Guide Dog Mystery (6 page)

Henry picked out some ripe peaches and plums and put them in Jessie’s basket. Violet selected a juicy tomato. Benny got a plastic bag and filled it with dried pineapple, raisins, and nuts, which he scooped from a large bin.

Next they came to the dairy case, where Violet picked out a piece of sharp cheddar and some Swiss cheese.

When they reached the dog food aisle, Ginger began to sniff at some of the bags of dried food on the shelves. “Ginger!” Jason scolded. Ginger quickly returned to the center of the aisle. “Good girl,” Jason said.

Along the back wall was a bakery, where Jessie chose a long loaf of crusty bread. Benny picked out a carton of fruit punch.

“Now all we need are paper plates and cups,” said Violet as she took some off of a shelf and put them in Jessie’s basket. At last their picnic was complete.

As they were standing in line at the checkout counter, Henry noticed someone moving up the aisle behind Anna and Ginger. It was the same mysterious person who’d been following them. For the first time, Henry also noticed that the person walked with a limp. “Jessie!” Henry whispered. “There he — or she — is again! I’m going after him.”

Henry set off to try to get a closer look. The person was following Anna and Ginger up the soap aisle when Henry called out, “Hey, you! In the raincoat!” The person quickly darted down the canned vegetable aisle, with Henry in pursuit, but he was able to outrun Henry. As Henry raced to the end of the aisle, the person ran out the front door.

Breathless, Henry returned to his sisters and brother, who had paid for their groceries.

“Well?” Jessie asked. “Could you see who it was?”

“No,” Henry said, catching his breath. “He — or she — was too fast for me.”

In a few minutes, Jason, Anna, and Ginger joined them at the front of the store. “What was going on back there, Henry?” Jason asked. “Why did you run past us?”

Henry was about to answer when Anna interrupted. “Were you after that person who was following us?” she asked.

“Yes — you knew someone was following you?” Henry asked.

“I had heard footsteps behind me for several minutes. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but it was always the same person,” Anna said.

“How do you know?” Violet asked.

“I recognized the way he walked — with a slight limp,” Anna explained. “He stopped and started whenever I did.”

“Did you see who it was?” Jason asked Henry.

“No, he ran away too fast.” Henry looked disappointed.

“So you don’t know if it was the same person who was in the kennel last night?” Jason asked.

“No,” said Henry. “Could you tell if it was him, Benny?”

“No,” said Benny. “I couldn’t see him.”

“Wait a minute. What are you talking about?” Anna wanted to know. No one had told her what had happened the night before. They didn’t want to upset her.

“Well?” Anna demanded.

“We’ll tell you about it over lunch,” Jessie said.

G
reenfield College was only a few blocks from downtown. Anna, Ginger, and Jason led the way, with the Aldens following. Jessie and Henry each carried a bag of groceries.

When they reached the college, they saw several big stone buildings, covered in ivy, around a large green lawn. Students carrying books and notebooks walked from one building to another. Some students sat on the grass eating lunch and chatting. On one side of the lawn, a couple of people were throwing a football.

Henry spotted a shady corner surrounded on two sides by tall bushes. “How about if we sit over there?” The others nodded and followed him across the lawn, being careful not to get in the way of the ball players.

Jessie got out the checkered tablecloth and spread it on the grass. Everyone sat down, and Ginger lay on the grass next to Anna. Violet placed a paper plate and cup in front of each person, and Benny handed everyone a napkin.

“What’s for lunch?” Jason asked as Henry began to reach into one of the bags.

“Bread and cheese and fruit,” Henry said. He placed all the food in the center of the tablecloth where everyone could reach. Jason tore off a hunk of bread and handed the loaf to Anna, who did the same.

Jessie cut the cheese into chunks and sliced the tomato with the knife she’d borrowed from the school’s kitchen. Violet filled all the cups with punch.

