The Dashing Dog Mystery Read Online Free

said, rolling her eyes at the statues.
    In a shady spot near the garage, Nancy thought she saw the melting remains of a snow statue. It looked suspiciously like a cat. She wondered if Lucas had made it.
    Nancy knocked on the door. After a minute it was answered by a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform.
    â€œYes, may I help you?” the woman said.
    â€œWe’d like to see Mrs. Vanderpool,” Bess piped up.
    â€œShe’s not home right now,” the maid replied.
    â€œHow about Lucas?” Nancy said quickly.
    The maid smiled and opened the door wider. “He’s upstairs in his room. Why don’t you go on up? It’s the third door on the right.”
    Nancy grinned. “Thanks!”
    Nancy, Bess, and George went through the doorway and up the marble staircase.
    Mrs. Vanderpool’s house was as fancy on the inside as it was on the outside. It was furnished with antique furniture and red velvet curtains. The walls were covered with gold-and-red wallpaper. There were several portraits of Yorkies in the front hallway.
    â€œWhy do you want to see Lucas?” Bess whispered to Nancy as they went up the stairs.
    â€œIf his grandmother took the collar, he might know something,” Nancy whisperedback. “Plus, this gives us an excuse to look for those Yorkies. Maybe one of them is wearing Chip’s collar.”
    George gave Nancy a thumbs-up sign. “Good idea!”
    When they got to the upstairs landing, Nancy turned and proceeded down the hall. She spotted the two Yorkies. They were crouched in front of a closed door and sniffing like mad.
    â€œThat’s the third doorway on the right — Lucas’s bedroom,” Nancy whispered. “I wonder what’s so interesting to those dogs?”
    â€œMaybe Lucas is hiding a secret stash of doggie biscuits in his room,” Bess suggested.
    Nancy went up to the Yorkies. She saw that neither one of them was wearing Chip’s collar. They were both wearing simple blue collars with dog tags on them.
    â€œOh, well,” Nancy said with a sigh.
    The Yorkies ignored her and continued sniffing. Nancy was surprised that they weren’t yipping at her and her friends. TheYorkies seemed a lot more interested in whatever was behind the closed door.
    Nancy was about to knock on the door to see if Lucas was inside. Just then she heard footsteps behind her.
    She turned around. Lucas was standing there. “You can’t go in there!” he cried out.

5
Too Many Entries
    Lucas ran past Nancy and flattened his body against his bedroom door. “If you go in there, you’ll be in big trouble!” he warned.
    Nancy frowned. Lucas seemed to be in a panic about something. What was going on?
    Nancy pointed to the door. “That’s your room, right?” she asked Lucas.
    Lucas hesitated. “R-right. So?”
    â€œSo we were just looking for you,” Nancy explained. “We wanted to ask you some questions and stuff.”

    Lucas glanced around nervously. “Questions . . . about what?”
    â€œAbout your grandmother,” George piped up.
    â€œM-my grandmother?” Lucas repeated.
    The Yorkies were still sniffing like mad at the closed door. One of them began yipping and scratching the wood on either side of Lucas. The other one joined in.
    â€œBy the way, what’s in your room?” Bess asked Lucas. “More dogs? Or doggie biscuits? Or what?”
    Lucas turned white as a ghost. “You all have to go!” he burst out. “Right now! I’m really, really super-busy, and besides, Grandma’s going to be home any minute. Maybe we could do this question thing another time, okay?”
    Nancy was going to argue with him, but he really wanted them to leave. “Come on, let’s go,” Nancy said to Bess and George. The three girls waved goodbye to Lucas and the yipping Yorkies and headed down the stairs.
    Once they were back outside, Georgeturned to Nancy.