“We gave out all our flyers about Grayson Majesty,” said Violet as she and Henry met up with Jessie, Benny, and Watch. The children had hiked to town after breakfast. They had divided into two teams and visited stores.
“We did, too,” said Jessie.
“I sure hope Mrs. Servus gets her dog back soon,” said Violet “And Mr. Brooks, too.”
“Now we’ll get right to work on the mystery,” said Henry.
Benny led the way to the Bread Loaf Bakery.
There was a new handwritten sign on the door. It said, Dogs Welcome.
“I guess that means we can take Watch inside,” said Jessie.
“Hello, Mr. Brooks,” said Benny as the children entered the shop. “Have you found Boxcar yet?”
“No,” said Mr. Brooks.
“We’ve come to buy some rolls and get our free lemonades,” said Benny. He clutched the coupon in his hand and almost pressed his nose to the glass case. Jessie pulled him back just in time, before he smeared the sparkling clean glass.
The Aldens each picked a roll, and they also bought a bread bone for Watch. Mr. Brooks told them they could sit on the patio. When he brought their lemonades, Jessie asked if they could ask him a few questions.
“Sure,” he said. He pulled up a chair from another table and sat down next to Watch. “Watch looks great,” said Mr. Brooks. “I almost wouldn’t recognize him.”
“You told us that Roxanne worked at other dog training schools where dogs were stolen,” said Henry. “How did you learn that?”
Mr. Brooks looked uncomfortable. “I feel bad that I accused Roxanne,” he said. “I apologized to her. I was just upset about my dog, that’s all.”
Henry asked his question another way. “You said that when Roxanne worked in Elmford and Northport, there were dogs stolen,” said Henry. “How did you know that?”
“I read it in the newspaper,” answered Mr. Brooks. “Here, let me show you.” He reached over to a shelf and pulled a newspaper off it. “See,” he said, spreading open the paper to the personal ads. A few of them were circled in red ink.
Jessie and Violet looked closely at the small ads. “These ads are from owners still looking for their lost dogs,” said Jessie.
“And the dogs went missing from dog training centers,” said Violet.
“So,” said Henry, “dogs might have run away from nearby dog training centers. Or, they might have been stolen.”
“Stolen,” said Mr. Brooks. “Somebody is stealing dogs from training centers. Maybe one or two dogs a month. Maybe more.”
“That’s bad,” said Jessie.
“That’s terrible,” said Violet.
Henry looked at Mr. Brooks. “But how did you know that Roxanne worked at these two places?” asked Henry.
“I called the two places and talked to the owners. I asked who was working there when the dogs went missing. Roxanne worked at both places.”
“Hmmmm,” said Henry. “That doesn’t look good.”
“But like I told you before, Roxanne came over to talk to me,” said Mr. Brooks. “I’m convinced she didn’t steal any of the dogs. Roxanne and I are friends again.”
This made Violet feel very good. She liked Roxanne, and she liked Mr. Brooks.
“If you don’t suspect Roxanne anymore, whom do you suspect?” asked Jessie.
Mr. Brooks looked away.
The children waited.
“Well,” said Mr. Brooks at last, “Mr. Kovack seems to know a lot about stolen dogs.”
“We overheard you and Mr. Kovack talking,” said Henry. “It sounded to us like you were both talking about stealing dogs.”
Mr. Brooks jumped out of his chair. “I forgot! There’s bread in the oven! Sorry, I have to tend to business, can’t answer your questions right now.” He left the patio.
The Aldens watched Mr. Brooks rush away.
“That’s strange,” said Benny, finishing his glazed roll. “Mr. Brooks always runs to his ovens whenever we ask him questions.”
“Maybe his bread needs a lot of attention,” said Jessie. “Or maybe Mr. Brooks just doesn’t want to answer certain questions.”
The children finished their food. When they paid for it, there were four other customers in the shop. Mr. Brooks really was busy.
“Let’s go talk to Roxanne next,” said Benny. “I like her red hair, even though it has brown somethings.”
“Roots,” Violet explained to her younger brother. “Each hair on your head grows out of a hair root in your scalp.”
Benny felt his head. “My hair is brown,” he said. “So my hair roots must be brown, too.”
“That’s right,” said Henry. “If you dyed your hair red, your roots would still be brown. That’s why people who dye their hair have to dye it again every few weeks.”
“Mr. Kovack knew that Roxanne dyes her hair because he noticed her brown hair roots,” said Jessie. “Mr. Kovack notices a lot of little things like that,” she said.
“Look,” said Henry as they walked into the Dog Gone Good parking lot. “That’s Mr. Kovack’s car.”
When the Aldens walked into the building, Mr. Kovack and his bloodhound were there. Mr. Kovack was standing all alone, writing something in a notebook. Christie was sitting by his side, waiting.
Watch barked and ran up to Christie.
“Hi, Mr. Kovack,” said the Aldens.
He turned around. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he put away his notebook.
“We came to talk to Roxanne,” said Benny.
Watch ran circles around Christie. The bloodhound just sat there.
