Amy and the Missing Puppy Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 Spring Break Blues

  Chapter 2 A New Friend

  Chapter 3 Taking Out the Trash

  Chapter 4 A Surprise Guest

  Chapter 5 The First Clue!

  Chapter 6 Rufus Was Here

  Chapter 7 Follow That Puppy!

  Chapter 8 A New Lead

  Chapter 9 Gotcha!

  Chapter 10 Ms. Sullivan’s Idea

  Chapter 11 The End and the Beginning

  ‘All About Ellie’ Excerpt

  Spring Break Blues

  Amy felt herself starting to blush. Her cheeks felt warm, then hot. Amy shook her short, light brown hair over her freckled face. She hoped it would hide her bright pink cheeks. At least I’m not at school, Amy thought. I hate blushing in front of the whole class!

  In fact Amy wouldn’t be back at her school, Santa Vista Elementary, for one whole week. It was the Friday night before spring break. Amy was in her bedroom with her best friends, Marion, Ellie, and Liz. They had a sleepover almost every Friday. This week, it was Amy’s turn to host.

  The girls were finishing up a game of MASH. Amy held up the paper that had made her blush. She pointed to the name of her future husband.

  Liz, Marion, and Ellie squealed.

  “You’re so lucky, Amy!” Ellie said, shaking her hands to dry her newly painted nails. Stewart was Liz’s big brother. He was twelve. All the girls, except for Liz, thought he was the cutest.

  “Lucky?” said Liz. Marion was braiding Liz’s wavy blond hair in front of the mirror. Liz wrinkled her nose. “Who would want to marry my brother? Ew.”

  “I can’t stay up too late tonight,” Marion said. She wrapped a hair band around Liz’s braid. “Tomorrow my mom and I are taking Coco to a big horse show!”

  Coco was Marion’s brown purebred horse. Marion was a great rider. Together, Marion and Coco had won tons of blue ribbons! “We’ll be out of town for most of the week,” Marion added, her green eyes twinkling.

  “Me too,” said Liz. Liz and her family were going to the beach. “I can’t wait! A whole week of sun, sand, and best of all, no homework!” Liz flopped back onto Amy’s bed. “I’m going to bring my easel and paint box. I’ll paint you each a sunset!” Amy loved Liz’s paintings. She was such a good artist!

  Ellie sighed and fluffed her red pillow. “Well, I’ll be here in Santa Vista all week,” she said, plopping down. Her tight black curls bounced over her headband. Ellie tossed her head dramatically. “BOR-ing! But at least my Nana Gloria is coming to stay!”

  Ellie’s grandmother was moving in with her family. “She’s bringing over some boxes—and her parrot, Lenny! I want to teach him a song. Then we can sing a duet!”

  Ellie grabbed a pink hairbrush. She flicked on Amy’s MP3 player. Singing along with a pop song, Ellie belted into her hairbrush microphone. Ellie always sang loudly and with feeling, like an actress on a stage.

  “How about you, Amy?” Ellie said. “What are you going to do this week?”

  Amy’s heart sank a little. Her friends all had somewhere to go or something to do. She didn’t.

  Amy’s parents were divorced and Amy lived with her mom in Santa Vista. Her dad lived in Orange Blossom, the next town over. Amy sighed as she remembered that she couldn’t even go visit Dad this break because he was away on business.

  Amy shrugged. “Read?” she said. “I do have a brand-new Nancy Drew book. Count the change in my piggy bank? Dust my sticker collection?” Her friends giggled, but Amy was only half joking. What was she going to do?

  “I guess I’ll help my mom at the clinic,” Amy said. Amy’s mom, Dr. Melanie Purvis, was a veterinarian. She ran a vet clinic in the house next door. Pets from all over Santa Vista came for their checkups. Other times, animals came when they were sick or hurt. Amy loved animals of all kinds. She also loved spending time at her mom’s clinic.

  As if reading her mind, Amy’s cat Milly crawled out from under the bed. She climbed into Amy’s lap. “Milly will keep me company. Right, Milly?”

  Only seven days until next Friday—their next sleepover. Then they would all be together again.

  Oh, well, thought Amy. Spring break can’t last forever.

