Bess pointed to Amber’s sweater. “Dog hair gets everywhere, you know.”
Devon looked surprised when he saw Misty’s black hairs clinging to Amber’s sweater. “You must have rubbed against some of my clothes while we were doing the laundry, Amber.” He turned to Bess and Nancy. “You knew?”
Bess nodded. “We just figured it out. I couldn’t believe you’d take Misty. Nancy had to convince me.”
Nancy averted her eyes. She was glad Bess hadn’t mentioned her suspicions that Devon could be involved in passing the counterfeit money. Even if Devon was telling the truth about his reasons for taking Misty, he was still a lead suspect. He had the means, the motive, and the opportunity, Nancy thought. And as a drama student he could probably put on a convincing act for all of them.
“Will you forgive me?” Devon asked Marisa.
“I know you love me, Devon. And I love you.” Marisa scratched Misty behind the ears. “But my head is spinning right now. I don’t know if I can forgive you. Please give me some time to think.”
“Okay.” Devon stood. “Come on, Amber. Let’s go home.”
Amber pulled her mittens out of her pocket, and Casey tried to snatch one.
“No, Casey. We’re not playing now.” Amber waved solemnly at Nancy and Bess. “ ‘Bye.”
After Amber and Devon left, Bess sat next to Marisa on the sofa. “Is there anything I can get you?”
“No, thanks. I think I’m just going to sit here for a few minutes.”
“We’ll give you some privacy,” Bess said.
Nancy climbed the stairs ahead of Bess. “Where’s Casey?” she asked.
“Uh-oh.” Bess darted around Nancy and ran up the rest of the stairs. “Casey?” she called. “I’m sure she’s up to something.”
“There she is,” Nancy said as Casey darted out of the guest bedroom where Marisa had been sleeping and into Bess’s bedroom.
Bess raced after her. “She has something in her mouth.”
Nancy laughed. “How can you tell?”
“She has that guilty look.” Bess chased Casey and tried to pull her out from underneath the bed. “I hope Marisa didn’t leave anything valuable lying around.”
Nancy pried open Casey’s jaws and held them while Bess fished out shredded pieces of green paper.
“Oh, no,” Bess said. “Money.” She turned to Casey. “Bad girl, Casey. Bad.”
Casey tucked her tail between her legs and hung her head. Bess arranged several pieces of the shredded bill on her palm until she found a corner. “A twenty-dollar bilk” she announced. “You would have expensive taste, Casey.”
“Just like you,” Nancy said, laughing.
Bess found a plastic bag and dropped the soggy pieces into it. “I guess I’ll take this to the bank. If they can piece it together, do you think they’ll believe what happened and give me a new one?”
“I’m sure this kind of thing happens all the time,” Nancy said.
Bess sighed. “I’ll bet Misty never behaved like this. Let’s not tell Marisa, okay?”
* * *
Half an hour later, Nancy nudged Bess forward toward the teller window at the bank. Bess held up her plastic bag. “Well—” she began.
“Teething puppy?” the teller asked.
Bess smiled with relief. “How did you know?”
“Happens all the time,” the teller replied. “Hang on a second, and I’ll bring you a brand-new bill.”
The teller took a few pieces from the bag and examined them. Then she went to the back of the bank.
“Why can’t she just open up her money drawer and give me a twenty?” Bess asked.
Nancy shrugged. “I guess they have a certain procedure to follow.”
Bess saw the teller talking to a manager. “She has to ask the manager?”
The manager picked up the phone. Bess sighed. “Why is this taking so long?”
Bess jumped when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She whirled around to see two security guards. One of them took her arm. “Please come with me, miss.” He began to lead her away from the teller’s window.
Bess yanked away her arm. “Excuse me. What’s going on?”
“As if you don’t know,” the guard said. “Your twenty-dollar bill is counterfeit. And you’re in big trouble.”
10
Arresting Evidence
