Judy Moody, Girl Detective - Megan Mcdonald [9]
“You picked the lock! With one of those Nancy Drew bobby pin thingies.”
“You can’t prove it, Stink.”
“No fair! You can’t just keep taking my stuff. First it was my president dollars, then my dino-bug pins. Now this. That’s called stealing. It makes you just as bad as Snarky, Snuffy, and Stingy — those Nancy Drew bad guys.”
“For your information, it’s Snorky, Sniggs, and Stumpy.”
“Whatever. It’s still my money.”
“Well, you stole a whole bag of my gummy mice. Just think, Stink. If you find Mr. Chips, you can win back your money.”
“But that money’s already mine! I shouldn’t have to win it back.”
“It’s for a good cause,” Judy reminded him. “If you ask me, that lock was just asking to be picked.”
“Give it!” said Stink, holding out his hand.
“ROAR,” said Judy, handing over the money. Now she had to think of something else to offer as a reward. Something good. Something anybody would want a whole big bunch. She looked around her room at her collections. At last she had an idea.
Before you could say Sign of the Twisted Candles, Judy and Stink, with tires full of air, were speeding on their way to Speedy Market to hang up flyers. Judy’s old turquoise bike wasn’t exactly a Nancy Drew blue roadster convertible. But the wind did whip her messy hair around, and the October sun warmed her cheeks.
Judy and Stink met Rocky and Frank outside the market.
“We already hit Fur and Fangs and Screamin’ Mimi’s,” said Frank.
“And the bakery, the bowling alley, and the birthday party store,” said Rocky.
“Rare!” said Judy.
Inside Speedy Market, tons of people and a reporter and lights and cameras were crowded around, and the store manager was talking to some cop. Not just any cop. Officer Kopp!
“I’m not kidding ya,” Mr. Keene, the manager, told Officer Kopp. “That little guy headed straight for the pet food aisle like nobody’s business. Crazy pup grabbed a bone worth $2.79. I yelled, ‘Drop it!’ Did he drop it? No, sirree. He ran right out the front door before anybody could catch him.”
“Sorry about the bone, Mike,” said Officer Kopp. “I’ll pay you back.”
“That’s one smart pup. How he knew which aisle had the dog treats . . .”
“Is that all the suspect seems to have taken?” asked a lady reporter.
“Suspect? He’s a dog, for crying out loud,” said Mr. Keene.
“Did you get a look at the shoplifter?”
“Yeah,” said Mr. Keene. “Brown and hairy.” He turned to Officer Kopp. “I guess you could say instead of taking a bite out of crime, he took a bite into crime.” When he laughed, his round belly shook where his shirt had popped a button.
The reporter turned to the camera and spoke into her puffy microphone. “A thief remains at large after a daring heist in the pet food aisle of the local Speedy Market,” she said. “You might say the four-legged man’s best friend was too speedy for this market manager.” She fake-smiled at the camera. “Cut!”
Judy followed Officer Kopp out of the store. “Do they think it was Mr. Chips?” she asked.
“All anybody saw was a streak of brown and a tail, but it must have been him. Keep looking!” Officer Kopp called as he hopped into his black-and-white and headed out of the parking lot, lights flashing.
Judy and her best chums (the Nancy Drew word for friends) searched all over the parking lot of Speedy Market — under cars, behind a tree, in the Dumpster. They asked every shopper they saw, “Did you happen to see a little brown puppy with big paws?” But the answer was always no. Until . . . a lady with funny glasses pointed to the back corner of the parking lot. “Those guys in that van had a dog.”
“Where? What van?” asked Judy, snapping her head around.
“Was he brown?”
“Was he cute?”
“Was he Mr. Chips?”
Just then, a dark green van peeled out, tearing through the parking lot, tires squealing. Judy and her friends jumped out of the way. The van swerved out of the parking lot without stopping. “Stop! Thief!” Judy yelled, but the van sped off down the street before she could make out the letters on the license plate.
“Did you see that? It’s gotta be them — the bad-guy dognappers!” Judy