The Case of the Crafty Christmas Crooks

by Cindy Vincent

  Her little mouth dropped wide open. "Buckley! Buckley! Are you okay? What are you doing outside?"

  "I got locked out," I told her. "It's kind of a long story. I'll explain it all later. Can you go tell Bogey I need help?"

  She nodded her head. "Sure, Buckley. But Bogey is asleep. I guess he was really worn out after today. He hasn't even started surveillance yet. Or the action plan drills."

  I crouched down on the wooden porch. "Please wake him up, Princess. And tell him I'm locked out. Tell him I need him to help me like we helped Hector."

  The Princess crinkled her brow. "Huh?"

  I shivered in the cold air. "Don't worry. He'll know what I'm talking about."

  "Um, okay, Buckley," she said. "I'll go tell him."

  And with those words, she scampered off. I knew that once she told Bogey, he'd figure out a way to wake up the humans and get them to open the door.

  Now I just had to wait until he managed to get me back inside the house.

  The temperature outside had dropped a bunch and I huddled on the porch to keep warm. From where I was hunched, I could see the Nativity scene and baby Jesus lying in his manger. I wondered if He was feeling kind of cold, too.

  So I jumped off the porch and ran to the manger. Then I crawled on top of the straw and cuddled up next to baby Jesus. Just like the cat in the story the Wise One had told me. Funny, but as I tried to warm up baby Jesus, I could have sworn I was the one getting warm.

  I glanced over at his Mom, and I thought I saw her smile. Then I looked up at the night sky, for the brightest star out there. A million stars twinkled back at me, but one or two stood out as being really brilliant. I tried to imagine what it must have been like all those years ago. When that bright star in the sky led people to where Jesus had been born. What a beautiful night it must have been.

  Almost like tonight was.

  And somehow, even though I was locked outside, I smiled inside.

  I was enjoying the sight of the night sky, when I heard someone calling my name.

  "Buckley! Buckley!" Gracie's cries pierced the night.

  I jumped up and made a beeline straight for her. Then I leaped into her arms just as she leaned over to pick me up. She hugged me so tight that I couldn't even move.

  "Buckley," she cried over and over again. "I can't believe you got locked out. Do you know how sad I would be if I lost you? Oh, Buckley, it would have ruined my life forever."

  She kept on hugging me as she brought me inside the house. My Dad was there, too, in his bathrobe.

  "How in the world did you get out, big guy?" He scratched my ears.

  I gave him a kiss on the nose. Then I glanced around my house. I was home. I was back with my family. And I couldn't remember ever feeling happier.

  That night Gracie took me up to bed with her. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around me. She held on to me for a long, long time and wouldn't let me go.

  Bogey popped his head in once or twice while he was running surveillance. "Welcome back, kid. I want to hear all about it when you're free."

  I gave him a "paws up."

  Later, when I was able to sneak out of Gracie's arms, I made my first upstairs surveillance run of the night. As always, I found the Wise One on her purple velvet sofa in the sunroom.

  I bowed and she waved me on in. "Ah, young Detective. Princess Alexandra has informed me of your recent adventures. Sounds as though you've been having an interesting time as of late."

  She could say that again.

  I nodded to her. "Yes, ma'am. I sure have."

  She waved her paw above me. "I can also see that you have questions on your mind. Something is troubling you."

  It was? Holy Catnip. Here we go again. I wasn't really aware of anything that was bothering me. Except for all the usual stuff. But when I thought about it, I guess there was one thing I wanted to ask her about.

  I sat back and looked up at her. "I don't understand. Who was Jesus and why do we celebrate Christmas?"

  The Wise One paused for a moment. "Ah, yes, young Detective, I can see where this might all be confusing. But I believe you'll find the answers in this ancient text. It has been copied onto this sheet." She pointed to a bunch of papers that had been stapled together.

  I recognized them as the script for Gracie's play.

