The Astro Outlaw (5 page)

The main hallway was busy with people. “I’m glad we ate earlier,” Mike said. “Check out those lines.”

He and Kate passed souvenir stands with racks of baseballs, red Astros hats, key chains, and packs of baseball cards.

“Hey, before we see Commander Rice, can we take a look at the gas pump?” Mike asked. “I want to see how many home runs the Astros have hit.”

“Okay,” Kate said. “He’s probably busy during the seventh-inning stretch anyway.”

The sounds of the crowd singing along with the organ music drifted through the stadium.

“It’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out, at the old ball gaaaaaaaame.…”

Up ahead, the hallway widened. To the left were the main entrance and the table where Commander Rice sat, signing autographs. To the right was the train display. From there, a hallway ran along the outfield.

In the background, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” changed into another song. Kate stopped and listened. It wasn’t the baseball anthem anymore, but she’d heard the melody before. Everyone knew the words.

Bum-bum-bummmm. Bum-bum-bummmm. “The stars at night are big and bright.” CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP
.

Then it hit her. She knew the name of the song!

“Mike!” Kate called out. “Wait up!”

Mike was already down the hall at the gas pump. Kate sprinted to catch up with him. When she did, he was circling the largest gas pump that Kate had ever seen. The pump was about thirteen feet tall and painted bright white. The words
HOME RUN PUMP
were written in red on the sides. Red numbers counted up the home run total.

“It’s huge!” he said. “Usually gas pumps show how many gallons of gas are sold. But this one shows how many home runs the Astros hit since they built this park! Pretty cool!”

“I know something even cooler,” Kate said. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the overhang. “Listen! Listen to the song that’s playing!”

“The prairie sky is wide and high”—CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP—“deep in the heart of Texas.”

Mike had a puzzled look on his face. “So? They play both ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ and ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’ for the seventh-inning stretch.”

“Don’t you see?” Kate said to Mike. “It’s what Commander Rice heard the thieves saying!”

Mike’s frown vanished. “They said they were meeting at a gas station near the hill, deep in the heart of Texas!” he said.

“Exactly,” Kate whispered. She nodded at the gas pump. “They’re meeting at a gas station.” She turned Mike around so he was facing the flagpole in the outfield. “By a hill.” She pointed to Tal’s Hill, the grassy slope in the outfield. “Get it?”

“So the hill isn’t deep in the middle of Texas after all,” Mike said.

“No,” Kate said. “It’s right here. That wasn’t
where
they were meeting. It was
when
they were meeting.”

Mike’s eyes grew wide. “That means they might be meeting right now, right here!”

Kate nodded. “Quick! Let’s hide somewhere and watch.” She dragged Mike to a tall pillar across the hallway. From behind it, they could see everyone near the pump.

The song ended. The Rockies ran out to take the field. The Astros’ first batter warmed up on the field. The people near the gas pump didn’t look suspicious. Most of them stopped by the railing and looked down at the baseball diamond. A family with three small boys, an old man, and two women walked by. None of them seemed like thieves.

After a few minutes, Mike started to get antsy. “Maybe we missed them,” he said. “The game’s starting again.”

“Let’s stay a little while longer,” Kate said. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “What about them?”

Kate pointed to a man and a woman next to the gas pump. The woman held a plastic shopping bag. Something heavy sat at the bottom. The man kept checking his watch and glancing toward the main exit.

“Maybe the moon rock is in that bag!” Kate said.

A small boy ran up to them. The woman reached into the bag. She pulled out a bright white baseball and gave it to him. The boy’s face lit up, and he hugged the woman. The three walked off together.

“Or maybe not,” Mike said. “This is a bust.”

“Wait—look at that,” Kate said. A businessman holding a leather briefcase stood to the right of the gas pump. He was talking with a shorter man wearing a suit.

“That could be him. He might have the rock in that briefcase,” Kate said. “But we’ve got to see who he’s talking to.”

Just then, a bunch of teenagers crowded onto the porch near the gas pump. The men looked over their shoulders at them and shifted closer to where Mike and Kate were hiding. As they did, a third person came into view. He wore a black straw cowboy hat, jeans, a jacket, and shiny black boots.

