Kate

by Janice Thompson

  “He’s probably just happy someone is actually using his workout room.” Kate looked out of the window back toward the inn. In the early morning light, it looked even more beautiful, especially with snow stacked up in lovely white piles all around. “But can we talk about working out later? Aunt Molly is making oatmeal, and I never like to think about exercising and eating at the same time! Makes me nervous. Besides, I’d rather eat any day!”

  “I suppose.” Sydney shrugged, stepping off the machine. “I can eat oatmeal. It’s loaded with fiber and lots of vitamins. That’s what I need to stay in shape for the competition. I just have to cut back on the brown sugar and butter, that’s all.”

  Kate slapped herself in the forehead. “Good grief.”

  They trekked through the snow to the back door. As Kate swung it open, the wonderful aroma of cinnamon greeted them. “Yum!” Her tummy rumbled.

  Minutes later they sat at the table. Kate warmed her hands against the steaming bowl of oatmeal. She breathed deeply, loving the smell of the cinnamon.

  “I want to go back to the Rat today,” Sydney said, taking a bite of her oatmeal.

  Kate started to grumble, but then remembered how much she had enjoyed skiing. Maybe I need to stop saying I’m no good at sports! I actually found one I like! She took a bite of the oatmeal, smiling as she tasted the sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mmm. Aunt Molly knows just how I like it!

  Sydney fixed her own bowl, careful to add only the tiniest bit of brown sugar. Kate sighed as she watched her friend. Maybe if she tried—really, really tried—she could be athletic like Sydney.

  Or not.

  Thankfully, her little brother interrupted her thoughts. “I’m gonna build another snowman,” Dexter said. “My other one fell over last night. Besides, he didn’t look very good. He was kind of lumpy, and his nose fell off. I heard one of the kids in the neighborhood laughing at him. I think I’d better start over.”

  “You go right ahead and build a new one, honey,” Aunt Molly said. “But remember to forgive those kids who made fun of you first!”

  “I will.” He nodded and skipped off to play outside.

  Aunt Molly looked at Kate and winked. “You know what I always say…‘A snowman is the perfect man. He’s very well rounded and comes with his own broom.’”

  Kate laughed. “You’re so funny, Aunt Molly.”

  “Why, thank you very much.” Her aunt handed her a mug of hot cocoa.

  “I want to go back to the creamery today,” Kate said, then sipped the yummy cocoa.

  “Go back?” Sydney gave her a funny look. “But it’s closed down, right?”

  “I don’t mean go inside. I just want to look around outside. To…”

  “Snoop?” Sydney asked. “Is that what you mean?” She paused for a moment then added, “I know what you’re up to, Kate Oliver. You’re determined, aren’t you?”

  “Well, maybe a little.” Kate shrugged. “We’ll only be in town till the end of the week, and I want to solve this case. If we spend all of our time practicing for the competition, we won’t figure out who’s sabotaging the creamery.”

  “Or if someone’s sabotaging them,” her aunt reminded her. “We still don’t know.”

  “And we never will if Sydney and I don’t get busy.”

  “True, true,” Aunt Molly said.

  Just then, Kate remembered something. “Before we leave, I need to check my email to see if any of the other Camp Club Girls have written.” She signed online and checked her email.

  The first was from McKenzie:

  Been checking every species of rodent on the web. Gross! The creature in the photo you sent has the body of a rat, but is a lot larger. It also has unusual fur. I can’t find any other critters with fur like that! I will keep researching, I promise! In the meantime, keep me updated!

  The next email was from Alexis:

  Kate and Sydney, I have been researching the Mad River Valley Creamery. It’s been in the area for over seventy years—owned by the Hampton family. The current owners—Luke and Geneva Hampton—inherited it from Luke’s parents in 1986. Sales last year were higher than ever before. There is another creamery called Cheese De-Lite in a town about fifty miles away. Their sales aren’t as high as Mad River’s, but they claim to have the best cheese in the country. Cheese De-Lite is owned by Mark and Abigail Collingsworth. Their photos are on their company’s website.

