The Super Spies and the High School Bomber Read online

  The Super Spies and the High School Bomber

  by Lisa Orchard

  Published by Astraea Press

  www.astraeapress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  THE SUPER SPIES AND THE HIGH SCHOOL BOMBER

  Copyright © 2012 LISA ORCHARD

  ISBN 978-1-62135-063-7

  Cover Art Designed by For the Muse Designs

  This second story is dedicated to my husband, Steve and my two beautiful boys. It’s also dedicated to my family and friends who encouraged me and helped me with this story.

  Chapter One

  A whoosh of roiling hot air lifted Sarah Cole and flung her against the kitchen wall like a fumbled football. At the same time, the windows burst into millions of pieces, showering everything with tiny shards of glass. Sarah crumpled to the floor, still clutching the phone. She lay there stunned, unable to inhale or exhale.

  “Sarah! Sarah!” her younger sister, Lacey, screamed from the bathroom, where she’d been drying her hair.

  The ringing in her ears was so intense, Sarah could barely hear her. Groaning, she opened her eyes and saw only red through her right one. Dread rippled through her body.

  “Sarah! Sarah!” Lacey cried again.

  Sarah dropped the phone, and put her hand up to her eye. She fingered the area gently before pulling her hand away. Blood.

  “Lacey,” she croaked, unable to manage more than that.

  “Sarah! Where are you?”

  “The kitchen,” Sarah said, finally able to breathe. She blinked her eyes twice and her vision cleared. Relief flooded her body and she wilted against the floor.

  “Holy Moley!” Lacey shrieked.

  Sarah jumped at the sound of her voice. She didn’t realize Lacey had come up the stairs and into the kitchen. The ringing in her ears was almost gone.

  “You’re bleeding!”

  “No kidding,” Sarah said, covering her right eye with her hand and glaring at Lacey with her uncovered one. She brushed her shoulder length blonde hair away from her face and gasped at the blood running down her arm.

  “We’ve got to get you to the hospital!” Lacey screamed in a voice edged with hysteria.

  “Stop freaking out!” Sarah gave Lacey the old one-eyed glare again.

  “Sarah, there’s blood everywhere,” her sister whimpered as she wrung her hands. She gazed around her. “What happened? Did our furnace blow up or something?”

  “I don’t think so.” Sarah shook her head, dust particles and slivers of glass cascaded to the floor. She furrowed her brow and absentmindedly brushed off her clothes. “I think something exploded outside. Help me up.”

  Lacey held out her hand to Sarah and pulled her into a sitting position.

  Blinking, Sarah gazed around the kitchen. On most days it was a sunny room with pineapple wallpaper and pine cabinets. It was the most popular room in the house—everyone congregated there during the holidays.

  Sarah blinked again. Dust floated through the air and glass littered the yellow linoleum floor. She groaned and turned her attention to her arm.

  As she examined the blood running down it, another wave of panic flooded through her body. Sarah’s legs wobbled when she stood and she stumbled as she reached for a kitchen towel that lay on the counter. She used the soft cloth to blot her eye. When she pulled the towel away, she was shocked to see the amount of blood that had soaked into it. Sarah gulped, trying to swallow her fear as beads of sweat broke out on her forehead.

  With unsteady feet, Sarah stumbled into the hall where a mirror hung.

  She was afraid to look. Taking some deep breaths, she stared into the cracked mirror and noticed a cut in her eyebrow. The amount of blood that seeped from the cut was enormous compared to its small size.

  Lacey walked past Sarah on her way to the den. The crunch of glass under her sister’s feet caught Sarah’s attention, and she sighed. Thank goodness we had our shoes on. A wave of relief washed over her body and she exhaled another deep sigh. The girls had been getting ready for school when the windows exploded and covered everything with glass.

  “Sarah, come here! You’ve got to see this!” Lacey yelled.

  Sarah whirled around and spotted her sister walking from the den—her eyes were round and full of shock.