“Watch! Sit!” said Henry. “Sit.”
Watch stopped running, but he did not sit.
Mr. Kovack stood in front of Watch. Mr. Kovack lifted a finger and pointed it at Watch. “Sit,” he commanded.
Watch sat next to Christie.
“You’re very good with dogs,” said Violet. “They do whatever you want.”
“I like dogs,” said Mr. Kovack. “And Watch is a good-looking dog.”
“Christie is a very well-trained dog,” said Henry.
Mr. Kovack started to say something, then stopped.
“We wonder why you and Christie are in a dog training class,” said Jessie.
“What do you mean?” asked Mr. Kovack.
“Neither of you needs any training,” said Jessie.
Mr. Kovack chuckled. “Everybody needs a refresher course.”
Just then the door to Roxanne’s office opened, and Roxanne stepped out. “Oh, hi everybody,” she said. “This is way too early for class.”
“The Alden kids want to talk to you,” Mr. Kovack told her.
Roxanne turned pale. “Oh,” she said. She looked around nervously. “Well, maybe you should all come into my office.”
The children stepped forward. “Come, Watch,” said Jessie.
Watch stood up to follow her.
“Wait,” said Mr. Kovack. “Why don’t you leave Watch with me while you talk to Roxanne? I’ll spend the time going over the basic commands with Watch.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay,” said Jessie. “We’ll take Watch with us.”
“You’re worried that something will happen to Watch,” said Mr. Kovack.
“But nothing will happen to him. I would never hurt Watch. He’s safe with me.”
Jessie still hesitated.
“Look,” said Mr. Kovack, “I will stay right in this room and I won’t let Watch out of my sight.”
Jessie looked at Watch, who wagged his tail.
“Watch and Christie can be together,” said Mr. Kovack.
Roxanne spoke up. “Mr. Kovack will take very good care of Watch,” she said. “I know he will.”
“Well,” said Jessie. “Okay.” She looked at Watch. “Stay!” she ordered. And then the children walked into Roxanne’s office.
Benny was the last one in. He made sure he did not close the door all the way. He left it open just a little, so he could look over his shoulder into the training room. Benny heard Mr. Kovack telling Watch and Christie down! Both dogs lay down.
“I know why you’re here,” said Roxanne, sitting at her desk. She put her head down and held it in both hands. “You want to take Watch out of training class, and you want your money back.”
“Why would we do that?” asked Jessie.
Roxanne looked sad. “Because you’re afraid your dog will be stolen,” she answered.
“We don’t want to take Watch out of your class,” said Jessie.
“It’s a good class,” added Violet. “We like coming to it.”
Roxanne looked up. “Really? Then why are you here?”
Benny looked over his shoulder again. Mr. Kovack was walking in big circles all over the room, and Christie and Watch were following him, one on each side.
“Is it true that you worked at two other dog training places?” asked Henry. “One in Northport and one in Elmford?”
With a moan, Roxanne put her head back in her hands. “I know what you’re going to say,” she said. “Dogs ran away from both of those places. You wonder if I had anything to do with it, don’t you?”
“Maybe they ran away,” said Henry, “or maybe they were stolen.”
Roxanne moaned again. “I didn’t steal them,” she said. “I don’t know who did, but—” Roxanne stopped.
Violet, Jessie, and Henry all looked at her. “But, what?” asked Jessie.
“I shouldn’t tell you this,” said Roxanne, “but I’m doing something about it.”
The children looked at each other. “What are you doing?” asked Violet.
Roxanne shook her head. “I can’t tell you.” Benny looked over his shoulder. Mr. Kovack was kneeling in front of Watch. He had taken Watch’s collar off and was holding it in his hands!CHAPTER 8
A Cover Uncovered
Benny tugged on Jessie’s arm. “Look,” he whispered.
Jessie turned to see what Benny was doing. She noticed the door that he had left ajar. “Good work, Benny,” she whispered back.
Jessie looked through the open crack. She saw Mr. Kovack holding Watch’s collar in his hand. Then she saw Mr. Kovack put the collar back on Watch.
“Excuse me,” Jessie said to everybody. “We need to see Mr. Kovack and Watch. Right away.”
Henry and Violet turned to see what was the matter. They followed Jessie and Benny out the door. “Excuse us,” said Henry to Roxanne.
Mr. Kovack was just standing up as the children approached him.
“Watch,” Jessie called. “Come!”
Watch ran to Jessie. “Sit!” she said, and Watch sat.
“See how much better your dog listens,” said Mr. Kovack.
“Why did you take off Watch’s collar?” Benny asked.
“Who, me?” asked Mr. Kovack.
“I saw you,” said Benny.
Mr. Kovack grunted. “You kids see everything, don’t you?”
The Aldens said nothing. They waited.
“Watch’s collar was loose,” said Mr. Kovack. “I took it off then put it back on, that’s all.”
Roxanne came out of the office. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Is there a problem?”
“We’ll see,” said Henry. He looked as Jessie knelt down and took Watch’s collar off.
