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  Mila shook her head as we met at the stage. “I asked Jax to help us,” she said. “But Curiosity isn’t in any of his usual places.”

  The seats were filling up. Ms. Gleason waved at me. Danika was talking to Jax. It seemed like everyone from room 201 was in the store.

  “Any luck?” Rain asked me hopefully.

  I frowned.

  “That’s okay,” she said with a smile. “At least you tried. And the show must go on. You and Rags are last. Right after Wingnut O’Brien’s hamster act.”

  My stomach flipped and my knees flopped. Rags and I were about to go down in history as the worst pet trick ever. Mila found a seat. She held on to Rags while I searched the supply closet.

  “Welcome to the First Annual Fur, Fins & Feathers Talent Show!” Rain announced. Everybody cheered. I stood in the dark closet and tried to think like a ferret.

  It wasn’t easy.

  I looked behind the bags of dog food. In the distance, I heard Helen’s poodle bark in French—Oui! Oui! Oui!

  Lucy Hiller went, then Joey with his crazy worm trick. One by one, I heard contestants show off their pets as the crowd cheered. I looked behind every bag, box, and can. No ferret.

  “Wingnut O’Brien and his hamster, Hermie!” I heard Rain announce.

  Rags and I were next. He had never once done his trick and the grand prize was still missing. I felt like a failure.

  I headed back to Mila and Rags. Wingnut was singing a duet with Hermie. The hamster squeaked along to “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” The crowd roared with laughter.

  Just great, I thought. Rags and I have to follow the best act in the show.

  Chapter

  11

  Rags to Riches

  Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!

  Polly the parrot was screeching at the top of her lungs. The cat and ferret tore through the crowd, climbing up on seats, diving, leaping, scrambling over everything in sight.

  My heart leaped. Curiosity had something in its mouth.

  “Hey!” Ms. Gleason cried. “That ferret stole my earring!”

  Mila raced up to me. “The parrot is like an alarm system,” she exclaimed. “When the ferret steals something, the parrot squawks!”

  We took off after the ferret with Rags leading the way. We followed them down the dog toys aisle and around a corner. But Rags barked and Mila and I stopped short. Curiosity had vanished.

  Rain tried to calm down the crowd.

  “Out of control, Little Holmes!” Jax laughed. “Where’d the little critter go?”

  “Thin air,” I muttered.

  That’s when Rags did the most amazing thing. He sniffed the floor, stood on his hind legs, and barked at some dog beds on a shelf.

  Loudly.

  Over and over again.

  “Crazy dog!” Jax said gleefully. He reached his arm up and the ferret jumped onto his shoulder. Jax smiled and pulled down a big stuffed dog bed.

  There on the bed lay a bunch of shiny objects, including Rain’s hair clip, a set of keys, a shiny purse, an earring, and the grand-prize medal!

  Jax held up the prize. “Rock on, Little Holmes! You solved the mystery!”

  Rain clapped her hands together. Ms. Gleason gave me a thumbs-up. And Rags rested his bones on the cool tile floor.

  I glanced toward the front window. Sure enough, there was Solofsky, nose pressed against the glass.

  Jax saw Solofsky, too. “Excuse me,” Jax said. “I have an apology to make.”

  Rain gave me a big hug. “You’re a hero, Jigsaw!”

  Nope, I thought. Rags was the real hero. It seemed wrong to ask him to do a silly shoe trick after such great detective work. But people were pushing us toward the stage and cheering.

  Rain set out a box and an old shoe. Mila gave me a push toward the stage. Rags and I were about to go from hero to zero!

  I looked Rags in the eye. He looked back at me like he thought I was the best person on the planet. I wasn’t, but I didn’t argue with Rags. I heard my father’s voice in my head. Try to be the person your dog thinks you are. So I took a deep breath, looked at Rags with all the love in my heart, and said, “Steal the shoe, Ragsy.”

  Rags picked up the shoe in his mouth. He walked across the stage. He looked at me once, then dropped the shoe into the box.

  As if he’d done it a thousand times.

  The crowd exploded.

  I couldn’t believe it.

  My old dog had learned a new trick!

  * * *

  In the end, Wingnut and his hamster won the contest. That was okay. Everybody knew Rags was the best pet ever.

  “I should have figured it out,” Rain said. “Ferrets are known for their sneaky behavior. Hiding things is not a surprise.”

  I saw Jax talking with Bobby. Jax was leaning close to him, speaking softly, shaking his hand. Bobby had a huge grin on his face. He raced over to Bubbles and they tumbled on the floor together.