  “I think all the windows have been smashed. Come and look.”

  Holding the towel against her cut, Sarah followed her into the den. “Holy crap!”

  She gazed into the room. Shards of glass covered the furniture and the floor. The sun streamed through the window, shining on the jagged bits embedded in the carpet. It appeared as if tiny diamonds were buried within the fibers.

  “What in the world happened?”

  Sarah shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  The shrill ring of the phone made Sarah jump. She dashed back to the kitchen and found the phone where she had dropped it earlier.

  “Hello?”

  “Sarah?”

  “Jackie?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.” Jackie’s voice eased some of the tension in Sarah’s body. Jackie Jenkins was her best friend. They had met when Sarah and her sister moved in with their aunt and uncle three months earlier.

  Sarah glanced down at her legs and for the first time saw tiny nicks where she had been hit by flying glass. She bent down and examined the cuts further. They were not deep, and were already clotting.

  “All of our windows exploded! Do you know what’s going on?” Sarah asked.

  “There was an explosion at the high school.”

  “There was an explosion?”

  “Yep.”

  “How do you know? Was it a bomb?” Sarah brushed her hair away from her face and watched as more dust cascaded to the floor.

  “I heard it on the police scanner.”

  “Was it a bomb?” Sarah asked again.

  “They don’t know, but what else causes an explosion?” Jackie said with a voice edged with apprehension.

  “Crap,” Sarah gasped, as the energy seemed to drain from her body, replaced with heavy dread. Sagging against the kitchen wall, she clutched the phone as if it were a lifeline. “Uncle Walt.” She choked, and then turned toward Lacey and stared.

  “Sarah? Are you there? Are you all right?” Jackie yelled from the phone.

  “Sarah?” Lacey’s lip quivered.

  Tears welled in Sarah’s eyes as she spoke to Lacey. “There’s been an explosion at the high school.”

  “What? No way!” Lacey shook her head and swung away.

  “Sarah, I’m coming over!” Jackie screamed.

  Sarah nodded numbly as she watched Lacey. Her sister’s breathing was labored and her face turned pale.

  “I feel like I’m going to faint.” Lacey’s knees buckled and she reached for the kitchen chair.

  “Put your head between your knees!” Sarah dropped the phone, grabbed Lacey and helped her to the floor. She gently pushed Lacey’s head down between her knees. Her sister’s face and knees disappeared behind the curtain of her long blonde hair.

  “Now, take deep breaths.”

  Lacey inhaled deeply and let her breath out slowly. The two girls sat like that for a few minutes, Sarah holding her sis
ter’s head down and Lacey breathing.

  “Thanks. You can let go now.” Lacey raised her head and smiled at Sarah.

  Sarah nodded and peered into her sister’s green eyes that were so much like her own. “Better?”

  “Yeah.” Lacey let out a long shudder. She sat back on the floor. “I’m not ready to get up yet.”

  “Jackie’s coming over.” Sarah picked up the phone and pushed buttons with a shaky hand.

  “Who’re you calling?” Lacey whimpered.

  “Uncle Walt’s cell.”

  Sarah listened to the phone ring, as her stomach tightened into a knot. “It went right into voicemail.” She gulped as the enormity of the situation hit her. Fear ate away at her self-control and her stomach clenched tighter. Taking some deep breaths, she wondered what she should do next. Without a doubt, Sarah knew that Lacey was going to lose it at any moment, and someone needed to take charge. “We have to call Aunt June.” The quiver in her voice betrayed the fear she tried to hide.

  “I hope he’s okay,” Lacey whimpered and then sobbed as she sagged against the cabinets. Rocking back and forth, she tried to calm herself.

  “I’m sure he wasn’t near the explosion.” Sarah cast a sideways glance toward her sister, hoping to reassure Lacey, but her words rang false in her own ears.

  “He went to school early today,” Lacey whimpered as she rocked. She rubbed her hands together as if they were cold.

