Book 2-Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

                                                                                       Chapter 28

                                                                                Just Another Day?

     For the last few weeks in September Alex and his friends had an unusual amount of homework piled upon them.  Or at least they thought so.  Even their clumsy Science teacher Miss Starr, couldn't make them forget all the extra work, by watching her bump into inanimate objects for the entire class hour; but did made them all snicker.

     Alex, Lee and Fletch considered Geometry their most difficult subject.  None of them were catching on to it as they had hoped they would.  Dawn, Glenna and Anna had offered to help the boys through it.  Alex and Fletch thanked them profusely and readily accepted.  But Lee stubbornly refused, saying he was determined to conquer Geometry on his own.

     All the teens classes were a little more difficult at that time, due to they and the entire school's concern over the escapees from Joliet Prison being on the loose in their town.  And even though Alex and his friends knew that the school safety measures were necessary for their protection, they could be a little annoying.

     A for instance was the two police officers stationed outside the front entrance.  They were not, in Alex's estimation, an example of the friendly "cop on the beat."  Everyday the two of them hustled the kids in and out of the school in gruff voices.  One of them, a big burly guy with a long mustache, nearly had Glenna in tears more than once.

     Glenna became very nervous when she was driven in and out of the school at top speed.  One day in late September, she became so flustered that she dropped her book bag, (it wasn't zipped all the way up) and it's contents spilled all over the ground.  One of the officers shouted at her to "Pick up that junk!"  With tear filled eyes, Glenna begin picking up her things.  Lee cast the officer an angry look and then went to help her.

     Alex nearly missed his bus that same day,(he was taking the bus because Fletch and Lee had basketball practice,) because of his hard to open locker.  He tried everything he could think of to open it, for ten minutes, all without success.  Finally after the eleventh try it did open to him.  But the bus was just pulling away when Alex came skidding up to it.  He waved at the driver and the man took pity on Alex and stopped to let him in.

     Alex had called Detective Burns once every week to ask about the progress he was making in catching the two criminals.  But the detective's answer was always the same, "If we have anything new to tell you Alex, you'll hear it on the news casts which are keeping you citizens aware as to what is going on."

     Everyone in town had noticed the increased police presence.  Officers were on every corner, every school, restaurants, banks and a host of other places in the city; some of them were local and others were F.B.I., or some sort of law officer in plain clothes.  Alex's sister Lyn seemed to find more excitement in the situation, rather than being afraid of it.  It's all she wanted to talk about at the dinner table or anywhere else where someone would discuss it with her. She told Alex and her parents that, "Mr. Wells stands at the front entrance at North Side and watches me board the bus everyday."  Her parents thought that was a very caring thing for him to do.

     Mr. Wells walked over to Alex's house one night in the first week of October.  Alex teased him about breaking the law. (The being inside after dusk law that was in effect.) "I consider this bending the law not breaking it,"  Mr. Wells answered.   "And besides wanting to see you Alex and your parents, I had another reason.  It's a beautiful night for a walk.  There is a big harvest moon hanging in the sky and a warm breeze is blowing around the autumn leaves." "You should have been a poet Mr. Wells."  Alex told him with a lopsided grin.