by Molly Fitz
“However,” he continued emphatically. “Just to make sure all our bases are covered, I’ll stop by the county court tomorrow to request a continuance. Meanwhile, I shouldn’t need much to prepare your argument against the arbitration. Ethel Fulton made her will very clear in regard to how she wanted her assets divided and who she most wanted to see benefited by them. And while she was certainly the most generous with Octo-Cat, she didn’t cut any of the family out, either.”
He paused to take a quick drink from his glass of tap water. Funny how my cat had more particular tastes than the senior partner at my law firm. “Now, they might argue that Octo-Cat and his monthly trust fund payments should have remained with one of the members of their family, but that won’t be a problem, either. We have lots of evidence that you’re a fantastic pet owner. Many witnesses who would attest to that fact as well.”
I pushed my plate aside, already having eaten all I could stomach for the time being. I did feel better in some ways, but in others nothing had changed. And now my head swam with all the new information Charles had provided about how we were going to fight this arbitration.
“Well, maybe I was a fantastic pet owner,” I murmured with a frown. “But now my pet either ran away or was stolen right out from under my nose.”
Charles waved his fork at me, sending a small lump of mashed potatoes soaring half way across the table. We both stared at the spot where they’d landed for a moment without saying anything.
“We’re going to find him,” he promised again. “And you know how you’re going to do it, right?”
I lifted my eyes to his with what I assumed must have appeared to be a blank expression, when inside my head was reeling with all the places we had yet to look, all the things that might have possibly gone wrong in the meanwhile.
“Um, hello!” he cried, waving his hand between us with a flourish. “You can talk to other animals now. That’s huge!”
“J and J weren’t exactly thrilled to see me,” I hedged. Even though I could talk to other animals, I hadn’t done much of that yet. I was still learning, and there was so much I needed to figure out, given that each species seemed to have its own personality, lingo, and set of social guidelines. Heck, I was still figuring out Octo-Cat more and more with each new day, and now I had an entire world of creatures I knew very little about. It wasn’t as if I had anyone I could ask for advice on this particular issue, either.
“Not them,” Charles said with a dismissive chuckle, referring to his two moody felines. “I’m sure there are at least a dozen forest animals that regularly hang out in your yard or in the woods by your yard. Maybe one of them saw something.”
“Oh my gosh, you’re right,” I said, suddenly eager to get home again. Even if I didn’t know exactly how to act with them, at least I had my words. At this point I’d try anything—risk almost everything—to find my missing friend again.
Charles simpered at me. “Do you feel better now?”
I knew I wouldn’t feel better until I had Octo-Cat safe in my arms again. Granted, he would probably scratch me like crazy, considering how hard I planned to hug his furry little body once I found him again. Even the sting a of fresh wound would be welcome right about now. Anything to prove that my cat was still here and that he didn’t blame me for his sudden disappearance.
Actually, even if he did blame me, that would still be okay. I’d have to work harder to make sure nothing like this ever happened again.
“Thanks for talking me off the ledge,” I said as Charles began to clear our plates from the table.
“No more ledges for you,” he said with a laugh. “You hear me?”
I knew he was just joking, but still I couldn’t promise anything. If Octo-Cat needed me to walk a tightrope a hundred feet off the ground, I would jump at the chance to do it.
Anything to bring my number one guy home safe and sound…
Chapter Five
Nan was nowhere to be found when I returned home from Charles’s place. Her little red sports coupe was missing, too, which led me to assume she was out widening our search radius.
Now that the twilight hour had set in, the animals who normally scampered and flittered around my yard had all tucked in for the night. Some of the forest creatures were most definitely nocturnal, but I felt uneasy going into the dark woods without backup. Instead, as much as it pained me, I decided to head to bed early so that I could also wake up early to resume my search.
“Wherever you are,” I whispered, hoping somehow, some way Octo-Cat would hear or would at least know I was thinking of him, “I hope you’re okay.”
The next morning, I dragged myself out of bed at the first sign of dawn. The animals were up, and I needed to be as well. Nan’s little red sports coupe was back in front of the house, but she herself wasn’t up yet. She had, however, left a long and very detailed note for me on the kitchen counter:
My dearest dear,
I know you are eager to find our missing buddy, but make sure you grab a bite to eat first. Scones are in the ceramic container on the opposite side of the fridge. I also brought home some of those cold coffees that taste like chalk in case I’m not up early enough to make the brew.
As for the search, here are all the places I checked last night…
What followed was a lengthy list of almost every place in Glendale. No wonder Nan was still in bed. She must have been out all night. Yet still, she hadn’t managed to find “our missing buddy.” More and more it was looking like foul play had been involved, and that made finding him all the more urgent. I grabbed one of Nan’s scones and a chilled coffee shot from the fridge, planning to eat while I searched the woods.
Or rather interrogated the local woodland creatures.
The outside sun was bright and warm like a reassuring hug. Hopefully, the animals would be every bit as accommodating as the weather.
Then we might really get somewhere.
A little chickadee sat on the porch railing, tilting its head to the side as it studied me.
