Elizabeth left the group behind, but she wasn’t surprised when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to find Joe.
“I’m coming, too. Maria and Pedro can stay with Kate. There’s safety in numbers, you know,” Joe told her.
She nodded and kept walking. She wasn’t sure if she was glad for the company or not. I don’t have time to be distracted by you, Mr. Charm. I have a dog to find and a mystery to solve.
As if reading her mind, Joe spoke up again. “I won’t get in your way. I’m here to help.”
They turned the corner to see what was on the other side of that wall. A shoe store. Elizabeth entered the store and headed straight to the back wall.
“May I help you?” asked a young sales clerk.
Elizabeth didn’t respond, just kept studying the wall behind the shoes.
“Uh, no thank you. We’re just looking,” Joe answered the woman, and she moved to another customer.
“What are you thinking, Elizabeth?” he asked her.
“I wonder if there’s a way we can get into those storage rooms. Legally, I mean. If we had access to the back entrances, it would be easier to explore the tunnels. As it is, we don’t even know where all the entrances are,” she told him.
A slow smile spread across his face, lighting up his green eyes.
Those are the nicest eyes I’ve ever seen, thought Elizabeth. Stop it! Do not get distracted!
She forced herself to look back at the shoes.
“I have an idea. Follow me,” Joe told her, and led the way out of the store. Elizabeth followed him two stores down, to a music store. In the window hung a sign that read HELP WANTED.
He approached the counter and asked the clerk for a job application form. While he waited, he looked at Elizabeth and smiled. “I’ve been wanting a job here, anyway. Now maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.”
Elizabeth smiled. She had to hand it to him. It was a brilliant idea. Noticing a shiny grand piano in a corner of the store, she approached it. Almost reverently, she sat at the bench.
Wow, she thought. I’d love to have a piano like this.
Gingerly, she pressed one of the keys, and it let out a sweet, pure tone that only a true musician could appreciate.
“Go ahead. Give it a try,” said the clerk.
“Really?” she asked in disbelief. “You don’t mind if I play it?”
The clerk smiled, and Elizabeth settled in front of the keys. Within moments, she was lost in Mozart’s “Sonata in C.” Then, without warning, she transitioned into a blues scale and began playing an old Elvis Presley hit. Her music was beginning to draw a crowd when she heard a beeping sound. Where is that coming from?
She continued to play, but the beeping persisted. Suddenly, she realized it was coming from her pocket. The gum!
She abruptly stopped playing. A few people in the crowd groaned, then left. Elizabeth smiled, stood, and walked behind a large set of drums. Pulling the walkie-talkie gum gadget from her pocket, she pressed the tiny button and whispered, “Hello?”
“Elizabeth! Where have you been? I’ve been beeping you for five minutes!” Kate’s voice came over the tiny speaker.
“Uh, sorry. I, uh, didn’t hear you. What’s going on?”
“There were voices. Human ones. I couldn’t make out everything they said, but one of them sounded like the Skipper,” Kate told her. “They’re gone now. I can still hear Biscuit, so I know he’s okay—for now. But we don’t know what those men are capable of. We’ve got to find him. Soon.”
Elizabeth stood behind the drums, peering into the mall beyond the store entrance. “I know. We’ll find him. We just have to believe that.”
As she waited for Kate’s reply, she spotted something in the crowd—or rather, someone. A tall, awkward-looking man, pressing his way through the shoppers. Was that…it was Gilligan!
“Kate! Gotta go. Stay put!” Elizabeth said, and took offthrough the maze of people, after the man.
“Elizabeth! Wait up!” Joe called, but Elizabeth didn’t slow down. Joe caught up with her and asked, “Did I just see you talking to a pack of gum?”
Elizabeth pointed. “That’s the man! We have to follow him. He may lead us to Biscuit!”
A crowd was forming ahead, and the man pressed through it. Elizabeth walked as fast as her long legs would carry her, trying to keep an eye on him. But by the time she approached the crowd, she’d lost him. A teenage girl was in the center of the crowd passing out free ice cream samples. But suddenly, she had no appetite.
