The Case of the Piggy Bank Thief Read Online Free PDF Page B

dinner with their parents at a restaurant, then meeting us.
    When Tessa and I got to the family kitchen, Nate was already at the table, and Hooligan was under it. Granny had made hamburgers, and Mr. Bryant served our plates. Then he sat down in a spare chair by the stove, and Granny leaned back against the counter. She was wearing an apron for cooking, but under it was a shiny red-and-white dress I’d never seen before.
    â€œAren’t you eating anything?” I asked Mr. Bryant.
    â€œYour grandmother and I have dinner plans later,” he said, “but those burgers do smell good.”
    Tessa held her plate out and smiled. “You can have a bite of my hamburger if you want.”
    I could see Mr. Bryant was thinking about it, but Granny spoke up. “Don’t you dare, Willis! You’re slow enough on the tennis court.”
    Mr. Bryant sighed and looked from Tessa to me to Nate. “You see what I put up with?”
    Tessa nodded sympathetically. “I know. She acts like that with us, too, sometimes. But deep down she’s nice.”
    â€œDid you play tennis this afternoon, Granny? Who won?” Nate asked between bites.
    â€œI did, as usual,” Granny said.
    Mr. Bryant raised his eyebrows. “ ‘As usual’? That’s not the outcome I remember yesterday.”
    Granny’s mouth was set in a straight line, but there were smile crinkles around her eyes. “What are you talking about? Personally, I don’t remember that far back. Must be my advanced age.”
    â€œYou can ask me about yesterday,” said Tessa, “ ’cause my advanced age is seven. And it was me who watched Hooligan so you could play, remember? Afterward, Mr. Bryant said he beat Granny big-time.”
    Hearing his name, Hooligan shifted in his sleep. Usually, he would have been begging for burgers, but not today. Maybe he was still full of jelly beans?
    Meanwhile, Nate had set his fork down. “Wait asec. Tessa, you were outside with Hooligan yesterday afternoon?”
    Tessa’s jaw froze midchew.
    â€œThat’s right,” I said. “I totally forgot, but Ms. Major said she saw you, and Hooligan was sniffing in the bushes where the stray cat lives.”
    â€œStray cat?” Granny said.
    Oops. I hadn’t meant to bring that up. Granny didn’t want to listen to any more whining from Tessa on the cat subject.
    But now I had to explain, so I did, and the second I stopped talking, Granny raised a warning hand. “Don’t you even start, Tessa. I know how much you want a cat, but I don’t see how that’s ever going to work with this canine of yours.”
    â€œBut Hooligan
loves
kitties!” Tessa nudged him with her toe. “Don’t you, puppy?”
    Nathan laughed. “Loves to munch them, you mean. Right, buddy?”
    Hooligan opened his eyes and said,
“Woof,”
which did not exactly answer the question. Our dog hasn’t been around cats much. Was Tessa right, or was Nate?
    â€œYou’re not one bit funny, Nathan,” Tessa said. “And anyway, I don’t want some old grown-up cat. I want a cute, furry little kitten.”
    Nate rubbed his belly. “Mmmmm . . . even more delicious!”
    Tessa whined, “Grannyyyy! Make him stop!”
    Granny gave Nate a look; he shrugged and changed the subject. “Tessa, if you were out by the dig yesterday,you might be an important witness. Did you see Wen Fei and Stephanie? Did you see anybody digging holes?”
    Tessa didn’t answer right away. Instead, she took a bite of her hamburger, chewed, swallowed and dabbed her mouth politely. Finally, she asked who Wen Fei and Stephanie were, and when Nate reminded her, she said, “Oh. Uh . . . and where did you say the dig is, again?”
    I couldn’t believe my sister. “We were there this afternoon!”
    â€œOh, right,” she said. “Uh . . . nope,