Soccer Mystery (5 page)

She got up and came to join her brother and sister in the doorway of the boxcar. Violet moved over to one side to make room for Jessie in the middle.

“Someone let the air out of the soccer balls on the last practice before our game,” said Jessie. “Then someone locked Elena in the locker room at the Silver City Community Center at halftime.”

“Maybe one of the players on the Rockets did that,” suggested Henry. “Elena is one of the best players on the Panthers. Maybe they thought it would help make us lose the game.”

Jessie shook her head and said, “I thought about that. But no one on the Rockets could have let the air out of the soccer balls before practice. They would have had to know when and where we practiced, who our coach was,
and
come early, all the way from Silver City.”

“That lets the Rockets out,” agreed Henry.

“The best suspect is the stranger in the blue van,” said Violet. “He was at practice and he was at the game. So he could have gotten to the soccer balls and followed Elena and locked her up.”

Henry said, “True. But you know what, I don’t think he’s our only suspect.”

“You mean Robert?” asked Jessie.

“No. I mean Stan,” said Henry. “He would have a reason to make the Panthers lose. He wants to make sure everyone thinks the Bears are the best team and that he is the best coach, so he can get the coaching job at the university.”

Violet said, “Craig and Gillian want that job, too. Maybe Craig did it to make Gillian look bad.”

“But someone let the air out of the soccer balls for Craig’s team, too,” Jessie reminded her.

“Maybe Craig did it so he wouldn’t be suspected,” Henry said.

“Or Gillian could have done the same thing,” Jessie said. She held up her fingers and counted off the suspects. “Stan, Gillian, Craig, and the stranger,” she said. “Four suspects. And not enough clues.”

“Do you think anything else will happen at soccer practice?” Violet asked.

“I do, Violet,” said Henry. “Either at a practice or at a game. We’ll have to be ready. We’ll watch Stan, Craig, and Gillian very closely. Then maybe we can catch whoever is doing this.”

“C
atch it, Watch!” shouted Benny. He kicked the ball toward Watch. Watch ran after it and pushed it with his nose.

Watch, Benny, and Soo Lee were practicing soccer in front of the Aldens’ house. They were playing keep-away, trying to keep Watch from getting the ball. But Watch was too fast for them. Every time Soo Lee or Benny kicked the ball, Watch ran like a flash toward it and knocked it out of the way with his nose. Then Soo Lee and Benny had to chase him to get it back.

Soo Lee kicked a ball up in the air. Watch circled under it and when it landed, he pounced.

Then, suddenly, there was a popping sound, followed by a hiss.

“Oh, no!” cried Soo Lee. “Watch bit the ball!”

“He was just trying to catch it,” said Benny. The two of them ran toward Watch, and Watch ran away, carrying the ball in his teeth. They chased him all the way around the house before they caught him.

“Good boy, Watch,” Benny panted. He sat down on the front steps with the ball. He squeezed the ball between his hands. More air hissed out.

“Let me see,” said Soo Lee. She took the ball and examined it. “There,” she said. “See. There are two teeth marks in the ball. Those are Watch’s teeth marks.”

“I’m sorry,” said Benny. “But it was an accident.”

“I know. It’s okay,” Soo Lee said. She reached down and petted Watch. “He was just practicing. He’ll know next time not to bite the ball, won’t you, Watch?”

“Woof,” said Watch.

“We came out to play soccer with you,” said Jessie. She, Violet, and Henry came out of the house and down the front steps.

Soo Lee held up the ball. “We can’t. My soccer ball has a hole bitten in it.”

She and Benny told the others what had happened.

Henry inspected Soo Lee’s soccer ball. Then he said, “We should go to the Greenfield Sports Store and get you a new soccer ball, Soo Lee.”

“Yes,” said Jessie. “If we put all our money together, we can buy you a ball to replace the one Watch popped.”

“You don’t have to do that,” said Soo Lee.

