Elizabeth's San Antonio Sleuthing (3 page)

“Uh, Dad? Don't you think you should get into some dry clothes first?” Elizabeth asked.

“Nonsense. In this Texas heat, I'll be dry in no time. And besides, I'm starved!” He led his family the few steps to the closest outdoor café, the Rio Rio. The Riverwalk was lined with restaurants, and the Andersons had decided to eat at every one. The host seated them at a table bordering the water.

Elizabeth's family studied their menus, discussing which new dish to try, but Elizabeth wasn't interested in food. Looking at her watch, she said, “In two more hours I'm going to see Kate!”

A couple of hours later, Elizabeth sat in the ornate lobby of the plush hotel. The Andersons could never have afforded such luxury if Uncle Dan hadn't gotten them a discount. He had also helped Kate's youth group get a good rate for their San Antonio mission trip.

Pulling the letter—actually an e-mail that Elizabeth had printed—from her pocket, she unfolded it. It was wrinkled and smudged from all the times Elizabeth had read it during the past few weeks.

Elizabeth smiled as she refolded the letter. San Antonio was one of the Andersons' favorite getaway places! Within two weeks after Elizabeth received the letter, Uncle Dan had helped Kate's youth minister make all the arrangements. And now, the youth group from Kate's church would be here any minute! She watched out the front windows of the lobby, looking for a church van from Philadelphia.

“A watched pot never boils,” said a voice from behind her. “Hi, Uncle Dan. I can't help it! I can't wait to see Kate!” Elizabeth told him.

“I heard you had an exciting morning at the Riverwalk,” he said.

“Yeah, it was the strangest thing! We were puttering along listening to the captain tell stories and point out the sights when the motor just died!”

Uncle Dan looked concerned. “The owner of that riverboat company is a friend of mine. That's been happening a lot lately, and it's not good for his business.”

“I sure hope they fix the problem so—They're here!” Elizabeth jumped up as she saw the blue church van pull into the parking lot. Rushing through the ornate doors, she stopped herself before running into the flow of traffic.

“Maybe you should wait here for her,” said Uncle Dan, following her.

Soon, the van doors opened, and teenaged boys and girls climbed out. One by one, Elizabeth watched each new person.
No Kate. No Kate. Where is Kate?
The group of teens approached the lobby, laughing and talking. Some of them smiled politely at Elizabeth.

Suddenly, like the parting of the Red Sea, they started moving to either side as a blond wisp of a girl with black-framed glasses pushed through. “Excuse me! Pardon me, coming through! I've got to find my friend…Elizabeth!”

Kate dropped her bags and dashed to Elizabeth. “Oh, am I ever glad to see you! That was one long trip. But I'm finally here! And you're here!”

Suddenly, Kate's backpack began barking.

“Biscuit!” shouted Elizabeth. “Wow, Kate, I can't believe you're both here at last! We are going to have so much fun!” She hugged her friend, then helped free the wiggling dog.

“Biscuit, did you ride the whole way in that backpack?” Elizabeth stroked the small dog's black and white fur while fighting off slobbery puppy kisses.

“He slept most of the way,” said Kate. “I'm so glad your uncle said I could bring him. He's missed you, Elizabeth! And so have I.”

A twentysomething man approached and said, “You must be Elizabeth. Kate has talked of nothing else for the entire trip. I'm Gary, Kate's youth minister.”

Elizabeth shook the man's hand. He said, “Kate, we'll be on the fifth floor if you need us.”

“Thanks, Gary,” she said, and the two girls gathered Kate's backpack and suitcase and headed for the elevator.

Biscuit, on the other hand, gave a series of excited barks. “Maybe we'd better find a patch of grass first, so Biscuit can take care of business,” said Kate.

Both girls laughed, and Kate clipped a leash onto the dog's collar. Uncle Dan pointed them toward the back door, which led to a small courtyard. Within minutes, they were on their way to the Andersons' room on the fourth floor.

“I can't wait to tell you what happened this morning,” Elizabeth told her friend.

“I can't wait to see the Riverwalk! And the Alamo! And the Tower of the Americas! How soon can we get started?” asked Kate.

“Whoa, there! Slow down, tourist. We have plenty of time. We don't have to see everything today. Why don't we start by getting your things unpacked? Then we'll head to the Riverwalk. Are you hungry? The food here is great,” Elizabeth said.

Kate gave her a comical look. “What do you mean, ‘Am I hungry?' I'm always hungry!”

Elizabeth's parents were in the suite when the girls arrived. The room was set up with two bedrooms—one for Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, and one for Kate and Elizabeth. James slept on the pull-out sofa in the living room.

“Wow, this place sure is fancy. I've never stayed in a hotel this nice!” exclaimed Kate.

“Neither have we.” Elizabeth laughed. “It's one of the perks of having an uncle who works here. Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Kate. Kate, this is my mom and dad, Robert and Sue Anderson.”

“It's very nice to meet you both,” said Kate, reaching to shake their hands.

Suddenly Biscuit growled. Something was moving under the kitchen table. The chairs shifted, and James crawled out. Biscuit decided the moving boy wasn't a threat, and began wagging his tail.

“This is my little brother, James,” continued Elizabeth.

James waved, but kept his eyes on Biscuit. “Can I pet him?” he asked.

As if to answer the question, Biscuit jumped on James and began licking his face. James fell over, giggling, but Biscuit showed no signs of letting up.

