The Potato Chip Puzzles_ The Puzzling World of Winston Breen - Eric Berlin [57]
Winston knew what this was. He looked at the rest of his team, and they’d all figured it out, too. The smart money was that the cheater had pulled another stunt.
Mr. Garvey walked over. “What happened here? Are you okay?” he said.
The teacher looked up. “You’re part of the contest, right?” the Kennedy teacher asked. Mr. Garvey nodded. “Well, we’re having a little problem here. It seems this young lady lost the computer we were given.”
“I didn’t! I’m sorry!” the girl cried. “I think someone stole it. I think someone picked my pocket!”
“Ridiculous,” said John Curran. His arms were crossed indignantly. “Who would steal it? How would they steal it? You think one of these other kids is a professional pickpocket? You lost it! You ruined this whole contest!”
“Actually,” Mr. Garvey said sadly, “it might not be as ridiculous as you think.” He explained about the cheater and the other things he had done.
Beyond that, however, there was nothing they could do to help the Kennedy team. The girl, Nicole, had kept the mini computer in a pocket of her backpack. After they’d solved the prison puzzle, Nicole had reached for the computer so they could submit their answer . . . and discovered the pocket unzipped and empty. They had looked all around them and then they ran back to the car to see if maybe it had dropped out there. Nothing. It was gone, and the Kennedy team, which had been fighting for the lead, was ruined.
“This cheater stole something while standing in front of a police station,” Mr. Garvey said as they pulled out of the parking lot. “This guy doesn’t give up.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
IT WAS GOOD TO BE HOME. The Glenville town green, a quick bicycle ride away from Winston’s house, was the site of the fifth puzzle. It was a large expanse of lawn with the town hall on one end and the library at the other. Park benches, the rich green grass, and a nearby row of small shops attracted people on every sunny day, and today was no exception.
Dmitri Simon had trained them by now to expect the unexpected—after the Ferris wheel and that crazy prison, Winston would not have been surprised to see a parade of camels and elephants on the town green. So they were brought up short when they didn’t immediately see anything that resembled a puzzle—no grand spectacle, no chaotic and strange element dropped onto the green for passersby to gawk at. There were a lot of people walking, enjoying the day, and that was it.
Mr. Garvey kept looking around. “Is this the right place?” he said. “Are you sure?”
“The computer said the town green in Glenville,” said Jake.
“This is Glenville,” Mal declared. “This is the town green.”
“Look,” Jake said. “There’s the Lincoln team.”
It was true. Lincoln Junior High was walking along the green as a group. Where were they going? As Winston watched, they approached a girl wearing a bright yellow T-shirt. They talked with her for a minute, and then the girl handed them something. The Lincoln kids looked at it and fell into an intense discussion while the girl wandered away.
“Hmm,” said Mr. Garvey.
Now that Winston looked around a little more closely, he saw a lot of people on the green wearing brightly colored T-shirts. There were a dozen or more of them, in a vibrant rainbow of colors. A young man wearing a loud purple shirt walked in their direction—and as he got closer, Winston saw the words “Simon’s Snack Foods.” Aha.
The young man, wandering aimlessly, pivoted on one heel and sauntered back in the other direction. On the back of his shirt was a picture. Winston strained his eyes to make it out. It was . . .
“An egg?” he said. “That guy has an egg on the back of his shirt.”
“You’d think it would be a potato,” said Mal.
“Why a potato?” Winston asked.
“He works for a potato chip company. Duh.”
“Look over there,” said