Aunt Alice pulled into the lane that Bruce had indicated and took the fork to the left. Almost immediately they all could hear the dogs, and the barking grew increasingly louder as they bumped along the rutted road. Red Rover’s rich voice was louder than any of the others. It was almost as if he could sense his master was coming.
At the end of the lane, a clearing appeared before them, and they found themselves looking at the remains of what once had been part of a small farm. There was a dilapidated barn with a roof that was missing whole sections and a door that was half off its hinges. A rusted tractor served as a trellis for a tangle of vines, and a rotted wagon slumped dejectedly next to a drainage ditch. It was clear that the place had been deserted for a very long time.
In startling contrast, a shiny silver Miata was pulled up so close to the barn that its bumper almost touched it. Aunt Alice made a sharp turn and brought her own car to a stop, parking it broadside directly behind Connor’s car.
“You’re going to have to climb out on the driver’s side,” she told Andi. “There won’t be room for you to get out the passenger’s door.”
Bruce had already leapt from the car and was racing around the side of the barn. As the dogs caught sight of him, the din of their voices became deafening.
“They’re here!” Bruce shouted. “Bully and Trixie and Lola and a whole bunch of others! And Red!”
As Andi and Aunt Alice rounded the corner of the barn, they saw that the dogs were confined in a wire enclosure in front of a chicken house. At Bruce’s approach, they had gone wild with excitement and were hurling themselves against the mesh. Bully and Ginger leapt up and down in unison, obviously having renewed their friendship. The only dog who wasn’t jumping was Lola. She was standing apart from the others, pink and smug-looking. She seemed proud of the part she had played in the rescue mission, and she clearly expected to receive the “World’s Best Dog” medal.
“There’s a padlock on the gate!” Bruce cried. “We’ve got to get it off!”
“First you have to take pictures,” Aunt Alice told him. “We need a photographic record of all the evidence.”
“Well, what do you know!”
It was a voice that Bruce knew all too well, and it came from directly behind him. He turned and saw Jerry Gordon, holding a sack of dry dog food. Jerry was dressed in the same black T-shirt and baseball cap as the faceless person that Bruce had photographed snatching Lola, but now the cap was pushed back and his face was visible. Keeping his eyes locked on Jerry’s so as not to indicate what he was doing, Bruce slid his hand down to rest on his camera and surreptitiously started clicking the shutter.
“Connor, you’ll never believe this, but we’ve got company!” Jerry called out.
“Well, this is a surprise!” exclaimed Connor, materializing behind Jerry in the doorway of the barn. He, too, wore a black T-shirt and baseball cap, and his smile was as sunny as always. “It’s Bruce and his sister and Mrs. Scudder! You must have received the same information we did!”
“What information?” Andi asked him.
“We had a call from an anonymous tipster,” Connor told her. “He said a bunch of stray dogs were trapped in a chicken yard and no one was taking care of them. We drove out here to bring the dogs food.”
“And how did you think you were going to get to them?” Bruce asked him. “I guess you must have a key to unlock the gate?”
“A key?” Connor responded innocently. “How could we have that? We don’t know where those dogs came from or how they got in there. We were thinking about tossing dog food in through the mesh, but that might make me late for my volunteer work. Now that you’re here, you can feed them. Maybe later we can figure out a way to get that lock off.”
“I want the key!” Bruce insisted, trailing the two around to the front of the barn. “You locked those dogs in there, and you can get them out!”
“You heard Connor,” Jerry told him. “We don’t have a key, and we don’t have any idea how those dogs got trapped there. We’ll leave the dog food with you, but we’ve got to get going. Connor has business to tend to.”
“I bet he does,” Andi murmured bitterly to Aunt Alice. “And I bet it has to do with taking money out of library books.”
“Don’t worry, dear,” Aunt Alice said softly, so only Andi could hear her. “Those two are not going anywhere until we allow it.”
A moment later Connor shouted, “Mrs. Scudder, come move your car! You’ve got me blocked and I can’t back out!”
“I’m terribly sorry,” Aunt Alice said as she and Andi joined the boys at the front of the barn. “I never was very good at parking.”
“Give me the keys, and I’ll move it myself,” Connor told her.
“I don’t have the keys,” said Aunt Alice.
“You must have the keys,” Connor said impatiently. “You drove in here, didn’t you?”
“Perhaps I dropped them when I got out of the car,” Aunt Alice said. “With all the commotion those noisy animals were making, I got a bit rattled. Why don’t you and Jerry search the ground on the driver’s side? Andi, see if I left them in the ignition.”
“What about your purse?” Connor demanded, his voice rising in exasperation. “Women always put their keys in their purses.”
“I don’t know where my purse is either,” Aunt Alice said. “It’s a slippery purse and it sometimes slides out of my hands. Andi, while you’re in there looking for the car keys, please see if I dropped my purse.”
“Why don’t you just ram her car and shove it over?” Jerry suggested to Connor.
“Why, Jerry!” Aunt Alice gasped. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing! You’re encouraging your cousin to ram your neighbor’s car? I’m afraid that Connor has not been a very good influence.”
“I’m not about to dent my Miata!” Connor cried, getting more and more furious by the minute. “Do you know how much that baby cost me?”
