Free The Dashing Dog Mystery by Carolyn Keene Page A

chocolate and eating cookies. Their dogs sat on low, wide stools and nibbled doggie biscuits. On theCD player, a woman’s voice sang “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?”
    In another corner of the room was an enormous Christmas tree. It was covered with sparkly lights and glittery ornaments shaped like dogs. A string of red bone-shaped holiday lights ran along the windows.
    â€œWow, this place is awesome!” Bess said. “I wish I had a dog. I’d come here all the time.”
    â€œSo you could give your dog baths and stuff?” George asked her.
    Bess shook her head. “No. So we could have snacks at Café Bone Appétit. Those cookies look yummy!”
    Nancy giggled. Bess loved to talk about food almost as much as she loved to talk about clothes. George was a lot more into sports. The two of them were really different, even though they were cousins.
    Chip tugged at her leash, eager to join the other dogs in the play area. “All right,” Nancy said, unclipping the leash. “Be good, okay? No nipping or biting.”
    Chip bounded over to the play area. Nancy glanced around the room. It was crowded with two-legged and four-legged guests. Nancy spotted a girl from her school, Petra Wylie. Nancy wondered if Petra had a dog, too.
    Nancy also saw Alice Cahill. She was the “Pet Corner” columnist for the
River Heights Gazette.
Nancy recognized Alice from her picture in the paper, since she and Hannah read “Pet Corner” every Tuesday.
    Alice was petite and blond. She was talking to a couple of dog owners and scribbling in a small notepad. A big, fluffy white poodle was beside her, on a leash. Nancy wondered if that was Alice’s pet, Pierre. Alice wrote about Pierre in her column from time to time.
    â€œWelcome, welcome to the Dashing Dog!”
    A man came walking up to Nancy and her friends. He was wearing a gray suit and a red bow tie. His eyes sparkled behind a pair of brown glasses.
    â€œI’m Rex Rumford,” the man said. Hesmiled at Nancy. “You’ve been here before! I recognize you. Hmm, let’s see. Chocolate Lab. Lots of paint. Emergency bath. Am I right?”
    â€œRight!” Nancy laughed.
    She introduced herself, and Bess and George did the same.
    â€œThank you for inviting me to your party,” Nancy said. “I brought Bess and George with me. I hope that’s okay.”
    â€œOh, yes, the more the merrier,” Rex said. He glanced at his watch. Its face had a picture of a cartoon dog on it. “Uh-oh, it’s almost four o’clock. Excuse me, ladies. I need to make an announcement.”
    Rex went up to the front counter and rang a loud bell. Several dogs began barking. “Attention, please!” Rex shouted.
    The barking dogs were shushed by their owners. The room fell silent.
    â€œI have an announcement to make,” Rex went on. “At four o’clock—”
    But Rex didn’t get a chance to finish. He was interrupted by a loud scream from the back of the room!

2
A Surprise Prize
    Who screamed?” Bess cried out. “What happened?”
    Nancy whirled around. She saw a boy in the back of the room, inching away from a big Doberman. The Doberman was sniffing the boy’s feet. All around the room, more dogs began to bark.
    A middle-aged woman broke through the crowd and went rushing up to the boy. She was wearing a black dress with an expensive-looking diamond necklace. Nancy remembered seeing her the last time shewas at the Dashing Dog. Her name was Mrs. Vanderpool.
    â€œCome on,” Nancy whispered to Bess and George. “Let’s see what’s going on.” The three friends followed Mrs. Vanderpool.
    Mrs. Vanderpool stopped in front of the boy and put her hands on her hips. “Lucas!” she exclaimed. “Why did you disturb Mr. Rumford’s speech like that?”
    â€œI’m sorry, Grandma,” Lucas apologized. “But that mean dog tried