Strike-Out Scare

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Magic Bill

  Chapter 2: Bess Makes a Bet

  Chapter 3: Two Clues

  Chapter 4: A Raccoon Encounter

  Chapter 5: Striking Out

  Chapter 6: Lost and Found?

  Chapter 7: The Big Game

  Chapter 8: An Unlikely Suspect

  1

  Magic Bill

  Play ball!” eight-year-old Nancy Drew exclaimed. She punched her fist into her leather baseball glove as she skipped down the sidewalk.

  “Batter up!” her friend George Fayne said, skipping next to her.

  “Three strikes and you’re out!” George’s cousin Bess Marvin yelled, swinging a sky blue bat at her side. “Or is it four?”

  Nancy giggled. Bess was not exactly a big sports fan. On the other hand, George loved just about every sport on the planet, especially baseball.

  It was a beautiful spring day. The three girls had just started their spring vacation. They were on their way to the park for their first day of baseball practice. They had signed up to play for the Mahoney Marlins. Nancy was going to be a pitcher. George was going to be a shortstop. Bess was going to be a catcher.

  Nancy and George had to talk Bess into playing for the Marlins. Luckily, Bess finally agreed. She didn’t want to miss a chance to hang out with her two best friends—even if it was on a baseball field!

  The three friends soon reached the park. Nancy noticed a bunch of girls about their age doing stretches on the baseball diamond.

  “There’s our team,” Nancy said excitedly. “Come on!”

  Nancy, George, and Bess ran across the park. A tall, athletic-looking woman in a blue and yellow T-shirt waved them over. It was their coach, Coach Gloria. Nancy remembered her from sign-up day the week before.

  “Good morning, girls!” Coach Gloria called out cheerfully. “Ready to play some ball?”

  “Yes!” Nancy, George, and Bess said in unison.

  Coach Gloria smiled at them. She had long black hair that she wore in a ponytail. Her blue and yellow baseball cap had the letter M on it and matched her T-shirt and shorts. She wore a silver whistle on a string around her neck.

  “Let me show you where you can put your things,” Coach Gloria offered. She pointed to Bess’s blue bat. “You brought your own bat? That’s awesome! You must be a serious hitter.”

  “My mom and dad bought it for me yesterday as a special present,” Bess explained. “Isn’t it beautiful? I’m only an okay hitter, though. Nancy and George and I play with some kids from school sometimes. I fly away a lot.”

  “Fly out,” George whispered, correcting her.

  A young boy with brown hair and glasses came up to them. He was carrying an armful of bats.

  “Where do I put these, Mom?” he asked Coach Gloria in a grumpy-sounding voice. “They’re heavy!”

  “Just put them over in the dugout, Austin,” Coach Gloria told him. “Girls, this is my son Austin. He’s my assistant. Austin, this is Nancy, Bess, and George. George, do you prefer George or Georgia?”

  “George, definitely,” George said quickly.

  “We’re starting batting practice in a few minutes,” Coach Gloria said. “Why don’t you get settled in and do some stretches with the others?”

  “Okay,” Nancy said, nodding.

  Nancy and her friends put their gloves on a bench in the dugout. Bess put her bat there too. Then the three of them rushed out to the field to join the other girls.

  “Hey,” one of the girls said to Nancy. “Are you a pitcher?” The girl had long, wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes. She spoke with a slight accent.

  Nancy was surprised. “Yes! How did you know?”

  The girl giggled. “I played baseball in Caracas. You look like a pitcher!”

  “Caracas, where’s that?” George asked the girl curiously.

  “It’s the capital of Venezuela, in South America,” the girl replied. “I’m Rita Valero.”

  Nancy, George, and Bess introduced themselves. “I didn’t know they played baseball in South America,” Bess said. “That’s so cool!”

  Rita nodded. “South Americans love baseball! I played all the time there, before my family moved to River Heights. I played something called chapitas, too. That’s like baseball, except you hit with broomsticks and bottle caps instead of bats and balls.”

  “That sounds like fun!” Nancy said eagerly.

  “I have a bottle cap collection in a shoe box,” George said. “Maybe we can play chapitas with them sometime.”

