The Case of the Diamond Dog Collar by Martha Freeman

Author:Martha Freeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 2011-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

AT lunch, we got our first lucky break.

We didn’t have to go looking everywhere for Mr. Mormora. He sat down to eat with us!

Only it seemed rude to interview a person who was eating a tuna melt. Wouldn’t he get indigestion? So Tessa and I made a date to talk to him later.

Lunch was in the family dining room upstairs. The tuna melts came from the White House kitchen. They are Dad’s favorite, and I like them, too, but they’re messy. When I eat one the mayonnaise flies.

“So how do you think Hooligan is getting on in class?” Dad asked Mr. Mormora.

Mr. Mormora dabbed the corner of his mouth with his napkin. “Ah, you can see for yourself! He is an excellent student. He wants so much to make Cameron, his Canine Buddy, proud.” He flashed me a smile, and I felt myself blush.

“There is, though, one thing that puzzles me,” Mr. Mormora continued. “Hooligan is a little, uh . . . fleshier than I would like. And yet he is on an excellent diet with no opportunity for snacking. Can you explain that?” He looked at us each for an answer.

“Too many Canine Cookies?” said Tessa.

“No, no, no!” said Mr. Mormora. “Canine Cookies are specially formulated for good taste and good health.”

I thought of Paul Song’s dog. “Maybe someone’s feeding him treats,” I said.

Mr. Mormora nodded. “I have thought of this. It was the case with the dog I mentioned previously, Empress Pu-Chi. Her caregiver spoiled her with ginger snaps and liverwurst.”

“Ewww!” said Tessa.

“What about this Mr. Ng?” said Mr. Mormora. “He is new, I believe. How well do you know him?”

Dad explained that anyone working in the White House has to be interviewed a bunch of times, then checked by the Secret Service.

“This tells us he is neither criminal nor spy,” said Mr. Mormora. “But what is in his heart? Perhaps he is the kind that gives unhealthy treats to dogs to win their friendship.”

And if that was true, I thought, could he also be the kind that stole diamond dog collars?

We finished our sandwiches and talked about the other dogs in Canine Class. As we were getting up, Mr. Mormora asked where we should meet.

“How about Mrs. Kennedy’s Garden?” Tessa said. “There are chairs and a table out there.”

“Perfect,” said Mr. Mormora. “In half an hour?”

Back in our bedroom, Tessa and I changed out of our church clothes. Then I got my notebook, and she put on her pink detecting hat. We were ready to go when Tessa asked me to bring the letter from Empress Pu-Chi. I found it in my top desk drawer and handed it over.

“But remember,” I said, “Mr. Mormora is a witness, not a suspect. And we aren’t gonna tell him the diamonds are real, right? It’s a bad idea to blab that to everybody.”

“Okay, okay. Don’t give me a lecture,” Tessa said. “Sheesh, you’d think I never interviewed a suspect before.”

“Witness,” I said.

“Right,” Tessa said.

But I did not have a good feeling.

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