cascade of notebooks, cell phones, and photographs also dropped to the floor.
Kate dove for her notebooks.
The Dodger swung around to see what happened. By now, other people had gathered around them.
“What have you kids done?” the Dodger screamed when he saw the contents of his backpack dumped on the floor. “Get away from my stuff!”
He reached down to scoop the notebooks, pictures, and cell phones into the backpack, but they slipped through his fingers. His hands were covered with ketchup. He tried to rub them clean on his shirt, but that just made everything worse.
BRRREEEEET! BRRREEEEET!
A shrill police whistle sounded. A security officer stepped into the middle of the crowd. “What’s going on here?”
The Dodger glanced toward the exit and then at the contents of his backpack. He lookedat Mike and Kate, and his eyes narrowed.
“Officer, I’m so glad you’re here,” he said loudly. “Those kids just attacked me and tried to steal my backpack. I demand you arrest them immediately!”
Mike’s and Kate’s jaws dropped.
The officer looked at them suspiciously. Suddenly, Kate’s stomach felt sick.
“You three will have to come with me,” the officer snapped. “Someone has some explaining to do.”
The Real Stars
of Los Angeles
“Well, what do we have here?” Mr. Hopkins asked. He frowned at Kate and Mike. They were sitting on a bench outside the chief of security’s office.
“I know you two like to look for trouble, but who’d guess you’d find it at Dodger Stadium! I never imagined you’d be brought in by security,” Mr. Hopkins went on. “Everyone I work with will find out.”
He shook his head. In the background, a telephone rang.
Kate slumped down on the bench. She crossed her arms and pulled her feet back under the bench. Mike shifted uncomfortably.
Kate scuffed her sneaker on the ground. Mr. Hopkins leaned over and lifted the bill of Mike’s baseball cap. Then he patted Kate’s knee.
“Think about it,” he said. “Everyone I work with will find out that you two caught the person who’s been threatening us and stealing from the team! You’ll be heroes!”
“We will?” Kate asked. She sat up straight and glanced at her father. “I thought you were mad. You aren’t?”
“No, of course not,” Mr. Hopkins said. “I just finished talking to the chief of security. He said you outsmarted a real troublemaker!”
Mike jumped up from the bench. “All right! I knew it would work!” he said to Kate. “Put it there!” He gave Kate a high five.
Kate smiled. “It wasn’t what we planned, but it did work out,” she said. “I guess you caught him red-handed, Mike! Get it? With the ketchup!”
Kate’s father groaned. “Oh, that’s bad. But I’m glad you made a big scene so that the security guard came over,” he admitted. “How about putting that
salsa de tomate
to an even better use? Like on French fries? Mr. Thomas, the chief of security, told me he’d meet us at the Dugout Club when he was done investigating.”
“Oh boy, food!” Mike called out. “Now, that’s a reward!”
Mr. Hopkins led them to the Dugout Club. Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins slid into a booth and watched the rest of the game on the large TVs sprinkled around the indoor restaurant. There was only one inning left. When it was over, the Dodgers had won 4–1.
A black-and-white picture was mounted on the wall of their booth. It showed two old-time Dodgers players fooling around during spring training.
At first Kate didn’t notice anything unusual. But then something jumped out at her. “Mike, look at the baseball hats in that photo,” she said.
Mike examined the hats. They were a dark color and had a large, fancy white
B
on the front. “That’s the same
B
that’s on the BostonRed Sox’s hat,” he said. “But their shirts say
Dodgers.
”
“That’s right, Mike,” Kate’s father said. “Those are the old uniforms. The
B
on the hat is for Brooklyn, not Boston. The Dodgers