Strike-Out Scare Read online

  “What’s that?” Nancy asked, pointing to the object.

  Charlotte followed Nancy’s glance. “Oh, this? It’s . . . it’s nothing.”

  “No, really, what is it?” Nancy persisted.

  Charlotte blushed. She pulled the object out of the bag. It was a cardboard tube. Charlotte pulled a rolled-up poster out of it.

  Nancy’s heart sank. So it isn’t Magic Bill after all, she thought.

  “It’s a poster of my favorite ballet dancer in the Chicago Ballet Company,” Charlotte explained as she unrolled the poster. “I like dance way better than baseball. I only play baseball because . . . well, my mom really wants me to.”

  Nancy was surprised. “But you’re so good at it!”

  Charlotte shrugged. “Thanks. Baseball’s okay. My mom wants me to play because she used to play when she was a kid. But if it was up to me, I’d take ballet lessons every day of the week!”

  Nancy smiled at Charlotte. No wonder Charlotte sometimes seemed kind of unhappy.

  Cross Charlotte off the suspect list, Nancy thought.

  • • •

  “Pass the popcorn, please,” Bess said.

  Nancy handed Bess the popcorn bowl. Bess and George were at Nancy’s house for a sleepover. Nancy loved sleepovers!

  The Marlins had won their game against the Cougars that afternoon. Charlotte had gotten a home run in the last inning, making the final score 5-4.

  Bess and George had come over to Nancy’s house after the game. Now it was after dinner, and they were sitting on Nancy’s bed. They had already changed into their pajamas. Nancy was wearing purple pajamas with pink polka dots. Bess was wearing white pajamas with bunnies. George was wearing red and blue striped pajamas.

  Bess took a handful of popcorn and munched on it. “Mmm, yummy,” she said.

  “Hannah always puts just the right amount of butter on the popcorn,” Nancy said. Hannah Gruen was the Drews’ housekeeper. She had been with the family for the last five years, ever since Nancy’s mother died.

  George crossed her legs and turned to Nancy. “So! I guess Charlotte’s not the bat thief,” she said.

  Nancy shook her head. “That means we have only one suspect left.”

  She reached over and pulled out a blue notebook from her desk. It was her special detective notebook. Her father had given it to her after she solved her first real case. Nancy used it for keeping track of suspects and clues.

  Nancy opened the notebook to a clean page. She picked up her favorite purple pen and wrote:

  SUSPECTS:

  Alana. She and Bess have a bet about who’s going to win the game on Friday. We heard her say that she has a plan for making sure the Raccoons win. She was at the game on Monday when Magic Bill disappeared.

  CLUES:

  1. A Canadian coin with a picture of a duck on it.

  2. A broken wooden bat with the words MAGIC BILL on it. The words were written with a green marker with glitter in it.

  Bess peered over Nancy’s shoulder. “What about Rita?” she said suddenly.

  “What about Rita?” Nancy asked her.

  “She wanted to borrow Magic Bill from me, remember?” Bess answered. “I said no.”

  “But Rita is so nice” George said with a frown. “How could she be a thief?”

  Bess shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she really, really wanted Magic Bill and she didn’t know how else to get it.”

  Nancy nodded. “You’re right, Bess. We should at least put her on the suspect list.” She added, “Maybe we should go to Rita’s house tomorrow and talk to her.”

  “Good idea,” Bess agreed.

  • • •

  Nancy walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. “I hope Rita’s home,” she said to Bess and George.

  It was Thursday morning. After a big breakfast of pancakes and strawberries, Nancy and her friends had gotten permission from their parents to walk around the corner to Rita’s house.

  “If Rita lives in our neighborhood, why doesn’t she go to our school?” George said.

  “I think she goes to a private school,” Nancy replied.

  Just then the door opened. A tall, slender woman with short black hair was standing there.

  She smiled at the girls. “Hello. Can I help you?” she said.

  “Is Rita here?” Nancy asked. “We’re friends of hers from the Mahoney Marlins.”

  “Oh, si, Rita’s baseball team. Rita is playing in the backyard. You’re welcome to go back there,” the woman replied.

  “Thank you!” Nancy, Bess, and George said all together.

