She stopped in front of the labrador.
She stopped in front of Sunny.
She stepped back and raised one finger for first place — and pointed at Sunny!
“She’s going to win Best in Show! I just know it!” said Henry as Caryn and Sunny stood proudly in the center of the ring accepting their award.
“I think you’re right,” said Jessie.
At last the judging was over. The Aldens took the cat to the animal shelter, where the night attendant let them in.
“We’ll take good care of him,” the attendant promised. “Meanwhile, I bet he’d like some food and water, wouldn’t you, fella?” He lifted the cat out of the carrier and handed the carrier to Jessie. Then, holding the cat in his arms and talking to him, the attendant carried him to the back of the shelter where the cats were kept.
“How do you think the cat got in the dog show?” asked Henry as Grandfather drove them home.
“I wouldn’t go to a dog show if I was a cat,” Benny said sleepily, leaning against Grandfather’s shoulder.
“Do you think someone did it on purpose?” Violet wondered aloud. “Like that mean trick they played on Curly?”
“Well, however the cat got in the Greenfield Center, he sure upset all the terriers. Chaser, the dog favored to win, was so upset that he didn’t win,” Henry pointed out.
“Someone had to have let that cat in,” agreed Jessie. “But who? And why?”
But no one could think of any answers.
CHAPTER 9
Sunny Disappears
The next day, the last day of the Greenfield Dog Show, was bright and clear. Since Watch couldn’t go to the dog show, and since he had to go to the veterinarian’s that afternoon to get his shots (although of course, he didn’t know it), the Aldens decided to take him for a special walk in the park. As Watch ran and sniffed happily, the four of them discussed all the mysterious things that had been happening.
“It’s as if someone is trying to ruin the whole dog show,” said Henry. “But why?”
They all watched silently for a moment as Watch sniffed at something under a tree. He cocked his head and started to dig furiously.
Then Jessie went on thoughtfully, “First we see that suspicious-looking man at the basset hound’s cage, and he doesn’t even have a good reason for being there …”
“And then someone shaves poor Curly the poodle,” put in Violet.
Nodding, Jessie went on, “And that’s when we saw that same man again.”
“But we saw Mrs. DeCicco then, too. She pretended not to see us, remember?” said Henry.
“Maybe she really didn’t see us,” objected Violet. “She’s got a lot on her mind.”
“Maybe,” said Henry doubtfully. “Anyway, don’t forget that we also saw Mrs. DeCicco with those grooming scissors. It’s hard to believe she’d really use them to trim her bangs.”
“And she did have that extra carrier when the cat was let out,” said Jessie.
“But it looked like that cat we saw with the polka-dot woman,” said Benny.
“I know.” Jessie bit her lower lip, thinking hard. “We called the shelter this morning. No one has claimed the cat yet, and we haven’t seen the polka-dot woman to find out if that cat is hers.”
“It could be,” said Henry. “We heard her say she doesn’t think Zonker should have to keep going to dog shows. So maybe she is trying to sabotage the whole dog show.”
Jessie said, “That’s true. Or maybe it’s Mrs. DeCicco. Maybe she is trying to make sure she wins. She said she has to win or she’ll lose everything.”
“But she’s so nice,” said Violet.
“Remember that Great Dane?” asked Benny suddenly. “He looked mean, but he was nice. You said you can’t tell by looking at someone.”
“You’re right, Benny.” Violet sighed.
“What about Mr. Burger?” said Benny. He picked up a stick. “Here, Watch!” he called and threw the stick. Watch stopped digging and ran to look for the stick. “Mr. Burger’s mean, and he thinks winning is the most important thing.”
“Just because he’s mean doesn’t mean he’d sabotage a whole dog show,” said Henry. “Besides, we haven’t seen him around when any of this has been happening. And unlike Mrs. DeCicco, he’s not going to lose everything if he loses.”
“Don’t forget the mysterious man, either,” said Jessie. She paused, then added, “Maybe it is Mr. Burger! Maybe he and the mysterious man are working together!”
“Or the mysterious man and Mrs. DeCicco. Or the polka-dot woman,” said Henry.
