by Janice Hanna
“Dis–gus–ting!” Sydney said, then laughed.
They looked all around the Dumpster, but saw nothing suspicious. Kate even checked the edges of the building, finally noticing some footprints in the snow. “Oh, Sydney, check this out. These look like tennis shoe prints.”
“So?” Sydney shrugged. “Mr. Hampton probably wears tennis shoes.”
“No, he wears hiking boots. I remember looking the other day. These prints start at the edge of the parking lot and go all the way to the back door.” Kate pulled on the door handle, but it didn’t open. “Hmm. Locked.” Biscuit began to whimper and pawed at the door. “Looks like he wants in there, too.”
“He’s a cheese-a-holic!” Sydney said. “He wants inside so he can eat all of the cheese!”
Kate laughed and said, “Probably,” then pulled Biscuit away from the building.
“Lots of people probably use that door,” Sydney said, rubbing her hands together.
“I don’t think so.” Kate shook her head, deep in thought. This looked like the kind of door that rarely got used. “Maybe someone snuck in through this door to put rats inside.”
“If so, wouldn’t we see evidence of the rats? Maybe… droppings.” Sydney looked like she might be sick as she said the word.
“Ooo, so true!” Kate dropped to her knees and looked around. After a few minutes she rose back up again and shrugged. “Don’t see anything.”
Pulling out her camera, she began to take pictures of the footprints. “At least we have this evidence.”
“Little good it does us,” Sydney said. “Just footprints in the snow. Big deal.”
“But it might be a big deal,” Kate reminded her. “You never know.”
She snapped several photographs as she followed the trail of footprints back to the edge of the parking lot. “They disappear right here.” She sighed. “Oh well.”
An idea came to her. “If we measure the footprints, we should be able to determine the shoe size.”
“How will that help?” Sydney asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.
“It will help us eliminate suspects,” Kate explained.
“Are you saying you have a measuring tape with you?” Sydney looked at her as if she didn’t believe such a thing was possible.
“I do! It’s a digital measuring tape and it records the measurements. I can’t believe I haven’t shown it to you before.” She pulled it out of her pocket and measured the prints. “Hmm. It’s 10.31 inches. I wonder what size that is.”
“Well, it’s not as big as your dad’s shoes,” Sydney observed. “But it’s lots bigger than Dexter’s.” She stuck her foot in the footprint and shrugged. “Bigger than mine, too, and I’ve got pretty big feet!”
“I’m guessing it’s a size eight or nine in a men’s shoe,” Kate said, putting the digital measuring tape away. “But we can ask my dad later.”
Her cell phone rang, startling her. Kate looked at the number and smiled when she saw it was her dad. “Hi, Dad! Wow, that’s a crazy coincidence! I was just talking about you.”
“You were?” He laughed. “Good things, I hope.”
“I need your help. We’ve measured some footprints. They’re 10.31 inches long. What size man’s shoe would that be?”
“Hmm. I might have to look that one up on the Internet,” he said. “Or, measure my own feet! But before I do that, let me tell you why I’m calling. We’ve decided to go to the restaurant in town for lunch. Want me to swing by and pick you girls up?”
“Oh, we can walk,” Kate said, her teeth chattering.
“No, honey. The temperature has really dropped. Your mother is worried you and Sydney will get frostbite. We’re coming by that way, so meet us out front. Besides, we’ll need to drop Biscuit back off at the inn before going to the restaurant. Oh, and Kate…”
“Yes, Dad?”
“How’s the investigation going?”
She sighed. “Other than a few footprints, we haven’t found anything suspicious. This case might just turn out to be a dead end. Maybe the creamery isn’t being sabotaged, after all.”
“Well, don’t sound so depressed about that!” He laughed. “We want a happily-ever-after ending to this Christmas vacation, don’t we?”
“Sure. But if there’s really no case to solve, then I’ve wasted a lot of hours on our family vacation when I should have been hanging out with my family. And I’ve spent way too much time outdoors when I could have been sitting next to the fireplace drinking Aunt Molly’s hot cocoa.”
