Henry, Maggie, and Cole walked over to the picnic tables.
People from a local restaurant were passing out snacks and drinks.
Henry took a bottle of water, but he felt too worried to eat a snack.
What if The Lemonade Detectives couldn't solve this case before the end of the ride?
So far they'd done everything detectives were supposed to do.
They'd figured out suspects, motives, and alibis.
But they still hadn't solved the case.
"Let's split up and question our last two suspects," Henry told his friends.
"Okay," Cole agreed. "I'll try to talk to the mystery man if you want."
"Fine. Maggie and I will find William."
They split up and started searching. The picnic area was crowded.
At first Henry didn't see either of their suspects.
Then Maggie grabbed his arm. "There's William."
Henry looked toward where she was pointing.
William was sitting by himself, staring out at the woods and eating an apple.
"Let's decide what we're going to say before we go over," Henry said.
"We don't have time," Maggie said impatiently.
"Let's just go tell him we know he did it. If he's guilty, he might confess."
"I'm not sure that will work." Henry glanced at William.
The new boy looked bored and lonely.
Even though William was a suspect, Henry felt a little sorry for him.
It couldn't be easy being the new kid in town.
"Look, his bag is on the table behind him," Maggie said.
"Come on, I have a plan!"
"A plan? What is it?" Henry felt worried.
Maggie wasn't usually the type of person who came up with logical, well-thought-out plans.
She was the type of person who acted first and thought about it later.
"There's no time to explain," Maggie said.
"Just talk to him to distract him, and I'll take care of the rest."
"Maggie, wait!" Henry said.
It was too late.
Maggie was already rushing toward the picnic table where William was sitting.
Henry followed, hoping that her plan would work, whatever it was.
William looked up when he saw them coming.
He didn't look particularly happy to see them.
"Hi," Henry said, trying to sound friendly.
"That apple looks good. Where did you get it?"
"Over there," William said, pointing to a basket that the restaurant people had set out.
"Oh . . . great . . ." Henry was running out of things to say.
He shot a desperate look at Maggie.
She flopped down on the bench across from William.
"Whew!" she exclaimed dramatically. "I'm so tired!"
She flung her arms out.
One knocked into William's unzipped bag and sent it flying.
The contents scattered everywhere.
"Hey!" William exclaimed. "You spilled all my stuff!"
"Sorry," Maggie said, leaping down and grabbing the bag.
She shook it upside down.
"Oops, you're right. Everything fell out! But don't worry, I'll clean it up."
Henry and William watched as she picked up all the spilled items.
There was a cell phone, a house key, and a few other things.
"There." Maggie zipped the bag shut. "All fixed."
"Thanks," William muttered. "Um, did you guys want to sit here, or what?"
"Maybe later," Maggie said. "Come on, Henry. Let's go find Cole."
The two of them made their escape.
"What was that all about?" Henry asked as soon as they were out of William's earshot.
Maggie smiled. "Don't you get it?
There was nothing in that bag that William could have used to slash the tires.
And his bike shorts don't have pockets, so he couldn't be carrying a penknife or anything that way."
"I suppose you're right," Henry agreed.
"But how do you know he didn't drop the crime weapon in the woods after he used it?"
Maggie's face fell. "I didn't think of that." She frowned.
"Why do you always have to be so logical?"
"Never mind. It was still a pretty good plan," Henry said.
"If there had been a penknife in there, it would've worked."
"That's true." Maggie looked a little happier.
"So should we go back and try to talk to William some more?"
Before Henry could answer, he saw Cole rushing toward them, looking excited.
"Big news!" he cried when he reached them.
"Did you talk to the mystery man?" Henry asked.
Cole shook his head. "I never found him," he said breathlessly.
"But I did find out more about him. And about William too."
"Really?" Maggie said. "Like what?"
"Like William's family isn't just rich," Cole said.
"His dad works for the government.
He's a senator in the United States Senate!"
"Really?" Henry said. "Wow. That's cool."
Cole nodded. "But that's not all," he said.
"Everyone has noticed that the mystery man follows William everywhere.
What if he's planning to kidnap William and hold him for ransom?"