“Come on, Watch, time to go back,” called Violet. The Aldens walked slowly through the park and back down the street. When they reached home, they were no nearer to solving the mystery.
That afternoon, before Watch’s appointment, they went to the center to see how Sunny and Caryn were doing. The feeling of excitement that had been in the air the night before was even stronger.
“Let’s find Caryn quick and wish her good luck,” said Benny.
But before they could find Caryn, she found them.
“Caryn, what’s wrong?” asked Jessie as Caryn hurried toward them.
“It’s Sunny,” gasped Caryn, her face pale. “She’s gone!”
“Gone? What do you mean?” asked Henry.
Caryn took a deep breath to try and calm herself. But her voice was shaky as she answered, “She’s disappeared. One minute she was in her kennel, with her chin on her favorite toy, and the next minute …”
“You mean she got out of her kennel?” asked Violet. “Is she lost?”
“No! At least, I don’t think so.” Caryn looked around as if Sunny might come walking toward them. “No, it’s impossible for her to open her kennel by herself. Someone had to have let her out!”
“Another mean trick,” gasped Violet.
Henry patted Caryn’s hand. “She can’t have gone far. Someone would have seen her wandering around and recognized her, wouldn’t they?”
“I don’t know,” said Caryn. “My mother and I asked everybody who’d been around us if they’d seen anything, but they’re all so busy that no one was paying any attention. Mrs. DeCicco had stopped by to say hi a little earlier. She did say she thought she saw someone sort of hanging around nearby. But she can’t remember what he looked like.”
Caryn let go of Henry’s arm and clasped her hands together. “Oh, dear, oh, dear. All I did was walk to the end of the aisle to fill Sunny’s water dish. How could there have been time for her to get out? Or for someone to let her out!”
“We’ll find her,” said Henry reassuringly. “We can divide up and look.”
Jessie and Benny, Violet and Henry, and Caryn all went to look for Sunny. But when the three search parties met back at Sunny’s empty kennel half an hour later, no one had found her, or found anyone who remembered seeing her.
“Did she have on a collar?” asked Henry. “Maybe she got out of the center somehow and someone will find her around town.”
“Sunny wasn’t wearing a collar,” said Caryn. She seemed a little calmer, but she was still pale with worry. “She’s been tattooed on her inner thigh with a registration number — many show dogs are — but I didn’t have her collar on her.”
Henry looked serious. “I guess some people wouldn’t know to look for a registration number,” he said.
“No, but every veterinarian does, and every animal shelter,” said Caryn.
“Why don’t we call the Greenfield Animal Shelter and see if they’ve found her?” suggested Violet.
“Good idea,” said Henry. He hurried toward the phone booths. But he returned shortly, shaking his head. “No Sunny,” he said. “I left a description in case anyone did turn in a lost golden retriever.” He started to say something else, then stopped.
“I just remembered, we have to take Watch to Dr. Scott’s,” Jessie said.
“That’s right,” said Henry quickly. He looked at Caryn. “We have to go now,” he said. “But we’ll c
ome back as soon as we can to help you keep looking.” Caryn smiled bravely. “Thank you,” she said. “I’d better go file a report.”
“See you in a little while,” said Henry.
“We’ll find Sunny. I know we will,” Violet told Caryn.
As the Aldens hurried home, Henry said, “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Caryn, but when I called the shelter, I was told that someone had claimed the black-and-white cat.”
“Who?” asked Benny.
“A very angry woman. And she was wearing — ”
“Black-and-white spots,” guessed Jessie.
“Right,” said Henry. “She told the attendant at the animal shelter that someone had stolen the cat out of her hotel room last night while she and her husband and Zonker were at the dog show.”
“Wow,” said Violet softly.
The Aldens were quiet as they got Watch and walked to Dr. Scott’s office. At last Benny broke the silence. “Do you think someone stole Sunny, too? Do you think there’s a petnapper?”
Jessie looked grim. “It sure seems that way.”
“Mrs. DeCicco? She was right there,” said Henry.
