As usual, Honey’s tact came to the rescue. “You said yourself that there was no harm done, Brian. What does it matter if we ever catch the culprit?”
“Ah, but we have.”
The Bob-Whites and Norma Nelson turned to see David Llewelyn approaching. “I take it you’re talking about Paul Gale,” he said. “We tracked him down, finally. It took three long days, but he and his assistant are safely behind bars.”
“We weren’t talking about Paul Gale, actually, but that’s certainly good news,” Trixie said. Seeing David Llewelyn’s tired face, she forgave him immediately for not returning her messages. I’ll bet he hasn’t slept since he pulled us out of that camper, she thought.
“I’ll be returning home now for a good long rest,” David Llewelyn continued. “I just dropped by to clear up the matter of the reward.”
“Reward?” Trixie said.
“One thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest of perpetrators of large-scale consumer crime,” David Llewelyn said. “Would you three girls like to divide it equally?”
“Oh, no,” Trixie said. “It’s Norma’s money; she was the one who produced the evidence.”
“That’s right,” Honey said.
Everyone turned to look at Norma. She just stood staring back at them, speechless.
“That will buy a lot of birdseed,” David Llewelyn said.
Then Norma’s face brightened. “Oh, it would! Could I really use it for that?” she asked, looking at Trixie and Honey.
“It’s your money,” Trixie told her.
Norma hesitated. “I think we should give half the money to a real anti-hunger foundation.”
“That would be wonderful,” Honey agreed.
“It would,” Trixie said. “In fact, for the next Bob-White fund-raiser we could—”
Trixie was interrupted by the arrival of the first entrants in the show. They were followed by a trickle and then a steady stream of additional entrants. Soon everyone was settled and ready to begin.
“It’s all up to Dr. Chang and the animals, now,” Trixie said as she, Honey, and Norma took their places in the bleachers.
Dr. Chang and the animals were a winning combination. One at a time, Dr. Chang put the animals on display on or in front of the judging table. Trixie was amazed at how much he knew about the different species. He had a specific comment to make on nearly every entrant; that the shape of its head was good, or that the color of its eyes was exceptional, or that it was unusually large or small for its breed.
A steady sound of ooh’s and aah’s at the adorable animals was mixed with laughter at their antics. One of the merriest responses was, predictably, to Reddy and Bobby Belden. When his name was called, the six-year-old started toward the center of the gym with all the dignity he could muster—while his dog started off in the other direction. Since the dog was larger than the boy, Reddy’s choice of direction won out, and Bobby was pulled along behind.
Only prolonged calling and whistling from Dr. Chang drew Reddy to the judging table.
“Oh, woe,” Trixie moaned, sinking down as far as she could on the bleacher seat. “Why did we let Bobby enter Reddy in this contest?”
“He’s adorable,” Honey retorted, “and you know it.”
“He really is,” Norma agreed. “He’s very intelligent, too. Why, with a few weeks of obedience training, I bet he’d be a champion.”
Trixie and Honey stared at her blankly for a moment. Then they burst into peals of laughter.
Norma turned bright red. “Oh—you meant Bobby.” She lowered her head and stared at her feet.
Desperately, Trixie tried to stop laughing. She’s bound to think we’re making fun of her. How is she supposed to know that sending Bobby to obedience school is so logical it’s funny?
Then Norma’s shoulders began to shake slightly. A small squeaky noise came from her throat. The squeak became a giggle and then, finally, full-scale laughter.
Norma’s laughter set Trixie and Honey off again, too. Soon all three girls were rocking back and forth on the bleachers, holding their sides.
Their laughter was only beginning to subside when Dr. Chang finished his examination of Reddy and instructed Bobby to take the dog back to his place against the wall. The sight of the boy and his dog taking off, once again, in different directions, renewed their laughter. By now, however, the entire crowd was roaring, so the girls didn’t have to worry about being conspicuous.
Shortly after Reddy’s turn, Dr. Chang finished judging the other pets. Then he called a brief intermission, inviting the audience to vote for the People’s Choice Award while he made his decisions.
Mr. and Mrs. Belden and Miss Trask made their way through the crowd to compliment the Bob-Whites on their success.
“Just think,” Trixie said with a sigh after they’d left, “in a few minutes, it will all be over.”
“Yes,” Mart said with a sigh that mocked his sister’s. “Won’t it be sad? No more tearing my hair out over my nonworking computer program. No more listening to your bizarre theories about someone sabotaging the pet show. No more—”
“No more!” Trixie said hurriedly. She glanced at Norma.
“Actually, there’s lots more,” said Brian. “We gathered over two hundred dollars during the entry phase of the show. We probably doubled that with our ticket sales today. That will buy a lot of cracked corn, which will mean a lot of game-bird feeding over the next few weeks.”
Further conversation was interrupted by Dr. Chang’s call for the crowd to take their places.
“This was a difficult show to judge,” he said, “because every animal here is exceptional. I hope that I’ve reached decisions that you consider to be fair.”
With that short speech, he began to hand out the awards. For the most part, he followed Mart’s printout list. Largest, smallest, longest ears, shortest tail, furriest, unfurriest—one by one, Dr. Chang awarded each animal a bright purple ribbon. The crowd cheered them all, and they all—owners and pets alike—looked proud and happy.
The Bob-Whites, and Norma, cheered especially loudly when Dr. Chang announced the prize for the People’s Choice Award. Reddy won it, of course!
When the contest was over and the crowd began filing out of the gym, Bobby rushed over to his sister. Reddy bounded along beside him.
Bobby held up his trophy for Trixie to see. “We won!” he crowed. “We won at the pet show!”
“Of course,” Trixie said, kneeling down to hug him. She looked at Norma Nelson and at her fellow Bob-Whites. “Didn’t you know? In this show, everyone was a winner!”
Table of Contents
1 * An Everlasting Winter
2 * Patch Provides a Plan
3 * The Bob-Whites Begin
4 * The Angry Young Man
5 * Honey Uncovers a Rumor
6 * Dr. Chang Explains
7 * The Man from the Mall
8 * Dressed for Waiting
9 * The End of a Suspect
10 * A Last-Minute Entry
11 * Computerized Confrontation
12* Tailing a Suspect
13 * The Evidence on Ice
14 * Success!
The Pet Show Mystery Page 11