The Case of the Missing Family (2 page)

If you want to solve a mystery, you should make a list of things you know and things you don’t know. That will help you make a plan so you can solve the case.

Here is what I know:

Kayla and Dad left me at Barker Bob’s.

They said they were going to visit Grandma in Springtown and that they would be back in one week.

They never came back.

There was a tornado in Springtown.

Here is what I don’t know:

Are Kayla and Dad at Grandma’s house?

Did the tornado hit Grandma’s house?

Are Kayla and Dad okay?

I don’t have a plan for finding out the things I don’t know, but I am trying to make one. Sometimes it’s hard to make plans when you have a family to take care of.

“BUDDY? ARE YOU THERE?” Mouse calls. Mouse is the biggest, loudest dog on our street. He is my best friend who is not human.

“I’m here,” I say.

There is one house between my house and Mouse’s house. We can’t see each other, but we can hear each other. We like to catch up every night after our people are asleep.

“YOU’RE QUIET TONIGHT,” Mouse calls to me. “ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT YOUR OLD FAMILY AGAIN?”

Mouse thinks I think about my old family too much. He thinks I should stop worrying about my old family and pay more attention to my new family. It’s hard to do that when I don’t know what happened to my old family.

“I only think about my old family at night,” I tell Mouse. “After my new family is asleep. I just wish I knew what happened to them. I wish I could solve this case.”

“BUDDY,” he says in a tired voice. “I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.”

Mouse thinks Kayla and Dad are ... I can’t say it. It’s too bad a word to say out loud. It’s too bad a word to even
think
inside my head.

Mouse thinks that Kayla and Dad are
that word
because Kayla’s Uncle Marty came and took me to the
P-O-U-N-D.
He says Uncle Marty would not have done that unless Kayla and Dad were ...
that word.

I know Kayla and Dad aren’t ...
 that word
. Here is how I know:

Just because a tornado went through the town where they were visiting doesn’t mean they got caught in it.

Just because they haven’t come back home and their house is For Rent doesn’t mean they are ... that word.

If Kayla and Dad are ... that word, someone would have told Mom and she would have come home from the National Guard. She hasn’t come home so they can’t be ... that word.

A dog always knows if his human is ... that word. You don’t even have to be there. You can sense it. I’m NOT sensing it.

There could be eleventy-twelve reasons why Kayla and Dad never came back from Springtown. There could be eleventy-ten reasons why their house is For Rent. I just don’t know what those other reasons are yet.

If I thought Kayla and Dad were ...
that word
, then I would be Jumping to Conclusions. Jumping to Conclusions is kind of like jumping on the couch. It can get you in a whole mess of trouble. It’s also not a good way to solve a mystery.

Mouse changes the subject. “WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY, BUDDY?”

“Mom and I practiced for our test,” I say.

Mom is going to be the new principal at Connor’s school. That means she is going to be the alpha human there. When school starts, she wants to bring me to school with her. She wants me to be a therapy dog. That means I get to make friends with all the kids at the school. I LOVE making new friends. It’s my favorite thing!