The School Store Robbery Read online

wall and held a gun to my head”, Wendy said, “He told me not to make a sound. The other boy opened the cash register and took all the money. The boy with the gun pushed me to the floor and told me to stay there, and then they both ran out the back door”.

  “Just calm down”, Mrs. Henderson said, “If you get yourself all worked up you won’t be able to remember anything”.

  “After they ran out of the back door, I went out to see where they went and to see if I could get the license number of their car”, Wendy said, “I ran down along the side of the building and got as far as the sidewalk near the parking lot when I saw them drive away in a blue car, they turned left at the traffic light”.

  “That was very foolish dear”, Mrs. Henderson said,”You might have gotten hurt”.

  “Our shot”, I said, of course that brought more tears to Wendy’s eyes and a lot more sobbing.

  “Marlow, don’t you have a class to get to”, Miss Lawton asked.

  “No”, I said, “I got here early; my first class doesn’t start until 8:30”.

  Now to my way of thinking followed two boys armed with guns out into the school parking lot is either very brave or very stupid. Knowing Wendy my vote is for stupid.

  “I’m so sorry that I let them in”, Wendy said, I will try to pay back the money that the boys took”.

  “That will not be necessary dear”, Mrs. Henderson said, “The school is insured for this type of loss”.

  While Miss Lawton and Mrs. Henderson were talking to Wendy I looked around the store for any clues that might help to solve this little mystery.

  I know what you are thinking: there doesn’t seem to be a mystery. Two boys robbed the school store and got away with the money that was in the cash register. The only mystery is who they were, but did things really happen the way Wendy said; just from the look of things I had my doubts.

  There are a few things that didn’t add up, let me tell you what I saw with just a casual look around the store. The back door of the store had a small window about eight to ten inches square and without much effort; I could look out and see anyone who might be standing there.

  Wendy is about the same height as I am so she could have easily seen that it was two boys dressed in black and not the delivery man. I would be willing to bet that the driver for the school supplies company never makes his deliveries wearing a black ski mask.

  I could also see that the rain was still coming down in buckets and water was streaming down the hill from the fields across the driveway bringing mud and dead grass along with it.

  Miss Lawton was talking to Wendy trying to get some kind of description of the boys or the car, but Wendy was having trouble remembering anything, since she was so upset.

  All Wendy kept repeating was that both boys were dressed in black with black ski masks that covered everything but their mouth and eyes.

  Mrs. Henderson said that she would call the police and Wendy’s parents and have them come and take her home. She left the store and went to her office to place the calls.

  The police arrived in about twenty minutes and began their investigation. Of course I had to go to my English class so I missed their arrival. I stopped back at the store on my way to my Math class; the police were still there and still talking to Wendy.

  There was a Detective Wesley Jones and a uniformed officer, a Corporal Brenner. Detective Jones was talking to Wendy while Corporal Brenner looked around the store and then went outside. I guess he was looking for clues.

  I heard Detective Jones ask Wendy if she could remember what color eyes they had. Wendy hesitated for a moment and then she remembered that they wore sunglasses. She also remembered that they both wore gloves.

  The third time I stopped by the store was during a Study Hall period and I had asked the teacher if I could go to the school store and she said yes but to come back quickly.

  “Are you looking for something in particular”, Corporal Brenner asked.

  “I just thought that you might want to ask me some questions”, I said.

  “And why would I want to do that”, Corporal Brenner asked.

  “I was the first person to arrive at the scene of the crime”, I said.

  “Don’t go away”, Corporal Brenner said, “The detective might want to talk to you”.

  Corporal Brenner walked over to Detective Jones, whispered something in his ear and pointed to me; I smiled and waved.

  Corporal Brenner went over to the backdoor; he looked out the little window in the door; he was probable thinking the same thing I had, about Wendy being able to see who was at the door before she opened it. He opened the door and looked down the driveway; the rain had stopped.

  Corporal Brenner reached around and tried the door knob; it didn’t turn, “Excuse me Miss” he said to me, “would you hold the door open so I don’t get locked out”.