I stopped in my tracks and plastered on my best smile. “Hello, there,” I said around a very full mouth of scone.
The short, fat bird quickly became a tall, thin bird as it rose on its tiptoes and stretched its neck high in alarm. “It speaks!” he cried.
I nodded and swallowed down my food before speaking again. “My name’s Angie, and I was wondering if you could help me with—” My words fell away once the chickadee flapped its wings furiously and darted away without so much as a backward glance in my direction.
Well, then. It seemed clear I would need to find something a little less skittish than a bird. I already knew from my limited experience that almost everything seemed to set them off and send them flying away. Definitely not the most useful as far as witnesses went.
Leaving the porch behind, I made my way toward the edge of the forest that edged my property on three sides. Once there, I stood stock-still and listened to the morning chorus all around me. Much of it belonged to a cacophony of various birds singing in the trees, but I’d already decided that I’d only be questioning them as an absolute last resort.
A chittering sound came from above, and sure enough a hyper brown squirrel jumped from one branch to the next, singing a peppy little tune that seemed to be about all his favorite kinds of nuts.
“Oh, what a beautiful day for eating an acorn,” he belted out, then hummed a few beats before continuing his song. “Hey, it’s always a great day to enjoy a walnut!”
“Hey!” I called in his general direction. I didn’t know much about squirrels, but they definitely didn’t seem to be the shyest of creatures. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage now.
The squirrel immediately stopped singing, stopped moving, stopped everything as he took me in with his shiny, black eyes.
“I heard you like nuts,” I said, formulating my plan right there on the spot. “But do you like peanut butter?”
He sniffed the air with giant, exaggerated motions. It practically l
ooked as if his nose could fly straight off his face. A second later, he zagged to the side and scampered down to the base of the tree. “Do-do-do you have peanut butter?”
“That depends.” I crossed my arms and appeared to look both bored and non-threatening.
Luckily, Mr. Squirrel wasn’t up on the latest human bribery techniques, because my hesitation to answer his question only made his eagerness grow. “You dooooo have peanut butter. Don’t you?” He closed about half the distance between us and sniffed at the air again.
“My name’s Angie. I live in that house back there,” I informed him, hooking a thumb over my shoulder in the general direction of the manor house.
The fuzzy rodent before me nodded vigorously. “I’m Maple. I live about three trees back and five to the right.” Now that part of the squirrel’s energy was being used to nod, its voice came out squeakier but also less hurried. Different. This was the point that I realized Maple was most likely actually a girl.
I didn’t know how to politely ask, so I just did my best to avoid any gendered language as our conversation proceeded. “I’m trying to find my friend,” I explained. “If you can help me with that, then there’s a whole jar of peanut butter in it for you.”
Maple’s eyes grew even wider as she scrambled straight up to me and put both of her furry little hands on the toe of my shoe. “Really? A whole jar?” she asked almost reverently, unwilling to take her eyes off me for even a second.
“Yup,” I confirmed with an earnest smile. “But I need help figuring out where my friend’s gone first.”
“Do you mean the other human? Or maybe the cat?” Maple reached one small hand up and scratched at her head. “I don’t think there’s anyone else in your drey is there?”
“The cat,” I said with a nod. “And how do you know so much about my… drey?” I stumbled over the unfamiliar word, assuming this must be what a squirrel called its family.
“I like to watch you sometimes from my tree,” Maple answered unabashedly. “Sometimes I even climb up onto the roof to get a closer look. You’re a funny trio, you three are.”
I couldn’t tell whether that was meant as an insult or some kind of strange compliment, so I just said, “Um, thank you?” It was a bit creepy that Maple had made a habit of peeping in on us, but I tried to let that go—especially if it led to information we could use to recover Octo-Cat.
“You are very welcome,” the squirrel said, sniffing at the air yet again. “Peanut butter?”
“First cat, then peanut butter,” I reminded her.
“Oh, I’m so hungry, just thinking about all that gooey, melty nut butter, but I promise I will try my very best to help!”
Clearly, it was going to be difficult to keep my new squirrel friend on task, so I’d need to be quick and to the point with my questions. First, I needed to give her a little background on the situation.
“Octo-Cat went missing yesterday during the late morning or very early afternoon,” I explained. “We’ve been looking everywhere but haven’t been able to find him. We’re wondering if maybe someone took him. Did you see anything unusual happening around here at that time?”
“Unusual? Hmmm.” Maple grabbed her tail and began to brush through it with her fingers. Her eyes darted from side to side as she thought. “The big buck was here. You know the one with lots of pointy parts on his antlers? He was hanging out near the edge of the forest, which I thought was weird since he usually likes to stay hidden. And my friend, Willow, said she saw the old human taking a nap in the sun.”
“Nan?” That definitely didn’t sound like my active, vibrant grandmother, but who else could it be?
“Sure, I guess so.” Maple put her hands out to either side in an approximation of a shrug. “I don’t blame him, since sleeping in the sunshine is so nice. The only thing nicer is nuts—especially peanut butter. Do you still have some you wanted to give me?”