Jessie looked at the outside of the collar. She looked at the inside of the collar. She looked at the buckle. Jessie didn’t see anything strange. She was confused.
“See,” said Mr. Kovack. “There’s nothing wrong.”
“Let me see,” said Henry. Jessie gave him the collar, and he examined it closely. At first it looked fine, but then Henry noticed a very thin line on the inside of the collar. It looked as if somebody had cut the leather. Henry ran his thumbnail alongside the line. Yes, it was a cut. He pushed his thumbnail into the cut to open the slit up. Henry felt something inside the slit. He took it out and held it in his hand. It was a small, very thin piece of metal, like a dime, only thinner. “What’s that?” asked Violet.
“I’m not sure,” said Henry, “but I can make a good guess.” He looked at Mr. Kovack. “I think this is a small tracking device.”
Mr. Kovack looked away.
“Let me see,” said Benny. He looked at the small silver disc.
“This looks just like what fell out of Mr. Kovacks hand when he took Grayson’s collar off. Mr. Kovack said it was a dime, but it isn’t.”
Roxanne looked down at the floor.
“Why did you put this in Watch’s collar?” asked Henry. “Were you planning to steal him?”
Mr. Kovack sighed. Then suddenly he smiled, and then he laughed. “You kids really are good detectives,” he said.
He looked at Roxanne. “I guess I have to confess,” he said.
“I guess so,” she said.
Mr. Kovack reached into a pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened the wallet and pulled out a card. He handed the card to Henry.
The card said:
Mike Kovack
Private Detective
No Case Too Small
Henry handed the card to Jessie, who read it out loud.
“Are you really a private detective?” Jessie asked.
“Yes,” said Mr. Kovack.
“How do we know this card is for real?” asked Henry “Anybody could have a business card printed up.”
“That’s true,” Mr. Kovack replied. “But I have an office in Silver City, and I’m listed in the phone book.”
“He really is a private detective,” said Roxanne. “I hired him Monday night, after Boxcar was stolen.”
“That’s why Mr. Kovack’s first day of dog training class was Tuesday,” said Violet.
“And that’s what you’re doing about the stolen dogs,” said Jessie to Roxanne. “You hired a private detective.”
Roxanne nodded.
“I was trying to put one of those tracking devices on Grayson Majesty,” Mr. Kovack explained. “But Benny saw me, and I had to stop.”
“We overheard you and Mr. Brooks,” said Henry. “You said that the malamute would be the next dog stolen.”
“And I was right,” said Mr. Kovack.
“Do you suspect Mr. Brooks?” asked Violet. She hoped not.
“I can’t share that information with you,” said Mr. Kovack.
Jessie wasn’t thinking about Mr. Brooks. She was thinking about what Mr. Kovack had said—about trying to put the tracking device on Grayson. “Mr. Kovack,” she said, “do you think that whoever the thief is, he might try to steal Watch next?”
At the sound of his name, Watch looked up and barked happily.
“You’re right,” Mr. Kovack answered. “I think that if another dog is stolen from this class, it will be Watch.”
Jessie knelt down and put her arm around Watch’s neck. “Why?” she asked.
Mr. Kovack looked at Watch and smiled. “Watch is a wire-haired terrier. He’s a very good-looking dog. He’s a happy dog. He’s fun to be with. That makes him easy for a thief to sell.”
The Aldens agreed with Mr. Kovack’s description of their dog. Benny, Violet, and Henry formed a circle around Watch to protect him.
“We can’t let that happen!” cried Violet. “Watch is our dog. He wouldn’t be happy without us.”
“We won’t let it happen,” said Henry firmly.
Mr. Kovack looked sympathetic. “You told me that Watch doesn’t have papers that show his breeding. You don’t enroll Watch in dog shows. And that,” he said, “also makes it easy for a thief to sell Watch.”
“How do you mean?” asked Jessie, still kneeling and holding Watch.
“I mean, if Watch had papers and could be traced, if Watch was recognized by people who go to dog shows, the thief would have a harder time not getting caught. Somebody might recognize Watch and report it to the police.”
“I see,” said Henry. “The thief wants a dog that will sell for a lot of money, but the thief doesn’t want the dogs that would sell for the most money.”
“Because the dogs that sell for the most money are better known,” said Violet.
“The thief is very sneaky,” said Benny. “Maybe he would make the dogs look different.”
“That’s true,” said Mr. Kovack. “But he couldn’t make them into show dogs. Anyway, we’re going to find out who the thief is, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” said the Aldens together.
“Good,” said Mr. Kovack. “Do you think we should keep the tracking device in Watch’s collar?”
“Yes,” said Jessie.
Everybody watched as Henry put the little disc into the slit in Watch’s collar. Jessie fastened the collar back onto Watch.
“I am very impressed with what you kids have learned so far,” said Mr. Kovack. “Who do you suspect the thief is?”
“I’m sorry,” said Henry, “but we can’t share that information with you. Not until we’re sure.”
Mr. Kovack laughed. “Spoken like a true detective,” he said.
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