"Oh no!" Maggie cried. "Did that van run over our bikes?"
"I don't think so." Cole hurried over to the bikes.
"Here's yours, Maggie," he said, picking it up. "It looks okay."
Henry picked up another bike. "I think they're okay.
It looks like someone just threw them into the street behind the van."
"Oh my!" Mr. Moss looked alarmed. "Are you sure it wasn't an accident?
I can't imagine anyone in Belltown wanting to harm your bikes."
Before becoming a detective, Henry couldn't have imagined it either.
Now he wasn't so sure.
"Did you see anything suspicious while we were inside?" he asked Mr. Moss.
"I'm afraid not," Mr. Moss replied.
"Shortly after you went in, I ran out of paint.
I walked over to Belltown Hardware to buy more."
"Maybe those little kids knocked the bikes over on their way into the Sweet Shop," Cole suggested.
"They seemed awfully excited."
"They might have knocked them down by accident, I guess," Maggie said.
"But how did our bikes end up in the street behind the van?" she asked.
"Never mind."
Henry got on his bike and rode in a circle, testing the steering and brakes.
Everything seemed to be working.
"We should get going," he told Cole and Maggie.
They said good-bye to Mr. Moss and rode toward West Belltown.
"Do you think someone messed with our bikes on purpose?" Cole asked.
"Maybe," Henry said.
"Someone might be trying to send us a message to stop our investigation."
Cole looked skeptical. "That doesn't make sense. Who would want to stop us?
Besides, nobody even knew we were at the Sweet Shop just now!"
"Mr. Tate did," Maggie pointed out.
"Maybe he figured out we were getting suspicious of him and he's trying to frame Mrs. Sweet again!
He could have followed us to town and messed with our bikes while we were in the Sweet Shop.
Patty was too busy with those kids to look outside and notice anything.
We were in the back of the shop, so we wouldn't have seen Mr. Tate."
"And Mr. Moss was getting paint, so he wouldn't have seen Mr. Tate either."
Cole looked skeptical. "Do you really think Mr. Tate did it?"
"I guess it's possible—if he's the one who stole the flavor," Henry said.
"We need to find out."
When they reached the Dessert Den, an electrician's truck was parked outside.
The electrician was inside with Mr. Tate.
"Hi, kids," Mr. Tate said when Cole knocked on the door.
He glanced at the electrician who was working on an overhead light.
"I can't talk right now," he told the kids.
"I have to make sure the lights are ready in time for my grand opening.
Can you come back later?"
"Sure, I guess," Cole said.
"Now what?" Maggie said as the door shut behind them.
They could see some neighborhood kids running around in a lot a short distance away.
"Let's go see if Robby is over there," Cole suggested.
"He's one of our suspects, remember?"
"Where's Robby?" Henry asked the other kids.
Emma shrugged. "He took off on his bike a while ago.
I don't know where he went."
"Have you guys seen the menu inside the Dessert Den?" Maggie blurted out.
"When did Mr. Tate get it?"
A kid shrugged. "I peeked in there once, but I didn't notice a sign."
"When did you peek in?" Maggie asked.
"Was it before or after Monday morning?"
The kid looked surprised. "I don't remember. Why?"
"No reason," Cole said.
"But have any of you noticed Mr. Tate doing anything weird during the past few days?"
"Wait," someone said. "I thought you guys were working for Mr. Tate.
Now it sounds like you're investigating him!"
Emma's face lit up.
"If you're trying to prove Mr. Tate did something wrong, I bet my parents would help you! Robby's too."
"They would? Why?" Henry asked.
"Our parents were upset when they found out about the Dessert Den," Emma said.
"They were getting ready to ask the town council if they could start a community garden in some of the empty lots."
"Really?" Cole said, shooting a look at Henry.
Henry's head was already spinning with thoughts.
Could Emma's news be a clue?
It sounded as if some people in the neighborhood had a motive for harming Mr. Tate's business.
Still, Henry couldn't imagine a bunch of adults stealing an ice-cream flavor.
Especially if they knew it would get nice Mrs. Sweet in trouble.
"Have any of you seen Mrs. Sweet hanging around here lately?" he asked.
Most of the kids shook their heads. But a girl named Hannah smirked.
"Are you kidding?" she said.
"Mrs. Sweet doesn't have time to hang around West Belltown these days.
She's too busy going out on dates with Mr. Moss!"