The Mystery of the Velvet Gown

house served as a shelter for stray animals that the doctor was always trying to find homes for.
    As soon as the car had stopped, Eileen Darcy jumped out and ran up the front steps of the doctor’s house to ring the bell. Trixie and Brian slowly and carefully maneuvered Reddy out of the backseat of the car.
    Miss Darcy pressed the bell again and again, until finally lights came on inside the house. The door was opened by the doctor, who was dressed in pajamas and a robe. His dark gray hair was rumpled, and he looked as if he had been awakened from a deep sleep.
    “Yes?” he asked, not recognizing the young teacher.
    “We’ve brought a dog. I—I hit him accidentally,” Miss Darcy stammered as Trixie and Brian carefully carried Reddy up the front steps.
    “Trixie! Brian!” Dr. Samet exclaimed. “And Reddy, isn’t it? Bring him in, bring him in.” The doctor opened the door wider and motioned them toward one of the examining rooms.
    Trixie and Brian laid Reddy gently on the clean white table. Dr. Samet spoke soothing words to the frightened dog as he began examining his leg.
    “Hold him still, Brian,” Dr. Samet instructed, “while I clean this leg. Trixie, you pet him and keep talking to him. This is going to hurt him a bit.”
    The doctor worked quietly for a while. Finally he said, “It’s a pretty bad break—two breaks, actually, but they’re confined to this bone. No damage to his rib cage, which is good. He’ll have to be in a cast for several weeks. I’d like to keep him here for a few days to watch him and to make sure that he stays off this leg. I remember he was a pretty frisky pup. I’ll set his leg and then give him something to help him sleep. He’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
    Tears filled Trixie’s eyes, and she bent down and gently hugged Reddy. “Oh, Reddy,” she murmured.
    Eileen Darcy and Brian breathed sighs of relief.
    “Hey, Trix, none of that,” Brian said gently as tears slid down her cheeks. “Everything’s all right.”
    “I know,” Trixie said. “It’s just that I was so worried, and now I’m so happy. If anything ever happened to Reddy, Bobby would....”
    “And so would several other Beldens—me included,” Brian told her. “Now, wipe away those tears, and we’ll let Dr. Samet set Reddy’s leg.”
    Brian assisted the doctor as he wrapped and set the broken leg. Soon they were finished, and Reddy was resting quietly.
    “I have a dog bed in the back room, where he can sleep tonight,” Dr. Samet said. “Brian, help me carry him. Come along,” he added to Trixie and Miss Darcy. “I have some other little visitors I’d like you to meet.”
    “Could I call home first?” Trixie asked. “I’m sure they’re all worried to death.”
    “Of course you can,” Dr. Samet answered. “The phone’s in my office.”
    Trixie dialed the number. The phone was picked up by her mother before it had finished ringing once.
    Mrs. Belden breathed a sigh of relief as Trixie finished giving the doctor’s report. “We haven’t been able to get Bobby to calm down since Honey and Mart brought him home,” she said. “I’ll put him on, and you can tell him that Reddy will be okay.”
    Trixie reassured the still-sobbing Bobby, and then promised him that they would come to visit Reddy in the “hopsital” tomorrow. He had finally stopped crying by the time Trixie hung up.
    Trixie made her way to the back room, where she found Brian, Dr. Samet, and Miss Darcy holding soft little kittens.
    “Oh, they’re adorable!” Trixie exclaimed as Dr. Samet handed her one of the black, fuzzy little balls.
    “Don Morrison found this litter in the basement of his hardware store,” Dr. Samet explained.
    “The mother must have climbed in through one of the cellar windows. Then she either abandoned the kittens or went in search of food and couldn’t get back in. Don looked for her for a while, and even left one of the windows open for a few days, but she never returned. They were too young to survive on their own, so he brought them here, and I’ve been playing nursemaid ever since. They’re old enough to be on their own now, and I’m looking for good homes for them. Do you know of anyone who would like a kitten?” Dr. Samet asked.
    “Brian, do you think—” Trixie began.
    Brian looked doubtful. “I know exactly what you’re thinking, Trixie, and I think you’d better clear it with Moms first. Also, we should wait until Reddy is settled at home again, or I’m afraid