Mike sprang up from his chair. “Well, let’s go investigate!” he said.
Mr. Owen shook his head. “No, we can leave that to the police,” he said. “Plus, Jordan just couldn’t have stolen the card. I know he’s a good guy.”
“What if you issued a reward for the return of the card?” Grace asked. “I’ll bet if you offered some money, whoever took it might return it. A reward might be a really good idea.”
Mr. Owen tapped the desk with his fingers. “That is a good idea, Grace,” he said. “I’ll need to get approval for that. But first, I’ve got to call the police so they can handle it.”
“Okay,” Mike said. He tugged on Kate’s shirt. “Come on, Kate. We need to help clean up. Good luck!”
As soon as they left Mr. Owen’s office, Mike pulled Kate aside. “We need to get to Jordan before the police do,” he said. “I think he stole the card. But Mr. Owen seems to trust him. We need to investigate.”
After breakfast, Kate’s mom gave them permission to go to the Otesaga to visit with Big D and Jordan.
As Mike and Kate ran down Cooperstown’s main street, their boots crunched on the light blanket of snow. They passed green wreaths hung on lampposts and stores decorated for the holidays.
Mike pulled open the front door of the Otesaga. The lobby was covered with ropes of green garland and colorful ornaments. It looked ready for the big community center holiday party that night.
“Where do you think Jordan is?” Kate asked as they looked around the lobby.
“Well, he’s definitely not here,” Mike said. “Let’s start by checking the gift shop, the reading room, and the business center.”
They ran to the gift shop and then the reading room, but Jordan wasn’t in either. Then Mike and Kate headed for the business center. It was a small room that had three computers and a printer.
“Bingo!” Mike said as they walked in. Jordan was writing on a pad next to one of the computers.
Jordan looked up when they entered the room. “Hi, kids,” he said.
“Hi!” Kate said. She and Mike sat down in two of the empty chairs nearby. “You have a minute? We just came from the Hall of Fame and had a question about yesterday.”
“Sure,” Jordan said. “What’s up?”
Mike glanced at Kate. “When you went back for your camera lens, did you take anything else out of Mr. Owen’s office?” Mike asked.
Jordan raised his eyebrows. “No! I just took my lens,” he said. “Why? What’s missing?”
“We can’t say,” Kate said. “But Mr. Owen can’t find something that was in the office yesterday, and we wondered if you had taken it.”
Jordan sighed and shook his head. “Well, I didn’t take anything out of that office except for my camera lens,” he said. He tucked his pad and pen into a large camera bag at his feet and stood up. He picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I need to get going. Good luck.”
Jordan disappeared out the door.
Mike and Kate looked at each other. “What was that about?” Kate asked. “He seemed nervous!”
Mike put his feet up on the table. “I don’t know,” he said. “But he sure got out of here quick, like he had something to hide. I told you he took the card!”
Kate leaned against the desk. “If he took it, where did he put it?” she asked. Kate thought for a minute. “Probably in his room! I wonder if there’s any way we could search it.”
“Not without breaking in,” Mike said. He tapped the desk. Then he snapped his fingers. “But hey, maybe we don’t need to!”
“What do you mean?” Kate asked.
“Remember when I found that really rare quarter last year?” Mike asked. “I kept it in my pocket the whole week until I could go to the coin shop on Saturday. The Honus Wagner card is worth a lot more than my quarter. I’ll bet Jordan has it with him, just like I did!”
“But if we can’t search his room, we definitely can’t search his pockets!” she said.
Mike shook his head. “We don’t need to,” he said. “It’s not in his pocket. What did he grab just before he left?”
Kate twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers. “His camera bag!” she said.
“Exactly,” Mike said. “All we have to do is find him, and then one of us can distract him while the other looks through his camera bag for the card!”
“That’s a great idea. Let’s go,” Kate said. She stood up. “We’ll check the lobby first.”
Mike popped out of his chair and followed Kate into the hallway.
When they reached the lobby, they scanned the room for Jordan. But there was no sign of him. “Let’s check the workout room downstairs,” Mike said.
They headed for the elevators. Kate pushed the DOWN button. BING! The elevator chimed, and its doors opened.
Mike jumped in. But before Kate could step inside, they heard a man’s voice from the lobby. “Mike and Kate! Wait!”
Mike looked up. Kate turned around.
It was Jordan! He was walking toward the elevator.
“I’ve got something to tell you,” he said as he stopped in front of them.
Mike hopped off the elevator. The doors clanged shut behind him.
“I’m glad I caught you two,” Jordan said. He ran his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head.
Mike glanced at Kate. She shrugged.
“You were right,” Jordan said. He looked down at the floor. “I did take something else from the office yesterday.”
Mike’s and Kate’s eyes widened. “You did?” Kate asked. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I don’t know. You surprised me when you asked about it,” Jordan said. “I didn’t know what to do. But after I left, I realized I should tell the truth.”
“That’s good,” Mike said. “So what happened?”
Jordan rubbed his hands together. “When I went back to get my lens, I saw something on Mr. Owen’s desk that I couldn’t resist. I just had to take it,” he said. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. Maybe you can tell Mr. Owen that I’m sorry.”
