“Leave ’em alone for now. I have an idea that will shut them up, once and for all.”
The Quiet Child
The five young people looked at each other and sighed in unison.
“What was that about?” asked Maria.
“Those guys aren’t up to any good, that’s for sure,” said Joe.
Elizabeth stood on her tiptoes and peered out the tiny window. The men were gone. “Kate…we need to get back to the hotel,” she said.
“I know! My clothes are still wet, and my sneakers are sloshing,” Kate complained.
“And you need to check your blog,” Elizabeth added.
“Check my blog? That’s right. I need to update my blog,” she replied.
“Kate, those men have your card,” Elizabeth told her.
Kate’s eyes grew wide and round. “My business cards! That’s right, they scattered when Biscuit tried to escape.…”
“Well, as long as we are careful, it could be a good thing. Maybe we can figure out a way to mislead them or something,” Elizabeth told her.
Joe spoke up then. “A blog? What kind of blog? And you have a business card? How old are you, anyway?”
Kate adjusted her glasses then addressed the group. “I know this may come as a surprise to you, but Elizabeth and I are detectives.”
The group burst into laughter, including Elizabeth. Kate sounded so serious.
“Laugh if you want to, but it’s the truth. And I have a blog you can access online. I discuss different mysteries and ways to solve them.”
“Whoa,” said Pedro. “We don’t know anything about the internet.”
“Yes we do!” said Maria. “Remember, we had to take that class in school?”
“Oh yeah. A lot of the kids at school have computers at home, but none of us do. So we’re pretty clueless when it comes to that type of stuff,” said Joe.
“A lot of people don’t have computers at home. But I’m sure your library has a computer you can use for free,” Elizabeth said.
Joe smiled at her again, and she looked away.
Stop looking at him. Look at Maria when you talk, Elizabeth told herself.
“And if I went to the library, who would teach me how to use the computer?” he asked.
“The librarian,” said Kate. “By the way, can somebody please tell me where we are?”
“We’re in a secret passageway. I thought you detectives would know all about that,” Joe teased.
“Well, you obviously knew it was here. I’m hoping you also know where it leads!” Kate retorted.
“Follow me,” Maria chimed in. She began walking down the long hallway, and the others followed her. They turned to the right, and then pushed open some swinging doors that led into a kitchen. Immediately, people called out greetings in Spanish. Elizabeth recognized the logo on the red aprons.
This is the kitchen of Rio Rio!
One woman began speaking in rapid-fire Spanish to Joe. She was standing over a dish of the most delicious-looking tamales Elizabeth had ever seen.
Those tamales! Those are the tamales I love so much!
Joe turned to Elizabeth and Kate. “I’d like you to meet my mama, Elena Garcia. Mama, this is Kate,” he gestured, and the woman smiled.
“And this,” he said with emphasis, “is Elizabeth.”
The woman lifted her eyebrows at her son, then smiled at Elizabeth, who could feel herself turning every shade of red. Why did he say it like that?
“It’s very nice to meet both of you,” the woman said. Then she looked at Elizabeth. “Don’t you let José give you a hard time. He is…how you say?…All bark and no bite.”
Now it was Joe’s turn to blush, and the group laughed.
Biscuit chose that moment to bark, and several people in the kitchen turned to look at the little dog. Joe’s mother began speaking in rapid Spanish once again, finishing with, “Andale! Andale!”
Elizabeth knew she was telling them to hurry and get out. Dogs weren’t allowed in restaurant kitchens.
Kate scooped Biscuit into her arms and said, “We need to be going. Thanks for everything,” and looked for an exit sign.
“It was very nice to meet you, Mrs. Garcia,” Elizabeth told the woman, and followed Kate through a door.
Once inside the door, they realized they were in a supply closet.
“Well, this is a little embarrassing,” said Kate, turning to go back through the door.
As the girls re-entered the kitchen, the staff clapped and laughed. Joe stepped forward and said, “Allow me to accompany you,” in a gallant tone.
Red-faced, the two girls followed their guide through another door, down a short hallway, and finally stepped into the sunlight of the Riverwalk.
