Chapter 6

Chapter 6 "Or your house could be next," Dink reminded Ruth Rose. Ruth Rose shook her head. "They didn't return Tiger, so they didn't get inside my house. Come on, we have to tell Officer Fallon!" They ran down Main Street to the police station. "Does he work on Sunday morning?" Josh asked as they hurried up the steps. "We'll find out in a minute," Dink said. The kids almost bumped into Officer Fallon coming through the door.

"Were you kids coming to see me?" he asked. "I was just heading for Ellie's." "Officer Fallon, we figured out the burglaries!" Ruth Rose cried, He looked at her. "Oh? Then we'd better go back inside." Sitting at his desk, Officer Fallon picked up a pencil. "I'm listening," he said. Ruth Rose told him their theory about how the pet-nappers came back later to return the animals, then rob the houses. Officer Fallon smiled. "I think you're right on the button," he said. "I figured out the same thing." "Did you know that Mrs. Davis's canary was returned, too?" Ruth Rose asked. She looked at Dink and Josh. "We think her house will be robbed next!" Officer Fallon raised his eyebrows. "Well, now, that is news. I didn't know about the canary. When was it returned?" he asked, writing something on his pad. "Friday night," Josh said. "Some guy called up and said he'd found Mozart. He brought him over while we were there."

Officer Fallon's eyes widened. "Tell me about this man, Josh," he said quietly. Josh described Fred Little while Officer Fallon took more notes. "Can you arrest Fred Little before he breaks into Mrs. Davis's house?" Ruth Rose asked. Officer Fallon tapped his pencil and squinted one eye at the kids. "Officer Keene and I have been looking for whoever returned the Gywnn and Pardue pets. We want to question them about the pet-nappings and the robberies. Now we will start looking for Fred Little, too." He leaned forward on his elbows. "But we have no evidence that these people have done anything wrong. The same goes for Fred Little. True, he returned the canary and got inside Leona Davis's house. That's the same pattern as the other two burglaries, but it's not a crime." "You can't arrest him?" Josh asked. Officer Fallon shook his head. "Even if I knew where to find Fred Little, I have no proof that he's planning a crime." "But we have to do something!" Ruth Rose said.

"You've already done a lot," Officer Fallon said. "I didn't know that Leona Davis got her bird back. You've given me a good lead. Officer Keene and I really appreciate your help, kids." He walked them to the door. "Don't worry we have a few tricks up our sleeves." "I still think we should do something," Ruth Rose said when they were outside. "Well…" Josh said. "The circus is leaving tomorrow, and we do have those free tickets Officer Fallon gave us…" Dink laughed. Together, he and Josh talked Ruth Rose into visiting the circus for a few hours. They watched a few animal acts and bought popcorn. Ruth Rose didn't feel like going on any rides, so they decided to go into the clown tent again. Two clowns dressed as firefighters were running around, bumping into each other while a small cardboard building "burned." Smoke and fake flames were shooting out of a window. A woman clown was screaming, "Help! Save me!" Some of the kids in the audience started yelling, "Save her, mister! Up there, save her!"

The firefighter clowns got tangled up in their own hoses, making everyone laugh and yell even louder. Suddenly a clown dressed like Superman appeared on stilts. He wore a blue shirt under a red cape. Bright yellow suspenders held up the skinny blue pants that hid his stilts. Superman flapped his cape and snapped his suspenders. Then he marched over to the burning tower and saved the woman. All the kids in the audience yelled and clapped. Dink noticed that Ruth Rose was hardly even looking. He nudged Josh, and they left. "I'd like to get me some stilts," Josh said. He walked stiff-legged and snapped invisible suspenders. "Do circuses ever hire kids?"

"Yeah, to feed to the tigers," Dink said, which reminded him of Ruth Rose's Tiger. He looked at her. "Do you want to come over and finish the Monopoly game?" She shook her head. "Don't you guys want to solve this mystery?" "Sure, but what else can we do?" Dink asked. "Officer Fallon said he's gonna look for the people who returned the pets." "Well, I know how we can help him," Ruth Rose said, her eyes flashing. "Uh-oh," Josh mumbled. "Um, Ruth Rose, I don't think Officer Fallon wants any more help," Dink said. Ruth Rose ignored him. "Are you guys sleeping in the tent again tonight?" she asked. Dink nodded. "I guess so. Why?" Ruth Rose grinned mysteriously. "I promise to bring over some cookies if you promise to go somewhere with me." "Where?" Dink asked. "And why do you have that sneaky look on your face?" "Wear dark clothes," Ruth Rose said. "We're going to stake out Mrs. Davis's house!"