Kate nodded. “We’ll tell him,” she said. “But do you still have the baseball card?”
Jordan looked at Kate. “Baseball card?” he asked. “I didn’t take a baseball card. I took a Christmas cookie!”
“A Christmas cookie?” Mike and Kate both said.
“Yes, there was a bag of them on the desk,” Jordan said. “And I didn’t think Mr. Owen would mind. But I should have asked first.”
“So you didn’t take the Honus Wagner card?” Kate asked.
Jordan straightened up. “No! I didn’t take that!” he said. “Why? Is it missing? It’s worth a fortune!”
“Someone stole the Honus Wagner card and replaced it with a fake,” Mike said. “It happened after you and Big D photographed it and before Mr. Owen came back from showing you to the door. We thought you might have stolen it because you were the only one who was alone in the office during that time.”
“It wasn’t me!” he said. He rocked back on his heels and thought for a moment. “I was alone with the card when I went to get my lens. But there was someone else who was alone with it besides me.”
“There was?” Kate asked.
“Who?” Mike asked.
“Grace!” Jordan said.
“What?” Kate asked. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” he said. “We went to Mr. Owen’s office to photograph the Honus Wagner card. Mr. Owen and Big D watched me. Then Grace came in and ordered pizza. When I finished photographing the card, we all started to leave. Mr. Owen and Big D left first. I was going to hold the door open for Grace, but then she said to go ahead. She had to look for her purse and she’d be out in a minute. She stayed behind after I left.”
“That’s interesting,” Mike said. “Thanks for the info.”
“Anytime,” Jordan said. “I hope you find it!”
Kate and Mike headed for the door. As soon as they were out of earshot, Kate turned to Mike
.
“Well, we can’t prove that Jordan didn’t take the card,” she said. “But now we know that Grace was alone in the office with it. You know what that means, right?”
Mike nodded. “Yup,” he said. “If Jordan is telling the truth, then Grace is our next suspect!”
“Wow!” Kate said. She tapped Mike on the chest with her finger. “And you know what? If Grace did steal the Honus Wagner card, I might have an idea where it is!”
Mike’s eyes popped open. “You do?” he asked. “Where?”
“The Hall of Fame!” Kate said. “Remember? You almost held it in your hands!”
“What do you mean?” Mike asked. “When?”
“You spilled Grace’s purse when we were wrapping presents yesterday,” Kate said. “The Honus Wagner card that fell out was the real one! You were about to pick it up, but then Grace grabbed it.”
“I thought that was just a copy!” Mike exclaimed. “She said she got it at the gift shop to donate.”
Kate nodded. “I know! But what if she was lying? She probably bought a Honus Wagner card at the gift shop earlier that day. Maybe she slipped the fake one into the box in the office when she took the real one and put it in her purse!”
“How would she have known she’d have a chance to steal the card when everyone left the office?” Mike asked.
Kate shook her head. “She didn’t. I think she was probably just going to donate the Honus Wagner card from the gift shop,” she said. “But when everyone left and the card was sitting there, I’ll bet she suddenly decided to swap it with the fake one she had just bought!”
Mike let out a low whistle. “That’s sneaky,” he said.
“When you spilled her purse, the stolen card fell out. She had to say it was a gift and wrap it up so it wouldn’t look strange,” Kate said. “We’ve got to find that present!”
Mike and Kate rushed through the snow to the Hall of Fame.
They waved to Ella, the woman at the ticket booth. “We’re just helping with the holiday toy drive,” Kate said. “We want to check out a few of the presents that we wrapped yesterday.”
Ella nodded and waved them in. “Have fun,” she said. “It’s a slow day today. We haven’t had many visitors this morning.”
Kate stopped. “Oh, one other thing,” she said. “Have you seen Grace lately?”
Ella thought for a moment. “She was here earlier,” she said. “But she left for lunch about twenty minutes ago.”
“Thanks!” Mike said. He and Kate zipped into the Hall of Fame gallery. The presents they had wrapped the day before were still under the tree.
“I hope she didn’t take it when she left for lunch,” Kate said. They rushed over to the tree. “Look for a present wrapped in red paper with two ribbons on it. I noticed she put a yellow ribbon and a purple ribbon on the gift she wrapped yesterday. She must have done that so she could find it again.”
Mike and Kate dug through the pile looking for the gift. They sorted through all the presents but didn’t find any with double ribbons.
Mike leaned against the wall. “It’s gone!” he said.
Kate nodded. “She must have smuggled it out of the building,” she said. “Unless…”
Kate tapped the ground with her foot.
Mike straightened up. “Unless what?” he asked.
“Unless she just moved it somewhere else,” Kate said. “Like her office! Let’s go!”
Mike and Kate ran through the hallway connecting the Hall of Fame to the research library and offices in the back. They pushed the library door open and walked over to Mr. Owen’s office. Kate peeked in. It was empty.
“Quick!” she said. She and Mike slipped into the office. It looked just like it had that morning. They scanned the room, but there was no present anywhere.
Kate’s shoulders slumped. “I thought for sure we’d find it here,” she said. “I guess it’s gone for good.”