“Thanks, Joe. We’ll…see ya around,” Kate told him, and began moving toward the hotel.
“Yeah, thanks,” called Elizabeth with a slight wave. Joe watched them until they were out of sight.
An hour later, the girls lay across their beds in the hotel room talking on their cell phones and munching on french fries. Kate had set her phone for a conference call, and amazingly, had gotten in touch with each of the other Camp Club Girls.
“Okay,” said Sydney. “Let me get this straight. Elizabeth got hit by a water balloon while riding in a River City Cruise boat, and another lady found a rubber snake at her feet while riding a Santa Anna boat. River City keeps having mechanical problems, but you don’t think the mechanical problems are related to the pranks.”
“We did to begin with,” said Kate. “But we’re pretty sure we know who the pranksters are, and they seem pretty harmless. I told you about the two men who chased us. And the tall, skinny guy had pink hands—the color one of the River City boats was painted. I think those men are responsible for the vandalism. At least, Elizabeth hopes it’s those men.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Elizabeth.
“You know exactly what it means,” said Kate in a teasing voice. “Elizabeth is swooning over one of the pranksters.”
“I am not!” said Elizabeth, and the other girls began asking questions, all at once.
“Tell us more, Kate! Who is this guy? What is his name?” they asked.
Elizabeth pulled the pillow over her head, but continued listening to the conversation.
“His name is José Garcia,” Kate said with a dramatic accent.
“Ooh! Is he from Mexico? I could be related to him!” said Alex. “If you marry him, Elizabeth, we could end up being cousins!”
“Y’all, stop it! I’m not marrying anybody. Kate is just making stuff up,” Elizabeth defended herself, throwing a pillow at her roommate. “And he likes to be called Joe.”
“Hmmmmm…Elizabeth Garcia,” teased Bailey. “It has a ring to it.”
The other girls laughed, until finally McKenzie said, “You guys, leave Elizabeth alone.”
“Thank you, Mac,” said Elizabeth.
“I’m sure she’ll invite us all to the wedding, when the time comes,” McKenzie continued.
“Mac!” Elizabeth yelled into the phone, and everyone laughed again.
“All right already,” Kate said. “Sorry I brought it up, Elizabeth. I just couldn’t resist. Now, can we please get back to the matter at hand? What should be our next step in solving this mystery?”
“Tell us more about the two men,” Sydney said.
“Well, the captain is shorter, bald, pudgy…and he wears a captain’s hat,” Elizabeth responded.
“Like the hat the captain wore on Gilligan’s Island?” Alex asked.
“Oh, I’ve seen that show! That’s an old one. And yes, the hat is exactly like that,” Elizabeth said. “And the other guy is tall and skinny, and seems to take orders from the captain.”
“It sounds to me like you need to focus your investigation on Gilligan and the Skipper,” said Bailey. Once again, she had come up with the perfect nicknames for their suspects.
Alex spoke up again. “Kate, you took your bag of gadgets along,
didn’t you?”
“Do you even have to ask?” Kate responded.
“Did you bring along one of those little listening thing-a-ma-jiggers?” Alex continued.
“You mean a bug?” Kate asked.
“Yeah,” Alex laughed. “A bug. But ‘thing-a-ma-jigger’ is so much more fun to say.”
Everyone laughed, and Bailey spoke up. “How far away can you be, and still hear a conversation through the bug?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” said Kate. “There are plenty of hiding places.”
“But where will you plant the bug?” asked McKenzie. “Those men sound scary. I don’t want you to do anything dangerous.”
“We’ll be careful,” Elizabeth assured her. “There are several boarding areas for the boats, and they’re often left unmanned when the boat is on a tour. We can probably put a bug on the fence railing at one of those areas.”
“Yeah, and then we can hang out at one of the nearby restaurants eating chips and salsa until something happens,” Kate said.
The other girls laughed. “Always thinking about food,” said Sydney.
“Hey, if we’re going to sit and wait, we might as well do something constructive,” Kate retorted.
