“Oh no!” Jessie said. She lunged towards Watch to grab him. She had him in his arms just before the whole slide collapsed with a loud and heavy clomp. Henry, Violet, and Benny rushed over. Ms. Werner and Lisa hurried over, too.
“Is he all right?” Ms. Werner asked, very concerned.
“He’s fine,” Benny reported after giving Watch a big hug.
“I’m glad he’s okay,” Ms. Werner told the children. She turned to Lisa, “How could that have happened? Did you check the course?”
“It was fine when Ninja and Buffalo went through,” Lisa said. “I didn’t think I needed to check it again. I really don’t know what happened.”
“I’m sorry about the slide,” Ms. Werner said. She took the clipboard from Lisa and made some notes on the top page. Then she turned to the children, “Watch needs to do better in the next round if he wants to win.”
CHAPTER 5
A Dog’s Day
There was another short break so everyone could walk their dogs outside. Jessie held on to Watch’s leash, leading him to a grassy area near the parking lot.
“I don’t get it,” Violet told the others. “How is it possible that Watch had so many problems on the obstacle course? None of those things happened when Ninja or Buffalo ran the course.”
Henry thought a moment. “This mystery is getting bigger.”
“I bet that after we write everything down, it’ll all come clear,” Jessie said.
“I hope so,” Henry replied.
“Wow, look,” Benny suddenly said. A big black limousine was pulling into the parking lot.
Mr. Benjamin and Ninja, Dante, and Buffalo came over to see what was going on.
“That limousine must be for Ninja,” Mr. Benjamin said.
“No,” Ms. Werner said coming up behind them with Lisa. “It’s not Ninja’s.”
Benny pointed and asked Violet, “Do you think someone famous is inside?”
“We’ll see,” Violet said.
A chauffeur got out of the front of the limousine. He was wearing a flat black chauffeur’s hat, just like the one Benny wanted to get Grandfather. The chauffeur opened the limo’s side door. A teenaged boy with blonde hair and dark sunglasses got out.
“I know who that is!” Jessie said. “That’s Timmy Moore!”
“Isn’t he on that skateboarding show?” Henry asked.
‘“The Happy Gang,’” Violet added. “I love that TV show!”
“He’s really famous,” Benny said. “Timmy likes to be called TM,” Jessie said. “I read it online.”
“Now, I’ve seen Ninja and TM all in one day,” Benny said happily.
“Timmy is going to be in our Wundermutt commercial,” Lisa told them. “He came here to help pick the dog he’ll be working with.”
“I’m so excited to meet your dogs,” Timmy told the dog owners. He gave Benny a thumbs-up.
Back in the audition room, brought the dogs and their owners over to the stage kitchen. It had an oven and a refrigerator and even a little table with four chairs.
“Timmy is going to stand here,” Ms. Werner said. She pointed to a spot by the counter.
As Timmy walked towards the stage, he stopped to pet Watch.
“That’s a handsome-looking dog,” he told Benny.
“Thanks.” Benny beamed. “It would be great if our dog was in this commercial with you!”
“Yeah,” Timmy said. “I’ll tell you though, this is going to be my last commercial—ever.” He put his hands on his hips. “I’m done with TV and commercials. I want to do movies next—no matter what it takes!” Timmy tossed back his shoulders and stepped onto the stage.
Ms. Werner explained that for this part of the audition, each dog needed to rush into the kitchen and leap into Timmy’s arms. Ninja would be going first, then Buffalo, then Watch.
Mr. Benjamin took Ninja to the stage. Right away he began to complain to Ms. Werner.
“Timmy is standing too close to the counter,” he said. “He needs to leave room for my dog. Also, the lights over the counter are too bright. Ninja needs red lighting, not blue. His fur looks better in red.”
With a sigh, Ms. Werner told Timmy to move and adjusted the lights. “But only because Mr. Lillipool asked me to give special attention to Ninja.”
When everything was set, Mr. Benjamin said, “I need complete silence on the set!” He looked at Benny. “You are breathing too loud. Stop it now.”
Benny puffed out his cheeks and held his breath.
When Ms. Werner gave the signal, Ninja ran into kitchen and hopped up into Timmy’s arms. Timmy caught him easily.