She had just started for the door when Mike tapped her back. “Not so fast,” he said. “I think I found it!”
Kate turned around. “Where?” she asked.
“I’ll show you,” Mike said. “Hang on.” He took out his phone and held it up to take a picture.
“What are you doing?” Kate asked. “We’re not sightseeing!”
Mike pointed to a paper bag on the floor under Grace’s desk. “I’m taking a picture of evidence,” he said. Mike picked up the bag. Inside was a present wrapped in red paper with two ribbons!
“Got it,” Mike said softly.
Kate leaned over to look as Mike carefully slipped the wrapping off the white gift box.
Mike lifted the top of the box, and they let out a gasp.
Inside the box was a Honus Wagner card!
“Here, hold this,” Mike said. He handed the box to Kate. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his flashlight. Mike slipped the cover of the box mostly back on and shined the flashlight inside.
The Honus Wagner card didn’t sparkle. It was the real one!
“You’d better be careful,” Mike said. “That’s a two-million-dollar baseball card you’re holding! We’ve got to get it to Mr. Owen!” He started to take the box from Kate’s hand.
“Not yet!” Kate said. “Even though we saw her wrap the card, we can’t prove that she took it. I know how we can trap her! Quick, go get one of those extra gift boxes from yesterday. They’re in the hallway!”
Mike returned a minute later with a box in one hand and a roll of green ribbon in the other.
“Thanks,” Kate said. “But we only need the box. Let me have it.”
Mike handed her the empty box. Then Kate gave him the box with the real Honus Wagner card. She slipped the empty one into the red wrapping paper and taped it up. When she was done, Kate tied on the yellow and purple ribbons.
Kate placed the empty present back in the bag and put it under Grace’s desk. Kate searched the desk for a blank piece of paper and wrote a note. When she was done, she showed it to Mike.
We know you took the Honus Wagner card.
We even know where it is.
You don’t.
It’s time to give yourself up.
Kate folded the note and grabbed an envelope from the desk. She stuffed the note inside and sealed it. Then she wrote Grace’s name on the front.
“We have to give this to Ella before Grace gets back from lunch,” Kate said. She took the box with the real Honus Wagner card from Mike and headed for the door. “Come on!”
Mike followed Kate as she ran to the front entrance. Kate slowed down and walked up to Ella.
“Can you give this to Grace when she returns from lunch?” Kate asked. “But please don’t tell her who gave it to you. It’s a surprise.”
Ella nodded. “Sure thing,” she said.
“Thanks,” Kate said. She pulled Mike to the big holiday tree in the middle of the Hall of Fame gallery. She walked to the far side of the tree and stopped.
Mike looked around. “Okay, what are we doing here?” he asked.
“This is the perfect spot to wait for Grace,” she said. “As soon as she comes back from lunch, Ella will give her that note. She’ll get nervous and rush back to her office to check for the Honus Wagner card. She’ll have to walk right past this tree on the way. We’ll hide here and then follow her when she does.”
For twenty minutes, they hid behind the tree and waited. While Kate was keeping an eye out for Grace, Mike wound and unwound the roll of green ribbon on his fingers.
“It’s her!” Kate whispered. She nudged Mike with her elbow. “Move a little bit to the right as she walks by. And put that ribbon away!”
Mike hurried to unwind the ribbon from his fingers. As Grace walked quickly past the tree, he and Kate shifted around to the other side so she wouldn’t see them. Grace had Kate’s note in her hand. She kept glancing at the note and looking around as she walked. She was definitely in a hurry.
“Now!” Kate said. She and Mike followed Grace around the corner. When she
went into the office, Mike and Kate crept up to the edge of the door and peeked inside. Mike pulled out his phone to take pictures for evidence.
Grace dropped her purse and Kate’s note on her desk. Then she bent down and grabbed the bag with the gift in it. She quickly pulled the wrapped present out. Mike snapped a picture of her holding it.
She slipped the ribbons off just like Mike had done and unwrapped the gift. As soon as the paper fell away, Grace lifted the cover off of the box. Then she gasped out loud.
“Oh no!” she exclaimed. She rattled the box and turned it upside down. The bed of cotton on the bottom fluttered to the ground. The box was empty!
“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” Grace said quietly.
Kate nudged Mike. Then they stepped forward.
“Looking for this?” Kate asked. She held out the box she had been carrying and took the cover off. The orange Honus Wagner card was easy to spot. Grace looked at them, and then at the empty box in her hand.
“Um, what are you talking about?” she said. “Why do you have that card? Have you been spying on me?”
“Yes, because you’ve been stealing baseball cards!” Mike asked. “Like this real Honus Wagner T206. We want to know why it was under your desk!”
Grace looked confused and upset. But she popped up and lunged at Kate and the card. “I need that back!” she said. “Give it to me!”
Kate ducked. As Grace tried to grab the card, Mike quickly whipped out the ribbon he had been playing with and wrapped it tightly around her hands.
“What are you doing?” she said. “This is all a mistake!”
“No, it isn’t!” Kate said. “But it was a mistake for you to steal the Honus Wagner card. Now we’ve caught you red-handed!”
Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #2 Page 3