The Riddle of the Missing Puppies

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The Riddle of the

Missing Puppies

by Carole Marsh

Copyright Š2006 Carole Marsh/Gallopade International

Copyright ©2006 Carole Marsh/Gallopade International All rights reserved.

First Edition Ebook edition Copyright ©2011 Carole Marsh Mysteries™ and its skull colophon are the property of Carole Marsh and Gallopade International.

Published by Gallopade International/Carole Marsh Books.

Printed in the United States of America.

Managing Editor: Sherry Moss Cover Design: Michele Winkelman Illustrations: Yvonne Ford, Cecil Anderson, Jennifer Appel

Gallopade is proud to be a member and supporter of these educational organizations and associations: American Booksellers Association American Library Association International Reading Association National Association for Gifted Children The National School Supply and Equipment Association The National Council for the Social Studies Museum Store Association Association of Partners for Public Lands

Art by: Aimee Applesauce Proofreading by: Leah Criss Page-numbering by: Sara Cross Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Dedicated to all mystery-loving and mystery-solving girls everywhere!

A Word From the Author Dear Readers, Have you ever jumped to a wrong conclusion? Have you ever been unwilling to change your mind? Have you ever found that if you keep an open mind that you learn something new? Have you learned that keeping an open mind is one key to self-improvement and maturity?

Life brings us mysterious surprises sometimes. One of the biggest surprises is that we can do things we did not think we could do. Join my Crisscross girls as they figure out a little about life and a lot about themselves.

Carole Marsh PS: You might want to go on the Internet and look up something about the “Rescue” you read about in this book. You just never know when you might want to “rescue” or need a “rescue.”

About Criss, Cross, t Applesauce, Defectives Aimee

Leah

Sara

Leah Criss, Sara Cross, and Aimee Applesauce are best friends.

Leah is 7. Sara is 8. Aimee is 9.

They live on the same street. Leah lives next door to Sara. Sara lives next door to Aimee.

They go to the same school. Leah’s classroom is next to Sara’s. Sara’s classroom is next to Aimee’s.

They ride the school bus together. They eat lunch together. They go to recess together. Sometimes they get in trouble together. They like to solve riddles, mysteries, and puzzles together. Or, at least they like to try!

That’s the reason that one day, the three girls t formed the Criss, Cross, Applesauce Defective Agency. They named it that because those are their names...and also, because “criss/cross/applesauce” is how they like to sit when they are trying to figure out their newest mystery! Maybe you can help them?

Books In This Series The Case of the Hunchback Hairdresser The Riddle of the Missing Puppies The Puzzle of the Shark Surfer Girl

Table Of Contents How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

page 1

It’s a Doggone Shame

page 11

Well, I’ll Be Doggone!

page 41

Proofreading Marks!

page 48

About The Series Creator

page 49

Built-in Book Club!

page 50

A Doggone Glossary

page 52

Tech Connects

page 53

The Riddle of the

Missing Puppies

by Carole Marsh

How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

1 one

Leah Criss was eating frozen waffles for breakfast. It was Saturday. Her dad was sitting across the table from her working on his column for the newspaper. He was a reporter.

1

“Dad, how did you learn to write?” Leah asked. She had always been amazed at how fast her father could write columns and columns of copy. He always got his grammar right. His words were always spelled correctly. When Leah got her papers back from her English teacher, her mistakes were always marked up with red proofreading marks.

Leah’s dad looked up over his computer and smiled. “I learned to write by writing,” he said. “Practice makes perfect.”

“I wish I was as good a writer as you,” Leah said with a sigh.

“Keep practicing and one day you 2

will be,” her father promised. “We each have our strengths and weaknesses. I am a good writer, but you are a better riddle-solver than I am.”

“Oh!” said Leah excitedly. Syrup dribbled down her chin. “Is that a hint? A clue? Does that mean you have a case for us to solve?”

Leah meant the Criss, Cross, Applesauce

t

Defective Agency. That was what she and her 3

friends called themselves. When they made a sign for their clubhouse, they had accidentally misspelled detective defective, but her dad fixed it for them. Most of their cases to solve usually came from him.

“Well,” said her dad, jigglingg the pencil behind his ear. (Leah did not know why he always kept a pencil behind his ear since he was always writing on the computer.) “It’s more of a riddle than a case. It’s the Riddle of the Missing Puppies.”

“What puppies?” asked Leah.

She loved dogs, especially cute, little, adorable puppies. “How many?

What happened to them? Where 4

are they?”

Her dad laughed. “If I knew the answers to all those questions, there would not be any riddle, would there?”d “Oh, I want there to be a ridle,” said Leah. “We have not had a case to solve in a long time. It’s Saturday, and so Sara and Aimee and I will have lots of time to work on the case.”

“Instead of doing your homework?” asked her dad.

Leah grinned. “No, Dad, instead 5

of watching television.”

Her dad laughed. “I think I’ve been hoodwinked,” he said. “Ok, then you’d better clean up and go get your friends.” He put his hand to his head. Leah thought he was going to jiggle his pencil, but instead he just cupped his hand to his ear and listened really, really hard.

“What do you hear,” asked Leah.

“I think I hear your first clue,” said her dad.

“What do you hear?” Leah asked again.

Her father said, “I hear a dog barking!”

“Wow!” said Leah, wiping her 6

mouth. “I’m outta here!”

Sometimes Leah thought she and her friends had ESP—Extra-Sensory Perception. Just when she left her apartment and started down the steps, she saw Sara stick her head out of her apartment door. And at almost the same time, Aimee popped out of her apartment down the row of brownstones on their street. they waved at one another and ran to meet at the flagpole in the small yard in front of their stoops.

“Dad has a riddle for us!” Leah told her friends eagerly.

7

“Oh, good,” said Sara. “I was so bored.”

“Thank heaven,” Aimee agreed.

“I was just about to have to babysit my baby brother. He is learning to go potty and that is such a chore!”

“What’s the riddle?” asked Sara.

“It’s the Riddle of the Missing Puppies,” said Leah.

“Where are they?” asked Sara.

“How many? What happened to them?” asked Aimee.

Leah laughed. “If we knew the answers to those questions, there would not be a riddle to solve.”

“You’re right,” said Sara.

“We’d better get started right 8

now,” said Aimee.

#

All together the threegirls

, S S O R C , S S I R “C APPLESAUCE!” shouted:

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