The Puppy Problem

  The

  Puppy Problem

  “Hey—here’s a crumb!” Nancy cried, pointing at the sidewalk. “Maybe it’s a clue.”

  “Where?” Bess asked. Holding the puppy’s leash, she ran down the driveway to see.

  Just then the puppy pulled hard on the leash. She broke free from Bess and ran to Nancy. Instantly, she sniffed the ground and licked the crumb.

  “She ate the clue!” George cried.

  “Bess, you have to hold on to her,” Nancy scolded.

  But it was too late. The puppy darted between Nancy’s legs and scampered away!

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First Aladdin Paperbacks edition April 2002

  First Minstrel Books edition May 1996

  Copyright © 2005 by Simon & Schuster, Inc

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster

  Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  All rights reserved, including the right of

  reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  The text of this book was set in Excelsior.

  NANCY DREW and THE NANCY DREW NOTEBOOKS

  are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  ISBN 0-671-53551-X (ISBN-13: 978-0-671-53551-3)

  ISBN 9781442467675 (eBook)

  The Puppy Problem

  Content

  Chapter 1: The New Puppy

  Chapter 2: Missing Muffins

  Chapter 3: Puppy on the Loose

  Chapter 4: Let Go of My Dog!

  Chapter 5: Chocolate Chips, Gone Again!

  Chapter 6: The Burger Burglar

  Chapter 7: Caught in the Closet

  Chapter 8: Sniffing Out the Truth

  1

  The New Puppy

  Look, Daddy. It’s licking my face!” Nancy Drew cried.

  Eight-year-old Nancy was cuddling a puppy in her arms. She let it sniff her reddish blond hair.

  At her feet, three other puppies scampered and played in the grass.

  “Hold her under her tummy,” Mr. Brachman said.

  Mr. Brachman owned a kennel and raised Labrador retrievers. His dog Molly was the puppies’ mother.

  “I’m trying to hold her,” Nancy said, giggling. “But she wiggles!”

  Just then the puppy licked Nancy—right on the nose! Nancy laughed. “I want this one.”

  “She does seem to like you,” Mr. Brachman said. He laughed, too. “She’s the puppy I had in mind for you.”

  “How old are the puppies?” Nancy’s father asked.

  “They’re ten weeks old,” Mr. Brachman answered. “Just the right age to be adopted. The vet checked them yesterday and gave them their first shots.”

  “Shots?” Nancy asked. She made a face. “I don’t like shots. Did the puppies cry?”

  “No,” Mr. Brachman said. “Puppies don’t mind too much. And they need their shots so they won’t get sick.”

  Mr. Drew paid Mr. Brachman. Then Mr. Brachman told Nancy how to take care of her new puppy.

  “Now, remember,” Mr. Brachman said. “Labs are smart and easy to train. But you have to start early. She’s going to grow up to be a big dog. Be nice, but be firm with her.”

  “We will,” Nancy promised. She and her father put the puppy in a large wire dog crate in the back of their car for the ride home.

  “Are you sure she’ll be okay in there?” Nancy asked, frowning.

  “Yes,” Carson Drew said. “And remember, Mr. Brachman told us we have to get her used to the crate right away so she’ll know it’s her home.”

  Nancy nodded. The puppy curled up on the blanket on the floor of the crate and looked at Nancy with big, friendly brown eyes.

  Nancy had asked her father for a dog every single day for a long time. Finally he’d said, “Maybe.” Then he and Nancy talked about what kind of dog to get. They decided on a Labrador retriever because Labs were such nice, friendly dogs.

  When Nancy’s father pulled into the driveway, Bess Marvin and her cousin George Fayne were waiting. They were Nancy’s best friends.

  Bess’s blond hair flew behind her as she ran toward the car. But George ran faster. Her long legs pumped hard. Her short dark curls bounced up and down.

  “Did you get a dog?” George called.

  “Yes!” Nancy said. She jumped out of the car and took out her puppy.

  “Oh, look! How cute!” Bess cried.

  “It’s brown?” George asked, sounding surprised. “I thought Labrador retrievers were black.”