“Good job!” Lisa said. Everyone could see that Ninja did well.
Mr. Benjamin hurried up to the stage where Ninja was. “Sorry we can’t stay and see the other auditions,” he said. He did not sound very sorry. “But Ninja needs for some beauty rest.”
“Be back by nine tomorrow morning,” Lisa told Mr. Benjamin. Then she and Ms. Werner went back to the office to make notes. Timmy walked over to corner of the room and made a call on his cell phone.
“It’s interesting that Timmy wants to be a movie star,” Henry whispered to the other Aldens.
“I sure hope Watch can be in this last commercial with him,” Benny said. “But Ninja did really well. Maybe he will get the job.”
“Mr. Benjamin seems to think so,” Jessie said. She had to keep her voice down. Behind them, Mr. Benjamin was taking his time gathering his things together.
“Watch will do a great job,” Violet said.
Finally, Mr. Benjamin and Ninja left. “Buffalo’s turn,” Ms. Werner called. But Buffalo was over by the door.
“Um … small problem here. Buffalo needs a quick walk,” Dante told Ms. Werner. “Can we let Watch go next?”
“That’s fine with us,” Jessie said. Ms. Werner agreed. So Dante took Buffalo outside.
Jessie took Watch up on stage and waited.
“Dinner!” Timmy called out. That was the cue for Watch to run into the kitchen and leap toward Timmy. But instead of running to Timmy, Watch ran right past, sniffing the ground. He ran off the stage and went straight to a box tucked in a dark corner of the audition room.
“No, Watch!” Benny called. He ran over and caught Watch by the collar.
“Let’s try that again,” Ms. Werner said.
Jessie led Watch back to the stage.
Benny covered his eyes with his hands, “Tell me when it’s over, Henry,” Benny said. “I’m too nervous to look.”
Of course, Benny was peeking between his fingers when the scene began. Again, Watch ran right past Timmy and off the stage. He went straight up to the box. He was sniffing wildly.
Just then, Dante came back with Buffalo. “Is it our turn yet?” he asked.
“Yes,” Ms. Werner answered. She turned to the Aldens. “I’m sorry. There is no way I can possibly give Watch any points for this part of the audition,” she told them.
Lisa spoke up. “There’s still tomorrow. Let’s hope he does better in the morning.” Ms. Werner and Lisa went back to the office to make more notes.
“I can’t believe it!” Jessie said. “The other dogs aren’t having these kinds of problems.”
“Jessie,” Benny said. “Something smells fanny.”
“I don’t smell anything,” Jessie said, taking a whiff.
“I think Benny means something strange is going on,” Henry said. “It sure does seem like bad things keep happening to Watch.”
Benny rubbed his belly. “No, Jessie and Henry. This is a real smell. A yummy smell.” Benny followed the scent. It led him right up to the same box that Watch had sniffed out.
Benny picked up the box.
“I think my stomach knows what’s inside.” Benny said. “It’s a steak.”
Henry opened the box. “You’re exactly right, Benny. There is a steak in here!” Jessie got Ms. Werner and Lisa.
“This is the reason that Watch was distracted,” Jessie said, pointing at the box. Ms.
Werner was surprised. “How did a steak get in here?” She looked at Lisa.
“Don’t ask me,” Lisa said.
“First there was the broken slide. Now, there’s the steak,” Jessie said. “It appears that someone doesn’t want Watch to win.”
“But who?” Violet asked.
“And what should we do?” Henry added.
“I have never run into a problem like this before,” Ms. Werner said. She turned to Lisa. “See if you can figure out who might be trying to ruin Watch’s audition.” Then she thought for a moment, and said, “Watch can have another try, after Buffalo takes his turn.”
Dante took Buffalo up to the stage.
“Dinner!” Timmy called out.
Buffalo leapt right into Timmy’s open arms. It was a good jump. But when Timmy bent to put Buffalo down, the dog squirmed and knocked Timmy over into the nearby chair. The chair crashed to the floor with a bang.
“Good job,” Ms. Werner said, coming over to give Buffalo a pat. “Your dog is a good jumper.”
