The Great Shelby Holmes (11 page)

“Yes, with two dogs, we try to keep the place clean. What does—”

But before Mrs. Lacy could finish her question, Shelby knelt down in front of Zareen.

“Hey!” Zareen protested as Shelby seemed to pinch her leg. “What are you doing?”

Shelby held up something that I couldn't see from across the room. “Roxy is a black-haired dog. I believe this is a white dog hair, is it not?”

The three other Lacys stood up quickly and examined the piece of hair.

“Could you please tell us, Zareen: if you're wearing a new outfit and the house is regularly cleaned for dog hair, how is it that you have a piece of hair that appears to match Daisy's?”

Zareen's mouth fell open. “I—I—I …” she stammered.

“I
KNEW
IT
!” Tamra got in her sister's face. “
YOU
DID
IT
!”

“I didn't!” Zareen protested. “I was at the dog park this morning! There were other dogs everywhere! That's probably where it came from!”

“Girls, we discussed this: no more fighting, please,” Mrs. Lacy begged. “Zareen, honey, if you know anything about Daisy's disappearance, you have to tell us. You won't get in trouble. We only want her back.”

A tear began rolling down Zareen's cheek. “I can't believe you don't believe me. I didn't take her.”

Zane hugged his twin. “It's okay, Lil' Z. I believe you.”

Zane had to believe his own sister, although Zareen's case wasn't looking good. I couldn't help but feel a little bad for her since she was crying and her own mother basically accused her of stealing Daisy. If it wasn't Zareen, who else could it have been?

“I didn't do it,” Zareen said in a small voice.

Everybody looked over at Shelby.

“Do you have anybody who witnessed that you were at the park this morning? Preferably someone with a white-haired dog.”

Zareen nodded, but then everybody's attention went to something behind me.

“Where on earth have you been?” Mrs. Lacy asked, desperation in her voice.

I turned around and saw an older white guy with black hair that was graying around his temples. While this was the first time I'd ever seen this dude, I wasn't going to ignore the large piece of evidence in his hands: Roxy, who was as quiet as could be.

Maybe there was someone else who could've taken Daisy.

CHAPTER

12

“W
e
'
ve
been
trying
to
reach
you
all
day
yesterday
and
this
morning
! D
aisy
'
s
gone
missing
!” M
rs
. Lacy threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

“What?” the man replied as Roxy licked his hand, as happy as she could be in his arms.

Tamra and Mrs. Lacy gave him the basics while Zane filled Shelby and me in: this man was Theo Emerson, Daisy's trainer. He'd been away because of a family emergency involving a sick aunt but had been due to arrive back that morning. They hadn't heard from him all week.

“She couldn't have gone far,” Emerson said as he placed Roxy on the floor. Roxy, in turn, ran right up to Shelby and me and started barking fiercely.

At least everybody was now aware that
we
couldn't have taken Daisy.

Zareen picked up Roxy and took her out of the living room while Shelby approached the trainer and studied him intently.

“I'm sorry. I don't believe I've met your friends.” The trainer nodded to us and seemed unnerved that Shelby was only inches away from him.

“Hello, I'm Shelby Holmes,” she stated. “If you dab a washcloth in some cooled Earl Grey tea, it will help with your sunburn.”

It was then that I realized his nose and cheeks were rather red and peeling. The rest of him was tan, which wasn't surprising, since it was the end of summer.

“Yes, well, I was …” he muttered as he took a step away from Shelby.

“Then again, Cozumel is quite sunny this time of year, isn't it?”

“I—I—I wouldn't know.” He looked guiltily around the room. “I've never been.”

“My mistake,” Shelby said, even though I doubted she was ever mistaken. I knew she was setting a trap, and I couldn't wait for him to fall for it. “Do you mind if I ask where you acquired your necklace? I believe it's black coral.”

The trainer reached up and touched a black necklace that was peeking out of his white button-down shirt. “This necklace?”

