Sly the Sleuth and the Pet Mysteries Read Online Free PDF Page A

sprinkled on prunes was a treat? “Okay. Then a ball knocked over the bucket?”
    â€œTaxi will kill Wilson. Lock her up.”
    â€œWhen did this happen?”
    â€œAfter dinner.”
    â€œAfter dinner yesterday? Brian, if Taxi was going to kill Wilson, she’s already done it.”
    Brian’s eyes teared up.“Oh no,” he sobbed. “Oh no, oh no.”
    I put my arm around him. “I said ‘if.’ Maybe Wilson is fine.”
    â€œSly,” came Melody’s voice. “Oh, Sly.”
    I looked up.
    Melody stood in the driveway. She was crying.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?”
    â€œI think my puppy’s dying.”

Crazy
    I hugged Melody.
    Taxi ran into the bushes.
    Brian screamed, “Catch Taxi. Catch Taxi. Catch Taxi.”
    â€œWait a minute, Melody,” I said.
    I reached under the bushes. I pulled out Taxi and put her inside. “Stop screaming, Brian.”
    â€œOkay,” said Brian.
    I went back to Melody. “What happened?”
    â€œHe got sick.”
    â€œHow awful. Did you take him to the vet?”
    â€œNo. My parents said he’s fine.”
    This was odd. “Let’s sit down.”
    We sat on the stoop.
    Brian went over to his yard. He crawled on all fours in the grass.
    â€œWhy’s Brian crawling?” asked Melody.
    â€œMaybe he’s looking for Wilson,” I said. “Or maybe he’s crazy.”
    â€œWho’s Wilson?”
    I didn’t want to talk about a mouse that was probably dead.“It doesn’t matter. Brian is definitely crazy.”
    â€œMaybe my puppy’s crazy too,” said Melody.
    â€œTell me about it,” I said.
    â€œOh, good,” said Melody. “I knew you’d solve my case.You said you were taking a vacation from sleuthing. But I just knew you’d come back for me”.
    I hadn’t realized this was a case.
    Did I want a new case?
    My first case was about Fat Cat. My second case was about Wish Fish.
    Fat Cat. Wish Fish. They rhymed.
    So my third case should rhyme too. After all, things came in threes.
    â€œSick Puppy” didn’t rhyme.“Crazy Puppy” didn’t rhyme.
    But this was a case about a pet. And so were the first two. So that was good.
    And my hair was back to brown. As it turned out, the blue washed out in two weeks. That was the kind of dye Jack’s mother had let him buy—short-term. So I could sleuth again unnoticed.
    And even though Taxi didn’t like dogs, she’d be interested in a sick one. Probably any cat would. So this was a case a cat would enjoy hearing me talk about.
    And, most of all, this was Melody. My best friend.
    â€œStart at the beginning,” I said.

Night and Day
    â€œLast night I took Pong outside to play.”
    Pong? “I thought his name was Brownie.When did you change it?”
    â€œThe other day,” said Melody. “I was playing Ping-Pong and he loved it.”
    â€œI hate that game,” said Brian. He had come back into my yard. “It’s hard.” He sprinkled grass over us.
    Melody stood up. She shook off the grass.
    â€œPong loved it. He chased the balls. He even ate one. So I changed his name.”
    â€œIf he ate a Ping-Pong ball, that’s why he’s sick,” I said.
    â€œNo, he passed it.”
    I thought about that. “Eww.”
    â€œHe crunched it up before he swallowed it,” said Melody. “And that was days ago, anyway.”
    â€œAll right,” I said. “What happened last night?”
    â€œWe were playing catch.”
    â€œI like catch,” said Brian. He threw another handful of grass on us.
    â€œAnd he got sick,” said Melody. She brushed off the grass.
    â€œHow do you mean?”
    â€œHe moved all jerky. All over the place.”
    â€œHe’s a puppy,” I said.“That’s what puppies do.”
    â€œBut this was different. I ran inside and told Daddy. He put Pong to bed. And