“Oh, no you don’t,” said Henry. He caught Nan’s shirt.
She yanked and twisted, but it was too late. Benny grabbed one leg and the others surrounded her.
Gasping and red-faced, she stopped. “I didn’t do anything,” she said. “I was just checking on my bike.”
“With these?” Jessie asked, holding up the wire cutters.
Anna had been inspecting the damage. “About ten bicycles have at least one cut spoke,” she reported. “Our repair people can fix that.”
“How many spokes were you going to cut?” Violet asked.
Nan’s friendly smile was gone. She pressed her lips together and said, “It didn’t damage the bicycles permanently. Spokes can be fixed.”
“You’re the one who leaked the water at the first water stop,” Jessie said.
“No, I didn’t leak the water. I would never do anything to harm a rider’s health!”
“But you did change the signs so the riders would get lost,” Soo Lee said. “You were ahead of us. You could have done it easily.”
“And you rigged the row of tents so it would fall,” Henry said. He pointed. “You got that bruise sneaking around in the dark last night. And you changed the detour sign today. And I bet you put glue in the lock on the food wagon, too.”
“And what about switching the helmets?” said Benny.
“You can’t prove any of it,” Nan muttered.
“I can prove that you sabotaged me,” Henry said. “You told me the exact opposite of what I should do to fix my flat tire. That’s the reason I kept getting flats—because I wasn’t putting enough air in my tires.”
“So?” Nan’s eyes shifted.
“So you’d do anything to eliminate as many riders as possible from this ride,” Violet said. “To win that raffle.”
“You won’t win it now,” Anna said. She motioned and the Aldens saw flashlights in the dark and realized that other crew members were headed for the corral. “I doubt you’ll be allowed to finish the ride.”
Nan drew herself up to her fall height. “Fine. I did all that. It was you who gave me the idea, when I heard you talking to Al about your bike getting sabotaged. Why not sabotage a few more riders? The fewer who finished, the better chance I had at that bike. And I need a new bike. A really good new bike. With a really good bike I could win races and lots of prize money. ...” She let her voice trail off as several crew members approached. One of them had a shirt on that said, SECURITY CREW CHIEF.
The security chief folded her arms as the Aldens and Anna told her what had happened. When they’d finished, she turned to Nan.
“I think we’d better take a look at your bike kit, Nan,” she said.
Reluctantly, Nan took them to her bike and the security crew chief looked in the small pouch of emergency tools most cyclists keep just behind their seat.
“Just as I expected,” she said as she drew from the small leather pouch a tube of glue.
“That’s not bike patch glue. That’s what she used to glue the lock on the food wagon,” said Benny.
“And how do you explain these?” continued the security chief, looking at Nan sternly. In her hand she held four packets of raffle tickets. It looked as though they had all been filled out with Nan’s name. “I’d be willing to bet we’ll discover some missing raffle tickets.”
“Wow,” said Jessie. “There are twenty-five tickets in each pack. That’s a hundred tickets. If those were somehow all put into the raffle at the end of the race ...”
“And if dozens of riders had gotten lost—and disqualified—by following the wrong signs ...” said Henry.
“And if more riders got discouraged and quit the race because of late food, collapsing tents, and no water ...” continued Violet.
“Nan would have a pretty good chance of winning the new bike at the raffle. Right?” finished Benny.
“Right,” said Jessie quietly.
The chief of security turned to Nan. “What do you have to say for yourself?” she asked.
With a toss of her head, Nan said, “Nothing. I’m going to be a famous bike rider someday, and to get famous you have to be tough.”
“But not mean and stupid,” the security chief said. “And what you did was mean-spirited and stupid. Let’s go. We’re going to pack up your stuff and escort you out of here in the sweep van. You’re out of the ride.”
Anna spoke up. “The rest of us will fix these spokes.”
“Good,” said the chief. She turned to the Aldens and nodded. “And good work,” she told them.
“Thank you,” said Benny modestly. “We solve mysteries all the time. If you ever need us to solve another one, we live in Greenfield. We—”
“Benny, let’s go get some sleep,” Violet said, patting her little brother’s shoulder.
“Okay,” said Benny. He looked at the others solemnly and added, “It’s important for a bike rider to get lots of sleep. Especially if he’s going to solve mysteries, too.”
“Eagle Mountain is saved!” Jessie announced as she led the way into Greenfield Wheels two days later.
“There was a huge crowd at the end of the race,” Violet said. “And the governor made a speech!”
“I know. I heard,” said Thelma. “Congratulations.”
“And your bike is ready, Henry. And paid for. A young man came in very early this morning and insisted on taking care of the bill,” Louis said.
Henry was glad Al had done what he’d promised.
“We didn’t win the fancy bicycle,” Soo Lee said. “Someone else did.”
Benny said, “But we got to use this tandy.” He patted the bicycle that he and Henry had brought to the store to return.
“Good,” said Louis.
“And we solved a mystery, too,” Benny said.
Thelma gave Benny a sly grin. “I don’t guess you’re going to tell me about it, are you?”
“Oh, yes,” said Benny. But it wasn’t just Benny who told the story of the great bicycle race while Thelma and Louis listened and asked questions and exclaimed in amazement.
When the Aldens had finished, Thelma said, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. Who leaked the water the first day?”
Jessie said, “Ronald, Ms. Whatney’s chauffeur. When she heard what had happened, she remembered him stopping at the water wagon. He thought he was doing what she wanted him to do, but it turned out he was wrong.”
“She fired him!” Benny cried.
“I’m glad of that,” Louis said.
“And the mystery man?” asked Thelma.
“With the backward hat?” Soo Lee said. “That’s what Benny called him, the backward-hat man. He worked for the governor. He was observing the ride for her. His report is one of the things that helped persuade the governor to save the park.”
“How did you find that out?” Louis wanted to know.
“We saw him talking to her,” Violet explained. “And we just went up and asked him.”
Thelma laughed. “I’d say solving a mystery is just a matter of asking the right questions,” she said.
Henry said, “And setting the right trap.”
Benny had wandered away to look at the bike shop bulletin board. He called out, “What does this say?” and pointed at a brightly colored sign.
Violet went to the bulletin board. “It’s about another bike ride,” she said. “In California. Five nights, six days.”
“Wow,” Benny said. He clapped his hands. His eyes sparkled. “When is it? Should we start practicing now?”
“Oh, Benny,” Jessie said.
Benny grinned. “What?” he said. He put his hands on his hips. “I like to bike race. And solve mysteries, and I’m ready for the next one!”
“Even if someone puts glue in the lock of the food wagon again and dinner is hours late?” asked Violet.
Benny frowned and stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then broke into a grin. “Maybe we can bring our own food,” he suggested brightly.
The bike shop rang with the laughter of Violet, Jessie, Henry, and Louis and Thelma.
“What’s so funny?” he asked. “You know you can’t solve a mystery on an empty stomach!” |