  “Not always,” Nancy said. “Sometimes they’re yellow. Or brown, like my puppy. She’s a chocolate Lab.”

  “I have to go into the office for a while,” Mr. Drew said to Nancy. “But I’ll put the crate in the room off the kitchen. Hannah will help you get the puppy settled.”

  Nancy nodded.

  “Come on. Let’s take her into the backyard to play,” Bess said. “It’s fenced in so she’ll be safe and can’t run away.”

  All three girls hurried to the backyard to let the puppy run free. It was fun to watch her. They sat in the grass and let the puppy climb all over them.

  “I smell something yummy,” Bess said suddenly. She stood up and hurried to the gate.

  Bess opened the gate and walked down the driveway toward the kitchen door. The door was on the side of the house facing the driveway.

  Nancy and George and the puppy jumped up and followed Bess.

  “Look—chocolate chip muffins!” Bess said happily. She pointed through the screen door at a dozen freshly baked muffins sitting on a bench just inside the kitchen door.

  “Can we have one?” George asked as she pushed the door open.

  “No, girls,” a woman’s voice answered. “It’s too close to dinner.”

  Hannah Gruen came into the kitchen. Hannah had been the Drew family’s housekeeper for five years, ever since Nancy’s mother died.

  “Oh, please, Hannah,” Bess said. “They smell so good.”

  Hannah laughed and shook her head. “Nope. Sorry,” she said. “They’re for dinner tonight.”

  Just then the puppy scrambled across the kitchen floor toward Hannah’s feet.

  “Oh!” Hannah cried. “How cute!” She bent down to let the puppy lick her hand. “Your father put her crate in the little room off the kitchen,” she told Nancy.

  “Maybe when she’s a little older—and after she’s housebroken—she can sleep with me,” Nancy said.

  Hannah wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know about that,” she said. “But just remember our deal. You have to take care of her—feed her, walk her, brush her. It’s a big job.”

  “I remember,” Nancy said. “I’ll keep my promise.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George took the puppy and went back outside. When they reached the back gate, they saw a sandy-haired, freckle-faced boy standing there.

  “What’s he doing here?” Bess said in a snippy voice.

  “Shhh,” Nancy said. The boy was Kenny Bruder. He lived in Nancy’s neighborhood. He was in the fourth grade—a year ahead of Nancy and her friends.

  “You got a dog,” Kenny said to Nancy. Nancy thought he sounded both jealous and sad. “Can I pet him?”

  “Sure,” Nancy said. “But it’s not a him. It’s a her.”

  “I wish I had a dog,” Kenny said. “More than anything.”

  “Why don’t you get a dog, if y
ou want one so much?” George asked.

  “My mom won’t let me,” Kenny said. He petted the puppy some more. “What kind of dog is this, anyway?”

  “A chocolate Lab,” Nancy answered.

  “Chocolate?” Kenny said. “Weird. I’m allergic to chocolate.” He stood up. “Can I teach her some tricks?”

  “Not now,” Bess said before Nancy could answer. “We want to play with her first. Nancy just got her.”

  “And anyway she’s too young to learn tricks,” Nancy said. “Come back in a few days,” she added, trying to be nice. “I’ll let you play with her after she gets used to us.”

  “Yeah. Come back some other time,” Bess said, wrinkling her nose.

  George nudged her cousin in the side. “Be nice,” George whispered.

  “No way,” Bess said as Kenny walked slowly away. “He’s a boy.”

  Nancy rolled her eyes. Then she turned. “Now where’s my puppy?” she asked. Suddenly the puppy came running toward her from under the kitchen steps.

  Nancy and her friends took the puppy into the backyard. For the next half hour, Nancy, Bess, and George played with the puppy. They let her chew on a stick. They let her run around in circles.

  Then Nancy let the puppy lie in her lap when she was all tired out.

  “Nancy!” a voice suddenly called sharply from the driveway.

  Nancy looked up and saw Hannah standing there with her hands on her hips. She had a scowl on her face. “Did you girls eat those muffins?” Hannah asked.

