The Pet Show Mystery

hats, jackets, and mittens, and hurried back outside.
    “That didn’t take long at all,” Trixie said as they headed down the street. “There’s plenty of time for a stop at the World Anti-Hunger Foundation.”
    “You aren’t going to just walk in and accuse Paul Gale of starting the rumor, are you?” Honey asked worriedly.
    “Of course not. How unsubtle do you think I am? I’ll just try to get him talking and see if he says anything suspicious.”
    The trouble was, Trixie didn’t have the slightest idea what she’d say to Paul Gale. She lapsed into silence as she planned the conversation in her mind. Lost in this imaginary dialogue, she was surprised to look up and see the foundation office up ahead. The sight of someone in heavy winter clothes coming out of the office added to her surprise.
    It’s Norma Nelson, it has to be, Trixie thought. I’d know that clumsy walk of hers anywhere, wouldn’t I? Trixie stared hard at the person, who was moving away from her, trying to decide if her eyes could possibly be deceiving her. What would Norma be doing here? She should be out on her route on Glen Road this time of day. Why would she be visiting Paul Gale?
    Just as Trixie opened her mouth to ask Honey if she’d noticed too, the person disappeared around the corner. Well, it just couldn’t have been Norma, that’s all, she thought. Meantime, here we are at the foundation office, and I haven’t decided what I’m going to say to Paul Gale.
    As it turned out, however, Trixie didn’t have to say anything to Paul Gale, because he wasn’t in his office. Instead, a young blonde woman, simply dressed in a woolen skirt and matching sweater, came out of a back room and greeted the girls. “Welcome to the World Anti-Hunger Foundation,” she said. “Have you come to make a pledge to help us in our work?”
    “N-no,” Trixie said, taken aback. What should I say I’m here for? she thought frantically.
    “We just came in to find out more about the foundation,” Honey said smoothly. “We saw Paul Gale on television the other day.”
    The young woman smiled. “Hearing Paul’s message inspires many people to give. That’s why he spends so much time away from the office, getting that message across to as many people as possible. Meantime, I’d be happy to tell you about the foundation.”
    She walked across the room to a large map of the world that was pinned on the wall. “The red pins on the map indicate all of the areas where desperately poor and needy people are receiving food and emergency supplies from the foundation,” she said, pointing to the map.
    “The green pins,” she continued, “indicate all those cities and towns in the United States where people are contributing money to the foundation.”
    Trixie noted that the number of green pins far outnumbered the red ones, and she mentioned that fact out loud.
    “Of course,” the young woman said. “The ratio of donors to recipients has to be five or six to one. For example, your pledge won’t be enough to entirely support a needy person.”
    Trixie began to feel a slightly choked feeling, as if the woman were exerting a physical pressure on her.
    The woman led the girls across the room to a huge leather photo album that was lying open on a lectern. “Here are some pictures of people who have been helped by contributions like yours,” she said.
    Over the woman’s bent head, Trixie darted a look at Honey. Honey rolled her eyes in a “can you believe it?” expression. She was no more impressed by the woman’s high-pressure tactics than Trixie was.
    The pressure stayed on as the girls gradually extricated themselves from the office. The woman asked them outright for a contribution, and then for their names and addresses so that they could be added to the mailing list. When those requests were refused, she finally resorted to thrusting contribution envelopes into their hands. “Just mail us your pledge whenever you’re ready to make the commitment,” she said.
    Trixie and Honey, having backed themselves to the door, turned and escaped through it.
    “Wow!” Trixie said when she was safely back out on the sidewalk. “That was awful! I’ve seen barkers at the carnival who didn’t sell as hard as that woman!”
    “Trixie—” Honey began in a voice that sounded vaguely alarmed.
    “Oh, I know. It is a charity, and they are raising money for a good cause, but I still don’t think they have to behave that way. After