Bait for a Burglar (2 page)

“I haven't read anything about it in the newspaper,” Mrs. Quinn said.

“The police have been keeping the burglaries quiet, and the reporter on the police beat hasn't picked up on the news yet,” Mr. Quinn said.

“Why are they keeping the burglaries quiet?” Sean asked.

“Because they're not your usual burglaries,” Mr. Quinn explained. “The police feel that the burglaries are being committed by one person. And what makes them unusual is that only electronic equipment is being taken.”

“Like computers,” Sean said.

“Yes, computers, VCRs, fax machines, electronic games, TV cameras, and other electronic equipment—all of which can easily be sold and not traced. The police have nicknamed the thief the High-Tech Burglar.”

“Have they found any of the stolen stuff in pawnshops or other places where it might be sold?” Brian asked.

“No, and that's another strange thing about these burglaries,” Mr. Quinn said. “None of the stolen items have shown up in or around Redoaks.”

“Weird,” Sean said.

Mr. Quinn went on. “Also, the crook isn't just targeting wealthy people. He's also stealing from apartments and middle-class homes, such as ours.”

“So he knows who owns electronic equipment,” Brian said. “Are you investigating this case, Dad?”

“No,” Mr. Quinn said. “It's being handled by the police.”

And maybe, Brian thought, by the Casebusters. He raised his eyebrows in a question as he looked at Sean. In answer, Sean nodded. Satisfied, Brian knew they were in agreement. The case might be too tough for the police to solve, but he'd like the Casebusters to give it a try.

Kids make good private investigators, because grown-ups hardly ever pay attention to kids. Of course, sometimes Brian and Sean were in danger, and then things got kind of hairy.

Brian shook his head and went back to eating his dinner. He wasn't going to worry about the bad times now!

Mrs. Quinn let out a sigh. “I'd hate to lose our camcorder and any family photos still in it. It's bad enough to be burglarized,” she said, “but the thieves steal memories as well as the camera.” She smiled at Brian and Sean. “Someday, I'd like to pass on all those wonderful growing-up photos to your wives.”

“Wives? Gross!” Sean made a face and clutched his stomach. “You can't give anything to my wife, because I'm never getting married.”

“I bet you will,” Brian teased. He made kissing noises. “I bet you'll grow up and marry Debbie Jean Parker.”

“Yuck! Quit it! Mom!” Sean yelled. He tried to shove Brian out of his chair.

“That's enough,” Mrs. Quinn said firmly.

But Sean smirked at Brian. “How about you and Estella Martinez?” He began to sing, “Two little lovebirds sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

Brian felt his face grow hot. “Where'd you learn a dumb song like that?” he asked.

Sean grinned. “From Grandma. She told me I'd know when to use it.”

“Quiet down, boys,” Mr. Quinn said. He turned to Mrs. Quinn. “Just for safety's sake, I'll insure our electronic equipment. Agreed?”

“Dad, let me ask you a question,” Brian said. “What makes you think the High-Tech Burglar is going to hit us?”

“Let me ask you a question,” Mr. Quinn said. “What makes you think he won't?”

O
N SATURDAY MORNING MRS. QUINN
drove Brian and Estella to the Channel Two station. She told them what time she'd pick them up.

“Thanks, Mrs. Quinn” Estella said, as she climbed from the car. “My mom thanks you, too. She couldn't leave work. Saturday's one of her busiest days.”

Mrs. Quinn smiled. “No problem, Estella. I'm glad you can ride with us.”

As Mrs. Quinn drove off, Estella took a brush from her purse and smoothed down her hair. “Your mom's really nice,” Estella said. She smiled at Brian. “Do I look okay?”

“Okay? Estella, you look really…uh ...” Brian gulped. “Yeah, really okay.”

Brian and Estella walked into the television station through the main doors and stood in front of the receptionist's desk.

“May I help you?” the receptionist asked.

“We're here for—” Brian began.

A telephone rang, and the receptionist said, “Channel Two…The panel is on at nine o'clock tonight.”

She looked up, and Brian said, “This is Estella Martinez and I'm—”

“Channel Two,” the receptionist said into the phone as it rang again. “Please hold, and I'll connect you with the program manager.”

She looked up again, and Brian spoke as fast as he could. “And I'm Brian Quinn. We're here for
That's News 2 Me
.”

The phone rang yet again. The receptionist said, “Channel Two. Hold please.” To Brian she said, “Third door on the left.” Into the phone she said, “Channel Two. Yes, Jack. Sales meeting Wednesday….Channel Two…”

“C'mon,” Brian said to Estella. “Third door on the left.”

As they walked down a long, quiet hallway, Estella stopped smiling and began to look a little scared. Suddenly, she stopped. “Here's the third door,” she said.

Brian's hand was clammy on the doorknob, but he managed to open the door and step inside, following Estella.

The room they entered was painted black, and banks of stage lights were on, making it incredibly bright. Brian and Estella blinked for a few seconds, letting their eyes adjust to the light.

“Hey, Quinn,” someone called. Brian looked around the room and saw faces that were familiar because he'd seen them on
That's News 2 Me,
and a couple more he thought he recognized from Redoaks Junior High. But it took Brian a moment to recognize the guy in the blue shirt and jeans who had spoken to him and was now smiling.