  Kate clicked the link and tried to go to the website Alexis was talking about, but just then the internet stopped working. With a sigh, she rose from her seat. “I guess we should really get over to the creamery anyway. We can go skiing tomorrow, I promise.”

  The girls bundled up in their heavy coats and grabbed scarves and mittens.

  “It’s extra-cold out today,” Kate’s mother said, “so don’t stay out long. Promise?”

  “I promise, Mom.” Kate kissed her mother on the cheek. “Please pray for us, okay? I want to solve this case!”

  “I will, honey. I’ll pray that the Lord reveals every hidden thing! Oh, and take Biscuit with you. I’ll feel safer knowing he’s there. He’s a great watchdog! Just make sure he’s wearing his sweater.”

  “And a great crime solver!” Sydney added.

  “Okay.” Kate reached for Biscuit’s leash. He jumped up and down, excited to be going with them.

  Minutes later, the girls were on their way to the creamery. Kate noticed how much colder it felt today. “M–man!” she said with chattering teeth. “Maybe we picked the wrong day for this!” She clung tight to Biscuit’s leash and kept an eye on him.

  “It’s perfect ski weather.” Sydney took a couple of steps, then slid a little. “Whoa.” She paused to rub her ankle. “I’ve got to be more careful on this weak ankle! I almost fell.”

  “Better watch out! We’ve got to get that ankle healed by Saturday, so no more falling!” Kate said.

  When they arrived at the creamery, they found it closed, just as Kate suspected. There were no cars out front—not even the Hamptons’ SUV.

  “So sad,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Now what do we do?” Sydney pulled her scarf tighter and looked at Kate. “How can we snoop if the place is closed down?”

  “Let’s go around back. We’ve never seen the back of the building before.”

  “You’re not thinking of sneaking inside, are you?” Sydney asked. “’Cause if you are…”

  “No, no. I wouldn’t do that. I’m just looking to see…” Kate shrugged. “I don’t know. Something. Anything.”

  Biscuit tugged on the leash, leading them to the back of the creamery. Once there, they looked at anything and everything—the doors, windows, even the alleyway behind the back parking lot. All the while, Biscuit kept his nose to the ground sniffing, sniffing, sniffing. Kate wondered what he might be smelling. Probably all of that cheese!

  “This place is huge!” Sydney said. “I had no idea it went back this far.”

  “It is big. And it’s different from any building I’ve ever seen before.” Kate pointed. “Oh, look. There’s the Dumpster.”

  “So?” Sydney gave her a funny look. “You’re not going to make me climb in and look for evidence, are you?”

  “No.” Kate laughed. “But it would make a funny picture to send the other girls. I’m just looking to see evidence of rodents.”

  “Rodents…gross!” Sydney shuddered. “You think they’ve been hiding out in the Dumpster?”

  “If they’re looking for leftovers!” Kate giggled.

  “Dis–gus–ting!” Sydney said, then laughed.

  They looked all around the Dumpster, but saw nothing suspicious. Kate even checked the edges of the building, finally noticing some footprints in the snow. “Oh Sydney, check this out. These look like tennis shoe prints.”

  “So?” Sydney shrugged. “Mr. Hampton probably wears tennis shoes.”

  “No, he wears hiking boots. I remember looking the other day. These prints start at the edge of the parking lot and go all the
way to the back door.” Kate pulled on the door handle, but it didn’t open. “Hmm. Locked.” Biscuit began to whimper and pawed at the door. “Looks like he wants in there too.”

  “He’s a cheese-a-holic!” Sydney said. “He wants inside so he can eat all of the cheese!”

  Kate laughed and said, “Probably,” then pulled Biscuit away from the building.

  “Lots of people probably use that door,” Sydney said, rubbing her hands together.

  “I don’t think so.” Kate shook her head, deep in thought. This looked like the kind of door that rarely got used. “Maybe someone snuck in through this door to put rats inside.”

  “If so, wouldn’t we see evidence of the rats? Maybe…droppings.” Sydney looked like she might be sick as she said the word.

  “Ooo, so true!” Kate dropped to her knees and looked around. After a few minutes she rose back up again and shrugged. “Don’t see anything.”

  Pulling out her camera, she began to take pictures of the footprints. “At least we have this evidence.”

