The San Francisco Splash Read online

  “It’s in Captain Dan’s pocket,” Mike said. “I’ll bet Captain Dan stole the ring when he helped Ray out of the water, just like you pulled the MightiBand off my hand. Captain Dan pushed Ray into the water so he could have a chance to save him. When he helped Ray out of the water, he slipped the ring off Ray’s finger. Ray was too cold and scared to notice!”

  Kate gave Mike a high five. “I think you’re right!” she said. “But if that’s the case, we need to catch him before he does something with the ring.”

  “How are we going to do that?” Mike asked. “We don’t know where he is.”

  Kate bit her lip and thought for a moment. “Yes, we do! When Captain Dan dropped us off on the walkway, he said he was going back to Fisherman’s Wharf,” she said. “I’ll bet that’s where he keeps his boat.”

  “But how are we going to find his boat?”

  Mike asked. “All we know is his name. And what if Captain Dan isn’t even his real name?”

  “I got a good look at the boat after he dropped us off,” Kate said. “I saw the name of it, too, but I can’t remember what it was.”

  Mike snapped his fingers. “I saw the last part of the name in a picture at the booth!” he said. “It said ‘atch.’ It’s probably something like Fast Match. If we figure it out, we can ask someone at Fisherman’s Wharf.”

  “It’s too late today,” Kate said. “But we’re sightseeing tomorrow morning with my dad. Fisherman’s Wharf can be our first stop. That way, we can go fishing for a thief!”

  The next morning, Mike, Kate, and Kate’s dad boarded a cable car in Union Square for Fisherman’s Wharf. Along the way, Mike and Kate brainstormed ideas for finding Captain Dan’s boat.

  “It will be easier if we can figure out the boat’s name,” Kate said. “We know it ends in ‘atch.’ ”

  “Was it Door Latch or Itchy Scratch?” Mike asked.

  “Nah. I think it’s something like Good Match,” Kate said. “But it could be Vegetable Patch!”

  The cable car climbed up one of San Francisco’s steep hills. Kate’s father sat on a wooden bench, facing outward. Mike and Kate stood on the steps and hung on to the poles. The cable car kept stopping to pick up people or to wait at red lights. Mike and Kate had to be extra-careful they weren’t leaning out too far when another cable car went by in the other direction, or they might get hit!

  “Psst, Kate. Look at that man’s ring,” Mike whispered. He pointed to a man who had just sat down next to Kate’s dad.

  Kate glanced at the man. He was middle-aged and wearing a huge gold ring on his right hand.

  Kate’s eyes grew wide. “That looks like a World Series ring,” she whispered back.

  “I know,” Mike said. “What if he’s the thief and it’s Ray’s ring?”

  Kate stared at the ring. She couldn’t tell. “We’ve got to do something soon,” she said. “We’re getting close to the end of the ride.”

  Mike edged around Kate so he was standing in front of the man. He cleared his throat. The man looked up from his phone.

  Mike pointed at the man’s hand. “Is that a World Series ring?” he asked. “It looks really cool.”

  “It sure is,” the man said. He held out his hand so Mike and Kate had a better view. The ring looked just like the picture that Mike had pulled up on his phone the day before. Mike glanced at Kate and shook his head. The center of the ring had a big shiny diamond, not a ruby. It wasn’t Ray’s ring.

  “My father was on an old Giants team that won the World Series,” the man said. “He gave it to me to wear. He played with all the great players. He even played with Willie Mays.”

  “Oh wow,” Kate said. “I love Willie Mays. He was one of the best players of all time. He made that incredible over-the-shoulder catch in the World Series.”

  The cable car jerked to a halt. “Everyone out!” called the conductor. People jumped off the car onto the street.

  The man with the ring stood up. “Willie Mays was amazing,” he said. “If I only had a ball, I could show you what that catch looked like.”

  Mike smiled. He pulled the tennis ball out of his pants pocket.

  “Perfect! Throw me a high one,” the man said. He jumped off the cable car and ran up the street.

  Mr. Hopkins and Kate watched as Mike tossed the ball high into the air. The tennis ball arched over a small tree. The man, still running away, held his hands up in front of him. The ball plopped over his left shoulder, into his upstretched hands!