“Not Mrs. DeCicco,” cried Violet. She put her hands in her pockets and shook her head.
“But she’s been around when everything has happened. And don’t you think it is a little suspicious that she just happened to have an extra carrier with her? Maybe that’s what she used to bring the cat into the show in the first place,” reasoned Henry.
They turned the corner and walked down the road to the veterinarian’s.
“I think it was the suspicious man,” said Violet. “He was outside the basset hound’s kennel. Maybe he was going to steal the basset hound, and instead he stole Sunny!”
“But then why would he bring a cat into the show? Or shave Curly?” asked Jessie.
“I don’t know,” said Violet, wrinkling her brow. “Could it be the polka-dot woman? Would she be mean enough to let her own cat loose at a dog show?”
“It’s mean Mr. Burger,” insisted Benny. “I don’t like him.”
Hearing the tone of Benny’s voice, Watch barked in agreement and pulled on his leash.
“Whoa, boy,” said Violet.
“Just because you don’t like someone doesn’t mean he’s bad, Benny. But you’re right to suspect him, I think,” said Jessie. “He wants to win. With Sunny out of the way, his chances are better.” She added thoughtfully, “So are Mrs. DeCicco’s.”
“It really is almost like someone is trying to sabotage the Greenfield Dog Show,” said Henry.
“Maybe that is it,” said Violet.
“All the bad luck things that have been happening have happened to the whole dog show. But why would anyone want to ruin a dog show?” asked Jessie.
“Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t like dogs,” Benny said.
“Here’s Dr. Scott’s office,” said Violet.
Watch knew where he was. His ears went down and his tail drooped. He planted all four feet firmly on the sidewalk and refused to move. At last Violet had to bend over, pick him up, and carry him inside.
Dr. Scott smiled kindly when she saw Watch. “There’s a good boy,” she said, checking him out. The way she looked in his mouth and ears and ran her hands over him was sort of the same way the judge handled dogs in the show.
“Now,” said Dr. Scott, “who will hold Watch while I give him his shots?”
Benny closed his eyes shut and grabbed Violet’s hand. Soft-hearted Violet shook her head and looked away.
“Henry and I will,” said Jessie.
“Hang on now,” Dr. Scott said.
But it turned out they didn’t have to hold on tight at all. Dr. Scott was such a good veterinarian that Watch hardly seemed to feel his shots.
Very soon Dr. Scott said, “All done.”
Benny opened his eyes and they all began to pet and praise Watch, telling him what a good, brave dog he was.
“Here,” said Dr. Scott. She reached in a jar on the counter and pulled out a small dog biscuit. Jessie lifted Watch down onto the floor, and Dr. Scott gave him the biscuit. He munched on it happily.
As Watch ate his biscuit, the Aldens asked Dr. Scott about her vacation.
“It was a good vacation,” Dr. Scott told them. “But I’m glad to be back. What’s been happening while I was away?”
“The dog show!” exclaimed Benny. He pulled on Dr. Scott’s sleeve. “May I go visit the dogs who are staying with you?”
“Yes, Benny, you may,” said Dr. Scott. “My assistant is back there now.”
“Thank you,” said Benny, and he went to visit the dogs.
Dr. Scott turned to Jessie, Violet, and Henry. “I have tickets for tonight,” said Dr. Scott. “Do you like dog shows?”
“We have one of the dogs staying with us,” said Jessie. “Or we used to, until she disappeared!”
“Disappeared?” asked Dr. Scott. “What happened?”
So the Aldens told Dr. Scott all about Sunny and how she had disappeared from the dog show that morning, and about all the other mysterious things that had happened.
“I don’t know. It could be that someone is trying to sabotage the dog show,” Dr. Scott said thoughtfully. “Although I can’t imagine why. Whatever is going on, someone is up to no good!”
“We’ve got to find Sunny,” said Henry. “So she can win best in show tonight.”
“But we don’t know where else to look — ” began Violet.
“Sunny, Sunny, Sunny!” cried Benny. He came barreling back into the examining room and skidded to a stop. He pointed back toward Dr. Scott’s kennels. “Sunny is back there!”