“Yes, that would be the exact necklace I'm referring to,” Shelby stated drily.

“Oh, it was a gift. I've had it forever.”

“I think it looks great on you,” Tamra commented. “Although I don't think I've ever seen you wear it before.”

Another clue!
He was obviously lying. This trainer had to have taken Daisy. Roxy hadn't barked at him. Plus, he was mysteriously “out of town” all week.

Maybe I wasn't so bad at this sleuthing stuff.

Shelby got up close to Emerson—she only came to his elbow. “Do you happen to have video of Daisy on your phone? I'd like to see her in action, please.” Shelby looked up and batted her eyelashes at this guy.

He had no clue this seemingly sweet little girl was setting him up (okay, maybe Shelby wasn't that bad of an actress after all).

“Sure.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Shelby got on her tiptoes, and her face was only a couple of inches away from the screen as he brought up a video of Daisy competing in her last show.

“What an amazing creature! Do you train other dogs competing on Saturday?”

“While I do train others, Daisy's the only dog I have on Saturday. Instead of sitting around watching videos, why aren't we doing something to find her?” He shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“That's exactly what we're doing,” Mrs. Lacy stated
tersely. “Nobody in security saw her leave the building yesterday morning, so she must be somewhere nearby. Shelby is here to help, as is her friend John.”

“You know,” Shelby interjected, “I'm sure you want to catch up with Mr. Emerson, so Watson and I will go in the room next door to give you some privacy.”

I couldn't believe Shelby was going to leave the room when the trainer was certainly guilty … of something. Of what, I wasn't sure, but Shelby would know.

“Thank you, Shelby,” Mrs. Lacy said as the group sat down.

Shelby turned to leave, then tripped and went flying forward, knocking the trainer to the floor.

Just when I thought she knew what she was doing …

“I'm so, so sorry!” Shelby exclaimed as she reached her hand down to the trainer to help him back to his feet. “I'm such a klutz. I'm just glad I didn't break any valuables or a limb!” She then laughed so hard she snorted. “Silly me!”

The trainer stared at her with his mouth slightly open, probably in shock that such a tiny person could knock him down.

“Sorry, again!” Shelby called after the group as we retreated to the adjacent
TV
room.

“What was that all about?” I asked when we finally were out of earshot.

Shelby slowly turned around and held out something in her hand.

It was the trainer's phone.

CHAPTER

13

“Y
ou
stole
his
phone
?”
I
asked
a
bit
too
loudly
.

“Shh!” Shelby brought the screen to life and put in a four-digit password. “I'm merely borrowing it for the sake of my investigation. I'll return it once I am satisfied with the evidence I'll no doubt obtain.”

That's
why she asked to see the footage. She was certainly close enough to see his password.

Mental note: if Mom ever lets me get a cell phone, don't use it anywhere near Shelby Holmes.

“Hello! What's this?” Shelby exclaimed as she started scrolling through photos of the trainer on a beach with a younger blonde woman. “He was in Cozumel, and just yesterday. I knew it. Granted, he could've acquired black coral in Hawaii or New Zealand, but since he was only gone for a few days, Mexico seemed most likely.”

“Is there anything you don't know?” I blurted out. I'd
never heard of black coral, let alone know where it could be purchased.

“It's important to be well-rounded if you want to catch somebody in a lie.”

Another mental note: never lie to Shelby Holmes.

“Here's my question for you, Watson.” She pulled up a photo of the trainer at a candlelit dinner with the same woman. “How can a dog trainer afford such an expensive vacation? This is an all-inclusive resort, which isn't cheap, although it is August, so not peak season for Mexico, but still. His clothes also told me that he doesn't have a lot of expendable income: his shoes were significantly worn; the cuffs on his pants were tattered. Plus, he was with a much younger woman. She's in her early thirties while he's in his late fifties, divorced, has a couple kids, probably has to pay child support. Yes, he certainly isn't telling us the truth.”