The Great Shelby Holmes (17 page)

We both got up and went into the hallway. Shelby walked out of the dogs' room with a triumphant smile. “Well, look at this. It appears that
I've
found yet another significant clue.”

CHAPTER

19

E
verybody
rushed
into
the
dog
room
to
find
…
everything looking pretty much the same as it had yesterday.

“What are we looking for?” I asked, eager to see the latest clue.

Shelby pointed up to the shelf where the dog food was stored. “That!”

The two containers seemed to be in the same place. But I also only
saw
them yesterday; I hadn't really
observed
.

Shelby reached up on her tiptoes and pulled down the container of Daisy's dog food. She held it up and we all leaned in, trying to decipher whatever clue was in the food.

“Watson.” Shelby turned the container to the side and urged me to look closer.

That was when I saw it. It wasn't something that was easy to spot. On the side there was a tiny piece of tape stuck to the container.

So I found the clue, but what did it
mean
?

I pointed at the tape but decided it was best not to even try to make an uneducated guess.

“Yes, you know who put it there?”

The room continued to stare at Shelby. She certainly enjoyed dragging things out. It must be nice to always be the smartest person in the room.

“I did.” She set the container down. “I put it at the level of where the food was yesterday at 4:23 p.m.”

My head began spinning as I realized what this meant.

“Watson,” Shelby prodded me.

“The tape is nearly an inch above the food now,” I exclaimed excitedly.

See, I could be more than just an assistant. Maybe I really did have it in me to be a detective. It was such a rush figuring out the clue. Granted, I needed Shelby's help to know where to look and what to look for, but I was still new to this sleuthing stuff.

“I don't get it,” Zareen stated.

“It means …” Shelby gestured at me.

“It means that somebody took Daisy's dog food after we were in here.”

Lestrade leaned against the wall, a bored look on her face. “I believe there are two dogs in this household.”

“But they eat different food.” I pointed to Roxy's container.

“So somebody made a simple mistake.”

Zareen raised her hand timidly. “I was the one who fed Roxy last night, and I can guarantee you that I took the food from her container. We're very strict about their diets.”

“I'm sorry.” Mrs. Lacy pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can you please explain what this means? Why would somebody take Daisy's dog food? She's not here.”

“Exactly!” Shelby's face lit up. “First, this means that Daisy is safe because whoever took her is feeding her. But the biggest clue is this: whoever took her was in this very room at some point after 4:23 yesterday afternoon.”

Everybody in the room looked around at each other accusingly.

Now we were really getting somewhere.

CHAPTER

20

“THEN WHO TOOK MY DOG?”
T
amra
cried
out
as
her
mom
comforted
her
.

Zareen remained silent, her eyes glued to the food container.

“What's going on?” The trainer walked into the dogs' room. “Why is everybody staring at the food? How is that going to help find Daisy?”

“Could you then enlighten us with what
will
help us find Daisy?” Shelby asked in an innocent tone, although it was clear she was hoping he'd slip up and tell us what he did with her.

If he'd taken her.

Or was it Zareen?

“I've been—” Emerson began until he caught sight of Lestrade's badge. “You called the police? Was that really necessary?”

Hmm
. Emerson appeared to be more upset than Shelby
about Lestrade's company. Maybe that was because he was the one who took Daisy! He was here yesterday afternoon! It was him!

I stared at Shelby, waiting for her to arrest him or whatever it was that she did when she captured her perp.

Captured her perp?
Great, I was even starting to sound like her.

“We needed to do something,” Mrs. Lacy explained. “Detective Lestrade is a friend of the family and offered her assistance.”

“To sit and do nothing,” Shelby said under her breath, but I nudged her. She needed to stop wasting her energy on Lestrade and start figuring out how the trainer (or Zareen) did it.

“Yes.” Lestrade nodded at Emerson. “Well, I'm going to reach out again to the shelters and see if Daisy has shown up. Please call me if you discover any real evidence.”

Unbelievable. She walked right by Emerson. Completely clueless that he was one of our main suspects.

Now it was only up to Shelby to figure out what happened. Fast.

Emerson gestured for us to follow him into the living room. “So I went to several pet stores in the neighborhood to deliver some flyers.”

Shelby perked up. “Really? Did you find anything out?”

Emerson did a double take at Shelby and took a step back. Probably not wanting to get mowed over again like yesterday. “Everybody was upset to hear what happened. Daisy is a celebrity to dog groomers. Although if Daisy had her collar, someone—”

Shelby cut him off. “Would've called, yes. We're aware of that.”

Why wasn't Shelby asking the most pressing question:
Did he do it?
I was tired of discovering clues but not really getting anywhere. I wish she'd just sit them both down and question them until they broke. Something,
anything
to move us forward.

Zareen gasped suddenly. “I'm so sorry, John!” she exclaimed. “With everything going on, I forgot to tell you that Zane is at the park. He said that if you wanted to join him and his friends, you could meet them there. I can show you where they are on a map.”

“Oh, thanks.” I felt torn. While I was thrilled to get an invitation, I didn't want to abandon Shelby. “But I should stay here and help.”

“It's okay,” Shelby said. “You should go play with your friends.”

“I don't—”

“Really, it's fine, Watson. Go have fun.”

I was a little disappointed by her reaction. It seemed like
she wanted me to get out of there (and her way). I thought I was being helpful, but maybe I wouldn't even make a good assistant, let alone a detective.

I turned to follow Zareen to another room, but Shelby stopped me in the hallway. “Before you leave, I would appreciate if you assisted me with a somewhat urgent matter regarding our trainer friend.” Her voice was low. “Shouldn't take too long.”

I nodded. “I'll be right back.”

This was it! This was the moment when she was going to finally make the trainer confess what he'd done. We were getting close! That was why it was okay for me to leave. The case was on the verge of being solved!

Zareen took a map of Central Park out of a drawer. I thought it looked big from the street, but seeing how much of Manhattan the park took up made me a little intimidated to venture into it by myself.

“It's fairly easy to find the courts at the Great Lawn,” Zareen explained as she drew a path for me. Maybe for her, but all I could see were the other routes I could take instead that would leave me completely lost.

“Uh, thanks, this is really helpful.”

She gave me a forced smile. “You're welcome. I hope you have fun.” She pressed her lips together, like she was holding back a sob.

“Are you okay?” I patted her back.

“No.” A tear started snaking its way down her cheek. “I know that everybody thinks I did it. But I didn't. I love Daisy. Sure, it's hard always being second-best to your little sister. Even my dog can't compete with hers. But why would I do this? How could I have done it? You probably don't believe me, but I've been home this entire time, except to walk Roxy. I couldn't have taken Daisy.”

A wave of guilt overcame me. I'd thought Zareen was guilty almost immediately. While the trainer was starting to look more and more like our culprit, I still had Zareen in my mind as not entirely innocent. Seeing how torn up she was made me realize that there was no way she could've done it. She was too upset to be guilty.

“You want my opinion? I think Tamra did it.” She looked like she believed every word she was saying. “She always wants attention. And she usually gets it. Dad promised to take me to Paris for my birthday. But she's always wanted to go. I know if Tamra throws the whole woe-is-me routine about Daisy being ‘missing,' he'll cave and agree to take her, too. I overheard her last night crying to him. He
asked her what would make her feel better, and she replied ‘nothing.' Then he said, ‘Well, how about I take you to Paris with us?' ”