  A New Friend

  Monday morning was slow at the vet clinic. Amy sat behind the front desk. Her mom was busy in back, checking on a sick hamster. Gail, the vet assistant, had gone out for coffee. It looked like Amy was in charge. Normally, being in charge made Amy feel important, but not today. Instead, she wondered what her friends were up to. She sighed. Nothing ever happens in Santa Vista, she thought.

  Amy looked down at the day’s list of appointments.

  The next patient wouldn’t be there for another fifteen minutes. Amy had already watered the flower beds out front, and filled all the treat jars in the waiting room with Fitter Critter healthy pet snacks. Amy tucked the half-empty bag of treats into the pocket of her yellow hoodie.

  Since she had some time to spare, she decided to read her book. She put on her purple reading glasses and opened her new Nancy Drew mystery.

  Nancy started by making a list of suspects. “Who could have taken the prize-winning pony from Alice’s barn during the night?” she asked herself.

  The next-door neighbor, old Mr. Gilbert, came to mind. He sure had been gruff when Nancy met him. Plus, Alice had said that in the whole ten years since she’d moved in, Mr. Gilbert had never once smiled or waved over the fence. Sometimes she felt like Mr. Gilbert didn’t want a neighbor at all.

  Amy heard a car pull up outside. As she looked out the window, the door of a fancy silver car opened. Amy squinted as a figure stepped out of the car.

  Amy gasped. It was none other than Marge Sullivan!

  Marge Sullivan had lived in Santa Vista for a few years. She lived alone, way out on the edge of town. Her house was huge—like a mansion. Amy didn’t know anyone who had ever been inside it. People said Ms. Sullivan was a billionaire. She hardly ever came into town. When she did, she didn’t talk much. Kids and even some parents were afraid of her. Now and then, some brave kids would ring her doorbell on Halloween, but they always ran away before she came to the door.

  Amy smoothed her hair and sat up very straight in her chair as Ms. Sullivan strode in. Ms. Sullivan didn’t seem like the kind of person you should slouch around.

  The older woman looked down at Amy. It felt like a cold who-are-you? look. Amy opened her mouth to speak. But nothing came out! Amy felt the warmth rising in her cheeks. Oh no! She was starting to blush.

  All of a sudden, Amy heard the jangle of a dog collar. Around the desk came a blur of brown and white fur. Amy felt a paw on either shoulder as she toppled off her chair. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor and a drooly Saint Bernard puppy was covering her face with doggy kisses.

  Amy giggled and squealed. The Fitter Critter treats fell out of her pocket and scattered on to the floor. The puppy sniffed them before he gulped down three.

  “Bad boy, Rufus! Naughty!” Ms. Sullivan said sternly. The puppy returned to Ms. Sullivan’s side. He sat and looked up at her. His tail was wagging a mile a minute.

  Still giggling, Amy picked herself up off the floor. She dried her face with the sleeve of her hoodie.

  “Well, it looks like you’ve made a new friend,” Ms. Sullivan said to Amy.

  Amy looked up. For a split second, she thought she saw Ms. Sullivan’s mouth turn up at the corners. Was that a smile? Amy had never seen Ms. Sullivan smile before. She’d never seen her with a puppy before, either. Huh, she thought. Ms. Sullivan doesn’t seem like a pet person.

  Just then Dr. Purvis, Amy’s mother, came into the waiting room. “Hello, Marge! Hello, Rufus!” she said. She led them to a
n exam room.

  Amy looked down at her favorite yellow hoodie. Below each shoulder was one perfect muddy paw print. Guess Rufus found the wet flower bed on his way in! Amy thought. She laughed and tried to wipe off the prints with a paper towel. It didn’t help.

  Rufus had left his mark.

  Taking Out the Trash

  That night, after dinner, Amy was curled up on the sofa. Her nose was buried deep in the pages of her mystery.

  Nancy followed the small hoofprints across the muddy patch of grass. She could just make them out by the light of the bright, full moon.

  Suddenly, Nancy heard a rustling coming from the trees! She froze. Lifting her flashlight, she aimed the beam into the woods. There it was again! The rustling grew louder and louder, until . . .

