The Case of the Beagle Burglar by Nancy Krulik

Author:Nancy Krulik [Krulik, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-545-38898-6
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2011-07-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Elizabeth and I walked Scout back to my house. We sat down under the oak tree in my front yard and tried to figure this thing out.

“We have to go over all the clues,” Elizabeth said. “Did Scout take anything out of Leo’s backpack?”

“Just a calculator,” I said. “But I got it out of his mouth and put it back, and he swears he didn’t take anything else,” I told Elizabeth.

“I believe him.” Elizabeth petted Scout on the head. “But someone took the plans.”

“Maybe it was her,” Scout suggested. He pushed his snout toward the far side of the lawn, where a slinky gray cat was happily licking her paws. “There’s something really sneaky about Shadow.”

“Just ignore her,” I told Scout. “She has nothing to do with this.”

“Ignore me?” Elizabeth asked angrily. “I’m the only one here who knows how to solve a mystery, remember?”

“I wasn’t talking about you,” I explained. “I was talking about that cat over there.”

“She looks sweet,” Elizabeth said.

“Did she say ‘treat’?” Scout barked excitedly.

Treat was one of the human words Scout understood no matter who said it. But that wasn’t what Elizabeth had said. Sometimes Scout only heard what he wanted to hear.

“Sorry, Scout,” I explained. “Elizabeth says Shadow looks sweet.”

Scout gave me a funny look. “I thought you said this girl was smart.”

“Where else did Leo go with that backpack?” Elizabeth asked impatiently.

“School, his house, the hardware store, here,” I replied.

“You want to play ball, Jack?” Scout asked suddenly. He was jumping up and down. “I see a ball in the bushes.”

I shook my head. “Not now, Old Stinky Breath.”

Suddenly, Scout stopped jumping and barking.

“I don’t think dog breath stinks at all,” he told me.

“What would you expect from someone who says hello by sniffing butts?” Shadow, the gray cat from next door, purred. She began to slink her way over to us.

“At least I don’t bathe in spit,” Scout told Shadow.

“It’s called grooming.” Shadow licked her paw.

“Grooming in spit,” Scout growled.

“He’s got you there, Shadow,” I said with a laugh.

“Jack, come on,” Elizabeth said. She sounded annoyed. “I can’t understand Scout and Shadow, remember? If you don’t tell me what they’re saying, I can’t help you. And if I don’t help you, you’ll never solve this mystery.”

Elizabeth was acting like such a know-it-all. But she was right. There was no way I could find Leo’s plans on my own.

“Okay,” Elizabeth said. “Now, you’re sure you and Leo didn’t go anywhere else?”

“I’m sure,” I said. “We only went to the hardware store and here.”

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