Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3

by David A. Kelly

  Mrs. Hopkins stepped out of the car. “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” she said as the noise quieted down. “The Mets’ stadium is right near LaGuardia Airport! Planes fly over all the time.”

  Mike watched the plane disappear into some puffy white clouds. “That reminds me,” he said to Kate. “Have you heard the joke about the airplane?”

  Kate squiggled her eyebrows. “Nooo…,” she said.

  Mike waved his hand. “Ah, well, don’t worry. It was over your head anyway!”

  “Ha-ha,” Kate said. “Very funny.”

  “Come on,” Mrs. Hopkins said. “We have got to check out the break-in.” She led them to the main entrance. Mrs. Hopkins showed the security guard her press pass. He waved them in.

  They wound through the stadium, up to the press box. Inside were rows of tiered seats facing large windows overlooking the field. The reporters had a great view.

  “Oh! I’m glad you’re here to examine your stuff, Laura,” said another reporter. He was wearing tan pants, a white shirt, and a Mets baseball cap. “We don’t know who broke in here or why, but the Mets security team is checking different areas in the stadium.”

  The man motioned to a security guard taking pictures. “If anything of yours is missing, tell her,” he said. “That’s Emma. She’s leading the investigation. Nothing of mine is missing, but the thief took books and notes from the desks next to yours.”

  “Thanks, Milo,” Mrs. Hopkins said. “I hope everything is okay. Mike and Kate, this is my friend Milo. He’s also a sports reporter. Watch out, though, because he works for a rival website. But he’s still a pretty good guy.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Milo said with a laugh. “She’s just jealous because sometimes I get the scoop on news stories before she does!”

  Mike and Kate said hello to Milo, and then followed Mrs. Hopkins to her desk. A pile of baseball books sat on one side. Nearby were a notebook and a pen. Mrs. Hopkins picked up the notebook.

  She studied it for a moment, and then dropped it on the desk.

  “Oh no!” Mrs. Hopkins said. “It’s empty! Someone took my research notes!”

  Kate picked up the notebook. There was nothing inside but a few sheets of blank paper.

  “Didn’t you have a copy of them?” she asked. “Or a backup on your computer?”

  Kate’s mother slumped into the chair next to the desk. She shook her head. “No!” she said. “I haven’t had a chance to make a copy. And I didn’t record the interviews, either. If I don’t get my notes back, I won’t be able to finish the book!”

  “Maybe Mike and I can help find them!” Kate said.

  Her mom looked at her and sighed. “Thanks,” she said. “I’d be happy to have your help.” Mrs. Hopkins looked at Emma, the guard. “And yours, too!”

  “We are already checking things out,” Emma said. “We reviewed the security video from the hallway and have a suspect. A man went into the press box at three o’clock today. He left a few minutes later, but he wasn’t carrying anything. We don’t know if he was the thief, but we suspect it.”

  “Could you see what he looked like from the video?” Mike asked.

  “We couldn’t see his face,” Emma said. “But he was wearing a Mets jersey and a Yankees baseball hat.”

  Mike and Kate glanced at each other. “Did you hear that?” Kate whispered. “Maybe it’s the same person who left us the note with the hot dogs!”

  Mike nodded.

  Emma continued. “Milo showed up an hour after the thief was here and noticed some of the reporters’ stuff was moved, so he called us,” she said. “Let me know what you’re missing, Mrs. Hopkins, and we’ll try to find it.”

  While Mrs. Hopkins was describing what had been stolen, Kate pointed to the other side of the press box. “Let’s take another look at that note. We can talk over there,” she said. Mike followed her to an empty table.

  “It’s probably the same person,” Mike said as they walked. “The timing works out. The thief left the note for us around one o’clock at the Cyclones game. That means he could have made it over here to the stadium by three o’clock to steal your mom’s notes.”

  Kate nodded. She dug out the napkin. She and Mike studied the message on it.

  Kate pointed to the fifth line. “What about this line: ‘You don’t see me now, but I saw you’?” she asked. “That’s a little creepy!”

