The Canary Caper Read online

  for Confusion…

  “One of us should run to the police station now,” Dink said.

  Suddenly three things happened at once: The upstairs light blazed on. Dink heard a loud scream. And a police whistle blared through the open window.

  Dink leaped to his feet. Mrs. Davis was up there, and so was the burglar!

  But which one had let out that scream?

  The series!

  The Absent Author

  The Bald Bandit

  The Canary Caper

  The Deadly Dungeon

  For Sarah

  —R.R.

  To Matthew for being a great Josh

  —J.C.

  Dink Duncan opened his front door. His best friend, Josh Pinto, was standing on the steps. “Hi, Josh. C’mon in,” said Dink. “I just finished lunch.”

  Josh hurried past Dink, wiping his forehead. “We sure picked the hottest day of the summer to go to the circus,” he said. “I just took a shower, and I’m still hot.”

  Dink grinned. “You took a shower? Let’s see, that’s two showers this month, right?”

  “Haw haw, very funny,” Josh said. He opened the refrigerator door and pulled up his shirt. “Ahh, that feels good!”

  “It won’t feel so good if my mom catches you,” Dink said.

  Josh grabbed the apple juice and flopped into a chair. “You’re funny, but it’s too hot to laugh,” he said, pouring himself a glass. “Where’s Ruth Rose? It’s almost time to leave.”

  “She’s waiting next door.” Dink put his plate in the sink. “I have to run up and brush my teeth.”

  “Forget your teeth—the circus is waiting!”

  Dink grinned and pointed to a clown-faced cookie jar on the counter. “Grab a cookie. I’ll be right down.”

  Josh made a beeline for the cookie jar. “Take your time brushing,” he said.

  “Don’t eat all of them!” Dink said, leaping up the stairs.

  “Dink,” his mother called, “are you running?”

  “Sorry, Mom,” he called back. “We’re in a hurry. Thursday is half-price admission if we get to the circus by one o’clock.”

  Dink brushed his teeth, yanked a comb through his blond hair, then charged back down the stairs.

  “Donald David Duncan!” his mother yelled. “No running in the house!”

  The phone rang in the kitchen.

  “Got it, Mom!” Dink grabbed the phone, watching Josh stuff a whole cookie into his mouth. “Hello, Duncan residence.”

  Dink listened, then said, “We’ll be over in five minutes.” He hung up.

  “We’ll be over where in five minutes?” Josh asked.

  “Mrs. Davis’s house. You know her canary, Mozart? He’s escaped.”

  “What about the circus?” asked Josh. “Half-price, remember?”

  Dink shrugged. “So we pay full price. Mrs. Davis needs our help.”

  They walked next door to Ruth Rose’s house and rang the bell. Four-year-old Nate Hathaway opened the door. He stared up at Dink with huge blue eyes.

  “Hi, Natie,” said Dink. “Is Ruth Rose ready?”

  Nate’s lips, cheeks, and T-shirt were smeared with chocolate. He was holding a raggedy stuffed dinosaur.

  “Sheef ungt fruz,” Nate said with a full mouth.

  Dink laughed. “She’s what?”

  Ruth Rose showed up behind Nate. “MOM, WE’RE LEAVING NOW!” she screamed into the house.

  Josh clapped both hands over his ears. “Ruth Rose, you should get a job as a car salesman. Then you could yell all day and get paid for it.”

  Ruth Rose stepped outside and closed the door. “You know perfectly well that I’m going to be President,” she said sweetly. “And it’s saleswoman, Josh.”

  Ruth Rose liked to dress in one color. Today it was purple, from her sneakers to the headband holding back her black curls.

  While they walked down Woody Street, Dink told Ruth Rose about Mrs. Davis’s missing canary.

  “Mozart got out of his cage?” Ruth Rose said. “I hope he doesn’t fly over here. Tiger could swallow a canary in one bite.”

  “Your fat cat could swallow a turkey in one bite,” Josh said.

  Ruth Rose rolled her eyes. “Tiger is plump,” she said, “not fat. Race you!”

  Mrs. Davis was standing in the doorway of her large yellow house when they arrived. “Thank you for coming right over,” she said.