“Aw, honey, your mother and I know how much you girls love to investigate. So you go right ahead and do what comes naturally.”
“Are you calling me a natural-born snoop?” Kate asked.
“If the shoe fits…” He laughed again. “But I am a little concerned about how much time you kids have been spending outdoors in this weather. I don’t want you catching cold…especially right before Christmas!”
“Yes, and poor Biscuit is shivering,” Kate said. “I feel bad for him. We should buy him a sweater!”
“We’ll do that,” her dad said. “In the meantime, we’ll be by to pick you girls up in about ten minutes.”
“Okay, Dad. Oh, and Dad?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I love you. Thanks so much for understanding.” “Love you, too, kiddo.”
As they ended the call, something caught Kate’s attention. A car pulled around the back of the creamery through the alley. She and Sydney slipped behind a Dumpster and watched. Kate did her best to keep Biscuit quiet, but he kept whimpering. “Hush, boy!” she whispered.
“Wow, that’s a great car. A Jaguar!” Sydney whispered, her eyes wide with excitement. “Do you suppose the Hamptons own a car that fancy?”
Kate shook her head. “They don’t seem the type. Besides, I saw Mr. Hampton drive away in an SUV the other day, not a Jaguar.”
“Seems kind of weird that a fancy car like that would be in an alley behind a creamery,” Sydney said. She peeked out once again, then pulled her head back with a worried look on her face. “We’d better be careful. I think they’re slowing down.”
The tires crunched against the icy pavement, finally stopping. A woman stepped out and looked around in every direction, then signaled and a man got out. Biscuit began to growl. Kate pulled on his leash to get him to stop, but he refused.
Kate gasped. “Do you see who that is?” she whispered. “It’s the woman who fainted the other day…and her husband.”
“Oh yeah.” Sydney squinted. “The woman in the expensive coat and the man with the sour look on his face.” Sydney paused a moment to look at them. “Ooo! He looked this way. I hope he didn’t see us.”
They watched as the man and woman walked across the back of the building. He seemed to be looking for something. At one point, he stood on his toes and tried to look into a window. Biscuit yipped, but Kate tapped him on the nose and whispered, “Shush!”
“Why do you suppose that man is looking inside?” Kate whispered to Sydney. “He just went on the tour the other day, so he knows what the building looks like on the inside.”
“I don’t know,” Sydney said. “But it’s really suspicious. Oh!” She paused, then looked at Kate with a gleam in her eye. “Kate, look! He’s wearing tennis shoes!”
Kate squinted to see the man’s white tennis shoes.
“Wow!” she whispered. “You’re right.”
That didn’t necessarily make him a suspect, but it did make her wonder!
They continued to watch the man. He put his hand on the doorknob of the back door and tried it, but it wouldn’t turn. Once again, Biscuit started to growl. Kate tried to quiet him. “He’s trying to break in!” she whispered.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Sydney said. “After all, we tried that knob, too, and we weren’t trying to break in.”
“True.” Kate shook her head as she watched the man. He walked to another window and looked inside, then continued across the icy parking lot to the side of
the building.
“It’s like he’s looking over every detail of the building,” Sydney whispered. “Like he’s scoping it out. But, why?”
“I wish I knew! Something is odd about him, for sure,” Kate said.
“Do you think they have something to do with the rats?” Sydney asked. “Maybe we should find out who these people are and see if there’s any connection.”
Just then Kate’s cell phone rang…loudly! Then Biscuit started barking even more loudly!
“Oh no!” she whispered. She reached to silence the phone, but the man turned and looked in their direction. “Hush, Biscuit! Hush!” Kate pressed the IGNORE button on her phone and took a couple of deep breaths. “Look the other way. Look the other way,” she whispered as she watched the man.
However, instead of looking the other way…he began to walk right toward them! Kate’s heart felt like it might explode.
“Lord, help us!” she whispered. “Please!”
The Plot Thickens
Kate’s heart raced as the stranger’s shoes crunched through the snow in their direction. Oh no! Please turn around!
