Book 1-Alex Bishop and the North Side Detectives

Continue Alex Bishop and the North Side Detectives

     It was eleven o'clock when Alex and the boys climbed through their bedrooms windows.  Alex didn't think he would be able to sleep with so many thoughts running through his mind.  But he put on his pajamas and climbed into bed.  He lay staring at the stars through his high walled window.  And in a short time, comfortable under his covers, he drifted off to sleep.

     He dragged himself out of his bed the next morning feeling as if he had had a house dropped on him while he slept.  His legs ached and his nose hurt.  He was wearing his favorite cap, a throw back from the 30's era.  That way, he didn't have to make up a story for the bump on his head.  Alex loved to wear caps, so his parents wouldn't think anything of it that he was wearing one at the breakfast table.

    It was 7:00 am and his father, Max was already at the front door.  And Alex knew why.  "I'm off to play a round of golf!"  He called to his wife Janeen.  "Bye hon," she called back.  "See ya Dad." Alex said with a distracted wave, then automatically turned on the television set and headed slowly to the table and breakfast.  Lyn wasn't there, but still in bed, and his mother was preparing eggs and sausage.  Suddenly, a newscast stopped Alex in his tracks.  His mother had heard it too, and came hurrying into the living room to stand beside him.

     The newscaster had just begun speaking:

     "North Side middle school was the sight of a break-in last night.  It was also the scene of a five car bombing just four days ago.  The perpetrators entered the building by removing a board that was secured over a broken window, which had been blasted out by the force of the bombs.  A night watchman who was hired to keep an eye on the school, was patrolling the area on foot last night noticed the board was missing, He immediately called the police.  If anything was missing, the police aren't saying, but they do say, they have no motive or suspects at the present time, and they don't know if the break-in is related to the bombings."

     The newscaster then went on to other news of the day.   Janeen was speechless, and Alex, who was suddenly sweating profusely, quickly wiped his face on his sleeve and hitched a surprised innocent look on his face.  "What do you think of that?"  his mother asked him, as soon as she found her voice again.  "Yeah.  That's something huh?"  Alex said casually.  "Is breakfast ready?  I'm starving."  His mother blinked, as if she had been in deep thought, and then said a distracted, "Yes" and then again, "Yes Alex, come on," and she led the way to the kitchen.

     As she put his plate on the table, she asked, "What's with the headgear?" and giggled.  "Oh, I just felt like wearing it."  Alex said casually.  He was thankful she was still a little distracted, because all she said was, "That's nice."  Alex breathed a sigh of relief that that was over with, and Janeen thought that Alex was no doubt still upset about the bombings, and that's why he didn't say much about the break-in.  And she wasn't about to upset him more by talking about either one.

     Lee and Fletch begin banging on Alex's door at 8:30.  Alex told his mom that he and his friends were hanging out around town and that he would check in later.  The three boys walked the short way to Dawn's house where she and Glenna were waiting for him.  Then the five of them headed off to the meeting place; the shack that sat next to the tower, that lee had shown Alex the first day they had met.

     The tower and the shack were separated by dense trees and brush.  Dawn was right; the shack was very overgrown with brambles, bent over tree limbs and bushes.  The teens pushed their way through the high grass, prickly bushes and overgrown shrubs to the door of the old structure. The paint was peeling badly, but the small building looked remarkable solid.  Dawn peeked in the door and immediately screamed!

     A large spider was sitting in a web that spanned across the entrance.  The arachnid must have been just as frightened as Dawn was, because it scuttled quickly away out the door, at the sound of her screech.  Alex swatted at the silver web and it fell to the floor.  The group was surprised to see a table in the center of the small room.  Two chairs sat on either side.  A stack of dusty wooden crates sat in a corner and cobwebs covered everything in the room.

     Alex guessed the floor was wood. It was hard to tell, covered in dirt and grime as it was.  The shack had three windows; one on each side and one high in the back wall.  Dawn marveled that there wasn't a spot that didn't have dust and really dirty dirt all over it's surface.  Case in point, the windows were so grimy that no light shone through them, even though the sun was especially bright that day.

     Dawn grabbed up a dirty rag she'd found on the floor and wiped down the table, chairs and the side windows.  "Well, at least it took off the surface dirt and we have light through the windows now to see by."  Dawn said in disgust.  Then she and Glenna took seats in the two chairs and the boys grabbed themselves a crate and pulled them up to the table.  "Did all of you see the newscast this morning,"  Dawn asked as she took the files from her shoulder bag.

     "Yeah.  I just tried to look innocent," Lee said, taking his spiral from under his sweat shirt.  "Me too."  Fletch echoed, doing the same, as Dawn laid out the files on the table top.  "The newscast didn't say anything about the missing files."  Glenna said with relief.  "Actually, he said that the police weren't saying that anything was taken."  Fletch corrected her.  "That doesn't mean that they don't know that the files were taken."

     "I must have missed that part.  I was in the bathroom for part of the time."  Glenna retorted.  Lee rolled his eyes at her, Glenna ignored him, and Alex chuckled, while he too pulled his spiral out from under his jacket.  "Are you guys still carrying those things that way."  Dawn asked with a smirk. 

     "Dawn, we've been all through that.  Our parents would be suspicious if we were seen carrying folders around with us on a daily basis.  We aren't brilliant extra credit students like you are."  Alex ended, flashing his crooked grin at her.  Glenna and the boys laughed, and Dawn said, "That's true."  Then she smirked again and said, "Okay, now down to Business."