"What do you mean, someone dumped frogs in the pool?" Maggie asked.
"I mean just what I said," Cole replied.
"All the swimmers were helping the coach carry some stuff to the pool from his car.
When we got to the pool, we saw the frogs.
About twelve of them were swimming around."
"Are you sure the frogs didn't hop into the pool by themselves?" Henry asked.
Cole nodded. "I'm sure. These aren't the kind of frogs you see around here."
"Okay. If you say so," Maggie said with a shrug. "You're the frog expert."
"That's the problem!" Cole looked more worried than ever.
"A few of the other swimmers know I like frogs.
That's why they think I did it.
But I would never throw a bunch of frogs into pool water.
It's not healthy for them."
"Why not?" Maggie asked. "I thought frogs liked water."
"They do," Cole said. "But pool water has chlorine in it.
That can be bad for them."
"Did you tell everyone that?" Henry asked.
"Yes, but most of them still think I did it," Cole said.
"I need The Lemonade Detectives to help me clear my name!"
"We're on the case!" said Maggie.
Henry and Maggie closed down the lemonade stand.
Then they walked to the pool with Cole.
When they arrived, a bunch of kids were in the pool with nets, still chasing the frogs.
Someone had put buckets of fresh water near the edge of the pool.
Whenever the swimmers caught a frog, they put it into a bucket.
"Are the frogs okay?" Cole called, rushing over and looking into the buckets.
"Do any of them look sick?"
A girl named Daisy looked at him.
She was two years ahead of Henry and Cole in school.
"I think we got them out fast enough," she said.
An older kid named John gave Cole a dirty look.
"Yeah. No thanks to you, frog boy!" he said.
Coach Phillips stepped forward.
He was a cheerful man, who was almost always smiling.
But Henry could see that he wasn't smiling now.
"That's enough," the swim coach told John.
"Everyone is innocent until proven guilty."
"Okay, Coach." John shrugged.
"But everyone knows who the frog lover is around here."
A couple of kids nodded.
Others stared at Cole suspiciously or looked confused.
"Uh-oh," Henry whispered to Maggie. "Cole was right.
He's the main suspect! We'd better start investigating!"
"How are we supposed to figure out who put the frogs in the pool?" Maggie asked.
"We can't check the frogs for fingerprints!"
"Good point," Henry said with a grin.
"But we can split up and start talking to people.
Maybe someone saw what really happened."
"Okay," Maggie said. "I'll go question Daisy."
She walked away. Henry looked around.
Belltown was pretty small, so he knew almost everyone at the pool.
A kid who lived across the street from him was standing in the water.
His name was Arnold, but everyone called him Tiny.
The nickname was a joke because Tiny was the tallest kid in the tenth grade.
"Hi, Tiny," Henry said, walking over.
"Hi, Henry," Tiny said. "Did you come to help us catch these frogs?"
Henry smiled. "Sorry, I just came to watch the tryouts.
So I don't have my swimsuit on."
"That's okay." Tiny looked around the pool.
"I think we got most of them already."
Henry looked around too. He saw two frogs still swimming around.
The rest were already in the buckets.
"Is everyone here trying out for the team?" he asked Tiny.
"Not exactly." Tiny shrugged.
"There are only six spots on the team, and five of them are already taken.
I've been on the team all summer, so I have one of the spots.
The Farley twins, Mary Martinez, and John Miller are already on the team too."
Just then Henry saw a frog swim past. "There's one!" he cried.
Tiny swam after the frog.
He chased it halfway to the other end and finally caught it.
Henry carried a bucket closer. Tiny swam over to him.
"How many people are trying out for the last spot on the team?"
Henry asked as Tiny put the frog in the bucket.
"Four," Tiny said. "Your friend Cole and three other people."
"Wow," Henry said. "Four swimmers trying out for one spot.
That's a lot of competition."
"If you ask me, Cole is the best swimmer of the four," Tiny said.
"He'll probably get the spot."
Just then a young girl walked past.
She was one of the few kids that Henry didn't recognize.
She stopped when she heard what Tiny had just said.
"Don't be so sure!" the girl said, glaring at Tiny.
"Cole definitely won't be getting a spot on the team if I have anything to say about it!"