I can’t find them anywhere,” he said.

  Mike and Kate watched as Chip rummaged through the drawer under his locker for a minute. But he came up empty. “Like I said, who would steal my batting gloves?” he said. “I must have left them in the batting cage or something.”

  “When did you start missing your equipment?” Kate asked.

  Chip shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably about a month ago, when I made a bad play against the Mets,” he said. “I started to get nervous that Coach Jimmy might send me back down to the minors. Lately, it’s all I can think about. I guess I haven’t been able to keep track of stuff since.”

  “But you’re a great catcher!” Mike said. “You don’t have anything to worry about!”

  “Except pop-ups!” Chip said. “I always have trouble with them. I’m great at bunts and squeeze plays and rundowns. But lately, every time there’s a pop-up, I get nervous. I’m worried that I’m going to lose the ball before I can catch it. I just wish I wasn’t losing everything lately. It’s bad luck!”

  “Are you sure no one’s stealing from you?” Kate asked.

  Chip waved his hand. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m sure it’s just getting lost. I’m so focused on trying to keep my job that I can’t be bothered to keep track of everything.”

  Mike glanced at Kate.

  Chip leaned closer to them. “Listen, I appreciate your concern,” he said. “But there’s no problem here. My brother is worrying too much. The only reason he thinks my stuff is being stolen is because he’s the president and he has to be extra careful.”

  “What should we tell your brother?” Mike asked.

  Chip stood up. “Tell him he’s overreacting. Nothing’s being stolen,” he said.

  After Chip left, Mike and Kate stared at his locker for a few moments, unsure of what to do.

  Then Kate tugged Mike’s shirt. “I guess that’s it. I don’t think we’re going to get any further here,” she said. “Let’s go find our seats and watch the game.”

  They left the clubhouse and walked up to the hallway that led to the field. Fans were starting to come into the stadium. As soon as they came across a souvenir stand, Mike stopped.

  “Hang on,” he said. “I want to get a new baseball for other signatures and a holder for my presidential ball.”

  After Mike made his purchases, they continued toward their seats. All around them, fans with red Washington Nationals jerseys streamed by. Off in the distance, Mike and Kate could see the skyline of downtown Washington, D.C. Kate thought she even spotted the Capitol building.

  Suddenly, Mike nudged Kate. He pointed to their right, down to the infield.

  “Don’t say anything now,” Mike said. He continued to point at the field as though he had just seen something. “Just pretend I’m showing you something. Then follow me. Nod your head like you agree!”

  “Um, okay,” Kate said. She nodded as Mike told her to. Then she followed him back and forth through groups of fans carrying trays of food.

  Mike stopped at one of railings that overlooked the field. “Just keep looking at the field,” he said to her. Kate nodded and watched the Nationals players stretch. A few of them got up and ran sprints on the outfield grass.

  Mike pretended to continue to look at the field. But as he did, he turned his head slightly and glanced over his shoulder. Then he snapped his head back toward the field and stared at the players.

  “What’s going on?” Kate whispered.

  “Don’t look now,” Mike said. “But we are being followed!”

  Kate’s eyes opened wide. “What?” she asked. “Where? Since when?”

  “Since we left the Nationals’ clubhouse,” he said. “That bald man in the blue suit from the clubhouse left right behind us. He’s been following us ever since.”

  Mike pulled the new baseball out of his pocket. He rolled it along the railing a couple times, from one hand into the other. Then he leaned toward Kate. “When I drop the ball,” he said, “you follow it and pick it up. Then take a look at the man in the blue suit.”

  Mike let the ball drop to the ground. It rolled across the concrete sidewalk toward a trash can. Kate scrambled after it. She stopped the ball with her foot and bent down. As she picked it up, Kate studied the man. He was definitely the one from the clubhouse. He was watching Mike. Kate hurried back to the railing.

  “That’s weird,” she said. “But let’s make sure he’s really watching us. Now you follow me!”

  Kate handed Mike the ball and headed off down the walkway. Mike hurried to catch up. As they wound their way through the crowd, the man followed them. When they stopped in front of an ice cream stand, Kate pretended to read all the different flavors. The man waited on the other side of the hallway, a few food stands down.

  “He’s definitely on our trail,” she said to Mike. “Maybe he’s the one who’s been stealing Chip’s stuff! He probably saw us talking to Chip and wants to know what we’re doing.”

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, that’s it,” he said. “If we catch him, I can tell the president we’ve solved the mystery!”

  “Now’s our chance,” Kate said. “Let’s corner him. We can do it on the count of three!”

  Mike nodded. “One. Two. THREE!” he said.

  Mike and Kate twirled around and ran directly at the man who had been following them!

  When he saw Mike and Kate running toward him, the man dropped his newspaper and spun around. A few steps later, he ducked into a small hallway.