  Branches parted and the flashlight beam lit up a face—the face of a man. Nancy gasped. It was Mr. Gilbert!

  “Amy!” Amy’s mom called from the kitchen. “Please come take out the trash!”

  Amy sighed and put her book down. “Coming!” she called. She hurried into the kitchen. The faster she took out the trash, the sooner she could get back to her book! She grabbed the full trash bag and dashed out the back door.

  Amy didn’t bother to turn on the backyard light. She lifted the metal trash can lid and dumped the bag inside. Amy dropped the lid, letting it crash down with a loud bang.

  Then, she heard it. Amy thought she heard a rustling sound! She could have sworn it came from the shrubs between her backyard and the clinic next door. Amy peered into the dark, shadowy shrubs, but couldn’t see anything. She stood still, listening. Nothing.

  Then the wind picked up. Shrubs and tree branches waved. Leaves rustled. Amy thought the air smelled like rain.

  Amy relaxed. Her book was putting ideas into her head!

  Back inside, Amy found her mom on the sofa with a big bowl of popcorn. “Want to watch that new spy movie?” Dr. Purvis asked.

  Amy smiled. No school tomorrow meant no bedtime. Amy flopped down on the sofa. She could read her book later. Movie night with her mom was the best.

  Outside, the first few raindrops tapped against the windows.

  A Surprise Guest

  Halfway through the movie, the doorbell rang. Dr. Purvis pressed pause on the remote control. “Who could that be?” she said. “It’s kind of late . . .”

  Amy followed her to the front door. She stood next to her mom as she opened it.

  Just then a streak of lightning lit up the dark sky. Thunder clapped. Amy jumped. She grabbed the back of her mom’s sweater.

  Marge Sullivan was standing on the front porch.

  Water dripped from her rain hat. Her black raincoat was soaked. Her cheeks even looked wet. Amy realized it wasn’t from the rain. Ms. Sullivan was crying.

  “I’m really sorry to bother you,” Ms. Sullivan said to Dr. Purvis. “It’s Rufus. He’s . . . gone!”

  Amy’s mom invited her in. Amy’s heart was still pounding in her chest, but she followed as her mom led the way to the kitchen. Dr. Purvis took Ms. Sullivan’s wet things. Ms. Sullivan had a seat at the table.

  “I’ll make you some tea,” said Dr. Purvis as she put the kettle on. “You tell us what happened.”

  Amy stood in the doorway and listened.

  “I let Rufus out after dinner,” Ms. Sullivan began. “The backyard is fenced in.

  “When it got windy, I called him in,” Ms. Sullivan went on, “but Rufus didn’t come. When I went out to look for him, I found a hole by the fence. He must have dug it out.” Ms. Sullivan’s lower lip shook. “My poor Rufus. He’s out in this storm, all alone.”

  Dr. Purvis put a hand on Ms. Sullivan’s shoulder. “He can’t have gotten far,” she said. “Let me make some phone calls.” She took her cell phone and left the room.

  Amy didn’t know what to say or do. Ms. Sullivan had always seemed stern and serious. Now, here she was crying in Amy’s kitchen. When the kettle whistled, Amy made her a cup of tea. She set it on the table with the milk and sugar.

  “Thank you, Amy,” Ms. Sullivan said softly. Amy was surprised Ms. Sullivan knew her name.

  Dr. Purvis came back in. “Well, I called the police. I also called the animal shelter over in Orange Blossom. If they hear anything or spot Rufus, they’ll let us know right away.” Dr. Purvis sighed. “It’s really a shame Santa Vista doesn’t have its own animal shelter.”

  Dr. Purvis and Ms. Sullivan talked a while longer. Amy went upstairs. As she got ready for bed, she could hear her mother and Ms. Sullivan in the front hall. “I’ll help you look in the morning, Marge,” her mom was saying. “He’ll be easier to spot in the daylight.”

  Amy heard the front door close. As she opened her book, she wondered how Nancy Drew would solve this mystery.

  Clues . . . , thought Amy. Rufus must have left some clues behind. If Amy could find them, maybe she could help find Rufus. It would be Amy’s first case.

  The First Clue!