  “No,” Nancy said, shaking her head fast.

  “Now, tell the truth,” Hannah said, still sounding angry.

  “No, really,” Bess said. “We didn’t.”

  “Well, if you didn’t eat them, who did?” Hannah asked. “Because three muffins are gone!”

  2

  Missing Muffins

  Nancy felt her face turn red. Was Hannah really accusing her of stealing food?

  “We didn’t take them,” Nancy protested. Her voice almost squeaked.

  Hannah said, “Well, someone took them. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it was that puppy of yours.”

  “No,” Nancy said firmly. “She was with us the whole time.”

  “But she escaped once and hid under the steps,” Bess said. “Remember?”

  “See?” Hannah said. “She probably pushed the door open and ate those muffins and the paper cups, too!”

  “No!” Nancy cried again.

  “You have to watch puppies every minute,” Hannah scolded gently. “Now she’ll probably be sick. I should have told you—chocolate isn’t good for dogs. Not even for chocolate Labs.” Hannah hurried back into the house.

  Nancy smiled slightly at Hannah’s joke. But she still felt upset. First Hannah had accused Nancy and her friends of stealing. Then she’d accused Nancy’s new dog!

  “We have to find out who took Hannah’s muffins,” Nancy said.

  “A mystery!” Bess exclaimed. “Super!”

  “Come on,” Nancy said. “Let’s go look for clues.”

  Nancy clipped a new red leash to the puppy’s new red collar. Then she and the puppy hurried down the driveway toward the kitchen door. George and Bess followed. Suddenly Nancy stopped at the screen door.

  “What? What’s wrong? Are more muffins missing?” Bess asked.

  “No,” Nancy said. She pointed. “But look. There’s a clue.”

  Nancy handed the puppy’s leash to Bess. Then she bent down to take a closer look. Something was caught on the edge of the screen door.

  “What is it?” George asked, crowding in closer to see.

  “It’s a piece of a shoelace,” Nancy said. She pulled the clue from the door frame and held it up.

  The piece of shoelace had black and white stripes. It was dirty and tattered and about six inches long.

  “Hmmm,” Nancy said. “It might be from the thief’s shoe.”

  “How do you know?” Bess asked.

  “Because I don’t have any shoes with laces like that. Neither does Hannah. And neither does Daddy,” Nancy said.

  “How about Kenny? Maybe it’s from his shoe,” George said. “Maybe he took the muffins.”

  “Maybe,” Nancy said. “But I don’t think so. Remember? He told us he’s allergic to chocolate. So I don’t think he took the muffins.”

  Nancy looked around the kitchen quickly. But there were no more clues. Then she hurried outside.

  “Let’s look for crumbs,” Nancy said. “Maybe whoever took the muffins ate them as they ran away. Maybe they left a trail—like Hansel and Gretel.”

  “You’re so smart,” Bess said, admiringly. “No wonder you’re a great detective.”

  Nancy grinned and headed down the driveway. She loved looking for clues and solving mysteries.

  “Hey—here’s a crumb!” Nancy cried, pointing at the sidewalk.

  “Where?” Bess asked. Holding the puppy’s leash, she ran down the driveway to see.

  Just then the puppy pulled hard on the leash. She broke free from Bess and ran to Nancy. Instantly, the puppy sniffed the ground and licked the crumb.

  “She ate the clue!” George cried.

  “Bess, you have to hold on to her,” Nancy scolded.

  But it was too late. The puppy darted between Nancy’s legs and scampered away!

  3

  Puppy on the Loose

  Come back!” Nancy cried. She chased after her puppy.

  But the puppy ran to the end of the block and disappeared.

  “Here, puppy!” Nancy called, running after the puppy. “Here, girl!”

  George and Bess raced after Nancy. They stopped at the end of the block. The puppy was gone!

  “Did you see where she went?” Bess asked, out of breath.

  “No,” Nancy said. “She disappeared.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Bess said. “I didn’t know I had to hold on so tight.”