  Mike and Kate ran as fast as they could to catch up to him. Their sneakers pounded on the concrete walkway. But suddenly, a school group cut right in front of them!

  Mike and Kate made their way through the crowd of kids. Finally, they broke free on the other side.

  “Over there!” Kate said. She pointed to where the man had disappeared. “There’s a door!”

  Mike and Kate sprinted toward the door. It was partway open! They raced as fast as they could, but the door was closing fast.

  Kate was in the lead. When they were a few feet away, Kate reached out to grab the handle.

  Just as she did, there was a loud CLICK!

  The door snapped shut.

  Kate grabbed the handle and rattled the door, but it was locked tight. A big sign above the handle read EMPLOYEES ONLY.

  “Argh!” Mike pounded his fists on the door. “We just missed him! He must be the thief. Why else would he hav
e run away?”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said. “Something’s fishy.” She kicked at the ground. “We almost had him!”

  Over on the main walkway, fans rushed by, trying to find their seats before the game. Then the loudspeakers crackled and an announcer’s voice welcomed everyone to Nationals Park.

  Kate shrugged. “I guess it’s time to find our seats,” she said.

  Mike nodded. He kicked the bottom of the door one more time, but it didn’t open. Then he followed Kate. Their seats were near the third-base line, with a great view of home plate.

  As the last strains of “The Star-Spangled Banner” floated through the air, the announcer called, “Play ball!”

  The Nationals ran out to their positions as all the hometown fans cheered. Even though it was early evening, it wasn’t dark yet. The setting sun had just begun to light the sky pink.

  The first Arizona Diamondbacks batter stepped up to the plate. Jason Jackson, the Nationals pitcher, took the mound. He had a big head of curly blond hair. It poked out from under his red baseball cap. Chip Diaz squatted behind the plate with all his catcher’s gear on. He signaled different pitches with his fingers until the pitcher nodded in agreement.

  Although Mike and Kate couldn’t see the signs that Chip was sending, they were working. The first three Diamondbacks batters struck out!

  When they came up to bat, the Nationals were able to get two men on base with only one out. But the Diamondbacks made a double play to end the first inning.

  The next inning went by fast, with neither team scoring.

  The Diamondbacks almost scored in the third inning, but Chip made an amazing play. The Diamondbacks had runners on first and second with two outs when their batter hit a high pop-up. As it arced sideways down the first-base line, Chip jumped up and ripped off his catcher’s mask. He followed the ball toward the stands. Chip stretched his glove over his head and shifted as the ball came down. Even though it was headed for the first row of seats, Chip kept going. At the last minute, he dove over the infield wall. Chip’s glove stretched toward the ball as his body crumpled into a fan’s lap!

  The crowd gasped!

  But a moment later, Chip pushed himself up and held out his glove. The ball was in it!

  The inning was over, and the Diamondbacks had not scored! The crowd went wild with cheers as the Nationals jogged off the field.

  The play seemed to energize the Nationals, who scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning, to pull ahead 2–0.

  Halfway through the fourth inning, Mike and Kate heard everyone clap and yell. They looked around to see what was going on. The Nationals had just come off the field.

  “It’s time for the Presidents Race!” Mike said. He pointed to the giant video screen behind center field. It showed four presidents with giant foam heads outside the Capitol building.

  “Look, it’s Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt,” Kate said. “I read that Teddy almost never wins. Come on, Teddy!”

  On the screen, the presidents lined up. And they were off! The video showed them running past famous sights in Washington, D.C. Then they burst out of a door in right field and raced toward home plate!

  The presidents jockeyed for the lead. Mike and Kate laughed along with the rest of the fans at the presidents’ big foam heads.

  “Those are great!” Mike said. “Imagine how smart I’d be if my head was that big! I’d never have to study because I’d be able to remember everything!”

  Although the presidents switched leads a few times, it looked like Teddy might win as they rounded home plate and headed for the red finish line. He was far out ahead of the others!

  The crowd screamed, “TED-DY! TED-DY! TED-DY!”

  Just before Teddy reached the finish line, a giant mascot monkey jumped out of the stands and knocked Teddy over!

  Kate gasped. But then she started laughing as the monkey screeched and jumped around while Teddy struggled to get up.

  Mike kept cheering for Teddy, but one by one, the other racing presidents zoomed past him.

  Moments later, George Washington won the race! The crowd clapped and hooted as the presidents disappeared. “That was cool,” Mike said. “But just wait until tomorrow’s race. President Diaz told me a special secret about what’s going to happen!”

  “What secret?” Kate asked. “Tell me! Tell me!”

  Mike shook his head. “I can’t!” he said. “The president told me not to tell anyone.”

