Lucy on the Loose Read Free Page A

liked Butch as much as Bobby liked Lucy. Candy liked something else. She liked to talk! She liked to talk as much as Lucy liked to run.
    She started talking now. “Hey, Shawn,remember me? I met you at Bobby’s house. It was right after I got back from the lake. I still have my suntan. But it’s peeling now.” Candy flicked a piece of dead skin off her arm.
    “Shawn,” she went on, “did you get a dog? You said you might. I was thinking. Maybe you should get a poodle. I almost got a poodle.” Candy glanced at Butch. “Poodles are smart. I love Butch, but he’s not all that smart. I think Lucy would like to be friends with a poodle ….”
    “Candy,” Bobby interrupted, “Lucy is missing.”
    “What! When?” Candy sputtered. For once she let Bobby do the talking. Quickly, Bobby told Candy about Lucy and the big orange cat.
    “Oh, no!” Candy said. “We have to findher. Butch and I will help you look.” Butch barked loudly and pulled on his leash.
    “We’re going to ask in here,” Bobby said, pointing at the butcher shop. He looked at Butch. “Maybe you should stay out here with Butch.”
    Candy nodded. “He’d go crazy trying to get at the hamburger meat.” She took hold of Butch’s leash with both hands.
    The boys went into the store. A large man with a black mustache stood behind the counter. He was wearing a white apron and a small white cap on his head.
    Inside the glass cases were chops, roasts, and hamburger meat.
    “Have you ever been in here before?” Shawn whispered to Bobby.
    “Once or twice with my mother,” Bobby whispered back. “The man behindthe counter is named Joe. He’s nice.”

    Joe was chopping meat with a huge meat cleaver.
Whack!
    Bobby cleared his throat. “Excuse me.”
    Joe peered over the counter. “Sorry, I didn’t see you. What do you need?”
    “I’m looking for my dog,” Bobby mumbled.
    “Hot dogs, you say?”
Whack!
“I have hot dogs in packages.” Joe jerked his thumb toward a cooler. “Over there.”
    Nervously, Bobby tried again. “Not hot dogs. A regular dog. With four legs.”
    Now Joe stared down at Bobby. “A dog! I couldn’t have a dog in here! The health department would shut me down.”
    Shawn pulled on Bobby’s arm. “Let’s just go,” he whispered.
    “Can’t,” Bobby whispered back. “Mydog is lost,” he continued in a louder voice. “Did you see her?”
    Joe stopped whacking. “What does she look like?”
    Quickly, Bobby told Joe that Lucy was a white and brown and black beagle with chocolate brown eyes and soft floppy ears.
    “She sounds pretty,” Joe said.
    “She is,” Bobby answered. Just thinking about how pretty Lucy was made Bobby feel like crying again.
    “Well, I haven’t seen her,” Joe said. “But sometimes dogs come sniffing around back.” Then he put his meat cleaver down. “Wait a minute.”
    He wiped his hands on his apron. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out some cooked ribs. He dropped them in a paper sack.
    “All the dogs like my rib bones,” Joe said. “Take them with you. Maybe Lucy will smell them and find you.”
    Just then, a customer walked into Joe’s butcher shop. She was a big woman. She was wearing an orange dress and a little hat. Her hair was a funny color. It was almost as orange as her dress.
    “I’ll be with you in a moment,” Joe said to her. He handed Bobby the rib bones. “Good luck finding your dog.”
    The woman with the orange hair looked at Bobby. “Is your dog lost?”
    Bobby nodded.
    “You poor boy. The same thing happened to me. My cat ran away. She’s been gone three days. I feel terrible about it. Terrible. Terrible.” The lady with the orange hair shook her head.
    Bobby had a thought. “What does your cat look like?” he asked.
    “My cat is beautiful,” the woman said with a sniff. “He’s quite large. He has a long fluffy tail. He’s a special color, too.”
    “What color?” Bobby asked.
    The woman patted her hair. “Very much like the color of