  Just then Coach Gloria blew her whistle. “Okay, everyone, listen up!” she said loudly. “We’re going to start today with some batting practice. I want you to line up over there.” She pointed to a spot about ten feet to the left of home plate. “I’ll pitch. We’ll rotate catchers. Rita, why don’t you catch first?”

  “Sure, Coach Gloria!” Rita replied.

  Bess went to the dugout to get her blue bat. Then she, Nancy, and George joined the other girls in line.

  “What kind of bat is that?” one of the girls asked Bess. She had short honey-blond hair and lots of freckles sprinkled across her cheeks.

  “It’s my new bat,” Bess explained to the girl. “I really love it!”

  “I’ve never seen a bat that color,” the girl said. “It’s pretty cool.”

  “Thanks,” Bess said.

  “Charlotte Karol, you’re up!” Coach Gloria called out.

  The girl with the honey-blond hair turned around. “Okay, Coach!”

  Charlotte strolled up to the plate. Austin handed her a silver-colored bat.

  “Go, Charlotte!” a woman in the bleachers called out. “You can do it, honey!”

  Nancy glanced over at the woman. She had the same honey-blond hair as Charlotte. She must be Charlotte’s mom, Nancy guessed.

  Charlotte clenched her bat with both hands and fixed her eyes on the ball in Coach Gloria’s glove. She had a fierce expression on her face. She seemed to be concentrating very hard.

  Coach Gloria threw the pitch. Charlotte’s bat made a loud noise as it struck the ball. The ball went flying into left field.

  Charlotte’s mother jumped to her feet. “Yay, Charlotte! Way to go, sweetheart!” she yelled.

  Charlotte turned beet red. She looked embarrassed by her mother’s cheering.

  “Nice contact, Charlotte!” Coach Gloria praised her. “Bess Marvin, you’re up next.”

  “Oh, boy,” Bess whispered anxiously to Nancy and George. “I don’t think I can do that.”

  “Just do the best you can,” Nancy whispered back.

  “Keep your eyes on the ball,” George added.

  “Maybe my new bat will give me luck,” Bess said hopefully.

  Bess walked up to the plate, looking nervous. She got into batting position and waited for the pitch.

  Nancy crossed her fingers behind her back. “Go, Bess!” she said under her breath.

  Bess swung at the first pitch and missed. “Try again,” Coach Gloria said to her encouragingly.

  The second pitch came. Bess swung—and hit the ball!

  Nancy and George both gasped. The ball arced high up in the air and landed in left field, almost at the fence. It had traveled even farther than Charlotte’s ball.

  “Yay, Bess!” Nancy cried out.

  “Way to go, Marvin!” George said, clapping.

  Bess turned around. She had a big smile on her face. “I can’t believe I did that!” she cried out.

  “I can see you’re going to be one of our ace hitters, Bess,” Coach Gloria said. She gave Bess a thumbs-up sign. “Good job. George Fayne, you’re next!”

  “Okay,” George said, stepping up to the plate.

  George got a short hit during her turn. Nancy di
d too. When Coach Gloria got to the end of the line, she had each of the girls bat a few more times.

  When it was Bess’s turn again, she hit a long line drive almost out to the right-field fence. A line drive is a hit that flies straight through the air rather than going up and coming back down again. On her third turn, Bess got another line drive, this time to center field.

  Coach Gloria called a five-minute water break. Nancy and George rushed up to Bess. “When did you become such a totally awesome hitter?” George teased her cousin.

  “I didn’t,” Bess replied. She held up her blue bat. “I think it’s this bat. It must be a magic bat or something.”

  “There’s no such thing as a magic bat, silly,” Nancy said, giggling.

  “Well, this one is. I’m going to start calling it ’Magic Bill,’” Bess said with a grin.

  “If Magic Bill helps you hit like this all season, our team is definitely going to be number one!” George exclaimed.

  Just then, an unfamiliar-sounding voice rang out. “In your dreams!”

  2

  Bess Makes a Bet

  Nancy turned around. Who was that? she wondered.

