"Wait a minute!" Maggie said. "I thought the Valley High kids were innocent!"
"Joey has an alibi since Melanie saw him at the restrooms," Henry replied.
"And Tina seems too nice to be guilty.
But William said the kids he saw sneaking around were wearing school T-shirts!"
"Lots of people are wearing Belltown High shirts," Cole pointed out.
"How do you know William meant Valley High ones?"
"I don't," Henry said. "But we're out of other suspects.
Maybe Tina and Joey are plotting against Belltown after all.
She could have slashed those tires.
And Joey could have hung around the restrooms to make sure nobody went down the trail and caught her."
"Ooh! That's sneaky!" Maggie exclaimed.
"Come on!" Henry cried. "Before we lose them!"
The Lemonade Detectives took off, following the sounds of running feet and crunching leaves.
Every once in a while they spotted a new flash of red and gold.
But Henry still couldn't see who they were chasing.
Finally they burst into a clearing.
Two people were running across it, but only one of them was wearing a Valley High T-shirt.
To Henry's surprise they were holding hands.
"Stop!" Henry yelled. "We see you!"
The two people dropped hands and spun around.
"Leave us alone!" the boy yelled.
"It's Joey!" Maggie exclaimed.
Cole gasped. "And Melanie!"
Henry was surprised too.
What was the Belltown cheerleader doing with the Valley High bully?
"Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" Maggie blurted out.
"Please don't tell anyone!" Melanie begged.
"My parents think I'm too young to have a boyfriend.
Plus everyone at Belltown High will be mad if they know I'm dating someone from Valley High."
Aha! Now Henry got it.
"It was you, wasn't it?" he asked Joey. "You slashed those tires.
Then you asked your secret girlfriend to provide your alibi!"
Melanie gasped. "How did you know?" she cried.
"I didn't until right now," Henry admitted.
Maggie frowned. "Why did you slash everyone's tires?"
"Those dumb kids from Belltown made me mad," Joey said with a scowl.
"They said Valley High's sports teams were a joke!"
Henry remembered hearing Tiny and his friends kidding around about that earlier in the day.
"That's because you were picking on Nathan," he told Joey.
"Anyway you still shouldn't have slashed anyone's tires."
"It's all her fault," Joey muttered, pointing at Melanie.
"She talked me into coming on this stupid bike ride."
"What?" Melanie exclaimed. "How can you say that?
I just wanted to spend time together!"
Now Henry understood everything.
Melanie's parents wouldn't let her go out with Joey.
So she'd talked Joey into coming to the bike ride so they could be together in secret.
That's why William had seen them sneaking away a few times during the ride.
But then Joey had ruined everything by losing his temper and slashing the tires.
"Whatever," Joey muttered. "You guys better not tell anyone, or else!"
"Or else what?" a deep voice asked.
It was Chuck the bodyguard! He'd just stepped into the clearing.
Joey looked surprised. "Who are you?"
"I'm the person who's going to make sure that you pay for those slashed tires."
Chuck grabbed Joey by the arm.
"Come on, kid. You too, blondie," he added, glancing at Melanie.
"Yes, sir," she said meekly, scurrying along as Chuck dragged Joey away.
Watching the scene, Maggie grinned.
"I guess that's another case closed," she said.
"The Lemonade Detectives keep their perfect record!"
The next day at the lemonade stand, Henry and his friends were still talking about the case.
"I heard Melanie broke up with Joey," Cole said.
"Good," Maggie said. "He's not very nice."
"I'm glad he'll have to pay for those tires," Henry said.
"That means the soccer team gets to keep all the money they raised."
Henry noticed William hurrying toward them.
"Hi," William said. "I heard I'd find you guys here."
"Want some lemonade?" Maggie poured some into a cup.
"For you, it's on the house."
"Thanks." William took a sip.
"I'm on my way to Nathan's house to hang out.
But I wanted to stop and thank you again for being so friendly to me."
"You're welcome," Henry said. "Tell Chuck thanks again for his help.
If he hadn't come along when he did, Joey might have decided to beat us up to keep us quiet."
"He's just glad you kept our secret," William said. "And guess what?
He helped me convince my parents that I don't need a bodyguard for most of the stuff I do around town!"
"That's great." Henry smiled, glad that William seemed happier.
"Don't worry, you can tell them that Belltown is a pretty safe place."
"Yeah." Cole grinned.
"Especially with The Lemonade Detectives always on the job!"