Bait for a Burglar Read Free Page B

the meeting, they were both excited about their projects.
    â€œWe even found a way to link our stories,” Estella said. “Sara suggested that I do three short interviews. The third could be an interview with a police sketch artist or fingerprint expert. That could lead right into Brian’s story about crime prevention.”
    â€œYou’re both doing a terrific job,” Mrs. Quinn said. “I have an idea, too, if you’d like to hear it.”
    â€œSure, Mom,” Brian said.
    â€œIt’s really for Estella and not you, Brian,” Mrs. Quinn answered. “I was thinking about your mother’s job, Estella. It’s a very interesting one. Maybe you could interview her.”
    â€œI doubt it. Mom’s kind of shy,” Estella said. But she smiled as she added, “I’ll ask her.”
    Mrs. Quinn drove up in front of the apartment Estella shared with her mother.
    As Estella climbed out of the car, Brian said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Estella, when the teams get together.”
    Estella said, “Our news stories will have to be outlined by then. Tomorrow! We’ve got an awful lot of research and writing to do.”
    Brian climbed into the front seat as his mother drove toward home. He asked, “What kind of job does Mrs. Martinez have? Why is it so interesting?”
    â€œMrs. Martinez owns a travel agency,” Mrs. Quinn answered.
    â€œShe’s a travel agent?” Brian groaned. “Aw, Mom, kids want to learn about cool jobs like sewer inspectors, or night watchmen in cemeteries, or the guys who feed blood to bats in the zoo.”
    â€œThere are lots of people who might think that planning people’s travel is interesting,” Mrs. Quinn said, but Brian just shook his head. He was glad that Estella had said her mother was shy and would turn down the idea.
    That evening, as all the Quinns pitched in to get dinner ready, Sean said, “When I rode down to the park, I ran into Jacob Dean, one of the kids in my class, and he said—”
    â€œYou don’t mean you ran into him,” Mrs. Quinn said “You mean you met him in the park.”
    â€œNo, Mom. I mean I ran into him on my bike,” Sean said. “But I didn’t mean to. He kind of jumped into the way, but he didn’t get hurt, so it’s all right.”
    â€œI’m sorry I interrupted you,” Mrs. Quinn said with a little sigh. “Tell us, what did Jacob say?”
    â€œHe said that while everyone in his family was at a family wedding in San Francisco, their house was burglarized.”
    â€œOh, dear,” Mrs. Quinn said.
    â€œYeah. The burglar took his parents’ computer and fax machine and Jacob’s video game. Jacob was really shaken up about someone going through their stuff and taking what they wanted.”
    â€œThat’s all they took? Electronics?” Brian asked.
    Sean nodded. “That’s it. I guess they got hit by the High-Tech Burglar.”
    â€œDid any of the neighbors see someone prowling around the house?”
    â€œI asked Jacob, but he said no.”
    â€œThere’s something weird about those burglaries,” Brian said. “How does the burglar know who has computers and stuff like that and who doesn’t? And how does he know when the people are going to be out of the house?”
    â€œBrian, suppose you stop asking questions and finish setting the table,” Mrs. Quinn told him.
    Brian went back to his job, but he said, “Mom, private investigators always start by asking questions. When they find the answers to their questions, they can usually solve the cases.”
    Sean pulled Brian to one side. “Are we on a case, Bri?” he asked eagerly. “Are we going to try to catch the High-Tech Burglar?”
    Mr. Quinn scowled as he overheard Sean’s question. “Absolutely not,” he said. “Catching burglars is strictly up to the