“What is it, Mark?” the woman called out. “What are you doing over there?”
“I heard something behind the Dumpster,” he hollered back. “I’m checking it out.”
Kate squatted and tried to hide on the farthest side of the Dumpster, praying he wouldn’t see them. Unfortunately, the closer he came, the more Biscuit growled.
Just when Kate was sure they would be discovered, a car horn beeped from the front of the creamery.
“It’s Dad!” Kate mouthed to Sydney.
The woman hollered out, “Mark! C’mon, let’s get out of here before we get caught!”
“I’m out of here!” The man ran back toward his car, and the woman joined him. Seconds later, they went speeding off.
The car disappeared back into the alleyway and Biscuit ran after it, barking at the top of his lungs. Kate sat shivering behind the Dumpster. “I c–can’t b–believe they didn’t c–catch us.”
“I know! That scared me so bad!” Sydney said, her eyes wide with fear. “I’ve never been that scared!”
“Me either! What do you think they were doing here?” Kate asked. “Do you think they put the rats in the store the other day? Seems pretty obvious, if they did!”
“I don’t know, but it sure is suspicious!” Sydney said. She glanced Kate’s way, still looking nervous. “Oh, by the way, who called?”
Kate glanced at the caller ID on the phone. “Bailey. I’ll call her back later. No time to talk right now!”
“Just wait till she hears what she interrupted!” Sydney said.
The girls heard a horn honk again.
“That’s my dad,” Kate said. “He’s probably getting worried. Let’s make a run for it!”
Sydney took off running and Kate followed. As always, she could barely keep up with her friend. “I’ve…been… eating…too…much…cheese!” she said as she slid back and forth across the slippery pavement. “It’s…slowing… me…down!”
“Just…keep…going!” Sydney called out. “You’ll make it!”
As they rounded the front of the building, the girls saw the Olivers’ car. Kate was never so happy to see her parents. She opened the car door and climbed in, happy to find it warm inside. Biscuit jumped in on top of her, his wet paws making her colder than ever. “Sit, boy!”
He curled up next to her on the seat, panting.
“I th–thought I w–was going to f–freeze out there!” she said with chattering teeth. Her hands were shaking so hard, she could barely close the door.
“So, any more suspicious stuff to report?” Dexter asked, looking up from his handheld video game.
“Is there ever!” Kate told the whole story about the man and the woman.
Her mother gave her a stern look.
“Kate Oliver, this is getting dangerous. You’re in over your head. I think it’s time to call the police.”
“I understand your concerns.” Kate’s father reached over to pat her hand. “But let’s not get too worked up. It was just a car in a parking lot. No one set off any alarms or anything. And the girls are fine.” He looked at them both. “You are fine, aren’t you?”
Kate nodded and Sydney muttered a quick, “Uh-huh.” However, inside, Kate still felt like a bowl full of jelly! She quivered all over! Was it from the cold…or fear?
“We’d better get Biscuit back to the inn,” Kate’s mother said. “He looks tired.”
Minutes later, they dropped him off at the inn. The adults chatted all the way to the restaurant, but Kate couldn’t seem to say a word. Instead, she just kept thinking about the man. Why was he scoping out the building? Were the footprints his? He was wearing tennis shoes, after all.
They arrived at the restaurant in just a few minutes. As they started to get out of the car, Kate’s father turned her way.
“Before we go inside, give me your digital measuring tape and I’ll measure my feet,” he said.
“Why in the world would you do that?” Kate’s mother asked. “And in a restaurant parking lot, of all places!”
“I’m trying to help Kate solve a big case!” He pulled off his shoes and Kate handed him the measuring tape. After a moment, he said, “My feet are 10.7 inches long and I wear a size ten. So I’m going to guess your suspect is probably a size nine in a men’s shoe.”
“What makes you think it’s a man?” Aunt Molly asked. “Maybe that woman with the white coat has extra-large feet!”
