Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 Not far from Ruben and the squirrels, another call was taking place. "Justin! Where's Sadie?!" Michael asked urgently over video call from his hotel room. "Uhh, Michael...?" Justin began, a worried expression on his face. "Get her on the phone. I've got tons to tell you guys." "Umm... She's not..." Suddenly, Justin's voice and face zipped off and were replaced by those of Michael's fifth-grade homeroom teacher, Ms. McKay.

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"Hello, Michael!" her chipper voice rang out. "Class, say hello to Michael— in Israel!" Ms. McKay held the phone out to reveal a dozen less-than-excited-looking small faces. "Hello, Michael," they droned. Michael face-palmed in embarrassment. "What time is it there?" Ms. McKay asked. "About 7:30 p.m.," Michael groaned. Ms. McKay proceeded to teach a short lesson in time zones: how it could be 11:28 a.m. in Tennessee and 7:28 p.m. in

Nazareth. A lesson Michael knew, but had failed to do the proper math for. He'd thought he was calling Justin during lunch. "So, are you having fun and learning a lot?" Ms. McKay asked. Dr. Gomez, being a college professor, had arranged to have his son excused from class for an educational trip. "Yes, ma'am," Michael responded. "Give us a quick fact or observation." She held the phone out again toward the sea of disinterested faces. "Um..." Michael pondered for a few seconds. "They've got KFC here." A ripple of "wows" and "cools" spread across the classroom. "Lovely," Ms. McKay responded. It clearly wasn't quite the cultural factoid she'd been looking for. Michael was spared any further torture by the ringing of the lunch bell. As the kids spilled into the hallway toward the cafeteria, Justin was able to find Sadie. They huddled up in a doorway for an update from Michael, who told them he'd almost rescued Merle and Pearl thanks to Sadie's message, but he and his dad had been double-crossed. Michael suspected his dad's colleague Dr. Simon, who ran the Antiquities Museum in Jerusalem. Dr. Gomez couldn't believe his old friend would deceive them, but he was the only other person who had known Merle and Pearl were hiding out at the Basilica of the Annunciation. He must have tipped off Ruben (the man in the suit and sunglasses).

"That's terrible!" Sadie gasped. "What are you going to do now?" "I have no idea. Just keep looking, I guess." Michael yawned, ready for bed after a long day. "I'll keep you guys posted. They can't have gotten too far." If he'd only known that Merle and Pearl were settling in to sleep in their duct-taped pet carrier at the hotel just across the street!