  A minute later, the Diamondbacks took the field for the bottom of the fourth inning. For the next few innings, the Nationals kept their lead of two runs. But then they changed pitchers, and the Diamondbacks scored two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game!

  It would all come down to the ninth inning. The Diamondbacks were up first. Two batters struck out, but then the Diamondbacks got two men on base. With runners on second and third and two outs, the Diamondbacks batter hit a pop-up.

  Chip flung off his mask and charged out of his crouch. As he ran in front of home plate, the base runners zoomed forward. The man on third ran for home. The man on second ran for third. The ball arced up and then started to drop down near home plate.

  It should have been an easy out for Chip. The ball was headed right for his glove. Chip lined it up and got ready.

  But as the ball approached, Chip shifted slightly left. The ball hit the edge of his glove.

  It bounced off!

  The first Diamondbacks runner crossed home plate. The Diamondbacks were now ahead, 3–2.

  The ball landed on the ground and rolled toward first base. As Chip chased after it, the second runner crossed home plate. Now the Diamondbacks were ahead 4–2.

  Chip finally picked the ball up and threw it to the pitcher, who was standing at home plate.

  The players returned to their positions while Chip stood near home plate and stared at his glove. After a moment, he whipped it off and threw it on the ground! Then Chip walked away while the pitcher and other players tried to look busy. The umpire started to walk over to Chip, but Chip waved him off and went to pick up his glove.

  The game started again, and the Nationals were able to get the next batter out to end the top of the inning. But the damage had been done. Chip’s error might cost his team the game. The Nationals needed to score two runs to tie, and three to win.

  But that’s not the way it went. The first two Nationals batters struck out. Chip was up third. As he walked to the plate, Mike jumped out of his seat. He pulled Kate’s arm and urged her to stand. The crowd was cheering in the hopes that Chip would get a hit.

  But Mike wasn’t cheering for Chip like the rest of the fans. Instead, he pointed to an aisle behind home plate. Halfway up the aisle was the man in the blue suit they’d been chasing earlier!

  “Look!” Mike cried. “It’s him again. He’s watching Chip!”

  As Chip took practice swings at the plate, the bald man in the suit kept scanning the stadium with his eyes and checking on Chip.

  “Come on,” Mike said. “Let’s go get him!”

  Mike and Kate scrambled out of their seats. But as they ran up the steps, Chip swung at the first pitch and popped out!

  The game was over. The Nationals lost.

  Mike and Kate continued to run toward the man in the suit, but soon they were stuck behind all the fans who had gotten up to leave. When they finally got to where the man had been standing, there was no sign of him.

  “Missed him again!” Kate said. “First he followed us. Then he was lurking near Chip. He’s got to be the thief!”

  Mike scanned the crowds. But Kate was right. The bald man was gone.

  “I can’t believe Chip made such a big error last night,” Mike said. “That was exactly what he was worried about!”

  “I know,” Kate said. “I hope he doesn’t get sent back to the minors!”

  It was ten o’clock the next morning. Mike, Kate, and Mrs. Hopkins had just arrived at Nationals Park to take a tour.

  �
��Hey, I know you!” the tour guide said when he saw Mike and Kate approaching. It was Andy, Chip’s friend.

  For the next hour and a half, Andy took the group on a tour of the stadium. They climbed to the upper level, where Andy pointed out how they could see the top of the Washington Monument and the Capitol building.

  “The first president to throw out a first pitch was President William Howard Taft in 1910,” Andy told the group. “He did it during a Washington Senators’ opening-day game. Every president since has thrown out at least one first pitch.”

  “Wow, I would love to have one of those baseballs,” said a woman in the tour group.

  “So would I,” Andy said. “I collect presidential souvenirs. I don’t have any presidential baseballs, but I do have a great collection of campaign pins.”

  After touring the luxury suites, Andy led the group down to the field, where they took pictures in the dugout. Mike asked if they could go into the bull pens and throw a few practice pitches, but Andy said no. Visitors weren’t allowed there.

  The tour concluded at the gift shop near the front entrance.

  “Thanks for the tour, Andy,” Mike said.

  “You’re welcome,” Andy replied. “And, hey, I’m still interested in buying that baseball signed by President Diaz. Let me know if you want to sell it.”

  “Not right now,” Mike said. “But I’ll think about it. We’re heading out to look at the monuments.”

  “Sounds good,” Andy said. “If you change your mind, I’ll be working at the gift shop in the Lincoln Memorial all afternoon.”

  Kate stepped closer to Andy. “Hey, before we leave, can we talk to you about something?” she asked. “We’re worried about Chip. We’ve heard that some of his equipment is being stolen. But he’s not telling anyone about it. He says it’s just lost!”

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, we wanted to know if you’ve seen anyone suspicious around Chip who might be stealing his stuff.”