He grabbed a bag from the top of the stack and Kate lowered her position, praying he wouldn’t see them. She reached for Alex’s arm and pulled her down a bit lower too. All the while she kept a close eye on Biscuit, praying he wouldn’t bark. Or sneeze. Or growl.
Why, oh why, did I ever think bringing a dog would be a good idea?
Just as Mr. Whipple took a couple of steps toward the door, Kate’s cell phone rang. Her heart began to race. She reached inside her pocket and pushed the SILENCE button.
“Who’s in here?” Mr. Whipple called out.
The whites of Alex’s eyes stood out against the darkness of the room and Kate mouthed the word “Yikes!”
“Who’s in here?” Mr. Whipple called out.
When the girls didn’t respond, he muttered something about needing to get his hearing aid checked. He stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
“That was close!” Kate said, dropping to the floor in a heap. Her hands began to tremble. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone. “It was Sydney calling. She must have some information about the case.”
“We’ll have to talk to her later. Let’s get out of here!” Alex took Kate by the hand and they eased their way through the darkness to the door. As she gripped it, the creaking sound rang out.
“Shh!” Kate whispered.
The two girls tiptoed out into the hall, and for a minute they thought it was empty. However, a few seconds later, they heard footsteps again. Biscuit began to growl once more. Kate shushed him, hoping he wouldn’t bark and give them away.
“Kate, look!” Alex whispered. “It’s Mr. Whipple…again!”
Kate grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her into the cleaning supply closet, pulling Biscuit behind them. She shut the door, but the smell of bleach and other cleaning supplies nearly made her sick at her stomach. Besides, they barely fit in the closet with the mop bucket and other supplies, especially with Biscuit panting and whimpering.
“Where is he going, do you suppose?” Alex whispered.
“Not sure, but I’ll check.” Kate opened the door just an inch or so and peered down the hallway.
“He’s up to something,” she whispered. After a moment of watching, she said, “Oh, it looks like he’s going into Penny’s office.”
Kate snapped a picture with her digital camera in case they needed the proof. She turned back to Alex. “What do you suppose he’s doing in there?”
“Sneaking around, for sure!” Alex whispered in response. “But why would he want to sneak into Penny’s office? Don’t you find that strange?”
“Yes.” Kate nodded. “I can’t help thinking about that picture of him in the paper with the Bender brothers. Maybe they’re paying him to work here and spy on the sisters. Could be he’s doing that right now, sneaking around in there, trying to figure out the Twisted Twins’ secrets!”
“I’ll bet you’re right.”
Just then a text message came through on Kate’s phone. “Sydney again. She says to call her later.”
“If we weren’t hiding in a broom closet, we could do it now,” Alex responded. “But right now we have more important things.”
Kate poked her nose out of the door once more. She watched as Mr. Whipple snuck back out of Penny’s office, picked up the bag of flour then headed off down the hall, whistling. “Very strange,” she said. “He had a smile on his face.”
She snapped another photo.
“Maybe his spying paid off,” Alex said. “Maybe he found something to help the Benders in their case against the Twisted Twins. Maybe he’s not going to give up until he stops them from making pretzels altogether!”
Kate shrugged. “I don’t know. I just know that I’m tired of sneaking around! And Biscuit is slobbering all over me.”
She opened the closet door and stepped into the hallway. She and Alex ran back up to the front of the factory, relief flooding her as they reached the parking lot. Unfortunately, the rain was really coming down hard, so they rushed to get inside the van.
“Wow, that was quite an adventure,” Alex said, settling into a seat.
“Did you find anything?” Kate’s father asked.
“Maybe!” Kate said, getting Biscuit settled onto the floor. “We need to talk to Candy and Penny, but there just isn’t time. Maybe I can call them later.”
“Oh? What’s up?” her father asked.
“We’re more suspicious of Mr. Whipple than ever!” Kate removed Biscuit’s collar and pressed the rewind button. Straining, she heard the sound of footsteps, and then heard Mr. Whipple muttering something about keeping a secret. Finally, she heard him say something else: “Crazy woman. What I wouldn’t do to get her.”
Alex’s eyes grew wide. “He’s out to get her?”
“Sounds like it,” Kate’s father said. “And it sounds like he’s not going to stop until the deed is done.”
“But…what deed?” Kate asked. “What do you suppose he’s up to?”
Alarm filled Alex’s eyes.
“It’s just like that game…Clue,” she said. “Mr. Whipple did it in the factory with a…” She paused. “I haven’t decided yet how he did it. I guess we’ll figure that out later.”
“Maybe.” Kate sighed. “Right now I’m just confused.”
Her father glanced at his watch. “We’ve spent a lot of time here when we should be getting back to the festival.”
“Candy and Penny aren’t going to be happy to hear that Mr. Whipple is sneaking around. Oh, I wish we had time to go back in there!” Kate said.
“Not today, honey,” her father said. “We barely have enough time to get back to Hershey. I want to be there when the judge announces that my daughter is a finalist in the Young Inventors’ Festival.”
Kate giggled. “Dad, we don’t even know that I’m going to be a finalist. Did you see how many other inventors there are?”
