CHAPTER 9

UNUSUAL SUSPECT

Early the next morning, Tiana tapped my forehead with her finger. “Can we look for Greenie?” she asked.

I got right up. The clue about the dirt might help me solve the mystery. Then I would have the rest of the day to work on my diorama.

Tiana and I ran to her room. Now that it was morning, we didn’t have to sneak. I knelt on the floor next to the doll bed. Puff Puff and Miss Betty were still sleeping. They were right where we’d left them.

So was the dirty spot. So was the leaf.

“Do you remember what shoes you had on?” I asked. Maybe Tiana had left the dirty spot.

Tiana went to the closet to get her ballet shoes. She handed them to me, and I turned them upside down. The bottoms were clean.

I pointed to the dirt and leaf. “Look,” I said. “How did that get there?”

Tiana got on the floor next to me. She looked at the spot and crossed her arms. “Somebody got my doll bed dirty!” she said. “And stealed Greenie. I told you.”

What kind of thief would come in and steal a stuffed animal? I thought. Nothing else was missing. It didn’t make sense. I needed more information.

“Did you hear anything while you were taking your nap?” I asked.

Tiana laughed at me. “No, silly. You can’t hear while you’re asleep.”

I took three deep breaths. “Did anything wake you up?”

“Just Mama,” she said.

“Did you hear anything before you fell asleep?” I asked.

Tiana tilted her head to the side again. She stayed like that for a while. “Yes!” she said. “I heard jingle bells.”

“‘Jingle Bells’?” I asked. “Like the song?”

“Like the bells,” Tiana said. “Like the kind on an elf’s hat.”

That didn’t help at all. Tiana had probably been dreaming. An elf had definitely not stolen Greenie.

While I was trying to think, the doorbell rang. Tiana and I ran downstairs. When we got to the foyer, Mama was giving Auntie Sam a hug. Woofer was running around them.

Auntie Sam saw us and grinned. “Hi! What are you girls up to?” she asked.

Mama went back to the kitchen to finish cooking. Sometimes she left someone else in charge of breakfast at the restaurant on Sundays. Whenever she took a Sunday off, she made brunch. And Auntie Sam always came over.

“I’m solving a mystery,” I said. “We still can’t find Greenie.”

“Still?” Auntie Sam said.

Tiana yelled, “Somebody stealed him!”

Auntie Sam raised one eyebrow. “Greenie was stolen?”

Tiana and I both nodded. Then I told Auntie Sam about the dirt and leaf I’d discovered in Tiana’s room.

A few minutes later, Mama yelled, “Breakfast is ready!”

Everyone hurried to the kitchen. Nia came downstairs singing “Ease on Down the Road.” She sounded really good. Auntie Sam knew the song too, so she started singing along. Then Daddy came in and sang with them too.

Mama laughed and said, “Sit down and eat, everyone.”

The table was full of food. Mama had made ham, eggs, fruit, biscuits, potatoes, and orange juice. Woofer put his nose up to the table, and Auntie Sam shooed him away.

We all ate and talked. For a little while I forgot all about Greenie and my diorama.

When everyone stood up to help clear the table, Woofer came running through the kitchen. He had Daddy’s slipper in his mouth.

Daddy yelled, “Catch that thief!”

“Don’t let him take that outside!” Auntie Sam exclaimed. “He’ll bury it, and you’ll never see it again.”

Suddenly I realized the slipper wasn’t just a slipper—it was a clue. And it was just the clue I needed.

I looked at Woofer’s feet. They were dirty. I thought about what Daddy had said. He’d called Woofer a thief. A thief stole things, and Greenie had been stolen!

Woofer looked at me and scratched. The scratching made his collar jingle. Tiana had said she’d heard jingle bells at nap time. She hadn’t been dreaming after all. She’d heard Woofer’s collar.

“Woofer did it!” I shouted. “Woofer stole Greenie!”

Tiana’s eyes got big. “Woofer?”

I nodded. “Look at his dirty feet! And did you hear how his collar jingled when he scratched?” I was finally about to solve the mystery! “And Auntie Sam just said he buries stuff in the backyard. That’s where we need to be searching. Greenie is out there somewhere!”

Tiana got up and clapped. “Yay! Find Greenie! Find Greenie!”

Everybody ran outside. Woofer came with us too. He wagged his tail and almost looked like he was smiling. Woofer thought this whole thing was funny.

I knew we needed a strategy. We couldn’t just dig holes all over the yard. That would take too long. It would also make Mama and Daddy mad.

“Let’s spread out,” I said. “Look for spots where the ground doesn’t look normal. Like piles of dirt or little holes.”

I went to the far side of the yard and started searching. I found a spot that didn’t look right. I brushed the dirt to the side and found Woofer’s ball. Woofer barked at me and wagged his tail.

“Azaleah!” yelled Tiana. “Come look!”

I hurried over to where Tiana stood next to a loose pile of dirt. I poked a finger into the ground to see if I felt anything and touched something soft. I pulled it out.

“Woofer stealed Mama’s sock?” said Tiana.

“Looks like Woofer’s been busy,” Daddy said.

Before long, everybody was running around pulling things out of the ground. Woofer had stolen a spoon, a paintbrush, and Nia’s wig from her last musical.

Finally I found a big pile of dirt under one of the bushes. I had to put my whole head under the bush to dig. There was definitely something under there, but I couldn’t reach it.

“Tiana, come help me!” I yelled.

Tiana came running. “Did you find Greenie?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “You’re smaller than me. You have to go under there and dig.”

Tiana got on her stomach and scooted under the bush. I watched her legs wiggle while she dug.

“Greenie!” she yelled. She scooted back out of the bush, clutching Greenie in one hand.

Leaves were stuck in Tiana’s hair. Both she and her stuffie were filthy, but Tiana didn’t seem to care. She and Greenie gave me a big hug.

They got me dirty, but I laughed and hugged them back. Everybody cheered.

“Me and Greenie are going to take a bath,” said Tiana. She ran inside.

Woofer licked my hand and barked.

“I think Woofer needs a time-out,” Auntie Sam said. “Sorry about the yard.”

Daddy shook his head and smiled at me. “Good job, Detective Azaleah.” He kissed my forehead. “Better go finish that diorama now.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” I said.