  By Tuesday morning the storm had passed. The sun was warm as Amy walked next door. She’d help out at the clinic for the morning. Then, she’d call Ellie. She missed her friends so much!

  How many times have I walked down this sidewalk? Amy wondered. A million times? That’s how she knew there were fifteen sidewalk squares between the two houses. She counted them in her head as she walked.

  But this morning, on square number nine, Amy stopped in her tracks.

  Right there on the sidewalk were several paw prints. Amy felt like she had seen one exactly like it yesterday. Amy remembered the paw prints on her favorite yellow hoodie!

  Rufus had been here since the rainstorm! Otherwise, the rain would have washed the prints away.

  Amy smiled. This was a clue! But now what? What would Nancy Drew do? And then she knew.

  Amy hurried back into her house. She returned with a small green notebook and her favorite blue pen. She opened the notebook and began to write.

  It was a start! Amy was on her way to solving the mystery of the missing puppy!

  Rufus Was Here

  Amy was in charge at the front desk all morning while her mom and Ms. Sullivan were out looking for Rufus. Gail, the vet assistant, was busy giving some checkups while Amy watered the flower bed out front and refilled the treat jars.

  Dr. Purvis finally returned around lunchtime.

  “Any luck?” Amy asked her.

  Her mom shook her head no. “We drove all over. No sign of him.”

  Amy pulled out her notebook. “I found one sign of him,” she said. She explained how the print on the sidewalk matched the Rufus prints on her hoodie.

  Amy’s mom smiled. “Great detective work!” she said. “The more people looking, the better chance we have of finding Rufus.”

  Amy walked home and had lunch. After she finished her sandwich, she called Ellie’s house.

  “Amy!” Ellie cried when she came to the phone. “Am I glad to hear from you!” There was really loud squawking in the background. “Nana Gloria’s parrot is driving me nuts!”

  Amy couldn’t make out Lenny the parrot’s words. But it sounded like he was singing a song. Well, if you could call all that squawking singing.

  Amy told Ellie about Rufus going missing. She also told Ellie about the paw print. “Do you want to come over?” Amy asked. “We could look for more clues together.”

  The words were barely out of Amy’s mouth. Ellie shouted, “I’ll be right over!” and hung up.

  Ellie lived only three streets over. A few minutes later, she rode up on her bike. Amy went outside to meet her.

  “Oh, Amy,” Ellie said, giving her a hug. She was out of breath. “I love Lenny, but that bird does not stop talking or singing!”

  Amy held back a giggle. She knew Ellie didn’t think it was funny.

  Amy told Ellie all about the case: how Rufus got loose, when he went missing, and what he looked like. She showed Ellie the paw prints on the sidewalk. Together, they looked around for more.

  “Here!” Ellie said, pointin
g at the sidewalk. They were past the clinic. A trail of paw prints led further down the sidewalk.

  “Yes! Rufus prints, for sure!” Amy cried. She pulled out her notebook and jotted down these clues.

  The girls slowly followed the trail. “I don’t blame Rufus for running away from mean old Ms. Sullivan,” said Ellie “I would run away too!”

  They were in front of the house on the other side of the clinic. The paw prints were disappearing.

  “I don’t know,” Amy replied. She thought about how sad Ms. Sullivan was about losing Rufus. It was clear she really loved him. “Maybe Ms. Sullivan isn’t as bad as everyone thinks. You know what they say about judging a book by its cover.”

  Ellie stopped walking. She looked at Amy. She rolled her eyes. “You would talk about books at a time like this, Amy.”

  The girls looked down. Suddenly there were no more paw prints. They were at a dead end.

  “Now what?” Ellie said.

  Amy looked down at her notebook. She turned to a blank page.

  “If we were Rufus, where would we go?” asked Amy.

  They thought about it as they walked back to Amy’s house. They decided they would spend the rest of the afternoon making a new list.

  At four thirty Ellie eyed the clock and jumped up. “I’ve got to go,” she said. “Nana Gloria is making dinner, and I promised her I’d help.”

  The girls made plans to meet up the next day. “I’ll be at the clinic all morning,” Amy said, “but after lunch, we should check these places.”