The Mystery of Babe Ruth Baseball (3 page)

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Authors: David A. Adler

BOOK: The Mystery of Babe Ruth Baseball
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Cam reached into the bag. She took out an old newspaper, a puzzle book about outer space, and a dried-up slice of cheese.
“You should really wrap cheese in plastic or foil,” Eric told the girl.
Cam reached into the bag again and took out an apple, an empty soda can, and a roller skate. She felt along the bottom of the bag.
“There's no baseball in here, but there sure are a lot of papers.”
“Maybe my book report is in there. I wrote it last week, but I can't remember where I put it.”
Eric helped the girl up. Cam gave the gym bag back to her and said, “I'm sorry we chased you. And I'm sorry we thought you stole that baseball.”
“That's all right,” the girl said as she looked through the papers in her bag. “It will be worth it if I find that book report.”
The girl took old comic books, crushed homework papers, and candy wrappers from the bag. Cam and Eric left her and started walking toward the exhibit hall. When they reached the corner, the girl waved some papers at them and called out, “I found it! I found it!”
“I'm glad we helped find
something,”
Cam said to Eric. “But I wish it had been the baseball.”
When Cam and Eric reached the playground, they sat down on one of the benches. Eric watched the children playing basketball.
Cam closed her eyes and said,
“Click.”
She thought for a moment. She said,
“Click,”
a few more times. Then she opened her eyes.
“The baseball was there when we first came to the exhibit, but it was gone a few minutes later. So it must have been taken while we were there,” Cam said. “I just wish I had a picture of who was standing in the Babe Ruth corner when the ball was taken.”
Eric wasn't looking at Cam while she talked to him. He was looking across the playground.
“The one thing that I don't understand,” Eric said, “is why that boy ran from the hall. He was in a real hurry then, but he didn't go anywhere. He's still sitting there on that bench.”
Cam looked across the playground. Then she closed her eyes and said,
“Click.”
Cam told Eric, “I'm looking at the picture I have of him at the exhibit. He said he had a baseball in his pocket the whole time, but that's not true. He didn't have it in his pocket when we first saw him.”
Cam opened her eyes and asked, “What is he doing over there?”
“It looks like he's watching those two children playing catch.”
Cam looked across the playground at the boy in the green jacket. She thought for a minute. Then she clapped her hands together and said, “That's it! I think I know where the Babe Ruth baseball is.”
“Where?”
Cam started to explain, but then she saw something that made her stop.
“Look at that,” she said, and pointed across the playground. “Now I
know
where the baseball is.”
Chapter Five
Cam was pointing to the two children playing catch. One of them had thrown the ball too far. The boy in the green jacket was picking it up.
“Did you see that?” Cam asked.
“See what?”
“He picked up their baseball. Now I bet he'll switch baseballs. He'll throw back the one he has in his pocket.”
The boy in the green jacket turned around. As he turned, he took the baseball out of his pocket and threw it over his head to the two children. Then he started to walk away.
“Come on, Eric. Let's follow him.”
“Why? What's the difference if he did switch baseballs? Those children couldn't have the Babe Ruth ball. They were outside when it was stolen.”
The boy in the green jacket walked quickly away from the playground. He didn't even look as he crossed the street. Horns honked. Two cars stopped short to avoid hitting him. But the boy didn't even turn around.
Cam ran through the playground and out the exit. Eric followed her. They waited at the corner and then crossed the street when they were sure no cars were coming. The boy was almost a full block ahead of them.
“Let's be careful,” Cam told Eric. “I don't want that boy to know we're following him.”
Cam and Eric stayed about half a block behind the boy. They walked past a row of stores. At the corner the boy turned around. He looked straight at Cam and Eric.
“Quick!” Cam said. “Let's go into one of these stores.”
It was Sunday. The only place open was a small food store. Cam opened the door, and Eric quickly followed her inside.
“Can I help you?” a man behind the counter asked.
“No. We don't need anything,” Cam told him.
“Of course you do. Now try to remember what your mother sent you to get. Was it milk? We have regular milk, ninety-nine-percent-fat-free milk, skim milk, and buttermilk.”
“We don't need milk,” Eric said.
“Maybe you came for bread or canned vegetables. We have peas, spinach, corn, carrots, and lima beans.”
Cam opened the door and looked outside. Then she told Eric, “Let's go before we lose him.”
“Maybe you need juice,” the man called as Cam and Eric were leaving. “We have orange juice, apple juice, tomato juice, grapefruit juice, and lemon juice.”
When Cam and Eric stepped outside the store, they looked for the boy. He was gone. They ran to the corner. They looked ahead and down both side streets.
“There he is,” Eric said.
The boy was walking down one of the side streets. Cam and Eric were careful not to get too close. There were a few stores along the first half of the block. The rest of the block was lined with apartment buildings. They saw the boy walk into one of the buildings.
Cam and Eric ran to the building. They peeked into the lobby. The boy was standing there waiting for the elevator. He got into the elevator, and the doors closed behind him.
Cam and Eric ran into the building. They watched the numbers over the elevator door light up. Number five stayed lit for a long time.
“He got off on the fifth floor,” Cam told Eric. “Now we know where he lives. I'll stay here and watch to make sure he doesn't leave. You go get the police.”
“No!”
“No?”
“You still haven't told me why we followed him. What will I tell the police?”
Cam sat on one of the chairs in the lobby. Eric sat next to her.
“While we were sitting in the playground, I looked at the pictures I have stored in my head. That boy didn't have a ball in his pocket when we first saw him at the exhibit. But he did have one when we saw him later.”
“But it wasn't the Babe Ruth baseball.”
“I know it wasn't. At first that confused me. Then I saw a ball get away from those two children playing catch. When the boy picked it up, I knew what had happened.”
“What?”
“That boy took the Babe Ruth ball from the exhibit. He saw us speaking to the guard so he ran. But then he had a better idea. The ball the two children were playing with must have landed near him. That was the first time he switched the baseballs. The two children didn't know it, but they were playing catch with a very valuable baseball.”
Eric stood up and said, “Then, while we were watching, he switched the baseballs again. Now he has the Babe Ruth ball.”
Eric walked toward the door. As he was leaving the building, he said to Cam, “You wait right here. I'll go and get the police.”
“And tell my parents where I am,” Cam said.
Cam waited, until she was sure that Eric was gone. Then she walked over and pushed the button for the elevator. When it came, she got on and pressed the button for the fifth floor.
Chapter Six
The elevator stopped on the third floor. A woman was standing there reading a flier about the items on sale at the local supermarket. She got into the elevator and asked, “Are you going down?”
“No. I'm going up,” Cam answered.
The woman smiled and said, “That's all right. I'll come along for the ride.”
The doors closed and the elevator started to move.
The elevator stopped on the fifth floor and Cam got off. The hall was lined with doors.
What will I tell the police?
Cam wondered.
How will they know which is the boy's apartment?
Cam looked at the names on each of the doors: Benson, Jackson, Goldwin, Cruz, Washington, Hamada, Grant, and Keller.
Maybe his name is Benson,
Cam thought.
He looked like a Benson. Or maybe he's a Keller.
A door opened. It was the door to the Goldwin apartment. As the door opened, a paper fell to the floor. It was a flier just like the one the woman in the elevator had had. Cam looked at a few of the other apartment doors. Each one had a folded flier pressed into the frame of the door.

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