The School Bus

Chapter 6


Climbing back into the family vehicle, Jim Sims jerked the car first into reverse and then into drive as he screeched off to look for his 3rd grade son Wil. As he had done during his drive from the office to the bus stop where Wil was to have got off the bus, Jim again found himself wondering, why had he uprooted his family this past summer, why had he taken them a thousand miles west to Red River Valley?

"Sergeant Anderson, HQ is on the radio and they say they have some information" announced one of the patrol officers on the scene. "I'll be right there" said Anderson as he abruptly finished a conversation that he was having with the mother of another child from bus 127. Walking quickly to join the team of officers who had moved to one of the patrol cars to begin the background and outstanding warrant report on bus driver Shawn Carlton, Anderson took front and center as he stated in his authoritative tone, "what do we have?"

Leaning in the open door of the patrol car, Anderson listened intently at the words from HQ, "There are no outstanding warrants for a Mr. Shawn Alexander Carlton, however, there is a past conviction on his record" continued the female voice being broadcast across the police frequency. "The subject was fined for failure to pay child support and a misdemeanor child endangerment charge stemming from a domestic incident 2 years ago" continued the audio report from the Red River Valley Police Headquarters.

"That's great" said Anderson in a sarcastic tone as he shook his head from side to side. "We have a damn bus driver that has a history of family problems driving one of our school buses." "Didn't the son of a bitches at the school board do a background check on this guy?" asked Anderson aloud as he looked back to see that Wil's mom was out of hearing distance and was unaware of the news that had just been received.

As he turned back towards the patrol car to listen to the conclusion of the report being sent by HQ, Anderson's eye was caught by movement coming up the street towards the the intersection. "This is all we need" said the police sergeant in frustration as he saw an all to familiar site. Driving towards the group of police cars was a red and white cargo van with large lettering announcing, "Channel 3 News..Always On The Spot"

With the background report complete and the results now having been received, Sergeant Anderson's next step of action was to establish contact with his officer who had boarded the bus for the final few stops of the day. Speaking into his shoulder attached walkie talkie, Anderson growled, "5-9 this is 5-1, come in" For those familiar with police chatter, the call signs said it all. 5-1 was to signify District 5, officer 1, the number given to the the officer in charge of each of Red River Valley's 9 police districts. In making the over air announcement, it was clear to anyone listening on the police radio frequency that the boss was on the air and looking for one of his street officers.

As would be expected, the response was quick and clear. "5-1 this is 5-9 over..." Having established communication, Anderson broke from the use police lingo and asked in a straight forward command, "Fain, where are you and what is going on?" Allowing for a few seconds of transmission time, Sergeant Anderson stood among several fellow officers to hear the reply. "Sergeant, we just dropped the last 3 children off and are about to turn onto Washington Street to head back to the school" answered Officer Fain from the front step of the now empty bus.

"Negative! I repeat Negative!" yelled Anderson into this microphone. "I want you to turn that bus around and get it and the driver back here right away." "Is this clear?" continued the now aggressive Sergeant Anderson. "10-4, I copy you Sir, we're heading that way Sir" was the response given in an almost sheepish tone by Officer Fain.

Having overhead the conversation between the two police officers, bus driver Shawn Carlton felt his stomach twist and his heart begin to pound. Following orders to return to the intersection of Rapid Street and Pebble Avenue, he was overtaken by fear. "What do they know, how much do they know, do they think I know something more about the missing child?"

With Wil's father in his car, patrol cars at the school and on the roads, and with the bus now returning to the corner to rejoin Wil's mother and members of the Red River Valley Police Department, the stage was set. "This is Jennifer Hadley reporting live from Red River Valley where we have a missing 3rd grader and a ongoing police investigation underway. Stay tuned to Channel 3 News at 5:00 PM for all the details" concluded the young beat reporter who along with a camera crew had arrived at the scene to add more commotion and atmosphere the the already tense environment.

Having completed her 15 second "On the Spot" news tease lead in, Jennifer Hadley then got to work. Picking up the notepad that she had dropped by her feet so that it was out of the just completed camera shot, she approached Sergeant Anderson with the look of familiarity often shared by local reporters and police. "What can you tell me Sergeant, what's going on?" she asked. "Ms. Hadley, it's very simple" replied Anderson, "We have a youngster who normally gets off at this bus that appears to have missed the bus or got off at another stop." "It's really nothing more then that."

"What can you tell me about the child endangerment charge the bus driver has on his record Sergeant?" asked Channel 3's Emmy Award Winning reporter Hadley. Knowing that she had today, as with many other day's, overheard the police report on a citizen CB radio, Anderson found himself in the position of having to shoot straight with the reporter. "Ma'am, you pretty much know everything we know at this point." "Yes, he has a conviction on his record, but we just don't have all the details yet."

Trying to put some distance between himself and the reporter, Anderson politely took a small step back before saying, "We've got some folks to talk with right now, if you'll excuse me I will get back with you as soon as we having something new." As any good reporter would know, Hadley realized a brush off when she saw one. She knew full well that she would have to continue to push and pry for information, for rarely would the police department release information without being asked.

"Turn the camera on and follow me" Hadley said to her camera crew. Having done so, Hadley then approached Sergeant Anderson who was now talking with Wil's mom. "Sir, just one more question please." "Can you tell our viewers if the bus driver, who has a child endangerment conviction on his record, might have something to do with the missing child?"

"What? What is she talking about?" clamored Wil's mom who was now hearing the news of the drivers background for the first time." Sergeant Anderson's felt the anger overtaking him as he found himself wondering, was the reporters question asked in innocence, or was it asked for the shock value of the reaction of Wil's mom. Keeping his professional composure, Anderson calmly responded, "Ma'am, we have no reason to believe anything happened other then the child simply got off at the wrong stop."

With a renewed rise of panic, Joyce Sims looked to Anderson to demand, "what did she mean about the driver having a record?" Now in the position of having to answer her question, Anderson told Wil's mom the results of the background check that the police had run on the bus driver. With the information on the driver now known, Joyce grabbed her cell phone to call her husband. "Honey it's me, they just told me that the driver has a criminal record." "Oh my GOD, what has he done to Wil"




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