Showoff Page 14

  29

  The big Doberman’s clipped ears, upright as per the breed standard, twitched once and stood even higher, as if they were about to launch off the top of his perfect head.

  Pitch’s astonished voice crackled through Griffin’s walkie-talkie. “Hey, isn’t that —?”

  At the very highest entrance, Savannah Drysdale surveyed the huge arena, realizing how futile it was to try to spot one adored dog in such a crowd. But she had to try.

  “Luthor — sweetie!”

  Like twin lasers, the dog’s dark eyes fixed on her. Savannah — his Savannah! He’d thought her lost forever, but she had come back for him!

  Griffin could almost feel a jolt of electricity shoot through the air as Luthor acquired the target. Dmitri must have noticed it, too, because he raised the pinkie higher and said, “Stay.”

  Luthor did not stay. He took off like a cruise missile, navigating the shortest distance between himself and Savannah. A few judges and show officials tried to calm him down and ended up having to leap for their lives. People and dogs dove in all directions to get out of his path. One look into those eyes was enough to convince anybody that this Doberman was not stopping. If there had been a brick wall in the way, there was no question that he would have blasted right through it.

  Luthor did not run up the concrete stairs. He flew over the seats, his pumping paws barely touching the chairbacks. Savannah saw him then, burst into tears, and opened her arms. It lent him wings.

  Using the last row as a springboard, he launched himself at the girl — just as the green-speckled culprit in black made for the exit behind Savannah.

  Crunch!

  Luthor never even noticed the collision. A second later, he was in Savannah’s arms, being kissed and hugged and wept over. So much had happened in the past weeks to Lex Luthor Savannah Spritz-o-matic — such wild highs and terrible lows that it went beyond a canine brain’s ability to make sense of it. This made sense. He was back with Savannah, and all was right with the world.

  Griffin was the first team member to pound up to the big reunion, but Ben, Melissa, and a slightly woozy Logan were hot on his heels. Seconds later, Pitch arrived via a scoreboard access ladder.

  Griffin looked from girl and dog to the green-splashed figure lying dazed on the cement walkway. “Mrs. Devlin?” he blurted, astounded to see that Xerxes’ owner had been the culprit all along. “It was you?”

  Her expression was pure poison. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself — trying to pass that big moose off as a Doberman. And everybody’s fooled because they want to be fooled — because Mr. Wonderful Dmitri Trebezhov puts his seal of approval on the fraud! Can anybody fault me for trying to make the show fair?”

  “Yeah, I can fault you,” Griffin said angrily. “You put Dmitri in the hospital. And what about Electra? She got a broken tail because of you. She’ll probably never show again.”

  Mrs. Devlin sat up, still angry and unrepentant. “My Xerxes is twice the champion Electra ever was! And if the judges had seen that, none of this would have happened.”

  “Oh, so this is our fault,” came a silky, sarcastic voice from behind Griffin.

  Everyone wheeled. There stood Mr. Charles Mannering-Smythe, chairman of the Global Kennel Society.

  “Ha — you’re busted!” exclaimed Ben.

  “That is putting it mildly,” said Mannering-Smythe. “Xerxes is excused from competition. And we shall see what the authorities think of your activities.” He turned to Griffin. “And I regret to inform you that Luthor is also excused.”

  “What?” Logan was outraged. “What for?”

  The chairman raised his chin. “For leaving his handler, for running rampant through the arena, for using a spectator — even an evil one — as a speed bump. Need I go on?”

  Dmitri came thumping up. Even hunched on his crutches, he towered over Mannering-Smythe. “What you know about dogs,” he accused, “would fit through the eye of a needle without touching the sides.”

  The man was insulted. “You think he should be Best in Show after such behavior?”

  “I think he should be Best in Show because of such behavior!” the Russian thundered. “A good dog follows his training. But it takes a great dog to overcome that training for something more important than all the dog shows in the world.”

  “And what would that be?” sniffed Mannering-Smythe.

  Dmitri gestured a crutch toward Savannah and Luthor, who were blissfully unaware of their surroundings. “Love,” he replied. “True love. No blue ribbon could be a substitute.”

  Griffin was dismayed. “But we need that blue ribbon — not the ribbon itself, but the money that comes with it! We have to pay off the Drysdales’ lawsuit so Savannah can keep Luthor! That’s what the whole plan was for! “

  “There will be no lawsuit —” A new voice rang out behind them. “Not against the Drysdales, anyway.”

  The group turned. They did not recognize the man, but at the end of his leash wagged the most famous bent tail in Dogdom. Electra.

  “After what I’ve heard today,” the beagle’s owner went on, “I realize that Luthor is an innocent victim as much as my poor Electra. It is Mercedes Devlin who will be hearing from my lawyers.”

  Savannah hugged her beloved dog and faced Griffin. “I’ll be grateful to you my whole life for what you did for me and Luthor!”

  Griffin flushed, embarrassed. “Don’t forget the rest of the team.”

  “I’m not forgetting anybody,” she replied. “But I know where the plan came from. And this was the greatest of them all. It was perfect in every way.”

  At that moment, a uniformed policeman burst in through the exit and boomed through an electric bullhorn: “Attention, please! This is the NYPD. The building is under lockdown! We have reason to believe that a stolen Spritz-a-whosis is being held on the premises!”

  Mr. and Mrs. Bing came running up behind him.

  “That’s Spritz-o-matic!” the inventor corrected.