“Did you see where he went?” asked Joe, and Elizabeth turned. She had almost forgotten he was with her.
“No,” she replied.
“Well, he didn’t seem to be carrying anything. Wherever he is, I don’t think Biscuit is with him. Maybe we should go back and find the others,” Joe suggested.
“I agree. But first, I need to make a phone call.”
Back at the hotel, Kate, Elizabeth, Maria, and Pedro entered Uncle Dan’s suite. Joe had been hired at the music store, and had been asked to rearrange some boxes in the storage area. With a discreet nod, the boy had assured his friends he would find out what he could with his new access.
This suite was Uncle Dan’s home for as long as he worked for the Palacio del Rio. It had everything he needed:
kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, even a guest room, though most of his guests ended up staying in another hotel room.
Kate paced back and forth. “I can’t believe I just left Biscuit there. I should go back. He needs to hear my voice. It calms him.”
Uncle Dan looked at her compassionately. “I know you didn’t want to leave him. But we still don’t know where he is. I think we need to pull an all-out spy mission on the Skipper. But he’ll suspect us, so we have to look like we’re going about business as usual.
“Kate, let’s get a look at all of your gadgets. We’ll compare yours to mine, and together, I’m sure we’ll be able to find Biscuit and put those men in jail before you know it.”
Kate emptied her backpack onto Uncle Dan’s coffee table while he wheeled into his bedroom. A moment later, he reappeared with a hard black suitcase. Scooting Kate’s gadgets to the side, he set the suitcase down and opened it. Inside, the suitcase looked like something from a spy movie.
Together, Kate and Uncle Dan had miniature cameras and recorders, trackers, voice distortion tools, telescopes of various shapes and sizes, and more.
Elizabeth picked up one of the tiny devices and looked at it. “I wish we could figure out a way to track the Skipper. But to do that, we’d have to attach a tracking device to him. And I don’t know how we can do that.”
Pedro spoke up. “I have an idea,” he said. “I know a place the Skipper visits several times a day.”
Elizabeth and Kate had a perfect view from their private balcony, and they watched breathlessly as Pedro pulled the cap low over his head and sat in the shoe-shine booth. His friend had been happy to take a break and let Pedro take over the business for a few minutes.
Sure enough, right on schedule, the Skipper showed up. He didn’t even look at Pedro! He just dropped a few coins in the jar and placed his right foot on the stand. Pedro worked diligently at shining first the right shoe, then the left one.
Though the girls couldn’t see the details, they noticed Pedro took a bit longer with the left shoe. Finally, they saw him give his rag a final pop, and the Skipper walked away without so much as a nod.
Kate held up her tiny tracking screen, and sure enough, it sprang to life. The tiny red dot was moving—barely—as the Skipper marched to the boat.
Elizabeth texted the other Camp Club Girls, who had been briefly informed of the situation: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Or at least, Phase One had been accomplished. Within moments, her cell phone rang, and she knew it was them, standing by on a conference call.
“It went off without a flaw,” Elizabeth spoke without even saying hello.
Kate picked up her cell phone, which was also ringing,
and joined the conversation.
“I can’t believe Elizabeth’s uncle wants us to lie low,” complained Kate. “Biscuit is out there. I need to go rescue him.”
“You have a better chance of rescuing him if Gilligan and the Skipper think you’re backing off. You know he’s okay—for now. But if they feel like you’re putting pressure on them, you don’t know what they’ll do,” said McKenzie.
“McKenzie’s right,” said Alex. “The reason they kidnapped Biscuit in the first place was to warn you to back off. You want them to think you’ve taken their warning.”
“You know, guys, I remembered something I learned in nature study, and I’ve pulled up some sound travel research on my computer,” Sydney said. “Sometimes, when traveling through a tunnel—or a pipe—the sound can become distorted. It can sound like Biscuit is close, when actually, he could be very far away.”
“And your point is?” Kate asked, frustrated.
“Just that you may not want to limit your search to the mall. He could be on the other side of the river,” Sydney continued.
