Free Dog Daze by Lauraine Snelling

shrieking at the woman,” Sunny said. “Sorry, guys.”
    Aneta thought hard. What
had
she seen? “The woman wore shorts,” she said slowly. “Dark.”
    “She had her back to me, headed for the lake. I never saw her face.” Sunny scrunched her eyes. “All I saw was the white wriggling bag and”—she snapped her fingers—“and a hat! She was wearing a cap with a brim. It was khaki!”
    “Some brand name on it,” Vee added thoughtfully. “I remember that. Before I ran.” Vee read from her notebook. “Dark shorts. Khaki hat with logo. That’s a start.”
    “I think the next thing we need to do is—” Esther stepped forward. At that moment, Gram walked through the doorway, pulling her helmet off. “I’ve been sent to spring the prisoners,” she said, sounding like a tough guy.
    “You mean we’re free?” Sunny dropped the stack of books she’d been working on. “Yowch!” Hopping on one foot, she clutched her other sneakered foot. “For today or forever? Ouch—right on my foot!”
    “Forever. I called all your parents. They agreed you could be released into my custody. Going onto Mr. Leonard’s backyard was a mistake. I think you girls realize that and know trespassing is wrong. And”—her gaze took in the full bins—“I think you’ve served your time. I’ve brought the Scooter Patrol to transport.”
    Zeff entered, a frown on his tanned face. Uncle Luke followed close behind with a big wave at the girls. Laura, Zeff’s twin and a foot shorter than her brother, peeked around him. She waved. She was home after a summer internship. Zeff held up one of the Dog Waddle posters. Seeing the drawing of Wink reminded Aneta about the Crocs Killer clues. A woman with dark shorts and a khaki hat could be
anyone
in Oakton.
    “Where did you get the poster?” Vee asked as she stamped the last book in her pile.
    “It’s coming back,” Zeff said. He thrust the poster at Sunny. Then he pulled three more out of his messenger bag. Looking over at Aneta, he shrugged. “I’m sorry, ‘Neta. All these businesses stopped me as I ran my courier route. Said they wanted nothing to do with the Dog Waddle.” His hand reached into the bag once again, this time withdrawing two more. “Some girl gave me these. Said she’d gotten them from business owners who said no way to the Dog Waddle.”
    The stunned silence was brief.
    “A girl?” Esther snapped out the words, her face reddening. She surveyed the others. “Melissa Dayton-Snipp.”
    Vee nodded grimly. “Has to be.”
    Sunny smacked her hand into her palm and made a hideous face. “She’s not going to get away with her Operation Ditch Dog Waddle. We’ll stop her evil plan!”

Chapter 12
Piles of Puppy Pellets
    I do not understand!” Aneta yelled into the summer heat, arms wrapped around Gram’s waist as the pink scooter waited at a traffic light. She glanced over her shoulder and grinned at the scooters behind: Zeff with Sunny, Uncle Luke with Esther, and Laura with Vee hanging on.
    Gram tipped her head toward Aneta. “Understand what?” she called back.
    “Why Melissa hates Wink.”
    The light changed, and Gram placed her feet on the foot treads and twisted the right grip accelerator. Over her grandmother’s shoulder, Aneta watched the dial climb to thirty-five miles per hour.
    “She doesn’t hate Wink!” Gram shouted. “She doesn’t…” The wind tore a few words away. “…jealous…an idea that people like better than hers!”
    Aneta understood the bits of words. She hugged her grand mother. People did like their idea. Just yesterday, when Mom and Aneta had walked to The Sweet Stuff, several people had stopped them to say how much they were looking forward to the Waddle. One man said his sister was coming in from Ohio with her basset hound. Mom beamed as though Aneta had come up with the idea all herself.
    At least people had liked their idea until Melissa had started this trouble. Once the girls had signed out of the library, Gram had