  The Wise One hooked a claw into the papers and pulled them closer to her. "These words of wisdom were also once part of a wonderful Christmas television program. The words rang as true then as they do now."

  I scooted closer and hunched down on the floor, with my paws before me. "What does it say?"

  The Wise One cleared her throat and began to read. "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.'”

  Miss Mokie took a deep breath before reading on. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'"

  The Wise One looked up at me and pushed Gracie's script back to where it had been. "Those words, young one, should give you the answer to your questions. Then you'll understand the real meaning of Christmas."

  "I will?" I breathed.

  For once, Miss Mokie smiled. "Yes, you will. You have done well, Grasshopper. But now I must rest."

  "Thank you, Miss Mokie," I whispered as she closed her eyes.

  I quietly tiptoed around the room and checked all the doors and windows. I didn't make a sound because I didn't want to wake her.

  Yet the words she had spoken rang through my mind. Before long, you might say the light began to dawn, and I finally started to understand what Christmas was all about.

  And though I sure enjoyed all the pretty trees and lights and ornaments and everything else, it was nice to know the meaning behind Christmas. It really was a birthday party.

  And what a birthday party it was!

  Holy Catnip.

  CHAPTER_18

  __________________________

  Holy Mackerel! The next week flew by so fast I could barely remember it all. As usual, we ran surveillance and action plan drills at night. Gracie practiced her part in the Christmas play right after school every day. Our Mom worked late at her antique store all week since she had so many Christmas sales. And our Dad took over the dinner duty.

  Presents that were wrapped in colorful paper and tied with bows showed up under our Christmas tree. On Wednesday, I helped Gracie wrap the presents she had bought for our Mom and Dad. Then she put them under the tree with the rest of the pretty packages.

  I figured it was also time for me to think about the presents I wanted to give to everyone. So I decided to take Bogey's advice about giving something I might like, too. I went to my stash of cat toys and picked out some of my favorites. I found a pretty white mouse for the Princess, and a super high-bouncing ball for Bogey. I grabbed a cuddly stuffed animal for Gracie and a pretty feather toy for our Mom. And so on and so on. Until I'd picked out presents for everyone. Since I didn't know how to wrap my presents, I just took them to the tree. Then I hid them against the wall, right behind the biggest present there.

  I stopped for a second and just stared at our tree. A big smile crept across my face, and suddenly I felt like I was glowing all over with happiness. Maybe it was the spirit of Christmas that the Wise One had told me about. Because giving all those presents really did make me feel happy.

  I looked up to see Bogey stroll in and park himself beside the tree.

  "Got your presents stashed under here, kid?" he asked me.

  I kept on smilin
g. "Uh-huh. Something for everyone."

  He grinned. "Feels kind of nice, huh, kid?"

  "Oh yeah," I told him. "But you know, Bogey, I've been thinking . . ." I started to say. Then I stopped. Because I wasn't quite sure how to say what I wanted to say.

  Bogey put his paw on my shoulder. "Go ahead, kid. Spit it out. Come on. You can do it! "

  "Okay," I said. Then I took a deep breath and went on. "It's like this. When I was at the cat shelter, I didn't know anything about Christmas. And we didn't have presents. The cats that are still there won't be getting any presents. Plus, I don't think Santa ever visited the place either."

  Bogey shook his head. "Wow, kid. That's a tough break. Talk about a sob story. Santa must not know about the place or he would've shown up."

  I nodded. "That's what I figured."

  Bogey stretched out his front feet. "But it sounds like you've got a plan brewing in your brain, kid."

  "Well," I said slowly. "We don't play with all of our toys. Maybe we could give some of them to the cats at the shelter. Then they'll have Christmas presents, too."

  Bogey grinned at me again. "I like it, kid. I like it. Have you thought about how we'd get those toys to them?"

  "Remember our wagon?" I asked him.

  My brother nodded. "How could I forget, kid?"

  I sat up nice and tall. "Well, on the night I got locked outside, I hid it behind a shrub."