  Sarah dialed her aunt’s office and waited for Beatrice, the receptionist, to answer. Pacing, she chewed on her nail. What was taking Bea so long? While Sarah waited, the wails of police sirens and the blare of fire truck horns filled the air as they rushed past. Panic gnawed at her gut. She fought to keep it at bay and won for the moment.

  Beatrice answered the phone and informed Sarah that her aunt was with a patient.

  “Bea, this is an emergency.” Sarah’s voice cracked. “I really need to talk to her.”

  “I’m sorry Sarah. I didn’t recognize your voice. Just a second. I’ll interrupt her session.”

  Sarah waited on hold, listening to the elevator music filtering through the phone. She paced and chewed her nails. “Let’s go in the den.”

  Lacey, still wobbly from her near faint, stood and clung to Sarah, as Sarah guided her into the den.

  “Turn the TV on and see if there’s anything on the news,” Sarah instructed.

  She paced back and forth while her sister stumbled toward the TV. Lacey walked hunched over and slow. With a trembling hand, she finally pushed the power button on the television.

  Stifling an irritated sigh, Sarah peered at the TV and caught a glimpse of a scroll at the bottom of the screen. It said Harrisburg High School and Jr. High School closed today due to faculty meeting. Please stay away from the High School. There has been an explosion and emergency personnel need to be able to get to the scene.

  Sarah stifled a growl of frustration. That’s it? That’s all they’re going to tell us? She continued her pacing, growing more agitated by the minute.

  Sarah chewed on her lip as frantic thoughts ran through her mind. It was her first day at her new school and it explodes? What is going on?

  Her aunt’s voice came through the phone. “Sarah? What’s wrong?”

  Sarah let out a strangled sob. The sound of concern in her aunt’s voice was enough for her to lose control of her emotions. “It’s Uncle Walt. There’s been an explosion at the high school and all of our windows exploded!” Sarah sobbed. Her best efforts to keep it together were unsuccessful.

  “An explosion? What kind of explosion?”

  “I don’t know,” Sarah cried. “I just know there was some kind of explosion.”

  A low moan escaped her aunt’s lips. “Oh, no. Walt!”

  Sarah imagined her aunt chewing her lip, something she did when she was nervous or upset.

  “Have you heard from your uncle?”

  “No,” Sarah cried and bit her lip.

  “Did you try and call him?” Aunt June’s voice rose an octave with each question.

  Aunt June sounds scared.

  “Yes, but his phone went right to voicemail.” Sarah sobbed harder as it all started to sink in.

  “It went right to voicemail?”

  Cringing, Sarah said, “Yeah.”

  Her aunt inhaled a ragged breath and exhaled slowly. Sarah could only imagine the fear her aunt was feeling. Aunt June was a strong woman, a lot like her mother, but the possible loss of her husband would have her reeling.

  Aunt June regained her composure, but her voice cracked with emotion when she spoke. “Okay, I’m going to try and reach him through the school phone. I want you to talk to Bea while I try your uncle. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay.” Sarah sniffled—glad her aunt was now in charge.

  Beatrice came on the line and made an attempt at small talk, but Sarah’s responses consisted of emotional grunts and tearful single-word answers.

  “What’s going on?” Lacey asked, her eyes red from crying.

  “Auntie’s calling Uncle Walt, right now.”

  Lacey nodded.

  “Sarah?” Aunt June was back on the phone.

  “Yeah.”

  “The line was busy. The phones are probably out, but that doesn’t mean your uncle’s hurt.” She said this last part quickly as if she were trying to calm Sarah. Aunt June coughed and cleared her throat. “I know he had a faculty meeting this morning.”

  “Yeah,” Sarah replied in a shaky voice.

  “I’m going to leave here in just a few minutes. I want you girls to sit tight. Okay?”

  Sarah nodded.

