Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Author:Andrew Clements [Clements, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Ages 10 & Up
ISBN: 9781101200452
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2001-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

chapter 16

SEARCHING FOR BOBBY PHILLIPS

I think Mom is nuts.

When the lady from Children and Family Services stops talking to Mrs. Trent, she gets in her car and drives away. Then Mom has this frantic phone conversation with Aunt Ethel, and the second she hangs up, she starts barking orders at me: “Robert, clean up your room. Put all your clothes away. Put all your books back on the shelves. Pack up your trumpet and put it on your closet shelf. Get your toothbrush out of the bathroom and put it…put it with the cleaning supplies under the sink. And toss your towel from this morning down the back stairs. Make your bed and be sure your electric blanket is turned off. Make your room look like no one has been there for days. Now, move it!”

And then she runs into the kitchen and starts washing the breakfast and lunch dishes like a maniac, doing them by hand and stacking them away instead of putting them into the dishwasher.

I’m halfway done with my room when Mom yells up the back stairs at me, “Bobby? Think carefully—did you send any e-mails or AOL messages since Wednesday?”

I think, then holler back, “Nope. I talked to Alicia on the phone a couple of times, but that’s it.”

“Good. As soon as you’re done, I want you to run down to the laundry room and get all the rest of your clothes. Fold the dirty ones neatly and put them away in your drawers too. Hurry!”

“Hey, Mom, really, lighten up a little.”

“Bobby, I don’t want any discussion. If I’m wrong about this, then that’ll be wonderful. But for now, keep working!”

I think Mom is crazy—until forty minutes later when the lady comes back. Her blue sedan stops at the curb, and then two Chicago cop cars pull up behind her. Three officers get out, two men and a woman.

Ms. Pagett is at the door with the officers, and after Mom reads the search warrant, she walks into the den and calls Dad and then our lawyer, Charles Clarke. Mr. Clarke arrives in five minutes, but he doesn’t do anything except read the warrant and tell Mom that everything’s in order.

“What’s this all about, Emily?”

Ms. Pagett is standing right there, so Mom says, “Nothing, Charlie. It’s about nothing, and I’ll call you later, okay? Thanks a lot for coming so quickly.” And the lawyer shakes his head, smiles, and leaves.

Ms. Pagett is enjoying herself. This is round two, and Mom is getting beat up good. The three police officers fan out. Two go up, and one stays down with the social worker.

I follow the man and woman who go upstairs. They open the doors to all the rooms, figure out right away which one is mine, and then go in.

And I’m glad Mom is so smart. She called this one right. My room looks empty, cleared out. They open the closet, they open every drawer. They look under the bed.

I’m out in the hall, watching. They’re being careful, not trashing the place, not making a mess.

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