The Mystery at the Dog Show (6 page)

They all laughed. Just then, they heard Mrs. McGregor's voice. “Lunchtime!” she called.

“We'll put the yardsticks on when it's dry, after lunch,” said Jessie.

“It's a beautiful poster,” said Benny. “See? I even put gold stars around Sunny and Watch,”

“It
is
a beautiful poster, Benny,” said Violet.

Pleased with their morning's work, the Aldens hurried back to the house to wash their hands and have their lunch.

CHAPTER 8

An Unexpected Visitor

A
t last it was evening, time to go to the dog show. The Aldens had finished the banner and put it carefully away, until the next night when they felt sure Sunny would compete for Best in Show. Then they'd gotten dressed up and gone to the Center. They saw that everyone else was dressed up for the evening's judging, too. Some of the handlers were wearing long dresses or dark suits. One man even had on a tuxedo. Excitement was in the air.

Mrs. DeCicco was dressed up, too. She was wearing a short, glittery dress with silvery high-heeled shoes.

“You look great, Mrs. DeCicco,” Benny told her.

Mrs. DeCicco seemed startled for a moment as if she were surprised to see them. Then she smiled. “Thank you, Benny,” she said. “I think this dress will stand out in the show ring, don't you? It doesn't hurt to catch the judge's attention, you know.”

“Why are you carrying scissors?” asked Benny.

“Scissors?” Mrs. DeCicco looked down at the small scissorlike instrument in her hand.

“Oh!” exclaimed Violet. “Those aren't scissors, are they? They're grooming clippers. Remember, the groomer who was working on Curly had grooming clippers just like that.”

“Do you trim the beagles?” asked Jessie. “They don't seem to have much hair to trim.”

Mrs. DeCicco looked startled again, and then a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. “Well,” she said, “Er, actually, don't tell anyone, but I was just on my way to do a little trimming on my own hair. My bangs are a little too long, and these are much sharper than ordinary scissors, you know! I keep them just for me.” With an embarrassed little laugh, she waved and left.

“Euuw,” said Jessie. “Dog scissors!”

“She just uses them for her own hair, Jessie. You heard her,” Violet said. “She doesn't need them for the beagles.”

“I think it's sort of suspicious, anyway,” said Henry. “Maybe that's not why she has them at all.”

“Do you thinks was the one who clipped Curly?” asked Violet.

“I don't know,” said Henry. “Maybe… .”

Just then, Grandfather said, “There's Mrs. Teague. Come on, everybody.” The Alden children followed their grandfather into the stands to join their friend.

“Oh, look! We have ringside seats,” said Jessie as the Aldens sat down. “This is great!”

Mrs. Teague nodded, looking pleased by Jessie's excitement. “They always give the winners the best seats for the final judgings.”

“Thank you for inviting us,” said Violet, and the others joined in with their appreciation.

“I'm glad you could be here,” Mrs. Teague added. “It is wonderful for Sunny to have her own cheering section.”

“Hooray for Sunny!” cried Benny.

Everyone laughed. “Not yet, Benny,” said Jessie. “But soon.”

“Look!” said Henry. “Here comes the first group of dogs.”

“The terriers,” said Mrs. Teague. She pointed to a small dog with a short tail and pointed face. “That's the fox terrier champion, called Chaser. He's favored to win the best of the terrier group.”

“If he wins, that means he'll compete for best dog in the whole show, Benny,” Violet explained.

Benny nodded seriously.

Even the judges were more dressed up that night. The judge of the terrier group had on a tuxedo with a red cummerbund and a red bow tie. He had rosy cheeks and little round glasses that he kept pushing up on his short, turned-up nose.

The dogs walked into the ring. An expectant hush fell over the audience.

Suddenly Chaser lunged to the end of his leash and began barking hysterically!

The square black Scottish terrier next to him did the same thing!

Then all the dogs began to jump and bark. One dog pulled loose from her handler and ran across the ring, knocking over a small table before anyone could catch her. Two other dogs got their leashes tangled as they leaped and struggled to get free. Shouts of surprise filled the Greenfield Center.

“Oh no!” cried Violet. “Look!”

A very frightened black-and-white spotted cat was dodging across the arena, skittering away from each dog, and from the people who were now trying to catch him.

“Look over there! By the entrance! Isn't that the same man we saw yesterday? At the basset hound cage?” said Henry.

“Where? I don't see anyone,” said Jessie.

“Come on!” said Henry as the cat darted between the legs of the officials. “That cat needs help!”

The Alden children jumped out of their seats and hurried to the stairs leading to the arena floor.

The small black-and-white form streaked by.

“He's heading for the benching area!” gasped Henry. “We'd better catch him before he gets back there.”

The children raced down the corridor just in time to see the cat dodge through an open door that said F
IRST
A
ID
. A young man in a white coat who had been sitting by the door jumped up in surprise.

“Was that a
cat?”
he asked in amazement.

“Yes,” panted Violet. “We have to catch him.”

“Quick, go inside!” said the young man. “I'll close the door!”

“Thanks,” said Henry as the children hurried by the young man and into the small first aid room.

Benny bent down and looked under the narrow bed on one side of the room. “There he is. He's hiding under the bed.”

“Oh, poor kitty,” said Violet. “He must be so scared. We should be very quiet and let him calm down.”

The Aldens sat down on the floor, and Violet began to talk softly to the frightened cat. At last the cat let her reach under the bed and pick him up.

Violet looked puzzled. “You know, this cat looks like Spike — the cat we saw in the hardware store with the polka-dot woman.”

“You're right!” exclaimed Henry.

Violet looked even more puzzled. “But how did he get loose at the dog show?”

