"Kenyon, Kate - Junior High 14 - Junior High Private Eyes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kenyon Kate)

The uniformed officer covered his month to suppress a giant yawn and said in a bored voice, "Information about a possible robbery," He shuffled his feet and added half-heartedly, "Do you want me to stick around and take notes?"
"Good idea," Captain Simpson said heartily. He walked around the desk and stood in front of the three gate. "Possible robbery, huh? Sounds serious."
"Oh, it is," Nora said earnestly. "A bank robbery."
"A bank robbery." He raised his eyebrows in surprise and sat on the edge of his desk. "Better get this down, Raymond. Okay," he
said, turning to Lucy, "which one of you wants to start?"
"Ill go first," Nora said. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth to speak, and promptly went blank. "I... I..." she fumbled nervously.
"Just relax and take it easy," Captain Simpson told her. "Start at the beginning and take all the time you need."
"Right." Nora glanced at Lucy for moral support, and then plunged into her story. Captain Simpson watched her carefully the whole time she was talking, interrupting her once or twice with some pointed questions.
He waited until she was finished, and then turned to Lucy and Jen. "Anyone else have anything to add?"
Jen shook her head and Lucy thought for a moment.
"The shoes," she said suddenly. "Jen noticed that one of the robbers was wearing Riveaus. Those are really expensive running shoes that are Ч "
"I know what Riveaus are," the captain said with a grin. "I asked my wife to get me a pair for Christmas. Believe it or not, all cops don't wear white socks."
"Sorry." Lucy grinned sheepishly and wondered what would come next.
"So that's it? You've told me absolutely everything you can remember?" When all three girls nodded, he stood up, and exchanged a look with Raymond, who snapped his notebook shut "Well, I really appreciate your coming down here with this information," he said. He gestured to Raymond, who headed for the door. "The sergeant here will show you out through the lobby...."
Nora was outraged. They were being dismissed! "That's it?" she said in disbelief. "You're not going to do anything about the robbery?"
Sergeant Raymond paused with the door half-opened, while Captain Simpson searched his mind for something to say. "Look, uh ... Nora, you haven't given us anything to go
on."
"Nothing to go on!" Lucy piped up. "We've given you lots of things, the number of criminals, their accents...."
"But no names, no dates, no places," he said coolly.
"No, but Ч"
"Without facts, our hands are tied." He motioned to Sergeant Raymond to escort them out in the hall. "But if you think of anything else, be sure to give us a ring." He shook hands with each of them politely, and ushered them out the door.
Chapter 3.
"At least we gave him something to think about," Jen said to Nora later that evening. It was almost eight o'clock, and the three friends were sitting around Nora's kitchen table, planning their next move.
"I still can't believe the way Captain Simpson treated us," Lucy said, her dark eyes flashing. "He and that sidekick of his, Sergeant Raymond, acted like we were little kids."
"Or maybe teenagers with overactive imaginations," Nora said thoughtfully. The kitchen was quiet, since both her parents had gone out for the evening and her sister, Sally, was at a dance rehearsal. "I suppose our story did seem pretty incredible."
"What really burns me up is that he didn't
even want to examine the evidence, or test it for dues," Lucy said.
"I'm not sure you can test a chocolate chip cookie for clues," Jen murmured. "Let's face it, he's just not going to get involved. So where does that leave us?"
They were silent for a moment as Nora refilled their cups with apple-cinnamon tea and passed around a plate of gingersnaps. Suddenly she broke into a wide grin, her brown eyes dancing with excitement. "Are you two thinking what I'm thinking?"
Lucy stared at her and then nodded her head vigorously, her black hair gleaming in the soft glow of the overhead light. "Possibly." She put her cup down gingerly on the round oak table and cupped her long slender fingers under her chin. "I've been going over everything very carefully, and this is what I've come up with. We're the ones who have firsthand information about the robbery. Am I right?" She looked at Nora and Jen for confirmation.
"Right!" they said in unison.
"We're the only witnesses, the only ones who could even begin to identify the robbers, recognize their voices, or describe their car," she went on.
"Right!" they chorused.
"We're the ones who have concrete evidence in our possession."
"Right!"
"So . . ." Lucy paused, and with a gracious sweep of her hand, turned the conversation over to Jen. "What would you say is the logical next step?"
Jen looked at Lucy, her hazel eyes widening as a slow smile spilled across her face. "So . . . it's up to us. We should be the ones to solve the crime!"
"Not should be, will be," Nora offered.
Lucy sat back and gave a satisfied smile. "I rest my case. Shall we shake on it?"
"Done!" Jen said, as the three friends stretched their hands across the table.
"Okay, now down to logistics," Lucy began. "This is going to require a lot of organization and a lot of legwork." She smiled at Jen. "Maybe they can solve a crime in an hour on Hill Street Blues, but I think this is going to take us a few weeks."
"And they have a whole detective squad at their disposal," Nora pointed out, "although come to think of it, we could do the same thing."
"We've already tried the police, remember?" Lucy said wryly. "They turned us down flat."
"But I know a whole bunch of people who
won't turn us down," Nora went on. "We can ask all our friends at Cedar Groves to pitch in and try to solve the crime." She looked at Jen and Lucy, waiting for their reaction. It wasn't long in coming.
'Terrific," Lucy said, "You're a genius! Jen, what do you think?"
"I think we should call a general strategy meeting at my house for tomorrow night," she said, scraping back her chair and standing up. "Well make it early since it's a school night."
"Need some help with the phone calls?" Lucy offered. "I could take the first half of the alphabet."
"Ill take the second," Nora suggested.
Jen pulled her raincoat over her shoulders and glanced at her watch. She wanted to get home in plenty of time to warn their housekeeper, Jeff Crawford, to stock up on goodies for the big meeting. "And IТll double-check with everyone at school tomorrow, just in case you miss somebody."