  Nancy bit her lip. What if her puppy ran away and never came back? A lump started to form in her throat.

  Suddenly something rustled in the bushes beside the three girls.

  All at once the puppy dashed out from the hedge.

  Instantly Nancy grabbed for the leash. But before she could get it, the puppy turned the corner and dashed away again.

  “Wait! Come back!” Nancy called as she ran to catch up.

  Bess and George ran, too. They followed the puppy all the way to the Ratazcheks’ front yard. Mrs. Ratazchek was kneeling at a flower bed in front of her house. Her pink- and yellow-flowered blouse matched the colors of the flowers in her garden.

  “Whoa! What’s this?” Mrs. Ratazchek said when the puppy ran up to her and started jumping on her.

  “Hold her! That’s my dog!” Nancy yelled.

  Quickly Mrs. Ratazchek grabbed the leash. Nancy ran up and took it. She held the leash tight.

  “Don’t do that,” Nancy scolded the puppy gently. “Don’t run away like that!”

  “Hello, Nancy,” Mrs. Ratazchek said, smiling up at her. “Nice to see you. Did you get a new dog?”

  “Yes,” Nancy said. “And she’s getting into all kinds of trouble already.”

  “Puppies do that,” Mrs. Ratazchek said with a smile. “What kind of trouble?”

  Nancy told Mrs. Ratazchek about the missing muffins—and how Hannah had blamed it on the dog.

  “Missing muffins? Hmmm,” Mrs. Ratazchek said. “You know, I’ve had trouble with some missing food, too,” she told Nancy.

  “Really? When?” Nancy asked.

  “Yesterday,” Mrs. Ratazchek said. “Someone stole some groceries right out of the trunk of my car.”

  “Weird,” George said. “What happened?”

  “Well, I had five bags of groceries,” Mrs. Ratazchek explained. “While I was carrying the fourth bag into the house, I got a phone call. I was on the phone for about five minutes. When I got back outside, guess what? The last bag of groceries was gone!”

  “Wow,” Bess said. “It’s like there’s a fo
od thief on the loose.”

  “I hate to say it, but I think I know who took the food,” Mrs. Ratazchek said.

  “Who?” Nancy asked eagerly.

  Mrs. Ratazchek bit her lip. She looked as if she didn’t want to gossip—and didn’t want to say something that might not be true.

  “Ralph Caruso, a man who does some yard work for me,” Mrs. Ratazchek finally answered.

  “Oh, I know him,” Nancy said. “He’s a handyman who works for a lot of people around here. He’s worked for us a few times, too.”

  “Yes,” Mrs. Ratazchek said. “Ralph has always been very nice and trustworthy. But he recently lost his regular job in a hardware store. I don’t think he has much money. He might have been hungry.”

  “But did you see him anywhere around here yesterday?” Nancy asked.

  “Oh, yes. He was working for me, mowing the lawn. He finished up and left just as I got home from the grocery store,” Mrs. Ratazchek said.

  “Hmmm,” Nancy said. “Did you see anyone else around at the same time?”

  Mrs. Ratazchek scratched her head for a minute and thought. “Well . . . yes,” she said finally. “There was that boy. That teenager Sam McCorry.”

  “Laura’s brother?” Bess asked with interest. Laura was a third-grader. But she was not in Nancy, Bess, and George’s class at school.

  “Yes,” Mrs. Ratazchek said. “He was skating in the street when I was unloading the food.”

  “He’s huge,” Bess said to Nancy. “Remember? He’s a football player.”

  Nancy thought about Sam for a minute. He was big, and Laura always talked about how much he ate. Maybe he was skating around the neighborhood, stealing people’s food.

  “I wonder what color the laces on his skates are,” Nancy said out loud.

  “I didn’t notice,” Mrs. Ratazchek said. “But that reminds me of something else I noticed yesterday.”

  “What?” Nancy asked.

  “Paw prints,” Mrs. Ratazchek said. “When Ralph finished mowing the lawn, he turned the sprinkler on. So the grass was wet. I saw wet dog prints on the driveway, right by my car.”