3. The Nephew

Chapter 3 The Nephew A tall teenager wearing jeans, a ski jacket, and a baseball cap walked into Ellie's Diner. He came over to their table. "Is one of you Brian?" the kid asked. "I am," Brian said. "Are you Leonard Wong?"

"Yup." The kid sat down and pulled off his cap. It was wet with snowflakes. Leonard looked down at the puppy and Pal, both lying on the floor. "You found this pup outside Aunt Mary's shop?" he asked. He scooped up the puppy and held it in the air. "Cute little guy. It's a boy, by the way." "He was in a snowbank outside your aunt's store," Brian said. "Our dog found him. We were wondering if your aunt gave him to someone. He has a tag, but it just says TO and FROM, with no names."

Leonard examined the tag. "Aunt Mary has a picture of the puppies she had," he said. "This guy looks exactly like one of them." "Awesome!" Bradley said. "So if your aunt had this dog, she must remember who adopted it!" "And that person might have written the tag!" Nate said. Leonard pulled a cell phone from his pocket. He pushed a couple of buttons. "Here, ask her," he

said. "She's in Florida, scuba diving." He handed the phone to Bradley. Bradley heard the other phone ringing. Then the ringing stopped. He heard a crackling noise. Bradley could hear static but no voices. He said, "Mrs. Wong? This is Bradley Pinto. Can you hear me?" He heard more strange noises, and then the phone went silent. Bradley handed the cell phone back to Leonard. "I couldn't hear anything," he said. "I don't even know if she heard me." Leonard smiled. "Knowing Aunt Mary, she's underwater," he said. "She's probably taking pictures of fish. Try her again later." Leonard wrote his aunt's cell phone number on a napkin and handed it to Brian. "So what should we do with the puppy?" Brian asked. "Don't know, bro," Leonard said, rising from his seat. "But I have to go feed the animals in my aunt's store." He made a face. "And clean all the cages." Leonard loped out of the diner.

"Let's take the puppy home," Bradley said. "Wait!" Ellie said. She came over and handed Lucy a bag. The top was tied with a red ribbon. "Merry Christmas!" The kids thanked Ellie again and headed outside. They stood in front of her diner windows. The snow had almost stopped. Just a few flakes fell from the dark clouds. The kids saw their footprints, and Pal's, in the new snow on the sidewalk. Pal kept staring at the lump under Bradley's jacket and the bag in Lucy's hands. People hurried past, carrying bags. Everyone had pink noses. Christmas was in the air! "What do you think Ellie gave us?" Nate asked. "Whatever it is, Pal smells it right through the bag," Lucy said. "Hounds can smell anything a mile away!" Brian said. "Hey, that gives me an idea," Bradley said. He walked next door to Furry Feet. "Bring Pal over here, Brian." Bradley aimed Pal's nose toward the spot where the puppy had been lying. Then he opened his

jacket so Pal could sniff the puppy's golden fur. Pal sniffed, then gave the puppy a lick. "Pal, follow tracks!" Bradley said. "Follow!" "What are you doing?" Brian asked. "The puppy must have walked here," Bradley said, zipping his jacket. "Maybe Pal can follow his scent back to wherever he came from!" "Cool idea!" Nate said. Pal stuck his nose in the snow and sniffed. Then he pulled Brian back toward Ellie's. There was an alley between Ellie's Diner and Furry Feet. Pal headed down the alley. The kids followed. At the end of the alley, they passed the Acorn Apartments. Pal kept going, now and then letting out a little bark. He kept his nose on the ground.