“You are all very quiet,” said Grandfather at dinner.
“Yes,” said Mrs. McGregor. “I’ve never heard you all so quiet.”
“Henry,” said Grandfather, “tell me what you’re thinking about.”
“Scissors, clippers, and knives,” answered Henry as he buttered a slice of bread.
Grandfather looked at Henry. “Please explain why,” he said.
“They can all cut through a leather leash,” answered Henry. “I want to know if each cut looks different.” Henry cut a piece of steak and looked at the knife cut. “Maybe Watch has an old leash that I can experiment on,” he said.
“I have an old leather belt,” said Grandfather. “You can use that.”
“Thanks!” said Henry.
“And what about you?” Grandfather asked Jessie. “You aren’t thinking about scissors, clippers, and knives, are you?”
Jessie shook her head. “I’m thinking about whom dogs will go with.”
Violet asked Jessie what she meant.
“Well,” explained Jessie, “take Watch. If Roxanne asked him to do something, he would. If Mr. Brooks gave him a bread bone, Watch would follow Mr. Brooks. And if Ms. Wilson gave him a doggie treat, he would go with her.”
“I like Mr. Brooks,” said Benny. “He makes good bread.”
“Yes, he does,” said Mrs. McGregor as she cleared the plates.
“I’m thinking about something, too,” Violet said to Grandfather. “I’m thinking about dogs with blue eyes.”
“What do you mean? Grandfather asked.
“Both the missing dogs had blue eyes,” Violet explained.
Benny looked around as Mrs. McGregor walked into the room. “Is that apple crisp for dessert?” he asked.
“Yes, it is,” she said.
“Yum,” said Benny. “I’m thinking about food.”
“I am not surprised,” said Grandfather. He chuckled.
“But I’m thinking about dogs and food,” said Benny. “I’m thinking about what food a dog likes best.”
“If you were a dog,” teased Jessie, “what food would you like best?”
“I’d like Mr. Brooks’s bread bones the best!” Benny said. “I like them the best, and I’m not even a dog!”
That evening, the children met in Jessie and Violet’s room.
“It’s notebook time,” said Jessie, pulling out a notebook and pen. “Let’s make a list of what we know about the person who might have stolen the two dogs.”
“Let’s start with Roxanne,” said Henry, “because we met her first.”
“Roxanne is very good with dogs,” said Benny. “She can get Watch to do anything.”
Violet spoke. “Do you remember that Roxanne was gone from the room each time a dog was missing?” she asked.
Henry and Jessie nodded.
“Why would Roxanne steal dogs?” asked Benny.
“She could make money by selling the dogs,” explained Henry.
Jessie shook her head. “That’s true, but if dogs are stolen from Dog Gone Good, that hurts Roxanne’s business.”
The others nodded.
Jessie wrote on one page of her notebook:
Roxanne
—can get dogs to follow her
—was missing when dogs were stolen
“The next person we met was Mr. Brooks,” said Benny. “He gave us a bread bone for Watch.”
“That’s right,” said Henry. “What can we say about Mr. Brooks?”
“He can get a dog to follow him by giving it a bread bone,” said Benny.
“Yes,” said Henry. “And we heard him say that selling stolen dogs is easy money.”
“But Mr. Brooks would never steal his own dog, would he?” asked Violet. “He couldn’t do that to Boxcar.”
“There’s something you don’t know,” said Jessie. “When I was in the washroom keeping an eye on Watch, I saw Mr Brooks walk by and talk to Watch. But Mr. Brooks was supposed to be gone already, remember?”
“I remember,” said Violet. “He brought rolls and lemonade for everybody, then he left to go back to work.”
“Mr. Brooks accused Roxanne of running a class where dogs were stolen,” said Henry. “But the next day, he and Roxanne were friends again. Maybe the two of them are a team that steals dogs.”
