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

Chapter 4 - The Brood

Mr. O'Shaughnessy had gone to bed while we were out canvassing the neighborhood. He was tired from his long night of chasing bank robbers, so we didn't want to disturb him. Josh and Jenny told Mike what the neighbors said, and Mike thanked both of them for their hard work. It was very unlikely that the car Mrs. Buchwald saw was the same one that hit Mike's car. Cars of all colors and sizes used our street to get to the highway all the time. "But," Mike said, "if it was the same car, maybe they will drive by again."

"Cool," said Josh, "I can stake out our street and watch for a burgundy Cadillac."

"A stake out?" asked Mike.

"Sure. It's where a police detective waits in a place where a bad guy might go, like the guy's house. Then, when the guy shows up, the detective can arrest him. Mr. O'Shaughnessy says it's a great way to catch bad guys. He's been on dozens of them."

"That sounds like a good idea, Josh," said Mike. Josh was excited to do real police work and raced upstairs because he could see more of the street from his bedroom window.

A stake out sounded like a good idea to me, too. I knew Josh couldn't stay up all night watching cars, but I knew who could - Fergus and Fanny, the O'Shaughnessy's dogs. I went across the street and found them frolicking in the back yard with their brood. Fanny was an Irish setter and had just had a litter of puppies a few weeks before. Fergus, an Irish wolfhound, was a very proud papa. But, even though Fergus and Fanny were both the finest looking dogs of their breeds, their offspring were six of the ugliest pups anyone had ever seen. They all had half-wiry, half-wavy hair that stuck out like they'd been struck by lightning and were colored in splotches of gray, black, and red. In fact, they were so ugly, they were cute. All the humans adored them. To be honest, I adored them, too. After all, I was their god-dog.

"Uncle Deke! Uncle Deke!" cried the brood as they ran across the yard and tackled me. I rolled onto my back while they jumped up, down, and over me.

"How're my favorite nephews and nieces?" I laughed as they tickled me with their little puppy bites.

"Uncle Deke, watch this, " said Kieran as he ran head first into a soccer ball and drove it into a little net.

"Goooaaalll!" shouted all the pups.

"That's great, Kieran," I said. "Soon you'll be playing for Galway United." Galway United was Mr. O's favorite Irish football team. In Ireland, football is what they call soccer, but I don't know why.

"Nooo waaayyy, Uncle Deke! I'm going to be a Shamrock Rover!" yelled Kieren as drove another ball into the net.

"Hey, laddie, glad you came over. You had quite an exciting morning by the sound of it," said Fergus. "What's the story, Rory."

"Somebody smashed up Mike's car. It was a hit and run. Mr. O thinks it was burgundy 1990 Cadillac Sedan Deville."

"What kind of manky git would do something like that?" asked Fergus in his Irish brogue.

I wasn't sure what a manky git was, but I figured it meant the driver that hit Mike's car was not a very nice person. "I don't know, but that's one of the reasons I came by," I said. "I was wondering if you heard or saw anything last night?"

"Hear something!", said Fergus, "Boyo, I tell you, I nearly had a canary. I was up with the pups - letting Fanny sleep, you know - when I hear a 'nawful ruckus. I was by the window, so I look out and see a car driving off. Eileen heard it, too, so she turns on the light and comes running to the window. Of course, the car was gone by the time she got there, but I got a real good look at it. I couldn't tell the color, but it was certainly a big banger. I got part of the tag. It was 'AY', something, and then a nine, I think."

"That's great, Fergus. I should have come to you first," I said. A partial license plate was a great clue.

"Yeah, laddie, you should've," Fergus laughed. "So what was the other thing?"

"I was wondering if you could help me on a stake out?" I asked. I told him about what Rochester had said, and about Mrs. Buchwald had seen a few days ago. "Between you, me, and Chloe, we might be able to track this guy down. What do you think?"

"Firstly, I wouldn't trust a cat, especially that 'tabby troublemaker'. Secondly, of course I'll help with your little stake out. We all will, right guys?" He said and wagged his tail at the brood.

"Yeeeaaahhh," the pups cried. "We'll catch that hooligan that smashed Michael's car."

We decided that Fergus and Fanny would keep watch at night, since at least of one of them was always awake anyway. During the day, I would keep watch. Of course, I also needed time to search for more clues, so I thought I would ask Boomer to help out, too. I knew he would agree. If nothing else, Boomer was a busy-body and liked nothing more than sticking his nose into other people's business.