“Exactly!” Lisa said. “My repellant is a spray that dogs don’t like. Sometimes people want to keep their dogs off the furniture. They can spray this on the couch, and the dogs will stay off. I call it ‘Get Away Spray’” Lisa was talking very fast. “I used all natural ingredients in the mixture,” Lisa said. “I think this stuff will sell like crazy.”
“Sounds interesting,” Henry said. “Did you show it to Mr. Lillipool?”
“Oh, gosh, no,” Lisa said, shaking her head. “He’s too busy and I’m too shy to talk to him.” She looked across the room. Mr. Lillipool had just come in.
Violet nodded. She was shy, too.
“If you don’t show him, how will he know about it?” Benny asked.
“I gave some of my spray to Ms. Werner,” Lisa said. “She said she’d show it to him for me. She told me she has a special meeting with him next week.”
Just then, Ms. Werner called across the room. “Lisa, I need your help.”
“Gotta go,” Lisa said. “I’d give you a sample, but Watch is really well trained. You don’t need it.” Lisa went to help Ms. Werner.
“Maybe Lisa isn’t a suspect anymore,” Henry said. “Her big plan wasn’t to ruin the audition; it was to get Ms. Werner to have a meeting with Mr. Lillipool.”
Jessie crossed out Lisa’s name on the list.
Timmy burst into the room. “Sorry, I’m late,” he said. “But, you are not going to believe my news! My agent just called. I’m going to be the star of Lightning Man! It’s a new superhero movie. After this commercial, I’m going start filming!” Timmy was very happy.
“Wow, Timmy. That is amazing!” Benny said. “I can’t believe I’m talking to the star of a new movie!”
Timmy smiled. “I’m going to go tell Mr. Lillipool.” He hurried off.
“Timmy’s news means that he didn’t need to act with Ninja in this commercial to become a famous movie star,” Violet said. “He figured out how to get a movie job all on his own.”
Jessie crossed Timmy off the suspect list.
Henry looked over Jessie’s shoulder at her list. “There are only four suspects left,” he said. “Mr. Benjamin, Mr. Lillipool, Ms. Werner, and Dante. Let’s watch them carefully.”
Ms. Werner announced to everyone that they were ready to begin. “This will be the last part of the audition.” She carried two bowls of Wundermutt food. Lisa had a third bowl in her hands.
“Wow!” Benny said, looking at the bowls.
These weren’t the plastic bowls they’d used yesterday. These bowls were silver. Each had one of the contestant’s names written on it in gold, glittery letters.
“The dogs must each eat a bowl of our Wundermutt food,” Ms. Werner explained. “We can’t have a commercial starring a dog that doesn’t like our food.”
Jessie looked at Henry. “I’m worried,” she said.
“After the audition is over, the bowls are yours to take home,” Ms. Werner told the dog owners. “They are a gift from Mr. Lillipool.”
Ms. Werner put down Ninja’s and Watch’s bowls. Lisa set the food down for Buffalo.
“Do you smell citronella again?” Jessie asked Violet.
Violet sniffed the air. “Yes. Someone around here sure does like that scent,” she said.
“Achoo.” Benny sneezed. “Achoo!”
Jessie gave Benny a tissue from her pocket.
“I wonder if there is a connection between the food and the perfume smell,” Henry said. “I remember smelling it yesterday around the food, too.”
“Maybe,” Jessie said. “But I don’t know what the connection could be.” She took her notebook out of her purse. She wrote on a blank page: citronella and dog food.
“It’s time for our doggie contestants to eat,” Ms. Werner said. “Buffalo will go first.”
“No! Ninja will go first,” Mr. Benjamin said strongly. He immediately removed Ninja’s leash. Ninja trotted right past Dante and Buffalo. He went directly to his bowl of food.
Ninja got to his bowl, sniffed the food, then suddenly turned and walked away. “Must not be hungry,” Mr. Benjamin said with a snort. “Ninja eats when Ninja wants to eat.”
“You insisted on going first, so if Ninja doesn’t eat right now,” Ms. Werner said, “he won’t get any points for this part of the audition.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t hired Ninja for this commercial already,” Mr. Benjamin replied, his voice strained. “He did the best by far in all the other parts of the audition! So what if he won’t eat right this second. He’s the best dog actor there is. Ninja deserves this part.” Mr. Benjamin stomped his foot in anger.
