Elizabeth's San Antonio Sleuthing (4 page)

And right in the middle of them was the boy with the red cap.

“Come with me,” Elizabeth said, grabbing Kate's arm and dragging the girl behind her.

“Whoa, what's the rush?” Kate asked, doing her best to keep up.

The group hushed as Elizabeth, Kate, and Biscuit appeared, but barely gave them room to pass. One of them smiled at Biscuit, who barked in return.

“Easy, little guy. I'm not going to hurt you,” the boy said.

Elizabeth kept moving. She wanted to stay close, but she wasn't ready to talk to her suspects yet. As soon as the girls and Biscuit were descending the stairs on the other side, the group started talking again. Biscuit resisted Kate's lead and continued barking at the group.

“Biscuit, cut that out!” she scolded. Finally, the little dog obeyed.

Elizabeth led Kate to a nearby café and found an empty table. The waiter immediately placed a basket of tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa in front of them. “Cool!” said Kate. “Now that's what I call service! Now, do you want to tell me what that was about?”

Elizabeth leaned forward and motioned toward the group, which was still standing on the bridge. “I haven't told you about the water balloon.” Over chips and salsa, she explained the whole story to her friend.

“Aha! A mystery to solve. Never fear, Elizabeth, my dear. I have everything we could possibly need to catch those guys. And when they're caught, we'll throw the book at them!”

Elizabeth giggled at Kate's enthusiasm.
Yep. Those guys don't know what they're in for
, she thought.

They continued munching and chatting about their plans.

“Gary wants me to help with the Bible club every day. I told him you'd probably want to help, too.”

“That sounds like fun. What will you be doing?” Elizabeth asked, keeping an eye on the group, which had now moved to a café on the other side of the bridge. She had a clear view of them from her spot.

“It's supposed to be right here on the Riverwalk somewhere. Something about a little church in a plaza or something? We're going to do a Bible club for kids and hopefully draw in some of the locals. Apparently, a lot of kids hang out at the Riverwalk, and we're going to try to get them involved.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me. It's probably at the Little Church at La Villita. It's a historic landmark, but also an active church.”

Just then, Biscuit wagged his tail and pulled against his leash, which was attached to Kate's chair. A little girl in a pink dress walked by, holding her mother's hand. She looked about four years old. Large brown eyes peeked through brown curls that cascaded down her cheeks and covered most of her face. When she noticed Elizabeth and Kate looking at her, she buried her face in her mother's skirt. The two continued on their way.

Biscuit barked a friendly yap and settled back beneath Kate's chair. “Biscuit loves children,” Kate said. “That's one of the reasons Gary let me bring him. He hopes Biscuit will attract kids to the Bible club. Oh look! There's Gary now!”

Kate's youth minister and several teenagers were headed toward the girls. “Hey there, Kate! Are you having fun yet?” Gary asked.

“You'd better believe it! And Biscuit is already drawing attention.”

“Good,” said the man. “Don't forget, our mime troupe is performing at seven p.m. at the Fiesta Noche del Rio—it's a little theater area right here on the Riverwalk. Elizabeth, I hope you'll help us out this week. Kate tells me you're a real firecracker when it comes to ministry work.”

Elizabeth blushed. “I don't know about that…,” she replied.

“Don't let her fool you. She plays the piano, sings, and has over half of the Bible memorized,” Kate said.

“I do not,” Elizabeth said, laughing.

Gary smiled. “Well, you'll be a great addition to our team. You two have fun, and I'll see you both at seven o'clock.” He followed the teenagers into a T-shirt shop.

Elizabeth waved good-bye then looked across the river to find the group of teens. They were gone.

Later that evening, Kate groaned. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had treated the girls to a huge plate of the gooiest, cheesiest burritos Kate had ever eaten. “I'm stuffed,” she said.

“Would you like some sopapillas?” asked the waitress, and the Andersons laughed. “Maybe later,” Mr. Anderson said.

“It's six forty-five,” Elizabeth said, looking at her watch. “Why don't we go on over to the Fiesta Noche and try to get good seats. I can't wait to see your youth group perform,” she told Kate.

“We'll all go,” said Mrs. Anderson. “But we'll meet you girls there. I want to walk around for a few minutes.”

Kate and Elizabeth waved good-bye and headed toward the Fiesta Noche. When they arrived they were surprised to see the red-cap boy and his friends. They were sprawled out in the center of the seating area, talking and laughing loudly. In Spanish. Elizabeth caught a few of the words, but her Spanish was rusty.

When the teens saw the girls and Biscuit, they started talking about the
perro
. Elizabeth knew they were referring to Biscuit. The little dog strained his leash and barked. Redcap Boy said something the group thought was hilarious.

Elizabeth and Kate looked at each other and took seats a few rows in front of the group. “Maybe we'll overhear them admit to something,” whispered Kate. Biscuit watched the teenagers. He continued to softly growl.

“No, Biscuit. Stop that!” said Kate, and the dog calmed a bit. But his ears remained stiff.

The two girls tried to focus on the stage. “This is so cool!” said Kate. “I've never seen anything like this! The river runs between the stage and the audience. I guess they don't have to worry about anyone rushing the stage.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I guess not. They're pretty safe over there, unless one of them falls in the water!”

