The Internet Escapade Page 2

  “No,” Sean said. “We didn’t.”

  Mr. Burns sighed. “Then you may be excused.”

  Sean looked up—way up—at Mr. Burns, who had a very tired expression on his face. “I’ll tell you what, Mr. Burns,” Sean said. “I promise that Bri and I will find out who put the virus in your computers.”

  “Maybe it would be better if we didn’t have your help,” Mr. Burns suggested, but Sean smiled encouragingly.

  “Bri and I solve lots of crimes. We’re the Casebusters. Just relax, Mr. Burns. We’ll find out who did this.”

  Sean left the office to find Larry, Jabez, Debbie Jean, and a few other kids from his class waiting for him.

  “What happened?” Jabez asked.

  “Are you in trouble again?” Alison asked, glancing at Debbie Jean. “Is it about what you did with the computers yesterday?”

  “I hope so,” Debbie Jean said.

  Sean noticed that the office door was open, and Mr. Burns could hear what he said. And Sean remembered what he had been told to do.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out, “Debbie Jean, I’m sorry I played that computer trick on you yesterday. I apologize.”

  Debbie Jean began to choke and cough. As she bent over, Alison slapped her hard on the back. A wad of chewing gum shot out of Debbie Jean’s mouth.

  Debbie Jean stood up and stared at Sean. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she complained.

  “Done what? All I did was apologize.”

  “I know, but I wasn’t expecting it. You surprised me, and that made me swallow my gum, and I nearly choked.”

  “You’d better pick up your gum,” Larry said, “or you’re going to step in it.”

  Debbie Jean scraped her wad of gum from the floor and made a face. “Oh, yuck!” she said. “Now it’s got fuzz on it.”

  Charlie Miyako walked up to Sean, an unhappy look on his face. “I told Mrs. Harrison that the magic computer was going to give me three wishes,” he said. “But she said there was no magic computer. She said that somebody was playing a trick on me.”

  Sean couldn’t stand to see Charlie look so miserable. “Don’t give up,” Sean said. “Just stop talking to everybody about magic computers. Keep your wishes secret, and maybe they’ll start to come true.”

  “When?” Charlie asked.

  “Like maybe starting tonight,” Sean said. “Who knows?”

  Charlie grinned as he ran off to his classroom.

  Larry laughed as Debbie Jean complained, “You gave Charlie three wishes? You didn’t give them to me.”

  As Sean walked to his fourth grade class he asked himself, Why don’t I think before I make promises? A giant candy bar is one thing, but there’s no way I can come up with a new bike and a monster under Sam’s bed.

  It wasn’t until they were leaving school that Sean was able to talk to Matt. At least, he would have talked to Matt, if Larry hadn’t been so busy filling Matt in on everything that had happened that day.

  As they pulled their bikes from the rack Larry said, “Mr. Burns thinks that you and Sean gave the computers a virus.”

  “No way,” Matt managed to mumble. His face was puffy and numb with the anesthetic the dentist had given him.

  “That’s what I told Mr. Burns,” Sean said as he hopped on his bike. “He kinda acted like he believed me, but I don’t think he really does. He’s blaming the kids in the junior high computer club, too, and that’s not fair.”

  Just as the boys reached the street where they would part company, Larry’s older brother Frank rode up on his bike. “C’mon, Larry,” Frank said. “Mom said you’re supposed to stop dawdling and come straight home.”

  “I’m not dawdling,” Larry complained.

  “Just get on home,” Frank told him. Without saying a word to Matt or Sean, Frank took off. Larry pedaled hard to keep up.

  “Sometimes I’m glad I don’t have a big brother,” Matt said. “Frank’s a pain.”

  “Yeah,” Sean said. Loyally, he added, “But Bri’s okay—most of the time.”

  “Frank never speaks to us; it’s as if we were invisible.”

  “Forget Frank,” Sean said. “I have to ask you something. Have you gotten any anonymous E-mail letters?”

  Matt stopped his bike. “What are you talking about? I’ve never even heard of an anonymous E-mail letter. You’re kidding, right?”

