The Case of the Rock 'n' Roll Dog by Martha Freeman Page B

and the Marine Band in pursuit.
    It looked like a high-speed parade.
    I don’t know why Tessa thought of it then—or why we didn’t think of it before. But just as Hooligan made a U-turn at the far end of the cross hall, she yodeled: “Hoo-hoo-hooligan—
fetch!
” which caused Hooligan to stop dead in his tracks and drop what he was carrying . . . right in front of Colonel Michaels.
    Then he sat back on his haunches, thumped his tail and smiled a big doggie smile, confident he was about to be given the dog yummy he deserved.
    Hooligan, I mean. Not Colonel Michaels.
    I was out of breath from all that running, but managed to gasp, “Colonel Michaels, look—we got it!”
    Colonel Michaels knelt to pick up the object at his feet. But it wasn’t his baton at all, it was . . .
    . . . Hip-Hop Barbie?
    Colonel Michaels stood up again. He was wearing his dress black uniform with gold buttons, gold braid and gold medals everywhere. He was holding Hip-Hop Barbie at arm’s length by the hair. I don’t think he’d ever held a Barbie before. He looked confused.
    Nate ran up. “Actually, I think you wanted this.” He handed Colonel Michaels his baton.
    Oh, swell. In the end, would Nate the thief take credit?
    No.
    â€œAll I did was pick it up, sir,” he told Colonel Michaels. “Hooligan must’ve had a spare Barbie down here someplace. When he grabbed her, he dropped the baton. It’s Cammie and Tessa who found it. They’re the ones you should thank.”
    Colonel Michaels handed Tessa her Barbie and said thank you. At least, I think it was thank you. I couldn’t be sure. His words were nearly drowned out by the sirens.
    Oh no
—the international incident!
    I grabbed the red phone from my pocket, looked around and found Granny. “Here it is!” I yelled.
    Granny made a mitt of her hands, and I tossed it. Then she moved faster than I would have thought possible—handoff to Charlotte, to Malik, to Randy—who sprinted through the door.
    After a few moments passed, the sirens’ wail became a sigh. Seconds later, they were silent.
    Coincidence?
    I don’t think so.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

    TESSA and I wanted to brag to everybody: We had solved a mystery! Stopped an international incident! Saved The Song Boys!
    We found Dad. He was holding Hooligan by the collar. Hooligan’s head was drooping. It takes a while, but eventually he figures out when he’s in trouble.
    â€œGuess what—” Tessa started to tell Dad, but Dad wasn’t paying attention.
    â€œI want you girls to find a safe place to corral your dog,” Dad said. “Safe and escape-proof, I mean.”
    I took Hooligan’s collar. “Okay,” I said, “but Dad, Tessa and I—”
    â€œ
Now,”
Dad said.
    Oh,
fine
.
    We took Hooligan to the only person we knew who still liked him—Mr. Bryant.
    And after that, things happened fast.
    First, Aunt Jen made an announcement. “Due tochanged circumstances, The Song Boys will be performing as planned.”
    Then somebody—Mr. Brackbill?—shouted, “What about the refreshments?”
    â€œAfter the performance,” said Aunt Jen.
    Soon we were shooed into the East Room to take our seats. The Marine Band was already in place—looking snappy in their red and blue dress uniforms.
    I sat down and that’s when—
finally
—I started to get excited: I was going to see a concert by my favorite band in my very own house!
    Jacob Song came out first—he’s the oldest—and after that it was pandemonium, everybody screaming . . . then Paul Song appeared, and I screamed loudest of all.
    When Matthew came on, he shouted,
“Hello-o-o-o, D.C.!”
    And the audience replied, “
Hello-o-o-o, Song Boys!”
    Then Jacob took the mic. “It’s very exciting for three boys from a small town to play the