Pet Shop Mystery (6 page)

Jessie scratched Watch behind his ears. “Good boy. We’ll be back early.”

“Greenfield is so sleepy on Sundays,” Violet said after the Aldens picked up Soo Lee on their way to town. “Hardly anyone is out.”

“I’m not sleepy,” Soo Lee said. “I can’t wait to see the talking birds.”

The children arrived at the Pretty Bird Pet Shop to pick up supplies. As soon as Henry unlocked the back door, the chattering, yipping, squawking, and twittering started up, just like an animal chorus.

“Tweedy, Tweedy, Tweedy,” Grayfellow squawked from his cage.

“We’re not Mrs. Tweedy,” Violet said, laughing.

“Tweedy, Tweedy, Tweedy,” Grayfellow repeated.

Violet stopped by the parrot’s cage. “I guess he thinks anyone who comes in here is Mrs. Tweedy. I’m Violet.”

Grayfellow tried to peck at Violet’s bracelet right through the bars of his cage. He couldn’t say “Violet” yet.

Violet, Benny, and Soo Lee went around the shop to make sure all the animals had enough water and food. When Violet stopped by George’s cage, the little monkey reached out.

Violet handed him a piece of fruit. “Here’s some banana from my breakfast, George. I’ll miss you.”

“Yip, yip,” George said back.

“’Bye, Rainbow,” Soo Lee whispered to the macaw. “Do you think today is the day Rainbow and George have to go to the zoo, Jessie?”

Jessie filled a box with supplies. “Mr. Fowler said it might be this weekend. But maybe not, since he’s off today. In a way, I wish George and Rainbow could stay here, even though they’ll be happier in the zoo.”

Henry waved everyone toward the back door. “Time to go. Let’s lock up tight.” He looked over the delivery list. “Our first stop is on Magnolia Street. There’s a cat named Kit Kat that we have to feed. I’ve got the house keys Mrs. Tweedy left us.”

A few minutes later, the Aldens stood in front of a small white house. “This is where Kit Kat lives,” Jessie said. “The job sheet says that we should bring in the newspaper, check the mail, take in any garbage cans, and, of course, feed Kit Kat.”

“Can you and Violet and I feed her?” Soo Lee asked Jessie.

“That’s just what I was thinking,” Jessie said. “Here’s a new box of cat food, a cat treat, too.”

While Henry and Benny checked the outside of the house, the three girls let themselves in. Right away, a plump white-and-orange cat rubbed against the girls’ legs and purred like a little motor.

Jessie laughed. “I guess we don’t have to worry about Kit Kat being afraid of us, do we?”

Kit Kat got all excited when she heard Violet tear the wrapping off the cat food box. She purred so loudly that the girls expected her to start talking any minute.

“Cats are easy,” Jessie told Henry and Benny after the girls had fed Kit Kat. “Kit Kat practically ate out of Soo Lee’s hands.”

The Aldens headed for Jerry’s Gas Station next. This was a favorite stop whenever Grandfather Alden had to get gas. The children liked to get peanuts from the machine inside while they watched Jerry work on cars. But Sunday was Jerry’s day off.

Only Buster and Beau were on duty. As soon as the two dogs heard the Aldens, they began to snarl and bark in the most awful way. The younger children stayed close to Henry and Jessie.

“Not to worry,” Henry said. “They’re locked up in their run.”

Violet, Benny, and Soo Lee wanted to believe what Henry said. Still, that barking sounded awfully loud!

Jessie took Soo Lee and Benny by the hands. “Since Buster and Beau are guard dogs, they are trained to growl.”

Violet tiptoed behind the others. “They sound so close, Jessie. Are you sure they’re always, always kept inside?”

“Of course they are, Violet. Don’t be—” but Jessie’s comforting words were interrupted by Henry yelling.

“Run, Jessie! Run! Go back to the front with the others. The dogs are loose!”

Jessie hurried the children down the alleyway. She turned around to make sure Henry was all right. He was running right behind them and made it through the gate, locking it behind him.

“Grrrrr. Grrrr,” the dogs growled from the other side of the gate.

“Here, Henry, I brought some treats. Maybe the dogs will eat them if we toss them over the fence,” said Jessie.

