Deke Devlin Dog Detective - The Case of the Hit and Run Hubcap

Chapter 2 - Hit and Run

The next morning was Saturday, so the Devlins slept in late. Carol got up first and started making breakfast. There is nothing better than waking up to the smell of bacon. I nudged Josh to let him know it was time to get up. Then, I went downstairs to the kitchen. Carol already had some bacon and eggs in my bowl. I ate them down, savoring every bite. I loved Saturdays. It was the one day of the week I got my special breakfast.

Mike was sitting at the table reading the morning paper. "It says here, someone robbed the Liberty State Bank last night," Mike said as he took a sip of coffee. "They cut a hole in the roof and got into the vault. It says the got away with a half a million dollars."

"Do they have any idea who did it?" Carol asked.

"Nope. But, they are checking the security cameras to see if anything was caught on tape," Mike said.

The sirens I heard last night must have been the police responding to the bank robbery. "What a night," I thought to myself. "Bank robberies and trashcans being knocked over. Normally we don't have that much excitement around here."

After Saturday breakfast, Josh, Jenny, and I always went down to the park. Josh and I played frisbee while Jenny swung on the swings or spun around on the merry-go-round. I tried that contraption once, but I was flung off and tumbled head over tail across the ground. Everybody laughed, but I didn't think it was the least bit funny - well, looking back on it now, maybe it was a little bit funny.

When we got outside, Josh saw the trashcans that had been knocked over the night before. When he went over to clean up the spillage and set the cans upright, he started yelling for Mike. "Jenny, run in the house and get Dad, quick," he said, and she took off. I knew something was up, so I went to see what had Josh so excited. Then, I saw it. Mike's car, a Ford Focus, was smashed. The whole rear end on the left side was demolished. It looked like whoever knocked over those trashcans hit Mike's car, too.

"Why would someone hit Mike's car and then just drive off?" I thought. I was angry with whoever did this. I also was a little angry with myself. I knew something happened last night. I saw the trashcans. Why didn't I wake Mike or Carol?

Of course, I didn't notice Mike's car had been smashed, but still, I felt guilty for letting Mike down. Mike gave me a home and a family and how did I repay him? By letting his car get smashed up in the middle of the night and not doing anything about it. "Mike, I'm gonna find who did this, I promise," I said as Mike came out to inspect the damage.

Patty O'Shaughnessy drove up after working a very long night. Mr. O was a police officer so he must have been pretty busy with the bank robbery. When he saw Mike, he walked across the street to write a report. Mr. O told Mike the chances of catching a hit-and-run driver were slim at best, but at least the police report would help with the insurance. While Mike and Patty talked, Mrs. O came across the street with coffee for them. By the look on Mike's face, the coffee must have been pretty strong, but he thanked her graciously and continued to drink it. Mrs. O mentioned the noise she'd heard the night before. She didn't see anything at the window but she did say the crash happened at 1:32 AM. Mrs. O was always very precise.

I walked around the car and noticed something shiny underneath it. I crawled under, retrieved a large metal disk, and took it to Mike. He didn't notice me so I dropped it with a loud clang. "Mike, check this out. I found a clue," I said. I cocked my head to one side, so Mike would know I was talking to him. "Look!"

"What's that Deke, your frisbee?" Mike asked.

"No, I think that's a hubcap," said Mr. O, "and by the looks of it, it came off a 1990 Cadillac Sedan Deville. Now we know what kind of car we are looking for, and from the color of this paint that scraped off, it's a burgundy 1990 Cadillac Sedan Deville. That's some fine work, Deke. I wish I had you working the Liberty State Bank robbery case with me." He patted me on the head.

Mr. O'Shaughnessy was a very good policeman, and he certainly knew his cars. Now I knew those tail lights I saw the night before were from a Cadillac Sedan Deville, or more specifically, a burgandy 1990 Cadillac Sedan Deville. Unfortunately, I knew this neighborhood pretty well, and no one owned a Sedan Deville. The hit-and-run driver most likely drove another five blocks to the highway. He could be anywhere by now.

"I'm so sorry I didn't see the car, Michael," said Mrs O. "I could have gotten a license plate number."

"That's okay, Eileen. I'm sure my insurance will cover the damage," Mike replied.

"Well, if that insurance company gives you any trouble, you let me know. I'll be sure to set them straight on the time of the accident, and that you were most certainly asleep at the time," offered Mrs. O.