“Good point.” Kate shrugged. “We really don’t know.” As they walked into the restaurant, she leaned over and whispered to Sydney, “Hey, what size feet do you think that man had? The one behind the creamery, I mean.”
“I wasn’t looking at his feet, Kate,” Sydney said, shaking her head. “Honestly! I was too busy trying not to get caught!”
“Yeah, me, too.” Kate sighed, then whispered a prayer of thanks. Thank You, Lord, that we didn’t get hurt back there. Thanks for sending my dad at just the right moment!
As they entered the restaurant, Kate’s wrist began to buzz. “Oh! I have an e-mail on my Internet wristwatch.” As they waited to be seated, she checked it.
“Who was it?” Sydney asked.
“Elizabeth. She just wanted to let us know she was praying for us this morning.”
“Wow!” Sydney smiled. “I’m glad she was! What a cool coincidence! We really needed it, didn’t we? Her timing was perfect!”
“It sure was!” Kate agreed.
“That’s how God works,” Aunt Molly said with a nod. “He works out every detail in His perfect timing.”
The hostess led the Oliver family to a booth, and everyone sat down. As soon as she got the menu, Kate began to look over it. Her stomach was rumbling, and she could hardly wait to eat!
Just then she heard a familiar voice. Looking up, she saw Michael in the next booth, talking to the waitress.
“Hi, Michael,” Kate called out. She waved, trying to be friendly.
He looked her way and nodded, then turned back to his handheld video game, not even pretending to be nice.
“Humph.” Kate crossed her arms at her chest.
“Be quick to forgive, honey,” Aunt Molly reminded her. “Even when others don’t respond the way they should. That’s the perfect time to forgive…before you get upset.”
“Yes, but he never responds the way he should,” Sydney said quietly. “And have you noticed he never looks happy?”
“And why is he sitting all alone in a restaurant?” Kate asked. “That’s weird.”
“Oh, I can explain that part. His mother is a waitress here.” Aunt Molly pointed at a woman with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. “That’s who he was talking to. Her name is Maggie. She’s worked here for as long as I can remember, so Michael spends a lot of his free time here. Keeps him from being lonely, I guess.”
“I see.” Kate raised her menu, trying to hide the fact that she was
snooping.
“The poor kid’s been through a lot,” Uncle Ollie said with a sad look on his face. “His dad left when he was only three, and now, of course, Michael has lost his grandpa. So anything we can do to keep him from being too lonely is a good thing.”
“Oh, I know, but there’s something about him that worries me.” Sydney shook her head. “I don’t know what it is, exactly. Just…something.”
“Are you worried he’ll beat you in the contest?” Uncle Ollie asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “’Cause I have it on good authority you’re pretty fast. I wouldn’t worry if I were you.”
“Oh, I’m not worried. I promise.”
Kate looked at her friend, wishing she could read her thoughts.
Uncle Ollie rose from his seat and invited Michael to join them at their table. He came, but he didn’t look happy. When he sat next to Kate, she tried to smile…tried to be friendly. But he didn’t make it easy! He sat there like a bump on a log, just staring at his Nintendo DS Lite while everyone else talked.
Kate’s cell phone rang, and she looked at the number. “Oh, it’s Bailey! I forgot to call her back.” She looked at her mother and asked, “Can I answer it? Do you mind?”
“Go ahead, honey,” her mom said. “Just don’t be long. We need to order our food soon.”
Kate nodded, then answered the phone with a smile.
“Hey, Bailey! What’s up?”
“I found some information online,” Bailey said, sounding breathless and overly excited, as always. “Did you know the Mad River Creamery fired their security guard several months ago?”
“No. How did you find that out?”
“I googled the name Mad River Creamery and went to every site that came up. Every one. Way down on the list I found a blogsite that belongs to some nameless person, complaining about someone being fired from the creamery this past summer.”
“Really? But you don’t know who owns that blog? That’s weird.”
“Really weird!” Bailey said. “It was all very suspicious. Just sort of a warning for readers to stay away from the creamery. I guess this person was the one who got fired. Or maybe a relative or a friend…something like that.”