“Benny, it can’t be Sunny. What would she be doing at Dr. Scott’s?” asked Henry.
“It is Sunny, it is,” insisted Benny. “I knew who she was and she knew me, too!”
Jessie shook her head. “I know you want to find Sunny as badly as the rest of us do, Benny, but… .”
“Do you have a golden retriever staying with you, Dr. Scott?” Violet asked.
“As a matter of fact someone just brought one in,” Dr. Scott said. “Would you like to see her?”
“It’s Sunny,” Benny said stubbornly.
“Come on, Benny. We’ll all go see,” said Violet.
Swallowing the last bit of his biscuit, Watch trotted after them, with Henry holding his leash. But when they got to the kennels, Watch barked excitedly and pulled the leash out of Henry’s hand. He raced up to one of the dog runs and began pawing at the gate. On the other side of the gate, a beautiful golden retriever began barking and pawing, too.
“I don’t believe it,” said Henry. “Could that be Sunny?”
“Sunny,” said Violet as they went up to the gate. “Sunny?”
The golden retriever leaped up excitedly.
“A man brought her in this morning,” said Dr. Scott.
“Can you describe him?” asked Jessie.
“He was round. He had sort of shaggy gray hair, and it looked as if he had slept in his clothes, they were so wrinkled. That’s really all I remember, but I would know him if I saw him again. He signed his name as Mr. Smith. He just wanted to board her overnight,” said Dr. Scott, sounding puzzled.
“That sounds like … Mr. Burger!” said Henry.
“Does this dog have a tattoo?” asked Violet, pointing to the dog’s inner thigh.
“Why, yes. I wrote it down on her forms when she was checked in.” Dr. Scott paused to think.
“Do you know how to find out who she is registered to?” asked Henry.
“Yes, of course,” said Dr. Scott. “There’s a number you can call.”
“Sunny is registered to Mrs. Annabel Teague,” said Jessie.
Turning, Dr. Scott said, “I’m going to check this out right now. Wait here, please!”
A few minutes later the veterinarian came briskly back. “Sure enough — Annabel Teague is the owner,” she said.
“It is Sunny! I knew it, I knew it!” Benny ju
mped up and down with excitement.
“Good work, Benny,” said Jessie. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
“That’s okay. Watch believed me, didn’t you Watch? Good boy!” Benny hugged the dog.
“We’d better call Caryn and tell her the good news,” said Violet.
“Yes, and she can come pick up Sunny!” said Jessie.
“Wait a minute,” said Henry. “Let me call Caryn. I have an idea. A way we could catch the person who did this!”
“What is it?” asked Jessie.
“Let me talk to Caryn about my idea,” said Henry. “If she agrees, I’ll tell you all about it.”
And he hurried off to call Caryn with the good news about Sunny — and his mysterious idea.
CHAPTER 10
And the Winner Is …
At last it was evening, and the contest the Best of Show, the best dog at the First Annual Greenfield Dog Show, was about to begin. In their ringside seats, the Aldens and Mrs. Teague leaned forward eagerly.
One by one the seven dogs were led into the center of the arena. As each dog walked in, the crowd cheered wildly. Every dog was a champion, even if it didn’t win Best of Show.
Lawrence Burger walked into the ring with Plum at his side. He had a confident, superior little smile on his face. Beside him, Plum looked every inch a winner.
The Aldens applauded with the rest of the crowd, not for Lawrence Burger, but for his dog.
Mr. Burger took up his place in the ring and turned to face the center.
There was a pause. Then Caryn, dressed in a long glittery skirt and a silky blouse, led Sunny into the ring.
The crowd cheered. The Aldens cheered loudest of all.
Then Violet touched Jessie’s arm to get her attention. “Look at Mr. Burger!”
Lawrence Burger wasn’t cheering. His face was turning red. He looked like he was about to explode.
“It can’t be,” he cried. “That dog can’t be here. I know because I left her at — ”
Suddenly he stopped, his mouth open, his face even redder.
“What did you say?” asked the judge. She walked over and stood in front of Lawrence Burger.