“Yes, we do,” said Violet. “Besides, how can we practice soccer without a ball?”

“Okay,” said Soo Lee.

Benny took Watch inside to stay with Mrs. McGregor. Then they all got on their bicycles and pedaled into Greenfield.

The Sports Store was on a corner near the park. They parked their bikes outside and went in.

“Watch would like this store a lot,” said Benny. “It has all kinds of balls: soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs, even tennis balls and golf balls.”

“Do you think he would bite holes in all of them?” asked Soo Lee. She and Benny burst out laughing.

Jessie smiled. “It’s a good thing we didn’t bring Watch!” she said.

“There’s a ball like yours, Soo Lee,” said Henry. He and Soo Lee picked up the ball and examined it.

“It is just the same as the other ball,” Soo Lee agreed.

“Then that’s the one we should get,” said Jessie. The five children headed for the cash register. They had just paid for the ball and were about to leave the store when Soo Lee said, “Isn’t that our coach? Isn’t that Gillian over there?”

“It’s Gillian
and
Stan,” said Violet.

Gillian was standing next to a display of soccer cleats. Facing her, Stan had a matching sweatshirt and pants with the price tags dangling off of them.

As they watched, Stan shook his head and raised one eyebrow.

Gillian put her hand on her hip and scowled.

“I don’t think they are shopping together,” said Violet softly. “It looks as if they are having a fight.”

Stan shook his head again. Gillian raised her voice and suddenly they could hear her. “That’s not why I’m complaining and you know it, Stan. I like the Panthers. They are a good team. But you kept almost all the best players for yourself. You’ve made it nearly impossible for anyone else in the league to have a chance of winning.”

“You’re the one who wanted to let players of every skill level play together,” said Stan, raising his own voice.

“I have a good chance at that job as assistant coach with Coach Della at the university, as good a chance as you,” said Gillian angrily. “Or I
had
a good chance, until you did this.”

Stan smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. He said, “If you’re such a good coach, Gillian, you’ll be able to make the Panthers into winners, won’t you?”

“You won’t get away with this, Stan,” Gillian said angrily. “I promise you, I’m going to find a way to stop you.” She turned and stormed down the aisle.

Stan stood and watched her leave, both eyebrows raised, the unpleasant smile still on his face. “May the best coach win,” he said finally, and laughed nastily before turning and leaving the store.

“I thought Gillian liked being our coach!” cried Benny.

“She does, Benny. But she’s right. Stan did keep most of the best players for himself. There’s not a single beginner on his team,” said Henry.

“She really wants that coaching job at the university,” observed Soo Lee. “It sounds as if she would do almost anything to get it.”

“Anything?” asked Jessie quickly.

“Possibly,” said Henry. “Maybe even sabotage her own team to cover up that she is sabotaging other teams.”

“The only other team that has had bad luck is Craig’s,” said Violet. “And I don’t think Gillian is behind any of the things that have happened.”

“I don’t, either. And anyway Stan’s team is the one she’s mad about. Why hasn’t anything happened to Stan’s team?” said Benny.

“That’s a good question, Benny. I don’t know,” answered Jessie. The Aldens went outside and got on their bikes and pedaled slowly home. After getting a cool drink of lemonade from Mrs. McGregor, they went into the front yard to practice soccer. They practiced all the rest of the afternoon. Whenever they rested, they talked about the mystery.

By the end of the afternoon, they were all better soccer players. But they were no closer to solving the soccer mystery.

H
ello?” said Violet, answering the phone. She listened for a moment and a worried expression crossed her face. “The game has been moved?” she asked. “Oh. Okay. Thank you.” She hung up the phone.

The Aldens were at the breakfast table. Benny wasn’t eating as big a breakfast as usual because the coach had told the team not to eat too much before a game. The Panthers were playing the Hawks that morning. But he wasn’t nervous, the way he had been before his very first soccer game.

Everybody else was calmer, too. Henry drank his juice and began to eat a second piece of toast. Jessie finished her cereal and said to Violet, “The game has been moved?”

