“Okay. Hang tight. We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

When we got to the café, Carlos and Scratchy were eating muffins and feeding crumbs to tiny birds at their table.

“We’ve been all over,” Scratchy said. “You should see how fast Carlos gets around here.”

I patted Carlos on the shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

“You’re welcome! It’s fun to help. I just wish we had found him. We asked a bunch of people too. No one saw a little dog with a head cam.”

Zoe checked her phone.

“Any new notifications?” I asked.

“No. And it’s going to take us a little while to get home. I say we head back and try this again another time.”

“But tomorrow’s school,” I said. “I don’t think I can stand it knowing he’ll be out here all night somewhere, lost.”

“We’ll come help you search tomorrow after school,” Scratchy said. “You never know, maybe he’ll even find his way to your front door. You hear about that happening with dogs all the time.”

But I lost him in the Internet. And you never hear about that.

“Thanks a lot, you guys.” Zoe aimed her phone at the little birds eating the muffins and took a picture. “I’m sure you need to be getting home too. Arcade will keep you posted on the search.”

Scratchy wiped muffin crumbs off his lap and jumped up on his scooter. “Okay, we’ll take some of the curvy paths home and let you know if we see him. You up for that, Carlos?”

Carlos leaned back and popped a wheelie. “Sure! I can navigate a few bumps.”

And with that, Scratchy and Carlos zoomed off.

*  *  *

“I guess we should tell Mom and Dad.” I hung my head as we approached the stairway to our brownstone. “I mean, it’s not like they aren’t gonna notice that Loopy’s gone.”

Zoe nodded. “Yeah. But what exactly are we going to tell them?”

Chapter 27
Serious Convos

“Hey, you two! How was the park?” Dad came in from the back porch carrying barbequed steak on a platter. “Are you hungry?”

“The park was lovely,” Zoe said. “But we have some bad news to tell you. It might ruin your appetite.”

“Oh?” Mom came out from the kitchen, carrying iced teas that she set on the dining room table. “Is someone hurt? Sick?” She gave us each a once-over.

I decided to just spill it. “We lost Loopy.”

Mom put both hands up to her mouth. “Oh, dear!”

I sat down and took a sip of tea. “We’ve been looking all afternoon. Our friends have been too.”

Dad frowned. “Why didn’t you tell us right away? We could have helped you look.”

“We didn’t want to worry you,” Zoe said. “Plus, we kept thinking he’d show up somewhere, any minute. You know Loopy. And then the minutes turned to hours—”