“Yes, but I’ve also seen the Turbo Heat-Freeze, and it’s by far the best invention on the exhibition floor,” he said, looking very proud. “So I have no doubt that you’ll be a finalist.”
Kate flashed a smile. She looked at Alex. “Now you see why I keep trying new things. My parents are like cheerleaders. They’re always telling me I can do anything I put my mind to.”
“Well, you know what the Bible says,” her father reminded her as he turned the van on. “‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’”
“I believe it!” Alex said. “And I agree with your father. You are going to be a finalist, Kate.”
“Whatever you say.” Kate leaned back against the seat and tried to think about the competition. Unfortunately, all she could think about was Mr. Whipple. He was up to something. She could feel it in her bones.
And she would prove it…if the week would just slow down long enough!
Camp Club Girls on Call!
The drive back to Hershey went smoothly, though the rain slowed them down a bit. All the way there, Kate thought about Mr. Whipple and what he’d said when he didn’t think anyone was listening. She wondered what he meant and how it might affect Penny and Candy. Would he really sabotage the two people who’d been so good to him through the years? All because of competition between the two companies?
Hmm. Speaking of competition …
Kate glanced at her watch, realizing they would barely make it back in time for the big announcement. She wondered what Phillip was doing. Was he wondering where she was? Bragging about how he was going to beat her?
That familiar bad feeling came over her as she thought about him. Why couldn’t she and Phillip just get along?
Thankfully, Kate’s father got them to Hershey just in time. She and Alex sprinted from the van to the exhibition hall with her father following closely. By the time she reached the stage at the center of the hall, Kate was tired…but excited.
She watched as Mr. Carmichael walked to the podium. Off in the distance she saw Phillip, standing with his parents. Alex pulled out her video camera ju
st as Kate’s mother and Dexter joined them.
“I was worried you might not make it back in time,” her mom said. “Glad to see you.”
“Can we just get this part over with and go ride the sooperdooperLooper?” Dexter whined. “This is so boring.”
Kate laughed. “Might be boring to you, but this is the best part to me. And besides, we’re not going to the amusement park till tomorrow, remember?”
He groaned and crossed his arms at his chest, looking upset.
“It’s not like we could go in the rain, anyway,” Kate said. “The rides aren’t even running when the weather is bad.”
“I know. This whole trip is such a waste.” Dexter rolled his eyes. “Well, except for the part where you’re going to win the competition. That’s pretty cool.”
“I wish everyone would stop saying I’m going to win,” Kate said. “You’re all going to be disappointed if I don’t!”
Dexter shrugged.
Mr. Carmichael’s voice caught Kate’s attention.
“We’re so excited about our participants this year,” he said. “We’ve seen some real winners in this group!”
Alex turned her video camera toward him, filming the whole thing.
Phillip looked over at Kate and raised his eyebrows as if to say, “He’s talking about me!”
Kate just smiled and turned her attention back to Mr. Carmichael.
“One of the reasons we feel so strongly about the Young Inventors’ Festival is because it helps students with issues like problem solving and research,” he said. “We find that it also enhances their organizational and creative thinking skills. Best of all, it helps boys and girls learn how to communicate effectively and give a nice presentation based on what they’ve learned.”
Kate thought about all he said. She had learned a lot by building the Turbo Heat-Freeze, and not just about pretzels and chocolate. She’d learned a lot about herself too.
She knew now that she took after her father…and that made her very proud.
She also knew that she wasn’t afraid to stand up in front of people and make a presentation like she used to be back in grade school. Now she could stand before a crowd and tell them all about her invention…and not even be scared.
Well, not very scared, anyway. She still had to pray that the Lord would calm her down sometimes, especially in moments like this when she didn’t know if she would be a finalist or not!
“We’ve narrowed our list of contenders from one hundred to twenty,” Mr. Carmichael said. “The following young inventors have made our short list and will all receive college scholarships in different amounts. However, only one will be named tomorrow night as the Inventor of the Year.”
He began to list names. Kate heard a squeal of glee as he called out one name after another. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Phillip and his family. He looked nervous. For the first time, she felt a little sorry for him.
Mr. Carmichael continued to list names. When he spoke Kate’s name, she squealed. Alex hugged her before putting the video camera in her face and starting to ask questions.
“Whoa, whoa!” Kate said. “Not so fast!”
“Well, I just knew you would be on the list!” Alex snapped off the video camera. “Your invention is the best one here.”
“I don’t know about that,” Kate whispered back. “There are so many good ones.” Still she was happy that she was one of the finalists. Her father grinned and gave her the thumbs-up signal. She smiled in response.
At that moment, she heard Mr. Carmichael called Phillip’s name. Kate breathed a sigh of relief. She felt better, knowing he had made the short list too.
Glancing his way, she smiled. She hoped he would give her some sign that they were friends. Instead, he looked away with a sour expression.
Kate heard Mr. Carmichael announce the last name on the list—Emma. The Amish girl with all of the slippery frogs. Directly to her left, Kate heard a happy cry. She smiled as she saw Emma and Rachel standing there with their parents.
