Free The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg Page A

not peak season for Mexico, but still. His clothes also told me that he doesn’t have a lot of expendable income: his shoes were significantly worn; the cuffs on his pants were tattered. Plus, he was with a much younger woman. She’s in her early thirties while he’s in his late fifties, divorced, has a couple kids, probably has to pay child support. Yes, he certainly isn’t telling us the truth.”
    “He doesn’t sit well with me, either,” I confessed. “But if he’s Daisy’s trainer, what would he have to gain by stealing her? Wouldn’t he make more money training a winning dog?”
    “It depends on who he’s betting on.”
    I couldn’t help but laugh. “You mean, like, gamble ? Do you really think that people gamble on a dog show? I mean, come on!”
    “Well, there’s really only one way to find out.”
    Before I had a chance to ask her how she was going to do that, Zane came into the room. “I can’t take much more of this missing-dog drama. And you have to believe me when I say that there’s no way Zareen took her. Just no way. I know her better than anyone, and she didn’t do it.”
    Maybe Zane was right. Yeah, just a couple minutes ago, I was convinced it was Zareen. But now we had the trainer, who’d been caught in a lie. It was crazy how quickly things could change in this investigation (and in life).
    Shelby, however, didn’t seem swayed either way by Zane. “We shall see where the facts lead us.”
    “Do you really think you can find Daisy? Because I know if you do, Zareen’s innocence will be proven.”
    Shelby nodded. “Of course I’ll find Daisy.” She said it like it was a fact. But we hardly had any evidence to tell us who took Daisy, let alone where she was being held.
    “I hope so.” He slumped down on the couch next to Shelby.
    “So where do you play ball?” I asked. As much as I was enjoying this case and watching Shelby work, I wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to make a new friend, especially a guy friend.
    Most of my friends back on the post were guys. I liked being around other dudes. No offense to girls, but my guy friends were always a little more chill. There was nojudgment. There were no expectations. My old buddies and I would just play some ball, watch some movies, and hang. I missed that. I really wanted that again. The only people I knew here were Mom, Shelby, and Mrs. Hudson.
    I so needed to hang with some dudes.
    “We play over in the park,” Zane answered. “You should join us sometime.”
    “Yeah, that’d be cool. Thanks.” I tried to be cool.
    “You know”—Zane turned his attention to Shelby—“I like Emerson and all, but it bothers me that we’ve been trying to get ahold of him for over a day and he’s been unreachable.”
    See! Even Zane thought the trainer did it.
    Shelby’s head jerked as if something had snapped into place in her head. “Interesting. Tell me, you’re a year older than Zareen?” She moved forward so she was practically on top of Zane.
    He leaned back into the couch cushions with an alarmed look on his face. “Uh, no, I’m fourteen minutes older than her. We’re twins. What does that have to do with anything?”
    “Simply curious,” Shelby stated coolly.
    “Well,” Zane said as he got up from the couch (before Shelby could fall over him), “I better check in to see if there’s anything I can do. Please find her, Shelby.”
    “I will.”
    He took a few steps but then stopped and put his hand in his pocket. “What on earth?” He pulled out the trainer’s phone.
    I stared at Shelby, who looked blankly back at Zane.
    How did she get it in his pocket?
    The close call on the couch now made sense.
    Zane shook his head as he walked away. “Here I thought this day couldn’t get any more bizarre.”
    Yeah, me too .
    Shelby stayed quiet with her eyes closed until Tamra appeared back in the living room. It didn’t take a face expert to tell that she’d been crying. “I don’t understand why you’re not