Read Online The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg - Free Book Online Page A

meant. I figured it was her way of telling me to stay out of her way.
    “Yes!” I threw my fist in the air, excited that I was able to go back to the Lacys’ and figure out what happened to Daisy.
    Shelby shook her head. “Thank you, Watson, for the candy … and for making me already regret my decision.”

    An hour later, we were in the elevator on our way up to the Lacys’ apartment. Shelby informed me on our subwayride that her goal for the day was to examine the apartment and make an official list of suspects, which currently included the five family members, even Tamra.
    As we knocked on the front door of the apartment, I felt nerves in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t know anything about solving crimes, but I planned on sticking close to Shelby to figure out how she did it.
    “Hi, Shelby and John,” Mrs. Lacy said after opening the door. She looked exhausted.
    “Any word on Daisy?” Shelby asked.
    Mrs. Lacy shook her head. “Nothing. As you can imagine, it was a rough night.”
    The three siblings were sitting in the living room. Zareen sat with a scowl on her face next to Zane, her arms folded. Mrs. Lacy sat next to Tamra, who sported bloodshot eyes. “Shelby, Tamra informed me that you’re known around school as a bit of an amateur detective.”
    “There’s nothing amateur about what I do,” Shelby said to the shock of Mrs. Lacy (okay, and me—who would talk to an adult like that?).
    “Ah,” I interrupted in an attempt to make peace (yeah, the Lacys were the real problem), “we’re simply here to help, Mrs. Lacy. Shelby has solved a bunch of crimes, so she’s the best person for the job. You should see the respect she has in our neighborhood. She’s like a celebrity!”
    Shelby slowly turned toward me. I was waiting for her to make some snide comment or put me in my place, but she simply turned back to the family.
    “We’ll take all the help we can get,” Mrs. Lacy continued. “What do you need from us?”
    Shelby got right down to it. “It would be helpful if you could each tell me where you were the morning Daisy went missing.”
    “I was here the whole time,” Zareen stated quickly. “I didn’t leave. Ask security!”
    Hmm . She seemed pretty agitated. And really insistent that she was innocent. Anytime I watched a cop show, it was usually the guilty people who were the most annoyed at being questioned.
    Zane went next. “I went to play some ball with my boys, around eight. I didn’t see or hear Daisy or Roxy before I left. I went straight to the courts over at the Great Lawn. I had no idea Daisy was missing until Tamra called me. I think that was about two hours later.”
    “Okay. Mrs. Lacy?”
    “I was at a seven a.m. Pilates class. I didn’t see either dog before I left. I assumed they were in the dog room. Ed left for work at the same time. It wasn’t until I got back that we knew she was missing.”
    Shelby walked over and studied each member of thefamily. Each person shifted uncomfortably when it was their turn. Honestly, they all looked guilty, although I would’ve probably acted the same way during one of Shelby’s examinations.
    “Mrs. Lacy, how often is the laundry done in the house?” she asked.
    “Almost every day. With five people, we go through a lot of clothes.”
    “I see.” Shelby was pacing back and forth. “So it is more than likely that you are each wearing a clean set of clothes.”
    “Yes,” Mrs. Lacy replied while the others nodded.
    “And are the dogs allowed on the furniture?”
    “No.”
    Where was she going with this?
    “And I’m assuming the floors are cleaned regularly?”

    “Yes, with two dogs, we try to keep the place clean. What does—”
    But before Mrs. Lacy could finish her question, Shelby knelt down in front of Zareen.
    “Hey!” Zareen protested as Shelby seemed to pinch her leg. “What are you doing?”
    Shelby held up something that I couldn’t see from across the room. “Roxy is a black-haired dog. I believe this is