Jessie turned to a new page of her notebook and wrote:
Baker Brooks
—can get dogs to follow him
—said that selling stolen dogs is easy money
—was around Dog Gone Good when Grayson was stolen
—accused Roxanne of stealing Boxcar, then changed his mind
“The third person we met was Ms. Wilson,” said Violet. “She was giving out coupons to all the owners.”
“Ms. Wilson can get dogs to follow her,” said Benny. “She gives them doggie treats.”
“Yes,” said Henry, “and she keeps cutting tools in her apron. Look,” he said, pulling out the old belt Grandfather had given him. “I made this cut with a knife,” he said, pointing to one end of the belt. “And I made this second cut with a pair of scissors.”
“What do you think?” asked Benny.
“I think that Grayson’s leash was cut with a pair of scissors,” said Henry. “I just don’t know what kind of scissors.”
“Or whose scissors,” Violet pointed out. Jessie clicked her pen a few times. “Ms. Wilson seems very interested in every dog,” she said. “She asks questions about it. And she was visiting Dog Gone Good when each dog was stolen.”
“Ms. Wilson goes everywhere in her van,” added Benny. “To her store in Greenfield and to her store in Northport.” Benny bounced up and down on his chair.
“And, Ms. Wilson likes the word Yip!” Benny added.
The others laughed. “That’s true, Benny,” said Jessie. “Is that good or bad?”
“Good,” said Benny.
Jessie used a third page of her notebook and wrote:
Candy Wilson
—can get dogs to follow her
—has sharp cutting tools
—asks a lot of questions about each dog
—owns a store that sells puppies and dogs
“There is only one person left to think about,” said Violet.
Jessie nodded. “Mike Kovack.”
“There are a lot of suspicious things about Mr. Kovack,” said Henry. “He told Mr. Brooks that the malamute would be stolen next. That’s Grayson. And Grayson was stolen next!”
“Mr. Kovack is very good with dogs,” said Violet. “Dogs just seem to listen to him and do what he says. And,” she said, “Mr. Kovack was doing something to Grayson’s collar.”
“Yes,” said Jessie. “Whatever it was, he didn’t want us to know about it.”
Violet looked puzzled.
“What are you thinking?” Henry asked her.
“About Christie, Mr. Kovack’s dog. She’s the best trained dog I’ve ever seen,” answered Violet.
Henry nodded. “That’s right. So I wonder what Mr. Kovack is doing in dog training school. Maybe he’s there to steal dogs.”
“There’s a problem with that,” said Jessie. “Mr. Kovack wasn’t there Monday afternoon, when Boxcar was stolen.”
Henry thought about this for a while. “That’s true,” he said. “But today Mr. Kovack said he had to leave for a meeting. Then, when Grayson was stolen, Mr. Kovack came running. And he stayed the whole time we were searching. I think Mr. Kovack lied about having a meeting.” Henry scratched his head and thought a bit longer. “And Roxanne seemed very upset with Mr. Kovack. I wonder if she thinks he stole Grayson Majesty.”
“Mr. Kovack lied about the dime,” said Benny.
“What dime?” asked Henry.
“The shiny thing that fell from Grayson’s collar,” said Benny. “Only I saw it, and it wasn’t a dime. Mr. Kovack put it in his pocket.”
Henry snapped his fingers. “That reminds me! After I said that Grayson’s leash had been cut, Mr. Kovack took the leash and put it in his pocket!”
“Mr. Kovack is very suspicious,” said Jessie as she turned to another page of her notebook. She wrote:
Mike Kovack
—dogs obey what he says
—seemed to know which dog would be stolen next
—tried to do something to Grayson’s collar, then Grayson was stolen
—lied about the shiny thing that fell from his hand
—lied about needing to go to a meeting when Grayson was stolen
—took Grayson’s leash after Henry said the leash had been cut
After she had finished writing, Jessie read the notes out loud.
“Wow,” said Benny. “Somebody is stealing dogs, but I don’t know who.”
That night before the children went to sleep, they agreed they had to talk to some people the next day. |