  "Good job, kid!" Bogey cheered. "We could cart all the toys to the shelter in our wagon. The shelter's only a few blocks away."

  I stood up and started to pace. "Uh-huh, that's what I was thinking. But first we'll have to figure out a way to get us and the presents outside."

  Bogey shook his head. "Don't sweat it, kid. We'll get Lil and the Princess in on it. Together we'll come up with a plan."

  Now it seemed like I couldn't stop smiling. "Plus, maybe we can tell Santa about the cat shelter, too. And make sure he goes over there."

  "Good idea, kid," Bogey said. "Even if we don't see the big guy, we can leave him a note."

  That's when I stopped smiling. "What do you mean, if we don't see him?"

  Bogey licked his front foot. "Santa's quick, kid. He's in and out of here in a hurry. After all, he's got lots of places to deliver presents to in one night."

  Suddenly my chest felt a little heavy. "Wow, I sure hope I get to see Santa."

  Bogey shook his head. "You never can tell, kid. Some cats get to see him and some don't. If you blink, you'll miss him. Our Mom will leave milk and cookies for the big guy. That'll slow him down for a second or two. But after that, he's outta here."

  "Wow," I sighed.

  It was funny how Santa went into people's houses and left presents. Whereas the Christmas Crooks, as they'd been called by our local newspaper, went in and stole presents. Yet somehow I guessed Santa was probably a really happy guy, since he gave away so many presents and made everyone else happy.

  But the Christmas Crooks probably weren't happy at all, even though they stole stuff for themselves. And they, in turn, made others unhappy. It was strange how it worked that way.

  I shook my head. Sometimes all this giving and taking stuff could be confusing. But there was one thing that wasn't confusing to me at all. I knew I'd rather be the kind of cat who gave more than he took. I'd rather make others happy.

  Bogey had been keeping track of the latest news on the Christmas Crooks. Every night we'd read more reports of the burglars breaking in to houses around St. Gertrude. At the rate they were going, pretty soon no one would have any Christmas presents at all. Soon the whole town would be unhappy.

  Thankfully the Christmas Crooks hadn't hit our house.

  Not yet, anyway.

  I kept that in mind as we ran our action plan drills every night. I was happy that our family had been safe from the crooks so far.

  Especially when I knew that Gracie had other things on her mind anyway. She'd been practicing her role in the play so much that I don't know how she could even see straight. By the time Friday night rolled around, I could tell she was a little bit nervous about it all. She was dressed up in her angel costume, and wow, did she ever look beautiful! She could barely eat her dinner, and she just kept saying her lines over and over again.

  Us cats, on the other paw, didn't have any problem eating our tuna fish dinner. And let me tell you, we sure enjoyed her performance! With our plates on the floor near the kitchen table, we heard every word that Gracie said. We knew she'd be wonderful in the play.

  But I wasn't so sure that she knew that. So I gave her an extra kiss on the nose before she left, just to let her know.

  It was dark outside and the porch light was on when our humans left for Gracie's play. I watched them in our Dad's truck as he backed it down the driveway and drove off. More than anything, I wished I was going with them. I wanted to see Gracie up on the stage when it was all decorated and lit up.

  I was feeling kind of sad when the Princess came to sit beside me. As always, my heart started to thunk really, really loud.

  She leaned her little head on my shoulder. "You miss her already, don't you, Buckley?"

  I rested my head on top of hers. "I wanted to see her in the play. I'll bet she does a really good job."

  "Me, too," the Princess purred.

  For a few moments, we just sat there like that. It was so nice and peaceful. And it sure made me feel a whole lot better. Together we stared out at the Christmas lights in the front yard. Our Dad had left all the lights off in the house, so the outdoor lights would stand out even more.

  And let me tell you, they stood out, all right. They twinkled and ran up and down the strands. I kept on staring, and I couldn't look away even if I wanted to.

