"Mr. Bubbles escaped from prison," Roxy thought.
"I have to help catch him!"
Roxy called to her friends.
"Hey, guys! I'll meet you at school.
I forgot my homework!"
Terrell watched Roxy hurry away.
"Hmm," he said. "I wonder . . ."
He shook his head. "No, she couldn't be."
A moment later Roxy was zooming through the air.
She landed in the Metro City Prison parking lot.
A prison bus lay on its side.
There was a big hole in the fence.
Detective Smith was talking to two guards.
He held a pen and a small notepad.
The guards looked nervous.
Roxy grinned. "Oh no, Detective!
I didn't know you were sent to prison!"
Detective Smith turned to Roxy.
"This is no time for jokes, Rocket Girl.
A very dangerous prisoner escaped."
"I know," Roxy said.
Detective Smith turned back to the guards.
"So tell me about the prisoner. His name is Mr. Bubbles, right?"
One guard nodded.
"He's one of the worst criminals in Metro City.
He's a clown."
Detective Smith dropped his pen.
"Did you say he's a c-clown?"
"That's right," the guard said.
Detective Smith's face went pale.
Roxy tapped the detective's shoulder.
"Detective, are you okay?"
Detective Smith didn't say anything.
Roxy looked at the guards.
"So how did Mr. Bubbles escape?"
The female guard shuddered.
"I was leading Mr. Bubbles out of the prison.
We were going to take him to a different prison.
But when I stepped outside, his gang was waiting in the dark.
They grabbed Mr. Bubbles and ran off."
"Who is in his gang?" Roxy asked.
"Did you get a good look at any of them?"
The first guard nodded. "We sure did.
They were clowns too, just like Mr. Bubbles."
"Gulp!" Detective Smith looked ill.
"Detective, what is wrong with you today?" Roxy asked.
"You're acting strange."
Just then the detective's phone rang.
It was in his pocket, but he didn't seem to hear it.
"Detective Smith," Roxy said.
"Your phone is ringing. Are you going to answer it?"
"Huh?" Detective Smith suddenly looked at Roxy.
"Oh! My phone. Right."
The detective pulled his phone from his pocket.
"Hello? What? Oh . . . Um, okay.
We'll, um, go and check it out, I guess."
Detective Smith hung up the phone and looked at Roxy.
"A policeman just spotted a tiny clown car speeding down West Street."
"That must be Mr. Bubbles!" Roxy said.
"We'd better get over there, Detective.
Let's . . . Detective? Where are you?"