“Shoot,” Mike said. “That’s just Tex Rayburn from Fat Hats.”

Kate clutched his arm. “Holy Toledo!” she gasped.

After a moment, Mike spotted what Kate
was talking about. His jaw dropped open.

Tucked into Tex’s hatband were three green feathers. The one in the middle was broken neatly in half!

Mike caught his breath. “Tex Rayburn is the thief?” he asked. “But he’s so nice!”

“It all fits together,” Kate said. She ticked off the facts. “He knew about the moon rock. He was at the party with Commander Rice. And the feather we found matches the one on his hat! I like him, too, but I’m sure he’s the Astro Outlaw!”

Over by the gas pump, Tex and his partner were still talking to the businessman. The man flipped the briefcase open for a second.
Tex smiled. Then Tex held open the pocket of his jacket to show the man something. The man nodded.

“I’ll bet he’s got the moon rock in his jacket pocket!” Kate said. “But what’s in the briefcase?”

“Money,” Mike said. “Didn’t you see the way Tex smiled when the man opened it? It’s probably full of money to pay for the moon rock!”

“We’ve got to stop them,” Kate said. “There’s no time to lose!”

Blending in with the people passing by, Mike and Kate raced down the corridor. Near the main entrance, they spied Commander Rice signing autographs. Kate and Mike ran to the head of the line. Kate cut in front of a tall man wearing a red and gold Astros jersey.

Commander Rice looked surprised to see them. He was just about to say something when the tall man spoke up.

“Hey, the end of the line is back there, darlin’,” the man said. He pointed behind him. “Y’all need to wait your turn.”

“I’m sorry,” Kate said. “But it’s an emergency!” She looked Commander Rice in the eyes. “We’ve found the moon rock! You’ve got to come to the gas pump right now. Before they get away!”

Commander Rice slid back his chair. “I’ll be right back,” he said to the line of people waiting for autographs. He placed his left hand on the table and jumped over it in one move. Then he called to Luis, the security guard, “Can you radio for help at the gas pump?”

Luis nodded and picked up his walkie-talkie.

As they ran down the hallway, Kate told Commander Rice about the meeting at the pump.

When they were almost there, Kate spied two policemen walking toward them from the other end of the hallway. Over near the gas pump, Tex was shaking hands with the man holding the briefcase. A few fans nearby were leaning over the railing, watching the game.

Tex started to pull something out of his jacket pocket. But then he spied the policemen coming from the other direction. He instantly turned around, took off his hat, and mopped
his brow. Without saying a word to his partner, Tex put his hat on and headed for the exit at a fast pace.

Tex walked right past Mike, Kate, and Commander Rice. When he passed, Commander Rice said, “Mr. Rayburn! Stop! We need to ask you a few questions!”

Tex took off running.

“He’s headed for the exit!” Commander Rice shouted to the police officers. “Stop him!”

Fans moved out of the way as Tex ran down the hall. The two policemen followed closely. The sound of running feet echoed on the tiled floor.

Just as Tex was about to reach the main entrance, he slipped and crashed into the train display. His body slammed against the big box of coal, and he spun off into the center of the hallway. Tex twirled around twice. He lost
his balance and then fell to the floor. His head knocked against the hard tile with a
thud
.

Seconds later, the police reached Tex. He was sprawled on the ground. A crowd of people gathered around them.

“He’s hurt!” Kate said.

“Nah, I’ll bet he’s just faking it,” Mike said.

The police held everyone back. Then Tex moved.

“See? He’s okay,” Mike said.

With the help of the police, Tex sat up, holding the side of his head. Two paramedics
arrived. They put Tex on a stretcher and carried him away. The policemen and Commander Rice led the man with the briefcase and Tex’s partner into a nearby office. Soon after, the crowd drifted off. Kate texted her father to let him know where they were. Just as Mike and Kate were about to go back to their seats, they heard their names.

“Kate, Mike!” Commander Rice called out. He was standing near the train display that Tex had crashed into. “You were right about the feather!”