“Thanks,” Dante said. He put on Buffalo’s leash. “See you tomorrow,” he told everyone. Then he and the dog left.
It was almost time for Watch to take his turn again. While Ms. Werner and Lisa talked to Timmy, the Aldens gathered together to talk.
“Watch can jump just as high as Buffalo,” Benny told Henry. “And I bet Watch won’t knock Timmy down, either.”
“It’s so odd,” Jessie added. “Buffalo’s just not that great a performer. And yet, Ms. Werner loves him.”
“I know this sounds strange, but I think that Buffalo’s speckles keep getting darker,” Violet said.
“I have a funny feeling about Dante,” Henry added.
“I think we should help figure out who is ruining Watch’s audition,” Jessie said. “Dante should be our first suspect.”
“Our second suspect should be—” Violet began, but she was interrupted by Ms. Werner.
“It is now Watch’s turn,” Ms. Werner said.
Jessie led Watch to the stage again.
“Dinner!” Timmy called.
On cue, Watch ran. He jumped high—higher than either Buffalo or Ninja had jumped! He soared right into Timmy’s open arms. Timmy then set Watch down without any trouble at all.
“Great job, Watch!” Jessie said. Benny, Henry, and Violet applauded. Even Timmy looked impressed.
“That’s much better,” Ms. Werner said. She did not smile. But she did not frown, either. “But remember, there’s still one more day.”
“See you tomorrow,” Lisa said.
Jessie put Watch’s leash back on. The Aldens waved good-bye and walked out through the mall to meet Grandfather. It had been a long day and they were tired. All except for Benny, who was still excited.
“Watch was incredimarzing,” Benny said.
“Incredimarzing?” Henry asked.
Benny explained, “Watch was incredible, marvelous, and amazing. All mixed up.”
“Incredimarzing!” Henry repeated. He smiled. It was the perfect word.
CHAPTER 6
A List of Suspects
After dinner that night, Benny came into the boxcar and plopped onto a beanbag chair.
“Oh good,” Jessie said. “We’re all here.”
“I had to help Grandfather with the dishes,” Benny said. “That’s the thing about dinner: I like the eating part, but I don’t like the cleaning up-after-part.”
Henry laughed.
Jessie opened a new page in her notebook. At the top of the page she wrote:
“The Wundermutt Audition Mystery.” She underlined it and then wrote: “Suspects.”
“Let’s get started. I think we should make a list of people who we think might be trying to ruin the audition. I already put Dante on the list because there is so much strange stuff going on with him. Who should I write down next?” she asked.
“I think Mr. Benjamin should be second. He isn’t very nice,” Violet replied.
“Yes. Mr. Benjamin is a very big suspect,” Jessie said. “Before dinner, I did a little Internet research about Ninja. I printed this out.” She handed Henry a piece of paper.
Henry read it. “It’s a news story. It says that ‘Ninja at Night’ has been cancelled,” he said.
“Oh no!” Benny said. “This is the worst news ever.”
Henry read on. “This story says that the show was cancelled because of Mr. Benjamin. No one likes him. He’s always demanding expensive, fancy stuff for his dog.”
Jessie shrugged. “I guess the TV people got tired of working with Mr. Benjamin. If Mr. Benjamin is mean to people, it doesn’t matter if Ninja is a good actor or not.”
“I wonder if Mr. Benjamin is trying to get rid of Watch, so Ninja will get the commercial job for sure,” Violet said.
“But why isn’t he trying to get rid of Buffalo, too?” Benny asked.
“Maybe Mr. Benjamin doesn’t think Buffalo is good enough to win,” Henry replied.
“That makes sense. Mr. Benjamin might be the one, but it might also be Lisa who is wrecking things.” Jessie paused. “Maybe even Mr. Lillipool.” Then she added, “Of course, it might be Timmy”
“Well,” Henry laughed. “I think that list covers almost everyone we met today.”
“Except Ms. Werner,” Jessie added. “Should we write her down too?”
“I don’t know,” Violet said. “She hasn’t done anything too weird—yet.”
“Except giving Dante a marker and acting like Buffalo’s biggest fan,” Henry said to Violet.