  The three girls walked down the driveway toward the backyard. Nancy thought the Valeros’ house was pretty, with its pink shutters and window boxes full of red geraniums. There were lots of spring flowers in the garden, like daffodils and tulips.

  Nancy and her friends turned the corner into the backyard. Suddenly, Bess stopped short and gasped.

  Rita was sitting on the grass. There was a gray cat curled up next to her.

  Rita was polishing a baseball bat with a cloth. The bat was sky blue.

  It was Magic Bill!

  7

  The Big Game

  Nancy couldn’t believe her eyes. They had caught Rita with the evidence. There was no doubt about it. Rita was the thief!

  Without waiting for Nancy and George, Bess ran up to Rita. Bess looked really mad.

  “Give me back my bat!” Bess demanded.

  Rita looked up, startled. “Hi, Bess. Hi, Nancy and George. You surprised me!”

  “Why did you do it?” George asked Rita.

  Rita frowned. “Why did I do what?”

  “Why did you steal Magic Bill?” Nancy asked her.

  “What are you talking about? I didn’t steal Magic Bill,” Rita said. Then she glanced at the bat in her hands. “Oh, you mean this. This isn’t Magic Bill.”

  “Of course it is!” Bess insisted.

  Rita shook her head. “No, it’s not. It looks like Magic Bill, though. I saw it at a garage sale last night,” she explained. “I asked my mom and dad if I could buy it with my allowance money. I wanted to clean it up and give it to you, Bess. As a present. I’ve been feeling really bad because you don’t have your magic bat any more.”

  Nancy peered closely at Rita’s bat. It was the same sky blue color as Magic Bill. But it was a slightly different shape. Plus, the handle part was different.

  Bess also seemed to realize that this wasn’t Magic Bill. She blushed deep red. “I’m really sorry I accused you, Rita,” she apologized. “That was super-nice of you to get me a new bat.”

  “It’s nothing,” Rita said with a smile. “I know it’s not the same as Bill. But maybe it will give you luck against the Raccoons tomorrow anyway.”

  Bess gave Rita a big hug. Rita hugged her back.

  Nancy was relieved. She really liked Rita and was glad she wasn’t the thief.

  But that meant the thief was still out there somewhere—with Magic Bill.

  And the big game against the Raccoons was tomorrow.

  • • •

  Nancy stood on the pitcher’s mound and wound up for her pitch. She released the ball, aiming for Bess’s mitt.

  Alana swung at the pitch—and missed. “Strike three!” the umpire called.

  Nancy took a deep breath. It was the second inning of the big Marlins-Raccoons game. The score was Marlins 0, Raccoons 0. Nancy had struck out three Raccoons hitters so far, including Alana.

  But Alana, who was the pitcher for the Raccoons, had struck out five Marlins batters, including Nancy. Nancy had noticed that Alana had a really fast pitching style. She had never seen anything like it before.

  Alana glared at Nancy and returned to the dugout. Bess lifted her catcher’s mask from her face and grinned at Nancy. She mouthed the words, “Way to go, Nancy!”

  Nancy smiled and mouthed, “Thanks!”

  The next hitter grounded out to second base. That made it three outs, and it was the Marlins’ turn at bat
. Nancy, Bess, and the other Marlins on the field ran back to the dugout.

  The people in the bleachers clapped and cheered. Nancy’s dad, Carson Drew, was in the crowd. So was Hannah. Bess’s parents and George’s parents were sitting right behind them.

  Mr. Drew waved at Nancy and gave her the thumbs-up sign. Nancy waved back.

  “Rita, you’re up,” Coach Gloria called out as she looked over her clipboard. “George, you’re after Rita, then Bess.”

  “I’m going to strike out,” Bess complained to Nancy and George as she took off her catcher’s gear.

  “No, you won’t,” George reassured her. “You have a new magic bat.”

  “It’s not a magic bat. It looks like Magic Bill, but it’s not the same,” Bess insisted.

  Nancy put her hands on Bess’s shoulders. “Bess. You’re a great hitter, with or without Magic Bill. You just have to believe that, okay? We need you today. This is an important game.”

