Book 2-Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

                                                                                      Chapter 26

                                                                                 Distressing News

     Alex aimed a kick at his locker door and then handed Lee his jacket.  Then the two of them raced to the staircase and up to the second floor to their Spanish class.  They were just in time.  Mr. Franks was just walking in the door after them.  Lee did managed to make Alex forget about his locker problems by pronouncing the Spanish words in an exaggerated accent, as he sometimes did, and which always caused Alex to laugh in response.

     In Science Lab that day the students were mixing chemicals to turn their white mice orange.  For some reason, unknown to Lee or Alex, lee's turned a bright green.  Lee roared with laughter and said that if Fletch were in this class, his mouse would probably have had no fur at all.  Alex grinned at him and shook his head in amusement.

     "Hey," Lee started, grabbing another mouse from it's cage and reading the instructions again, so he wouldn't repeat his mistake, then he went on, "I wonder if the police ever caught those two escapees from Joliet Prison that Detective Burns told us about this summer?"  "I had forgotten all about that,"  Alex said, surprised that he had. "I'll call Detective Burns at lunch hour and ask him," he said, watching Lee adding chemicals to his vial, which he was quite certain weren't to be used in this experiment.

     Alex and Lee met Dawn, Chet, Fletch, Glenna and Anna, (Fletch and his girlfriend Julie had gone their separate ways) outside their Trigonometry class.  "Hey!"  Alex and Lee chimed.  "Hey!" the others echoed.  "Lee just reminded me of something," Alex told his friends.  "What?" Dawn asked, while as usual juggling an arm full of books, her book bag also full.

     "Lee wondered what ever happened with those prisoners who were on the loose from Joliet Prison,"  Alex told them.  "Gee, I had forgot all about them," Fletch said.  There was a murmur of "Me too" from the rest.  "I'm going to call Detective Burns at lunch for an update on them," Alex stated.  Dawn said, "Good."  But neither she nor the others seemed interested in what became of the criminals.

     Dawn, Glenna and Anna were the only ones in the group that didn't find Trig difficult to grasp.  The boys were struggling with it.  But Lee said it was a fun class, if for no other reason watching Miss Starr, their frizzy haired teacher dropped papers and books on a regular basis while bumping into anything in the room that didn't move.  Lee laughed heartily as he said it.

     "You won't be laughing for long if you don't get a grip on this class," Dawn warned him.  "And besides she can't help it if she has bad eye sight.  Why do you think she wears those big thick glasses?"  Dawn asked, giving Lee a disgusted look.  Then Miss Starr ran into the blackboard and Dawn had to stifle a snicker herself.

     Lunch time came and Alex and his friends carried their food trays to their table in the back, which was always free, as if the rest of the student body knew it belonged to them.  Alex immediately got on his cell and called Detective Burns with his question, ignoring his burger and mac n' cheese.  Luckily, the detective was in his Elkhart office.  Because Alex had misplaced the Vandalia office number.

     Detective Burns answered on the first ring.  "Hi Alex!  What's up?"  "Hi, Alex said, "I was just wondering whether you caught those guys that escaped from Joliet?"  "No," the detective said, and then he stopped, wondering if he should say anymore.  in a couple of moments he decided to continue.  "Well, you'll find out sometime today anyway," he said.  "What are you talking about?"  Alex asked him.

     "The two escapees have been sighted in Elkhart."  Alex nearly dropped his cell in his mac n' cheese.  "But don't worry Alex.  We and the F.B.I. and our swat teams are on top of this thing.  We'll catch them," Detective Burns said confidently.  "Okay.  I'll talk to you later,"  Alex told him, hanging up.  Alex's locker problems seemed very petty indeed to him after that conversation.

     Alex put his cell back in his pocket and then looked with wide eyes at his friends.  "What?"  Lee asked aggressively.  Alex then related what Detective Burns had told him.  Then he picked up, what was now his cold burger and took a bite, with less zeal than he would have had a few minutes ago.  He just knew he would need something in his stomach if he was to get through the rest of the day, without getting sick.

     "Okay.  This is scary!"  Dawn said, and then choking on her salad while Chet pounded on her back.  "Don't get any ideas Alex of us getting involved in this," Fletch said with a glare at him.  Alex quickly swallowed his last bit of his burger and picked up his fork.  And waving it around, he almost whispered, "Are you crazy?  I'm not stupid enough to expect us to take on a couple of hardened criminals."

     "Sorry Alex," Fletch said sheepishly.  "Of course.  I know you're not stupid."  Alex nodded at him, and said,  "You're forgiven.  I know this news has stressed us all out."  "I wonder what protections they'll put on the school," Anna said.  Alex just shrugged and dug into his mac n' cheese.

     Suddenly an announcement came over the P.A. system.  "All students should report to the gymnasium after fourth hour!  No Exceptions!  "I guess we're all about to find out what protections they are putting on the school," Alex said, grabbing up his book bag.  The others did the same and followed him out of the cafeteria.

     Alex, Lee, Glenna, Anna, Fletch, Dawn and Chet were among the first to arrive.  They took seats on the third row, of one set of bleachers and then waited for the rest of the students to join them.  Principal Fuller was already standing on the floor below next to a microphone and talking to  the husky built and balding Detective Burns and a tall dark haired man in a three piece suit.  It was evident from the looks on their faces that they were in serious conversation.

     The bleachers filled up quickly within a few minutes around Alex and his friends.  Alex looked around for his father who was a teacher at the school, and spied him standing against a wall not too far away from where he sat.  At the same time his father Max was scanning the stands for his son.  The gym was noisy with chattering students, so when Max located Alex he shouted out his name.

     Alex gave his dad a smile and wave, as did the others with him.  He had to admit he was glad that his dad was near by.  He suddenly felt like a fearful small child after hearing the news and was angry with himself for not being braver. 

     Principal Fuller seemed convinced within several minutes that all the student body was in attendance and stepped up to the microphone, with Detective Burns and the other man on either side of him.  He tapped the "mike" and it screeched and nearly everyone covered their ears for a moment.  Then the principal's voice came reverberating throughout the gymnasium.

     "Good afternoon!  A situation has developed that is of a very serious nature!  Two men escaped from Joliet Prison a few weeks ago and have now been sighted in Elkhart!  Alex heard gasps and loud comments of distress all around him.  "We and all the schools in our city and the cities that surround us have taken measures to insure the safety of our students!"

     "This gentleman to the left of me is Detective Brian Burns of the Elkhart Police Department and this gentleman to my right is F.B.I. Captain Phillip Cagney!  They have detailed information to give you which will protect yourselves and your families!  The information is in the form of a pamphlet being handed out right now!"  Alex saw several students walking up and down the isles handing them out.  

"I will tell you of our safety measures after our guests have finished speaking!" the principal said,  stepping aside as Detective Burns ambled up to the microphone.  " Hello!  I am Detective Burns, Elkhart Police Department!  I am also Captain of our Swat team!"  Alex, lee and Fletch gave each other impressed looks.  There were obvious things about the detective that they didn't know.

                                                                               End of Chapter 26