  Griffin scrambled forward. “No, Dad — it’s not stolen! It’s right down there! And you’ll never believe this — it works!”

  30

  For the first time in its illustrious 136-year history, the Global Kennel Society postponed its main event due to green slime. All the Best in Show contenders — not to mention dozens of other dogs, handlers, owners, judges, officials, spectators, and arena employees — had been splattered by the Spritz-o-matic’s powerful jets. Luckily, the dye turned out to be easily washable, even from milk-white fur like Jasmine’s. The next day, the seven finalists — including the replacement contenders from the working and toy groups — returned to the Coliseum to vie for the top prize.

  The Bings, the Drysdales, and the team made the trip to New York for the judging. They were met at ringside by Dmitri Trebezhov himself. The legendary handler had decided to come out of retirement for good. He wasn’t returning to Global, though. He was forming his own alternative dog show — one where dogs were encouraged to be free and express themselves.

  The new show already had its first contestant. Savannah had signed up Luthor. “We’re so going to win,” she predicted as the Doberman watched the judging with great interest, his best friend, Cleopatra, perched contentedly on his shoulders. “Who’s better at being himself than Luthor?”

  Dmitri thought he had an answer to that question. Yesterday, he had filed the paperwork to adopt Xerxes. Technically, the Yorkie still belonged to Mercedes Devlin. But since she was under arrest and facing several counts of assault and malicious mischief, Xerxes would need a new master, and soon. Mrs. Devlin would probably receive prison time for what she did to Dmitri, Luthor, and Electra. At minimum, she would be banned from ever owning a dog again.

  “Xerxes?” Ben repeated in distaste. “How can you go from a player like Luthor to a little rodent like him?”

  Dmitri peered down at the small, slight boy. “My undersized friend, you of all people should appreciate that great power often comes in small packages. Xerx
es may look like a lapdog to you, but inside my miniature brother, I smell the heart of a lion. And Dmitri’s nose is never wrong.”

  The contingent from Cedarville cheered the loudest when Jasmine was selected Best in Show. Luthor puffed up with pride as his “girlfriend” was draped with the winner’s sash.

  The only discouraging word came from Logan. “Showoff,” he mumbled as the poodle preened with her big blue ribbon.

  Pitch looked at him pityingly. “I know you. You’re still bummed that your Manchurian weasel terrier wasn’t allowed in. I’ve got news for you. He isn’t even a dog. He’s a ferret.”

  “And he isn’t even your ferret,” Ben added.

  “I know that,” Logan admitted frostily. “But a true actor can’t just come out of a role overnight. It takes weeks.”

  When Griffin finally had the chance to congratulate Emma, he was humble and embarrassed. “I’m so sorry I accused you and your mom. I feel like a real idiot.”

  “You are a real idiot,” she said with a dazzling smile. “But you’re also a good person. Savannah told me everything you did for Luthor. That was awesome.” Then, in front of the entire Manhattan Coliseum, the winning handler at Global wrapped her arms around Griffin and kissed him.

  The Man With The Plan had seen his schemes pay off in many wonderful and unexpected ways. But never before had he been as pleased with a result as he was with Operation Doggie Rehab. For the better part of a week, his cheeks would remain a beaming red.

  “I’m an idiot, too,” she told him, shamefaced. “I was a total snob when I first saw Luthor. He’s an amazing dog. And if he’d been out there today, he probably would have walked off with Jazzy’s ribbon.”

  Although he’d been disqualified, Luthor was every bit the celebrity that Jasmine was on this day. He was also the #1 video on YouTube. Someone in the arena had filmed his bull run across the Coliseum yesterday. As he’d galloped toward his joyful reunion, several dogs had followed in his wake. Even the greyhound — right up there with the cheetah and pronghorn antelope on the list of fastest land animals — had been unable to keep pace with the big Doberman once Savannah was in his sights. It was easy to believe that a cheetah would have fared no better. Nothing could have outrun Luthor at that moment, not even a rocket.

  Griffin had one more apology to give, this one to his parents. “I know I promised that there wasn’t going to be any funny stuff while you guys were in Europe. I guess I messed up again.”

  Mr. Bing put a sympathetic arm around his son. “Well, I suppose there was a little plan….”

  “Little!” Griffin echoed ruefully. “It was the biggest of them all! The craziest, the most impossible —”

  “Yes,” his father agreed painfully. “But as a result of it, my Spritz-o-matic works. And that’s what’s saving your life.”

  “Besides,” Mrs. Bing chimed in. “We may take issue with your methods, but no one could argue about what you did for Luthor. Look what a beautiful, well-behaved dog he’s turned into.”

  Griffin nodded. He couldn’t help wondering if Luthor would eventually unlearn all the training he’d received from Dmitri. In the end, though, it didn’t really matter. In Griffin’s mind, the Doberman would forever be standing ramrod straight, perfectly stacked, his coat gleaming in the spotlight of the dog world’s brightest stage.

  To The Man With The Plan, Luthor would always be Best in Show.

  About the Author

  GORDON KORMAN’s first three books featuring Griffin Bing and his friends were Swindle, Zoobreak, and Framed. His other books include This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (published when he was fourteen); The Toilet Paper Tigers; Radio Fifth Grade; the trilogies Island, Everest, Dive, Kidnapped, and Titanic; and the series On the Run. He lives in New York with his family and can be found on the Web at www.gordonkorman.com.

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2012 by Gordon Korman

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  First edition, January 2012

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  eISBN: 978-0-545-39312-6