After Emma’s name was announced, the crowd applauded and then everyone began to congratulate the kids who’d made it into the finals. Kate was about to congratulate Emma and Phillip when her family swept in around her.
“Kate, I’m so proud of you!” Her mother wrapped her in a loving embrace.
“That’s my girl!” her father added, squeezing her. “I knew your Turbo Heat-Freeze would make it. I just knew it!”
Kate beamed with joy. She loved hearing her parents’ comments and was so glad they were happy with her achievement.
She noticed Phillip’s parents congratulating him. Well, sort of. They didn’t really seem real excited, and she thought she heard Phillip’s father say something about how his son needed to work harder to be the best. Wow. Well, that explained a lot, didn’t it? Maybe Phillip had to work extra hard to get his father’s respect and love. How sad.
She didn’t have long to think about it. Her mother and father were saying they should all go out to eat a late lunch to celebrate. Kate stepped through the crowd with Alex at her side, chatting non-stop about how proud she was. Somehow all of this was a little embarrassing. Kate liked the idea of doing well in the competition, but getting this attention made her feel kind of…well, funny. Self-focused.
They walked out of the exhibition hall and toward the hotel’s restaurant. After they received their meals, Kate got another text message from Sydney. She read it, and then looked at Alex, who was eating a plate of spaghetti.
“Sydney wants to know if we can do a conference call in an hour,” Kate said. “She says one of the girls has some interesting news. That’s why she was trying to reach us earlier.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “I wonder what it is.”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s about the case,” Kate said. She picked up her fork and stuck it into the last piece of lasagna on her plate. Then she shoveled it into her mouth.
“Yum!” she said. “Good to the last bite!”
After eating lunch, the two families walked back to the hotel. Kate invited Alex to her room and they sat on the bed to call Sydney and the others.
Sydney answered right away. Within a couple of minutes, the other girls were on the phone too.
“Okay, Inspector Gadget, here’s what I’ve learned,” Sydney said, chiming in right away with her news. “I checked with the Better Business Bureau, and there have never been any complaints filed against the Twisted Twins factory. Not ever.”
“Interesting,” Kate responded. “I guess I figured maybe someone was mad at them. But if no complaints have ever been filed, maybe I was wrong.”
“Well, don’t rule that out,” Sydney said. “I also found out that Penny and Candy once worked for another pretzel company in a nearby town, a much larger factory.”
“Really?” Kate asked, perking up. “What company?”
“The Bender Brothers’ Bakery,” Sydney said. “From what I read, it sounds like Penny and Candy might be related to the people who run that place.”
“No way! The Bender Brothers’ Bakery?” Kate whispered, not quite believing it. Was it really possible that Penny and Candy were connected to their competitors? If so, then this case just got even more exciting! But why hadn’t the sisters mentioned that?
Bailey started giggling and couldn’t seem to stop.
“The Bender Brothers’ Bakery?” she said between giggles. “Try saying that three times really fast!”
All of the girls did just that…at the same time. Before long, they were all laughing.
“So, what happened?” Alex asked finally. “What’s the story?”
“The factory started in the early 1930s during the Great Depression,” Sydney explained. “But in 1985 the brothers and sisters who had inherited the factory from their parents and ran it had a major falling out.”
“Falling out?” Kate clarified. “You mean, an argument?”
“Yes,” Sydney said. “The two brothers—Donald and Steve Bender—ke
pt the original family company, and the two sisters started their own business, the Twisted Twins. They are chief competitors. Have been, for nearly twenty-five years.”
“And now Twisted Twins is the second-best-selling company in the state,” Kate said. “Wow.”
“I’m sure the brothers aren’t very happy about that,” Sydney said. “They’ve always been number one. It looks like their sisters are gaining on them, especially in the last couple of years.”
“I’ve done a little research too,” McKenzie said. “And here’s what I’ve learned. The sisters use a similar recipe for their pretzels, so the brothers are mad about that. Very mad. The Bender brothers have written about it in a couple of newspaper articles. They feel the recipe was stolen.”
“Sounds like these brothers and sisters are a little twisted,” Alex said.
“Twisted! Get it?” Bailey laughed again. “Pretzels are twisted, just like the brothers and sisters.”
“Yeah, the boys are ‘bended’ and the girls are ‘twisted’,” Alex said. “Funny!”
“Very.” Kate giggled. Still, after a moment or two, she didn’t feel much like laughing. In fact, every time she thought about Penny and Candy not getting along with their brothers, she had to wonder what had happened to cause it. And then she wondered what it would be like if she got into such a big argument with Dexter that they never spoke again. That would be awful.
Elizabeth remained quiet for a moment. “I’m not saying that all competition is bad,” she said at last. “But whenever you start thinking you have to be better than the next person, something’s wrong. God wants all of us to excel at what we do, not cut each other down so we can be the best.”
Ouch. Kate thought about that in light of what was happening with Phillip. Who cared who had the better project or who got the better score on a test? As long as they were both doing their best, that’s all that mattered, right?
“It’s so funny you should say that,” she said after a brief pause. “I just read a scripture that said we’re not supposed to think more highly of ourselves than others.”
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