The Missing Playbook Read online

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1 BASEBALL BARBECUE

  CHAPTER 2 PRANK NIGHT

  CHAPTER 3 BANDITS VS. JUPITERS

  CHAPTER 4 PLAYBOOK PUZZLER

  CHAPTER 5 A FURRY FRIEND

  CHAPTER 6 PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE

  CHAPTER 7 BANDIT BETRAYAL

  CHAPTER 8 PITCH WARS

  CHAPTER 9 HIDING SPOT

  CHAPTER 10 PLAY BALL!

  ‘WATER-SKI WIPEOUT’ EXCERPT

  ABOUT FRANKLIN W. DIXON AND MATT DAVID

  Chapter 1

  BASEBALL BARBECUE

  As soon as his father pulled up to Cissy “Speedy” Zermeño’s house, Joe Hardy threw open the car door and ran up to the house. Frank smiled and rolled his eyes at his eight-year-old younger brother. On the inside, though, Frank was just as excited as Joe was about the party at Speedy’s. The annual Bandit Barbecue dinner meant the beginning of baseball season, his favorite time of year.

  Frank grabbed the plate of brownies his mother had made, and his parents followed him up the walkway to the Zermeños’ front door. Joe had already disappeared somewhere inside, and Speedy was waiting at the door to greet them. Speedy’s real name was Cissy, but she got her nickname from how quickly she did everything, from the speed of her legendary fastball to how quickly she talked.

  “Hi-Mr.-and-Mrs.-Hardy-hey-Frank-come-on-in!” she said. “I’m-so-excited-you’re-here-wow-those-brownies-look-delicious!”

  “Hi, Speedy,” Frank said. “How’s the wrist?”

  “Great!” Speedy held up her right hand. The last time Frank had seen her in school on Friday, she’d been wearing a brace. But now it was gone. “The-doctor-said-the-sprain—”

  “Whoa, whoa!” Frank interrupted. “Slow down!”

  Speedy laughed and took a deep breath before she spoke again, more slowly this time. “The doctor said my sprain is almost completely healed. He says I’ll be able to pitch in our first game next week!”

  “That’s awesome!” Frank exclaimed. Speedy, along with the rest of the team, had been worried when she’d hurt her wrist in gym class a couple of weeks ago. She was their star pitcher, and without her, they didn’t stand a chance against their rivals the Jupiters.

  “Oh-I-know! I can’t wait to pitch the first game!” Speedy said.

  Frank and Mr. and Mrs. Hardy followed Speedy outside to the backyard, where the barbecue was in full swing. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy stopped to talk to the other parents, while Frank and Speedy went looking for Joe. They found him at the backyard swing set with the Mortons. Frank and Joe’s best friend, Chet, was taking turns pushing his two younger sisters—Iola, who played for the Bandits, and Mimi, who went everywhere Iola did—on the swings. A camera was hanging from a strap around Chet’s neck.

  “Hi, Chet,” Frank said. He nodded at the camera. “You taking pictures of the party?”

  “Yup!” Chet said. He gave Iola a push and then grabbed his camera, holding it up for Frank to see. “There are so many cool things you can do with this camera!” He began to explain to Frank how all the different buttons worked.

  “Chet!” Mimi wailed. Her swing had come to a stop because Chet, distracted by his camera, had forgotten to push her. When Chet had a new hobby, he forgot about everything else.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said. He gave her a big push that sent her flying up into the air.

  “What’s that on your back, Mimi?” Joe asked.

  “My new backpack!” Mimi squealed, kicking her feet to keep the swing going. “Isn’t it cool? It’s got butterflies on it!”

  “She’s starting preschool in the fall,” Iola explained. “She’s barely taken that backpack off since Mom bought it for her.”

  “Because it’s cool !” Mimi said.

  “Well, I’m starved,” Iola said, hopping off her swing. “Who wants to get a hamburger?”

  Everyone else said they were hungry too, except for Chet.

  “But I’ll come with you guys,” he said. “I want to take some pictures of the food. Coach Quinn said I could be the team’s official photographer.”