For a moment everyone was silent, eating sandwiches of the bread and cheese and tomato. They scooped up handfuls of the dried fruit and nuts. At last, as they sat back enjoying the juicy peaches and plums, Anna asked the question that had been on all their minds. “Now, who was in the kennel last night?”

“That’s just it — we don’t know,” Henry said. “Someone broke in — Benny spotted the person from our window. We went and woke up Jason, and then we all ran down to the kennel.”

Jason picked up the story. “But when we got there, whoever was inside ran into the woods.”

“What time did all this happen?” Anna asked.

“Around midnight,” said Violet.

“What were you doing looking out the window at midnight, Benny?” Anna wanted to know.

“I was keeping watch. It was my shift,” Benny explained.

“What do you mean, you were ‘keeping watch’?” asked Jason.

The Aldens looked at one another. They hadn’t really planned on telling anyone about all the strange things that had been happening at the school — at least not until they had some answers. They weren’t even sure they could trust Jason. He might be involved somehow.

“Why were you keeping watch?” Anna said.

Benny looked to Jessie for help.

“Well,” Jessie began slowly, “ever since we came to the school, we’ve noticed some strange things have been happening. The very first day Benny saw someone lurking in the bushes behind the kennel.”

“Then there was this man, Mr. Dominick, who kept coming by trying to buy Ginger,” Violet continued.

“
My
Ginger?” Anna put her arms around Ginger possessively. Jessie smiled, thinking how close Anna and the dog had become.

“The school doesn’t sell dogs,” said Jason.

“We told him we didn’t think the school sold their guide dogs, but he wouldn’t give up,” Violet said.

“I still don’t understand why you were keeping watch,” Anna said.

“Does it have to do with that night you thought you saw someone lurking around the kennel?” Jason asked.

“Yes,” said Benny. “And the night before last we saw some weird lights.”

“Weird lights?” Jason repeated. “Where?”

“They were, um ...” Benny paused, not sure what to say.

“Actually, Jason, they were in your room,” Henry finished for his little brother. “We think someone was in there with a flashlight. And the next day, your key to the kennel was gone.”

Jason sat back on the blanket, trying to take in what the Aldens had just told him. “This gets stranger all the time,” he said at last. “Why would someone want to break into the kennel? Do they want one of the dogs?”

“Well,” Anna said, “they’re worth more than gold to people like me.” She stroked Ginger’s back.

“That reminds me,” said Henry. “The latch on Ginger’s pen was all scratched up last night. Remember?”

“And Mr. Dominick said something about Ginger being worth a lot of money — that she looked like a champion dog,” added Jessie.

Anna sat up straight. “Do you think someone — Mr. Dominick — is trying to steal Ginger?”

“Could be,” said Henry.

“I’m not going to let that happen,” Anna said fiercely. “I’d feel safer if Ginger slept in my room tonight.”

“That’s usually not allowed at this point —” Jason began.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Jessie, and the others nodded and looked at Jason expectantly.

“All right, but only because this is a special situation,” Jason said.

After they were done eating, the children gathered up the garbage and threw it in a nearby trash can. Anna and Jason folded the tablecloth. Then they spent the rest of the sunny afternoon playing in the grass with Ginger. They were having so much fun that none of them noticed the tall person in the raincoat slinking away through the bushes.

After dinner, Anna brought Ginger back to her room instead of to the kennel. Each of the Aldens gave Ginger a pat on the head as they said good night.

“Her new collar is very nice,” Violet said.

“I hope Ginger likes it, too!” Anna said with a smile. “Good night!”

The nights before had been very exciting. For a change, the Aldens were hoping they could get a good night’s sleep.

But once again, something woke them. This time it was someone banging on the door.

“Jessie! Violet!” a voice called. “Wake up!”

Violet jumped out of bed and ran to the door when she recognized Anna’s voice. “Anna, what is it?” Violet asked.

“It’s Ginger! She’s been kidnapped!” Anna cried.

“What do you mean?” demanded Jessie.

