The Case of the Fire Alarm by Dori Hillestad Butler, Jeremy Tugeau Page A

There was a fire at our school a long time ago, and part of the school burned down. This girl—her name was Agatha Curry—she got burned up in the fire, and now her ghost haunts the old part of the school.”
    Mom shakes her head. “That’s just a story, Connor,” she says. “It’s not true.”
    “Yes, it is,” Connor insists. “Kids have seen her, Mom. So has the janitor.”
    “Mr. Poe likes to tell stories,” Mom says. “And he likes to get kids all riled up. There’s no such thing as a ghost, Connor. You know that.”
    I didn’t think there was any such thing as a ghost. But I’m glad to hear Mom say it.
    We pull into the school parking lot, and Mom parks the car. I see kids playing on the swings ... kids playing chase—I LOVE chase. It’s my favorite game! Oh, and over there I see kids hitting a ball around a pole. That looks even better than chase!
    “Let me out!” I say, scratching at the door. “I want to PLAY BALL!”
    Mom opens the door, and Connor hands her my leash.
    “Is that our new therapy dog?” a girl about Connor’s age calls out. She and a bunch of other kids run toward us.
    Oh, boy! New friends. I LOVE new friends!
    “Yes, this is Buddy,” Mom says.
    I am trying to sniff and lick all these kids, but there are too many of them. And they are all petting me! I LOVE getting petted!
    “I need to take Buddy inside now,” Mom says as she tries to lead me away.
    Aw ... so soon?
    “Bye, Buddy,” Connor says. He and Michael race toward that pole with the ball.

    “Where are you taking him? Where is he going to be?” a boy with a missing tooth asks.
    “He’ll be in my office most of the time,” Mom says. “But once he settles in, Mrs. Warner will have him in the library sometimes, too. You’ll be able to sign up for reading sessions with him.”
    “Yay!” the kids cheer.
    Mom opens the door to the school. “This way, Buddy,” she says, guiding me down the hall. My toes make a funny clicking sound as we walk. Just like at the vet’s office.
    There are so many interesting smells in this place. Pancakes ... sausage ... I LOVE pancakes and sausage. They’re my favorite foods!
    I also smell shoes. Lots of shoes. And dirt. And perfume. And coffee. I think we are moving closer to the coffee. And farther away from the pancakes and sausage. Too bad!
    Mom leads me into a room with a desk and table, plants, and lots of windows. There are two ladies in here. One of them is sitting at the desk. She’s an older lady with curly hair, and she smells very nice. Like liver treats. I LOVE liver treats. They’re my favorite food!
    “Ellie,” Mom says to the lady, “this is Buddy.”
    Ellie smiles at me. “Hi, Buddy.”
    I rest my chin on Ellie’s desk. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a LIVER TREAT! She hands the treat to me, and I gobble it up. Mmm. I think Ellie and I are going to be good friends.
    I’m not so sure about the other lady. She smells like hot pepper and pineapple, and she’s looking at me like I’m the one who smells bad.
    “I can’t believe the school board approved this,” the hot-pepper-and-pineapple lady tells Mom. “Dogs don’t belong in schools.”
    “Buddy is well trained, Mrs. Argus,” Mom says, scratching my ears. “And I think there’s a lot of good that can come from having a dog at school. Studies have shown that simply petting a dog lowers heart rate and blood pressure—”
    “Yes, I read the information you passed around,” Mrs. Argus says. “But that doesn’t mean I agree with it. I’ll be watching this dog.” She points a finger at me. “One wrong move, and he’s out of here!”

2
Trouble
    One wrong move? What does that mean?
    “Don’t worry, Sarah,” Ellie tells Mom after Mrs. Argus leaves. “Mona is slow to warm up to new ideas. But she’ll come around. In time.”
    “I hope so,” Mom says. She brings me into a smaller room across from Ellie’s desk, then takes off my leash. There’s a desk and chair in the middle of