18 - As If

                                    

                                          
"Who would've thought th a life could get so much better in the matter of . . . less than a day, Busby?" Sweetie exclaimed to herself with a prideful grin.
                          
She held her necklace with her paw gently, as if she was holding a newborn baby's hand. The necklace may have been vintage, but that didn't make it any less better. It was valuable like a gem.
                          
At the moment, she was hiding in the outskirts of town at a lake. The Terrier was uncomfortably squeezing in between a couple of wild bushes and shrubs near the dock. Mobs of dragonflies and mosquitoes buzzed around her, causing her to constantly swat them away with a free paw.
                          
Sweetie was not used to bugs or uncomfortable places, considering she spent most of her life in Barkingburg's grand castle. She'd much rather be somewhere else, but for now, she figured that everyone was searching for her. By now, they would've figured out that the necklace has been stolen. Heck, by now, the Princess was probably looking for her pet. 
                          
Going back to town would be too risky for her liking, so for now, she'd have to stay until she was ready to face everyone. 
                          
Meanwhile, the PAW Patrol were searching the outskirts of town from top to bottom, left to right. The entire crew would much rather be in Barkingburg, enjoying the last bits of their vacation, but duty called. Ryder instructed Chase to send his drone over the sky to find possible clues of where Sweetie could've been that Skye could not see from her helicopter. Everyone else, in contrast, was directed to many locations in pairs of two—or even individually—to contribute to the search. 
                          
Marshall and Everest paired together, walking through a barely visible path in the woods that led to the area across the farm. Sunlight from above peeked into the trees to light the way. Dirt stuck to their paws as they walked through the woods as bugs buzzed past them. Neither of them didn't see why Sweetie would want to hide there. It was dirty and mucky, but it was worth looking. 
                          
"I just want to get back to Barkingburg," Everest said as they walked. "It's too bad that we couldn't finish our walk from earlier."
                          
Marshall nodded in agreement as he bowed his head, flashing a flashlight through the bushes in case someone was hiding in them. There wasn't anyone there—or anywhere, in fact—besides squirrels and other wild animals. 
                          
He began to think about his encounter with Sweetie last night. The puzzle pieces were beginning to attach to each other nicely. Sweetie did say that she was going somewhere. She also insisted that money and riches can solve problems, which is probably why Mayor Goodway's necklace was stolen. Everything was beginning to make sense clearly. 
                          
Marshall could've told Ryder what he knew about Sweetie going off to town, but there was no point now. They already had enough information to know where the Terrier was—and to their wishes—still is. 
                          
To their luck, their pup tags rang. 
                          
"Pups, Chase's drone found Sweetie," Ryder said as he leapt onto his ATV to follow Chase. "She's at the lake, so meet we're going back to town hall to return the necklace. Meet us there."
                          
"It was about time," Marshall muttered as he made a full turn to the opposite direction with a gesture. "Let's get out of here."
                          
"Finally," Everest remarked. "I'll race you to our vehicles."
                          
Marshall was up to the challenge, so he ran like he was on fire. They weren't far into the woods, so it only took a couple of moments to get to their veichles, which where parked at the side of the road. Marshall kept getting ahead of Everest, and she did the same. It was nearly a tie, but Everest ended up winning. 
                          
"Better luck next time, Marshall," she smirked as she leapt into her snow plow. 
                          
The Dalmatian couldn't help but laugh as he hopped into his firetruck. The two made a journey to town hall, which didn't take long. Everyone reached there within a few minutes, only to see an aggravated Mayor Goodway crossing her arms as if someone ruined her precious tulips.