The Kids From B.A.D.
	Stories by Allen Morgan
	detective story collection
	no illustrations
	six stories - 128 pages

The Case Of The Stolen Wallet (part 6)

The Barton Avenue Detectives met by the side door right after school. But Jessica didn't show up again, and this time Sally wasn't there either.

"We'll just have to start without them," said John. "Mike, you stake out the baseball diamond. Ben, you take the field. Greg, you hang around the kindergarten play yard and the teacher's parking lot. Keep an eye out for anyone acting suspicious. And remember, everyone, keep undercover. Don't, give yourselves away by whistling or anything. With any luck we'll catch the crook sneaking back to get the wallet. I'll stay here and wait for Jessica and Sally."

John shook his head as he watched the other detectives move off on their assignments.
"Girls," he muttered to himself. "You just can't trust 'em."

Jessica and Sally arrived five minutes later.

"It's about time you two got here," said John with a scowl. "All right, let's hear your excuses. They better be good."

"Oh, they are," said Sally, nudging Jessica.

"We found the wallet," Jessica told John.

"She did, actually," Sally added. "Is that good enough for you?"

It certainly was. It was better than good, it was excellent!

"Where was it?" asked John eagerly.

"In the washroom," said Sally. "Tell him about it, Jessica."

Jessica did. "When I heard the principal talking about the robbery over the P.A. I knew the detective club was going to get in on it. So I started thinking-if I were a crook, what would I do with the wallet once I got it? I wouldn't keep it in my pocket, but I'd want it somewhere nearby where I could get it later."

"That's when she thought of the washroom," said Sally.
"It just popped into my head," explained Jessica. "Lucky guess, but that's the way it happens sometimes. Well, I had to go down there and look, you know? So I got a pass to go to the girls'. I didn't find the wallet there so I checked out the boys'."

"You went into the boys' bathroom?" exclaimed John. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?" said Jessica. "I wasn't going to pee or anything, and I called in first to make sure it was empty. Listen, detectives can go into places if it's an investigation, can't they?"

"You need a search warrant," John told her.

"For a bathroom?" asked Sally.

"Well, I didn't have time to get a warrant," said Jessica. "And who would I ask for one anyway? I just took a chance that nobody would see me and nobody did."

"And the wallet was there?" asked John.

"Inside the paper dispenser in the corner stall. Good luck, eh? That's what I kept saying to myself, but then the bad luck came..."

"Someone came in and caught you?" asked John.

"Almost. The recess bell rang and all the boys started coming in."

"What did you do?" asked John.

"I just stayed in the stall," said Jessica. "Lucky I was wearing jeans today. Everybody thought I was a guy, I guess. But I was stuck there all recess. I couldn't get back to my class until late so Kimberley made me stay after school."

"That's why I'm late too," said Sally. "I waited for her."

"Let's see the wallet," John said.

"She hasn't got it on her," Sally told him.

"I left it in the washroom where I found it," said Jessica. "I didn't want to get caught with it during the afternoon. But it's Kimberley's all right-I checked her driver's licence. The money's all there too. I even took down all the serial numbers while I was waiting for recess to end. There was nothing else to do in there and I read in a book once that's what real cops do." She showed John a list of numbers but he hardly looked at it.

"I'm going in there to get that wallet," he said. He whistled across the playground to Mike, then waved for him to get the others. "Don't tell them what's up," he told Sally. "I want to surprise them when I show them the wallet."
"It's the end stall in the corner," Jessica reminded him.

"I remember," said John, and he dashed into the school.

"What's it like in the boys'?" Sally asked Jessica.

"Almost the same as ours, only some of the stuff is different," she said.