We waited to hear what the three police officers would say.
‘Shall we leave it to you, Sarge?’ said the policewoman.
‘Yes,’ said the nice one. ‘I can handle this lot.’
‘We’ll be off then,’ said the scary one. Phew! ‘Try and keep out of trouble, you lot. We don’t want to see you again. Do you hear?’
The three of us nodded. Rose noticed, so she did it too. That would normally have made Fifty go over the top about how great she is, but he stayed quiet. Good move.
‘OK.’ Our nice policeman sat down on the rug. ‘I’m Sergeant Farrow. Or Rob as most people call me, except the ones in handcuffs.’ He laughed. I wanted to laugh too but didn’t think I should. ‘Looks tasty,’ he said, looking at what was left on the picnic rug.
‘Would you like a cake?’ said Fifty.
‘I would.’ He reached out and took the last one. Rose mewed again.
‘She’s a cute little bundle,’ said Sergeant Farrow.
‘She’s really clever,’ said Fifty.
‘Doesn’t take after her brother, then.’ He winked.
‘I didn’t think,’ said Fifty. ‘I never would have taken her if I’d thought they’d call the police.’
Idiot, I thought. They were hardly going to go back to the Blue Skies Nursery minus one child, were they?
‘Well, you and I had better take Rose over to the play area so she can go back to the nursery with the others.’
Fifty nodded. Maybe he was in the clear – not arrested, not even a warning. It was brilliant that Rose was found, not that we knew she was missing, but what about Doodle? I needed a genie to grant me a wish.
WAYS TO MAKE A WISH (no guarantee offered)
Throw money in a well.
Win a wishbone battle (chicken required).
Blow dandelion seeds.
Catch a falling leaf (or a star, but that’s unlikely).
Blow out birthday candles (but not someone else’s).
Find a genie.
Or maybe I just needed a policeman. Sergeant Farrow finished the cake, brushed the crumbs off his lap and stood up. I had to say something before he went away.
‘There’s another problem.’ I could feel the usual rosy glow of embarrassment creeping up my cheeks. I carried on anyway. ‘The problem I thought you were here about.’ He waited for me to go on. ‘The dog. He’s lost.’
‘Ahh!’ said the nice policeman. He turned towards Copper Pie. ‘The girl you were with earlier, she mentioned her dog was gone.’
‘That’s right,’ said Copper Pie.
I waited to hear what the plan was. It was great knowing we had an adult to help. And not just an ordinary adult – a sergeant with three stripes on his shoulder.
‘I wouldn’t worry. I expect he’ll turn up. Pets usually do.’
I couldn’t believe what he’d said. I repeated it in my head. It didn’t get any better. He was leaving it to us. He cared about missing babies, but not missing dogs. Missing dogs could form a pack and eat stray kittens, terrorise old ladies by barking at their thick brown tights, be made into burgers – it didn’t matter to him.
So that meant one thing and one thing only – Tribe was on its own. I thought back to all the amazing things we’d done since we became Tribe and knew that the only way to get Doodle back safely was for the Tribers to work together. I started shoving everything into my rucksack.
‘I’ve got to go. I’ve got to find Bee and Jonno, and then we’ve got to find Doodle. Are you coming, Copper Pie?’
‘Yep.’
‘I’ll see you later,’ said Fifty. ‘I’d better . . .’ He tilted his head to one side.
‘Tribehouse,’ said Copper Pie.
‘What time?’ said Fifty.
I checked my watch. It was bang on twelve o’clock. ‘Three o’clock.’ That gave us plenty of time to scout around for dog tracks before heading over to Tribe HQ in Fifty’s garden, hopefully with Doodle trotting along with us. Making a plan of action made me feel better. I had Copper Pie by my side. A belly full of food. And a job to do.
I was ready.