“Oh,” Violet said. “That reminds me. Ms. Werner had a coffee mug with a photo of a white fluffy dog on it. Ms. Werner seems to like white fluffy dogs.”
“But Buffalo has speckles,” Benny said. “She likes fluffy white dogs and fluffy speckled ones too.”
“I think we better put Ms. Werner on the list,” Henry said. “Just in case.”
Jessie wrote some more. “Okay. I got them all down,” she said. “Now we need to write the reason that each one is a suspect. Mr. Benjamin is the easiest. He wants to win a new job for Ninja.”
“For Ms. Werner, write down that she’s is so enthusiastic about Buffalo even though that dog just isn’t very good,” Henry said.
“I think that Dante really wants Buffalo to get the commercial,” Violet added. “Don’t forget that he’s the only dog who ate the food,” Benny added.
“Always thinking of food, huh, Benny?”
Jessie said with a chuckle. “You know, eating the food’s not a bad thing. The dogs are supposed to eat the food.”
“Buffalo is still the only one who has eaten the food,” Benny said.
“Okay Benny. I’ve got it,” Jessie said, writing quickly. “I also put down Buffalo’s speckles. There’s something about those speckles that make me wonder.”
“Let’s talk about Lisa,” Henry said. “She told us she had a plan to get attention. Maybe she’s ruining the audition just to get noticed.”
“She said she was an inventor,” Benny said. “What’s she up to?”
“I don’t know,” Jessie said. Jessie stuck a question mark next to Lisa’s name on the list.
“Hmm. What about Timmy Moore?” Violet asked.
“That’s right!” Jessie said. “He told us this was his last commercial because he wants to be in movies. Maybe Timmy thinks he will get a good movie part if he works with the famous dog, Ninja.”
“First you tell me that ‘Ninja at Night’ is cancelled, now you think that Timmy is wrecking Watch’s audition?”
Benny put his head in his hands. “It’s too horrible to think about!”
Henry came over to Benny and sat next to him on the floor. “We don’t know if Timmy is making the problem, Benny. We’re just making a list. We’re brainstorming.”
Benny’s head popped up, “Wow, that’s exactly how the inside of my brain feels. Like there’s a storm going on in there!”
“Okay,” Jessie said, as she finished writing. “I have everyon
e.” Jessie planned to carry the list with her while they searched for more clues.
“Look, here comes Josh,” Henry said. Josh Greene had come into the backyard to return Henry’s bike.
“How did the audition go?” Josh asked. He bent to pet Watch.
“Watch did really well,” Benny said. “Except for the slide and the steak.”
The Aldens told Josh the whole story.
“Someone is trying to ruin the audition for Watch,” said Jessie. “And we are going to find out who it is.”
“And if Watch wins, you’ll be able to get your bike fixed,” Benny told Josh.
“That’s right, the prize is a hundred dollars!” Henry added.
“That would be great!” Josh said and stood up. “I hope you figure it all out. Good luck,” he said. He waved good-bye and left.
Grandfather came out to the boxcar. “You’d better come inside. It’s late and you have a busy day tomorrow,” he said. “Watch is already asleep, probably dreaming about his audition.”
“But we can’t go to sleep yet,” Benny said. “We didn’t solve the mystery.” Benny yawned.
“Tomorrow is a new day,” Grandfather told them. “Maybe everything will come clear in the morning.”
“I sure hope so,” Jessie said. The others nodded.
CHAPTER 7
The Final Day
In the morning, Grandfather dropped the children and Watch off at the Greenfield Mall. Day Two of the Wundermutt commercial audition was about to begin.
“Hello,” Lisa said. She bent over Watch and asked, “Are you ready for a fresh start?”
Watch happily licked her hand.
Jessie held the suspect list and a red pen. “Um, Lisa,” she said. “I have a quick question.” Jessie clicked open her pen. “Yesterday you said you were an inventor. Is your invention a secret?”
“It’s not a secret,” Lisa said. “But no one ever asks me about it. Thanks for being interested.” Lisa smiled and her eyes lit up. Yesterday she had often seemed to be in a bad mood. But not now.
“I created a new kind of pet repellant,” Lisa told them.
“What’s that?” Benny said.
“Repel means to make something go away,” Henry explained.