  “Yeah, but maybe it just means the person who wrote it saw us handing out hot dogs at the Cyclones game,” Mike said. “Besides, whoever it is wants to meet us and your mom, so that’s okay! I’ll bet they want her to pay a big ransom for the stolen notes!”

  Kate nodded. “ ‘Meet me at the monuments with your mom,’ ” she read. “What are the monuments? There are lots of important buildings in New York City, like the Empire State Building, but no big monuments like in Washington, D.C.”

  Mike thought for a moment. “Look at the next line. ‘When the subways meet a second time,’ ” he said. “I think that means the second game in the Subway Series! The Mets are on the number 7 subway line, and you can reach the Yankees on the number 4, B, or D subway lines. And the second game is at Yankee Stadium tomorrow night!”

  “But there aren’t any national monuments at Yankee Stadium!” Kate said. “Where are we supposed to meet him?”

  “I don’t know,” Mike said. “Maybe the Statue of Liberty’s a national monument. It could mean that.”

  Kate shook her head. “But the Statue of Liberty isn’t near Yankee Stadium. That doesn’t make any sense.”

  They both stared at the paper for a couple of minutes. Mike read it over and over to himself. Suddenly, he jumped up and tapped the note.

  “Ooh, ooh!” he said. “It doesn’t mean a national monument. Don’t you remember from the last time we were there? It means to meet the thief in Yankee Stadium at Monument Park!”

  Kate’s eyes opened wide. “That’s it!” she said. “Monument Park, behind the Yankees’ outfield! That’s where they have all the retired numbers and plaques for important Yankees players and managers.”

  Mike nodded. “We meet him there with your mother, and she’ll get her notes back!” he said.

  “But the note says only if we turn over something special,” Kate said. “I’ll bet that means a lot of money!”

  Mike looked around. The press box was starting to fill up with reporters.

  “We should tell your mom,” Mike said. “And then maybe we can get some food and watch the game from up here!”

  They headed back to the other side of the press box. Kate’s mom was working at her desk. A few seats over, Milo was typing on his computer. As they approached, Mike held out his hand to stop Kate.

  “What’s up?” Kate asked.

  “Look over there,” Mike whispered. He pointed to a plastic bag hanging from Milo’s chair. “Maybe we’ve found our thief!”

  Poking out of the top of the bag was a Yankees baseball cap!

  “It can’t be Milo!” Kate said. “He’s a good friend of my mom’s!”

  “But he’s a rival reporter!” Mike said. “Your mom even said that. He probably doesn’t want her to finish the book. He had access to the press box. He has a Yankees hat. He could have faked the robbery and then reported it to security afterward.”

  “Okay,” Kate said. “We can tell my mom about the note later. Let’s hang out here to watch the game. That way we can keep an eye on Milo and maybe even find a chance to search his bag for my mom’s notes!”

  “NEW YORK CITY! WELCOME TO THIS YEAR’S SUBWAY SEEEEEEEEERIES!” the announcer boomed. The fans exploded with cheers and claps.

  Mike and Kate had gone to get dinner and returned to the press box just in time for the start of the game. On the way back, Mike had bought a baseball with a Mets logo on it. He always liked to have a baseball with him at ballparks in case he had a cha
nce to get a player’s signature.

  The Mets fans cheered when their team ran out and took the field. And the Yankees fans cheered as their leadoff hitter walked to the plate. Then the Yankees fans cheered even louder when he hit a line drive and ran to second base!

  As the runner stopped, the Mets catcher ran out to his pitcher. They covered their mouths with their gloves and talked for a few minutes before the catcher ran back to home plate.

  “Let’s go, Mets!” the fans cheered.

  The Mets pitcher struck out the next three batters. The first half of the inning was over without the Yankees getting a run.

  As they waited for the Yankees to take the field, Mike nudged Kate. “Maybe one of the Mets players will hit a home run,” he said. “Then we’ll get to see the Home Run Apple!”

