by Patricia Fry
"Show us," she said.
Savannah, Adam, and Cassie followed the toddler into the tent to the area the dog and cat shared. He put the candy on the floor just outside the door to Rags's pen and stood up. "There," he said. He quickly grabbed the candy and trotted back outside.
"Thank you," Savannah said. "That was a good boy. You did a good job."
Teddy beamed and started to pop the candy into his mouth.
"No," Savannah and Michael said in unison. Savannah moved forward and squatted in front of the boy. "Honey, you can't eat that candy. It's dirty. You found it on the ground. Give it to Mommy now, will you?"
"No," he said, turning away from her and holding the candy tightly in his hand.
She let out a sigh and looked at the others. "Aunt Holly has marshmallows," Savannah said in a tantalizing tone. When she saw an expression of interest on Teddy's face, she asked, "Want a marshmallow?"
He nodded.
"Give Mommy the candy and I'll get you a marshmallow."
"Two?" he asked, holding up two fingers.
Savannah rolled her eyes. "Okay, two," she said, opening her hand and watching him drop the candy into her palm.
She looked at it before throwing it into the fire pit. She asked Adam, "So you think that's a clue, do you?"
He nodded. "Yes. None of us had butterscotch candy, did we?"
Savannah looked around at everyone. "I guess not." She sat down and slumped. "Where do we begin looking for him?"
"Find out who eats butterscotch candy," Cassie said.
"As simple as that?" Savannah asked.
"Maybe so," Keith agreed.
****
"How are you this morning?" Holly asked the following day.
"Awful," Savannah said. She hugged Holly. "Thanks for caring."
"Of course we care," Holly said, rubbing Savannah's back. "So what's your plan?" When Savannah looked at her curiously, Holly said, "Come on, I know you have one."
"I'm not sure. We've talked to everyone around here. We filled out a report with the ranger. I've even been looking at the shoes people are wearing and the prints they're making." "Seems like a long shot," Holly said. "I mean, you can't see the bottoms of the shoes unless someone's sitting down with a leg across one knee or something."
"Right. Or…" she said, dramatically, "I can follow them and look at the design the shoe makes in the dirt."
"You have it memorized?" Holly asked.
Savannah pulled out her phone. "It's on my phone. See?" She then noted, "Oh, wait, I have a text from LouAnn. I missed it." She tapped on her phone. "She says that Dino is resting comfortably and he's actually pretty calm in her catio." She smiled. "Good! Oh, she also says she has a new cat. She's going to keep this one inside."
"Nice," Holly said. "Does she have any other housecats?"
"I don't know. I don't recall her saying. I'll ask." Savannah typed a text and put her phone down. "Holly, I want to search a wider area today."
"For Rags?" Adam asked. "Are you going to look for someone who lost his candy?"
"Hmmm, good question," Savannah said. "Thanks for reminding me."
"Maybe the guy who took Rags is—what do you call it—a butterscotch-candy fan," Adam said.
"Addict?" Keith suggested.
Adam nodded. "Yeah, that's it. He's a butterscotch-candy addict."
Holly stared at Adam. "Could be," she said. "I know someone who's constantly popping Lifesaver candies into his mouth. Doesn't matter the color, but he always has a tube of Lifesavers in his pocket."
"Have you seen anyone here eating butterscotch candy?" Michael asked.
Holly shook her head. "I haven't noticed anyone."
"Me neither," Savannah agreed, "but we really haven't spent much time with anyone we've met here." She looked toward Jeff's and Lacy's campsite. "Maybe we should." She jumped up and said, "Come on, Holly, let's take the dog and the kids for a walk, shall we?"
"Sure, I guess," Holly said.
"Can I come?" Lily asked.
"Sure, honey-bun." Savannah called, "Teddy, want to go for a walk? Let's get your stroller." She looked at Michael. "What are you planning for this morning?"
"I think we're going fishing," he said. "Right guys?"
"Yeah," Adam said. "Cassie, want to go fishing?"
"Okay," she agreed.
