The Man with the Red Bag — Eve Bunting

Right from the beginning I was suspicious of the man. Right from the minute he got on the bus. Maybe it was because he acted so strangely about the bag. But mostly it was because of the way he looked. And because my ears started tingling at the sight of him -- an ancient warning of danger, not to be ignored. Six months after 9/11, everyone wanted life to return to normal. But when Charles Stavros boards the Star Tours bus, twelve-year-old Kevin Saunders is sure this exotic-looking stranger is up to no good:

He sits alone.

He has a bushy black mustache and sinister eyebrows.

He carries a red bag with him wherever he goes -- and even talks to it!

Kevin confides his suspicions to Geneva, a girl he meets on the tour bus. Together they watch the man's every move. Kevin is convinced Stavros isn't a typical tourist, interested in the Great Salt Lake, the Grand Tetons, or even Yellowstone National Park.

Kevin knows Stavros, red bag in hand, has something much bigger in mind, and it's up to Kevin to save the day, and maybe even the world.