  The Home Run Apple was a giant red apple with the Mets logo on it. It was taller than a truck. During games, it stayed hidden in a hole behind center field. But whenever a Mets player hit a home run, the apple rose from its hole.

  “That would be cool,” Kate said. “Manzana roja gigante. Giant red apple.” Kate was teaching herself Spanish. Her father knew Spanish because he worked with baseball players from other countries. Kate wanted to be able to speak Spanish like her father, so she practiced whenever she could.

  But the Mets didn’t hit a home run in the bottom of the first inning. Or the second, third, fourth, or fifth inning. They scored a run by hitting a couple of doubles, but nobody had hit a blast big enough to get a home run. By the bottom of the sixth inning, the Mets were ahead by two. But the fans still wanted a home run.

  During the game, Mike and Kate kept an eye on Milo. However, he stayed at his desk, working the whole time.

  The first Mets batter of the sixth inning hit a pop fly for an out. The second batter chopped at a curveball and hit a grounder to first for the second out. But the third Mets batter had a full count of three balls and two strikes before he saw his pitch. It was a fastball.

  The Mets player swung with all his might.

  BLAST!

  The bat connected with the ball and sent it flying! The hitter ran for first, and the ball sailed over the outfield wall.

  It was a home run!

  “Here it comes!” Mike said. He nudged Kate.

  Mike and Kate watched as the top of the apple appeared from behind the center-field wall.

  But as the apple came out, one of the reporters in the room called out, “Oh no!” Others crowded to the windows to watch.

  Mike’s and Kate’s jaws dropped open.

  “That doesn’t look like the Home Run Apple I’ve seen on TV!” Kate said.

  Instead of the regular bright red apple with a Mets logo, the apple that rose from the hole behind center field was very different. It was painted white with dark blue pinstripes that ran top to bottom all around the apple. And there was a giant Yankees logo on the front!

  “Someone’s pulling a prank on the Mets!” Mike said.

  A chorus of boos went up from the Mets fans in the audience, and cheers rose from the Yankees fans. The players milled around on the field while the umpires tried to figure out what to do.

  Milo reached for his camera and took a picture. “I can’t believe somebody turned the Mets’ Home Run Apple into the Yankees’ Home Run Apple!” he said. “This will make a great scoop!” He walked to his computer and started typing.

  “Not so fast,” Kate’s mother said. She stepped over to the window and took a picture. “My readers will want to see it, too.” She tapped on her phone for a moment. “There,” she said. “I just sent it to my editor at America Today to publish!”

  Mike and Kate stared out the window at the giant pin-striped apple. A few people on the Mets’ grounds crew were walking over to it from the infield. Most fans were just staring at the strange sight.

  “Can I borrow your binoculars?” Mike asked a nearby reporter. “I want to get a better look.”

  Up close, Mike could see that the logo on the front of the apple was just a sheet painted with the word Yankees. He twirled the dial on the binoculars to zoom out a little bit to see the fans.

  “That’s strange,” Mike said. He nudged Kate. “Use these to look over there.” He handed her the binoculars. “At the bottom of the stands just to the right of the Home Run Apple. Do you see that man looking at the apple and talking on a walkie-talkie?”

  Kate held the binoculars up to her eyes and scanned the seats near the apple. “Yes,” she said. “But it can’t be!”

  “It is!” Mike said. “He’s wearing a Mets jersey and a Yankees cap!”

  “We’ve got to get down there to investigate!” Mike said. “Maybe he took the notes, not Milo!”

  Kate turned to her mother. “Mom, can we meet you back here in a few minutes? Mike and I want to go see the Yankees’ Home Run Apple.”

  Mrs. Hopkins looked up. “Oh, sure,” she said. “I’ll be working for the entire game.”

  “Thanks!” Kate called over her shoulder as she and Mike slipped outside the door of the press box. They ran through the hallways and took an elevator down to the main level. Then they followed the main walkway around the stadium until they found an aisle near the apple.

  “There he is!” Mike said, and they ran down the steps toward the field.

