The following morning, the Aldens woke and dressed quietly. They were all wondering what had happened to Ginger and feeling very sorry for Anna.
“I have an idea,” said Violet. “Let’s get some flowers for Anna. They won’t take Ginger’s place, but they might make her feel a little better.”
“The flower shop downtown is open early,” said Jessie. “We could go right now.”
In no time the Aldens were walking down Main Street toward the flower shop. Suddenly, up ahead, they saw a tall person walking a golden retriever!
It was Mr. Dominick!
“Hey, you!” Benny cried out, breaking into a run. “Stop!”
The others chased after Benny, expecting Mr. Dominick to run away. But surprisingly, he came toward them.
“Well, hello,” he called out, a broad grin on his face.
“You kidnapped Ginger!” Benny shouted angrily.
But as he got closer, Benny stopped in his tracks. The others stopped right behind him. The dog wasn’t Ginger! It was a different golden retriever!
“Meet Lola,” Mr. Dominick said. “When I realized I couldn’t get Ginger, I searched all over and found a breeder who sold me this beautiful dog. I told you I wouldn’t give up.”
“But we thought you meant —” Jessie began.
“You thought I meant what?” asked Mr. Dominick.
“Oh, nothing,” Jessie said, patting Lola on the head. “She is a beautiful dog.”
“Her first show is in two months. Come see her win,” Mr. Dominick said. “Bye-bye!”
The Aldens watched as Mr. Dominick and Lola walked off down the street. “Well, I guess Mr. Dominick wasn’t the one trying to take Ginger,” said Violet.
“Who could it be?” wondered Jessie.
Then they turned slowly and went into the flower shop. There they selected a pretty bunch of nice-smelling flowers that they thought Anna would like, and headed back to the school.
As the Aldens were walking up the school’s driveway, they saw Jason walking just ahead of them. “Hey, wait for us!” Henry called out.
When Jason turned, the children noticed he had a strange look on his face. He was carrying something in a bag, which he quickly tucked behind his back.
“So you had some things to do this morning, too,” said Jessie.
“Uh, yes,” Jason said. He sounded uncomfortable.
“What’s in the bag?” asked Benny.
“Nothing. . . .” Jason said. He seemed relieved when a car pulled into the driveway, interrupting their conversation. It was Charlotte Davis.
A few moments later they were all gathered in Mrs. Carter’s office, along with Anna and Mrs. Carter. Jason showed the diamond bracelet to Mrs. Davis. “This was tucked inside Ginger’s collar. Do you recognize it?”
“I think so,” she said, taking the delicate piece of jewelry from him. “It looks like the heirloom bracelet that I haven’t been able to find for a few months. I’ll put on my glasses and then I’ll know for sure.” Mrs. Davis began patting her pockets, feeling for her glasses. “Now where did I put them?” she mumbled to herself. “Oh, I must have left them in the car.”
“Can I run down and get them?” Henry offered.
“Thanks, but I’ll just call down to my driver to bring them up.” Mrs. Davis went to the window and called down to her car, which was parked just below. “Glen! Would you please bring my glasses? I think they’re in the backseat.”
A few minutes later, a tall man entered the room carrying an eyeglass case. As he crossed the floor to where Mrs. Davis was sitting, Benny gasped.
“What is it, Benny?” Jessie asked.
“It’s him!” Benny said. “He’s the one who was following us! I can tell by the way he walks.”
Glen was walking with a limp. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked at Benny.
“Are you sure?” Jason asked.
“I’m sure,” said Anna. Everyone turned to look at Anna, who’d been sitting quietly in the corner. “I recognize the sound of his walk from the grocery store yesterday. And I can smell his aftershave — it’s the same as last night.”
Glen looked around nervously.
“You think Glen is the one who kidnapped Ginger?” asked Mrs. Davis.
“Why would I —” Glen said.
Just then, the door was pushed open and someone else came into the room. It was Ginger! Trailing from her collar was a broken piece of rope. Ginger ran around the room excitedly, her tail wagging wildly. Then she raced over to Anna.
In all the commotion, Glen forgot that the others were there. “Ginger! How did you get free?” he said, not realizing the others were listening.
“So it was you,” said Mrs. Davis.
Glen realized it was over. He hung his head sadly and said, “Yes, I admit it, Mrs. Davis. I kidnapped Ginger and tied her up in my sister’s backyard. It’s just down the street from here.”