"Uncle Keith, are you going?" Adam asked.
"Sure am. Does everyone want fish again tonight, or shall we give our catch away today?"
"Keep it," Holly said. "We can get more dry ice and take some home with us if we have any leftover."
"We could," Keith agreed, "only it just never tastes the same at home as it does when you're camping."
"Isn't that the truth?" Michael said. "Okay guys, let's go. Our boat is waiting."
"So are the fish," Adam said.
Minutes later, Savannah called, "Hi, Lacy, Jeff. How are you doing this morning? Weather's sure been nice, hasn't it?"
"Oh yes," Lacy said enthusiastically. "I'm loving it." She frowned. "Did you find your cat?"
Savannah shook her head. "No, not yet, but we're following some clues. We think it's someone who likes a certain kind of candy."
"Really?" she asked. "Chocolate?"
"No, a hard candy."
"Oh, some people use peppermints and other hard candies for dry mouth," she suggested. "My grandpa sucks on those coffee-flavored candies all the time."
"Really?" Savannah said. "So you two aren't into sweets?"
"I love dark chocolate," Lacy said and Jeff enjoys some of those coffee creamers in his coffee, but that's about it for us."
"Have you seen anyone with butterscotch candies?" she asked.
Lacy shook her head. "I haven't, have you, babe?"
Jeff shrugged. "Nope."
Lacy said, "Butterscotch, huh?"
"Yeah. Hey, let me know if you see anyone popping those into their mouth, or buying some, okay?"
"Sure," Lacy said.
After making the rounds in Wolf and Raven Camps, the group walked back toward their campsite. "I want to walk down by the little store," Savannah said. "Want to go, or…?"
"Sure," Holly said. She asked. "Do you girls want to walk some more?"
Bethany asked, "To the store?"
Holly nodded.
"Yes," Bethany said.
"Yes," Lily said. "Mommy, do I have some money? I want to buy something."
"Sure, I guess you have some money." When Lily held out her hand, Savannah said, "Wait until we get there and you see what you want, okay?"
The group were approaching the camp store and café when they heard a cheerful voice. "Hello there."
Savannah turned. "Oh, hi, LouAnn. How are you?"
"Great," she said. "Just ending my shift and going home to my kitties." She held up a bag. "I found a mouse toy for Dino in the stockroom. Georgia isn't very good at keeping things organized back there, and I was helping her sort through it when I came across this. Bought it for Dino. He does like a challenge. She pulled it out of the bag and showed it them. "You see, the mouse comes out once in a while and the cat tries to catch him before he goes back inside. It will drive Dino crazy and help him to burn some of his marvelous energy."
"He's that energetic already?" Savannah asked. "I mean after his surgery."
"Yeah, he's a tough cookie, that one." She chuckled. "Know what he did yesterday?"
"What?" Savannah asked, smiling.
"That stinker chewed a hole in a feather pillow I'd tossed out there in the catio for him to lie on. Feathers were everywhere!"
"Oh my goodness," Holly yelped. "How in the world did you contain them all?"
"First I sprinkled them with the hose," LouAnn said.
"Oh, good idea," Holly said. "Wet feathers would be easier to control than dry ones."
"That's what I thought," LouAnn agreed. She leaned closer. "Ever try to control wet feathers? It's almost as cumbersome as dry ones, only they don't fly away." She giggled. "At first, I thought he'd
killed a bunch of pigeons in there." She rolled her eyes. "No more feather pillows for Dino."
Lily leaned over and picked something up off the ground. She showed it to LouAnn, saying, "You dropped this."
"Oh, my receipt," LouAnn said.
Before she could take it, Lily tilted her head and looked more closely at it. "It has fish on it."
"Yes, pretty isn't it?" LouAnn said.
"Pink fish," Lily said, showing it to Bethany.
"Big ones, little ones…" Bethany said. "I see one up in the corner there."