  “Little good it does us,” Sydney said. “Just footprints in the snow. Big deal.”

  “But it might be a big deal,” Kate reminded her. “You never know.”

  She snapped several photographs as she followed the trail of footprints back to the edge of the parking lot. “They disappear right here.” She sighed. “Oh well.”

  An idea came to her. “If we measure the footprints, we should be able to determine the shoe size.”

  “How will that help?” Sydney asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

  “It will help us eliminate suspects,” Kate explained.

  “Are you saying you have a measuring tape with you?” Sydney looked at her as if she didn’t believe such a thing was possible.

  “I do! It’s a digital measuring tape and it records the measurements. I can’t believe I haven’t shown it to you before.” She pulled it out of her pocket and measured the prints. “Hmm. It’s 10.31 inches. I wonder what size that is.”

  “Well, it’s not as big as your dad’s shoes,” Sydney observed. “But it’s lots bigger than Dexter’s.” She stuck her foot in the footprint and shrugged. “Bigger than mine too, and I’ve got pretty big feet!”

  “I’m guessing it’s a size eight or nine in a men’s shoe,” Kate said, putting the digital measuring tape away. “But we can ask my dad later.”

  Her cell phone rang, startling her. Kate looked at the number and smiled when she saw it was her dad. “Hi, Dad! Wow, that’s a crazy coincidence! I was just talking about you.”

  “You were?” He laughed. “Good things, I hope.”

  “I need your help. We’ve measured some footprints. They’re 10.31 inches long. What size man’s shoe would that be?”

  “Hmm. I might have to look that one up on the internet,” he said. “Or, measure my own feet! But before I do that, let me tell you why I’m calling. We’ve decided to go to the restaurant in town for lunch. Want me to swing by and pick you girls up?”

  “Oh, we can walk,” Kate said, her teeth chattering.

  “No, honey. The temperature has really dropped. Your mother is worried you and Sydney will get frostbite. We’re coming by that way, so meet us out front. Besides, we’ll need to drop Biscuit back off at the inn before going to the restaurant. Oh, and Kate…”

  “Yes, Dad?”

  “How’s the investigation going?”

  She sighed. “Other than a few footprints, we haven’t found anything suspicious. This case might just turn out to be a dead end. Maybe the creamery isn’t being sabotaged, after all.”

  “Well, don’t sound so depressed about that!” He laughed. “We want a happily-ever-after ending to this Christmas vacation, don’t we?”

  “Sure. But if there’s really no case to solve, then I’ve wasted a lot of hours on our family vacation when I should have been hanging out with my family. And I’ve spent way too much time outdoors when I could have been sitting next to the fireplace drinking Aunt Molly’s hot cocoa.”

  “Aw, honey, your mother and I know how much you girls love to investigate. So you go right ahead and do what comes naturally.”

  “Are you calling me a natural-born snoop?” Kate asked.

  “If the shoe fits…” He laughed again. “But I am a little concerned about how much time you kids have been spending outdoors in this weather. I don’t want you catching cold…especially right before Christmas!”

  “Yes, and poor Biscuit is shivering,” Kate said. “I feel bad for him. We should buy him a thicker sweater!”

  “We’ll do that,” her dad said. “In the meantime, we’ll be by to pick you girls up in about ten minutes.”

  “Okay, Dad. Oh, and Dad?”

  “Yes, honey?”

  “I love you. Thanks so much for understanding.”

  “Love you too, kiddo.”

  As they ended the call, something caught Kate’s attention. A car pulled around the back of the creamery through the alley. She and Sydney slipped behind a Dumpster and watched. Kate did her best to keep Biscuit quiet, but he kept whimpering. “Hush, boy!” she whispered.

  “Wow, that’s a great car. A Jaguar!” Sydney whispered, her eyes wide with excitement. “Do you suppose the Hamptons own a car that fancy?”

  Kate shook her head. “They don’t seem the type. Besides, I saw Mr. Hampton drive away in an SUV the other day, not a Jaguar.”

  “Seems kind of weird that a fancy car like that would be in an alley behind a creamery,” Sydney said. She peeked out once again, then pulled her head back with a worried look on her face. “We’d better be careful. I think they’re slowing down.”

