Mimi by John Newman Page B

“Grab her collar,” shouted Emma, so we both held her by the collar while Orla held up Sally’s top. This time, Sparkler at least noticed the top. She thought that it was a great game. She grabbed it in her teeth, and when Orla tried to pull it away the sleeve ripped off.
    “Oh, great,” I muttered. “Now Sally is going to kill me!”
    “Don’t worry about that,” said Emma. “We won’t tell her. We’ll just throw the top in the trash when we’re done.”
    Then Orla shouted, “She’s got it! Sparkler’s got the scent.”
    Sparkler was now pawing and sniffing at the torn top as if it was the most interesting thing in the whole wide world. Did she smell Sally on it? Then suddenly Sparkler headed off out through the gate, with Emma and me holding the lead, letting ourselves be pulled along after her. She turned right, and keeping her nose close to the wall trotted along as if she knew exactly where to go.
    “Go on, Sparkler, lead us straight to Sally,” shouted Orla, all excited.
    Well, the scent led to the first lamppost, where Sparkler stopped to do a poop. I knew that I should pick it up, but I didn’t have a bag, so I didn’t.
    “Yuck!” said Orla. “Dogs’ bottoms should be corked!”
    Then Sparkler found the trail again and was off, sniffing at the wall and dragging us along.
    Well, it wasn’t a straightforward journey that Sparkler led us on: in and out of front yards and around parked cars, and she stopped at every tree to pee.
    “Your dog has sprung a leak,” said Orla, which made us all laugh.
    To tell the truth I didn’t believe that Sparkler was going to lead us to Sally. She’s a nice dog, but she is a bit of a brainless mutt. I don’t think Orla and Emma believed in Sparkler the great sniffer dog either, but at least it felt as if we were doing something, and in some way it took my mind off Sally’s having gone missing. It felt more as though she was playing hide-and-seek with us. But still, in the pit of my stomach there was a hard black lump just like I get when I think of Mammy gone forever.
    In the end Sparkler led us into a broken shed near the railway. In the corner of the shed was a large crumpled-up sheet of black plastic, and even in the dim light we could all see something moving under it.
    “Sally!” whispered Emma, and lifted a corner of the plastic. Sparkler charged into the gap she’d made, pulling the lead out of my hand, and a terrified cat came squealing out the other side, its fur standing up and its tail standing out.
    Orla and I screamed as it flew past us as if its tail were on fire. Sparkler — completely covered in the plastic — raced after it, and Emma nearly broke her sides laughing.
    “Sparkler is no sniffer dog,” said Orla when she had gotten over her fright.
    “It was worth a try,” said Emma, and we headed for home.
    The journey home was slower, because Sparkler was not fit. This time we were dragging her, instead of the other way around.
    Outside our house there was a police car. I stopped in my tracks. My knees felt all weak and shaky. Emma noticed because she said, “Are you OK, Mimi? You’ve gone all white.”
    “The police are in my house,” I barely whispered. Inside my head a voice was saying that Sally was dead, just like Mammy.
    “They have probably found Sally,” said Orla.

The policeman in our house had not found Sally, but he still had his cap on, which must mean that at least she was not dead. He was sitting at the kitchen table writing notes while Dad described Sally. Everyone was still there, and Uncle Horace had arrived too so it was even more crowded. Emma and Orla stayed in the hall. Dad looked up when I came in.
    “Sally said don’t call the police,” I told him in an angry voice.
    “Horace had already called them,” explained Dad quickly. “They were already on their way when you were reading Sally’s diary.”
    Then the policeman turned to me. He had a kind face. “You must be Mimi,” he said. “Your Uncle