"So Lauren wasn't the one who dumped the frogs back in the pool," Maggie said.
"But that doesn't mean she didn't do the other stuff.
Like put the frogs in the pool the first time. Or put ants on Daisy's towel."
"True," Henry agreed.
"But why would she do that to Daisy?
Did Daisy say something about her looking young too?"
"I don't think so," Cole said.
"Then Lauren probably didn't do the ant prank either," Henry said.
"Let's talk about our other suspects."
"You mean Kyle and Tommy?" Maggie asked.
"I still don't think Tommy did it," Cole said. "He's my friend."
"Okay," Henry said. "But he does have a good motive.
If you get kicked out of tryouts, he has a better chance of making the team."
"It didn't seem like he really cares about making the team," Maggie said.
"Don't forget that his brother is a star," Henry said.
"What if Tommy cares more about the team than he's showing?
And it would be easy for him to get the frogs from his parents' pet store."
Maggie's eyes lit up. "Plus Tommy was the one who gave Daisy that towel.
He might have poured grape drink on it, and then dragged it through an anthill."
"That doesn't sound like something Tommy would do," Cole said.
"Aren't there any other suspects?"
"Sure," Henry said.
"The other two people with good motives are Kyle and Daisy."
"Daisy?" Maggie said. "But she's the one who got attacked by ants!"
"She could have set that up herself," Henry said.
"That way nobody would suspect her of the frog prank."
"Maybe." Cole looked unsure. "It doesn't seem very likely though.
She almost got bitten. And ant bites really hurt."
Just then Lauren wandered past. "Hey," she said, pointing at Cole.
"Aren't you supposed to be the frog expert around here?"
He nodded.
"Then help catch those frogs!"
"Okay." Cole waved to his friends and swam away.
"I guess Lauren knows that Cole likes frogs," Maggie said to Henry.
"Are you sure she's not the culprit?"
Maggie's voice was pretty loud.
Henry didn't want everyone to hear them talking, so he led her over to the playground.
The two of them sat down on the swings.
"I'm pretty sure," Henry told Maggie.
"Lauren had no reason to make those ants swarm Daisy."
"What if the ant prank was just a coincidence?" Maggie asked.
"Maybe Tiny spilled grape juice on his towel, and then Tommy dragged it through an anthill without noticing."
"It's possible," Henry said. "But I'm still pretty sure about Lauren.
She couldn't have dumped the frog buckets while she was jogging behind the pool building."
"I guess that's true." Maggie said.
"It had to be one of the joggers who finished first.
Who's the fastest runner out of our suspects?"
"Probably Kyle," Henry said. "He was on the track team at school."
"And we saw him with a grape sports drink," Maggie said.
"Plus we know he really wants the spot on the swim team.
He has to be the culprit!"
"We have to be able to prove it's Kyle," Henry reminded her.
"Let's go talk to him and see what we can find out."
They found Kyle chasing a frog in the pool.
"Hi, Kyle," Henry greeted him.
"Can you believe those frogs got in the water again?"
"I can't believe it!" Kyle said. "Your friend Cole is a troublemaker.
I hope the coach kicks him out this time!"
Maggie scowled. "Cole didn't do it!"
"That's not what everybody else says."
Kyle grinned and puffed out his chest.
"Once Cole's gone, that spot on the team will be all mine!"
Henry traded a look with Maggie.
He could tell they were thinking the same thing. Kyle sounded guilty!
"You're a chicken, Kyle!" Maggie said angrily.
"You're afraid Cole will beat you."
"No way," Kyle said. "I'm not afraid of anybody!
Having Cole out of the way just makes it easier.
Maybe he should take some of these frogs home with him so they can teach him how to swim."
Kyle laughed loudly, as if that was the funniest thing anyone had ever said.
But Henry frowned.
"What do you mean?" he asked Kyle. "Cole already has a bunch of pet frogs."
"Really?" Kyle looked surprised.
"So that's why John called Cole 'frog boy.'"
Henry was still watching Kyle closely. "You didn't know that Cole has frogs?"
Kyle shrugged. "I don't pay much attention to fifth-grade nerds," he said.
"Speaking of which, why am I standing here talking to you?"
He smirked and then swam away.
"What a jerk," Maggie muttered.
"He might be a jerk," Henry said. "But he's definitely not our culprit."