"Coach?" Frank called out.

Coach Williams turned as they approached. He said as he waved at Joe, "I’m glad you could make it."

"Hi," Joe said.

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Frank asked getting down to business.

"I checked the ball after the explosion, or what was left of it. I think the police thought it may not have been anything important, but I think it may have been tampered with."

"How do you know?"

Coach Williams opened a bag by his feet and reached in. He pulled out what was left of the ball and handed it to Frank, who looked at it and saw the outer shell was gone and that the inner shell was broken open. He noticed some residue on the inner shell. He had a feeling the residue was leftover explosive.

Frank looked back at the Coach. "How did you end up with this?"

"Like I said, the police left it. They probably thought it was an old ball. But that’s not all I found." He reached into the bag again.

Frank handed the ball to Joe as he watched the Coach pull out three more balls.

"These were with the ones Joe hit," Coach Williams said. "Their weight is different from the regulation balls."

Frank took one and recognized the difference. "Where did you get these?"

"They were at the bench. I figured they had been brought out with the equipment."

"Who brought out the equipment?"

"I’m not sure. I told a couple people to bring the gear out when I was on the phone with the principal. Anyone could’ve brought it out."

"This is not good," Frank admitted. He glanced at Joe and saw he was staring off into the distance. He returned his gaze to Coach Williams. "People could’ve been seriously hurt."

"I agree. The person who left these balls needs to be caught."

"I know." Frank looked at the baseballs. "No one else needs to get hurt." He looked back at the coach. "Did you see anyone at the bench who shouldn’t have been there?"

"I wasn’t paying attention. I was watching practice. Do you have any idea who would do this to the team?"

"No, but I plan to find out."

"I hope you do."

"Coach, have you told any of this to the police?"

"I talked to them the day of the explosion, but they didn’t seem too concerned. I figured you two would be investigating and would get this solved faster than them."

"We’re going to try," Frank said.

Coach Williams stood up. "I need to go. I need to get to my son’s baseball game."

"No problem," Frank said. "I’ll see you at practice on Monday."

"I’ll see you then," Coach Williams said. He grabbed the bag and left.

Frank looked at the baseballs in his hands. He was wondering who would tamper with them. He couldn‘t make sense of it.

"What’s going on?" Frank asked.

Frank looked at Joe and realized he forgot Joe was there. He pulled a notebook out of his pocket and wrote the basics of the conversation with Coach Williams. He hoped Joe understood.

"The person needs to be caught."

"Any idea?" Frank wrote.

"No, but we’ll have something soon."

"Hope so," Frank wrote. "Time to check with Matt. He may have clue."

"Wouldn’t hurt."

Frank grabbed the baseballs and they headed to the van. Frank put them in the back in his gym bag and then drove to Matt and Melissa’s. After parking at the curb, the made their way to the front door. Frank rang the bell and hoped they would get the lead they needed to solve this case.

A moment later, the door was opened by Melissa. She smiled. "This is a surprise."

"Hi, Melissa," Frank said. "I was wondering if we could talk."

"Come on in." Melissa ushered them in then closed the door behind Joe. She looked at Joe. "How are you doing?"

Joe creased his forehead and Frank wrote what she said. Joe replied, "Okay."

Melissa looked at Frank. "So, what’s up?"

"I was hoping to talk to Matt."

"He’s not here right now.

"Well, maybe you could help us."

"I’ll try."

"Did Matt say anything about the incident involving the football players?"

"Matt was shocked. He wanted to find the person responsible."

"I know he likes mysteries as much as we do, but did he find anything?"

"I don’t know."

"Do you have any idea why the incidents are occurring?"

"I’m just as surprised as everyone else. I don’t know who would want to hurt others."

"Whoever it is may be after certain groups of students."

"But why?" Melissa asked. "What’s so special about these students?"

"The only connection we thought of was that everyone is involved in athletics."

"I don’t see a reason," Melissa said.

"It’s just a theory at this point."

"I just can’t believe it."

Frank looked at Melissa. She seemed genuinely concerned. He wondered if he missed something at the party and that was the reason for the incidents had occurred the day after the party.

"Melissa, did anything unusual occur at the party?"

"Besides Rachel making a fool of herself? No. Everything was fine."

Frank realized this wasn’t much help. "Thanks for talking with us."

"I hope I was some help."

"You were," Frank said, but didn’t think so.

"I’ll have Matt call you when he gets back."

"Thanks," Frank said.

He and Joe left the house. As they approached the van, Joe asked, "Any luck?"

Frank shook his head and pulled out the notepad. He wrote, "Let’s head home."

"Fine by me."

They got in the van and Frank started the engine. They drove off. As they traveled, Frank wondered why this case was so difficult. Someone is responsible, he thought. We need to find that person. There are so many people who could’ve been killed. We need to stop this before anyone else gets hurt.

Frank drove along Shore Road. He wished they had a lead. He knew they would be closer to solving it if they did. He came to the twist and turn part of the road and his thoughts kept going. He had a feeling trouble was brewing and wished he could shake the feeling.

"Slow down," Joe said getting Frank’s attention.

Frank looked at the speedometer and saw the van was speeding up. He took his foot off the gas pedal and pressed down on the brake. It went right to the floor. The van wasn’t slowing down.

He glanced at Joe and saw he had on his seatbelt. He looked back at the road. It was curving more. He knew he needed to stop the van. Their lives depended on it. Up ahead, he saw and old access road to the beach. A wooden barrier blocked the road. He knew this was their only chance. He aimed the van toward the road.

"What are you doing?" Joe asked.

Frank focused on the road. A moment later, the van hit the barrier sending wood flying. The van bumped along the road as it headed for the beach. He held the wheel tight. The beach was coming closer. He knew he just had to hold on. The van hit the beach.