Free Dognapped! by Karen King Page A

I’m just saying, it doesn’t make sense for Emily to steal Fluffy. Why would she do that? And what would she do with her?’
    ‘I don’t know, but we can’t just dismiss the possibility. I can’t afford to eliminate anyone from the enquiry just yet.’
    ‘You’ll be telling me you suspect me next!’ Max replied, jokingly.
    That took me aback. It had never crossed my mind that Max could be involved in Fluffy’s disappearance, but I should consider it. Vince always said – suspect everyone – no matter how innocent they seem. And Max had been first on the scene when I discovered Fluffy was missing.
    ‘What? You mean you do suspect me?’
    ‘Er … no, of course not. Unless … ’
    Max folded his arms and said slowly in a very quiet voice, ‘unless what?’
    ‘Unless you saw Fluffy in the garden and went to play with her and accidentally let her out, but didn’t like to own up.’ I watched Max’s expression carefully to see if I could see any sign of guilt. No, he just looked furious.
    ‘You really think I’d be that horrible to Auntie Sue? That I’d let her worry so much about Fluffy?’ He jabbed a finger into my chest. ‘Well if you want to suspect everyone, how about you?’ Another jab. ‘You couldn’t stand Fluffy! Maybe you got rid of her, so you could have your Gran all to yourself?’
    ‘Stop doing that!’ I yelled as he went to poke me again with even more force.
    Max leaned towards me, angrily. ‘You’re the one who put Fluffy in the garden. Maybe you left the gate open on purpose so that she would run away.’ With that final remark, he stormed out.
    ‘What on earth was that all about?’
    Gran was standing right behind me, and by the look on her face, had heard everything.
    ‘Nothing. Just Max overreacting,’ I told her. ‘He’ll be back when he’s calmed down.’
    Gran gave me a searching look. ‘Dinner will be ready in half an hour,’ she said. ‘Don’t be late.’
    I felt a bit uncomfortable as Gran went back downstairs. Had Max made Gran suspect me now?
    I had to find Fluffy, and quick, before we all started falling out with each other. I took my notepad out of the drawer and turned to a clean page. Then I wrote down some questions and answers, just like Vince did when he was trying to solve a crime:

    That leaves me with the following strong suspects:

    It’s time to test your detective skills!
    Note down all of the clues you’ve discovered so far, then decide who or what was responsible for Fluffy’s disappearance.
    At the end of the book, you will find out if you’re right!
    I read through all of my notes again. The strongest suspect was definitely Mr Mudlark; he was the one with the most to gain. And what about that phone call between him and Mrs McFarlane. I had to find out how those two were connected. And the best way to do that was to keep Mrs McFarlane under surveillance. From now on, wherever she goes, I will be close behind her.
    I glanced at my watch, better get going. Gran said dinner would be in half an hour and I didn’t want to make her mad by being late.
    ‘Amy, come and listen to the news. Another boarding kennel’s been broken into and the dogs have been let loose,’ Gran called as I walked into the kitchen. I poked my head around the door of the private lounge and saw Gran sitting on the couch, glued to the television screen. For once, Mr Winkleberry wasn’t with her.
    She turned the television up a bit and beckoned me over to sit with her.
    ‘So far none of the missing dogs have been found,’ the newsreader said. ‘There are unconfirmed reports that it’s the work of the Animals Have Rights Society, who have threatened to disrupt the Rivington Dog Show this weekend. No one from the society has been available for comment so far.’
    ‘Someone’s broken into the boarding kennels at Kimpton – about twenty miles from here – and let out all the show dogs,’ Gran told me. ‘First it was Fluffy, then there was that break-in at Mr