“I don't know,” said Henry, “but we'd better get him out of here now!”

Benny patted the cat's head.

“Oh, good, you caught him,” said the young man. “I've been a nurse for a while now. But it's the first time I've ever had a cat in the first aid room!”

“What do we do now?” asked Benny.

“Maybe we should find the polka-dot woman, and ask her if this is her cat,” said Jessie.

“Or we could take him to the Greenfield Animal Shelter,” Violet suggested. “They'll know how to find his owner. He has a collar.”

“But we can't go now,” said Henry. “We have to see Sunny compete.”

“I have an idea,” Jessie said. “Wait here.” She ran down the corridor toward the benching area. A few minutes later she hurried back, holding a small animal carrier. It had air holes in the side and a screen door that latched shut in the front.

“That's perfect,” said Violet. “We can put the cat in here until after the show, then take it to the shelter.”

“Where did you get the carrier?” asked Henry.

“Mrs. DeCicco,” said Jessie, trying to catch her breath. “She said she just happened to have an extra one. I ran into her right outside. She said she always brings extra travel kennels for her beagles. She said we could bring it back tomorrow.”

Carefully, Violet slipped the black-and-white cat into the carrier. Then they took the cat back with them and put the carrier on the floor at their feet.

“You did a good job,” said Grandfather.

“Yes. “Mrs. Teague smiled. “And you still have time to watch the judge finish the terrier group. It took a little while to get everyone settled down.”

As the children watched, it became clear that some of the terriers were still upset by all the commotion caused by the cat. One small, bouncy terrier kept turning its head all around instead of looking straight ahead as it was led in a circle around the ring. Other terriers kept barking as they stood waiting their turn. The owners looked even more upset than the dogs. And Chaser kept pulling on his leash.

Mrs. Teague shook her head as she watched Chaser. “That's not good,” she commented.

At last the judge chose the best of the terriers. But it wasn't Chaser. It was the white bull terrier who won.

There were gasps from the audience when the judge announced her choice. “It's an upset victory for the bull terrier,” said Mrs. Teague.

“That's Shug!” said Violet. “Remember that bull terrier we met when we were walking Mrs. DeCicco's beagles?”

“Yes!” the other children said. They applauded as the terriers were led out of the ring.

When Sunny's turn came, they applauded even louder.

“How can the judge not see she's the very best!” whispered Violet.

“The other dogs are good, too,” said Henry, trying to be fair.

It was true. The black labrador retriever was obviously a champion. He walked confidently around the ring, his head held high, causing the judge to nod approvingly. And a beautiful Irish setter with a gleaming red coat won a loud round of applause from the spectators.

“Oh, dear,” said Violet. They all cheered extra loud when Sunny's turn came.

The judge motioned for the Sporting Group to circle once more. Then she had all the dogs line up again. Slowly, she walked up and down the line.

She stopped in front of the labrador.

She stopped in front of Sunny.

She stepped back and raised one finger for first place — and pointed at Sunny!

“She's going to win Best in Show! I just know it!” said Henry as Caryn and Sunny stood proudly in the center of the ring accepting their award.

“I think you're right,” said Jessie.

At last the judging was over. The Aldens took the cat to the animal shelter, where the night attendant let them in.

“We'll take good care of him,” the attendant promised. “Meanwhile, I bet he'd like some food and water, wouldn't you, fella?” He lifted the cat out of the carrier and handed the carrier to Jessie. Then, holding the cat in his arms and talking to him, the attendant carried him to the back of the shelter where the cats were kept.

“How do you think the cat got in the dog show?” asked Henry as Grandfather drove them home.

“I wouldn't go to a dog show if I was a cat,” Benny said sleepily, leaning against Grandfather's shoulder.

“Do you think someone did it on purpose?” Violet wondered aloud. “Like that mean trick they played on Curly?”

“Well, however the cat got in the Greenfield Center, he sure upset all the terriers. Chaser, the dog favored to win, was so upset that he
didn't
win,” Henry pointed out.

“Someone had to have let that cat in,” agreed Jessie. “But who? And why?”

But no one could think of any answers.

CHAPTER 9

Sunny Disappears

T
he next day, the last day of the Greenfield Dog Show, was bright and clear. Since Watch couldn't go to the dog show, and since he had to go to the veterinarian's that afternoon to get his shots (although of course,
he
didn't know it), the Aldens decided to take him for a special walk in the park. As Watch ran and sniffed happily, the four of them discussed all the mysterious things that had been happening.

“It's as if someone is trying to ruin the whole dog show,” said Henry. “But why?”

They all watched silently for a moment as Watch sniffed at something under a tree. He cocked his head and started to dig furiously.

Then Jessie went on thoughtfully, “First we see that suspicious-looking man at the basset hound's cage, and he doesn't even have a good reason for being there …”

“And then someone shaves poor Curly the poodle,” put in Violet.

Nodding, Jessie went on, “And that's when we saw that same man again.”

“But we saw Mrs. DeCicco then, too. She pretended not to see us, remember?” said Henry.

“Maybe she really
didn't
see us,” objected Violet. “She's got a lot on her mind.”

“Maybe,” said Henry doubtfully. “Anyway, don't forget that we also saw Mrs. DeCicco with those grooming scissors. It's hard to believe she'd really use them to trim her bangs.”

“And she did have that extra carrier when the cat was let out,” said Jessie.

“But it looked like that cat we saw with the polka-dot woman,” said Benny.

“I know.” Jessie bit her lower lip, thinking hard. “We called the shelter this morning. No one has claimed the cat yet, and we haven't seen the polka-dot woman to find out if that cat is hers.”