“But why?” asked Violet. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“It was because of the bracelet, wasn’t it?” said Henry.
“Yes,” Glen said. He began speaking slowly. “I thought if I stole that bracelet I’d have all the money I’d ever need. I used to take Ginger for walks every day. So one day, when we were leaving, I sneaked into Mrs. Davis’s room and took the bracelet.”
“How did it end up in Ginger’s collar?” Jessie asked.
“After I’d taken it, I saw Mrs. Davis coming. I panicked. I didn’t want her to catch me with the bracelet! So I made a slit in Ginger’s collar and hid it there.” He sighed. “But I didn’t know that the next day Ginger was being returned to the school for training.”
“So all this time you’ve been following us and sneaking around, trying to get the bracelet back,” said Jessie.
“Yes,” Glen said.
“And you stole Jason’s key and broke into the kennel,” said Henry.
Glen nodded. “I wrote Jason a note and signed Mrs. Davis’s name. I knew that he’d go meet with her and that would give me time to break into his room and find the key.”
“So that’s why you never showed up that night,” Jason said to Mrs. Davis. “I knew you were upset about having to return Ginger. Oh, Charlotte. I thought you were going to ask for her back. I was going to tell you I couldn’t do that.”
“You kept telling me not to come back and see her again, but I missed her,” Mrs. Davis said.
“She needed to become attached to Anna, and she couldn’t do that if you kept coming back,” Jason explained. “I was afraid that you were the one who’d been following us.”
“And the one who kidnapped her?” Mrs. Davis smiled. “I would never have gone that far.”
While they were talking, Mrs. Carter had gone to the phone and quietly made a call. In a few minutes, the police appeared in the doorway.
“Jason, why don’t you take Anna and the Aldens outside,” Mrs. Carter suggested. “We’ll handle this from here.”
As they left Mrs. Carter’s office, Jessie turned to the others. “At last the mystery is solved!”
“It’s great that we can go for a walk now and not worry someone’s following us,” Violet added.
“I don’t know about you guys, but solving a mystery always makes me hungry,” said Benny.
“Oh, Benny,” said Henry. “Everything makes you hungry.”
“Well, I’m hungry, too,” said Anna.
“How about a special celebration at the pancake house downtown,” Jason suggested.
“Good idea!” Violet said.
A short while later, Jason, Anna, and the Aldens were all sitting around a big table enjoying stacks of delicious blueberry pancakes. Ginger sat happily under Anna’s chair.
“There is still one thing I’m wondering about,” Benny said. “What’s in that bag you’ve been carrying around since this morning, Jason?”
Jason’s face flushed. “Well, I might as well get this over with.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a single red rose. “This is for you, Anna. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, but . . . oh, what the heck. I’m hoping that maybe when we’re done with your training . . . um . . . you and I could go out, you know, on a date.”
Anna broke into a smile. “I’d like that very much.”
Violet grinned. “So that’s what was making you so nervous!”
“And that’s what we overheard that day on the phone,” Henry said.
“I was afraid you might have heard me when I came out of my room that day and saw you on my doorstep! That’s why I took off so quickly. I was embarrassed,” Jason said. “I’d been talking to my brother about Anna. I was afraid to ask her out, but he said I should.”
“I’m glad you did,” Anna said, taking his hand.
At last all the mysteries had been solved.
A few weeks later, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were in the pet shop in Greenfield when they saw a tall woman standing at the counter. Beside her was a golden retriever.
“Mrs. Davis?” said Jessie.
“Hello!” Mrs. Davis said. “This is Max. I had such a wonderful experience with Ginger that I decided to train another puppy for the school.”
Just then Max began yipping excitedly. The Aldens turned to see that Anna had just entered the shop with Ginger. They moved smoothly together, like a team.
“Anna!” cried Benny.
“Hello, Benny,” said Anna, walking over with a big smile on her face.
“Are you done with your training?” asked Henry.
“Yes. Ginger and I go everywhere together now. It’s wonderful! My whole life has changed,” said Anna. “She’s even coming with Jason and me to a concert tonight.”
Anna knelt down and Ginger turned and licked her face eagerly. Anna laughed out loud.
“It’s good to know that everyone’s happy,” Violet said, stroking Ginger’s back.
“Especially Ginger,” said Benny. “She’s a very special dog.” |