Cam Jansen and the Birthday Mystery Read Free Page B

parking lot entrance. It was in the middle of the lot, a long way from the van and the Jansens’ car. The cab turned.
    “Did you see the big dent in the door?” Cam asked.
    “I saw it,” Mr. Jansen whispered. “And I see what he’s doing. He’s checking that there’s no one here.”
    The cab turned again. Now it was coming back toward the van and much closer than the first time.
    “Get down!” Mr. Jansen said. “Don’t let him see us.”
    Cam and her father fell to the floor. They waited and listened.
    Cam heard a car door open. Then she heard other car noises.
    Cam slowly moved up until she could peek out the window.
    The cab was right by the van. Its door and trunk were open. A man with blond hair, wearing a black leather jacket, was loading a suitcase into the van.

    Cam dropped to the floor again and listened. She heard an engine start. She waited. Then she peeked out. The van was still there. The cab was driving off.
    Cam told her father, “He’s gone.”
    Mr. Jansen peeked out the window.
    Cam said, “He’s probably going to steal someone else’s luggage.”
    The cab went just a short way off. Then it stopped right by the fence. The driver got out and walked toward the van.
    Mr. Jansen dropped to the floor again. Cam did, too.
    “This is it,” Mr. Jansen whispered. “He’s finished his dirty business for the day. He’s leaving the cab here. He’s going to drive off with the luggage and our birthday gifts.”
    Cam said, “We can’t let him get away. We have to stop him.”
    They heard the van door open.
    Mr. Jansen said, “We’re not trained to stop criminals. That’s a job for the police.”
    They heard the van engine start.
    Cam said, “Before he can leave the lot, he has to pay for parking here like everyone else. Let’s get ahead of him. When it’s time to pay, you can tell the man in the booth to call the police.”
    Mr. Jansen sat up. “That’s a great idea,” he said. “We’ll keep our doors locked and I’ll just be someone in a hurry to leave the parking lot.”
    The van was already on its way to the exit. Mr. Jansen quickly started his car. He sped in front of the van.
    Honk! Honk!
    The thief tried to pass, but Mr. Jansen wouldn’t let him.
    Honk! Honk!
    They were near the exit now. Mr. Jansen got in line, just in front of the thief.
    “That was scary,” Mr. Jansen said. “I sure hope he doesn’t know we think he’s the thief. I hope he doesn’t drive to the other exit.”
    “There’s another exit?” Cam asked.
    Mr. Jansen nodded. “It’s on the other side of the lot.”
    The gate went up. The car ahead drove off. Now it was Mr. Jansen’s turn to pay.
    “Ticket please,” the man in the booth said.
    Mr. Jansen whispered, “You have to call the police. The man behind us is a thief.”
    “Ticket please,” the man in the booth said again.
    “He didn’t hear you,” Cam said.
    Mr. Jansen wrote CALL POLICE! on his ticket. THE MAN BEHIND US IS A THIEF! He handed the ticket to the man in the booth.
    The man looked at the ticket. He looked at Mr. Jansen. Then he looked at the man in the van.
    Cam and her father turned and looked at him, too.
    The man in the booth picked up his telephone. He pressed a few buttons and then said, “This is Gary in the south parking lot exit. Get me security. Get me the police.”

    The thief saw Gary talking on the telephone. He started to back up. There was a large white car right behind him.
    Honk! Honk!
    The thief honked his horn as he backed his van up. He bumped into the white car, turned, and drove off.
    “He’s getting away!” Cam shouted. “He’s getting away!”

Chapter Nine
    A police car entered the lot. Officer Taylor was driving. Officer M, Eric, and Cam’s mother and grandparents were in the police car, too.
    Cam opened her window. She pointed to the gray van speeding across the lot and shouted, “Get him! He’s the thief. Get him!”
    The police car turned and followed the van.
    Rrrr! Rrrr!
    The police car’s