By the time Grandfather was done at the dentist’s, Henry had made all the phone calls.
“Should we have lunch while we wait?” asked Grandfather.
Henry shook his head. “Everybody will be here soon,” he said. “And I think we should act quickly.”
“That’s right,” said Jessie. “We’ve been watching to make sure that Ms. Wilson’s van is still there.”
Just as she said that, a car pulled up and parked. Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Servus stepped out of the car. “Here we are,” said Mr. Brooks.
Another car pulled up and parked. Mr. Kovack stepped out of the car. “Everybody’s here,” he said. “Good work, Henry and Jessie. Good work, Violet and Benny.”
Grandfather introduced himself to Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Servus and Mr. Kovack. “My grandchildren always do good work,” he said with a smile.
The group of eight people walked down the side street and into Dogs—Yippee!
Candy Wilson looked very nervous. “What are you all doing here?” she demanded. “I’m about to close. You’ll have to come back another time.”
“I’m here to see the Dalmatian dog you have for sale,” said Mr. Brooks.
“And I’m here to see the malamute you have for sale,” said Mrs. Servus.
“Those dogs have already been sold,” said Ms. Wilson.
“We want to see them anyway,” said Mr. Brooks.
“We sure do,” said Mrs. Servus.
“No,” said Candy Wilson. “You wouldn’t like these dogs. They aren’t as nice as your dogs were.”
Benny walked up to the locked door in the back of the store. “The dogs are back here,” he said. Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Servus followed him.
“We won’t leave until you unlock this door,” said Mr. Brooks.
Candy Wilson jangled her big key ring and walked to the door. “All right, all right,” she complained. “I have nothing to hide.”
She unlocked the door. Benny walked into the kennel room. Mrs. Servus and Mr. Brooks followed him. Everybody else walked into the kennel room, too.
As soon as Mrs. Servus and Mr. Brooks stepped into the room, two dogs started barking. The barks were very loud and very happy.
Mr. Brooks ran up to the all-white Dalmatian, which was jumping around in its cage and barking. Mr. Brooks knelt down and the Dalmatian licked his face.
“Boxcar!” said Mr. Brooks. “What happened to you—where are your spots?” He petted Boxcar and tried to hug him through the cage.
“That’s white dye,” said Henry. “Ms. Wilson dyed his spots so that he would look different. If you ruffle Boxcar’s fur, you can see black roots where his spots are.”
Mr. Brooks looked. “You’re right,” he said. “That’s ridiculous!” said Ms. Wilson.
Mrs. Servus was trying to hug the all-black malamute, which had its paws on the cage and was trying to get out.
“Grayson!” she said. “I’d recognize you anywhere! You have such beautiful blue eyes!” She also tried to hug her dog through the cage.
Mrs. Servus turned toward the Aldens. “I suppose that Grayson has been dyed black?”
“Yes,” said Henry. “If you ruffle his fur, you’ll see white and gray roots underneath.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Candy Wilson. “Utterly ridiculous.”
Mrs. Servus faced Candy Wilson. “Unlock this cage at once,” she demanded.
Candy Wilson stood there, unsure what to do. Mr. Kovack reached over and took the key ring from her hand. Then he found the right keys to unlock the cages that Grayson and Boxcar were in.
Both dogs jumped out and jumped up to lick their owners. Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Servus hugged their dogs.
Mr. Kovack chuckled. “Now is not the time to say down, is it?” he asked everybody.
Mr. Brooks turned to face Candy Wilson. “You stole our dogs,” he said.
Candy Wilson looked very nervous. “I found these dogs,” she said. “They were roaming the streets.”
“No,” said Henry. “You stole these dogs from the Dog Gone Good training center. You gave them dog biscuits so they would know you. Then, when we were all in the office, you took the dogs. You used a pair of your grooming scissors to cut Grayson’s leash.”
“You put each dog in your van,” said Jessie. “And you drove away. Nobody could see the dog in your van. I heard a car drive away when Grayson was stolen. It was your van.”
“I found these dogs, that’s all,” said Ms. Wilson.
“You changed the way they looked,” said Violet. “But you couldn’t change the color of their eyes.”
“Such beautiful eyes,” said Mrs. Servus, hugging Grayson.
“I agree,” said Mr. Brooks, hugging Boxcar.
“Ridiculous,” said Ms. Wilson. “Why would I steal your dogs.”
“We know why,” said Mr. Kovack. “Boxcar and Grayson are beautiful dogs. They are popular breeds. You could get a lot of money for each dog. But neither dog is a show dog. So you wouldn’t have to worry about somebody recognizing the dog.”
Mr. Kovack pulled out his cell phone. “It’s time to call the police,” he said.
Later, after the police had come and taken statements from everybody, Grandfather and the children left Dogs—Yippee! So did Mr. Kovack, Mrs. Servus, and Mr. Brooks. So did Grayson and Boxcar.
Candy Wilson had left in the police car. She was going to have to answer a lot of questions.
“Thank you for finding Boxcar,” said Mr. Brooks to the children. “Now I’m happy again.”
“Yes,” said Mrs. Servus, “thank you for finding Grayson. I love my dog.”
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny watched as two people and two dogs piled into Mr. Brooks’s car. They waved goodbye as the car drove away.
Mr. Kovack turned toward the children. “I want to thank you, too,” he said. “I was working on the case, but you were the ones who solved it.”
“We had to think hard to solve this mystery,” said Jessie.
Mr. Kovack nodded his head. “You solved the mystery because you’re smart—not because you’re lucky.” He gave each of them a business card.
“When it comes time for you to get a job, you should consider detective work,” he said.
Grandfather smiled. “Maybe they will,” he said. “But until then, I think my grandchildren still have a lot more adventures ahead of them.”
Then Mr. Kovack got in his car and drove away.
Benny turned toward the corner restaurant. “I know we’re smart,” he said, “but sometimes we’re lucky, too. Like now. It’s way past lunch time, and we’re standing next to a restaurant.”
The Aldens all laughed as they followed Benny into the restaurant. |