After dog training class was over, the Alden children stood in the parking lot of Dog Gone Good.
“Let’s talk to Ms. Wilson,” said Jessie. “We haven’t had a chance to ask her about the missing dogs.”
“Good idea,” said Henry.
The children looked for Candy Wilson, but they couldn’t find her or her van. Clip and Yip was closed.
Jessie peeked into the window of the closed store, but she couldn’t see anybody there. “Something about this bothers me,” said Jessie.
“What bothers you?” asked Benny.
“Do you remember what Ms. Wilson said the first day of class, as she was leaving?” asked Jessie.
“She said she had to leave because she had grooming appointments,” said Henry.
“That’s right,” said Jessie. “But what did Benny and I find when we searched for Boxcar that day?”
“Clip and Yip was closed!” said Benny.
Jessie smiled at Benny. “That’s right. And what did Ms. Wilson say two days later, as she was leaving class?” Jessie asked. “Just before Roxanne asked us to tie our dogs up outside the building.”
“Ms. Wilson said the same thing again,” said Henry. “She said she had grooming appointments. That could only mean appointments at Clip and Yip,” he explained. “She doesn’t make house calls.”
“And there are no dog grooming tools at her Northport store,” added Violet.
“Not long after Ms. Wilson left, Grayson Majesty was stolen,” said Jessie slowly. “Mr. Smith and I walked by Clip and Yip, to ask her if she had seen Grayson. But her store was closed.”
“Ms. Wilson told a lie,” said Benny.
“We need to talk to Ms. Wilson,” said Henry.
After breakfast the next morning, the children walked into town again. Clip and Yip was still closed.
That afternoon, the Aldens waited in the Dog Gone Good parking lot, hoping to see Candy Wilson’s van. But once again, Ms. Wilson didn’t come to class.
“There’s no reason she should be here,” said Violet. “She’s given a coupon to everybody in the class.”
The Aldens waited in the parking lot so long that Roxanne came out to get them. “Time for class,” said Roxanne.
“We’re sorry,” said Jessie. “We were waiting for Ms. Wilson.”
Roxanne bent down to pet Watch. “Candy Wilson usually comes to the first two or three classes, to give out coupons. Then she doesn’t come again until I teach a new group.”
“Did she come to the places you used to work?” asked Henry.
“Yes,” said Roxanne, still bending down to pet Watch. “Ms. Wilson has come to every class I’ve taught. She says the classes bring her a lot of business.”
Benny stepped closer to Roxanne. He stared at her hair.
Roxanne stood up and led everybody to class.
“I saw Roxanne’s hair roots,” Benny whispered to Violet. “They’re brown, just like Mr. Kovack said.”
“That’s what happens when hair is dyed,” said Violet. “Pretty soon the real color grows in again.”
Before dinner that evening, Henry called Clip and Yip and left a message. He said who he was and asked if the four of them could come in the next morning or afternoon.” Please call back,” he said, and left their home telephone number.
Nobody called back that evening. Nobody called back the next morning.
The children looked at one another. “I know where we can probably find Ms. Wilson,” said Jessie.
“Yes,” said Violet. “Grandfather has another dental appointment Tuesday morning.”
On Tuesday the children piled into Grandfather’s van.
“You all seem very eager to get to Northport,” said Grandfather as he drove. “Do you want to buy something at the computer store?”
“No,” said Benny. “We need to talk to Ms. Wilson.”
“Why?” asked Grandfather.
“I’m sorry,” said Benny, “but we can’t share that information with you. Not until we’re sure.”
Grandfather burst out laughing. So did Henry and Jessie and Violet.
“Why, Benny,” said Grandfather, “you sound like a very serious detective.”
“Mr. Kovack thinks I am,” said Benny. “He thinks we’re all good detectives.” The children had told Grandfather all about Mr. Kovack.
Grandfather parked the car near the dentist’s office. “Come back to the dentist’s office if you’re done early,” he said. “If you aren’t done early, we will meet at our usual restaurant at noon.”
The children walked down the side street to Dogs—Yippee!
“It’s open!” shouted Benny, seeing the Open sign in the window.