  Bess was silent for a moment. “Okay,” she said finally. “I’ll do my best.” She added, “I still wish we could find Bill!”

  “I know,” Nancy said, nodding. “I’m going to keep looking for it, okay?”

  “Okay,” Bess said gratefully.

  Nancy sat down in the dugout as George and Bess went to take some practice swings. Her mind was racing. Charlotte was not the thief. Rita was not the guilty one, either. Alana was the only suspect left.

  Could it be her? Nancy wondered, watching Alana warming up on the pitcher’s mound.

  She tried to think of any clues she may have overlooked. Just then it came to her. The Canadian coin!

  Nancy thought the thief might have dropped the coin when he or she planted the broken bat in the dugout. All Nancy had to do was find out who had dropped the coin.

  She reached into her backpack and pulled out the coin. The second half of the inning had not yet started. She noticed that the umpire had called the two coaches over for a quick talk.

  Nancy saw her chance and quickly ran up to Alana, who was at the pitcher’s mound. Alana stared at her curiously. “What are you doing here?” she snapped.

  Nancy showed her the coin. “I think you dropped this,” she said.

  Alana glanced at the coin. “That’s not mine. What would I be doing with Spanish money, anyway?”

  “Spanish? It’s not Spanish, it’s Canadian,” Nancy corrected her.

  “Whatever. It’s not mine,” Alana insisted.

  She narrowed her eyes at Nancy. “I know what you’re doing, Nancy Drew. You came out here to psych me out and mess up my pitching game. Well, you can just forget about that! I’m going to strike out every single Marlin until the game is over!”

  “No way you’re going to do that,” Nancy said.

  But she didn’t want to argue with Alana any more. She had to keep looking for Magic Bill. She ran back to her team just as the game resumed.

  Back at the dugout, Nancy started showing the Canadian coin to all her teammates. No one recognized it. No one even knew what it was.

  Nancy was showing the coin to a girl named Susie when she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

  “Hey, where’d you get that loonie?” the voice said.

  8

  An Unlikely Suspect

  Nancy turned around at the sound of the voice. Austin was standing there.

  “Loonie?” Nancy repeated, confused. “What’s a loonie?”

  “That’s what Canadians call it,” Austin explained. “It’s because there’s a picture of a loon on it.”

  “A loon?” Nancy repeated. “What’s a loon?” She was beginning to feel silly asking all these questions.

  Austin pointed to the bird on the coin. “That’s a loon,” he said patiently.

  “Oh! I thought it was a duck,” Nancy said. She stared at Austin. “How do you know all this, anyway?”

  “We’re from Canada,” Austin replied. “We moved here from Toronto when I was five.”

  “Oh,” Nancy said.

  And then something occurred to her. “Is this your loonie?” she asked Austin slowly. “I found it in the dugout a few days ago.”

  “Let me check the year,” Austin said. He took the coin from her and peered closely at it.

  Then he broke into a smile. “Yeah, it’s mine! It’s my lucky loonie. I was wondering where I lost it.”

  Nancy glanced at Austin’s hands as he looked over his coin. He had drawn a smiley face on his right palm with a marker. Nancy looked again.

  It was green marker. And the ink had specks of glitter that shimmered in the sunlight.

  Nancy couldn’t believe it. She had found her thief! “You stole Magic Bill,” she burst out.

  Austin’s head shot up. His cheeks flushed. “W-what are you talking about?” he stammered.

  “It had to be you,” Nancy went on. “I found the broken bat on Tuesday, remember? You wrote the words MAGIC BILL on it in the same green marker you have on your hand. And I found this loonie—your loonie—near it.”

  Austin opened his mouth. Then he clamped it shut.

  “Come on, just admit it,” Nancy said.

  Austin sighed. “Okay. I know what happened to Magic Bill. But I didn’t steal it,” he insisted.

  Nancy frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I picked up all the bats and balls and stuff after Monday’s game,” Austin explained. “I picked up Magic Bill, too. I put everything in the dugout. Or I thought I did. But when I went back later, Magic Bill was the only bat missing.”

  “Do you think someone took it?” Nancy asked him.

