Cam Jansen and the Summer Camp Mysteries (7 page)

Cam and the others turned. A tall woman was standing behind them. She wore overalls, a T-shirt, work boots and a baseball cap.
She was holding a large metal toolbox.

“We’re looking for basketballs and baseball bats,” Cam said.

“I don’t have any of those,” the woman said as she walked past Cam and the others. She opened the back door of her truck and put her things inside.

Jim held the door open.

“May I look inside?” he asked.

“Sure,” the woman said. “Lots of people are curious about plumbing. But it’s just about keeping the water running, stopping leaks, and sometimes installing boilers for heat. That’s what I do.”

There were lots of pipes and tools in the truck, but no sports equipment.

“Do you know what I just did in there?” the woman asked, and pointed to bunk B6. “I just cleared a clogged toilet. Do you know what it was clogged with? Carrot sticks! I didn’t ask why there were carrots in the toilet. I never ask. I just clear the clog and go home.”

“Thank you,” Jim said, and closed the back door of the truck.

“Once I found a math test. A boy had balled it up. He dropped it in the bowl and flushed. It was all wet when I got it out. But do you know what? His mother opened it up to see his grade on the test.”

“Thank you,” Jim said again.

“His mother wasn’t angry that he stopped up the toilet,” the plumber said. “But she
was real angry about the test grade. Oh, I could tell you lots of stories.”

“We’re looking for basketballs,” Eric said.

“Oh, I never found one of those in a toilet. It wouldn’t fit through the pipes.”

The plumber petted Kitty.

“One day, I’m going to write a book,” she said. “I might call it
Peeks at Leaks
or
Pipes and Gripes
.”

She got in her truck. “Look for my book,” she said as she drove off.

Jim said, “The only other person who came in or left during dinner was Sadie Rosen. She wouldn’t steal basketballs and my computer.”

“Is there a back way into camp?” Cam asked.

“You can go through the woods,” Jim told her.

They followed Jim to the woods just beyond the baseball field. It had rained earlier in the day. The ground was soft and wet.

Jim said, “Look for foot or tire prints.”

They all walked along the edge of the woods from the end near the baseball field to the road.

Once they reached the road, Eric said, “There’s nothing here. There’s no path wide enough for a car or truck to ride on.”

“There are lots of footprints,” Terri said. “They’re from this afternoon, when we played baseball here. But none of them leads into the woods.”

There were several benches along the side of the road. Jim sat on one. He put his head in his hands and said, “We didn’t find any clues. Everything is just gone.”

Meow
!

Kitty rubbed her back against Jim’s leg.

“No, it’s not just gone,” Cam told him. “We did learn something. We learned that the sports equipment didn’t leave the camp through the front entrance or through the woods. So it must still be here. It must be hidden.”

Jim looked up.

“That’s right,” Jim said. “Now where in camp could someone hide basketballs, soft-balls, baseball bats, my computer, and all those prizes?”

“This is like a math problem,” Terri said. “First we have to see what we know and then find out what we don’t know.”

“We know lots of stuff was stolen,” Eric said.

“And we know it’s still somewhere in camp,” Terri added. “We just need to know where.”

“This isn’t helping,” Jim said. “I don’t need problems. I need answers. I need to know where to find my things.”

Meow
! Kitty said, and licked Cam’s hand.

Cam petted Kitty.

Jim said, “I also need to know what to do without all the sports equipment. The end-of-camp tournaments are tomorrow.”

Meow
!

Cam took her hand from Kitty. Her palm was wet. Cam wiped her hand on her shirt.

“She’s licking your hand,” Eric said. “It must taste like the tuna fish you fed her.”

“That’s right,” Cam said, and looked at Kitty.

Cam looked at her hand. She thought for a moment and said, “Eric, you may have done it again. You may have helped me remember a very important clue.”

“What clue?” Terri asked.

Cam didn’t answer. Instead she closed her eyes and said, “
Click
!”

She said, “
Click
!” again.

“What are you looking at?” Eric asked.

“I’m looking at Kitty by the sports shed,” Cam answered.

Cam opened her eyes. “I just remembered that when we left the shed, Kitty didn’t
want to go. Jim had to pick her up and carry her.”

“So what?” Jim asked. “She’s not heavy.”

“But why didn’t she want to leave?” Cam asked as she stood. “I’m going back to the shed to find out.”

Jim picked up Kitty again. He followed Cam, Eric, and Terri to the shed.

“Please,” Cam said, “put Kitty down.”

Jim put Kitty down by the entrance to the shed. Kitty went back to the padlock. She started to lick it.

“When we went to talk to Barry, Kitty was licking this lock,” Cam said. “That’s why Kitty didn’t want to leave the shed.”

