Kate ran back to Mike.
“Who?” Mike asked. “Who took your mom’s notes?”
“Rocco Sampson!” Kate said.
“But we already ruled him out!” Mike said. “He has an alibi, remember? He was doing errands with his boss.”
Kate shook her head and smiled. “Nope, he had an alibi,” she said. “I just figured it out when we heard what he was saying! ‘They didn’t suspect anything!’ It made me think. Then I realized his alibi didn’t fit any longer!”
“What do you mean?” Mike asked.
“We thought the thief was the same person who left the note for us at the Cyclones game,” Kate said. “But my dad left the note for us. So the person who stole my mom’s notes didn’t need to be at the Cyclones game!”
Mike nodded. “So even though Rocco was running errands until two o’clock, he could have been back at the Mets’ stadium in time to break into the press box at three o’clock!” he said.
“And I think that means we should pay a little visit to the Home Run Apple during tomorrow’s game,” Kate said. “It sounds like Rocco has something planned for the third inning!”
“It’s called the Whispering Gallery,” Mr. Hopkins said the next day. Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins were sitting in front-row seats at the Mets’ stadium for the final Subway Series game. “It’s a Grand Central secret! When you speak into an arch pillar, the sound gets bounced along the top of the arch, and the person on the other side is able to hear what you say. I’m glad you discovered it!”
“I could use one of those when we’re taking a test in school,” Mike said. “I could turn around and whisper the question, and Kate could whisper the answer back to me!”
Mr. Hopkins laughed. “I don’t think that would be a great way for you to learn, Mike,” he said. “It’s better to take a test by yourself.”
“I know,” he said. “But it would be a fun way to pull a prank on Mr. Lesch.”
“I don’t think there’s any place you could whisper here and be heard,” Kate said.
She was right. It was the bottom of the second inning of the final Subway Series game, and both the Yankees fans and Mets fans were going crazy. Whichever team won that night would win the series. Neither team had scored yet, but the Mets had one runner on base. Waleed Abdalati, the Mets shortstop, stepped up to the plate.
“Go, Waleed!” Kate shouted. He had hit safely in each of the last ten games.
The first two pitches were high and outside. Waleed didn’t swing at either. But the third pitch looked perfect. Waleed unleashed his powerful swing.
WHAP!
The ball flew high into the air. Waleed took off for first base. The ball sailed over the outfield fence. It was a home run! Waleed rounded first and ran for second. As he passed second, the other runner crossed home plate for a run. Then Waleed did, stomping on home plate as he scored!
“Here comes the Home Run Apple!” Mike said. He pointed to center field.
Unlike two days ago, the apple was bright red and had a colorful Mets logo on its front.
“Looks like no one messed around with it today,” Kate said. She snapped a picture of it on her phone.
When she sat back down, Mike nudged her with his elbow. “Now?” he whispered.
“No, not yet,” Kate said. “Let’s wait until the end of the inning. I’ll ask my dad then.”
“Okay,” Mike said. “Can I see the card he gave us?”
Kate reached into her pocket, pulled out Rocco’s business card, and handed it to Mike.
Mike flipped the card over. “Okay to visit!” the message on the back read, with Rocco’s signature below.
The looping scrawl of the signature caught his eye. He studied the capital letter S. Then he pulled out his phone and found the picture he had taken of his signature in the visitors’ book at Yankee Stadium.
Mike scrolled up a little to see the signatures above his. Then he zoomed in and glanced at the back of the business card. The swirly letter S’s matched.
“ ‘Rocco Sampson’!” he said. “What was Rocco doing at the Yankees’ business office?”
“What?” Kate asked.
Mike handed her his phone and the business card. “Look at the signature a few lines above mine,” he said. “They’re exactly the same!”
Kate stared at the visitors’ log and the card.
“Rocco Sampson was in the Yankees’ office?” she asked. “But why?”
Mike smiled. He reached over and zoomed in on the right side of the photo. Under the column of the form that said Reason for Visit, Rocco had written interview.
“Because he was interviewing for a job!” Mike said. “He probably stayed for the game after. That’s why we saw him at Grand Central!”
“But he works for the Mets!” Kate said. “He’s a Mets fan!”
“He’s not a real Mets fan. He’s a Yankees fan!” Mike said. “That’s why he was wearing the Yankees hat with his Mets jersey!”
Kate shrugged. “Maybe that’s okay,” she said. “There’s no law against being a Yankees fan!”
“But it’s not okay to ruin the Mets’ Home Run Apple,” Mike said. “I’ll bet he’s the one who painted the pinstripes to support the Yankees! But I don’t know why he would have taken your mom’s notes.”
“We have a lot to investigate!” Kate said.
When the inning ended, Kate talked to her dad and got the okay to go check out the apple with Mike.
But as she and Mike stood up to leave, a loud “Uh-oh!” rose from the nearby fans. They were pointing to the large video screen on the scoreboard.
Instead of showing game highlights or player information, the screen was showing a video of the Mets’ famous mascot, Mr. Met. Mr. Met was a baseball player with a giant baseball for a head. Mets fans love Mr. Met, but they didn’t love this video!
Loud choruses of boos rose up from the crowd. A smattering of Yankees fans cheered, but they were drowned out by the Mets fans’ negative reactions.
Streaming across the giant scoreboard screen were videos of a Mr. Met bobblehead toy encountering trouble. The first video showed Mr. Met falling out of a tree and smashing to pieces. The second video showed Mr. Met being covered by teddy bears with Yankees jerseys. The third video seemed to show a New York Yankees sock monkey dropping Mr. Met in a toilet!