“Yes, but I saw Gilligan in the mall, just after Kate heard voices,” Elizabeth said.
“Did he know you were looking for him?” asked Bailey.
“Of course he knew we were looking for him. He took my dog!” Kate cried.
Everyone was silent for a few moments. Finally, Elizabeth said, “So you think he was purposely trying to lead us in the wrong direction?”
“I don’t know,” said Sydney. “I just don’t want you to zero in on one area, while Biscuit may be in an entirely different location.”
Kate groaned. “Poor Biscuit! My poor baby. He’s all alone and scared. What if we never find him?”
“We’ll find him,” Elizabeth said with a confidence she didn’t feel.
“How can you be so sure?” Kate voiced the question on everyone’s mind.
“Because God is good,” said Elizabeth.
“Well, it sure doesn’t feel like He’s good right now,” said Kate.
Elizabeth did not have an answer for her. Then, a verse popped into her mind.
“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you,” she said. “Isaiah 41:13. We’ll find him, because God will help us.”
There was a knock at the door. Elizabeth set her phone on the bed and cracked the door to find Gary. Behind him was Charis, the girl who taught the Bible stories.
“We’ve looked everywhere,” Gary said. “We’ve got to stop and get ready for tonight’s performance.”
“Tell Kate we’re sorry,” said Charis.
With a nod, Elizabeth softly closed the door. She turned to find Kate behind her. Kate had heard every word.
Elizabeth picked up her phone and called the Camp Club Girls on a conference call. She told the others about Biscuit, and they were silent for a few moments.
Finally, Bailey changed the subject. “Hey, who was it that had news on the strawberry?”
“Oh yeah. The strawberry birthmark,” said Sydney. “The strawberry nevus is quite common, and as many as one in ten babies have them. They usually disappear in early childhood.”
“That’s great news!” said Elizabeth. “Maybe Annie’s birthmark will just go away, all by itself!”
“Probably not,” continued Sydney. “The strawberry hemangioma is a little different. If the birthmark continues to grow, it’s probably a hemangioma, and it won’t go away on its own. Didn’t her mother mention that it was growing?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied, disappointed.
“This is terrible,” said McKenzie. “That poor little girl!”
“There’s more,” Sydney told them. “If it’s not taken care of, it has the potential, down the road, to become cancerous.”
Elizabeth thought of sweet little Annie. God, no. Please don’t let her get cancer.
“I don’t know how much more bad news I can take,” said Kate, flopping on her bed.
“Well, there is some good news,” said Sydney. “There is an organization called the Kiwanis Club. They have chapters all over the U.S., so I’m sure San Antonio has one.”
“Hey, I saw something about them on Walker, Texas Ranger! Don’t they do things to help little children?” exclaimed Alex.
“Yes,” Sydney replied. “They help improve the quality of children’s lives, especially young children. Each chapter tries to sponsor at least one service project per year. Maybe you can hook Annie up with a local Kiwanis Club. Maybe they’ll help.”
Elizabeth couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Kate!” she said, causing Kate to jump from her spot on the bed.
“What?” answered the startled girl.
“Do you remember seeing that sign on the stage where the teens perform each night?”
Kate looked thoughtful. “I remember seeing a sign, but I didn’t pay much attention.”
“It’s a Kiwanis sign!” exclaimed Elizabeth. “They must own the Fiesta Noche!”
“Come to think of it, Gary did say we were renting it from some organization. Hey, wouldn’t that be cool if that money ended up helping Annie?”
“Thanks, Sydney. You’re the best!” Elizabeth said. “All of you are the best! Kate, what time is it?”
“It’s dinnertime,” said Kate. “But for once, I’m not really hungry.”
Elizabeth patted her friend’s shoulder. “Let’s go watch the show. Afterward, we’ll talk to Gary, and maybe he can put us in touch with the Kiwanis director. Then we’ll search for Biscuit some more.”
Kate nodded slowly. Elizabeth wished she could take this burden from her friend.