  The man in the Mets jersey and Yankees hat was standing at the bottom of the aisle. He was too busy talking on his walkie-talkie to notice Mike and Kate racing down the steps.

  They stopped just behind him. The nearby fans were still pointing at the big apple.

  Kate tapped the man on the shoulder. “Excuse me,” she said.

  The man jumped and turned around. He had a long face and a beard. His hair was cut in a crew cut.

  “Oh!” he said. “Sorry, am I in your way?”

  “No,” Kate said. She had to talk loudly because of all the noise from the crowd. Kate pointed to the man’s walkie-talkie. “We’re just trying to figure out what happened to the Home Run Apple,” she said. “We wondered if you knew anything about it.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t,” the man said, “even though I should.”

  “What do you mean?” Mike asked.

  The man pointed to the Mets jersey he was wearing. “I’m Rocco Sampson. I work for the Mets,” he said. “I’m in charge of pushing the button to make the apple pop up after a home run!”

  “That would be fun to do!” Mike said.

  “It is,” Rocco said. He pointed at the Yankee pinstripes on the apple. “But this isn’t fun. Somebody must have done it last night when the stadium was empty.”

  “Or maybe this afternoon,” Kate said. “Did you hear the press box was broken into? Someone stole my mother’s notes!”

  “I didn’t know that,” Rocco said. “But whoever did this was obviously a Yankees fan, not someone who works for the Mets, like me!”

  Mike pointed at Rocco’s hat. “But what about that?” he asked. “If you work for the Mets, why are you wearing a Yankees hat?”

  Rocco smiled. “I wear the Mets jersey and Yankees hat during Subway Series games so I can show I support the crosstown rivalry of Mets and Yankees!” he said. “There’s only one thing that makes a good team better, and that’s a great opponent!”

  “We think whoever stole my mom’s notes was also at the Brooklyn Cyclones game this afternoon,” Kate said. “The thief left a note for us there. Were you at the game?”

  Rocco shook his head. “No,” he said. “I was with my boss running errands until about two o’clock today. Then I came back here.”

  He looked at the apple again. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go,” he said. “I need to figure out how to fix that thing before the next home run.”

  Rocco reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card and a pen. The card read ROCCO SAMPSON, METS APPLE MANAGER. He flipped it over and wrote on the back Ok
ay to visit! and scrawled his signature underneath with a big, looping letter S.

  “If you’re around for the third game of the series, feel free to come visit me in the scoreboard operations room,” Rocco said. “Just show the security guard this card and my note on the back. I can show you how the apple works!”

  “Wow!” Mike said. He gave Kate a high five. “That would be awesome!”

  Rocco smiled, waved goodbye, and headed up to the walkway. As soon as he was out of earshot, Mike looked at Kate.

  “I’ll bet he took your mom’s notes!” he said.

  Kate shook her head. “He’s got an alibi!” she said. “We can check it out, but if he really was doing errands this morning with his boss, he can’t be the person who left us the note at the Cyclones’ stadium. We’re looking for someone who could have been at the Cyclones game at one o’clock and here by three o’clock.”

  Mike nodded. “That leaves Milo as our main suspect,” he said. “Let’s check on him.”

  Back in the press box, Mike and Kate watched the rest of the first Subway Series game. When the Mets won the game 3–1, Milo finally left his seat to talk to another reporter. Seeing their chance, Mike and Kate walked over to Milo’s chair. As they passed by it, Mike bumped into the chair and knocked the bag onto the ground.

  “I’ve got it,” Kate said. She leaned down and picked up the bag, put the Yankees cap back in it, and hung the bag on the chair. “Try to be more careful, Mike!”

  “What else was in the bag?” Mike asked as they walked away. “Did you find your mom’s notes?”

  “Nope! There’s nothing in there except the Yankees cap,” Kate said. “It’s a dead end.”

  “Where is he?” Mike asked. “We need to get your mom’s notes back!”

  It was the next day, just around lunchtime. Mike and Kate were in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. They were crouched behind a big stone wall.