Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Ruth Rose stomped up to Fred Little and glared at him. "Where's my Tiger?" she demanded. Fred Little backed away. "What tiger?" "Tiger is my cat. Did you steal her? Where is she?" "I didn't take any cat," he muttered. "I'm allergic to cats." "What're you kids doing here?" Officer Fallon asked with a frown. "We thought someone might try to break in tonight," Ruth Rose said, pointing at the prisoner.

"We wanted to get proof so you could arrest him." "This is Fred Little," Josh said. "The guy who returned Mrs. Davis's canary. He's also a clown in the circus." "And he's probably the one who robbed Dr. Pardue's house and the Gwynns', too," Dink added. "It certainly looks that way," Officer Fallon said. He gave instructions to Officer Keene, who locked Fred Little in the cruiser and drove away. Officer Fallon looked sternly at Dink. "We'll talk tomorrow," he said. "You kids better skedaddle home and get some sleep." "Fiddlesticks!" Mrs. Davis said. "These children won't perish if they stay up a little longer. And I won't sleep a wink! Come inside for cookies and cocoa, all of you." Officer Fallon just smiled and shook his head as they followed Mrs. Davis into her kitchen. Dink noticed Mozart's cage sitting on the counter. Mrs. Davis put water on to boil and took mugs from a cupboard. Then she pulled the cover off the birdcage. Mozart twittered and blinked his tiny black eyes.

"You've certainly put everyone through a lot of trouble," she told her canary. "Actually, Leona, your canary helped us to solve a string of burglaries," Officer Fallon said. "I did some snooping and found out a lot about Fred Little and his girlfriend. They've been traveling with the circus, and robbing houses in the towns they visit, for quite some time. And they always do it the same way. First they steal pets. Then they return the pets to get a peek inside the houses. Later, they rob the same houses." Mrs. Davis shook her head. "You should have seen that creepy man's face when I turned on the light. But how did he know I left my upstairs bathroom window open?" "He probably saw that it was open when he took your canary," Officer Fallon said. "Or maybe he left it open," Dink said. "He might have snuck upstairs when he used the bathroom." "You could be right, Dink," Officer Fallon said. "On stilts, he could get into upstairs windows that most people leave unlocked. In the robbery business, he's known as a second-story man."

"After tonight," Mrs. Davis said, "that window will be locked!" "How did you know that Fred Little would try to break in tonight?" Dink asked. "We were parked right around the corner," Officer Fallon continued. "We figured the burglary had to be tonight or never, since the circus leaves town tomorrow." Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Officer Fallon stood up and stretched. "That'll be Officer Keene back with the car. We'll drive you kids home now. I hope we didn't wreck your yard, Leona." "Oh, pooh. You saved my jewelry and caught a pair of criminals," she said. "Besides, I know three children who might like to earn some money raking and planting grass seed." Officer Fallon laughed. "You could have caught Fred Little all by yourself. Where'd that sword come from, Leona?" "My husband brought it back from one of our trips," she said, smiling. "It's been under my bed for years, in case I ever needed it." "Did you see that guy's face?" Josh asked. "I think he was glad to go to jail!"

Officer Fallon and Officer Keene dropped the kids off at Dink's house. "Good night, kids," Officer Fallon said. "No more sneaking around, okay?" The kids promised they'd go right to bed and watched the cruiser drive away. "I wonder if Fred Little was telling the truth about Tiger," Ruth Rose said. "All the pets got returned except mine." "Tomorrow we'll help you search, right, Josh?" Dink said. "Right," Josh said. "We'll ring every doorbell in Green Lawn if we have to." Ruth Rose nodded, looking sad. "Thanks, guys." The boys said good night to Ruth Rose, then walked around back and crawled into their tent. Josh giggled in the dark. "Did you see Mrs. Davis come flying out her door with all that goop on her face? I thought she was a ghost!" Dink grinned. "Yeah, and old Fred Little came shooting out the window like a rocket. I bet he burned his hands sliding down that rope." Dink rolled over and closed his eyes.

Thirty seconds later, Ruth Rose burst through the tent flap. She shined a flashlight into Dink's face. "GUYS, WAKE UP!" she yelled. Josh bolted straight up. "Geez, Ruth Rose, my heart can't take any more surprises tonight." "What's wrong?" Dink asked, blinking. "TIGER CAME HOME!" Ruth Rose said, flopping down next to Dink's feet. "She was on my bed when I snuck upstairs. When I went to pick her up, she hopped down and crawled under the bed." Ruth Rose grinned. "And guess what I found under there with her?" "A sword?" Dink guessed. "Nope!" "A burglar?" Josh asked, blinking into the flashlight. "No! I found three kittens. I'M A GRANDMOTHER!"