The girls laughed, and Elizabeth spoke up again. “Our biggest problem is that the two men know who we are. Kate dropped a business card, and one of them picked it up. Now they know we’re sleuths.”
Alex said, “Hey, maybe you could use that to your advantage. They know you are just kids, and they probably won’t expect much of you. I remember an episode of Hawaii Five-O where McGarrett went undercover as a convict, and made it look like the police were after him. Maybe you can pretend to focus in on someone else as the guilty party, and the men will leave you alone.”
“Hey, that might work,” said Kate. “We could ask Joe to be our undercover guy, and act guilty.…”
Alex laughed. “Joe, huh? Well, that would be appropriate.”
“What do you mean?” asked Elizabeth.
“The episode I’m thinking of was titled, ‘The Ways of Love.’”
Everyone laughed, and Elizabeth said, “I’m never speaking to any of you again. For five whole minutes, anyway. Goodbye.” She clicked her phone shut and pulled the pillow over her head again. The other girls recognized the teasing in Elizabeth’s voice and laughed.
Kate finally hung up. “Hey, you’re not really mad, are you?” she asked.
“No,” Elizabeth said. “But I’m not googly-eyed, and I didn’t swoon.”
Kate ignored her friend’s last comment, and instead opened up her laptop. “Now, to update my blog,” she said.
Elizabeth watched her log into her stats page. Sure enough, comments waited. Clicking on the first of two, she read, “Back off. You’re in over your head!”
The next read, “You leave us alone, and we’ll leave your little dog alone.”
The two girls stared at the screen.
“Elizabeth, those guys are serious. They threatened Biscuit! What are we going to do?”
Elizabeth stared at the screen, forming a silent prayer. Water balloons and rubber snakes were one thing. Threatening Biscuit was an entirely different matter. What should we do, Lord?
A Bible verse popped into her head, one of the first verses she had learned as a small child. She had actually learned it as a song. Elizabeth took a deep breath and began singing the words to Psalm 56:3. “When I am afraid, I will trust in You, I will trust in You, I will trust in You. When I am afraid I will trust in You, when I am afraid.”
Kate leaned back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. “I know we’re supposed to trust God in all things. But I also think we’re supposed to use wisdom. I don’t want to do anything to put Biscuit in danger and just assume God will rescue him.”
Elizabeth reread the words on the screen. After a moment, she said, “You’re right. We need to be careful, and use wisdom. But we won’t let those men ruin our good time. We’ll just be extra careful, keep Biscuit close, and trust God to show us what to do.”
“Do you think we should let an adult know what’s going on?” Kate asked.
Elizabeth leaned back on her elbows. “Probably. And I think I know exactly who to tell.…”
Later that evening, Elizabeth and Kate leaned on the counter in the hotel lobby, waiting for Uncle Dan to finish with a customer. He handed the woman a key and said, “Enjoy your stay.”
As soon as the woman was out of earshot, he wheeled his chair back to the girls, and said, “Okay, I’m all ears. Tell me again how you got mixed up in all of this.”
Elizabeth and Kate took turns filling him in on the details. “At first, I thought Joe and his friends were probably behind the problems with the boats, but I don’t think that anymore,” Elizabeth told her uncle.
Uncle Dan looked out the glass doors toward the Riverwalk. A Santa Anna boat was puttering by. “Ever since Santa Anna Tours opened for business, River City Cruises has had problems. They’ve been in business here for decades, and have a spotless record for safety and customer satisfaction. I’ve wondered about Santa Anna all along.”
The girls waited and listened. During Uncle Dan’s time in the military, he had worked for military intelligence. If anyone knew how to find clues and solve a mystery, it was him.
Uncle Dan leaned back in his chair and looked at them. “I want you girls to lay low until I’ve had a chance to think about this. Stay close to the hotel tonight, and keep a close watch on Biscuit. Let’s all sleep on it, and we’ll talk more tomorrow. I think we may be able to catch these guys, once and for all.”
The girls agreed, and left Uncle Dan to his work. Holding Biscuit tightly, Kate said, “Let’s go find something to eat.”
