The Case of the Diamond Dog Collar (9 page)

HOOLIGAN had slept through Tessa's shouting, but now came a noise so shrill and piercing he sprang up like a jack-in-the-box:
aw-row-row-row-row-rowff!

“What is it, puppy?” Tessa ran and opened the door to the hall to look. Standing on the other side was Ms. Kootoor, but she hadn't made the noise. She was as startled as we were.

Hooligan is always glad to see Ms. Kootoor and shot out the door. But this time he didn't knock her over. She was ready.

Meanwhile, the nameless canary sang—
Twee-twee-twee!
—Granny and Mr. Bryant appeared in the doorway on our left, and a second later Cottonball careened between them and leaped toward Hooligan, who forgot all about Ms. Kootoor and wrestled his puppy pal to the rug.

For a few seconds the two of them played, then Hooligan broke free and sprinted toward the East Hall with Cottonball close behind. Now the second floor was
a race track, with Hooligan and Cottonball neck and neck. Every once in a while a tail hit a wall, the furniture, or some fragile historic object.

Here is a piece of advice if you ever live with a dog: Don't put breakable things at tail level.

Mr. Bryant and Mr. Ng moved to the Center Hall to stop them, but it wasn't easy. There was lots of furniture in the way, and the dogs could go under and around places Mr. Bryant and Mr. Ng couldn't. Just watching made me dizzy, and then Mr. Bryant wasn't looking and collided with Mr. Ng, and they both fell back and sat down on the rug—
ouch
.

“Everyone just stay calm!” Granny said, not very calmly. “If we wait, they'll tire themselves out.” But then, “
Oh!
” she had to sidestep to stay out of Cotton-ball's way, and “
Ooh!
” Hooligan brushed by on the other side.

It was Mr. Mormora who saved the day. The stairs outside his room come out on the second floor near the Treaty Room. When he heard the commotion, he came running down and placed himself in the dogs' path like a traffic cop. “Gentlemen?” he said. “You stop now.”

And they did.

It took three maids to sweep and dust and set things right. Meanwhile, Mr. Ng took the dogs outside, Ms. Kootoor said she had a headache and went back to her room and Mr. Mormora went back upstairs. In the end, it was Granny, Mr. Bryant, Tessa, Nate and I who collapsed in the West Sitting Hall.

Maybe for the first time ever, Granny looked
embarrassed. “I guess I shouldn't have tested it with the dogs around,” she said. “It seems to have upset them.”

“Tested what?” Tessa asked.

From her pocket, Granny pulled two silver somethings, each one on a chain—whistles! “I thought Ms. Kootoor's father's idea was a good one,” she went on. “So these are for you girls.”

“Cool!” Tessa took a whistle and immediately put it to her mouth.

“
No!
” everybody shouted at once.

Tessa grinned. “Only kidding. Thanks, Granny. Even if it doesn't have diamonds, I like it better than Ms. Kootoor's. It's a lot bigger.”

I took my whistle and thanked Granny, too. Then I realized this might be our best chance to interview Mr. Bryant. Tessa must've been thinking the same thing because she crossed her arms over her chest. “Mr. Bryant,” she said. “Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?”

“QUESTIONS?” said Mr. Bryant. “No, I don't mind. Are you girls detecting again? I understand those diamonds on Hooligan's collar might be real after all.”

“How'd you hear that?” Tessa asked.

Granny looked embarrassed again. Twice in one afternoon had to be some kind of record. “I think by now it's, uh . . . general knowledge here in the White House,” she said.

Tessa started over. “Mr. Bryant, was Hooligan wearing his diamond collar when you got him out of his crate this morning?”

Mr. Bryant shook his head. “No. In fact, he wasn't wearing any collar at all. That's why I put the old one back on him.”

“What time did that happen?” Tessa asked.

“Must've been just after six twenty,” Mr. Bryant said. “I know because they clocked me in at the gatehouse at six fifteen.”

“So that means the collar disappeared between—” I
started to say. But I was interrupted by the appearance of two men in almost identical gray suits standing in the doorway to the center hall. Granny seemed to know them.

“Yes?” she said.

“Sorry to bother you, ma'am,” said the taller one. “Do you mind if we—?”

“No, no. Go ahead,” Granny said. “Whatever you need.”

“Thank you,” said the other man, and they turned and disappeared back into the hall.

Some parts of the White House are public spaces, but the second and third floors are where we live. That means I usually know everyone. But I didn't know these guys.

“What's going on?” I asked.

“Are they gonna look in our room?” Tessa asked.

“They're doing their job,” Granny said, which, if you think about it, did not answer the question. “Your mom will be in to talk to you later.”

“Oh,
fine
,” said Tessa. “As usual, the grown-ups are all in on it together.”

NO way was Granny giving us more information. So Tessa and I went back to our room to look at our latest notes. Unfortunately, it seemed like they only added confusion.

