Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Dink and Ruth Rose sat on Dink's front porch. They'd just finished dinner and were waiting for Josh. Ruth Rose sighed. "Tiger hasn't come home yet?" Dink asked. She shook her head. "Cats can be pretty mysterious sometimes," Dink said. He wanted Ruth Rose to feel better. "Maybe she's visiting a cat buddy somewhere." Ruth Rose looked down. "She's never stayed away like this."

Suddenly Dink noticed that Ruth Rose had forgotten her headband. Her curly hair was hanging in her eyes. Just then Josh came running down Woody Street, carrying his sketch pad. He jogged across Dink's lawn. "Did Tiger come back yet?" he asked. "No," Ruth Rose said, standing up. "Come on, let's go see who brings Mozart back." A few minutes later, they were ringing Mrs. Davis's doorbell. Ruth Rose had a determined look in her eye. "If this guy has cat scratches on his hands, I'm calling Officer Fallon." Mrs. Davis opened her door dressed for the occasion. The green gem in her necklace sparkled in the evening sunlight. "I hope you've brought your appetites," she said. "To help us celebrate Mozart's return, I've made some shortcake." Josh grinned. "I might be able to eat a small helping." Mrs. Davis laughed. "Oh, pooh, Joshua Pinto. I've seen what you can do to a batch of my cookies."

They walked into the living room. Mozart's empty cage sat on the piano. "It will be so good to hear Mozart sing again," Mrs. Davis said. The doorbell chimed. "He's here!" Mrs. Davis hurried to the door. A thin young man stood smiling on the front porch. He was dressed neatly in a white shirt, dark pants, and blue suspenders. The man held a small box with holes poked in the sides. "I'm Fred Little," he said. "Here's your canary." Dink looked at the man's hands as he passed the box to Mrs. Davis. Not a single claw mark. He shot a look at Ruth Rose.

"Thank you, Mr. Little," said Mrs. Davis. "Won't you step inside?" Mrs. Davis introduced him to Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. Then she opened the box and lifted out her canary. "Well, Mozart, how was your vacation?" She gave the canary a quick kiss and placed him in his cage. Everyone paused to watch Mozart hop around, then settle down to preen his feathers. "Mr. Little, I can't tell you how grateful I am," Mrs. Davis said. "But how did you know where to bring him?" Ruth Rose kicked Dink in the ankle. Fred Little smiled. "I had to do some detective work," he said. "I called the pet shop today and asked who in town owned a canary. A nice woman told me your name, so I looked you up in the phone book." "That must have been Mrs. Wong," Dink said. "We talked to her today, too. About Ruth Rose's missing cat. When did you call her?" The man stared at Dink. "I don't remember exactly," he said. "It was right after I caught the canary."

Mrs. Davis clapped her hands. "How thoughtful of you to go to so much trouble! Will you accept a reward?" Ruth Rose glanced at Dink with a smirk on her face. The man smiled at Mrs. Davis. "You're very kind," he said. "But no thanks. It's reward enough seeing your little bird back home again." Dink snuck a quick look at Ruth Rose. She looked confused, and Dink could understand why. If he won't take a reward, then he didn't steal Mozart. And if Mozart didn't get kidnapped, maybe Tiger didn't either, Dink thought. "Then will you at least have a cup of tea and a cookie?" Mrs. Davis asked. "That'll be fine," he said. "May I use your bathroom?" "Down the hall on the right," Mrs. Davis said. "Kids, will you help me in the kitchen?" While Mrs. Davis boiled water and arranged her silver tea service, the kids put cookies on a tray. "He didn't take the reward," Ruth Rose whispered, frowning. "I can't believe I was wrong!"

"I don't know, Ruth Rose," Dink said. "There's something fishy about this guy. Why didn't Mrs. Wong tell us he called her?" "We saw Mrs. Wong in the morning," Josh reminded them. "Fred Little must have called her later." "Yeah, I suppose," Dink said. "But I have this weird feeling I've seen Fred Little somewhere before," Josh said. "Around here?" Ruth Rose asked. Josh shrugged. "I'm not sure. I can't remember." "What are you three whispering about?" Mrs. Davis called. "I'll need some helping hands in a minute." When they were all seated around the card table, Mrs. Davis poured five cups of tea. "Are you just passing through, Mr. Little? I haven't seen you in town before." "I'm here looking for a job," Fred Little said. "So you might settle in Green Lawn? Wouldn't that be wonderful!" Fred Little smiled. "It's a nice town." He glanced around the living room. "You sure have a lovely home, Mrs. Davis."