Fabulous Five 016 - The Hot-Line Emergency Read Online Free PDF

close . You won't be able to miss it." The words echoed in Christie's ears. It looked as if the mystery caller had
struck again.

CHAPTER 7
    "What do you know about this kook?" Jana asked
Christie. The Fabulous Five had left Bumpers and were gathered in Katie's
living room. Beth had Libber, Katie's laid-back yellow cat, draped around her
neck like a scarf. The rest of the girls were sprawled around on the floor or
were sitting in chairs eating Corn Curls and drinking sodas.
    "Not much. Both times he asked for help with algebra.
We worked through the problems okay, and then he wanted to talk some more."
    "He hasn't talked to anyone else?" asked Katie, running
her fingers through her red hair.
    "Mr. Snider says no."
    Melanie frowned. "That must mean he's calling you on purpose. I wonder why he hasn't called Curtis, Whitney, or Melissa. They're
working at the hot-line center on the other nights, aren't they?"
    "Yes, they are, and I'm not sure why he hasn't called
one of them. It gives me the shivers," said Christie.
    "Obviously, he knows who you are," said Jana. "Everyone
in the seventh grade knows you."
    "Clarence is the class president so everyone knows him,
too," responded Christie.
    Melanie popped a Corn Curl in her mouth. "Yes, but you're
a girl, and besides, how many people want to deliberately carry on a
conversation with Curtis?"
    "Whitney does," said Beth.
    "Whitney's a brain," responded Melanie. "She
understands him."
    "Well if you were a boy, and had your choice of talking
to Christie or Melissa McConnell, who would you choose?" asked Katie.
    "Definitely Christie," said Beth, making a gagging
sound at the mention of Melissa's name. Melissa was a member of The Fantastic
Foursome, a rival clique at Wakeman whose leader was Laura McCall. Melissa was
extremely meticulous and always had a frown on her face.
    Christie raised her voice to get their attention. "This
is not helping me, guys."
    "Okay," said Jana, "he always asks for help
with algebra. Does he really have a problem with it, or is it just an excuse to
talk to you?"
    "I think he could do the problems if he tried,"
Christie answered.
    "There's just nothing else to go on," said Katie. "We
need more clues . . . anything."
    "I keep coming back to the fact that he only talks to
Christie," said Jana. "Why would he only call her?"
    "He's in love with her?" asked Melanie.
    Melanie's remark startled Christie. "That doesn't make
sense. Why would he call me and do all those dumb things if he liked me?"
    "That's easy," answered Katie. "He wants to
get your attention. Some boys do the dumbest things—like hitting—to let you
know they like you. They're so immature. I don't know what they would do
without us."
    "I like 'em the way they are," said Melanie,
rubbing her hands together and leering. Katie swung at her playfully.
    "We still don't know for sure that he set the fires on
Catherine Street and Pleasant Hill or put the soap in the fountain, and we're
only speculating that he broke the door at Bumpers," said Jana.
    Beth unwound Libber from her neck and handed her to Katie. "He
said he did the first three, and breaking the window sounds like the kind of
thing he was talking about."
    "But they're so far apart," said Christie. "Look."
She took a handful of Corn Curls and positioned them on the coffee table. "Catherine
Street is here. Pleasant Hill is here. City Hall is here, and Bumpers is here.
It's a long way between any of them. Like we were saying the other day, how
could a thirteen-year-old boy, even on a bicycle, get to all those places in
the evening without his parents' knowing?" The Fabulous Five stared in
silence at the four Corn Curls on the table. "He probably couldn't get to
all of the places he mentioned, but if he lived around York Street, maybe he
could have put the soap in the fountain and broken the window at Bumpers."
    Christie leaned back and stretched out her long legs. "Katie's
right about one thing," she added. "We need clues. Let's make a list
of