  Sean circled his bike before he stopped next to Matt. It gave him time to think. It might be better not to tell Matt about the anonymous letter. He didn’t want everyone at school to know about it. “Just wondering,” he said. “I’m cutting off here. I’m going to the store to get Charlie his giant candy bar.”

  Matt reached into his pocket for some change. “I’ll go halves with you on the candy bar, but count me out on the bike.”

  “Thanks,” Sean said. He rode off toward the store.

  Later, when he arrived home, all Sean could think about was the computer and what he might find on it. Mom was still at work and Brian was at basketball practice. If he turned on the computer to check for E-mail, he’d have to face any anonymous messages alone.

  Sean went into his dad’s office and stared at the computer. The blank, dark screen seemed to stare back, daring him to come nearer, taunting him to turn on the computer.

  “I can do it,” Sean said aloud. “I’m not some scared little kid.”

  He booted up the computer and got the message for mail. Sean clicked on the icon, and up came another E-mail, addressed to him: YOU’RE GIVING AWAY THREE WISHES? YOU SHOULD SAVE ONE FOR YOURSELF. I BET I CAN MAKE YOU WISH YOU NEVER HEARD OF COMPUTERS.

  5

  AS SOON AS BRIAN came home, Sean showed him the message.

  “Don’t be scared,” Brian said.

  “Scared? Who’s scared?” Sean said. He calmed down, then added, “Well, yeah. I guess I am—a little bit.”

  Brian clapped Sean on the shoulder. “This is turning out to be a mystery for the Casebusters to solve. We’ll find out who’s doing this.”

  Sean nodded. “I’m glad you think so. Today I promised Mr. Burns we’d solve the mystery of who put a virus into our school’s computers.”

  “I heard about that,” Brian said. “Mr. Burns seems to think our computer club’s responsible, doesn’t he?”

  “Dennis Taylor is always bragging about pulling some kind of trick. Maybe Dennis put in the virus.”

  “I don’t think so,” Brian said. “Look, we’ve already figured out that the message is not only from someone who knows a lot about computers, but who also knows what’s going on at your school. The only time Dennis is at your school is when our computer club comes to visit.”

  Sean jumped up. “Hey! I bet it’s Sam! He’s in the computer club. If Charlie told him about the three wishes trick Matt and I pulled, Sam might be playing a trick on us in turn.”

  “I don’t know—” Brian began, but Sean interrupted.

  “Sam’s always telling scary stories. These computer warnings are just the kind of thing he might pull.”

  “Okay,” Brian said. He pulled out his notebook and began writing.

  “What are you doing?” Sean asked.

  “Making a list of possible suspects,” Brian said. “We’ll start with Sam.” He tucked the notebook and pencil back into the pocket of his jeans and asked, “Why don’t we talk to Sam right now?”

  Brian and Sean went next door to the Miyakos’ house.

  As Sam invited them in, he leaned over and said to Sean, “It’s a good thing you’re here. I can warn you about the python.”

  “What python?” Sean asked.

  “I heard it on the TV news,” Sam said. He made his voice low and scary as he went on. “A large, dangerous python escaped from a zoo and can’t be found. Pythons like to wrap themselves around their victims and squeeze them to death—maybe while they’re sleeping.”

  “Yikes!” Sean said and shivered.

  “Cut it out, Sam,” Brian said. “That story was in the newspaper th
is morning, and the zoo’s someplace far away in South America.”

  Sam shrugged. “You just ruined a perfectly good story,” he said. “Sean started looking almost as scared as Charlie was when I told it to him.”

  “Poor Charlie,” Sean said, glad that Bri was his big brother and not Sam.

  “Let’s talk about computers,” Brian told Sam.

  “Computers? That reminds me. Charlie told me some weird thing about a magic computer that’s going to grant him three wishes.”

  Sean touched the giant chocolate bar under his shirt. “Where is Charlie?” he asked.

  “He went to the store with Dad. He’s been bugging him for a new bike.”

  Sean jumped. “Wow! They went to buy Charlie a new bike?”

  “No. They only went to the grocery store, but Charlie never gives up.”

  “Sit down,” Brian told Sam. “I want to talk about what happened to the computers at Redoaks Elementary.”