McKenzie spoke up then. “Kate, it will be okay. I have this feeling it will all work out, and you’ll find Biscuit. Just like at camp, remember?”
Bailey chimed in. “Yeah, and remember the verse Elizabeth told us, about God helping us!”
“And we’ll all be praying,” Alex said. “I’ll bet you’ll find Biscuit by tomorrow.”
With a few more encouraging words, the girls said good-bye and promised to be in touch soon.
Elizabeth started to leave, but Kate stopped her. “Wait,” she said. “Let me check my blog first.”
Once again, there was a comment waiting. Kate nearly lost her balance when she read what it said: “Back off. If you want to see your dog alive again, you’ll keep your mouths shut.”
Elizabeth reached an arm out to steady her friend. “Don’t worry, Kate. They won’t hurt him. He’s their bargaining chip,” she said with more confidence than she felt.
Kate took a deep breath. She grabbed the tracking device, and the girls left the room without looking at it. But in the elevator, they couldn’t help but notice. The device was lighting up like a Christmas tree.
The Skipper was on the move.
The Girls Confess!
Kate pressed the ground floor button on the elevator again and again, as if that would make the elevator move faster. “Hurry up! Stop being so slow!”
Elizabeth looked through the window, scanning the area, looking for signs of the navy blue captain’s hat. Finally, she saw it.
“Calm down, Kate. He’s getting a hot dog,” she said. She watched the man pay for his snack, then turn back toward his boat.
Kate held up the tracker again, and sure enough, the tiny red dot was returning to its original location.
“Whew,” she said. “I guess we need to keep a closer watch. He could have been from here to Timbuktu by now!”
The elevator doors opened, and the girls saw Uncle Dan talking to a gray-haired couple, obviously hotel guests. When they left, the girls approached. Kate held up the tracker so he could see.
“This is perfect,” she told him.
Uncle Dan looked at the device. “Pedro and Maria stopped by after the tracker was in place. They were headed to the mall to see if Joe’d learned anything. They said they’d check back later.”
“We’re going to watch the kids’ performance tonight
. We need a change of pace, and we have another project we’re working on. We have the tracker, and we can leave if the Skipper does anything out of the ordinary,” Elizabeth told him.
Uncle Dan nodded. “I wish I could help you more, girls, but I’m back on duty. I think you’re safe for another couple of hours. The Skipper will continue to give tours until after dark. And I have another surprise for you,” he said with a smirk.
The girls looked at each other, then back at Uncle Dan.
“While Pedro was shoe-shining, I was doing a little detective work. There is now a mini-transmitter on the back of the Skipper’s steering wheel.” He handed the girls a tiny speaker. “You can now listen to him give tours … or anything else he may talk about when he’s on or near the boat. This little baby will pick up any conversation for about twenty feet.”
Kate looked at the device, eyebrows lifted. “Wow. This is the latest model, isn’t it? I’ve been wanting this one.”
Uncle Dan smiled, then turned to greet a new set of customers. The girls waved, then headed out the glass doors.
“I guess this means we can relax for a little while. The Skipper will give tours, and we’ll be able to see when he moves, and hear what he says,” Elizabeth said.
Kate held the tiny device to her ear. “Sounds like he’s giving a tour now.” Looking at the tracker, she watched the red dot move slowly across the screen. “His movement will be slow and steady as long as he’s on the boat. I guess we can watch it, and if the pattern changes, we’ll know something’s up.”
The girls were almost to the Fiesta Noche when they ran into Elizabeth’s parents. James was wearing a hat shaped like a tyrannosaurus Rex.
“Roar!” he said, and Elizabeth pretended to be afraid.
“There you girls are,” said Mr. Anderson. “We were just about to call you. You missed a lot of excitement this afternoon! They had a special dinosaur exhibit at the museum. Did you have a nice time with Uncle Dan?”
Elizabeth glanced at Kate, who was looking at her shoes. “Well, um…we had some excitement of our own,” she said. “Biscuit’s missing.”
Elizabeth's San Antonio Sleuthing Page 9