The Pet Show Mystery

listen to us. Maybe you were angry because you realized you were more concerned about yourself than about the birds.
    “You know, Norma,” Trixie said, pressing on before her courage deserted her completely, “you said a few minutes ago that one of the things you don’t like about the Bob-Whites is that we don’t ask for help. But I’d say you’re the one who’s guilty of that.”
    “I see what you mean,” Norma said quietly. “Maybe I haven’t been putting the welfare of the birds first. Maybe I have been selfish.”
    “Stealing my dog was the worst of all,” Trixie said softly.
    Without warning, Norma’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I didn’t steal him—not really.” Trixie thought of a sarcastic response, but she bit it back before she spoke aloud. “What happened, then?” she asked.
    “I was out feeding the birds along Glen Road when Reddy came running up to me. He was loose, and there was nobody around. I knew he was yours. His name was on his collar, and besides, I’d seen you with him.
    “I grabbed him by the collar and started for your house, but then I got angry again. I thought about how much I want a dog, but my parents won’t let me have one. And you have a beautiful dog that you don’t even take care of. So I took him home.”
    “We do take care of him,” Trixie said.
    “There was somebody around that day—my six-year-old brother. That’s really his dog you took home, and Bobby’s been heartbroken ever since.’’
    “I didn’t know that,” Norma said. Then she quickly held up a hand to stop the response that she knew would be coming from Trixie. “That’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have taken the dog. I wasn’t going to keep him, though. I told my parents I’d put a notice up at school. I was going to tell them I’d heard from the owner right after—”
    Norma stopped, but Honey intuitively finished the sentence. “Right after the pet show.”
    “That’s right. I couldn’t stop the show, but I could keep Trixie from winning it,” Norma said. “I’m sorry. I’m glad none of the things I tried worked out. I didn’t really do any damage, did I?”
    “Of course not,” Honey said, trying to make Norma feel better. “It would have been another story, though, if we’d pushed Paul Gale any harder when we thought he was—” Honey broke off suddenly and clapped her hand over her mouth.
    Trixie pressed her own lips together, as if she could somehow block Honey’s words. Norma looked confusedly from one girl to the other. “Paul Gale?” she repeated. “Isn’t he the man who gives all the food to poor people? What did you think he was?”
    Honey looked at Trixie, and Trixie looked back at Honey. It’s a secret, Trixie thought. We aren’t supposed to tell anyone, except that we already let on that there is a secret and — “Oh, woe,” she groaned. “We might as well tell you—but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.”
    Norma smiled a wry smile. “Who would I tell?” she asked.
    Well, what do you know? She even has a sense of humor, Trixie thought. Briefly, she filled Norma in on her suspicions about Paul Gale and about the case that David Llewelyn was trying to build against him.
    Norma sat listening as raptly as a youngster hearing a fairy tale. When Trixie had finished, Norma said in a husky whisper, “I think I overheard some evidence against Paul Gale.” Trixie and Honey stared at Norma in amazement. Then Trixie said, “Evidence? Against Paul Gale? He didn’t sabotage the pet show; you did.”
    “The evidence isn’t about the pet show,” Norma said impatiently. “It’s about the jewel smuggling and the foundation money and all that other stuff.”
    “Where did you hear it?” Honey asked.
    “At the World Anti-Hunger Foundation,” Norma said. “I went there one afternoon to talk to Paul Gale. I was angry about the pet show, but I didn’t want him to make people stop feeding the birds, either. I went there to ask him not to make any more remarks about throwing money to the birds.”
    Trixie had begun to bounce up and down excitedly in her chair as Norma spoke. “I saw you!” she exclaimed. “You were coming out of the foundation office just as we were going in.” Seeing Honey’s surprised look, Trixie added, “I was going to point her out, but she turned the corner before I could.”
    “I was in a hurry,” Norma said, “because I wanted to get home in time to feed the birds.”
    “You obviously didn’t get to talk to