  They all got into the line next to the grill. Speedy’s dad was hard at work cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs, moving almost as fast as Speedy did. Standing in front of them in line was Tommy Dawson, who was an outfielder and relief pitcher for the Bandits, and Ezra Moore, who was new to the team.

  “It’s so unfair,” Tommy complained to Ezra, loud enough that Frank could hear him. “I thought I was finally going to get to pitch.”

  “Sorry, dude,” Ezra said, “but Speedy’s the starting pitcher. You knew Coach Quinn was going to let her pitch as soon as her wrist was healed.”

  “She shouldn’t be the starter anyway,” Tommy said. “I’m ten times better than she is. Coach Quinn’s just got it in for me. I’m not going to let Coach get away with this.”

  “Tommy, calm down,” Ezra said.

  “No way. Forget this stupid team!” Tommy snapped. He stalked off, ignoring Ezra’s attempts to stop him.

  Ezra noticed Frank listening in on their conversation.

  “He’ll cool off,” he said. “He’s just disappointed.”

  Frank nodded. He was just glad Speedy hadn’t heard what Tommy was saying.

  The kids loaded up their plates with food and sat in the grass with some of the other Bandits to eat. When they were done, someone found a baseball and they started a game of catch. All the younger brothers and sisters of the Bandits players were sitting around Mimi, whose backpack was jammed full of coloring books, stuffed animals, and other toys that she was handing out. They played while the older kids tossed the ball and the parents watched, chatting as they sipped their cups of punch.

  Soon it began to grow dark, and the party moved inside. The parents gathered in the kitchen, while the little kids sat in front of the television in the living room to watch a movie. Mimi was among them, her empty backpack slung over her shoulders. While they watched the movie, most of the kids played with one of the toys or coloring books that Mimi had given them.

  Meanwhile, Coach Quinn gathered all the Bandits together for a team meeting.

  “Thanks for coming, everyone,” she said when the team was sitting before her. “It’s going to be the start of an awesome season, right?”

  “Right!” they all chorused. Joe’s voice was the loudest of all, Frank noticed. Coach Quinn’s eyes twinkled. “That’s what I thought. Now, let me show you our new secret weapon.”

  Chapter 2

  PRANK NIGHT

  Coach Quinn pulled a bright-red notebook from her bag. It had PLAYBOOK printed across it in bold black letters. Chet’s camera flashed as he took a picture.

  “This is our new playbook,” she explained. “I’ve been coming up with new training methods and batting lineups that are going to make us the best team we can be. We’re going to work hard and play even harder, and then what’s going to happen?”

  “We’re going to win!” Joe shouted, and the rest of the team cheered.

  “And what else?” Coach Quinn asked.

  “Have fun!” everyone yelled.

  Coach Quinn laughed. “That’s right! Now have a good time tonight, because the hard work starts tomorrow!”

  The meeting over, the team members went back to the party. Frank asked Coach Quinn if he could look at the playbook, and she handed it to him. He flipped through it slowly. One section showed new drills that would help them become faster, stronger, and pitch the ball even better. Another section had a dozen different batting orders, one for any situation they might face. Frank’s eyes widened as he took it all in. He could almost feel the championship trophy in his hands.

  Joe tapped on his shoulder, interrupting his fantasy of scoring the game-winning run at the
championships.

  “Frank, come on,” he said. “We’re playing Pin the Hat on the Ballplayer in the dining room.”

  Frank put the playbook down on the coffee table and headed after his brother. On his way, he nearly tripped over Mimi, who was sprawled on the floor, scribbling in a coloring book.

  In the dining room, Speedy’s mom was leading the game. She had tied a blindfold around Ezra Moore’s eyes, and he was trying to stick a paper ball cap with tape on the back to the large poster of a baseball player tacked to the wall. After feeling around for a while, Ezra stuck the cap near the ballplayer’s elbow. Everyone laughed and clapped when he took off the blindfold, stomped his foot, and said, “Darn it!”

  Frank was watching Mrs. Zermeño put the blindfold on Iola as Chet snapped pictures, when Joe tapped his shoulder again.

  “Hey, do you hear that?” Joe asked.

