Mystery of the Melting Snowman by Florence Parry Heide Page B

me.’ He scowled at me then. You know his scowl.”
    She paused and sipped from her cup. “And then I told him my plan,” she continued. “That I have a special surprise for Jenny and Tom. And that it has to do with the doorstop.” Her eyes twinkled at the three detectives. “And they have no idea! I love surprises. Tonight we’re going to have a wonderful party at my old house. They’re going to pick me up here. Tom’s parents will be there too. And then the surprise!” She smiled at them over her cup. “When I told Alex about my plan, he was so angry he could barely speak. I told him he was altogether too greedy and wanted everything for nothing. But this is the one thing he won’t get his hands on.”
    The Spotlighters looked at each other. Cindy asked softly, “What if Alex Baxter got the iron dog?”
    Mrs. Wellington sat up straight. “Oh, it would be terrible, just terrible!” She stared at Cindy. “He doesn’t have it, does he?”
    Cindy quickly leaned forward. “We have it, Mrs. Wellington. We have the iron dog.”
    “Oh, that’s beautiful,” sighed Mrs. Wellington. “You have the dog. And Alex is probably looking everywhere for it.” She suddenly turned toward Cindy. “You haven’t told him you have it, have you?”
    “Yes,” Cindy said weakly. “We left a message for him with his answering service this afternoon.”
    Mrs. Wellington gasped. “You told him you have the dog?”
    Cindy twisted her hands. “He was so convincing. We were sure we were doing the right thing.”
    Mrs. Wellington frowned and tapped her foot. “Just like him to twist your mind in his direction. This is not good, not good at all.” She looked at the detectives. “Does he know where you live?”
    Cindy nodded.
    “Then you must leave this instant.” She stood up, her scarf trailing behind her. “Get home as quickly as you can. You must make sure that the dog is safe. You must not let Alex have it!”
    She rushed to the door of her apartment and opened it. “Hurry, dears. There’s no time to lose. You must keep the dog safe. Bring it to the red house when you see all the lights turned on. Can you do it?” she asked, staring down at them.
    “Of course we can,” said Jay. “You’ll see.”
    The Spotlighters filed quickly through the door.
    “And do be careful!” called Mrs. Wellington after them. “I can’t tell you how important this is.”
    “Wow!” Dexter breathed when they were outside the building. “How many times can we be wrong in one day?”
    The air was colder now. They hurried to the bus stop.
    “I wish we were home now,” Cindy said. “What is it about that dog? I’ve looked at it and looked at it, but I can’t figure it out.”
    “It must be filled with money,” said Jay. “I’ll bet it is.”
    “It must be,” Dexter said. “No wonder he wants it so much.”
    Cindy stared out the bus window and shivered. “I wonder where Alex Baxter is now. What if he’s waiting right outside our house?”
    The three detectives were silent for a minute.
    “Why do only Mrs. Wellington and Alex Baxter know what’s so important about the dog?” asked Jay. “Why not Jenny?”
    “I guess Mrs. Wellington wanted it to be a secret from Jenny so she could surprise her,” Cindy said. “But how did Alex Baxter find out about it?”
    The bus stopped and the three detectives got off. Shadows moved in and out among the houses and trees. Was one of the shadows Alex Baxter’s?
    “Let’s make a run for it to our house,” whispered Jay. They darted across the street.
    “I’ll grab the key,” Jay said, hurrying ahead of Dexter and Cindy. “Mom always leaves it in the same place.”
    They let themselves in the front door.

    “The dog’s in my room,” called Cindy, as she dashed up the stairs, two steps at a time. The boys raced up after her. She pulled down the window shade and turned on her light. She took the dog out from under her bed. She’d half expected it to be gone.
    They sat in a