“Hi, Jack,” Brian said. He put his hand on Estella's shoulder and led her to meet Jack Bowman.

Jack had been a ninth-grader in Redoaks Junior High when Brian was in seventh grade. They were both on the student council and worked together on the Book Fair committee. Brian liked Jack, and he felt bad that some of the kids avoided Jack after hearing he'd been arrested for shoplifting. According to the rumors Brian had heard, Jack's parents took him back to the store to return what he'd taken, but the store pressed charges anyway. That was over a year ago. For all Brian knew, Jack might still be on probation.

“This is cool,” Brian said as he glanced around the studio. “What kind of job do you have here?”

Jack ran his hand through his blond hair. “I work on
That's News 2 Me
every week as a cameraman.”

“That's great.”

A tall redheaded girl, who was seated nearby, leaned toward Brian and reached out to shake his hand. “Hi,” she said. “I'm Holly Knowles, a sound engineer. You can call me a computer and media whiz. My dad likes to joke that not only will I someday be a NASA engineer, but I can even set the programming on our VCR.” Holly threw back her head, laughing loudly.

Jack rolled his eyes. “I have to work with her,” he whispered to Brian.

Brian recognized Holly from school. She was a bossy, take-charge kind of person. Unfortunately, she also knew what she was doing.

“I'd like you to meet Estella Martinez,” Brian said.

“Hi,” Estella said.

“Hi,” Holly answered. “Glad you're here.”

“I'm excited about being here, even if it's just for a week,” Estella said.

“It's a lot of fun,” Jack agreed.

“How did you get this job?” Estella asked.

“The producers went to the schools in and around Redoaks and asked members of the photography clubs to audition. I did, and so did a guy named Mark from another school. Our teachers recommended us, and we were chosen. Holly and Megan were picked from the media departments, and the four students who work as anchors were chosen from the drama departments at their schools.”

Two adults entered the room. One was a scrawny guy with thin, black hair. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and introduced himself as Pete Carter, assignments editor.

The other was a tall, thin woman with bushy brown hair. She told Estella and Brian that she was Sara Jeffries, the producer of
That's News 2 Me.

“Congratulations on joining our program for the week,” she said. “Are you ready to get started?”

Both Brian and Estella nodded, so Sara said, “Okay. Here's the setup. Each of our investigative reporters is teamed with one camera person and one sound engineer. Our entire group will hold a story meeting in which ideas for the show will be pitched.

“Once the ideas are decided on, Pete will give the teams their assignments and make a few suggestions about various angles on the story. I'll help in any way possible. Filming will be completed on Thursday so that the show can be edited on Friday. The reporters will do any extra work that's needed on the stories on Friday, as well.”

Pete broke in and said, “When you're being filmed, don't wear white, small plaids, or stripes because they don't read well on camera.”

It was Sara's turn. She looked at her notes and said, “Okay, here's how we've teamed you. Team one: Estella, Megan, and Jack. Team two: Brian, Mark, and Holly.”

Brian glanced at Estella with a pang of disappointment.

Jack whispered, “Tough break, Brian.”

Sara called out to the other kids in the room, “Story meeting. Everybody over here.”

Chairs were dragged and rearranged into a circle, until all the people who helped make
That's News 2 Me
were included.

“Now,” Sara said, “let's hear some ideas.”

For a few moments there was only silence. Then Estella shyly raised her hand, an inch at a time, until it was barely over her head.

Brian knew how Estella felt. It was like school, when you sort of know the answer, but you're not sure, so you don't want anyone to laugh if you're wrong.

“Estella, you're not in a classroom,” Sara said bluntly. “You don't need to raise your hand. Just speak out.”

Estella's voice was tiny. “Uh…I'd like to do a story about the way the news is produced.”

Sara closed her eyes and rubbed her chin as she thought. “A behind-the-scenes sort of thing?” She turned to Pete. “What are your ideas on this?”

“I like the idea of behind-the-scenes,” Pete said, “but not on us. How about investigating people who have unusual occupations?”

Sara began to seem interested. “Like a medical photographer? Or a—”

“A professional pet sitter?” Estella said.

“Yeah. Good. That's the idea,” Pete said.

“A stage set painter,” one of the anchors suggested.

“A hot-air-balloon pilot,” Holly screeched.

“A seal trainer,” Megan giggled.

Soon everyone had contributed ideas, and the list of unusual jobs grew. Estella's cheeks were pink with excitement.

Finally Sara said, “Okay. The members of the first team have a good start on their topic.” She turned to Brian and asked, “What have you come up with, Brian?”

Everyone stared at Brian as he blurted out, “I'd like to do a story about the high-tech burglaries.”

Sara quickly shook her head. “Forget that idea right now,” she said. “That news story is not for us.”

B
RIAN DIDN'T GIVE UP
easily. “Why not?” he asked. “I think it's a good idea.” Sara glanced at Pete before she said, “For one thing, the police have asked us not to make a big thing of the burglaries. If they're kept low-key the police think they'll have a better chance of catching the thief.”

“And for another thing,” Pete interrupted, “burglaries are too much for a news show for kids. Besides, the nightly news team is already working on that story. When it breaks it won't be on
That's News 2 Me
.”

“So come up with something else,” Sara said. “C'mon, Brian, give us another idea.”