  Kate, Mike, and Mr. Hopkins clapped. The man turned around to give them a thumbs-up.

  “I’m not Willie Mays, but that wasn’t a bad basket catch!” the man said. He tossed the ball back to Mike, waved, and walked away.

  Kate gasped. “Basket catch!” she said.

  Mike nodded. “Yes, Kate,” he said. “That’s what he just did.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “No, you dope!” she said. “It’s also the name of the boat—Basket Catch!”

  Mike gave Kate a fist bump. “That’s it!” he said. “Good work.”

  Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins wandered through the tourist area of Fisherman’s Wharf, which was filled with gift shops and tour buses. In the background, the bright orange Golden Gate Bridge stretched across San Francisco Bay.

  “I bet Captain Dan’s boat is over there by the water,” Kate said to her dad. “Can we go see?”

  “Sure, let’s meet back here in fifteen minutes,” Mr. Hopkins said. “I want to take some pictures of these colorful shops.”

  Mike and Kate crossed the street and rounded the corner of a big brick building. On the other side was the harbor with a long set of piers lined with boats. “Perfect!” Mike said. “Let’s start looking, cuz.”

  Mike and Kate went up and down each dock, looking for Captain Dan’s boat. Finally, Kate spotted it. Red letters on the stern spelled out Basket Catch. Mike and Kate ran over to it. The boat was empty.

  “Now what?” Mike asked. “Captain Dan isn’t here. We can’t ask him about the ring.”

  Kate looked around. No one was close by. “Give me your ball,” she said.

  “What?” Mike asked.

  “The tennis ball! Quick, throw me your tennis ball,” Kate said.

  Mike pulled the tennis ball out of his sweatshirt pocket and tossed it to Kate. But instead of catching it, she ducked. The ball sailed over her head.

  BWOP! BOING! BWOP!

  It landed in the middle of Captain Dan’s boat! The ball bounced to a stop against the seats.

  “Oh well.” Kate shrugged. “I guess I have to go get it!”

  Kate hopped over the railing. She quickly lifted up the life jackets and the edges of the seats, checking all the nooks. Finally, she spotted a piece of paper wedged into a small space beneath the windshield. She pulled it out.

  “Take a look at this,” Kate called.

  She held up the yellow paper. It read The rock. The ring. 3pm. Cash.

  “Captain Dan must be meeting someone at three o’clock to sell Ray’s ring for cash!” Kate said.

  Mike looked at his phone. “It’s noon now,” he said. “We’ve got time to look a little bit more, as long as Captain Dan doesn’t come back.”

  Mike and Kate checked the rest of the boat for more clues. But nothing else turned up. They stepped back onto the dock.

  “The Rock could mean Ray,” Kate said. “Or it could be where they are meeting!”

  “Well, there’s a rock,” Mike said. He pointed to a small divider in the street. A granite boulder stood next to a flagpole.

  “I don’t know,” Kate said. “That doesn’t seem like a very good meeting place. Let’s keep looking.”

  They scanned the area for other rocks. But there weren’t many. There were plenty of boats, shops, tour buses, and even shrubs. But not a lot of rocks.

  Mike bounced his tennis ball on the ground. “This is crazy,” he said. “We could be looking for days.”

  “You’re right,” Kate said. “But I’ve got an idea.”
/>   Mike followed Kate over to a small white tourist stand near the shops. Kate waited in line until it was her turn to talk to the woman at the window.

  “We’re supposed to meet our friend,” Kate said. “He told us to meet him at a rock around here, but we can’t figure out what he meant. Do you know of any rocks that would make good meeting points?”

  The woman squinted at Kate. “I guess it’s your first trip to San Francisco,” she said. The woman stepped out the side door of the stand. She pointed to a small island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Sunlight gleamed off the windows of an old concrete building.

  “If you’re looking for the rock, it’s right there,” she said.

  Mike and Kate studied her face to see if she was joking. She wasn’t.

  “There’s a famous old prison on Alcatraz Island,” the woman went on. “And a lot of people call the island the Rock. If you’re meeting someone at the Rock, you need to go to Alcatraz!”

