Back at the P.I. Pack office, the detectives learned the news about Lion L. Messy’s disappearance.
“Now I feel bad for thinking Messy was guilty,” Rora said.
“Don’t feel bad for him. Feel bad for us,” Ziggy moaned. “The big game is in just a few days. It won’t be the same without the greatest mascot and the soccer MVP playing.”
“Let’s get our heads back in the game—the detective game,” Rider said, taking charge. “Two animals are missing, and we need to find them.”
Ziggy looked at everything signed by Lion L. Messy on his desk. “You’re right, Boss. I was being selfish. We need to solve this case.”
Still, Ziggy and Rora seemed to come down with a case of the blahs.
“I know what will cheer you up,” Westie said. “I’ll show you my top secret invention. I call it—the Kooky Kicker.”
Westie pulled a sheet away to reveal a machine with a kick line of robotic legs. He pressed a button on his remote control, and the legs began to kick. “My Kooky Kicker cleans up messes by kicking them away. Watch.”
The strange machine shuffled around the office. First, it kicked books from the floor back onto the shelf in alphabetical order. Then, it kicked some stray pieces of trash back into the trash can. It even kicked files back into their correct cabinets.
“Well, isn’t that just hunky-dory,” Rora said with a smile. “I need one of those at my place.”
Suddenly, the lights on the machine turned from green to red. Instead of kicking, it began stomping. The Kooky Kicker began flattening everything in sight and then kicking it under the rug.
“Oh my!” Westie said as he dropped his remote. “It looks like my Kooky Kicker has some kooky kinks to work out.” Together, the team jumped on the invention, riding it like a bucking bronco until Westie managed to flip the off switch on the robot. “Whew, that was a close one!”
“My Messy memorabilia got all messed up!” Ziggy moaned. “Could this week get any worse?!”
Suddenly, the office door burst open. Frenchie walked proudly into the room and boldly announced, “I know what happened to both Dynamo Dog and Lion L. Messy! It’s the Goalie’s Curse!”