  “Hear what?” Frank replied.

  “It sounds like there’s someone outside the window!”

  Frank tried to listen, but he couldn’t hear anything over the music, the laughter of the kids, and the chatter of the parents in the next room. He moved closer to the window with Joe and looked out over the Zermeños’ side yard. It was dark, so there wasn’t much to see, and he didn’t hear anything.

  Frank shook his head. “I think you’re hearing things, little brother.”

  But then he saw movement in the yard from the corner of his eye. It looked like someone running, but they disappeared from view too quickly for him to get a good look.

  “Wait, I think you’re right,” Frank said. “I think someone is out there.”

  “Told ya!” Joe said.

  “Come on,” Frank said. “Let’s go look out the front windows.”

  “Hey, where are you guys going?” Chet asked as they headed to the living room.

  “We think there’s someone outside,” Joe said. “We’re going to go check.”

  Speedy overheard them. “I’m coming too!”

  The kids made their way to the windows at the front of the house. Chet had his camera pressed to his eye to take a picture and ended up stepping on the stuffed animal Tommy Dawson’s little sister was playing with.

  “You hurt Snuggles!” the girl shrieked.

  “Sorry!” Chet said.

  Frank crouched in front of one of the big windows next to the front door of the house, nothing but his eyes peeking over the windowsill. Joe stood next to him, peering around the edge of the curtains. Chet and Speedy took the window on the other side of the door.

  “I can’t see anything,” Chet said. “It’s too dark outside.”

  By now, the rest of the team had noticed them leaving the dining room and had gathered around them.

  “What’s going on?” Iola asked.

  “We heard something weird outside,” Joe replied.

  “Speedy, do you have any lights out there?” Frank asked.

  She nodded. “There’s a porch light.”

  “Can you turn it on?” Frank said.

  “You bet!” Speedy moved to a light switch on the wall near the door. “Count of three?”

  Frank nodded.

  “One . . . two . . .” Speedy flipped the switch. “Three!”

  Outside on the Zermeños’ lawn, three kids, all dressed in dark clothes, froze. Around them, the trees were covered in toilet paper, which hung from the branches like garlands and swayed gently in the breeze. The grass was covered in red and blue Silly String, which spelled out BANDITS STINK!

  After a moment of stunned silence—the Bandits staring at the mess in the yard and the pranksters staring at them—everything exploded into action. The kids outside started to run, dropping their armfuls of extra toilet paper and Silly String bottles, and the Bandits poured out of the house after them.

  Chapter 3

  BANDITS VS. JUPITERS

  “Stop them!” Frank yelled as the trio scattered in different directions. The Bandits took off after them. Frank and Joe ran toward Speedy’s neighbors to the left, where the biggest of the pranksters had headed. Frank heard a cheer somewhere behind him as other members of the team caught one of the fleeing kids.

  In the dark, Frank could just barely make out the outline of the person he was chasing. The kid ran around the side of the neighbor’s house, and by the time Frank and Joe got there, he’d disappeared.

  “Where did he go?” Joe said. “It’s so dark out here.”

  “Shh,” Frank whispered. “Let’s just listen for a second.”

  The prankster couldn’t have outrun them so fast. Frank was sure he was hiding somewhere among the bushes and trees in the yard. The two boys were silent for a moment, ears straining to pick up any sounds of movement, but they didn’t hear anything.

  Suddenly Frank had an idea.

  “I guess we lost him,” Frank said, loudly enough that his voice would carry across the yard. “Better just give up.”

  “What!” Joe squawked. “We can’t just let him get away with—”

  Frank nudged his brother and gave him a wink.

  “There’s no point, Joe,” Frank said loudly. “Let’s just go back.”

  Joe smiled as he understood his brother’s plan. “Okay, you’re right. Let’s go.”

  The two boys walked away, pretending like they were headed back to Speedy’s. But instead they hid around the corner of the neighbor’s house. Frank held a finger to his lips, and Joe nodded. Now all they had to do was wait.

  One minute passed, then two, and nothing happened. Frank began to think the prankster had actually gotten away. But then, just when he was about to give up, Frank heard the rustle of leaves as the other kid crept out of his hiding place behind a row of bushes.

