The Pet Show Mystery

Barney’s infringement on Mopsy’s natural category.”
    “And you really have a category for each and every animal!” Di exclaimed admiringly.
    “It’s going to be fun to be surrounded by so many animals today,” Norma Nelson said. “I really appreciate your letting me help with the pet show.”
    “It was the least we could do, after you helped us solve the mystery,” Trixie said.
    “The Paul Gale mystery,” Brian added. “You know, you girls never did solve the mystery of the pet show sabotage.”
    Norma started to turn red, and Trixie felt her own cheeks growing hot. The other Bob-Whites still didn’t know about Norma, Trixie thought. We’ll have to tell them; it’s not right for the Bob-Whites to have secrets from one another. It’s not right for people like Norma and Gordon to be jealous of us, either. That’s something we’ll all have to work on together. But the pet show comes first. We can’t let anything—not even the solution to the mystery — distract us from that.
    As usual, Honey’s tact came to the rescue. “You said yourself that there was no harm done, Brian. What does it matter if we ever catch the culprit?”
    “Ah, but we have.”
    The Bob-Whites and Norma Nelson turned to see David Llewelyn approaching. “I take it you’re talking about Paul Gale,” he said. “We tracked him down, finally. It took three long days, but he and his assistant are safely behind bars.”
    “We weren’t talking about Paul Gale, actually, but that’s certainly good news,” Trixie said. Seeing David Llewelyn’s tired face, she forgave him immediately for not returning her messages. I’ll bet he hasn’t slept since he pulled us out of that camper, she thought.
    “I’ll be returning home now for a good long rest,” David Llewelyn continued. “I just dropped by to clear up the matter of the reward.”
    “Reward?” Trixie said.
    “One thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest of perpetrators of large-scale consumer crime,” David Llewelyn said. “Would you three girls like to divide it equally?”
    “Oh, no,” Trixie said. “It’s Norma’s money; she was the one who produced the evidence.”
    “That’s right,” Honey said.
    Everyone turned to look at Norma. She just stood staring back at them, speechless.
    “That will buy a lot of birdseed,” David Llewelyn said.
    Then Norma’s face brightened. “Oh, it would! Could I really use it for that?” she asked, looking at Trixie and Honey.
    “It’s your money,” Trixie told her.
    Norma hesitated. “I think we should give half the money to a real anti-hunger foundation.”
    “That would be wonderful,” Honey agreed.
    “It would,” Trixie said. “In fact, for the next Bob-White fund-raiser we could—”
    Trixie was interrupted by the arrival of the first entrants in the show. They were followed by a trickle and then a steady stream of additional entrants. Soon everyone was settled and ready to begin.
    “It’s all up to Dr. Chang and the animals, now,” Trixie said as she, Honey, and Norma took their places in the bleachers.
    Dr. Chang and the animals were a winning combination. One at a time, Dr. Chang put the animals on display on or in front of the judging table. Trixie was amazed at how much he knew about the different species. He had a specific comment to make on nearly every entrant; that the shape of its head was good, or that the color of its eyes was exceptional, or that it was unusually large or small for its breed.
    A steady sound of ooh’s and aah’s at the adorable animals was mixed with laughter at their antics. One of the merriest responses was, predictably, to Reddy and Bobby Belden. When his name was called, the six-year-old started toward the center of the gym with all the dignity he could muster—while his dog started off in the other direction. Since the dog was larger than the boy, Reddy’s choice of direction won out, and Bobby was pulled along behind.
    Only prolonged calling and whistling from Dr. Chang drew Reddy to the judging table.
    “Oh, woe,” Trixie moaned, sinking down as far as she could on the bleacher seat. “Why did we let Bobby enter Reddy in this contest?”
    “He’s adorable,” Honey retorted, “and you know it.”
    “He really is,” Norma agreed. “He’s very intelligent, too. Why, with a few weeks of obedience training, I bet he’d be a champion.”
    Trixie and Honey stared at her blankly for a moment. Then they burst into peals of laughter.
    Norma