  “Guess you’re off the hook,” I said to Bobby.

  “Not only that,” Bobby bragged. “I just got a job as a dog walker.”

  I waited for him to thank me. But he didn’t. Solofsky just played with his puppy. Happy as can be.

  “You’re welcome,” I finally said.

  “Oh, right,” Bobby replied. “Thanks, Jigsaw. Too bad it took you so long, but I guess you tried pretty hard.”

  Yeesh.

  Zebras never change their stripes. And Solofsky will always be a stone in my shoe.

  But none of it mattered. The case was solved. Rags thought I was the best person in the world. And I felt the same way about him.

  Don’t miss this special sneak peek at a brand-new, never-before-published JIGSAW JONES MYSTERY:

  The Case from Outer Space

  “Highly recommended.”—School Library Journal

  When Joey and Danika find a mysterious note tucked inside a book, all signs point to a visitor from outer space. Yikes! Can Jigsaw solve this case, when the clues are out of this world?

  Chapter

  1

  A Knock on the Door

  Call me Jones.

  Jigsaw Jones, private eye.

  I solve mysteries. For a dollar a day, I make problems go away. I’ve found stolen bicycles, lost jewelry, and missing parakeets. I’ve even tangled with dancing ghosts and haunted scarecrows.

  Mysteries can happen anywhere, at any time. One thing I’ve learned in this business is that anyone is a suspect. That includes friends, family, and a little green man from outer space.

  Go figure.

  It was a lazy Sunday morning. Outside my window, it looked like a nice spring day. The sky was blue with wispy clouds that looked like they had been painted by an artist. A swell day for a ball game. Or a mystery. Maybe both if I got lucky.

  I was standing at my dining room table, staring at a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. It was supposed to be a picture of our solar system. The sun and eight planets. But right now it was a mess. Scattered pieces lay everywhere. I scratched my head and munched on a blueberry Pop-Tart. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. As a cook, I’m pretty good with a toaster. I began working on the border, grouping all the pieces that had a flat edge. Sooner or later, I’d work my way through the planets. The rust red of Mars. The rings of Saturn. And the green tint of Neptune. I’ve never met a puzzle I couldn’t solve. That’s because I know the secret. The simple trick? Don’t give up.

  Don’t ever give up.

  My dog, Rags, leaped at the door. He barked and barked. A minute later, the doorbell rang. Ding-a-ling, ding-dong. That’s the thing about Rags. He’s faster than a doorbell. People have been coming to our house all his life. But for my dog, it’s always the most exciting thing that ever happened.

  Every single time.

  “Get the door, Worm,” my brother Billy said. He was sprawled on the couch, reading a book. Teenagers, yeesh.

  “Why me?” I complained.

  “Because I’m not doing it.”

  Billy kept reading.

/>   Rags kept barking.

  And the doorbell kept ringing.

  Somebody was in a hurry.

  I opened the door. Joey Pignattano and Danika Starling were standing on my stoop. We were in the same class together, room 201, with Ms. Gleason.

  “Hey, Jigsaw!” Danika waved. She bounced on her toes. The bright beads in her hair clicked and clacked.

  “Boy, am I glad to see you!” Joey exclaimed. He burst into the room. “Got any water?”

  “I would invite you inside, Joey,” I said, “but you beat me to it.”

  Danika smiled.

  “I ate half a bag of Jolly Ranchers this morning,” Joey announced. “Now my tongue feels super weird!”

  “That’s not good for your teeth,” I said.

  Joey looked worried. “My tongue isn’t good for my teeth? Are you sure? They both live inside my mouth.”

  “Never mind,” I said.

  “Pipe down, guys!” Billy complained. “I’m reading here.”

  “Come into the kitchen,” I told Joey and Danika. “We’ll get fewer complaints. Besides, I’ve got grape juice. It’s on the house.”

  “On the house?” Joey asked. “Is it safe?”

  I blinked. “What?”

  “You keep grape juice on your roof?” Joey asked.

  Danika gave Joey a friendly shove. “Jigsaw said ‘on the house.’ He means it’s free, Joey,” she said, laughing.

  Joey pushed back his glasses with an index finger. “Free? In that case, I’ll take a big glass.”

  Chapter

  2

  One Small Problem

  I poured three glasses of grape juice.

  “Got any snacks?” Joey asked. “Cookies? Chips? Corn dogs? Crackers?”

  “Corn dogs?” I repeated. “Seriously?”

  “Oh, they are delicious,” Joey said. “I ate six yesterday. Or was that last week? I forget.”

