"We knew it!" Maggie yelled at Joey. "You slashed those tires, didn't you?"
"It wasn't me!" Joey pointed at Tina.
"She probably did it, and now she's trying to blame it on me!"
Tina gasped. "I did not do it!"
All the commotion was attracting attention.
"What's going on?" Ashley asked, hurrying over.
"This kid slashed the tires!" Maggie cried, pointing at Joey.
"I already told you dummies that I didn't do it!" Joey yelled.
Maggie glared at him. "Why should we believe you?
We heard you teasing Nathan. So we already know you're a bully!"
More people had arrived by then.
"Wait," the Belltown cheerleader named Melanie spoke up.
"He's telling the truth. He didn't do it."
"How do you know?" Jill asked.
"Because I saw him hanging out right here by the restrooms," Melanie said.
"I was down here for most of the break because I had a stomachache.
He was here the whole time."
"Are you sure?" Ashley asked.
"Maybe he sneaked away while you weren't looking."
Melanie laughed. "Are you kidding?
Those Valley High colors are so bright you can't miss them.
I would have noticed if he left even for a second."
"Oh." Ashley shrugged.
"Okay, I guess he couldn't have slashed the tires after all."
Just then Ms. Hernandez arrived. "What's all the yelling over here?"
"Nothing," Jill said. "We were just talking."
Joey and Tina stomped off in opposite directions.
Soon most of the other kids wandered away.
Henry led his friends to a private spot.
"I guess Joey didn't do it," he said. "He has an alibi."
"What's an alibi?" Maggie asked.
"It's when someone can prove that he or she wasn't at the scene of the crime," Henry said.
"Joey's alibi is that Melanie saw him by the restrooms.
That means he couldn't have been down at the bikes slashing tires."
"Okay," Maggie said. "I guess he's not the culprit. But what about Tina?
Melanie didn't say anything about seeing her."
"Yeah. And a few people said she disappeared for a while," Cole added.
"She's still a suspect, I guess," Henry said.
"But we shouldn't focus only on the Valley High kids.
There are other suspects."
Just then he spotted the stranger in the sunglasses walking along, muttering into a cell phone.
"Like him, for instance," he whispered.
"Did either of you question him earlier?"
"Nope," Maggie said while Cole shook his head.
"Let's talk to him now," Henry said.
They hurried after the man, who was heading toward the bike rack.
On the way they passed Ms. Hernandez talking to William. He looked upset.
"Why can't I leave now?" he whined.
"My bike is ruined, and I want to go home."
Ms. Hernandez sighed. "Please be patient. The new tires will be here soon."
"They probably won't even fit my bike," William argued.
"Anyway this ride is no fun."
"Why does he want to quit the bike ride?" Maggie whispered.
"Maybe he feels guilty because he committed the crime."
"But his tire got slashed too," Cole whispered.
"Why would he ruin his own tire?"
"Maybe he did it so nobody would suspect him," Henry said.
"We can question him after we talk to the mystery man."
They kept going.
The man in the sunglasses stopped near his own bike and finished up his call.
"Hi," Henry said, walking up to the man.
"It looks like your tires didn't get slashed, huh? That's lucky."
The man shrugged. "I suppose so. But only nine tires were damaged."
Henry traded a look with his friends.
How did this man know exactly how many tires had been slashed?
It seemed suspicious.
"How did you hear about this bike ride?" Cole asked.
"Most of the riders are from the Belltown schools.
I didn't know other people even knew about it."
The man looked away. "News gets around, I guess," he muttered.
Henry could tell he didn't want to answer their questions.
That seemed suspicious too.
Luckily Henry's father worked as a reporter at the local newspaper.
He'd taught Henry a few interviewer's tricks.
One trick was rewording the same question in a different way.
"Did you see a flyer hanging up around town?" he asked.
"I bet that's how you heard about the ride.
Or maybe you have a relative that goes to Belltown High."
"Not exactly." The man looked annoyed.
"Actually I'm a news reporter. I'm here to cover the story for the local paper."
"What?" Maggie exclaimed. "But . . ."
Henry elbowed her in the ribs before she could say anything more.
A second later the stranger hurried off.
Cole looked confused. "What was that all about?
Does that man work with your dad, Henry?"
"No," Henry said.
"I know all the reporters at the paper, and that guy isn't one of them. He's lying!"