“But why?” Eric asked. “It’s just a metal lock.”

Jim took the padlock from Kitty. He smelled it.

“It’s metal,” he said, “but it smells like fish.”

“Tuna fish,” Terri said. “Cam, you had tuna fish in a napkin. You must have touched it.”

“But I didn’t,” Cam said. “None of us did. We just looked at the lock and saw it was cut. The last person to touch it must have been the thief.”

“And there must have been tuna fish on his hands,” Eric said, “or the smell of tuna fish.”

Terri said, “We know the thief is still in camp. All we have to do is figure out who in camp has the smell of tuna fish on his hands.”

“Well,” Eric said. “It can’t be one of the campers. We were all eating dinner when the thief broke into the shed. And a camper wouldn’t have a place to hide that sports stuff.”

“And the counselors were all with their groups,” Terri added.

“Maybe Barry did it,” Eric said, “He wasn’t in the dining room.”

“Barry has been at Eagle Lake for a very long time,” Jim said. “I think he’s Sadie Rosen’s uncle or cousin. He wouldn’t steal from the camp.”

“But that’s everyone,” Terri said.

Meow
!

Jim looked at Kitty. Then he said, “No, it isn’t. There’s still the kitchen staff. They prepared the chicken and tuna fish. But when dinner was being served, one of them could have snuck off and cut the lock. And if the thief prepared the tuna, his hands would have a fishy smell.”

Jim rubbed his chin. “If I’m right, and the thief works in the kitchen, I think I know
just where the sports equipment is hidden.”

“Where?” Eric asked. “Where could someone hide all those basketballs and baseball bats?”

“I’ll show you,” Jim said. “Follow me.”

Jim walked across the baseball field, through the dining room, and into the kitchen. Cam, Eric, Terri, and Kitty followed him. Jim stopped in front of a large metal door. He pulled on the door handle, but it didn’t open.

“It’s locked,” Jim said.

“But it’s a refrigerator,” Terri said. “Why would anyone keep basketballs in a refrigerator?”

“It’s a big walk-in refrigerator,” Jim said. “The butcher comes to camp every morning and delivers meat and fish. It’s put in
here. In the afternoon, the cook makes dinner. Then the refrigerator is empty. The thief could have sneaked out during dinner, stolen the sports equipment, the prizes, and my computer and hidden it all in here. Later tonight, when everyone is asleep, he can load it in his car and drive away.”

“Should we hide here and wait for the thief to unlock it?” Eric asked.

“No,” Jim answered. “I’ll get Sadie Rosen. She has a key to the refrigerator. When she opens it, we’ll find out if I’m right.”

Jim took a cell phone from his pocket. He was about to make a call when the kitchen door opened. Kenny, one of the kitchen workers, came in. He was holding a key.

“Oops!” he said.

Kenny started to turn. He was about to leave the kitchen.

“Wait!” Jim said. “Why did you come in here?”

“I thought I was hungry, but I’m not,” Kenny answered.

“Is that the key to the refrigerator?” Jim asked.

“Is it? I don’t know,” Kenny said.

Jim took the key from him. He put it in the lock just beneath the refrigerator door handle. He turned the key and opened the door.

“Basketballs,” Jim said. “Baseball bats, soft-balls, tennis balls, hockey pucks, prizes, and my computer. They’re all nice and cold.”

“Why is that stuff in the refrigerator?” Kenny asked.

“That’s a good question,” Jim said. “And I think you already know the answer.”

Kenny turned and quickly left the kitchen.

“We have to stop him,” Eric said.

“No, we don’t,” Jim said. “Barry will.”

Jim pressed a few buttons on his cell phone. Then he spoke into it.

“Barry, this is Jim. Please close the gate. Kenny is going to try to leave camp, and you have to stop him.”

Then Jim called Sadie Rosen and told her about the stolen sports equipment. He also told her how Cam, Eric, Terri, and Kitty helped him catch the thief.

“Sadie Rosen told me to thank you,” Jim said once he had finished talking with her. “She said she’ll take care of everything. She has an extra lock for my sports shed. She will bring it here. Then I can put everything back.”

“We’ll help,” Cam said.

“No, thank you,” Jim said. “Go back to your bunks. There’s a movie tonight. I don’t want you to miss it.”

Cam, Eric, and Terri walked toward the door to the dining room.

“Kitty,” Cam said. “Here, Kitty.”

Kitty ran to Cam. She followed her and Terri back to their bunk.

The next night, Cam wore her nicest shirt and pants to the banquet. At the table, on each plate, was a menu with lots of choices. Fran stood by Cam’s seat. She was wearing a white shirt and holding a pad and pencil. She was G8’s waitress for the banquet.