Henry threw them into the dogs’ pen, which was just over the fence. The dogs ran excitedly into their pen and lay down to eat their snack. Then Henry went back through the gate, quietly, and shut the dogs into their pen.

“That was close,” he said aloud. He called down to the other children. “All clear. Bring the water and dog food over here.”

Jessie and Violet led Soo Lee and Benny by the hands.

“Henry says it’s okay to feed the dogs now,” Jessie said.

Henry was right. All Buster and Beau wanted to do was eat lunch, not the Aldens! Their tails wagged at the sight of the dog food bag Violet was carrying.

“Benny, lift the small door here,” Henry said. “I’ll get their bowls out. Benny can pour in the dog food. And, Violet, you can fill the water bowls. They’re not growling anymore.”

“Is this enough water?” Violet asked after she finished pouring water from a big jug.

Henry pushed the bowls into the small opening to the dog pen. “Just right,” Henry said. “Everybody did great, just great. And thanks for thinking of the dog treats, Jessie.”

Jessie began to laugh. “Guess what, Henry? Those weren’t dog treats. They were cat treats! I brought them along so Kit Kat wouldn’t be afraid of us!”

Henry smiled. “Well, anyway, it worked. Buster and Beau are safe inside. They won’t be able to get loose again unless somebody lets them out on purpose.

“Again,” he added softly so the younger children wouldn’t hear him.

Main street was busier in the afternoon when the Aldens returned to the Pretty Bird Pet Shop. The children stood at the traffic light in the middle of town and waited for the light to change.

“Can I cross now?” Benny asked as soon as the light turned yellow.

“Wait, Benny!” Jessie cried, grabbing his arm. “That van is running the yellow light.”

The children jumped back when a gray van whizzed past.

“Hey!” Henry cried. “Isn’t that Mr. Fowler driving the delivery van from the pet shop?”

Jessie looked both ways. She wanted to make sure no more flying vans were coming. “Today’s the day Mr. Fowler said Rainbow and George might be going to the zoo. But I thought the people from the Tropical Animal Society were going to pick them up, not Mr. Fowler.”

Henry and Jessie guided the younger children across the street. “There’s only one way to find out,” Henry said. “Let’s see if the van is at the pet shop or not.”

Sure enough, when the Aldens got to the parking lot in back of the Pretty Bird Pet Shop, the gray delivery van was gone.

“I thought Mr. Fowler wasn’t working today,” Jessie said.

Benny and Soo Lee ran ahead. Were George and Rainbow really gone?

Benny leaned on the door and got a big surprise. “Whoa,” he said when the door gave way and he nearly fell down. “The door wasn’t closed all the way.”

Jessie raced over. “Wait a minute. I checked this door over and over. I double-locked it with Mrs. Tweedy’s key.”

Henry pushed past Jessie. “Let’s check around, just the two of us, to see if the store was broken into. Then we can call the police.”

Jessie looked down at the lock. “The store wasn’t broken into, Henry. There’s Mr. Fowler’s key ring with the store key right in the lock. He must have gone out in such a rush, he forgot to lock up.”

The children tiptoed inside. What were they going to find? Again, the twittering of dozens of birds greeted them.

Jessie grabbed Henry by the arm. “Wait, doesn’t it sound different in here? Bird noises are coming from every direction.”

Henry reached for the light and flipped on the switch. There was a huge flutter. Birds were flying all over the store!

“Oh, no!” Jessie cried. “Somebody let the birds out of their cages. They’re everywhere. Quick, let’s catch the ones we can.”

Parakeets clung to shelves with their tiny claws. Some were near the ceiling where it was warmer.

Others flew back and forth from the front of the store to the back, diving and swooping nervously.

Violet was worried. “They’re all confused. Let’s get Mrs. Tweedy’s handkerchiefs. We have to catch some of them before they hurt themselves bumping into things.”

“Good idea,” Henry said.

Each of the children grabbed a cloth to toss over the birds so they could catch them one by one.

“There!” Henry said when he caught his third parakeet under a handkerchief.

Violet floated a purple bandanna over a bright yellow parakeet. “We only caught a few birds, Jessie. Do you think any of them flew outside?”

