“What?” the Birdman asked. “Is this a joke?”

“No,” Kate said. “And it’s no joke that the police think that Flaps stole the glove.”

“But I’ve got nothing to do with it!” the Birdman said. “Why do you think I stole it?”

Kate stepped forward. “Easy,” she said. She held up the green feather and held it next to Edgar. “We found this feather under the safe in the stockroom. The safe that used to hold Babe Ruth’s glove. Look! It’s a perfect match!”

The Birdman stared at the feather. “You’re right,” he said with a nod.

“Then you did it!” Mike said. “The feather proves that you were in the gift shop’s stockroom this morning with Edgar!”

The Birdman took a step back. “Well, you’re right again,” he said.

Mike glanced at Kate and smiled. “I knew he took Babe Ruth’s glove!” he said.

The Birdman held up his hands. “No, I didn’t,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Kate asked.

The Birdman smiled. “I was in the stockroom this morning with Edgar,” he said. “But I didn’t take Babe Ruth’s glove.”

The Birdman lifted Edgar off his shoulder and placed him in a tall metal cage nearby. Then he turned back to Mike and Kate.

“You found the feather because I put Edgar in the gift shop’s stockroom while I get ready before each game,” he said. “I left him there for a couple of hours, starting at ten o’clock this morning. I put his cage on the wooden table in the corner of the stockroom, like I always do. He loses a few feathers every now and then. One of them probably just blew under the safe.”

“That doesn’t prove that you didn’t take the glove,” Kate said. “You were in the room.”

The Birdman laughed. “You’re very persistent,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean you’re right! I wasn’t alone in the stockroom. My friend Ernie was with me the whole time.” The Birdman waved to the man running the bouncy house. “Hey, Ernie! These kids want to know if you were with me this morning in the stockroom.”

Ernie nodded and called back, “Yup! I was with him the whole time, like always. We usually help each other get set up. And I help him carry Edgar.”

“Thanks,” the Birdman said. He turned to Mike and Kate. “I didn’t take the Babe Ruth glove, and I don’t know who did. Sorry!”

“We’re glad it wasn’t you. Sorry we thought it might be,” Mike said. “We’ll just have to keep looking!”

“I’ve got to get back to my customers,” the Birdman said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!” He turned to a family who was waiting to meet Edgar.

Kate looked at Mike. “Do you believe him?” she asked.

Mike shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “It seems like he and Ernie are telling us the truth. But maybe they’re working together and they’re good liars. We need to keep digging.”

Kate nodded. “I agree,” she said. “Let’s head to our seats to see how Flaps is doing. We can figure out what to do next from there.”

Mike and Kate made their way to their seats near the Orioles’ dugout. Mike pointed to the scoreboard. “Oh no, look at the score!” he said. The Orioles were losing by four! A Seattle player was up at bat, and Flaps was still pitching.

“Come on, Flaps!” he cried. “You can do it!”

Flaps wound up and pitched. The ball sailed high and outside. The batter tossed his bat gently to the side and jogged to first base. “The Orioles aren’t going to win by walking the batters,” Mike said.

Flaps was able to get the next batter out, so all hope wasn’t lost for the Orioles. The following batter worked Flaps to three balls and two strikes and then hit a single. The man on first advanced to second. Flaps needed an out.

The fans stood up and cheered for the Orioles. “Come on, Flaps!” Kate called. “Strike him out!” She and Mike clapped and yelled.

Flaps studied the batter and then threw a fastball down the middle of the plate. The batter swung. Strike one!

Mike and Kate cheered more!

Flaps waited for the sign from the catcher and prepared to throw again. This time, he threw a curveball. But the batter swung and got a piece of it! The ball sailed in between the first baseman and the shortstop for a double.

“I don’t think the pancakes are helping him today,” Mike said.

The catcher walked out to talk to Flaps on the mound. Flaps put his glove in front of his mouth so the other team couldn’t tell what he was saying.

Mike nudged Kate’s knee. He pointed to the big scoreboard in the outfield. It had a clock in the middle and two metal orioles on either side. “Those birds are weather vanes,” he said. “They’re supposed to tell the batters which way the wind is blowing. But the players say they don’t work. Instead, if you want to know which way the wind is blowing, look at the smoke from the barbecue stand behind the scoreboard!”

“That’s funny,” Kate said. “I guess you just need to know what to look for.”

Mike nodded. “And maybe it’s the same with Babe Ruth’s glove,” he said. “Maybe we’re not looking for the right thing.”

“What do you mean?” Kate asked.

“The Birdman didn’t steal the glove like we thought,” Mike said. “But we know he was in the stockroom right around the time the glove was stolen. What if he saw a clue or heard something strange when he was doing it? We forgot to ask him if he spotted anything unusual today!”