  Austin shook his head. “I don’t know. I knew it was Bess’s special bat so I put it behind the other bats. That way no one could see it. But I just can’t figure out where it went.”

  Nancy thought for a moment. “Why did you leave the broken bat?” she asked him finally.

  “I didn’t want anyone to know I lost Magic Bill,” Austin said miserably. “I was afraid my mom would be really mad. I found that broken wooden bat in the trash can. I figured if I wrote MAGIC BILL on it and left it in the dugout, everyone would think there was a thief.”

  “Oh,” Nancy said.

  “I made a big mistake, right?” Austin asked her sheepishly.

  Nancy nodded. “Yeah. I think you should tell Bess and your mom everything. And then we need your help to find Magic Bill.”

  • • •

  It was the bottom of the sixth and last inning. The Raccoons were winning 5-3.

  It was Bess’s turn at bat. Rita was on second base. George was on first base. There were two outs. If Bess got an out, that would be the end of the game.

  “Come on, Bess!” Nancy shouted from the dugout.

  “You can do it, Bess!” Charlotte joined in.

  Bess stood at the plate, nervously clutching the bat that Rita had given her. So far she hadn’t gotten any hits the entire game.

  Nancy hadn’t had any time to look for Magic Bill after she talked to Austin. But she knew Bess was an awesome hitter, with or without Magic Bill. She just hoped Bess knew it too, deep down.

  Alana threw the first pitch. Bess swung at it—and missed.

  “Strike one!” the umpire called out.

  The second pitch was also a strike. Nancy gulped. This isn’t looking too good, she thought.

  Alana smiled a mean smile at Bess. “You ready to lose the bet?” she taunted.

  “No way!” Bess yelled.

  Alana got ready for the third pitch. She released the ball. It seemed to go a zillion miles a minute.

  Nancy held her breath. Come on, Bess, she said to herself. You can do it. I know you can. Just believe in yourself!

  Bess swung the bat. Whack!

  Nancy jumped to her feet as Bess’s bat made contact. The ball rose high up in the air. Dozens of heads looked up at the sky as everyone tried to follow its path.

  The ball arced over the center-field fence and plopped down onto the soccer field next door. “It’s a home run!” the umpire exclaimed.
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  Everyone began cheering and clapping wildly. The Marlins had won the game— thanks to Bess’s home run!

  Nancy and her teammates spilled out of the dugout as Rita, then George, then Bess ran to home plate.

  Nancy was the first to reach Bess. “Yay!” she screamed, hugging Bess. “I knew you could do it!”

  Bess’s eyes were bright with excitement. “I couldn’t let Alana win the bet,” she said, giggling.

  Rita gave Bess a hug too. “See, chica? The bat I gave you worked for you!”

  Bess hugged Rita back. “Thanks, Rita! You’re the best.”

  Just then Alana walked up to Bess. “Okay, so I owe you a pack of deluxe baseball cards,” she said. “Actually, you deserve it. That was a totally excellent hit.”

  Bess looked surprised. “Uh, thanks, Alana.”

  “I can’t believe you hit a home run off one of my new fastball pitches,” Alana said admiringly.

  Nancy suddenly understood. “New fastball pitches? Alana, was that the super-duper, top secret strategy you were talking about at the Double Dip?”

  Alana grinned. “Uh, yeah. What else did you think it was?” She turned to Bess. “Can you show me how you swing your bat sometime? If you do, I can show you some cool hitting tricks I know.”

  “Uh, sure,” Bess said with a smile.

  Coach Gloria came up to Bess. “Good job, Bess!” she praised her. “You really came through for us when we needed you.”

  Bess beamed. “Yeah! And I did it without Magic Bill. But I still really miss that bat,” she added in a sad voice.

  “I think that case is almost solved,” Nancy told her.

  Bess stared at her. “What are you talking about, Nancy? Did you catch the thief?” she demanded.

  “Not exactly,” Nancy said mysteriously.

  • • •

  That night, Nancy got her notebook out of her desk. Then she curled up in her favorite comfy chair and began to write:

  Today the Marlins beat the Raccoons 6–5. We almost lost. But Bess saved the day. She got a home run in the last inning! And she did it without Magic Bill!