  “Okay?” Her aunt raised her voice this time.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  Sarah disconnected the call and looked over at Lacey. Both girls burst into tears. Rushing over to the couch, Sarah sat with her sister. She was careful to avoid the glass. After taking a ragged breath, Sarah put her arm around Lacey and they cried together until Sarah was sure she couldn’t have any tears left.

  “Okay, okay,” Sarah said, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her T-shirt. She took a couple of deep breaths and glanced up at the ceiling. Her stomach twisted tighter, forming a more painful knot. Where is Uncle Walt?

  “I’m so scared.” Lacey sniffed and clung to her sister.

  “Yeah, me too.” Sarah stood and paced, chewing on her thumbnail.

  “What do you think we should do?” Lacey dried her eyes with the back of her hand.

  “I think we need to look for Uncle Walt.”

  “You mean, go up to the high school?” Lacey looked at Sarah as if she had just jumped on the train to Crazy Town.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

  “Sarah, the cops are going to be all over the place.”

  “Big deal.” Sarah brushed her hair out of her eyes with her trembling hand.

  “They’ll never let us close enough to the school to look for him.”

  “So what?”

  “So how are you going to look for him if you can’t get close to the school?”

  “We don’t know that we can’t. We only know they won’t want us to.”

  Lacey gave Sarah a perplexed look. “I don’t get it.”

  Sarah sighed. “We only know that they probably won’t let us. That doesn’t mean we can’t get in.”

  Lacey gasped. “You’re going to sneak in?”

  “That’s right.”

  “But—”

  Before Lacey finished her protest, there was a knock at the door.

  “That’s probably Jackie,” Sarah said, glad for the interruption. She raced to the door.

  Opening it, Sarah greeted her friend, a tall, skinny girl with curly hair. “Hey, Jack.”

  “Can you believe what’s happened?” Jackie pushed through the door and past Sarah. Her brown eyes had that wild-eyed look of a horse ready to bolt, and her grim expression contrasted with her dark curls that danced with her movements.

  “No, I can’
t. We were just talking about going up to the school.”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Lacey frowned. She had climbed the stairs behind Sarah.

  Sarah clenched her teeth. “I just can’t sit here and do nothing.”

  “We’ll get grounded,” Lacey insisted.

  “So what? We’ve been grounded before. We survived. Besides, Uncle Walt’s up there!”

  Lacey exhaled a long sigh and nodded. “Just let me call Scott and see if he’s found out anything.”

  “All right, but we’re leaving as soon as you get off the phone.”

  Lacey’s shoulders sagged. “I know, I know.” She left the room to call Scott, one of her closest friends and the final member of the Super Spies.

  For a moment, Sarah reflected back on the first time she had met Scott. The three girls had just formed their own detective squad, the Super Spies, and were investigating the Cat Lady mystery. Lacey had brought Scott down to their secret meeting place at the creek and asked if he could be a member of their squad. Sarah had hesitated. Disappointed, Scott had gone for a swim so the three girls could discuss his membership. While swimming, he had stepped on the weapon used in the Cat Lady murder. She shuddered as she remembered the severe cut on his foot.

  Sarah shook her head, needing to clear her thoughts, and faced. Jackie. “Have you heard anything at all?”

  Jackie shook her head. “Nothing. Maybe Scott’s dad will have some info, being the Chief of Police and everything.”

  Sarah clenched her fists. “We’ve got to get up to the school.”

  “No doubt.”

  Lacey walked back into the room, frowning. Sarah guessed the conversation with Scott hadn’t gone well.

  “Anything?” Sarah demanded.

  “Nothing.” Lacey shook her head. “The cops have been trying to keep people away from the school ever since it happened. They haven’t had a chance to look for anyone yet. The State Police are coming with the bomb squad. That’s all he knew.”

  “Are they sure it was a bomb?”

  “No, but they’re not taking any chances.”

  “Let’s go,” Sarah commanded.

  “Sarah.” Lacey pouted.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Lacey. You can stay home if you want, but we’re going.”

  Lacey sighed. “What if it was a bomb?”