  Mike and Kate exchanged glances.

  “You know what this means, Kate,” Mike said. “We’re going to prison!”

  The woman from the tourist stand explained to Kate and Mike that Alcatraz used to be a military base and then a prison. The prison closed in 1963 because it cost too much to run.

  “Only the worst criminals were sent there,” the woman said. “Al Capone, George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly, Alvin ‘Creepy’ Karpis, and lots of others.”

  A big stretch of water sat between the prison island and the shore. Mike knew from yesterday how cold the water was. He shuddered. “Did anyone ever get away?” he asked.

  “Thirty-four people tried to escape. Officials said no one ever did,” the woman said. Then she leaned over and whispered, “But three prisoners broke out in June 1962. They put fake heads in their beds. Then they escaped through holes they had tunneled into the wall with spoons. They were never found. Many people think they died escaping, but I think they made it to Mexico!”

  The woman went on to tell them they could go on a tour of Alcatraz by taking a boat to the island.

  Mr. Hopkins was snapping pictures of a huge group of sea lions on the other side of Fisherman’s Wharf. The sea lions were trying to sun themselves on a series of wooden docks in the bay. But the sun wasn’t cooperating. The day had turned from bright and sunny to chilly and cloudy. Every few seconds, the sea lions made playful barking sounds or mournful growls.

  Kate shivered in her sweatshirt. She hugged her dad to warm up. Then she asked him if they could visit Alcatraz.

  “Great idea!” Kate’s dad said. “I think I’ve taken enough pictures here.” He bought three tickets to the island.

  The tour left at one-thirty, and Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins cruised across the bay in a large tour boat. The looming gray prison buildings drew closer. The city wasn’t far away, but it was definitely out of reach. Seagulls swooped and screamed overhead as the boat pulled up to the dock.

  After Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins stepped off the boat, a park ranger gave the tour group an overview of the island’s history. The whole time, Kate kept fidgeting. Dried leaves skittered by in the wind. It was getting closer and closer to three o’clock.

  “Finally!” she exhaled as the group climbed a hill to the first building. Dark trees towered on their left. At the top of the twisty road was the main prison building. A huge rusty water tower stood guard on the right. Little sprouts of pink flowers bloomed against the rocky island scrub.

  “Here comes the fog!” Mr. Hopkins said. Wisps of white clouds rolled in from the bay. The fog crept down the embankments and made it hard to see very far. “It’s a good thing we didn’t come to take pictures of the view!”

  “What view?” Mike asked.

  Once inside, they walked up a set of metal stairs. Rows of jail cells spread out before them. Grimy orange paint flaked off rusted spots on the thick metal bars.

  Mike, Kate, and Mr. Hopkins wandered from one area to another, walking to the different cells and rooms. Mike and Kate kept an eye out for Captain Dan. Most of the cells were empty, except for chipped toilets and small sinks. Some had a bed that hung from the wall on a chain.

  Around the corner was a different set of cells with big black steel doors. “Those must be the isolation cells,” Kate’s dad said. “That’s where the really bad criminals were kept.”

  Tourists crowded in and out of cells, reading the plaques on the wall. There were families with kids and gray-haired grandmothers. Mike and Kate even saw a Little League baseball team in uniform taking the tour. But no sign of Captain Dan.

  Outside, the fog continued to roll in. Trails of mist floated past Alcatraz’s old windows.

  Finally, fifteen minutes before three o’clock, Mike clutched Kate’s arm and pointed across the hallway. Captain Dan stood near one of the isolation cells.

  Kate tugged her father’s sleeve. “We’ll be back in a minute,” she said. “Mike wants to have another look at a cell over there.”

  Mike and Kate sneaked over to the far wall. As they did, Captain Dan entered the cell. They crept closer to get a better look.

  Captain Dan didn’t see them. He paced the room, checking his watch. Then he pulled something shiny out of his jacket pocket.

  A flash of yellow and red gleamed in the dim afternoon light.

  “It’s Ray’s World Series ring!” Mike said.

  Kate stamped her foot. “We need to do something!” she said. “Otherwise, he’ll sell the ring, and we won’t have any proof!”

