Free The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg Page B

interrogating Zareen. She clearly did it.”
    “She is a suspect, yes,” Shelby admitted. “But clearly is not a word we can use at this juncture. There are too many elements in play.” She then stood up. “Tamra, I think it’s time you take me to the scene of the crime.”

CHAPTER
    14
    T his was cruel . I certainly hoped it was also unusual .
    The dog room off the foyer in the main hallway was twice the size of my bedroom at our new home. I was also pretty sure that the two dog-sized couches and beds probably cost more than all the furniture in our apartment combined.
    Shelby dropped down to her knees and started climbing around, talking to herself as she inspected every dog toy, bowl, and chew stick.

    “Is anything missing?” Shelby asked as she scratched behind her ear. (She was taking this whole putting-herself-in-the-victim’s-shoes act a tad too far.)
    “I don’t think so,” Tamra replied.
    “What about the stuffed bone? You said that Daisy took her favorite toys—the stuffed Chihuahua and a stuffed bone—with her to bed. Caruso was in the hallway being chewed on by Roxy that morning and is over there in the corner. I didn’t see a stuffed bone in your room or in this room. Where is it?”
    Tamra started searching around the space. “You’re right. It’s missing!”
    Shelby groaned loudly. “Honestly, do I have to do everything here? I asked you to tell me everything that happened, yet you failed to notice that one of Daisy’s favorite toys was also missing.”
    “I—I …” Tamra broke down in tears. “I’m sorry. All I want is my dog back.”
    “Well, you aren’t really helping by omitting such important and obvious facts from my investigation,” Shelby stated flatly.
    “Hey,” I said in a low voice as I patted Tamra’s back. “It’s okay. There are so many toys in here I can see how you didn’t realize it was missing.”
    “You’re not helping, either, Watson,” Shelby repri- manded me.
    “Come on, Shelby, give us a break.” I tried to reason with her. “Not everybody is a supersleuth like you. It’s not fair to think that anybody can compete with your powers of observation. There’s no need to lash out.”
    “You think that was lashing out?” Shelby snorted before returning to her four-limbed investigation of the area. “Please.”
    “Hey!” Zane walked into the room. “It’s going to be okay, Tamra.” He wrapped his arms around his sister, who continued to sob.
    Zane turned his attention to Shelby, who was currently climbing into the canopy dog bed. “Ah, John, does she always do strange stuff like this?”
    I could only shrug my shoulders in response since, in the limited time that I’d spent with Shelby, she’d been exactly like this.
    Shelby jumped up and went over to the shelves that contained the dog food. “This is what they eat?”
    “Yes,” Tamra answered as she wiped away her tears. “They only eat organic dog food, and Miss Eugenia cooks chicken or wild salmon for them every night.”
    The dogs even ate better than me. Man, life in New York City wasn’t fair.
    Tamra approached the clear plastic containers that held the dog food. She patted the one that had the letter D in pink cursive. “This one’s Daisy’s.”
    “Thanks for clarifying,” Shelby replied sarcastically.
    I shot her a warning glance. If this was how she handled a client, I’d hate to see how she treated the thief once he (or she) was caught.
    “Listen, Shelby.” Zane put his hands in his pockets. “I’m willing to do whatever you need to help. We’ve got to find Daisy.”
    “Of course.” Shelby stood up and placed her hand on Zane’s shoulder. “You’re the big brother. That’s incredibly generous of you.”
    Wait a second. Why was Shelby being so nice to Zane? I’d never seen her be … normal to anyone.
    Maybe she actually listened to me when I told her to take it easy?
    “So, where do you go to school?” she asked. “You’re not with us at the