Baseball and Bad Guys

I thought having to throw out the first pitch of the minor league championship was my biggest worry, but sabotage may have cost the Tampa Tigers a victory.

The only one who saw the crime take place? Their mascot, Timmy. A real tiger.

When Persephone and I are called in to solve the case, things get complicated in a hurry. Timmy thinks Persephone is his long-lost kitten, and a team superfan is competing with me to find the culprit.

I’m learning more about baseball than I ever bargained for, and Persephone and I will have to work fast to save the careers of the legendary players involved…as well as my own.

Hi, my name’s Addie Dawson, and I need to teach my famous talking cat how to throw a baseball.
Like, right this very minute.
I wished I had the luxury of time, and maybe a little privacy, but in my defense, I misunderstood the invitation. I thought the Fizztown Poppers only planned to honor Persephone and I before the game started. Henry explained what they really meant on the way there.
They wanted Persephone to throw out the first pitch.
My argument that it was impossible was irrelevant—after all, Persephone could talk to me, and she’d helped me solve multiple crimes. She had a massive following online, and as Henry also explained, her demographics heavily crossed over with people who were likely to go see the Fizztown Poppers play the Tampa Bay Tigers in the game that would decide the Minor League Championship.
The kids in the stands went absolutely wild when we stepped onto the field. The Fizztown mascot, Popper the Puppy, trotted over to meet us at the pitcher’s mound. He was an adorable dalmatian pup carrying a baseball in his mouth.
“This is so embarrassing,” Persephone grumbled as we took our place on the dirt hill, right in the middle of the stadium. “All these people are here to see me, and I’m wearing the harness.”
“If they’ve seen you online they’ve already seen the harness.” My teeth were clenched, and I held my best first pitch smile as long as I could.
Popper the Puppy dropped the baseball. I stared at it just long enough to make it weird before I put Persephone down. I wasn’t any stranger to balls covered in dog slob, so that wasn’t the reason for my hesitation.
The catcher squatted behind home plate, which was approximately a mile away. How did it look so close on TV?
“Spy Kitty! Spy Kitty!” the crowd chanted. My vision tunneled.
I had to throw this ball before I passed out.
I put all I had into it, but it landed much closer to me than the pitcher.
Awkward.
The crowd didn’t exactly boo—it was an ooh. At least, that’s what I planned to tell myself for the rest of my life.
Persephone tugged on the leash, eager to get out of the spotlight. My cheeks burned as I waved to the crowd, escorted off the field by my cat.
I took a moment to breathe in the walkway before I joined my friends in the VIP suite we’d been gifted for the night.
Because even more awkward than that throw and the fact that Casey, our social media manager, captured it live for all of Persephone’s followers who couldn’t make it to Fizztown, was the fact that Henry and I had not talked about that kiss he’d attempted when I returned from our last case.
He greeted me at the door, grinning with what I hoped was pride and not pity. “That was amazing.”
“It was something, all right.”
Every time I thought Henry couldn’t get more adorable, he proved me wrong. Tonight, he wore a Fizztown Poppers jersey untucked over jeans, and some unruly curls stuck out beneath a baseball hat.
“You should’ve given the ball to Persephone. She could’ve pushed it with her nose.” Brooke was sitting on one of the seats in front of the window, next to her boyfriend Jason and their pittie Barkley, who Jason had registered as his service dog. Barkley was a Helping Paws success story, and if I could’ve gone back in time, I would’ve sent them out for the pitch.
“Oh, that would’ve been adorable,” Casey said. “Maybe we can reenact that for social media.”
“I panicked. Everything happened so fast, and I thought I’d throw…. Let’s just watch the game.”
“It was amazing to see you out there.” Henry took the seat beside me. He was so in his element. His eyes were mostly glued to the game, but he snuck a few glances at me. It wasn’t lost on me that he’d probably envisioned himself on the pitcher’s mound, throwing out the first pitch much more successfully than I had.
“I wish you could’ve come with me.”
“Next time.” He grinned. “When it’s the Major League World Series.”
“Oooh, Addie, do you think you can score tickets? Maybe more box seats?” Casey waggled her brows.
“Henry has season tickets.”
A knock on the door saved me from extending my fifteen minutes of baseball fame. I definitely did not need to relive my time on the mound.
The room gasped when someone in a Tampa Bay Tigers uniform walked in. This suite was all Poppers, all the time. I had to admit, the Tigers’ outfits were much cooler than the ones the Fizztown Poppers wore. They had tiger stripes on the sleeves and down the side of their pants.
“What’s he doing here?” Brooke asked. “Is he trying to convince us to root for the other team?”
“I was hoping to talk to Ms. Dawson.” A blush crept up the man’s unshaven face.
I rose from my chair. “I’m Addie.”
I wasn’t sure how anyone in the stadium wouldn’t know me after that spectacle, but the fact that he didn’t gave me hope that pitch wouldn’t become the internet’s newest meme.
“I’m Lefty Briggs,” he said as he offered me his hand.
“One of the greatest shortstops of all time. Loved watching you play,” Henry added. Lefty shook his hand too. Okay, all the embarrassment was worth it if Henry got to meet one of his idols.
“Thanks. Now I’m the training manager for the Tigers. I work with the new guys as they get acclimated with the league and help some of the more established guys with their rehab after injuries. I’m glad an old guy like me still gets to be a part of the league.”
“You’re not old.” He looked like he was in his forties. “Are you sure you’re looking for me? As you could probably tell from that pitch, I don’t know much about baseball.”
“Yes, I’m definitely looking for you.” Lefty had a kind smile, and as legendary Henry claimed he was in his former job, I had a feeling he was even more amazing in his new position. “We had an incident at the Tiger Pen—that’s our park—and you and Spy Kitty might have some insight that will help us find who did it.”