  Mrs. Davis held a handkerchief, and her eyes were red. “I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “We don’t mind,” Dink said. “What happened to Mozart?”

  “After breakfast, I hung his cage out back so he could have some fresh air. But when I went to give him his lunch, his cage was empty!”

  “I’m sure he’s somewhere nearby. Don’t worry!” Dink said.

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose ran around to the backyard. Mozart’s cage was hanging in an apple tree.

  “Split up,” Dink said. “Check all the bushes and flowers.”

  The kids searched every tree, shrub, and flower bed. Mrs. Davis watched from her back porch. “Any luck?” she asked Dink.

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but we’ll keep looking.”

  “It’s such a beautiful day,” Mrs. Davis said. “I hope you kids have something fun planned.”

  “After we find Mozart, we’re going to the circus,” Dink told her.

  “The circus! Well, please don’t let me stop you!” Mrs. Davis said. “Mozart knows his cage. I’m sure he’ll fly home soon.”

  But Dink could tell that Mrs. Davis wasn’t really so sure. “Okay, but we’ll call you later,” he promised.

  They said good-bye to Mrs. Davis and headed for the high school. The Tinker Town Traveling Circus had set up on the school baseball field the day before and would leave town Monday night.

  The kids cut through a bunch of circus trailers and trucks on their way to the admissions gate. The sides of the trailers were painted with pictures of clowns, tigers, and elephants.

  They arrived five minutes after one, but the ticket lady let them in for half-price anyway a dollar each.

  “What’ll we do first?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Let’s eat,” Josh said.

  “No way,” Dink said. “You already had lunch, and you probably gobbled down half my mom’s cookies. Let’s walk around and see what’s here.”

  They watched birds do tricks, dogs ride on ponies, and a chimp dressed like Elvis “sing” into a microphone.

  They all gulped when a tiger trainer put his hand right inside a tiger’s mouth.

  “Guess the tiger’s not hungry,” Josh said with a grin.

  In Clown Corner, a clown dressed as a giraffe danced on stilts. He kept time to the music by snapping his yellow suspenders.

  “I have to leave soon,” Ruth Rose said after a while. “My mom needs me to watch Nate while she goes shopping.”

  The kids left, cutting through the town rose garden to get to Woody Street.

  Dink snapped his fingers. “I just remembered—my mom said I can set up my tent in the backyard. Can you guys get permission to sleep out?”

  “No problem for me,” Josh said.

  “Nate’s never slept in a tent, so I’ll bring him,” Ruth Rose said. “And Tiger,” she added sweetly.

  “Your little brother!” Josh yelped. “Great, we’ll have our own circus—a four-year-old monkey and a man-eating tiger!”

  Ruth Rose laughed. “Don’t worry. We’ll bring our own tent.”

  Dink and Josh dropped Ruth Rose off at her house, then continued on to Dink’s. There they went inside and called Mrs. Davis.

  “She says Mozart hasn’t come back,” Dink told Josh after he’d hung up.

  While they were pitching Dink’s tent, Ruth Ros
e came over. Nate trailed behind her, dragging his extinct-looking stuffed dinosaur.

  “Hey, where’s your man-eating cat?” Josh asked.

  Ruth Rose dropped her tent on the ground. She looked as if she’d just swallowed something nasty.

  “What’s the matter, Ruth Rose?” Dink asked.

  “Tiger is missing,” Ruth Rose said quietly. “And my mother says she hasn’t been home all day.”

  Early the next morning, Ruth Rose poked her head into Dink’s tent. “Wake up, you guys!”

  Dink shot up out of a sound sleep. “Did Tiger come back?” he asked, peering sleepily at Ruth Rose.

  “No, she didn’t. I’m going to the police station and I want you guys to come with me.”

  Josh rolled over in his sleeping bag. “To report a missing cat?”

  “No, to report a missing cat and a missing canary,” Ruth Rose said. Then she ducked back out of the tent.

  Dink and Josh looked at each other, then crawled out after her. Ruth Rose was pacing back and forth across the lawn.

  “Guys, it’s just too weird,” she said. “Two animals disappeared from the same street on the same day!” Ruth Rose stopped pacing and looked at them. “I don’t think Mozart and Tiger wandered off, I think they were stolen. I’m taking Nate home, and then you guys are coming with me to talk to Officer Fallon.”

