"You think that mystery man wants to kidnap William?"
Henry wasn't so sure about Cole's idea.
"That kind of thing doesn't happen in Belltown."
"Daisy said William's family is rich," Cole said.
"Or maybe the mystery man is mad about something William's dad did as a senator.
And that's why he wants to kidnap William!"
Maggie looked excited. "This could be our biggest case yet!"
"But what does kidnapping have to do with slashing tires?" Henry asked.
"Maybe the mystery man was trying to distract everyone so he'd have a chance to nab William," said Cole.
"Maybe." Henry thought for a second. Then he shook his head.
"I'm still not sure I believe any of this.
But Maggie is right about one thing.
This case is much more serious than our usual cases.
We should warn William right away. Then we need to tell Ms. Hernandez."
Cole nodded. "Let's go find William."
The Lemonade Detectives wandered through the crowd, but William was nowhere to be seen.
Finally Maggie spotted him. He'd wandered off by himself into the woods.
They jogged toward him.
William saw them coming. "Oh, it's you," he said uneasily.
"Did you come to knock over my bag again?"
"No, we came to warn you that someone might be trying to kidnap you," Cole said.
"Have you noticed that stranger with the dark glasses?"
"He's been following you!" Maggie added.
"We're afraid he wants to kidnap you for ransom."
For a second William just stared at them. Then he started laughing.
Henry was confused. That definitely wasn't the reaction he was expecting!
"What's so funny?" he asked.
William kept laughing. Then he turned and walked away.
"Hold on a minute!" Maggie stomped after him.
"We're trying to help you! The least you can do is tell us what's so funny!"
"Okay." William finally stopped laughing. "You don't have to worry.
That guy isn't trying to kidnap me."
"How do you know?" Henry asked.
For a second he thought William was going to walk away again.
Then Maggie poked William in the shoulder. "Tell us!" she ordered.
"While you're at it, tell us why you're here," Cole added.
"We know you didn't want to come on this ride."
William frowned. "I did want to come," he said.
"Well, I wanted to come at first.
I thought it would be a good way to meet people since I'm new around here."
Henry nodded. "That makes sense.
But you don't look like you're having much fun."
"That's because of Chuck," William said.
"Who's Chuck?" Maggie asked.
"The guy with the dark glasses." William hesitated. "He's my . . ."
"Your what?" Maggie prompted him.
William sighed. "My bodyguard."
"What?" Cole exclaimed.
"My parents made him come with me," William said.
"We're new here so they weren't sure if the trail ride was safe for me.
I didn't want everyone to think I was some weird rich kid with a bodyguard.
So I decided not to come at all.
But then my parents wouldn't let me back out." He shrugged.
"Chuck promised he'd try to blend in with the other riders.
But it didn't really work."
Maggie giggled. "Yeah. He sort of stands out in the crowd."
That made the others laugh too. Even William smiled.
Now Henry understood why Chuck had lied to them about being a reporter.
He'd been trying to protect William.
William suddenly looked nervous. "Are you guys going to tell everyone?"
"No way," Cole said. "Your secret's safe with us."
Maggie nodded. "You can trust us. We're professionals."
"Professional what?" William asked.
"Detectives," Henry said.
"Which reminds me—we have to hurry if we want to solve this case!"
"What case? We have no suspects!" Maggie reminded him.
"Maybe we can interview everyone again," Cole said.
"Someone must have seen something suspicious!"
"What about those two kids who keep sneaking into the woods together?" William asked.
"That seems kind of suspicious."
"What two kids?" Henry asked.
William shrugged. "I don't know who they are.
Some teenage guy and girl wearing school T-shirts."
"Hi, guys," Nathan said, walking over. "What's going on?"
"We were just talking to William," Henry said. "William, this is Nathan."
"Hi." Nathan was friendly to everyone. "Are you new in Belltown?"
Henry left the two of them chatting and dragged his friends aside.
"Who do you think William saw sneaking around?" he said.
"Did we miss some suspects?"
"Maybe." Maggie shrugged.
"But it was probably just high school kids sneaking away to kiss."
Just then Henry heard the sound of rustling leaves deeper in the woods.
Cole heard it too. "What's that? A deer or something?"
Henry saw a flash of bright red and gold through the trees.
"No, it's a Valley High person—or people.
Come on. This could be our last chance!"