Free The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg

drily.
    “Oh, it was a gift. I’ve had it forever.”
    “I think it looks great on you,” Tamra commented. “Although I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear it before.”
    Another clue! He was obviously lying. This trainer had to have taken Daisy. Roxy hadn’t barked at him. Plus, he was mysteriously “out of town” all week.
    Maybe I wasn’t so bad at this sleuthing stuff.
    Shelby got up close to Emerson—she only came to his elbow. “Do you happen to have video of Daisy on your phone? I’d like to see her in action, please.” Shelby looked up and batted her eyelashes at this guy.
    He had no clue this seemingly sweet little girl was setting him up (okay, maybe Shelby wasn’t that bad of an actress after all).
    “Sure.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Shelby got on her tiptoes, and her face was only a couple of inches away from the screen as he brought up a video of Daisy competing in her last show.
    “What an amazing creature! Do you train other dogs competing on Saturday?”
    “While I do train others, Daisy’s the only dog I have on Saturday. Instead of sitting around watching videos, why aren’t we doing something to find her?” He shoved his phone back in his pocket.
    “That’s exactly what we’re doing,” Mrs. Lacy statedtersely. “Nobody in security saw her leave the building yesterday morning, so she must be somewhere nearby. Shelby is here to help, as is her friend John.”
    “You know,” Shelby interjected, “I’m sure you want to catch up with Mr. Emerson, so Watson and I will go in the room next door to give you some privacy.”
    I couldn’t believe Shelby was going to leave the room when the trainer was certainly guilty … of something. Of what, I wasn’t sure, but Shelby would know.
    “Thank you, Shelby,” Mrs. Lacy said as the group sat down.
    Shelby turned to leave, then tripped and went flying forward, knocking the trainer to the floor.
    Just when I thought she knew what she was doing …
    “I’m so, so sorry!” Shelby exclaimed as she reached her hand down to the trainer to help him back to his feet. “I’m such a klutz. I’m just glad I didn’t break any valuables or a limb!” She then laughed so hard she snorted. “Silly me!”

    The trainer stared at her with his mouth slightly open, probably in shock that such a tiny person could knock him down.
    “Sorry, again!” Shelby called after the group as we retreated to the adjacent TV room.
    “What was that all about?” I asked when we finally were out of earshot.
    Shelby slowly turned around and held out something in her hand.
    It was the trainer’s phone.

CHAPTER
    13
    “Y ou stole his phone ?” I asked a bit too loudly .
    “Shh!” Shelby brought the screen to life and put in a four-digit password. “I’m merely borrowing it for the sake of my investigation. I’ll return it once I am satisfied with the evidence I’ll no doubt obtain.”
    That’s why she asked to see the footage. She was certainly close enough to see his password.
    Mental note: if Mom ever lets me get a cell phone, don’t use it anywhere near Shelby Holmes.
    “Hello! What’s this?” Shelby exclaimed as she started scrolling through photos of the trainer on a beach with a younger blonde woman. “He was in Cozumel, and just yesterday. I knew it. Granted, he could’ve acquired black coral in Hawaii or New Zealand, but since he was only gone for a few days, Mexico seemed most likely.”
    “Is there anything you don’t know?” I blurted out. I’dnever heard of black coral, let alone know where it could be purchased.
    “It’s important to be well-rounded if you want to catch somebody in a lie.”
    Another mental note: never lie to Shelby Holmes.
    “Here’s my question for you, Watson.” She pulled up a photo of the trainer at a candlelit dinner with the same woman. “How can a dog trainer afford such an expensive vacation? This is an all-inclusive resort, which isn’t cheap, although it is August, so