  A girl was standing on the other side of the fence behind home plate, near the bleachers. She was wearing a green T-shirt with a white letter R on it.

  “She’s a Raccoon,” George whispered.

  Bess frowned. “George! That’s not a very nice thing to call someone.”

  “No, I mean she’s a River City Raccoon. They’re another baseball team in our league,” George explained.

  “Oh!” Bess said.

  Nancy walked up to the girl. “Are you talking to us?” she asked curiously.

  The girl nodded. “I’m Alana Antiles. You’ve probably heard of me, right?”

  “Um, no, we’ve never heard of you,” Bess said with a frown. “Why, are you famous or something?”

  Alana tossed her long, pale blond hair over her shoulders. “I’m the star pitcher for the River City Raccoons,” she said smugly. “We have a game with you guys on Friday. I just wanted to see if any of you knew how to hit.”

  “Why?” George asked her.

  “So I can plan my pitching strategy. But I’m not worried. None of you know how to hit!” Alana said with a mean smile.

  Bess put her hands on her hips. “What are you talking about?” she demanded. “All the Marlins know how to hit!”

  “You wish. Magic bat or no magic bat, the Raccoons are going to cream the Marlins on Friday!” Alana announced.

  “No way!” Bess said huffily.

  “Oh, yeah?” Alana shot back.

  “Yeah!” Bess glared at Alana. “Hey, I’ll make you a bet. The Marlins are going to cream the Raccoons on Friday.”

  Alana glared back. “Yeah? You’re on! Loser has to buy the winner a pack of deluxe baseball cards.”

  “Fine!”

  “Fine!”

  The two girls shook on it. Nancy turned to George. “Now we have to win on Friday,” she whispered.

  George nodded. “Yeah. Otherwise, Bess has to buy Ms. Attitude a pack of baseball cards.”

  • • •

  Nancy swung her legs back and forth, kicking up dust with her baseball cleats. It was Monday afternoon in the sixth and last inning of their very first game.

  Unfortunately the Marlins were losing. Their opponents, the Skyville Sharks, were winning by a score of 7-5.

  “Come on, Charlotte!” Nancy yelled loudly. Charlotte Karol was up at bat. There were two outs and no one on base.

  “Go, Charlotte!” George yelled too. She leaned over to Nancy and Bess. “If we don’t get two runs this inning, we’ll lose,” she said worriedly.

  Nancy nodded. “I know.”

  “I’m up after Charlotte and Rita,” Bess said to Nancy and George. “I’m counting on Magic Bill to get me another hit!” She patted her blue baseball bat, which was lying across her lap.

  “You’ve definitely had more hits today than anyone on the team,” George said. “Maybe Magic Bill really is magic.”

  Just then Rita Valero came running up to Bess. “I’m up next!” she said breath-lessly. “Can I ask you a favor? Can I borrow your magic bat? I really need to get a hit here!”

  Bess looked startled. “Uh . . . that is . . . well, I’d really like to. But my parents said I wasn’t allowed to let anybody borrow it.”

  “Oh.” Rita looked disappointed. “Okay.”

  Rita walked back to the on-deck circle to wait for her turn at bat. Bess watched her with a glum expression. “Now I feel bad. Maybe I should let her borrow it anyway!”

  “If your parents said no, then you can’t,” George reminded her.

  “I guess,” Bess said.

  Charlotte ended up getting a base on balls. That meant that the pitcher had thrown four pitches that were not in the strike zone. Charlotte was free to go to first base without getting a hit.

  “You should have swung at that last pitch, honey!” Charlotte’s mother called out from the bleachers. “You could have gotten a double, maybe a triple!”

  Charlotte blushed and didn’t look at her mother. Nancy felt sorry for Charlotte.

  After Charlotte, Rita ended up getting a base on balls too. Now Charlotte was on second base, and Rita was on first base. There were two outs.

  Coach Gloria came up to Bess. “No pressure, Bess,” she said, patting her on the shoulder. “Just relax and do the best you can.”

  “Good luck, Bess,” Nancy called after her.

  “You can do it!” George cheered.