Once again, the Aldens walked into Dogs—Yippee! Once again, Candy Wilson was behind the counter. She was writing something on a sheet of paper. Once again, she did not seem happy to see them there.
“What are you doing here again?” she demanded.
“We’d like to talk to you,” Jessie said.
“We left a message at your other store,” said Henry, “but you didn’t call back.”
“Your dog doesn’t need another grooming so soon,” snapped Candy Wilson. “That’s why I didn’t call back. And I don’t have time to talk to you—I’m busy.”
The children looked at one another. They had talked about what might happen if she wouldn’t answer their questions.
“In that case,” said Henry, “we’d like to see the dogs and puppies you have for sale.”
Ms. Wilson stopped writing. She put down her pencil. “No,” she said.
The children had talked about this, too.
“Are you afraid to let us see your dogs?” asked Jessie. “Do you have something to hide?”
Candy Wilson scowled at them. Then she moved from behind the counter. “I have nothing to hide,” she said. “The dogs are in back.”
The Aldens followed her. They waited while she unlocked the door leading to the puppies and dogs.
The children stepped into a very clean kennel room. Henry noticed that there were about twenty dogs.
Jessie noticed that the cages were large and clean.
“These dogs are very well-groomed,” said Violet.
“Of course,” said Ms. Wilson. “I groomed each one myself.”
“You said you could make a dog look different,” said Jessie. “Could you make it look so different that nobody would recognize it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” snapped Ms. Wilson “Why don’t you take a quick look at the dogs and then leave.”
Benny stopped in front of each cage and looked at each dog. None of the dogs looked like Boxcar or Grayson.
Jessie stopped in front of a large white dog. It looked sort of like a Dalmatian. The dog barked happily. It tried to lick Jessie’s face.
Violet knelt in front of the cage and looked into the dog’s eyes. They were blue! Almost a violet-blue. As Violet looked, the dog sat down and put out its paw for a handshake. Violet shook the dog’s paw.
“This dog has blue eyes,” said Violet, “just like Boxcar.”
“This dog isn’t Boxcar,” said Ms. Wilson.
“It shook my hand, just like Boxcar,” said Violet.
“This dog isn’t Boxcar,” repeated Ms. Wilson. “Look at it—it doesn’t look like Boxcar, does it?”
“What kind of dog is this?” asked Henry.
“It’s a Dalmatian,” said Candy Wilson. “Its spots haven’t come in yet, but they will.” She paced back and forth. “Leave that dog alone,” she said. “You can’t have it, it’s already sold.”
Henry knelt down and patted the all-white dog. Henry ran his hands up the dog’s fur. Near the dog’s skin, he noticed that some of the hairs had black roots.
“This dog’s fur is white,” said Henry, “but some of the roots are black.”
“That’s—that’s right,” answered Ms. Wilson. “That’s where its black spots will come in. I think you should come back another time,” she said. “Like next week. I’ll have better dogs next week.”
“Look,” said Violet. She was looking at an all-black dog. “Is that a malamute?” she asked.
“Uh, yes,” said Ms. Wilson. “But that dog has been sold, too, so just leave it alone.”
“It has blue eyes,” said Violet.
“So?” said Ms. Wilson. “Why do you care about blue eyes?” she asked.
Henry explained that Violet liked everything violet and purple and lilac, and sometimes blue things, too. As he explained this, Henry knelt down and petted the malamute. He ran his hand up the dog’s black fur, so he could see the color of the hair roots. Underneath the black fur, Henry saw light-colored roots, gray ones and white ones.
Henry stood up. “Thank you for showing us your dogs,” he said to Ms. Wilson.
“I told you I had nothing to hide,” she said as she led them out of the room.
Once they were outside, Henry spoke. “That black malamute is not really black,” he told his sisters and brother. “Its fur has gray and white roots.”
“Ms. Wilson dyed its fur!” said Jessie.
“And the white dog had white fur with black roots,” said Benny. “She must have dyed its fur, too!”
“The white dog was Boxcar,” said Violet. “I know it was Boxcar.”
The children walked directly back to the dentist’s office. They found an empty bench on the sidewalk and sat down. Henry pulled out the cell phone that Grandfather made sure they took with them.
“It’s time to make some phone calls,” said Henry.
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