Just as they turned to leave, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson walked into the lobby, James tagging behind them. “There you are!” said Mrs. Anderson. “We’ve hardly seen you girls today. Are you hungry?”
The girls nodded. Biscuit jumped out of Kate’s arms and began playing with James.
“Why don’t you all go ahead and reserve us a table at the café next door. I just need to do something to my hair, and freshen my lipstick,” Mrs. Anderson told them.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Mr. Anderson told her, and the woman smiled sweetly at her husband.
“Thank you, darling,” she said, “but I don’t feel beautiful. I’ll be right behind you.” The woman headed for the elevators, and Mr. Anderson shook his head. “Women. I’ll never understand them.”
The group headed out the lobby doors and found a table at the nearby café. The waitress smiled at Biscuit as she placed their chips and salsa on the table. Suddenly, the little dog barked and leaped from Kate’s lap.
“Biscuit!” the girls called out, but it was too late. Biscuit was in hot pursuit of…someone.
The girls and James chased the little dog through the outdoor restaurant, dodging tables and customers, working hard to keep the little dog in sight. Finally, they spotted Biscuit ahead, sitting sweetly and licking a little girl’s hand.
Elizabeth gasped when she saw who it was. The little girl from Bible Camp this morning!
“Hi!” Elizabeth said, kneeling next to the girl. “Do you remember me? We met this morning.”
The girl buried her face in her mother’s skirt.
“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said to the woman. “I didn’t mean to frighten her.”
“It’s okay,” the woman told her. “Annie is very shy. She loves animals, but people make her nervous. You must be from the Bible camp she attended this morning.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Elizabeth, and this is Kate and James. And this”—she gestured to the dog still looking up at Annie and wagging his tail—“is Biscuit.”
“We hope she’ll come back tomorrow,” said Kate with a smile. “Same time, same place.”
The woman looked sadly at her daughter. “I don’t know,” she said. “Some children can be so cruel.”
Elizabeth and Kate looked at each o
ther, confused. Why would anyone be cruel to such a sweet little girl?
The Bible Camp Band
Mr. Anderson approached the group. “Everything okay, Elizabeth?” he asked.
“Oh. Hi, Dad. Yes. This little girl was in our Bible camp this morning, and I guess Biscuit recognized her. He seems to like her!” Elizabeth smiled at the little girl, who was peering through her curls.
“Dan Anderson.” Elizabeth’s dad held his hand out to the woman.
“Teresa Lopez,” the woman replied, returning his handshake. “And this is Annie.” She gestured to her daughter, who was now squatting, rubbing Biscuit behind the ears. James knelt too and spoke softly to the dog and the girl.
Annie turned her head to the side, and for just a moment, her thick curls fell away from her face to reveal a large red birthmark. It covered the entire left side of her face. James didn’t seem to notice, but smiled and looked directly into the girl’s eyes. “Biscuit really likes you. He likes me too. He’ll be at Bible Camp tomorrow. Are you coming?”
In that moment, Elizabeth wanted to pick her little brother up and hug him.
He is such a great kid! she thought. Lord, I take back every bad thought I’ve ever had about my little brother. He is the best little guy in the world!
Annie’s mother noticed too and looked at Mr. Anderson. “What a nice boy you have,” she whispered. “Annie’s birthmark is called a strawberry hemangioma, and many of the children make fun of her. At home, she’s outgoing and playful. Unfortunately, she has learned to be afraid of people she doesn’t know.”
Mr. Anderson nodded. “She’s a beautiful little girl, even with the birthmark. Is it possible to have it removed?”
The woman looked close to tears. “Yes, it is possible, but not probable. It’s an expensive operation, and I don’t have medical insurance. I’m afraid Annie will have to live with her birthmark. At least until she’s older.”
Mr. Anderson smiled compassionately. Looking at the girls and James, he said, “We’d better head back to the café. Your mother will wonder where we are.”
Elizabeth knelt and whispered to Annie, “I hope you’ll come back tomorrow. I was lonely after you left today.”
Camp Club Girls: Elizabeth Page 26