A door at the back of the stage opened, and two girls from Kate's youth group stepped out. “Hi, Kate! Do you guys want to help us? You can cross at the bridge and come to the back if you want.”

The two girls stood, Biscuit in tow, and retraced their path to the bridge. Just as they were about to cross they saw the Andersons.

“Where are you going? I thought the show was about to start,” asked Sue Anderson.

“We've been asked to help,” Elizabeth told her mother.

Mrs. Anderson smiled. “That sounds like fun. We'll be in the audience. We'll meet you at the seating area after the performance.”

Elizabeth, Kate, and Biscuit hurried across the bridge and through the back door of the stage area. Gary greeted them with a smile. “Hi, girls! You're just in time. Most of our people are in costume, and we don't want them to go onto the stage until the show starts. Could you two wheel this box of props out there? Just put the box by the back wall and come right back.”

“No problem,” replied Elizabeth.

Kate wasn't sure what to do with Biscuit, so Elizabeth took the small dog and placed him inside the box.

The two girls pushed the heavy box on wheels to the stage area. The seats were filling up, and Elizabeth waved at her parents.

“Look! It's Beth!” shouted James.

Suddenly, Elizabeth lost her footing and fell on her backside. Center stage. Red-cap, having heard James call her name, started laughing. “Way to go, Beth!” he called.

Why, the nerve of that boy!
she thought.
I'll show him!
Instead of being embarrassed, she decided to play up her public disaster. Standing to her feet, she faced the audience and took a grand bow.

Red-cap hooted with laughter, and the audience cheered. She kept bowing until Kate ran out and grabbed her, pulling her, smiling and waving, off the stage.

“What was that about?” asked Kate with a laugh. “What happened to the girl who doesn't like to be on stage?”

“I never said I don't like to be on stage,” Elizabeth countered. “I said I don't like to play the piano or sing in front of others. Falling and looking like an idiot? I can handle that just fine.”

Gary and the others in the youth group laughed and patted Elizabeth on the back. “Good job, girls. You can head back over and sit in the audience now, if you want.”

“Okay,” said Elizabeth, realizing they wouldn't be able to see much of the show from backstage.

They were halfway across the bridge when Kate stopped. “Biscuit!” she cried. “We left him in the box!”

The girls saw that the performers were already walking onto the stage. Wide-eyed, they looked at each other.

“What will we do?” asked Elizabeth.

“I don't know. I guess we can't do anything except watch and see what happens!”

The two girls quickly went to the seating area and sat down. The performers had white painted faces and began presenting a mime. Music played in the background as the main character mimed being lost. His facial expressions were comical, and the audience laughed at all the right times.

However, Elizabeth and Kate watched the box at the back of the stage. At any moment, they expected Biscuit to leap out and make his grand stage debut.

Pa–pa–pa–put! Rrrrr…rrrrrrr…pa–pa put…rrrrrrr…rrrr…rrrrr…
The audience's attention turned to the riverboat coming around the bend. This time, however, the boat seemed out of control, and was headed straight for the stage, straight for the performers!

Boom!
The boat banged into the platform. The passengers on the boat gasped and clung to the sides. Fortunately, it wasn't going fast enough for anyone to fall overboard.

It did, however, cause quite a stir on the stage. The performers backed away from the boat, and one of the mimes landed in the box where Biscuit was! They heard a loud yelp, and then saw Biscuit wiggling out of the box! He leaped onto the stage, causing even more excitement among the mimes.

Biscuit ran this way, then that on the stage, not knowing how to escape. Kate yelled, “Biscuit! It's okay, boy! Calm down!”

Hearing his beloved owner's voice, he searched the crowd for her. Spotting her across the river, he didn't even hesitate. He splashed right into the water and swam to the other side, while people cheered and clapped. The riverboat captain looked frustrated, his passengers looked confused, and the audience wondered if it was all part of the show!

Reaching the other side, Biscuit climbed out, shaking water onto the entire front row and leaving them squealing. The little dog lunged through the audience, leaving wet, muddy paw prints in his wake, and flew into Kate's arms.

“Hey, cut that out,” Kate cried as he covered her with drippy kisses. He transferred his messy love to Elizabeth for a moment, then back to Kate. Before long, the audience began applauding, as if they had enjoyed the show.

Gary came onto the stage and announced, “Hello, folks! As you can see, we are having some technical difficulties. Just hold tight, and we'll start our performance again in a few minutes.”

He then helped the riverboat captain onto the stage. Together, they helped the boat's occupants onto the stage and out the back door.

Elizabeth heard snickering behind her. She turned to see Red-cap pointing and laughing at the riverboat captain, just as he and his friends had done earlier in the day.

“I wonder what could be causing so many of the boats to break down,” she said.

“It's a mystery to me,” Kate replied. “Maybe we should investigate. This sounds like a job for the…” She paused, waiting for Elizabeth to chime in.

“Camp Club Girls!” they said together, then laughed.

“Why do we find mysteries everywhere we go?” asked Elizabeth.

“It's almost as if the mysteries find us,” said Kate.

Elizabeth began speaking under her breath.

“What? I can't hear you,” said Kate.

Elizabeth laughed. “I just thought of a mystery verse. ‘God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.' It's in Colossians 1:27.”