Chapter Eight
Eric told Cam, “You just have to say ‘Click.’ Look at the picture you have in your head of the thief and at the videotape Barry took from his bag. The rental store can tell us who took out that tape. And there it is, the name of the thief.”
Eric went on, “I’m sure they have his address on their computer records. They probably have his telephone number, too, his credit card number, his date of birth, and lots of other things about him.”
Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.”Then she said, “He rented Jungle Jake Returns.”
“Jungle Jake Returns!” Eric asked, “Why would anyone want to watch that?”
Barry said, “He probably rented it just to fool our security system.”
Cam, Eric, and Barry went into the store. Barry explained to the clerk there why they needed to know who had rented Jungle Jane Returns.
“I can’t tell you that,” the clerk said. “Our computer records are private.”
“Take a look at my badge,” Barry said. “I’m an Ernie’s security guard. I believe the man who rented that tape is a thief.”
“I can’t just give you his name. I have to check first with my boss. Wait here. I’ll be right back,” the clerk said. Then he walked quickly to the back of the store.
“Look at all the tapes they have here,” Eric said. “Some of these were in movie theaters just a few months ago.”
017
“Ernie’s has tapes, too,” Barry said, “lots of tapes.”
“This is where you find the most popular tapes,” Cam said. She pointed to a slot in the front of the store. “People return the tapes here. As soon as the clerk checks them in, you grab them. When I come here with my parents we always look here first.”
Someone outside the store dropped in a tape. It slid down a small tunnel and into a wooden box.
“There’s a tape now,” Cam said.
Eric looked into the box. “I saw that movie. It was good.”
Another tape slid down the tunnel.
“Yuck!” Eric said. “It’s an exercise tape.”
Barry looked at his watch.
“I can’t wait here all afternoon,” Barry said.
“They sell candy here, too, and popcorn,” Cam said. “I love to eat popcorn while I watch a movie.”
Barry looked at his watch again.
“I’m going back there,” he said. “I’ll speak to his boss myself.”
Just then another tape slid down the tunnel. Cam looked into the box.
“It’s Jungle Jake Returns!”