  “Sure”, I said, “I’m always willing to help the police with their investigation”.

  “Just hold the door”, Corporal Brenner said.

  I looked outside just to see what things looked like out there; I have attended this school since eighth grade and in all that time I don’t think I was ever on this side of the school. Well I have been on the soccer and baseball fields up on the hill but never down this driveway.

  Right outside the door was a driveway that ran the whole length of the building with a high chain link fence that separated the school from the soccer and baseball fields, as I said that’s where all the mud and dead grass was coming from that I mentioned earlier.

  The ground near the fence was so muddy that any footprints that might have been there had washed away a long time ago.

  Although the rain had stopped there were puddles everywhere and mud from the fields was still flowing along the driveway.

  “Where does that driveway go”, Detective Jones asked.

  “One end of the driveway goes to the parking lot at the front of the school”, Miss Lawton told him, “and the other end goes around the back of the school to the loading dock”.

  “Is there any other way out from the loading dock”, Detective Jones asked.

  “No”, Miss Lawton said, “You must come back down the driveway to get to the parking lot and then to the street”.

  “Are deliveries usually made to the back door of the store”, Detective Jones asked.

  “Why no”, Miss Lawton said, “Everything must go through the loading dock at the back of the school, there is some paperwork that must be completed and the supplies signed for”.

  I was trying to listen to what Detective Jones was saying and looking outside to see what Corporal Brenner was doing.

  The wind was blowing down the driveway toward the front of the school making the door hard to hold onto.

  Some cold rain water dripped from the roof hit me on the back of my head and ran down my neck, I shivered and stood up straight, stepping back into the store and the wind slammed the door shut with a loud bang, missing my nose by only inches, everyone in the store jumped.

  I was about to apologize for startling everyone but my apology was interrupted by the doorbell it was Corporal Brenner; my earlier observations proved true.

  Looking out through the little window I could clearly see Corporal Brenner standing outside the door getting wet; it had started raining again. I opened the door, let him in, “Sorry about that”, I said.

  From the back door of the store to the parking lot was about fifty feet; how do I know that you may ask; the answer is quite simple I asked Corporal Brenner.

  I watched him pace off the distance from the door to the parking lot. He said that he counted twenty paces from the door to the parking lot and that his paces are a little more then thirty inches long. He told Detective Jones that it had started raining again.

  “Detective Jones, Wendy’s parents are here”, Mrs. Henderson said, “would be all right if they take her home”.

  “I don’t think there is much more we can do here”, Detective Jones said, “I have he
r address and phone number if I needed to talk to her later I’ll give her a call”.

  Mrs. Henderson took Wendy and her parents to the Administration office. Whenever a student leaves school, even with their parents they must sign out at the Administration Office.

  “Alright young lady”, Detective Jones said turning to me, “So you were the first to arrive at the crime scene”, He said, “and what might your name be”.

  “My name is Marlow Phillips”, I said.

  “She’s Lieutenant James Phillips kid”, Corporal Brenner said.

  “Oh yeah, I’ve heard about you”, Detective Jones said looking at me, “So why don’t you tell me just what you saw when you arrived”.

  “My locker is just around the corner”, I told him, “and although I can’t see the front of the school store I saw which direction Miss Lawton came from”.

  “Now if you couldn’t see the front of the store, how do you know Miss Lawton was leaving the store on her way to the lunchroom”, Detective Jones asked?

  “Miss Lawton is a creature of habit”, I said, “I think everyone in the school knows that she opens the store at 8:15, gives the student working there their assignments for the morning and then meets Mrs. Henderson in the lunchroom for coffee”.

  “You said that you heard Wendy screaming”, Detective Jones said, “any idea how long after Miss Lawton walked by when you heard the scream”?

  “When Miss Lawton walked by I just looked at my watch”, I said, “It was just 8:15. When I heard the scream, I slammed the door of my locker shut and as I did my watch band