“Yes. We were supposed to play at the Greenfield Community Center, but it has been moved to Silver City,” she told the others.

Just then Soo Lee came into the kitchen. “Hi, everybody,” she said.

“Would you like some breakfast?” asked Mr. Alden.

Soo Lee wasn’t as nervous as she had been before the first game, either. “Yes, please,” she said. “I’d like some juice. There’s plenty of time for me to have some today.”

“Not if we have to go to Silver City to play,” said Jessie.

“Silver City?” said Soo Lee, surprised. “But we’re playing at the Greenfield Community Center.”

“Someone just called and told Violet that the game has been moved,” Benny said.

Looking even more surprised, Soo Lee said, “No one called and told me that.”

“Maybe they called after you left,” said Violet.

“And maybe Aunt Alice said you were coming here and would find out from us,” added Benny.

“I guess so,” said Soo Lee.

But Jessie was becoming suspicious. “Did the person who called tell you his name?” she asked Violet.

“Nooo,” said Violet slowly. “It was a man’s voice. But it was very deep, almost as if he were trying to disguise it. I didn’t recognize it, and he didn’t say who he was.”

Jessie got up from the table and went to the telephone. She looked up Stan Post’s name in the phone book and dialed his number.

“May I please speak to Stan Post?” she asked when someone answered.

“This is Stan Post,” he said at the other end of the line.

“This is Jessie Alden. Has the game between the Panthers and the Hawks been moved?” she asked. She listened for a moment and nodded. “I didn’t think so,” she said.

She hung up the phone and turned to face the others. “The game hasn’t been moved,” she told them. “That phone call was a fake. Someone didn’t want us to go to the game this morning!”

“Who would do a terrible thing like that?” gasped Violet.

“The same person who let the air out of the soccer balls and locked Elena in the dressing room,” said Henry.

“If it was a man who called, it couldn’t have been Gillian,” said Benny.

“That’s true, Benny,” said Violet. “I didn’t think she would do any of those mean things, anyway.”

“Then maybe it was Craig,” said Soo Lee.

“Or Stan,” said Henry. “Did he sound surprised when you asked, Jessie?”

“No. He didn’t even sound interested,” said Jessie. She made a face.

“Don’t forget the mysterious stranger,” Violet said. “He could have found out who we are from anyone and called us.”

Henry put down his fork. “Whoever it was, maybe we should get to the game a little early today.”

Later that day the Aldens were at the community center. The Panthers were ahead of the Hawks 1–0, but Henry didn’t want the Hawks to score even one goal. Henry was the goalie.

He paced up and down in front of the goal. He watched the teams running up and down the field.

Suddenly one of the Hawks kicked the ball toward the goal. Jessie ran after the ball. So did the Hawk. Who would get there first?

The Hawk player beat Jessie. He kicked the ball again.

From the side of the field, Henry heard Benny shout, “Go, Henry! Go, Henry!”

Henry ran toward the ball. The Hawk player ran toward the ball.

This time Henry got there first. He fell on the ball and curled himself around it so that the Hawk player could not kick it again.

He heard cheers from his team and from the sidelines as he got up. Looking down, he realized he was covered with dirt and grass stains from falling. But he didn’t care. He had caught the ball!

The referee blew her whistle. The game was over!

With the ball under one arm, Henry trotted toward the middle of the field. All the Panthers shook hands with all the Hawks. “Good game,” they said to each other. Gillian and Craig had taught both teams to do that. It was part of being a good sport.

Then Henry walked off the field with Elena, Violet, and Jessie, smiling broadly

“Good catch, Henry,” said Elena.

“I sure am glad you were there to save that goal,” Jessie said.

“I think it must be scary to be a goalie,” said Violet. “I don’t think I could run and catch the ball like that.”

Benny and Soo Lee ran out to them. They had played in the first part of the game but had not been playing near the end.