  “Yeah, the virus,” Sam said. “I wonder—”

  Sean slipped out of the room and down to Charlie’s bedroom. He tucked the chocolate bar under the bedspread on top of Charlie’s pillow. Charlie would be sure to find it when he went to bed.

  “Wish number one taken care of,” Sean said happily. “Now it’s time to get to work on wish number two.” He walked to the kitchen to talk to Mrs. Miyako, who was setting the table for dinner.

  “Hi, Mrs. Miyako,” he said.

  “Hi, Sean,” Mrs. Miyako answered with a big smile.

  “Is Charlie going to have a birthday soon?” Sean asked.

  “Not for another six months,” she said. “Why?”

  “I was just thinking how nice it would be if Charlie got a new bike,” Sean said.

  Mrs. Miyako looked startled. “Charlie’s been begging for a bigger bike,” she said, “but my husband and I think that his old one has another good year in it.”

  “Aw, the poor guy,” Sean said and tried to look sad. “There’s nothing more embarrassing than riding around on a bike that’s too small. He wants a new bike so badly. He even thinks a magic computer will make one appear.”

  “Oh, yes. We’ve heard about the magic computer. What’s that all about?”

  “You might say that the magic computer is something like the tooth fairy,” Sean said. “It’s kind of for bigger kids, who’ve outgrown things like little kid bikes.”

  Mrs. Miyako frowned. “Hmmm. Maybe this is something my husband and I should think over. I’m glad you told me this, Sean.”

  “Glad to be of help,” Sean said. “I’ll see you later.”

  As he walked toward the living room where Brian and Sam were talking, Sean thought about the third wish—a monster under Sam’s bed. He and Matt would have to give that one an awful lot of thought. Sean almost wished that the lost python wasn’t so far away.

  6

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON THE kids in the junior high computer club arrived at Redoaks Elementary. They immediately went to the media center and got busy trying to find the computer virus.

  At first Sean couldn’t find Brian. Then he saw him hanging over the shoulder of a dark-haired girl named Valerie Kincaid. Valerie and Brian were smiling at each other. Sean knew Valerie, and he’d seen her work with the computers. She was pretty good.

  Sean walked up behind Brian and said, “Hi, Valerie. Hi, Bri. Bri, are you taking notes?”

  “Go away,” Brian mumbled.

  “But you said—”

  Brian reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his notebook and pencil. He shoved it at Sean. “Here,” he said. “You take notes.” Brian went back to smiling at Valerie.

  Sean stationed himself at the open door of the media center, where he could watch all the members of the computer club. At the top of the page he wrote down Valerie’s name. A few spaces below it he wrote, DENNIS TAYLOR.

  Dennis liked to play tricks, and it would have been easy for him to do something weird with the computers.

  Some of the kids in the computer club were cracking jokes. Some were trying to give orders to the computers and saying, “Ooops!” when the computers didn’t respond. But Neal York was really concentrating on his computer, his hands tapping rapidly on the keyboard. Neal was one of the best in the computer club. Neal would have known how to put the virus into the computers, Sean thought.

  A voice whispered in Sean’s ear. “What are you doing?”

  Sean jumped and whirled around to see Debbie Jean. “I’m taking notes,” he said.

  Debbie Jean looked excited. “You’re on a case?”

  Sean winced. “Keep it down. Mrs. Harrison and Mr. Burns think I’m the one messing everything up. Bri and I just want to find out who’s really causing the trouble.”

  Debbie Jean glanced at Brian, who seemed to be more interested in Valerie than in the computer in front of them. “Brian’s on the case? Oh, sure,” she said.

  “Quiet. Right now he’s hot on the trail of a suspect, so he’s undercover,” Sean told her.

  Larry and Matt suddenly crowded in behind Debbie Jean. “What’s going on?” Larry asked.

  “The Casebusters are on a job,” Debbie Jean told them. “They’re going to find out who messed up the computers.”

  “Be quiet!” Sean said.

  He watched the computer club students and wrote down the rest of their names.

  Suddenly Neal looked up and said, “No more virus, Mrs. Harrison. I found it.”

  Mrs. Harrison leaned over Neal’s shoulder to look at the monitor in front of him.

