The Case of the Diamond Dog Collar by Martha Freeman Read Free Book Online Page B

and put them in the toaster. “Sounds too much like sinus,” she said, “and that gives me a headache.”
    Nate didn’t seem too disappointed. “Did you know most male canaries sing all the time?”
    â€œMaybe this guy would sing more if he had a name,” Tessa said. “The last time he really sang out was on Friday—right before Hooligan went crazy.”
    â€œThat reminds me of something,” I said. “When Hooligan went crazy on Thursday? Remember how those birds outside were yakking? You could hear them over the helicopters.”
    Tessa nodded. “I do remember. Only what does that have to do with anything?”
    Granny set down our toasted bagels and glasses of orange juice. We thanked her. I got out my notebook and wrote down about the singing canary and the yakking birds.
    â€œI have no idea what it means,” I told Tessa. “But it’s another strange coincidence.”
    By the time Nate, Tessa and I got down to the South Lawn, Mr. Mormora was already there, and the puppies were starting to arrive. From beyond the fountain, Mr. Bryant, Cottonball and Hooligan were walking toward us.
    Tessa and I still hadn’t told anyone about the diamonds on the collar. And keeping it to herself was driving Tessa crazy. Finally, she couldn’t stand it. “Nathan, can you keep a secret? Hooligan’s diamonds are real!”
    Nate’s mouth opened, like for a second he believed her. But then he started to argue: “They can’t be. . . . The letter said . . . Who would send Hooligan real diamonds?”
    Mr. Bryant by now was a few yards away. “Hello, girls. Hello, Nate.” And a second later, Cottonball was threading his leash around Tessa’s ankles while Hooligan, tail wagging, jumped up and tried to knock me over.
    â€œ
Sit.
” I said.
    Cottonball ignored me but Hooligan—future Top Dog—did as he was told.
    â€œWe can prove it, Nathan!” Tessa danced her ankles out of the tangle then bent down to undo Hooligan’s collar.
    Only there was one small problem.
    The diamond collar was gone!
    In its place was Hooligan’s boring old brown collar—the one we had replaced when Empress Pu-Chi’s gift arrived.
    Tessa fell back on her bottom. My heart went thud. But before we could ask Mr. Bryant about it, Mr. Mormora called Canine Class to order.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

    THE Canine Class topic for the day was “stay.”
    And that—besides how Hooligan was perfect again—is pretty much all I remember. Otherwise, I was much too sleepy and much too distracted to pay attention.
    Where was the diamond collar?
    And something else was bugging me, too.
    The collar had either disappeared in the night when Hooligan was in his crate or in the morning when Mr. Bryant was walking him. Could Mr. Bryant have taken it? Was it possible he knew the diamonds were real, too? Was it true he got to our house early because traffic was light—like he told Granny?
    That wasn’t a very good reason.
    Mr. Bryant is Tessa’s and my friend. But his daughter did need money. . . .
    I shook my head trying to get the thoughts inside to make sense. Something didn’t seem right.
    Anyway there was no time for questions. The momentCanine Class was over, Dad herded Tessa and me toward the White House.
    â€œBut Dad!” Tessa protested. “Look!” She pointed at Hooligan’s neck while we walked.
    I thought we’d have to explain, but Dad understood right away. “That’s strange. Where’s the gift from the empress?”
    Tessa got dramatic and waved her arms the way she does. “It’s more than strange, Dad! Because it turns out the diamonds are
real!
”
    Dad didn’t argue like Nate did. He only raised his eyebrows. “When did you notice the collar was missing?”
    Tessa took a breath. “Last night before bed I drank a glass of milk? And