Page 54 of Twin Jeopardy

Elisabeth cupped her hands around her mouth. “Go, Mitch!” she shouted.

Mitch waved back at her, then turned and fired the third ball toward the target. It glanced off the edge, but without enough force to trip the trigger. The crowd groaned.

“Let me have a try!” Elisabeth called, and waved her hand.

Applause greeted her arrival. To the delight of the crowd, she dusted off the ball with her shirt, then leaned forward like a pitcher waiting for a sign. Then she straightened and let the ball fly. It landed harmlessly in the grass, just shy of the target.

“Put a little more behind it this time,” Shane advised, and handed her a second ball.

This one struck to the left of the target. Vince clapped his hands together. “You can do better than that!” he shouted.

Elisabeth glared at him and accepted the third ball. This time she stared not at the target, but at Vince, until he looked away. She wound up, then let the ball fly. It hit the center of the target, and Vince went down with a shout. The crowd roared its approval.

“Way to go, babe,” Mitch said as Elisabeth rejoined him. He hugged her close. She accepted congratulations from those around her.

“That was fun,” she said. “What should we do now?”

“I don’t know,” Mitch said. “Do you want—”

But before he could finish the sentence, Elisabeth was moving away. “I just saw someone I need to talk to,” she called over her shoulder, and was gone.

“What was that about?” Tammy asked.

“I don’t know.” Mitch stared after her. She was weaving through the crowd, already a quarter of the way across the park. “I’d better go after her,” he said, and left.

“It’s Tammy, isn’t it?” An older couple squeezed in beside her. The woman smiled. “I’m Vince’s mom. I thought I recognized you from your picture in the paper.”

“It’s good to meet you.” She nodded to Mr. Shepherd.

“Have you been here long?” Mrs. Shepherd asked.

“Long enough to see Vince get dunked twice,” Tammy said.

“Us too.” Mr. Shepherd smiled, fine lines deepening at the corners of his eyes. “He looks like he’s having fun up there.”

A loud creak and a cheer from the crowd signaled that Vince had once again been dunked. “Three strikes and you’re out,” Shane announced. “Give us a few minutes, folks, and we’ll have your next victim—I mean, volunteer—up.”

He handed Vince a towel as he emerged from the tank. “Let’s go see if he’s ready for lunch,” Mrs. Shepherd said.

The three of them met Vince as he was pulling on a T-shirt. “Give me a second to change into dry pants, and we’ll get some food,” he said.

“It’s good to see you,” Mrs. Shepherd said to Tammy. “Are you working on anything interesting right now?”

“I’m doing another piece about the search and rescue team,” she said.

“Vince has told us about some of the rescues he’s been on,” Mrs. Shepherd said. “We’re so proud of him for volunteering, though I worry about the dangerous situations he gets into.”

“One thing I’ve learned in researching my articles is that the search and rescue team trains a lot, and they always put safety first. They’ve never lost a rescuer.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Vince joined them. He put one arm around Tammy. “Can you join us for lunch?” he asked. “Or do you have to work?”

“I might try to get a few shots of the fireworks tonight, but I’m free for the rest of the afternoon.”

“Great. Let’s hit the food booths. I’m starved.”

They followed the scent of barbecue ribs and roasted corn to a parking lot filled with food trucks and refreshment booths. Tammy ordered shrimp tempura from one truck, while Vince and his dad opted for the ribs, and Mrs. Shepherd chose a hot dog. “That looks delicious,” she said, nodding to Tammy’s tempura. “But I guess I’m a traditionalist.”

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