  “The virus was just a timing device,” Neal explained. “The computers were set to operate correctly again when the timing device shut itself off on Friday. I just shut it down early.”

  “I’m so glad you found the virus!” Mrs. Harrison exclaimed. “It would have been terrible to be without our computers for the rest of the week.”

  “No problem,” Neal said. “This wasn’t a really great virus. I remember when Frank Grier found a virus that took six hours to fix.”

  “Frank’s good,” Valerie said. “It’s too bad he can’t be in our computer club.”

  “He can join next semester,” Brian told her. “He said he wants to as soon as the school lets him.”

  Neal stood up and gave a friendly pat to the monitor. “You won’t have any more trouble with this virus, Mrs. Harrison,” he said. “It’s gone now. This one was almost too simple. Any kid who knows computers could have put this virus in.”

  “Oh, really?” Mrs. Harrison said. As she stepped back she turned and saw Sean in the doorway.

  “Sean Quinn, I’m going to take you off computers for a week,” she said. “That goes for Matt, too.”

  “But we—”

  “Just get along to class,” she said. “Mrs. Jackson wouldn’t want you to loiter down here.”

  “I don’t loiter,” Sean mumbled to himself. As he turned to leave the media center, he said to his friends, “You see? Everybody’s blaming Matt and me for something we didn’t do.”

  Sean had barely left the doorway when Charlie nearly slammed into him. “Mrs. Harrison!” Charlie yelled, rushing into the media center. “The first wish came true! I got my candy bar!”

  He ran to the computer he thought was magic and hugged it. Then he dashed past Sean, shouting, “You were right! I believed my wish would come true, and it did!”

  Sean grinned, but Debbie Jean scowled at him. “He got his first wish from the magic computer?”

  “Yeah,” Sean said, “A giant chocolate bar.”

  “Huh,” Debbie Jean said. “If that’s what the computer is handing out, then I’d like one, too.”

  “Sorry,” Sean said. “You’ll have to connect with the magic computer to get your wishes. I haven’t got anything to do with it—especially when I can’t even get near the computers for a week.”

  After school Brian and Sean rode their bikes home, but they didn’t talk much. It wasn’t until they were inside their house, fortified with cookies and milk, tha
t Brian said, “Don’t feel bad about what Mrs. Harrison told you. I explained that you and Matt had nothing to do with the computer virus and that you and I were trying to solve the case.”

  “She believed you? Honestly?” Sean asked.

  “Well, not exactly,” Brian said. “I think she’s going to need more proof.”

  “Like finding out who really did it,” Sean said.

  “Right,” Brian said. “But she told me to tell you she’s sorry she acted so hastily and she’d like you to come and talk with her.”

  Maybe she’d let him come back to the media center, Sean hoped. He hated to be away from it for a whole long week. “I wrote down the names of everybody in the computer club, starting with Valerie,” Sean said and handed Brian his notebook and pencil. “What do we do next?”

  “What we always do with any case,” Brian said. “We’ll gather evidence. Let’s start by seeing if you’ve got any new E-mail.”

  “I don’t think I want to find out,” Sean mumbled. But he soon found himself eagerly leaning over Brian’s shoulder as the E-mail appeared.

  The E-mail letter read: I’M GLAD YOU’RE THE ONE IN TROUBLE. YOU INTERFERING QUINNS LIKE GETTING EVERYONE ELSE IN TROUBLE. NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.

  “Yikes!” Sean said.

  Brian looked pleased. “Now we have a clue,” he said. “A very important clue that could tell us who this is.”

  7

  SEAN STARED AT THE message on the monitor’s screen. “What clue?” he asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “Now we know it’s someone the Casebusters got in trouble. Or maybe it’s a criminal from one of Dad’s cases.”

  “Would this criminal be mad at you and me, too?”

  “I don’t know,” Brian said. “Here’s Dad’s disk with reports of cases he’s solved.”

  He inserted the disk into the computer and brought up the contents. “Let’s see if this tells us anything,” he said. He used the FIND key and typed in: COMPUTER. “We have to remember that whoever put the virus into your school’s computers knows a lot about computers.”

  “And knows everything going on at my school,” Sean added.