Chapter 8

Chapter 8 When the kids entered the library, Mrs. Mackleroy was gluing a cover onto a book. "Hi, kids," she said. "Someone loves this book so much they wore the binding right off!" She finished the job, then laid a heavy book on top of the glued one to keep it flat. "There," she said, wiping glue from her fingers. "So how can I help you today?"

"We're looking for information about falcons," Josh told her. Mrs. Mackleroy pointed to the computer table. "Do you know how to do a computer search?" she asked. "Sure, we do it in school all the time," Ruth Rose said. "Come on, guys!" Dink sat at the computer. Josh and Ruth Rose looked over his shoulder. Dink typed in F-A-L-CO- N-S, then hit the "enter" key. A few seconds later, a long list of book titles appeared on the screen.

"Geez, there must be fifty books about falcons," Josh said. "Try PEREGRINE," Ruth Rose said. Dink typed in the new word, and the list shortened. The library had four books about peregrine falcons. Dink printed the shorter list, and they took it to Mrs. Mackleroy. "These are in the children's room," she said, making check marks next to two of the titles. The kids found one of the two books. The title was Peregrine Falcons: Royal Raptors. They huddled together on a bench and quickly turned pages. The book talked about how peregrine falcons had nearly been wiped out because of pesticides. They flipped more pages until they came to "Amazing Falcon Facts." "'Peregrine falcons are easy to train,'" Josh read aloud. "And look, it says they mate for life," Ruth Rose added. "Look at fact number seven," Dink said, running his finger down the page. '"Peregrine falcons are among nature's fastest hunters. When

chasing birds, peregrines have been known to top 200 miles per hour!'" "That's faster than a cheetah!" Josh said. "My dad's car only goes a hundred," Dink said. "Boy, wouldn't it be neat to see peregrine falcons racing." "THAT'S IT!" Ruth Rose yelled. Mrs. Mackleroy tapped her pencil on her desk. "Ruth Rose…" "Sorry," Ruth Rose said. The kids returned the book and hurried outside. "I bet someone is stealing falcons to race them!" Ruth Rose said. "People race dogs and horses, so why not falcons?" "Let's tell Curt," Josh said. "He doesn't even know Flash was stolen again." They called the DEP office from the phone booth in Ellie's Diner. Josh told Curt that someone had broken into the vet's and stolen Flash. Then he told him about what they had learned in the library. A few seconds later, Josh hung up. "He's coming right over." "He is?" Dink said.

"Yeah," Josh said. "And while we're waiting, I could use a pistachio cone!" Ruth Rose ordered her usual: strawberry. Dink got his favorite, butter crunch. The kids sat in a booth and worked on their cones. "You know, I've been thinking," Ruth Rose said between licks. "Who besides us knew that Flash was at the vet's?" Dink and josh looked at her. "Well, Mrs. Wong knew," Dink said. "For sure, she didn't break in and steal Flash!" Josh said. "And Doc Henry knew, but I don't think it's him, either," Dink said. Ruth Rose glanced at her friends. "Who else?" "Grace Lockwood!" Josh said. "Don't forget about Curt," Dink said. "We told him that Flash was at Doc Henry's." Josh shook his head. "It's Curt's job to protect wildlife." Just then, Curt Striker walked into the diner. He ordered a cup of coffee, then slid into the booth. "So you kids have been doing some detective work, eh?" he said.

"Someone stole Flash right out of the vet's place!" Ruth Rose told Curt. "I know," Curt said. "Josh told me on the phone. But who's Flash?" She grinned. "The falcon! We named him that because he eats so fast." "So what's this about racing falcons?" Curt said, looking at Josh. "Well, we read that peregrine falcons can fly 200 miles an hour!" Josh said. "So we thought someone might be training them to race." Curt sipped his coffee. "Racing falcons, eh? That's an interesting idea." "Could someone make money racing falcons," Dink asked Curt, "like in a horse race?" Curt nodded slowly. "Yes, I guess they could." He finished his coffee. "Tell you what, let me run your idea by a few of my contacts. Meanwhile, let's just keep this between us, okay?" "Do you really think you can find out who took the falcons?" Ruth Rose said. Curt slid out of his seat. "You can count on it," he said.