"A-A-Annie," stuttered Pete. "D-d-did you h-h-hear t-t-that?"
Annie stood motionless. She was concentrating and her head was turned as if to hear better. She turned her eyes to Pete and nodded.
"P-p-police!" Pete stuttered again. A sigh of relief came over the both of them as they realized that it was sirens that they could hear. How is it possible? thought Pete. How did they know where to find us?
Annie rushed over to Pete's side as the robbers could be heard swearing and shouting in the hallway. They were headed their way and Pete could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Loud footsteps echoed outside the locked door and in an attempt to try and protect Annie, Pete moved in front of her, protecting her from whatever was about to happen.
Suddenly, everything turned quiet. All they could hear was each others breathing. Pete wondered if Annie could also hear his chest, or his knees rattling with fear, but the thought passed quickly as the next thing they knew, the door swung open an a very large policeman came rushing inside.
"Are you kids alright?" the policeman asked with a slight smile on his face.
They both nodded relieved and Annie stepped out from behind Pete before she started to cry. Pete didn't know what to do. He wanted to say something but wasn't sure that talking would be the best option at that moment.
"Are you Pete?" asked the policeman. "Was it you who phoned me earlier?"
"Uh-huh," Pete nodded.
"Son," said the policeman, "That was very brave and very clever indeed!"
At that moment, Annie stopped crying, all ears to hear what the policeman had to say. Pete frowned and pulled his shoulders up.
"In all my years of police work, I've never came across such a brilliantly thought-out plan! You deserve a medal! If it wasn't for your stutter act, the phone call would not have lasted long enough for us to be able to trace the call."
Pete didn't know where to stick in his head. He wasn't brilliant, and he had to set the police straight! "O-o-officer," he said. "I-I-I r-r-really d-d-do s-s-stut-t-ter," but before he could even finish his sentence, the policeman had already turned away, checking the hallway to make sure that the other officers had cleared the way. He signaled for the children to follow him outside.
As they walked towards the officer's car, they noticed one of the other policemen closing and locking the back of the police van. Through the protected glass, the silhouettes of the robbers could be seen inside. Soon, Pete and Annie were safe and driving back to their home town where their families would be waiting for them.
"Thank you, Pete!" said Annie with a shy smile on her face. "You saved us and if it wasn't for you, who knows what would have happened to us."
Pete smiled and nodded. He felt pride building up in his chest and without saying a word he decided right there and then, that he would never pretend to be dumb, ever!
The End
For Part 1, click here
For Part 2, click here
For Part 3, click here