The Case of the Fire Alarm Read Online Free PDF Page B

a little tune as though I never said a word.
    I don’t think I smell any ghosts in this hallway. But I don’t know what ghosts smell like. Do they even have a scent?
    If there is a ghost in this school, there should be clues of some sort. If I can’t smell it, I should be able to see it. Or hear it.
    I stop walking and listen really, really hard. When I listen this hard, I hear things I don’t normally hear: balls bouncing ... a toilet flushing ... water dripping ... dishes banging ... desks opening and closing ... people talking ... lots and lots of people talking.
    But no ghosts.
    “What’s the matter, Buddy?” Connor asks.
    “Nothing,” I say. We continue down the hall, all the way to the office.
    Connor unclips my leash and I dash into Mom’s office. Hey, Jillian is here, too!
    “What are you doing here?” I ask. I go over to her and she pets me.
    “Thanks for bringing Buddy in, Connor,” Mom says. She motions for Connor to close the door on his way out, then turns back to Jillian.
    “I don’t know,” Mom says. She has a very serious look on her face. “I have to know why you were in the art room before I can promise I won’t tell anyone that you were there.”
    Jillian shifts in her seat. “Okay,” she says. “Yesterday was Mrs. Sobol’s birthday. Kaity and I decided to give her this pot we made together in our Saturday art class. But we didn’t want her or anyone else to know it was from us. We wrote a note that said the pot was from a secret admirer.”
    “And you snuck it into the art room when you were supposed to be going to the bathroom?” Mom asks.
    Jillian nods.
    “She’s telling the truth!” I tell Mom. I know Jillian is telling the truth. I can smell it and I can see it. That means she didn’t pull the fire alarm!
    So, if Zack didn’t pull it, and Jillian didn’t pull it, that only leaves Michael. Or a ghost.
    While I’m thinking about that, I hear footsteps in the hallway. But they’re not walking footsteps, they’re running footsteps!
    The door to Mom’s office bangs open, and Mrs. Argus rushes in. “You’ve got to help me!” she cries. “One of my students is missing!”
    Mom stands up. “What do you mean one of your students is missing?” she asks.
    “It’s Zack Goodman,” Mrs. Argus says. “He signed out to go to the bathroom, but he never came back. I just took the rest of my class to music, and I checked the bathroom on my way back. He’s not in there. I don’t know where he could be.”
    Zack is missing?
    “Don’t worry. We’ll find him,” Mom says. “Show me which bathroom you checked.”
    Mom doesn’t tell me to stay, so I get up and follow her and Mrs. Argus down the hall. I pick up a lot of different scents, but none of them are Zack’s.
    We round a corner and Mrs. Argus says, “This is the bathroom he should have gone to when he signed out.”

    Mom knocks on the door. “Hello?” she calls. “Is anyone in there?”
    We walk in. There’s no one in here.
    I sniff the stalls, the floor, the sink. I don’t think Zack has been here at all today.
    “Have you checked the other bathrooms in the school?” Mom asks Mrs. Argus.
    “I checked the other one on this floor, but I didn’t check the ones upstairs or downstairs,” Mrs. Argus says.
    “Let’s check those, too,” Mom says.
    I walk with her and Mrs. Argus to the stairs. Mom and Mrs. Argus turn to go up, but I smell something in the other direction. I think it could be Zack.
    “Let’s go this way,” I tell Mom.
    “This way, Buddy,” Mom calls me.
    “No, this way,” I insist. I start down the stairs.
    “I thought you said this dog wasn’t going to be running around loose anymore,” Mrs. Argus says. “We don’t have time to worry about your dog. We have to find Zack!”
    “I think maybe Buddy knows something we don’t,” Mom says. “Let’s see where he wants to go.”
    Mom follows me down the stairs. Mrs. Argus sighs and follows Mom. But I can tell by the sound of her