Read Online Barking Detective 04 - The Chihuahua Always Sniffs Twice by Waverly Curtis - Free Book Online Page A

that command.
    The figure turned and looked at me with soulless, glittering eyes. And at the same time, Pepe wrestled his head free and chomped down on the arm that confined him.
    “Ow!” The intruder dropped Pepe on the ground and took off running. Pepe landed with an undignified grunt, but scrambled to his feet and took off after the intruder, who dashed through the garden and vaulted the fence that separated Carpenter Manor from the adjoining lavender farm. Within seconds there was no sign of the dark figure, which blended into the shadows created by the clutter of outbuildings and farm machinery.
    Pepe danced up and down at the base of the fence, furious!
    “Geri, pick me up and put me over there!” he said.
    “I don’t want you getting hurt!” I said.
    “ No problema! ” he said, panting with fury. “It is that miscreant who will be feeling my wrath.”
    At that moment, the four cocker spaniels came pouring out into the yard, followed by Yolanda, shivering in a cotton nightgown, and Clara, in a fluffy pink bathrobe.
    I tried to explain what had happened, with constant interruptions from Pepe.
    “I heard Pepe barking,” I said. “That woke me up.”
    “I heard the sound of footsteps downstairs,” Pepe said. “That woke me up. Naturally I went to investigate.”
    “Naturally I got up to see what was going on,” I said.
    “As soon as I saw the villain, clothed all in black, I rushed at him, telling him to halt!”
    “What happened next?” I asked.
    “We heard the dogs barking,” said Yolanda, thinking I was speaking to her.
    “He kicked me!” said Pepe indignantly.
    “The intruder kicked my dog!” I declared.
    “But I was not going to let violence stop me!” said Pepe. “I knew my duty was to protect the dogs.” He looked at me. “And you, of course.”
    “Thanks!”
    “So I rushed at him again, threatening him with bodily harm. That was when he snatched me up and headed for the door.”
    “Perhaps he mistook you for one of the dogs?” I suggested.
    “Only a fool would mistake a Chihuahua for a cocker spaniel!” said Pepe.
    “Do we know what he wanted?” asked Clara. “Do we know it was a man? Do we know anything?”
    “Hush! I have not yet finished my tale,” said Pepe, who was inclined to go on whenever anything cast him in a flattering light. The cocker spaniels had gathered around him as children do around a librarian during story hour.
    “I sank my fangs into his arm and he let go.” He paused for effect. “Then he ran off, and Geri prevented me from pursuing him, fearing for her own safety and wishing to keep me by her side.”

    We looked at the door but couldn’t see any signs of forced entry. Pepe told us he had first seen the intruder in the hall between the office and the kitchen. Yolanda looked around but could find no sign that anything had been disturbed. I have to admit that I don’t know how she would have known. The whole office looked like it had been trashed, with file cabinets so full they didn’t shut and papers in drifts on the floor as well as the desk.
    But Yolanda claimed it always looked that way. “No one has been in here since Lucille died,” she said. “She called this her headquarters. She was in here every day: making lists, making phone calls. But when she got sick, it became just a general storage room.”
    Yolanda called the police, and Clara made a pot of coffee. Caroline arrived and fixed us breakfast (bacon and scrambled eggs) while we waited for the police. Yolanda was very distressed. She kept muttering to herself in Spanish. Pepe said she was raining down curses on anyone who would be so evil as to threaten innocent dogs.
    The police arrived just as the dogs were finishing their own breakfast: a medley of kale, rice, and lamb. Pepe took one look at the police and jumped up into my lap. Pepe has a thing about the police. I think he confuses them with animal control. He did his time in several shelters before I adopted him. He was