Creature

Features
And Then There
Was One . . .
Someone is puppy-napping cute critters,
and it’s up to Annie to crack the case.

“Nooooo!”
The scream jerked Annie awake. The
12-year-old sat up, banging her head on
a puppy cage and sending fur and bits of
paper flying.
What the kibble is going on? she
wondered, glancing at her watch. It was
only 6 a.m. Pawtown’s one and only
animal detective had been having a nice,
peaceful dream about flowing water—
and it took her a second to figure out
where she was.
On the shelves around her there were
cages filled with animals—five red parrots
in one, four mutt puppies in another,
countless hamsters, ferrets, kittens—even
an emu.
Now she remembered. Of course!
She was in the Furry Critters Pet Shop.
Two days ago, a crook had stolen a valuable bluecoat puppy from the store.
Annie had spent last night here, planning to look for clues. But she must have
fallen asleep.
“Nooooo!” There was that scream again. With a sinking feeling, Annie
jumped to her feet and rushed toward the sound. Two aisles over, she found
Ms. Sellunow, the plump woman who ran the pet shop. She was standing next
to a large cage, and her face was wet with tears.
“Are you okay?” Annie asked. Before Ms. Sellunow could answer, a tall, thin

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Comprehension Cliffhangers: Mysteries © Bill Doyle, Scholastic Teaching Resources
 Creature Features

figure sprinted through the front door. It was Tater, a man who did odd jobs
around the shop.
“I was on my way to work and could hear you screaming down the street!”
Tater cried, hurrying over to them. “What’s happened?”
Ms. Sellunow blew her nose into a blue handkerchief. “I just got here,” she
sobbed. “A second puppy has been . . . dog-napped!”
She pointed a finger with a gold ring at the cage, which held the small
bluecoat dogs—famous for their blue color. Because they were so rare and
valuable, Ms. Sellunow had the only key to the cage and only she fed and cared
for them.
Annie peered into the cage where the mother dog paced nervously and just
one little blue puppy cowered in the corner.
“Another bluecoat is missing?” Tater asked, leaning against the big sink where
the animals were bathed. “Those puppies are too young to be without their
mom. They could be in danger.”
This made Ms. Sellunow sob even louder. She turned to Annie. “When I
hired you yesterday to find my stolen puppy, there were still two. Now one more
is gone! I thought you were supposed to be a great animal detective.”
Annie said miserably, “I am.” Or at least she wanted to be. Right now she felt
like a failure. How could she have fallen asleep on the job?
Just then, a burly man wearing a fancy black suit burst into the store and
stormed over to them. Annie recognized Mr. Kees right away. He owned three
stores in town that sold keys and locks.
“I must have a blue puppy today, Ms. Sellunow!” he demanded. “The mayor
is coming over to my house, and I need to have the best dog. I’ll pay any price.”
Ms. Sellunow stepped between him and the bluecoats’ cage. “I’ve told you
again and again, Mr. Kees, I’ve already sold these puppies to Mrs. Gotrocks.
When they’re old enough to leave their mother, she’ll get them. And no one
else.”
Turning so red that he looked like a balloon about to pop, Mr. Kees shouted,
“I’ll get one of those blue dogs. Just you wait!” He left the shop, slamming the
door and speeding away in his limousine.
Ms. Sellunow was still crying. “I don’t care about money,” she moaned. “I’d
never sell my puppies to a person like Mr. Kees.”
Not sure what to do now, Annie ran a hand through her hair—and her fingers
touched something. She plucked free a piece of paper about half the size of an
index card. “What’s this?” she wondered out loud.
Ms. Sellunow sniffled. “A clue it’s time to wash your hair?” She didn’t wait for
an answer. “I’m going in the back to weep for my lost bluecoats.” With her silver
bracelets jangling, Ms. Sellunow wandered off to the back of the shop.
Annie looked down at the paper in her hand. It had yesterday’s date and read:

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Comprehension Cliffhangers: Mysteries © Bill Doyle, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Creature Features

Three Mutt Puppies for Sale! Get Them CHEAP! She never understood why
mutts were sold for so much less than purebred dogs like the bluecoats. Mutts
were just as good as pets.
The little sign must have fallen into her hair when she banged her head
against the mutts’ cage. Annie’s instincts told her it might be an important clue,
but she couldn’t figure out how it would help crack the case.
If only Annie could think. But a loud crunching sound kept distracting
her. Tater was standing next to her, eating dog biscuits that were shaped like
little bones.
“I brought a sandwich with me last night,” Annie said, feeling sorry for him.
“Do you want half?”
“No, thanks,” Tater said through a mouthful of biscuits. “I like this stuff.”
Annie didn’t think that was possible. She had once been trapped in the
wilderness for two weeks, and she wasn’t sure she’d have eaten dog treats even then.
“Maybe you should make sure Ms. Sellunow is okay,” Annie suggested. Tater
nodded and slinked off, still munching away.
Alone now, Annie thought about the case and the main suspects. Who could
be stealing the bluecoat puppies? Ms. Sellunow had the only key to the cage,
but Mr. Kees was a locksmith. Did he pick the lock on the cage and steal the
puppies? And then there was Tater. Was he eating dog treats because he was
desperate for money—desperate enough to nab the puppies and sell them to
Mr. Kees?
Annie turned her attention back to the cage. The bluecoat mother was pacing
in there, looking forlorn. If only she could tell Annie what had happened to her
puppies.
Maybe she can, Annie thought, spotting something in the dog’s mouth.
Annie smooshed her face up against the cage to get a better look. It was a piece
of blue cloth.
That’s when all the clues came together. The sound of flowing water in her
dream, the piece of cloth, the sign about the mutts . . . everything clicked into place!
Annie let out a howl of excitement, thinking she might have solved the case.
To make sure, though, she would wait until tonight to spring her trap.
Ten hours later, the shop was closed for business. The lights were off, and
most of the animals were asleep in the darkness. Annie was lying on the floor,
pretending to snore.
She could hear the sound of the front door opening and closing. The dog-
napper was in the shop. Footsteps headed slowly toward the cage holding the
last bluecoat puppy.
In the blink of an eye, Annie sat up and clicked on her flashlight, trapping
the crook in the beam of light. “Hello,” Annie said. “I’ve been expecting you.”

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Comprehension Cliffhangers: Mysteries © Bill Doyle, Scholastic Teaching Resources