Before Jessie could answer, the girls heard Benny yell from the front of the store. “Come here, everybody! Wait till you see!”

Everybody ran. What a surprise when they got to the front of the store! A flock of canaries and parakeets was crowded on the floor gobbling up birdseed.

Henry gave Benny a pat on the head. “Smart boy, Benny. You used birdseed to get all the missing birds together.”

“But, but—” Benny began.

Jessie interrupted. “Thanks, Benny. It’s a lot easier to catch them this way. They are too busy eating to fly away.”

“But, but—” Benny still couldn’t get a word in.

“Whoa, Benny,” Henry said. “Looks like you got carried away with your good idea.” Henry looked up and down the aisle. Boxes of bird, fish, and turtle food were half opened. Food was spilled on the floor, on shelves, and on counters.

“Why did you throw down so much food to catch the birds—even fish food?” Henry asked.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you! I didn’t spill the food—it was spilled already. The birds found it by themselves,” Benny said excitedly.

“I know you wouldn’t spill a thing if you could help it, Benny,” Jessie said. “We just thought you had a smart idea. In a way, whoever spilled this at least helped keep the birds in the store. With the door open, they might have escaped. Let’s get the rest of them into their cages.”

The Aldens had no trouble rounding up the birds into their cages.

“There,” Henry said when all the birds were safe and sound in the bird room. “Twenty-two parakeets and eight canaries and … Oh, no, wait. Look who’s missing.”

“Rainbow!” Benny shouted.

“George!” Violet said.

They searched up and down every aisle. They checked under every counter. They didn’t spy the macaw’s rainbow-colored feathers anywhere or hear George’s little yips, either.

“I guess they weren’t interested in birdseed. I’ll go outside and look around,” Henry told the others. “They might be in the storage building.”

Violet was worried. “I hope they’re not outside. It’s so chilly.”

Henry patted Violet’s cheek. “We’ll find Rainbow and George. Maybe Mr. Fowler was driving them to the Tropical Animal Society. We’ll keep looking, and we’ll make a few phone calls,” he added before heading out the door.

Jessie pulled out the phone book. “Let’s see. Nothing under Tropical Animal Society. I guess it’s not close to Greenfield. I’ll call Mr. Fowler. Maybe he’s home by now.”

Before Jessie could dial the number, the phone rang.

“Who could be calling?” Violet asked. “Nobody knows we’re here.”

Jessie picked up the receiver. “Yes, this is the Pretty Bird Pet Shop.” She paused. “Yes! Yes, we are missing a parrot from the shop. A rainbow-colored macaw. Is she all right? I’ll send someone right away. Just keep her safe so she doesn’t get away again. Oh, thank you. Thank you.”

Jessie turned to the other children. She was smiling from ear to ear. “Guess what? The volunteer fire department has Rainbow! Mrs. Doolittle, that elderly lady who comes in here, spotted her in a tree and called the fire department.” Jessie stopped to catch her breath. “The firehouse is right nearby. So they got a ladder and some fruit and got her to come down.”

By this time Henry had returned and overheard everything. “That solves half of our problem. I’ll go over to the firehouse with the big cage and bring her back.”

Benny handed Henry his new baseball jacket. “Here’s my jacket.”

Henry made a funny face. “What for? I’m not cold. And it sure wouldn’t fit me.”

Benny made a funny face back at Henry. “It’s not for you, Henry. It’s to put over the cage to keep Rainbow warm.”

“Good idea,” Henry said on his way out the door. “See you later.”

“We’ll stay here and clean up,” Jessie told her brother.

The four children knew where to find the brooms, dustpan, and a wastebasket. There was an awfully big mess to clean up.

Soo Lee bent down with a dustpan and waited for Violet to sweep the spilled fish food into it. “Look at these teeny footprints, Violet,” she exclaimed. “They go all over the fish food.”

The other children came over to see what Soo Lee was talking about. Sure enough, footprints, sometimes two, sometimes four, trailed through the powdery fish food.

Now Jessie looked alarmed.

“What’s the matter?” Violet asked her sister.

“I think these footprints belong to George,” Jessie answered. “But George isn’t here. And now that we know Rainbow wasn’t with Mr. Fowler, that must mean George escaped, too.”