  Ruth Rose woke up Nate, took his hand, and marched toward her house.

  Dink and Josh just looked at each other and shrugged. Then they walked into Dink’s house. Josh poured two bowls of cereal while Dink ran up to his room to change. Loretta, his guinea pig, squeaked a hello to Dink from her cage.

  Josh was slurping up his Weet Treets when Dink came back down.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Josh said. “Wouldn’t Tiger eat Mozart if someone kidnapped them both?”

  Dink shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure that Tiger and Mozart were kidnapped,” he said between bites. “But Ruth Rose is our friend, so let’s go to the police station with her.”

  Ruth Rose walked in wearing blue shorts and a red shirt. “You guys ready to go?” she asked.

  Dink stared. He’d never seen Ruth Rose wear two different colors at the same time. He gave Josh a look, but Josh was busy reading the back of the cereal box and didn’t notice.

  “Yup, we’re ready,” Dink said, putting the bowls and glasses in the sink.

  They found Officer Fallon at his desk. He was typing at his computer, chewing gum, and sipping tea all at the same time.

  “Well, hi, gang,” he said, smiling at the kids. “Going to the circus this weekend? How about some free passes?”

  “No thanks, we went yesterday” Dink said.

  Officer Fallon handed Josh three tickets. “Go again, on the Green Lawn Police!”

  “Officer Fallon, I have a problem,” Ruth Rose said.

  He pointed at some chairs. “Have a seat. I’m all ears.”

  “It’s my cat, Tiger. She’s been gone for a whole day and night,” Ruth Rose said. “She’s never been away from home that long! Mrs. Davis’s canary-disappeared, too!”

  Dink had never seen Ruth Rose look or sound so serious.

  Officer Fallon wrote something on a sheet of paper.

  “I think someone in Green Lawn is stealing pets,” Ruth Rose went on. “Two pets vanishing on the same day is just too weird!”

  “Four pets,” Officer Fallon said. He opened his drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Four pets are missing.”

  “Four?” Dink and Josh said together.

  Officer Fallon nodded. “Last night, Dr. Pardue called. His kids’ rabbit was missing from its cage. Later, Mrs. Gwynn called. It seems her parrot disappeared off her back porch.”

  “All yesterday?” Dink asked.

  Officer Fallon nodded.

  “I was right!” Ruth Rose said, jumping to her feet. “There is a pet-napper around here!”

  “Four animals disappearing on the same day does seem strange,” Officer Fallon said. “In fact, I’ve already asked Officer Keene to look into it.”

  He looked at Ruth Rose. “Could it be that your cat just took a little vacation, Ruth Rose? I used to have a cat who was a real wanderer.”

  “Well, Tiger isn’t,” Ruth Rose answered firmly.

  Officer Fallon nodded. He told the kids he’d let them know if he discovered anything.

  The kids left the police station and walked toward Main Street.

  “Sounds like you might be right, Ruth Rose,” Dink said.

  “Maybe we should go see Mrs. Wong, just in case,” Josh suggested. “People always bring her stray animals. Maybe someone found Tiger and brought her to the pet shop.”

  Ruth Rose rewarded Josh with a huge smile. “Great idea, Josh!”

  They passed Howard’s Barbershop. Howard was out front, sweeping his sidewalk.

  “Have you seen my big orange cat?” Ruth Rose called.

  Howard shook his head. “Sorry, Ruth Rose.”

  At the Furry Feet pet shop, Mrs. Wong told Ruth Rose the same thing. “Nobody brought Tiger in,” she said. “But I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

  “Mrs. Davis’s canary is gone, too,” Dink told Mrs. Wong.

  “And Dr. Pardue’s rabbit and Mrs. Gwynn’s parrot!” Josh said.

  “Four animals are missing? That is very strange!” Mrs. Wong glanced around her shop. “I guess I should count my own critters!”

  “May I use your phone, Mrs. Wong?” Ruth Rose asked. “I want to call my mom and see if Tiger’s home yet.”

  “Help yourself,” Mrs. Wong said.

  Ruth Rose dialed, spoke quietly to her mother, then hung up.