Then I remembered something Granny once told Tessa and me—how a fresh pair of eyes can help you see clearly.

Could Nate's be a fresh pair of eyes?

Tessa didn't like the idea at first, but in the end I talked her into it. “Only we have to make him pinky promise not to reveal our secrets,” she said.

“
Ewww!
” said Nate, when we proposed the pinky promise, but in the end, curiosity won out, and we all hooked fingers.

“Don't you ever tell any of my friends I did this
ever
,” he said when we let go.

“The problem,” I said after he had looked at my notebook, “is that the investigation keeps changing. At first we were only looking for a single fake diamond.
Now we're looking for a single real diamond, plus the collar.”

“But that's a good thing,” said Nate. “It's like a math problem. Adding a second variable limits the possible solutions.”

Tessa shook her head. “Would you puh-leeze remember I am only in second grade?”

“Even you can understand this, Tessa,” Nate said. “The way you've got it figured, the diamond disappeared when Hooligan was in the trees by the tennis courts, right? Then the collar disappeared between four and six twenty this morning. So if you forget all the confusing details about Mr. Ghanamamma and El Brillante, the thief has to be someone who could've gotten to Hooligan
both
times. That's fewer people than had access to him one time or the other. See?”

“But couldn't there be two different thieves?” I said. “Like, Mr. Mormora doesn't seem to trust Mr. Ng. He thinks Mr. Ng's giving Hooligan treats that make him fat.”

“Yeah—and then there's these new guys,” Tessa said, “the ones in the suits? Who are they anyway? There were all kinds of people on the lawn Thursday. Maybe they were there, too.”

“I don't know who they are,” said Nate. “But it seems illogical for there to be two thieves—too big a coincidence.”

I was trying to be logical, but I didn't like where logic was going. To me, it seemed obvious that the person with the best opportunity to steal first the diamond and then the collar was—

“Mr. Bryant,” Tessa said my thought out loud. “He fits Nate's math problem. He was around Hooligan and the collar both times. But that doesn't matter because we know Mr. Bryant didn't do it.”

“How do we know?” Nate said.

“Because he's Mr. Bryant!” Tessa said.

“I have an idea,” said Nate. “The first diamond disappeared during the helicopter chase, right? Maybe we can review the videos.

“Hey!” I said. “I know someone who can help. I can ask her tomorrow at Canine Class.”

At bedtime, Mom had barely opened our door when Tessa pounced. “Who are those guys in the gray suits, anyway?”

Mom frowned. “I missed you, too, Muffin.”

Tessa said, “Sorry, Mama. I love you. Who are those guys in the gray suits?”

Mom sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. “I need to tell you both something, but I don't want you to worry. Canine Class is going to go on tomorrow as usual, but starting tonight, the White House is on heightened security alert. The two men are part of my national security team.”

Tessa looked at me. “Translation?”

“She means they're part of the government, and they're being extra careful because bad guys might try to do something. Right?”

“More or less,” Mom said.

Tessa squealed. “
Bad guys?!
”

“Shhh!” Mom put her fingers to Tessa's lips. “It's only a precaution. For a few days, the Secret Service will have a little extra help here in the White House. And you girls and your cousin will have to stick around, too. But there's a silver lining. Dad had been planning to work in California this week, and now he's going to stay here with us.”

Sometimes when you're thinking hard about something, it seems like everything's connected. “Mom—does the security alert have anything to do with what Tessa and I are investigating?”

Mom's expression didn't change, but she stood up. “What you and Tessa are investigating?” she said. “Well, I should say.”

I looked over at Tessa. “Was that a yes?”

“No idea,” said Tessa. “Mom, was that a—” but the question turned into a giggle because Mom was tickling her. “
Mama-a-a-a!
” She was still giggling. “Sto-o-op!”

Mom's tickling became a snuggle and a kiss. Then it was my turn, and then—before we could ask more questions—Mom was heading out the door. “Good night, muffins,” she said. “I love you.”

WAS Mr. Bryant a thief?

Or Mr. Ng?

And what about the guys in the gray suits?

Was Mom investigating the missing diamonds?

And who was giving Hooligan fattening treats?

All those questions were on my mind when I woke up. But in the kitchen, Granny reminded me about something
way
more important—my turn to name the canary.

“How about Singalong?” I tried.

Before Granny could even express an opinion, Tessa was shaking her head. “No way! That's the same as Paul Song's dog. It would be confusing!”

“Confusing, how? It's not like the canary will ever even meet Paul Song's dog.”

“And besides—” Tessa totally ignored my excellent point—“you stole that idea, Cammie. I think the nameless canary needs an original name, one that's all his own.”

Granny sighed. “It should be a name we can agree on at least. Your turn tomorrow, Tessa.”

The Canine Class topic of the day was “heel,” and Hooligan got it right away. I didn't want to jinx it by talking about it, but at this rate he for sure was going to be Top Dog.