“It looks like those two will be fast friends,” Kate said.

Elizabeth picked up Kate's bags and said, “Come on. I'll show you our room.”

The two headed into their bedroom, and Kate flopped on the bed. “This will be so much fun. I'm so glad you and your family could come.”

“San Antonio is one of our favorite places. We come here a lot, but we usually stay at a discount motel. Now that Uncle Dan's working at this hotel, we'll probably visit even more.”

Kate unzipped her suitcase and pulled out her laptop. “I need to set up my computer. I haven't been able to update my blog or check the comments in two days! Oh, hey, check out my new business card.” She handed Elizabeth a small card that read:

“Cool!” said Elizabeth. “Bring a handful of them with you to the Riverwalk. You can pass them out.”

“Good idea,” said Kate as she plugged in her small computer.

Elizabeth glanced into the open suitcase and had to laugh. Only a few clothes were in the suitcase. Most of it was packed with electronic gadgets and doodads.

Kate's fingers began to fly as she punched in her blog's address and logged in with her password. “Hooray! I have six comments!” she exclaimed.

Elizabeth looked over Kate's shoulder as she began responding to each one. “Your blog is really getting popular. Besides the comment from Bailey, the rest are from people I've never heard of.”

Kate smiled. “Two of them are from my cousins. But the other three are from strangers. My blog is getting famous!”

“Well, hurry up. I want to hear about all these gadgets you brought. And I'm eager to show you the Riverwalk,” Elizabeth told her.

“Most of these comments are just telling me they like my blog. It's more fun when I get actual questions to answer. But hey, I'm not complaining.” She finished typing her last response, then turned her attention to her suitcase. “A lot of these are the same ones I had when we were at camp together. But here's a new one. It's a bug.”

“A bug?” Elizabeth asked, crinkling her nose.

“Yeah, you know. Like the spies use. You can hide it and listen. It's better than the one we used on Biscuit's collar at camp. Instead of recording, we can actually listen as the conversation is taking place.”

“Oh, kind of like a walkie-talkie?” asked Elizabeth.

“Well, sort of. Picture those police shows, where the police hide outside the house in a van, listening to the bad guys' conversation. This is what they use.”

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she held the tiny tool. “Whoa,” she whispered. “This is too cool.”

Kate held out another small device. “This is a tracker. Why don't you put it on your phone while I'm here, to keep from losing it. During the trip, I had it on Biscuit's collar, in case we got separated.”

“That's a good idea,” said Elizabeth, slipping the device on her phone. “So, are you ready to go?”

“Yep,” Kate said, and the girls headed to the living room.

“Mom, Dad, can we roam around the Riverwalk for a little while?” asked Elizabeth.

“Yes, but don't go past the Fiesta Noche. The time now is two forty-five. Take your cell phone and check in with us in an hour. Plan to meet us in the lobby at five o'clock for dinner,” said Mrs. Anderson.

Kate slipped the leash around Biscuit's neck and attached the small tracker to his collar. With a wave, the two girls headed out the door.

In the lobby, the girls pushed open the heavy glass doors that led to the Riverwalk. Outside, Kate adjusted her glasses. “Whoa! This is so cool. It's even better than the pictures! Here, hold this,” she said, handing Biscuit's leash to Elizabeth. She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out her camera phone. “Smile!” she said, and snapped a picture of Elizabeth kneeling next to Biscuit. A riverboat rumbled past in the background.

Kate then pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

“Who are you calling?” Elizabeth asked.

“My parents. They told me to call them as soon as I arrived, but I got so excited, I forgot.”

There was an answer at the other end of the line, and Kate began talking to her mother. Elizabeth walked with Biscuit to the water's edge, taking in the scenery. Soon, she heard a familiar
pa–pa–pa–put…rrrr…rrrr…pa–pa–put
. Looking to her left, she could see that once again, a River City Cruise boat had died.

Kate hung up the phone and said, “What are we waiting for? Let's go!” Then, noticing Elizabeth's concerned look, she said, “What's wrong?”

“Oh, another riverboat just died. Let me tell you what happened to us this morning.”

The two girls walked toward one of the stone bridges while Elizabeth relayed the story.

“Maybe we should use a different riverboat company, if we ride at all. I'm not sure I want to end up in a dead boat!” Kate responded.

“Maybe,” Elizabeth said. “I just think it's strange. My family has been to this Riverwalk many times, and we ride the boats every time. This has never happened before. Now, all of a sudden, riverboats are dying all over the place!”

Another boat puttered by, this one from Santa Anna Tours. The girls watched as the new boat moved past the stalled boat without even offering help. This time, they could hear its captain make a joke about the stalled boat, and the passengers laughed.

“I guess you folks chose the right boat to ride,” said the captain of the working boat.

Biscuit pulled away from Elizabeth and barked. A bird had landed just feet from him, and was pecking on a tortilla chip someone had dropped. With one last look at the boats, the girls tugged on Biscuit's leash and headed in the opposite direction.

“Come on,” said Kate. “I'm starved.”

“Okay! Let's go over this bridge. The restaurant on the other side serves the best tortilla chips and salsa you've ever tast—”

Elizabeth stopped short as they reached the top of the stone bridge. A group of teenagers stood there, pointing and laughing at the stalled boat, and shouting things in Spanish.