He turned toward the Aldens with an accusing look on his face. “It’s those kids,” he said, pointing at the Aldens. “They must have done something to Ninja’s bowl of food.”
“We didn’t do anything,” Benny replied. “I would never do anything to Ninja. I love his show!”
Jessie put a hand on Benny’s shoulder to quiet him. “Mr. Benjamin,” she said calmly. “We wouldn’t do anything to ruin Ninja’s audition.”
“Sure you would. Your dog did poorly yesterday, so you need to ruin Ninja’s audition today,” Mr. Benjamin said. “Your dog can’t get over a log or under a bench without messing up. And he toppled the entire slide. Well, that’s just bad training.” Mr. Benjamin put his hands on his hips. “Your dog didn’t deserve to win any points yesterday.”
Mr. Benjamin faced Dante. “And your dog! Your dog is an even worse actor. He couldn’t get through that audition with Timmy, could he? I’ll bet he kept running off the stage! Buffalo is a house pet, not an actor.”
“But Buffalo didn’t run off the stage,” Dante said.
“What is Mr. Benjamin talking about?” Benny asked his brother.
“I really don’t know,” Henry replied.
After insulting Watch and Buffalo, Mr. Benjamin turned back to Ms. Werner. “Bring me a fresh bowl of food and I’ll get Ninja to eat it,” Mr. Benjamin said.
“It’s this bowl or no bowl,” Ms. Werner said. “It shouldn’t matter what bowl the food’s in.”
Ms. Werner and Mr. Benjamin stared at each other. They were both angry.
“Wait! I just figured out who’s been ruining the audition for Watch!” Henry said.
CHAPTER 8
Henry Explains
Everyone in the room turned toward Henry.
“Really?” Benny asked. “Who has been doing it, Henry? Who? And why?”
Henry walked to the center of the room. Mr. Lillipool and Timmy came over to stand by Ms. Werner, Lisa, and Dante. Mr. Benjamin stood apart from them, but he was also listening to Henry.
“I thought that someone was trying to ruin the audition for Watch,” Henry explained.
“But that’s not it. Someone wanted to ruin the audition for Watch and another dog. So their dog would win.”
“But Buffalo didn’t have any problems yesterday. Neither did Ninja,” Dante said. “So far only Watch has had the problems.”
“I know,” Henry said. “But I realized that Buffalo was supposed to go before Watch at the kitchen audition. Buffalo needed a walk, so Watch took his turn instead.”
“Oh!” Jessie said. “I get it! You think that the steak was meant to mess up Buffalo’s audition, not Watch’s. Watch already had trouble earlier on the obstacle course.”
Mr. Benjamin got all red faced and angry. “I didn’t ruin any auditions. Ninja and I weren’t even in the room when Watch and Buffalo did their tasks. Both times we left right after we auditioned, before any mishaps took place.”
“And that’s exactly how I figured it out,” Henry said. “Since you weren’t there, how did you know that Watch tipped over the bench and broke the slide?”
“Oh my,” Lisa said. “How did you know those things, Mr. Benjamin?”
“I—” Mr. Benjamin began. Suddenly he pointed at Dante. “That kid told me what happened.”
“No, I didn’t,” Dante said.
“I must have
heard it from Ms. Werner then,” Mr. Benjamin said.
“No, you didn’t hear it from me either,” Ms. Werner replied.
“I just realized something else,” Jessie told Mr. Benjamin. “You said that Buffalo couldn’t stay on stage long enough to finish the kitchen audition. You thought Buffalo went after the steak. But Buffalo went out for a walk. You didn’t know that it was Watch who got distracted by the steak instead.”
“I—” Mr. Benjamin didn’t know what to say.
“I’ve heard enough,” Mr. Lillipool said. “Mr. Benjamin, you have behaved badly. Wundermutt Company will no longer consider Ninja to be a contestant for the commercial.”
“You all see that my dog is the best. I was just making sure you knew it!” Mr. Benjamin said.
Benny said softly to Ninja, “No matter what Mr. Benjamin did, you’re still my hero.” The black Lab wagged his tail.
Mr. Lillipool shook his head. He pointed to the exit.
“Hmph! Ninja will be a star again. Just you wait and see!” Mr. Benjamin told them. He put on Ninja’s leash and stomped out of the room.