“You must have sold a lot of subscriptions to be able to afford such a lovely vehicle,” Aunt Alice said. “On that subject, I still haven’t started receiving Happy Housekeeping. I’ve been looking forward so much to reading that magazine, because I’m thinking of redecorating my living room. Jerry, you’ve been in my home. Do you think it needs redecorating?”
“Enough of this babble!” Connor shouted. “I want those keys!”
He stormed over to Aunt Alice’s car, yanked the driver’s door open, and dragged Andi out. She kicked futilely at his legs and tried to jab him with her elbow.
“Let go of me!” she cried. “You’re hurting my arm!”
“Give me the keys!” Connor said.
“They weren’t in the ignition,” Andi told him. “But I did find Aunt Alice’s purse. It was under the seat. Here, Aunt Alice — catch!”
Jerking free of his grip, she tossed the purse to her great-aunt, who made an amazingly good catch as Connor again grabbed Andi’s arm.
“Let go of her, Connor,” Aunt Alice said. “I will search in my purse for the keys. But before I do that, I must take an allergy pill. So many dogs held together like this is overwhelming to someone allergic to dog hair.”
“That’s another ploy and I’m not going to fall for it!” Connor yelled, losing his cool altogether. “You’re not the sweet ditzy old lady that everyone thinks you are! For all I know, you have a gun in that purse!”
He made a lunge for Aunt Alice and, grabbing her purse with one hand, shoved her hard with the other. Aunt Alice’s feet shot out from under her and she tumbled heavily backward onto the ground.
“What have you done, you idiot?” Andi screamed at Connor, dropping to her knees beside her great-aunt. “Now you’re not just guilty of dognapping but assault and purse snatching, too! They’re going to drag you back to Chicago in handcuffs!”
“That’s not going to happen,” Connor said, back in control again now that he had what he wanted. “Mrs. Scudder slipped and fell. Old people do that. I’ve got Jerry as a witness, and people always believe Jerry. He’s got the Gordon charm and can use it just like I can.”
He dug through Aunt Alice’s purse until he found her car keys. Tossing the purse on the ground, he got into her car and deliberately backed it into the side of the tractor.
Then he jumped out of her car and into his own.
“Come on, Jerry!” he yelled. “You and I are out of here!”
Jerry glanced at Aunt Alice, who was lying flat on her back staring up at the sky. Her chest was rising and falling in a frightening manner, and she seemed to be gasping for air.
He said, “Mrs. Scudder, this wasn’t supposed to happen. No one was meant to get hurt, not even the dogs. Connor got carried away. I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s a little too late to be sorry,” Bruce said angrily. “You’ll never be able to make up for all the pain you’ve caused people.” He picked up Aunt Alice’s purse and rummaged through it until he found her vial of allergy medicine.
“I’m not guilty of anything,” Jerry said. “I’m not the one who roughed up your sister and aunt.”
“You’ve hurt more people than you can possibly know,” Bruce told him. “You don’t have to injure them physically to tear their hearts out.”
“It was just a prank,” Jerry said. “You have no sense of humor. When I get home, I’ll call a taxi to come and get you. I hope Mrs. Scudder’s all right, but I’ll stand by Connor — she lost her balance and fell. Connor wasn’t anywhere near her.”
He went over and got into the Miata. Connor gave the horn a derisive beep and drove off down the lane without a backward glance, although Jerry did look back and his face was troubled.
“Aunt Alice,” Andi said softly, “are you okay?”
“I will be once I take my medication,” Aunt Alice said, gratefully reaching for the pill that Bruce held out to her. Andi supported her head, and she gulped it down without water and then lay back on the grass.
“I don’t think any bones are broken,” she said. “But I may have done something to my shoulder. I think I’ll just lie here and rest until the police arrive. I have a very nice view of the sky. It’s so beautifully blue and clear out here in the country. I hope the dogs have enjoyed it.”
“The police!” Bruce cried. “We need to get the cell phone and call them!”
“I already did,” Andi said. “While Aunt Alice kept Connor and Jerry occupied, I called nine-one-one. The police should be here any time now. I gave them a description of Connor’s car, and they’re going to intercept him. Then they’re going to come and get us and the dogs. I’m just worried that Connor will give them that story about their getting a phone call and Aunt Alice tripping over her own feet. He was right when he bragged that he and Jerry are convincing. And there isn’t any evidence to prove that they’re liars.”
“You’re wrong about that,” Bruce said. “I got pictures of everything.”
He clicked on the screen of his camera to display the images. First came the one he’d taken earlier of two figures in black T-shirts, grabbing Lola off the beach towel. Then came photos of Connor’s Miata parked in front of the barn; of the chicken pen jammed with dogs; of Jerry, in black shirt and baseball cap, holding the sack of dog food and grinning maliciously; of Connor, dragging Andi out of Aunt Alice’s car; of Connor, jerking the purse from Aunt Alice with one hand, while shoving her hard with the other; and a final incredible action shot of Aunt Alice tumbling backward, halfway to the ground.
“Oh, my, that is a good picture, Bruce!” Aunt Alice exclaimed in admiration. “You truly do have the makings of a photojournalist. Now, I think you should go and talk to your dog. Tell him he’s going to get to ride home in a police car. There aren’t many dogs who can brag to their friends about that!”