Judy Moody, Girl Detective Read Free Page B

Mr. Chips wagged his tail like crazy.
    “Whoa.” The crowd buzzed.
    “How’d he do that?”
    “Wow.”
    “It’s magic.”
    Officer Kopp went back onstage with Mr. Chips and took a bow. “Sergeant Super-Sniffer! The best partner a guy could have. Thanks, Virginia Dare School. You’ve been a great audience!”
    Mr. Chips hung out his tongue and wagged his windshield-wiper tail. From where Judy sat, it almost looked as if Mr. Chips were smiling.

The next day, and the day after that, all anybody could talk about at Virginia Dare School was Sergeant Super-Sniffer, aka Mr. Chips.
    Then, late Friday afternoon, something happened. Something big. Judy was smack-dab in the middle of an important case — Nancy Drew book #15, that is:
The Haunted Bridge
—
when the loudspeaker crackled. Judy jumped five feet and yelled, “Yurp,” wrecking the
silent
in silent reading.
    “Teachers and students,” said Principal Tuxedo over the intercom. “I have an important announcement to make. Officer Kopp called to alert us that Mr. Chips has gone missing!” This was terrible news. Awful news. No-good, way-bad news. “The dog was last seen in the Bird Neck neighborhood on Abigail Lane at seven this morning.”
    “That’s close to where I live,” said Judy.
    “That’s
my street
,” said Jessica Finch, pointing at herself.
    “Since we all met Mr. Chips just a few days ago and know what he looks like, Officer Kopp is asking us to please be on the lookout. If any of you super-sleuths out there spot Mr. Chips, call 1-800-MR-CHIPS right away. Thank you.”
    Mr. Chips was missing! Escaped! Lost! This was just about probably the worst announcement in the history of principal announcements at Virginia Dare School.
    Wait just a Nancy Drew minute.
She, Judy Moody, was smack-dab in the middle of a real-life, not-book mystery! A missing-persons case. A missing-
puppy
case, that is. For sure and absolute positive! In fact, this was almost like the time in Nancy Drew: Girl Detective graphic novel #6 when a chimp named Mr. Cheeters, who was wearing a diamond necklace, went missing.
    Maybe Mr. Chips didn’t escape or get lost. Maybe, just maybe, Mr. Chips was
stolen
! As in kidnapped. As in
dog
napped. Maybe, just maybe, Mr. Chips had been wearing a fancy-schmancy diamond doggy collar and some bad guy with an eye patch or a tattoo or a snaggle tooth wanted it!

    While Judy hoped nothing bad had happened to Mr. Chips, she couldn’t help wishing for a mystery. A real-life Nancy Drew mystery. This was a case for Judy Moody, Girl Detective. Judy Drewdy!
    WWNDD? What Would Nancy Drew Do?
She would take a deep breath and use her detective thinking, that’s what. Judy wrote a note to all three members of the Toad Pee Club — Rocky, Frank, and Stink.

    When they got to the Toad Pee Clubhouse after school, it wasn’t the Toad Pee Clubhouse anymore. It was the J UDY M OODY D ETECTIVE A GENCY . That’s what the crooked sign duck-taped to the front tent flap said. Inside were a chair, a lamp, and a poster that said W ANTED : S TUMPY , S NIGGS, AND S NORKY .

    “I brought binoculars,” said Rocky.
    “I brought snoopware,” said Frank. “You know, spy stuff. Telescope, sunglasses, fake noses, and walkie-talkies.”
    “I brought . . . my . . . super-sniffer nose. For sniffing out clues,” said Stink. “So what’s the big mystery?”
    “I think Mr. Chips was stolen,” said Judy. “Fact: Jessica Finch lives across the street from Mr. Chips, and she told me at lunch that no way would he ever run away from Officer Kopp. Fact: Jessica Finch said that Mr. Chips has a fancy collar. He wore it in the Fourth of July parade. Fact: Bad-guy burglars could have taken him to get their hands on his diamond doggy collar.”
    “Jessica Finch doesn’t know everything,” said Stink.
    “Ya-huh. Why do you think we call her Miss Know-It-All?” said Frank.
    “We should start at Officer Kopp’s house. Scene of the crime,” said Judy. “But wait! First I