Mr. Lillipool came over and shook Henry’s hand. “Good detective work, young man,” Mr. Lillipool said.
Henry pointed at his brother and sisters and said, “The Aldens work together as a team.”
Mr. Lillipool shook hands with Violet, Jessie, and Benny. He even shook Watch’s paw. “Tell you what,” he said. “Let’s forget about yesterday. We’ll have both Watch and Buffalo eat a bowl of Wundermutt food. It’ll be a race. Whoever finishes his bowl first, wins the audition. Agreed?”
The Aldens all nodded their heads yes. Dante’s eyes opened wide, then he also nodded his head in agreement.
“Come on, Watch,” Benny said. He guided Watch over to the bowl with his name on it. “This is your favorite food.”
Dante took Buffalo to his bowl.
“On your marks,” Mr. Lillipool said.
“Get set,” Lisa said.
“Go!” Ms. Werner said. Then, the eating race began. Buffalo dove into his bowl, chomping loudly.
“Eat up, Watch,” Benny told the dog. Watch poked his nose in the bowl. But then, just like Ninja had done earlier, he turned and walked away. Watch was more interested in Buffalo’s food than his own. Jessie had to hold his collar to bring him back to his own bowl.
“What’s wrong with Watch?” Benny asked.
“He must be nervous,” Violet said.
Jessie bent down and said, “Relax and eat, Watch.”
Watch refused. Buffalo kept on eating.
“Watch should be super hungry,” Benny said. “I mean, we’ve been here a whole hour already. I know that I’m so hungry, I could eat a bear!” Violet took a turn getting Watch up to his bowl.
“Something’s wrong,” Violet said. “Why won’t Watch eat?”
“I don’t know,” Henry replied. “But now Buffalo is more than halfway done. It looks like we’re not going to go to Hollywood.”
Benny frowned. “But I wanted to get Grandfather a chauffeur’s hat,” he said.
“Josh won’t get his bike fixed, either,” Violet said sadly.
“The audition is over,” Ms. Werner suddenly announced. “Buffalo just finished his last bite of Wundermutt food. Buffalo is the winner of the Wundermutt Food Commercial!”
CHAPTER 9
Who is Buffalo?
“I’m so sad,” Benny said.
Henry put his arm around his little brother. “Watch did his best. I think it’s time to find Grandfather and head home,” Henry said,
“Hot chocolate would make me feel better,” Benny said. “And maybe we could get a bone for Watch. He did do his best.” Benny gave Watch a hug.
“Sure thing,” Jessie said.
Violet put the leash on Watch. “Good try, boy,” Violet said.
The kids shook hands with Mr. Lillipool, then went over to congratulate Dante.
“Good luck in Hollywood,” Henry said.
“Yeah,” Dante said, shuffling his feet and not looking up.
“Aren’t you excited about going?” Benny asked. “I would be jumping up and down.”
“I’m not going to Hollywood,” Dante said. “Just Buffalo. I get to keep the money, though.” He shrugged and said, “But I’m not sure I deserve it.”
“Why don’t you get to go to Hollywood with your dog?” asked Benny.
“Why don’t you think you deserve the money?” Jessie asked.
Dante stumbled over his answers. “Oh, well, you know, Hollywood’s far away and well, really, Ban—I mean Buffalo—did all the work. I just showed up. So, um, well, bye now.” Dante replied. Then he waved awkwardly and headed over to Ms. Werner.
“Hmm,” Henry said, “Even though we solved the mystery, there’s still something weird here.”
“Henry, can we head out now?” Benny asked.
“Sure, Benny,” Henry replied. “Let’s go.”
On the way out, they walked past the obstacle course.
“Seeing that obstacle course makes me really mad at Mr. Benjamin,” Benny said. “He shouldn’t have cheated.” The Aldens all agreed.
The kids walked past Timmy in the stage kitchen. He was near the refrigerator, reading his lines for the commercial.
He waved at the Aldens and said, “Sorry you aren’t coming to Hollywood. But I’ll send you free tickets to see Lightning Man when it comes out.”
“Thanks,” Jessie replied. She was holding Watch’s leash, leading him towards the exit.
“Don’t forget your souvenir bowl,” Lisa said to the Aldens. She pointed at the silver bowl.