“Someone broke into my room and took her!” Anna said.

Henry and Benny had just stumbled sleepily out of their room to find out what was going on. As soon as they heard what Anna was saying, Henry took off down the hall. “I’m going to get Jason,” he called over his shoulder.

When Henry returned with Jason, Anna was sitting on her bed, wiping tears from her eyes. Jessie had gotten her a glass of water and Violet was sitting beside her, patting her hand. Benny was pacing restlessly back and forth.

“Tell us exactly what happened,” Jason said.

“I was in bed,” Anna began. “Ginger was sleeping on the floor next to the chair. I heard a scraping noise at my door — now I realize it must have been someone picking the lock. I heard the door open, and someone called Ginger’s name. I thought I was dreaming. But when I heard the door click shut, I knew it wasn’t a dream. Ginger was gone!”

“Then what did you do?” asked Jason.

“I ran out into the hallway and banged on Jessie and Violet’s door,” Anna said.

“When you opened the door, did you see anyone in the hallway?” Jason asked the girls.

“No. There was no one but Anna,” Violet said.

“I know who the person was,” Anna said.

“You do?” Jessie said.

“Oh, I don’t know the person’s name, but I know it was the same person who was following us today,” Anna said.

“How can you be sure?” Henry asked. He noticed Ginger’s old collar lying on Anna’s desk and picked it up.

“I heard the way he ran. It was the same limp I’d heard earlier today, behind me,” Anna said. “I also noticed that he smelled flowery — like aftershave or perfume.”

“The person must have overheard us saying that Ginger was going to spend the night in your room,” Violet said.

“I can’t believe Ginger would just go off with a stranger,” Jessie pointed out.

“Maybe it wasn’t a stranger,” said Benny. “Maybe it was Mrs. Davis.”

Everyone looked at Benny. He could be right. The children all remembered the way Ginger had run eagerly to her former owner only a few days before.

As they were talking, Henry had been idly playing with Ginger’s old collar. It seemed awfully lumpy. He noticed a small slit in the leather and slipped his finger in. All of a sudden, Henry called out, “Oh, my gosh! Look at this! There’s something inside Ginger’s collar!”

Everyone stopped talking and looked over. “What is it, Henry?” Jason asked.

Henry was pulling something out from inside the two layers of leather. It looked sparkly. At last he got the object out and held it up in the light where it glittered.

“It’s a diamond bracelet!” Jessie cried. Everyone crowded around Henry to examine the valuable piece of jewelry.

“What was this doing inside Ginger’s collar?” asked Anna, as she fingered the narrow bracelet.

“Why would someone tuck a diamond bracelet inside a dog’s collar?” asked Violet.

“Oh, my goodness!” Jessie cried out. “Maybe the person who kidnapped Ginger wasn’t after
Ginger
at all. Maybe the person knew the bracelet was in Ginger’s collar, and that’s what he was after!”

“You may be right,” said Jason. “I think I’d better make a few phone calls.” He picked up the phone, dialed, and began speaking quietly.

While Jason talked, the Aldens comforted Anna, who was quite upset.

“Don’t worry, we’ll solve this mystery and get Ginger back,” Violet assured her.

“You don’t know us very well yet, but we’re good at solving mysteries,” Benny added.

When Jason had hung up the phone, Henry asked if he’d spoken with the police. “No,” Jason said. “I called Mrs. Carter. She wants to wait until tomorrow before we call the police. She’s hoping we can figure out what happened to Ginger and where this bracelet came from. If we call in the police, it will be terrible publicity for the school, and we don’t want that.” The others all nodded.

“I called Charlotte, too,” Jason went on. “She seemed very upset when I told her what happened to Ginger.”

“Do you believe her?” Henry asked.

Jason looked thoughtful. “I guess so. She’s going to come by tomorrow morning, and we can talk to her some more and show her the bracelet.”

“Until then, I guess there’s nothing more we can do,” Jessie said.