11. Calling the Cops

Chapter 11 Calling the Cops Bradley put his finger to his lips and pointed toward the ceiling. He led the other kids into the hallway. They walked down to the kitchen. "What's the new plan?" Lucy asked. "We have to call Officer Fallon," Bradley said. "Who's he?" asked Lucy. "The chief of police," Nate told her. "Bradley, Officer Fallon will think you're joking," Brian said. "When you say aliens, he'll just laugh!"

"How do you know?" Bradley asked. "A lot of grown-ups believe in aliens. It says so in my book." "Okay," Brian said. "But you're talking to him, not me." Bradley looked up the phone number and dialed. "Officer Fallon?" he said. "This is Bradley Pinto." Then Bradley told Officer Fallon the whole story. "Yes, sir, we will," Bradley said after listening for a minute. He hung up the phone. "What did he say?" Lucy asked. "Did he believe you?" Brian asked. "I don't know," Bradley said. "He said to keep the attic door locked and wait till he gets here." The four kids sat at the kitchen table. "Some of that cake would be nice," Nate commented. "Forget it," Brian muttered.

Two minutes later they heard a siren. Nate peeked out the window. "The cops are here!" he said. The kids grabbed their coats and ran outside. They almost bumped into Officer Fallon and Officer Keene. "Have Josh and the others shown up yet?" Officer Keene asked the kids. They all shook their heads. Just then a fire engine roared into the yard. There were three firefighters in rubber suits and hard hats. "Hey, Chief!" the man driving the engine yelled at Officer Fallon. "Where do you want the ladder?" Officer Fallon looked at the twins. "Which one of you is Bradley?" "I am," Bradley said. "That's Brian." "I can never tell you two apart," Officer Fallon said.

"I have a tooth missing," Brian said. He proudly showed off his gap. "Bradley, where's the attic window?" Officer Fallon asked. Bradley pointed to the top window in the house. "That one," he said. "Put the ladder there," Officer Fallon told the firefighter. "Got it!" the man said. He backed the fire engine closer to the house. The ladder began rising until the top was right outside the attic window. "Incoming car, Chief," said Officer Keene. Brian and Bradley's parents pulled into the yard.

"It's Mom and Dad!" yelled Brian. The twins' parents leaped out of their truck. "What's happening?" their dad asked. "Is the house on fire?" their mom cried. One of the firefighters had climbed up the ladder. "Hey, Chief," he yelled down. "Should I smash this window?" "No!" Officer Fallon yelled. "What have you kids been up to?" the twins' father asked. "There are aliens hiding in the attic," Nate said, grinning. "Is this a joke?" the twins' mother asked. She looked around. "And where are the big kids?" "It's not a joke, Mom," Bradley said. "I told you about the aliens, remember?" Bradley's mother looked at him. "I know you did, hon," she said. "But I thought you were kidding around." "Well, I wasn't!" Bradley said. "A spaceship landed in our yard last night, and they stole Josh

and Dink and Ruth Rose!" Bradley's parents looked at each other. "And they took Polly and Pal," Nate chirped. "They're gonna eat 'em!" Just then Officer Fallon walked over. "Officer Fallon, what exactly is going on?" Bradley's father asked. "I got a call from Bradley here, saying the older kids—and your pets—had disappeared," Officer Fallon told Mr. and Mrs. Pinto. "Bradley told me he and his friends actually saw some aliens." "One was green and one was yellow!" Bradley said. "They were peeking in the kitchen windows!" "Great," his dad muttered. "I go to Ellie's Diner for breakfast and my family goes crazy!" He glared at his twin sons. "If this is some joke, you two are grounded. Forever!" "Can we please go inside?" the twins' mother said. "The neighbors will think Green Lawn is being attacked!"