  Bess walked up to the plate, wrapped her hands tightly around her bat, and held it up in the air. The pitcher for the Skyville Sharks was a red-haired girl named Alex. Alex threw a hard first pitch in Bess’s direction.

  Bess swung—and missed. “Strike one!” the umpire called out. The umpire is the person behind home plate who decides which pitches are strikes and which ones are not. He makes other decisions too, like whether or not a runner is out at a base.

  Bess took a deep breath and held up her bat again. Alex threw the second pitch.

  There was a sharp zzzzzing as Bess’s bat met the ball. The ball flew, flew, flew up into the sky. Nancy, George, and everyone else on the Marlin team watched with bated breath as the ball curved over a grove of pine trees.

  Seconds later the ball landed on the other side of the center-field fence. “Home run!” the umpire shouted.

  “We won!” one of the Marlins cried out.

  “We won!” the whole team cried out in unison.

  Nancy and George jumped to their feet and gave each other a big hug. Then Nancy watched excitedly as Charlotte rounded the bases and touched home plate. She was followed by Rita, then Bess.

  The whole team gathered around Bess when she reached home plate. “Our hero!” one of the girls shouted.

  “Home Run Bess!” another girl whooped. “That’s what we’re going to call you from now on.”

  Bess’s face was glowing. She grinned at Nancy and George and said, “See? I told you Magic Bill was really magical!”

  “I think you’re the magical one,” Nancy told her proudly. “You’re an awesome hitter, Magic Bill or no Magic Bill!”

  Everyone continued to give Bess hugs and pats on the back as the scoreboard lit up with the final score: MARLINS 8, SHARKS 7.

  Just then Nancy noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Charlotte Karol was standing a little ways away from the crowd. She didn’t look very happy.

  • • •

  “I think that’s everything,” Nancy said.

  She stuffed her glove into her backpack and smiled at Bess and George. The rest of the Marlins had gone home. Nancy and her friends were the last to leave. Bess had wanted to linger after the game and practice catching and throwing.

  “I’m ready,” George said. She hoisted her backpack over her shoulders. “Does anyone want to come over to my house? We have those really awesome blue popsicles with vanilla ice cream in the middle.”

>   “Yum!” Bess said enthusiastically. She glanced under one of the benches in the dugout. “I’ll be ready in a second, as soon as . . . hey, have you guys seen Magic Bill?”

  Nancy frowned. “No.”

  “Where did you leave it?” George asked Bess.

  “I thought I left it right here,” Bess said, sounding worried.

  “Let’s look around,” Nancy suggested.

  Nancy, Bess, and George searched all over the dugout. Then they went outside and searched all around the field. But there was no sign of Bess’s bat.

  Bess turned to Nancy and George. She looked as though she was about to burst into tears. “Magic Bill is missing!” she cried out.

  3

  Two Clues

  Nancy couldn’t believe it. How could Magic Bill be missing?

  “Someone stole Magic Bill!” Bess moaned.

  “Maybe there was a mix-up,” Nancy said, trying to make Bess feel better. “Maybe somebody took Magic Bill home by mistake.”

  “How could anyone take Magic Bill by mistake? Everyone knows it’s mine. It’s the only blue bat!” Bess pointed out.

  Nancy was silent. Bess was right. Still, it was hard to believe anyone would have taken Magic Bill on purpose.

  Bess sat down on one of the benches and covered her face with her hands. “My baseball career is doomed,” she groaned. “I’m never going to get another hit as long as I live.”

  “Of course you will!” Nancy reassured her.

  “Besides, we’re going to find Magic Bill,” George added.

  Bess glanced up. “Do you think so? Do you think we can find Magic Bill?” she said hopefully.

  Nancy nodded. “Definitely! Tomorrow at practice, I’m going to ask every single team member about Magic Bill. I bet someone knows where it is.”

  • • •

  “Magic Bill?” Charlotte repeated. “No, I haven’t seen Magic Bill. Why?”

  It was Tuesday morning. Nancy, Bess, and George had all shown up a few minutes early for practice so they could ask around about Magic Bill.

  They had talked to almost all of their teammates already. They had asked Coach Gloria and her son Austin, too. So far no one knew anything about Magic Bill.