The Missing Balloon Pin
I
stopped and stared at the balloon. It was as big as a building
and shaped like a teddy bear.
“Come on, Carol,” Jordan said, tapping my arm. “It’s almost time for David’s liftoff.”
Jordan and I are in the same class at school. My cousin, David, had invited us to a balloon rally this weekend. We hurried across the meadow. As we passed a yellow balloon with a starburst design, there was a loud roar. Flame shot up from a propane burner. The balloon rose slowly and started to drift away.
“Awesome!” Jordan said. “How about it, Carol? Maybe you could spot a new mystery from up there.”
I shuddered. I like mountains. I don’t mind riding in an airplane. I also love solving mysteries—but not while I’m dangling from a bag full of hot air.
“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ll just watch.”
We found David. He and his friends were unfolding a huge pancake of blue and yellow cloth. Thick ropes attached it to what looked like a big wicker laundry basket.
David waved. When he and his helpers finished, they came over. David’s jean jacket had embroidered patches all over it, and his cap was covered with little enamel pins shaped like hot-air balloons.
“Hi, guys,” he said. “Meet Zach and Annette. Zach’s crewing for me. Annette’s driving the chase car. You can ride with her and pick us up when we land.”
“Why not land back here?” I asked.
David grinned. “No engine,” he said. “Hot-air balloons go where the wind takes them.”
“I knew that,” I said quickly.
“Carol’s some detective,” Jordan said, teasing me. I poked him with my elbow.
“Hey, Paul,” David called to a stocky guy with dark hair. “Come see what I have.”
Paul joined us. David took off his cap and pointed to one of the pins. It was a bright green balloon with the word Earthquest printed below it. I noticed another pin just like it except that it was red.
“Wow! A green Earthquest pin!” Paul exclaimed. “That’s pretty rare.”
“May I see your pins?” Zach asked. David tossed him the cap. “Sure, take a look,” he said.
Annette
turned to Jordan and me. “Collecting pins is a big
hobby, and that one’s really hard to find,” she
explained.
“OK, gang,” David said. “It’s inflation time.”
“I’ll help,” Paul said. I heard him add in a low voice, “David? What about tomorrow?”
“I told you,” David replied. “Zach’s crewing for me the whole meet. I promised.”
Jordan and I stood back. Zach and David wheeled over a big fan. Annette and Paul held open the mouth of the balloon. Once the balloon was partly filled with cool air, David started the propane burner. With each burst of flame, the balloon took on more shape. Soon it was swaying over our heads. David and Zach climbed into the basket.
“Preflight check,” David said. “Zach, try the rip line.”
Zach tugged at one of the dangling ropes.
“No, not the turning vent line,” David said. “The rip line. The red one.”
Zach looked confused. He pulled on the next rope. “This one? It’s OK,” he said.
David started to unhook the anchor ropes. “Oops. Where’s my cap? Can’t fly without that.”
I looked around. The pin-covered cap was on the ground. I picked it up and handed it to David. He took one glance and turned red.
“My green Earthquest pin,” he said. “It’s gone.”
“Maybe it fell off,” Jordan suggested.
“Not a chance,” David growled. “OK, Zach—give it back!”
Zach spread out his hands. “I didn’t take it,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Jordan and I searched through the grass where I’d found the cap. The pin wasn’t there.
“I didn’t take it,” Zach insisted. “All I did was look at it. Then I put the cap down.”
“I don’t believe you,” David said.
“Carol, you’re the detective,” Jordan said. “What happened to the pin? Can you figure it out?”
“I’ll try,” I said. I thought about everything I had seen and heard. There must be a clue somewhere. But where?
Then
I remembered.
“Wait, David,” I said. “Zach didn’t take your pin, and I can prove it!”
I turned to Zach. “Zach, which rope has red paint on it?” I asked.
He glanced at the ropes. Then he shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m color-blind.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said. “You see, David? Zach couldn’t have been the one who took your green Earthquest pin. To him, it looked the same as the red one.”
“Then who—?” David said.
“Annette didn’t go anywhere near the cap,” I told him.
We turned and stared at Paul. He wouldn’t look at us. Finally, he reached in his pocket.
“Here,” he said. He handed David the missing pin. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to keep it. I wanted to get you angry at Zach so you’d let me crew tomorrow.”
He turned and walked away.
“Thanks, Carol,” Zach said.
“Yeah, thanks,” David said.
“Zach, I’m sorry. Let’s fly, OK?” David fired the burner. As the balloon rose into the sky, they leaned over the side and waved.
“See, Jordan?” I said. “I can find plenty of mysteries to solve right here on the ground.”