“Nan’s a she, by the way,” I said with a small chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, though. I know it can be hard to tell with humans. And, yes, I have that jar of peanut butter I promised you. But do you think maybe you can help me out with something very important, Maple?”
She spun in a slow circle, searching the woods around us. I looked, too, but didn’t see or hear any other animals already.
Maple turned back toward me with her mouth ajar. “Didn’t I do that already?”
I had to make fast on my peanut butter promise. Otherwise I’d lose the opportunity to get anything else from my first animal informant. “Yes, which is why I’m giving you the first jar of peanut butter. I’ll give you another if you can ask around the forest and see if you can learn anything—anything at all—about what might have happened to my cat.”
Maple saluted me, then ran off shouting into the forest. No idea where she learned that particular gesture or how screaming to all the animals at once was going to help anything, but I could at least keep up my end of the promise.
Now I knew that at least some of the animals kept a close eye on my house and family. Did that mean one of them saw what happened yesterday?
I returned home to raid my pantry for a fresh jar of peanut butter, hoping that when I returned, Maple might have more to tell me.
Each moment that passed by without my cat’s safe return had become agonizing for me, and I wasn’t sure I could last another night without knowing he was safe.
Oh, Octo-Cat, where have you gone?
Chapter Six
Even though I’d barely been out for half an hour, I returned home to find Nan both wide awake and wearing a full face of makeup. She also wore a lace-trimmed blue sundress that hit at the knees, which she’d paired with hot pink tights and big dangling earrings.
“Hey, good morning. What are you all dressed up for?” I asked, eyeing her suspiciously as I clicked the door shut behind me.
“Dressed up?” Nan asked with a small frown as she scratched at her collarbone. “Are you sure? I was worried it makes me look too much like an old fogey.”
I widened my eyes and shook my head. Nothing about Nan’s ensemble aged her in the slightest, but I also knew better than to argue with her when it came to fashion. We both had a special flair for it but tended to prefer very different styles.
“The lace, dear,” Nan explained. “Doesn’t it feel a bit old-fashioned to you?”
“I think you look nice,” I offered with a smile and shrug as I sat to join her. “But I still don’t know why you’re all dressed up.”
“Oh, yes. Well, that nice young man, Brock, called and said he was coming by to do a bit of work.” Nan shimmied her shoulders and giggled—actually giggled.
This was weird. Even for her.
And especially for so early in the morning.
“He prefers to be called Cal now,” I pointed out. “You know, short for Calhoun.”
Nan studied her reflection in the antique mirror that hung near the doorway. “Ah, so he does.”
“But none of this explains why you felt the need to dress all…” I stopped just short of saying flirty and let out a big gasp. Of course. “Nan, you don’t have a new crush, do you?”
She waved her hand and rolled her eyes, but the blush that now painted the apples of her cheeks was unmistakable. “Oh, pish posh. I don’t think it can be categorized as a crush if I never plan on making a move. Besides, silly, I’ve already decided he’s for you.”
“For me?” I shrieked. “You can’t be serious?”
“He’s single. You’re single. You get along. I don’t see what the problem is…” A wicked smile lit up her face. “Unless you maybe have romantic inclinations for another fella?”
Sure, there was no denying that Cal was an attractive man and somebody I got along well with, too. But to think about dating at a time like this? No way. Not until Octo-Cat was back home, safe and sound.
I groaned and cracked my neck to either side. “This is not the 1800s, nor is it the Deep South. We live in twenty-first-century Maine, Nan. And I can fin
d my own boyfriend when I’m ready. Right now, I’m a bit more concerned about finding my missing cat, thank you.”
Nan remained completely unperturbed by my protestations. “Still no reason to pass up a perfectly good opportunity when it just so happens to present itself,” she said. “Besides, you say you can find your own boyfriend, but you haven’t. Let your poor old nan help. By the way, is that what you’re planning to wear?”
“That’s it!” I shouted, throwing both hands in the air and marching right past her. “I’ll meet Cal outside, and you can make yourself scarce. Preferably by continuing the search for Octo-Cat.” Even though I knew it was a touch overdramatic, I slammed the door shut behind me and practically ran straight into the handsome handyman on the other side.
“Oh, sorry,” I murmured as I tried to edge my way past him without losing my footing or brushing up against anything I shouldn’t. I found myself even more aware of his good looks than normal now, thanks to Nan.
Cal’s brow furrowed in sympathy. “Is everything okay?”
“Just peachy,” I said, giving the thumbs-up and tossing him a wink for good measure. Ugh, why was I always embarrassing myself?
Cal stretched his hand across the back of his neck and glanced down toward the porch. “Your nan called me a little bit ago and said you needed help installing a sign for your new business.” He glanced up again and his dark eyes locked with mine. “I didn’t know you were starting up your own business. If you need any advice or anything, I’d be happy to help in whatever way I can.”
Nan had said Cal called himself, but seeing as he had no reason to lie about things, I had to wonder why Nan would have intentionally misled me. What was she playing at, and why now?
“Thanks, Cal. That’s…” I stopped and cleared my throat, otherwise it felt like I might legitimately stop breathing. “That’s really nice of you. I’ll definitely let you know if I need any help.”