  The tires crunched against the icy pavement, finally stopping. A woman stepped out and looked around in every direction, then signaled and a man got out. Biscuit began to growl. Kate pulled on his leash to get him to stop, but he refused.

  Kate gasped. “Do you see who that is?” she whispered. “It’s the woman who fainted the other day…and her husband.”

  “Oh yeah.” Sydney squinted. “The woman in the expensive coat and the man with the sour look on his face.” Sydney paused a moment to look at them. “Ooo! He looked this way. I hope he didn’t see us.”

  They watched as the man and woman walked across the back of the building. He seemed to be looking for something. At one point, he stood on his toes and tried to look into a window. Biscuit yipped, but Kate tapped him on the nose and whispered, “Shush!”

  “Why do you suppose that man is looking inside?” Kate whispered to Sydney. “He just went on the tour the other day, so he knows what the building looks like on the inside.”

  “I don’t know,” Sydney said. “But it’s really suspicious. Oh!” She paused, then looked at Kate with a gleam in her eye. “Kate, look! He’s wearing tennis shoes!”

  Kate squinted to see the man’s white tennis shoes.

  “Wow!” she whispered. “You’re right.”

  That didn’t necessarily make him a suspect, but it did make her wonder!

  They continued to watch the man. He put his hand on the doorknob of the back door and tried it, but it wouldn’t turn. Once again, Biscuit started to growl. Kate tried to quiet him. “He’s trying to break in!” she whispered.

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Sydney said. “After all, we tried that knob too, and we weren’t trying to break in.”

  “True.” Kate shook her head as she watched the man. He walked to another window and looked inside, then continued across the icy parking lot to the side of the building.

  “It’s like he’s looking over every detail of the building,” Sydney whispered. “Like he’s scoping it out. But, why?”

  “I wish I knew! Something is odd about him, for sure,” Kate said.

  “Do you think they have something to do with the rats?” Sydney asked. “Maybe we should find out who these people are and see if there’s any connection.”

  Just then Kate’s cell phone rang…loudly! Then Biscuit started barking even mo
re loudly!

  “Oh no!” she whispered. She reached to silence the phone, but the man turned and looked in their direction. “Hush, Biscuit! Hush!” Kate pressed the IGNORE button on her phone and took a couple of deep breaths. “Look the other way. Look the other way,” she whispered as she watched the man.

  However, instead of looking the other way…he began to walk right toward them! Kate’s heart felt like it might explode.

  “Lord, help us!” she whispered. “Please!”

  The Plot Thickens

  Kate’s heart raced as the stranger’s shoes crunched through the snow in their direction. Oh no! Please turn around!

  “What is it, Mark?” the woman called out. “What are you doing over there?”

  “I heard something behind the Dumpster,” he hollered back. “I’m checking it out.”

  Kate squatted and tried to hide on the farthest side of the Dumpster, praying he wouldn’t see them. Unfortunately, the closer he came, the more Biscuit growled.

  Just when Kate was sure they would be discovered, a car horn beeped from the front of the creamery.

  “It’s Dad!” Kate mouthed to Sydney.

  The woman hollered out, “Mark! C’mon, let’s get out of here before we get caught!”

  “I’m out of here!” The man ran back toward his car, and the woman joined him. Seconds later, they went speeding off.

  The car disappeared back into the alleyway and Biscuit ran after it, barking at the top of his lungs. Kate sat shivering behind the Dumpster. “I c–can’t b–believe they didn’t c–catch us.”

  “I know! That scared me so bad!” Sydney said, her eyes wide with fear. “I’ve never been that scared!”

  “Me either! What do you think they were doing here?” Kate asked. “Do you think they put the rats in the store the other day? Seems pretty obvious, if they did!”

  “I don’t know, but it sure is suspicious!” Sydney said. She glanced Kate’s way, still looking nervous. “Oh, by the way, who called?”

  Kate glanced at the caller ID on the phone. “Bailey. I’ll call her back later. No time to talk right now!”

  “Just wait till she hears what she interrupted!” Sydney said.