Book 2-Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

                                                                                      Chapter 34

                                                                             The Computer Case

     Nick, Matt and Sam sat in their Trig class, all of them thinking about the conversation with Detective Burns.  Their Trigonometry teacher was an elderly lady who was very hard of hearing.  So it wasn't difficult for the three boys to carry on a conversation.  Nick suddenly sighed. "I'm doing this homework in study hall," he said, closing his Trig book.

     "Yeah.  We have those two hours because of the fire," Sam complained.  "I don't know why they just didn't dismiss us early for the day.  "I'll tell you why Bro; because we have to have so many school hours in a year," Matt told him.  "You know, sometimes your wisdom really bothers me," Sam said, throwing a paper wad at him.  Matt responded with a chuckle.

     "Do you think Alex and his gang are going to get involved in this case?"  Nick asked the other two.  "I doubt it.  Lee said he couldn't be involved because of his problems with his mom.  And I also doubt that Alex and the others would work the case without him,"  Matt answered.  "What about us?"  Nick asked with a brow raised and a grin on his handsome face.

     "Us what?"  Sam asked him warily.  "You mean "us" literally getting involved?" he added incredulously.  Nick snickered at the aghast look on Matt and Sam's faces.  Then he said, "Why not?  The tower mystery we helped out on was fun, right?"  "Yeah.  But there was a bunch of us that time," Matt pointed out.

     "Hey!  Matt just made a smoke bomb in the face of being held hostage,"  Nick said passionately.  "Sure he did," Sam said in an obvious tone.  "But that was to save our lives!" he ended, as if he were explaining something simple to someone who just wasn't getting it.  "Look guys.  I really need a distraction right now."  Nick pleaded.

     "My best friend may be moving to Ohio.  And I'm not dealing with that very well.  You know he's like the brother I never had."  Sam and Matt looked at each other and then nodded in unison.  "You know we're very sorry about the situation with Lee," Sam told him.  Then he took a deep breath and spoke for both he and Matt, "We're in." And to confirm it, Matt nodded in agreement.

     Thanks guys.  And maybe we should keep our plans to ourselves," Nick said.  "We wouldn't want our friends the North Side Detectives to think we were invading their territory."  Matt and Sam laughed quietly.  "You know they would never think that Nick," Sam said. "They might even be grateful for the break in crime solving for awhile."

     "From what Fletch has told me.... he would," Matt said.  All of them chuckled at that.  Then Sam snickered again and said,  "What do we call ourselves, "The Three Musketeers?" 

     Over the next three weeks, Nick, Matt and Sam kept their eyes and ears open for anything suspicious activity or conversations.  The computers that had been stolen had been replace in computer room 2, much to Glenna and Dawn's delight.  Sam and Matt were right; from conversations they had had with their friends, there was no interest on the part of the North Side Detectives to be involved in the "Computer Case."

     Mr. Wells had strenuously urged Alex and the other detectives to stay out of investigating the theft of the computers.  And was "floored" when Alex informed him that he and the others weren't all interested in solving the case.  Mr. Wells just couldn't believe his diminutive friends had listened to his wisdom for a change.