  Then all of a sudden it seemed like my heart was pounding a whole lot louder than usual. Sure, I always had a big reaction when I was around the Princess. But this time my reaction sounded ten times louder than it normally did.

  That's when I realized the pounding wasn't coming from my heart at all. Instead, it was coming from the front door.

  Holy Catnip!

  Whoever was out there pounded again. Even harder this time. Then I saw the light go out on the front porch. Seconds later, I heard a crunch outside.

  "They smashed the light bulb," Bogey said.

  I realized he'd come up behind us. His eyes were huge and his ears were leaning straight forward. I could tell his senses were on full alert.

  I felt my eyes go wide. "They did what?"

  Bogey spoke faster than I'd ever heard him talk before. "They took the light bulb out and broke it. To keep it dark."

  I crinkled my brow. "Why would they want it to be dark? People can't see . . ."

  And before I'd even finished my sentence, I knew exactly what Bogey was saying.

  Especially after I saw our beautiful front porch wreath come flying through the air and land by the window.

  I gasped and so did the Princess.

  "Positions!" Bogey commanded. "This is not a drill! This is the real deal! Front door positions now!"

  The real deal. The words rang through my head as I took my position. The real deal. Someone was about to break into our house. The Christmas Crooks had been breaking into houses all around town. And now they were here at ours.

  My heart felt like it was in my throat and I could barely breathe. Would it be Brutus and Nunzio at our door? Or Big Dipper and Star Gazer? Or Brutus and Big Dipper, the two men we suspected were really brothers?

  I grabbed a strand of Christmas lights that we had hidden behind the potted palm.

  Lil came rushing into the room. "Are we ready?"

  "Ready!" I hollered. Exactly like I did during our drills.

  "Ready," squeaked the Princess.

  "I was born ready," Bogey said.

  We didn't have time to gather in a group and put our paws into a circle this time. Sure, it would have been a real boost for us if we did. But we knew couldn't waste even a second.

  "They're wearing black,"
Bogey announced as he peeked out the curtain. "There's two of them."

  Now the pounding stopped and I heard thumping footsteps moving across the front porch. That meant the burglars were on the move and headed to the . . .

  "Back door positions!" Lil commanded. "Hurry!"

  We all scrambled just as fast as we could from the front of the house and into the kitchen. Then we took our back door positions. The Princess jumped high atop the cabinets, right next to the heavy ceramic cookie jar. Lil and I crouched in front of the cat food plates on the floor.

  By now we could hear a fumbling noise at the back door. A small beam of light shined into the room.

  "I see a flashlight," Lil yelled. "Bogey, are you ready?"

  "I'm on it!" was his response as he leaped up onto the kitchen table.

  If I didn't know better, I would have said that Bogey was almost enjoying himself. Right at that moment, I would have given anything to be even half as brave as he was. Because, let me tell you, I was anything but brave! My paws were shaking and every piece of fur on my back and tail stood at attention. With my fur sticking out, I looked like I was three times my real size.

  I only hoped my larger than normal size might make me look kind of scary!

  But I didn’t get much time to think about it. Not after the glass in the back-door window suddenly shattered.

  I gasped.

  The burglars had broken in! The Christmas Crooks were here!

  Holy Mackerel!

  I saw a black-gloved hand reach inside. It turned the doorknob and unlocked the door.

  My heart skipped a beat when the door flew wide open. Seconds later, two people dressed in black stepped into our kitchen. They had on black ski masks so I couldn't see their faces. One was a lot bigger than the other, and they kept the beam of their small flashlight aimed at the floor. Probably so it couldn't be seen by anyone driving by our house.

  The two burglars moved silently into the kitchen.

  "Got it, Bogey?" Lil meowed.

  "Got it," he hollered back, just before he crouched into a springing position.

  He shifted his weight back and forth on his hind legs once or twice. Then he pushed off and catapulted himself into the air. He came down on the wrist of the bigger burglar who'd been holding the flashlight. I knew Bogey had his sharp claws fully extended when he made that surprise attack.