  Danika shook her head and giggled. Joey always made her laugh.

  I set out a bowl of chips.

  Joey pounced like a football player on a fumble. He was a skinny guy, but he ate like a rhinoceros.

  “So what’s up?” I asked.

  “We found a note,” Danika began.

  “Aliens are coming,” Joey interrupted. He chomped on a fistful of potato chips.

  I waited for Joey to stop chewing. It took a while. Hum-dee-dum, dee-dum-dum. I finally asked, “What do you mean, aliens?”

  “Aliens, Jigsaw!” he exclaimed. “Little green men from Mars—from the stars—from outer space!”

  I looked at Danika. She shrugged, palms up. “Maybe,” she said. “You never know.”

  I took a long swig of grape juice. “You mentioned a note,” I said to Danika.

  She sat tall, eyes wide. “It’s very mysterious, Jigsaw. That’s why we came to you.”

  “Narffle-snarffle,” Joey mumbled, his mouth still full of chips.

  I leaned back in my chair. I shoved my hands into my pockets. They were empty. Business had been slow. I was a detective without a case. “Let me make a phone call,” I said.

  I never work alone. My partner’s name is Mila Yeh. We split the money down the middle, fifty-fifty. Mila has long black hair. She’s crazy about books. And she’s my best friend on the planet. Together, we make a good team.

  I asked Mila to meet us in my tree house. She said she’d be over in five minutes.

  It took her three and a half.

  Mila lived next door. And she was as quick as a rabbit.

  As usual, Mila was singing. I knew the tune, but the words were different:

  “Twinkle, twinkle, little mystery!

  How I wonder what you are!

  Could you really be up there?

  Do Martians wear … underwear?”

  “You’re funny,” Danika said. She beamed a warm smile in Mila’s direction.

  Grinning, Mila sat down, crisscross applesauce. We gathered in a snug circle. There was no choice. My tree house wasn’t exactly a palace. I am not complaining. But I don’t go up there on windy days. Mila’s eyes were active and alert. They moved from Joey to Danika, before settling on me. “Aliens, huh?” Mila asked.

  “From outer space,” Joey said.

  “Uh-huh,” Mila replied. If she thought Joey was crazy, Mila was too nice to say it out loud.

  I took out my detective notebook. I opened to a clean page. With a blue pen, I wrote:

  * * *

  THE CASE FROM OUTER SPACE

  CLIENTS: Joey and Danika

  CLUES:

  * * *

  I left the last part blank. I didn’t have any clues. I wasn’t even sure I had a case. But it was better than nothing.

  “Maybe we could start from the beginning,” Mila suggested.

  “Hold on.” I slid forward an empty coin jar. “We get a dollar a day.”

  Joey and Danika exchanged glances. “We have one teensy-weensy problem,” Danika said.

  Uh-oh.

  Thank you for reading this FEIWEL AND FRIENDS book.

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  The Case of the Best Pet Ever

  possible are:

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  Read more Jigsaw Jones Mysteries by James Preller

  The Case from Outer Space—New!

  The Case of the Smelly Sneaker

  The Case of the Bicycle Bandit

  The Case of the Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost

  The Case of the Mummy Mystery

  The Case of the Best Pet Ever

  The Case of the Buried Treasure

  The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur

  The Case of the Million-Dollar Mystery

  About the Author

  James Preller is the author of numerous books, including the acclaimed novels The Fall, Bystander, and Six Innings, and the Scary Tales and Jigsaw Jones series. He travels throughout the country visiting classrooms and book festivals. He lives in Delmar, New York, with his wife and their children.

  Visit him online at jamespreller.com, or sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Chapter 1    Teddy

  Chapter 2    Grand Prize Gone!

  Chapter 3    Fur, Fins & Feathers

  Chapter 4    Behave!

  Chapter 5    The Case of the Missing Talent

  Chapter 6    IQ Test

  Chapter 7    Dropping Clues

  Chapter 8    Tricky Business

  Chapter 9    The Hiding Place

  Chapter 10  Suspects by the Dozen!

  Chapter 11  Rags to Riches

  Excerpt: The Case from Outer Space

  Other Books By James Preller

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2003 by James Preller

  Art used with permission from Scholastic

  A Feiwel and Friends Book

  An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
>
  mackids.com

  All rights reserved.

  Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

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  First Feiwel and Friends edition, 2017

  eBook edition, November 2017

  Originally published by Scholastic in 2003

  eISBN 978-1-250-11092-3