"Yes, Mrs. Andrews," I said brightly into the phone. "I am available
Saturday afternoon. From 2 till 5? Turn left on Walnut, right on Lincoln
.. great. I'll see you on Saturday, and thank you for calling."
I hung up the phone and screamed. "I've got a job!" My
mother gave me a look. "I advertised! I made flyers and posted them up in
the grocery store. Want to see?" I raced off to get her a copy.
"This looks beautiful," my mother said admiringly. "Your name, phone,
address, age ... experience A+?" Mom laughed.
Three days later, I was screaming into the phone. "Mom! I don't know
what to do! The baby's been crying for hours, the kids are starving, and
these people still aren't home."
Once Mom arrived, things improved considerably. She quickly settled
three small children on the couch to watch cartoons, and headed down the
hall for the baby. "This baby can't be more than two months old," my mother
gasped.
"I didn't even know there was a baby until it starting
crying. And they don't have any food, Mom. There's no peanut butter, no jelly,
no milk, no bottles, no diapers."
Mom ran to the store. We fed the three little ones, gave them baths,
and tucked them in. That left the baby. Mom stared at the baby worriedly.
"She's hungry, poor thing. You checked all the closets, right?" I nodded.
"No formula?"
Mom checked her watch. "Maybe the neighbors know where they went." When
Mom came back, her mouth was tight. "I'm calling the police.
The guy next door said they do this all the time. They hire somebody for
the afternoon, then come home around 3 or 4 in the morning, and laugh about
it."
"What can the police do?"
"Are you kidding? They can take care of this baby. They can take care
of all these kids. They can put those horrible people in jail." Mom gave
me a hug. "I promise you, sweetie, not all babysitting experiences will be
like this one. But in the future, I think we'll check out the family
before you babysit."
You Be the
Detective
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