  “Go!” Frank cried.

  He and Joe ran around the corner of the house. The prankster saw them and tried to get away, but Frank and Joe were too close. They caught the other kid, and all three of them went tumbling to the ground.

  “We got ’im!” Joe exclaimed.

  Frank looked into the prankster’s face, which he could see for the first time.

  “Conor Hound,” he said. He should have known. Conor—a star player for the Bandits’ rivals the Jupiters—was the only boy he knew who was this big.

  Coach Quinn came running around the corner, followed by a group of parents. “What’s going on here?”

  “We caught him, Coach Quinn!” Joe said. “This is one of the kids who was toilet-papering Speedy’s house.”

  “You’d better come with me, Conor,” the coach said. “Let him go, boys.”

  Frank, Joe, and Conor, who was hanging his head, followed Coach Quinn and the parents back to Speedy’s house. Two other members of the Jupiters were already seated on the couch in the living room, their arms crossed over their chests. Conor sat down beside them with a scowl. Chet and Iola gave Frank and Joe high fives for catching him.

  “I’m very disappointed by this unsportsmanlike behavior, gentlemen,” Coach Quinn was saying to the Jupiters. “I’m going to have to call your parents.”

  “What a mess,” Speedy said glumly, looking out the window at the toilet paper hanging from the trees.

  “We’ll help you clean it up,” Iola promised.

  “Yeah,” Frank added. “Of course we will. Come on, everybody!”

  “I think they should clean it up,” Joe said, pointing at the boys on the couch.

  “Yeah!” Speedy yelled. “They ruined our party. But I want to make sure we can see them clean up so they can’t do anything else.”

  Mr. Zermeño held up his hand. “Why don’t I grab some trash bags and everyone can help clean up the yard. I think Coach Quinn has some phone calls to make to these boys’ parents.”

  The team collected empty trash bags from Mr. Zermeño and headed outside to take care of the mess the Jupiters had made. With so many people helping, it wouldn’t take them long to clean up the yard. Frank and Joe picked Silly String up off the grass, while Tommy Dawson (the tallest member of the team) hoisted Iola (t
he shortest) onto his shoulders so she could reach the loops of toilet paper high in one of the trees. Speedy went back inside and grabbed a plate of cookies that everyone munched on as they worked.

  “I’m going to take this bag inside and get another,” Frank said when the trash bag he and Joe were sharing was stuffed with toilet paper and Silly String. “I’ll be right back.”

  On his way to the kitchen for another trash bag, Frank passed Conor Hound and the other Jupiters. They were still sitting on the couch, waiting for Mr. Hound, who had agreed to take all three boys home. Coach Quinn was talking to them in her most disappointed voice. Frank actually felt kind of bad for them. If he knew anything about the coach of the Jupiters, Coach Riley, the joke would not be worth the extra minutes of running that the team would have to do at their next practice!

  The player closest to Frank gave him a glare. “You’ll be sorry,” he said under his breath.

  Well, maybe Frank didn’t feel that bad for them.

  With his head turned to look at Conor and the others, Frank didn’t notice Mimi lying on her stomach in his path until he’d tripped over her. She and the other younger kids were still spread out all over the living room floor, playing with the toys from Mimi’s new backpack. The toys had invaded every surface, from the carpet to the coffee table.

  “Hey!” Mimi squealed.

  “Sorry!” Frank replied. He lifted his foot off her coloring book, which he’d accidentally stepped on. “I didn’t see you.”

  Mrs. Morton poked her head around the corner. “Mimi, what did I say about getting in the way? Frank’s the fourth person who’s tripped over you tonight. How about you kids move into one of the bedrooms?”

  “Mom!” Mimi protested. “Do we have to?”

  While Mimi argued with her mother, Frank went into the kitchen to drop off his full garbage bag and pick up an empty one.

  When he returned to the living room, Mimi and the younger kids were packing up her toys to move into one of the bedrooms, and Conor Hound’s father had arrived. He’d already sent Conor and the other two players outside and was apologizing to Coach Quinn.