Kristin Butcher... has novel ideas

The Science Squad is made up of Sue, Gina, and Nicole, three friends who love mystery and adventure and have an uncanny knack for finding it wherever they go. They also have a passion for science, which helps them through their adventures.

(Excerpt from Chapter 6 -- Out of Business)

Nicole and Sue turned toward the small store Gina was pointing at and gasped. It was on fire! The whole interior of the shop was engulfed in thick smoke and, near the back, angry orange flames were licking at the wall. Even standing on the sidewalk, Gina could feel the heat.

"We have to do something!" Nicole exclaimed.

But Gina was already ahead of her. She had the cell phone to her ear, and she was speaking urgently to someone on the other end.

"No, I can't tell if there's anyone inside," she said, frowning toward the building, "but I don't think so. The sign on the door says it's closed. Yes. Okay. We won't." Gina squinted at the name etched on the window in bold, gold lettering. "It's Barbara White Enterprises - 553 Oak Street. Yes. I hear you. No, we won't. I promise."

Inside the building, the fire alarm was still ringing insistently, but almost the instant Gina broke the 911 connection, the wail of a distant siren could be heard above it.

"That was fast," Nicole said.

Gina shook her head. "The fire department was already on its way." Then she gestured toward the shop. "The place has a monitored fire alarm."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a woman came hurtling around the corner of the building, screaming, "No! No, no, no!" And before any of the girls could stop her, she was fumbling with a key in the door of the shop.

"You can't go in there!" Gina shouted to the woman. "It's boiling hot, and there could be an explosion any second! Wait for the fire department. Please!"

But the woman wasn't listening. She was consumed with her need to get into the building.

Gina looked around helplessly. There was no one else on the street, and from the sound of it, the fire truck was still a little bit away.

"C'mon!" she cried to her friends. "We can't let her go in there! Tackle her if you have to!"

The three girls charged the woman, but before they could reach her, she pushed open the door, causing a great plume of black smoke to pour through the opening like an evil genie escaping from a magic bottle. The force of the blast sent the woman reeling backwards. She crashed into Gina, and then almost immediately began feeling her way back toward the store.

In seconds the street in front of the shop was fogged in by the deadly smoke. Gina's eyes stung and tears rolled down her cheeks. She pulled her shirt up over her nose and mouth, but the noxious fumes were everywhere, raking her throat and choking her. Half blind and coughing, she grabbed the other two girls, and together they stumbled away from the building.

Then the scream of the fire truck's siren became deafening, and suddenly there were fire fighters and miles of grey hose everywhere. A police car zoomed up to the curb, followed by an ambulance. Curious onlookers had started gathering too.

A fireman appeared from nowhere and peered anxiously at the girls.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

The girls nodded, and Gina pointed toward the shop.

"But a lady went in there," she croaked.

"Inside the building?" His jaw tightened. "How long ago?"

"Just before you got here. We tried to stop her but -" Gina broke off, coughing.

The fireman nodded grimly. "That's okay. Don't try to talk anymore. I'll take care of it. You stay put." He pointed toward the paramedics getting out of the ambulance. "That man and woman will make sure you're all right." Then, without another word, he hurried back toward the burning building.

The ambulance attendants moved the girls farther away from the smoke and, after checking them over, pronounced them unhurt. What the girls needed most, they said, was lots of good fresh air.

The woman wasn't as lucky.