  Mike rolled his tennis ball from hand to hand. “Follow me!” he said.

  He stepped into the cell. “Captain Dan?” he said.

  The captain plunged his hands into his pockets and spun around. When he saw Mike and Kate, he raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, hello …,” he said. “Funny to run into you here. Are you seeing all the San Francisco sights?”

  “Kinda,” Kate said. She stared at his jacket pocket.

  Mike’s fingers curled into his fists. He glared at Captain Dan. “Actually,” Mike said, leaning forward, “we’re still looking for Ray’s missing ring.”

  Captain Dan chuckled. “Well, you’re not going to find it here,” he said. “I’m pretty sure it’s at the bottom of the bay. It must have slipped off the old man’s finger when he was treading water in McCovey Cove.”

  “That’s what we thought, too,” Kate said. “Until Mike realized that maybe it didn’t. Maybe it slipped off Ray’s finger and into your hand when you helped him back on the boat!”

  Captain Dan glanced around nervously. “What do you mean?” he asked, looking down at the kids. “You think I took the ring? That’s ridiculous. What would I do with the ring?”

  Kate took a step forward. “Oh please, Captain Dan. I saw the piece of paper you left near the boat’s steering wheel. It looks like you’re going to sell it in about ten minutes,” she said. “Why else would you write ‘The rock. The ring. Three pm’?”

  Captain Dan looked stunned. His eyes hardened, his forehead furrowed, and a sneer crossed his face.

  “You’re lucky no one can see us,” he muttered under his breath. “You kids don’t know what you’re messing with. You need to get out of here and forget all about this. Otherwise, you might end up at the bottom of the bay, like the ring.”

  Without stopping, Captain Dan lunged forward.

  “Look out, Kate!” Mike yelled. He grabbed Kate’s arm and pulled her into the hallway. Captain Dan snatched at empty air. He scowled, steadied himself, and then made another grab for Kate.

  CLANK!

  Mike slammed the heavy metal door of the prison cell shut. He jammed his tennis ball into the track to keep it closed.

  BANG!

  Captain Dan smashed into the cold steel of the door. The door rattled the bars of the cell, but it didn’t budge.

  “LET ME OUT!” Captain Dan bellowed. He pounded on the cell door. “OPEN THE DOOR!”

  The other tourists in the hallway stopped to stare. Kate’s dad hurried over.


  “How did I know you two would be in the middle of all this noise?” he asked.

  Before Mike could answer, he felt a beefy hand clamp down on his shoulder.

  A blue-suited security guard turned Mike around. “You’re not supposed to tamper with these cells,” he said. “They’re federal property!”

  “But you don’t understand,” Mike blurted out. “We’ve captured a criminal! He stole a World Series ring!”

  Captain Dan kept banging on the door. “LET ME OUT!” he hollered.

  Another guard rapped on the cell door with a baton. “Quiet down in there,” he said. “We’ll let you go as soon as we figure out what’s going on.”

  The banging stopped.

  Mike and Kate explained to the guards how Ray’s ring went missing the day before and how they saw Captain Dan with it.

  When they finished, one of the guards went to the office to check out the story. After he returned, the guard confirmed that Ray’s ring was missing. The police had emailed a photo of it.

  “This is what we’re looking for,” he told the other guard, showing him a picture of the ring. The guards had Mike and Kate wait while they opened the cell door.

  Captain Dan came out quietly. “Thanks so much, officers,” he said in a cheerful voice. “We don’t have to bother punishing those kids. I imagine they were only horsing around.”

  Captain Dan started to saunter away.

  “Not so fast, buddy,” the first security guard said. He twisted Captain Dan’s arm behind his back. The second security guard moved the captain against the wall and started frisking him. A few seconds later, he took his hand out of Captain Dan’s jacket pocket.

  The guard held up the World Series ring. The word GIANTS was stamped around the top. In the center gleamed a bright red ruby.

  “I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere now,” the guard said as they handcuffed Captain Dan and led him away.

  Mike bumped Kate. “We’ve got to tell Ray we found his ring!” he said. “Let’s go plan our own escape from Alcatraz!”