  “Tiger’s still gone,” she said. “Who’d want to steal a canary, a cat, a parrot, and a rabbit?”

  “I don’t know,” Dink said. “But we’re going to find out!”

  The kids left the pet shop and headed up Main Street. They walked slowly, thinking about what to do.

  “I’ve read about scientists stealing animals to use in experiments,” Josh said.

  “That’s awful!” Dink said.

  “I don’t want Tiger used in some experiment!” said Ruth Rose. “We have to find those animals. Where do the Gwynns and the Pardues live?”

  “The Gwynns live over by us, on Thistle Court,” Dink said.

  “Why don’t we go talk to them?” Ruth Rose said. “Maybe the pet-napper left some clues.”

  The kids cut through the high school grounds and passed the circus trailers. A few of the workers were sitting at a picnic table drinking coffee. They waved when the kids walked by.

  “Which house is the Gwynns’?” Ruth Rose asked when they reached Thistle Court.

  “That big gray one,” Josh said. The mailbox in front said GWYNN in black letters.

  Ruth Rose walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Gwynn opened the door.

  “Hi, kids! How’s your summer so far?” she asked.

  “Not so great,” Ruth Rose said. “Someone stole my cat yesterday.”

  “Oh, Ruth Rose, how awful! My parrot disappeared yesterday, too!”

  “So did Mrs. Davis’s canary,” Josh added.

  “We just came from the police station,” Dink put in. “Officer Fallon told us about your parrot. Dr. Pardue’s rabbit is also missing.”

  Mrs. Gwynn’s mouth fell open. “My goodness! Do you mean that four pets disappeared yesterday?”

  “We think so,” Ruth Rose said. “Where was your parrot when you last saw him?”

  “On my back porch, in his cage,” Mrs. Gwynn said.

  “Can we see the cage?” Dink asked.

  Mrs. Gwynn took them through the kitchen to a screened-in back porch. A cage stood in one corner.

  “Archie likes it out here,” said Mrs. Gwynn. “He can watch the other birds in the trees. Yesterday I came out to have my lunch, but he was gone.”

  Dink checked the screen door that led to the backyard. “Was this locked?” he asked.

  “I don’t r
eally remember. We often leave it unlocked,” Mrs. Gwynn said.

  “Could Archie have opened his cage door himself?” Josh asked.

  Mrs. Gwynn shook her head. “We always keep a clothespin on his door to make sure he can’t open it.”

  “So someone must have stolen him,” Ruth Rose said.

  “Oh, dear, I don’t like to think of crime in Green Lawn,” Mrs. Gwynn said with a sigh. “Can I offer you kids something to drink? It’s pretty warm.”

  “No thanks,” Ruth Rose said. “But do you mind if we look in your phone book for Dr. Pardue’s address?”

  “They’re at number three Pheasant Lane,” Mrs. Gwynn said. “I drop Mike off there to play tennis with Andy Pardue.”

  The kids thanked Mrs. Gwynn and hurried to Main Street.

  “This is getting weirder and weirder,” Dink said. “A canary and a parrot were snatched right out of their cages in broad daylight. With people home!”

  “And Tiger was probably in my backyard when she was taken,” Ruth Rose said.

  They waved to Mr. Paskey at the Book Nook and headed up Aviary Way. Three Pheasant Lane was a big green house surrounded by tall trees. A kid holding a tennis racket was sitting on the front porch.

  “Hi,” Ruth Rose said, walking up to the porch. “Is Dr. Pardue home? We’d like to talk to him about his rabbit.”

  “I’m Andy Pardue,” the kid said. “Violet’s my rabbit. Why? Did you find her?”

  “No, but my cat is missing, too,” Ruth Rose said. “And so are two other pets in town.”

  Dink glanced around the Pardues’ front yard. “When did your rabbit disappear?” he asked Andy.

  “After lunch yesterday,” he said. “My sister ran into the house screaming. I went out to the cage, and the door was wide open. Violet was gone.”

  “Can you show us the cage?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Andy led them to the backyard. An empty rabbit hutch stood under a tree.

  “Was the cage locked?” Josh asked.

  “Yep, I lock it every night myself.”

  Andy Pardue gave them a sharp look. “What’s going on, anyway? A ring of animal thieves?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Dink said.