“I’ll go get the bowl,” Henry said. “I’ll meet you by the door.”
Henry walked back into the audition area. He saw that Ms. Werner was hugging Buffalo. Dante was standing a bit back from them. “Way to go,” Henry heard her say in a very low voice. “We showed them, didn’t we?” Straightening up, she said, “I bet you are still hungry, you good doggie, you.” Picking up Buffalo’s bowl, she filed it with more Wundermutt food, then set it back down.
“That’s another odd thing,” Henry said to himself. “Ms. Werner loves that dog too much.”
Henry picked up Watch’s bowl. It was still full of food. He carried it over to his siblings.
“I smell that citronella perfume again,” Violet said.
Benny sneezed.
Suddenly, Watch made a big tug on his leash. Jessie lost control. Watch dashed across the audition room. His nose was tight to the floor.
“Does he smell another steak?” Violet asked.
Benny gave the air a big smell and his stomach a pat. “Nope. There’s no steak here today,” Benny replied.
“Then what is going on!?” Jessie asked.
The Alden children ran to catch up with their dog.
Watch was fast. He skidded past Ms. Werner, Buffalo, and Dante.
Watch jumped onto the obstacle course set. He leapt over the log and under the bench. Through the hoop and down the slide. Then Watch flew into the stage kitchen where Timmy was and bounded into his arms. Timmy was surprised, but he was able to catch Watch and then set him down.
Then Watch went straight to the new bowl of food that Ms. Werner had set down for Buffalo. He stuck his nose in the bowl and began eating away.
“Wow!” Benny said. “I told you he was hungry.”
Henry, Jessie, and Violet were surprised to see Watch eating out of Buffalo’s bowl.
Henry still had the bowl of food with Watch’s name on it in his hand.
Mr. Lillipool, Timmy, and Lisa came over to see what was going on.
“He does like my food!” Mr. Lillipool said. Watch continued to gobble up the food.
“Of course,” Benny replied. “Wundermutt is all he ever eats at home.”
“Then why didn’t he eat it during the audition?” Mr. Lillipool asked. “Watch acted like he was repelled by the food.”
Henry snapped his fingers. “That’s it! He was repelled,” Henry said. He
turned to face Lisa. “Your invention is a big success!”
“And the dog food mystery is now completely solved,” Jessie said.
CHAPTER 10
The Smell of Success
Ms. Werner has been spraying Lisa’s Get Away Spray on the dog food bowls,” Henry told everyone. “The only dog who never had his bowl sprayed was Buffalo.”
“What?” Mr. Lillipool said. “Can you please explain what you mean?” Mr. Lillipool asked.
“This morning, Lisa told us that she’d created a new kind of pet training spray a repellant.” Jessie replied.
Benny quickly added, “It’s called ‘Get Away Spray’”
“She was too shy to tell you about it herself,” Henry told Mr. Lillipool. “But she told Ms. Werner all about the spray. Lisa gave her a sample. And Ms. Werner agreed to help her show it to you. Ms. Werner was going to have a meeting with you to demonstrate it.”
Mr. Lillipool then looked over at Ms. Werner. She stared down at the ground, unwilling to meet his eyes.
“You never set up the meeting, did you?” Lisa asked Ms. Werner.
Ms. Werner shook her head. “No. I didn’t,” she replied.
Lisa sighed. “All my dreams are ruined,” she said sadly.
“What does Get Away Spray do?” Mr. Lillipool asked Lisa. “And what does this have to do with Watch not eating my food?”
“It’s a repellant. Made of all natural ingredients,” Lisa explained. “The spray will keep dogs off furniture. Or out of the garbage. It will even keep a dog from jumping up on you. Basically,” she said, “it’ll keep a pet away from anything it’s sprayed on.”
Henry held up Watch’s dog food bowl. “Even a bowl of food,” Henry said surely.
The instant Henry held up the bowl, Benny sneezed. “Achoo!”
“Yes. My spray will even repel a dog from his own food,” Lisa replied.
“Interesting,” Mr. Lillipool said. He sniffed the air. “What is that smell? Is it lemon or flowers?” Mr. Lillipool asked.
“Neither,” Jessie told him. “It’s called citronella.”
Mr. Lillipool smelled deeply. “I like it,” he said.