The Lemonade Detectives looked at Hannah in surprise.
"Mrs. Sweet is dating Mr. Moss?" Maggie said.
Hannah giggled. "My mom works at a fancy restaurant on Baker Street.
She says Mr. Moss and Mrs. Sweet have been there a lot recently."
Henry was surprised by Hannah's news. Was it a clue?
By now it was late afternoon.
He looked over at the Dessert Den, and saw that the electrician's truck was still there.
So they still couldn't talk to Mr. Tate.
"Did you know that Mrs. Sweet and Mr. Moss were dating?"
Henry asked his friends as they wandered toward their bikes.
"Nope. Mr. Moss usually spreads around all the town gossip," Cole said with a smile.
"I guess he doesn't like to gossip about himself though!"
"Maybe Mr. Moss pushed over our bikes because he knew we were investigating his girlfriend," said Maggie.
"Maybe," Henry said. "But Mr. Moss is just as nice as Mrs. Sweet.
I can't believe he'd do something like that and then lie about it to us."
"Me neither." Cole gulped.
"Not unless he knows Mrs. Sweet is guilty, that is."
"I have an idea," Henry said. "Let's go talk to my dad."
Maggie groaned. "You want to ride back to town again?" she said.
"Anyway, I thought you didn't want your dad to investigate Mrs. Sweet."
"He's written a few stories about West Belltown," Henry reminded her.
"He might know something useful."
They rode to the newspaper office.
Henry's dad was in the reception area shuffling through some papers.
"Hello, kids!" he greeted them with a smile. "What brings you here?"
"We're working on a tough case," Henry said.
"We were hoping we could talk to you about it."
"Sure." Henry's dad checked his watch.
"I have to go to a meeting in a few minutes. But we can talk until then."
He led the way to his office.
After he closed the door, Henry and his friends told him all about the mystery.
"Wow," Henry's dad said when they finished. "That's quite a story."
"You can't tell anyone, Uncle Kevin," Maggie said.
"We don't want to ruin Mrs. Sweet's reputation."
Henry's dad smiled. "I can keep a secret.
But I'm sure the flavor theft is just some kind of misunderstanding."
"I hope so," Henry said. "But how can we prove it?
Do you have any information that could help us crack the case?"
"I'm afraid not," his father said.
"But it sounds like you still have a few clues to investigate.
Like the timing of the two signs, for instance."
"Yeah." Cole bit his lip.
"But what if we find out Mr. Tate had the flavor on his sign first?
That means Mrs. Sweet is the culprit."
Henry's dad shrugged.
"Being a good detective, or a good reporter, means looking for the truth.
You have to dig up all the facts, even if they lead to an answer you don't like."
There was a knock on the door. "Time for the meeting, Kevin," a woman called.
"Thanks." Henry's dad stood.
"Sorry, kids. I have to go. We can talk more later if you like."
"Okay. Thanks, Dad."
As Henry and his friends left the building, someone stepped toward them.
It was Robby.
"Hi," Cole greeted him. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you guys." Robby looked miserable. "I need to apologize."
"What for?" asked Maggie.
"For knocking over your bikes earlier," Robby said.
"That was you?" Cole exclaimed. "Why'd you do it?"
"I knew you were working for Mr. Tate," Robby said.
"I'm mad at him because he ruined my parents' plans for a community garden.
That's why I followed you to the Sweet Shop and knocked over your bikes."
He sighed. "But when I told my dad what I did, he made me promise to find you and apologize. So I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Henry said. "Are your parents mad at Mr. Tate too?"
"I thought they were, but Dad says he's glad our neighborhood is getting some new businesses."
Robby shrugged. "Maybe I am too.
It might be cool to have a dessert place a few blocks from home."
Robby said good-bye and moved on.
"I guess that solves one mystery," Cole said.
"Yeah. But it doesn't help with identifying the flavor thief," Henry said.
"Or with clearing Mrs. Sweet's name."
"I know how to do that," Maggie said.
"We need to talk to Mr. Tate about that sign!"
This time it was Cole who groaned. "It's getting late," he said.
"Plus, Nathan's still selling lemonade for us.
Do we really have to ride to West Belltown again?"
"Yes!" Maggie insisted. "Come on!"
She hopped on her bike and rode down the street.
But suddenly she stopped short.
"What is it?" Henry asked as he caught up.
"Look!" Maggie pointed to Mrs. Sweet's flavor board.
"Bubble gum banana swirl is gone!"