"How many fish do you see?" LouAnn asked. She chuckled. "Oh, that's the teacher in me—Miss LuLu. I'm afraid I'm always offering up a challenge for children." When Lily attempted to hand her the receipt, she said, "You girls keep it. See how many fish you can find."
"Okay," Lily said. The two little girls studied the piece of paper while the women chatted.
"Oh, did I tell you, I have a new cat?" LouAnn asked.
When Teddy became restless, Savannah pushed the stroller back and forth, but it didn't appease him.
Holly asked, "Where did the new cat come from—the ponderosas?"
"No," LouAnn said, smiling. "A friend brought him to me."
"Teddy, what's wrong, Son?" Savannah asked, lifting him from the stroller. He struggled to get down.
"Down," he whined.
"No, I don't want you running off." She began bouncing and walking with him to settle him down. "Look, there's a squirrel. See the squirrel, Teddy?" she asked, moving closer to it. "Oh, there he goes up the tree. Where'd the squirrel go?"
"Down," Teddy insisted.
"Holly, we'd better get a move on," Savannah said. "Teddy's getting bored." She nodded toward LouAnn. "I'm sorry. He gets this way sometimes. We just need to find something for him to do."
"Oh, I understand," LouAnn said. "I had some students who just had to be busy all the time or they were not happy campers." She said gently to Teddy. "Not a happy camper are you, sweet boy."
"No," Teddy spat.
"I'm sorry," Savannah said. "He's not usually this cranky."
"Go inside and get him a bowl of ice cream," LouAnn suggested. "Ice cream cures all." She waved. "Good-bye everyone. See you soon."
"She's nice," Lily said. She held up the receipt. "She gave us this paper with pretty fish on it."
"See the pretty fish, Aunt Holly?" Lily invited.
Holly took the receipt. "I don't think I've seen such a creative receipt. Interesting. Lily's right, it has a fish design all over it. Neat." She started to hand it to Lily, then snatched it back and said, "Savannah!"
"What?" Savannah asked, startled.
"Look at this. LouAnn bought that cat toy and guess what else?"
"What?" Savannah asked, still trying to calm the toddler. She said to Teddy. "Sit nicely in your stroller, honey and we'll get you some ice cream. Want ice cream to cool your little tummy?"
Teddy nodded and wiped at his face. "Ice cream, Mommy."
"Butterscotch Lifesavers," Holly said.
"What?" Savannah asked again.
"Savannah, butterscotch Lifesavers," Holly repeated. "LouAnn bought some just now."
"Oh!" Savannah yelped. She looked toward where LouAnn had gone and let out a deep sigh. "LouAnn?" she said quietly. "LouAnn took Rags? Oh my gosh."
"She said she has a new cat!" Holly reminded her. "Good grief, I can't imagine her…"
"I know," Savannah said. "But sheesh, maybe she's actually one of those whackos." She frowned. "Do you think she's the one who's been taking things from campers? I would never have considered that, but…"
"Did you look at her shoes?" Holly asked.
Savannah shook her head. She looked down at the ground.
Holly followed her gaze. "What are you looking for?"
"Her shoe print, of course." Savannah pointed. "There! That's probably her shoe print. Don't you think so?"
"Maybe," Holly agreed.
"Yeah, it's not a match," Savannah complained. She stared into the distance. "But she probably has more than one pair of shoes."
"Hi," came a voice from behind them. "Did you lose something?"
"Oh, Tammy, hi," Holly greeted.
Savannah turned to face her. "How are you guys this morning?"
"Good. We've enjoyed a couple of nights without anything going missing. I guess that guy they arrested was the culprit." She leaned closer. "Did you ever find your cat?"
Savannah shook her head.
"Do you think he just ran off? He probably ran off," Tammy surmised.
"No. his leash and harness and some of his food are also gone."
Dave appeared just then and said, "So he packed his bags before he left?"
When Tammy saw the pain in Savannah's eyes she elbowed her husband. "I'm so sorry, Savannah. We've been watching for him. I haven't seen a cat at all. I sure hope you find him. When are you going home?"
"Day after tomorrow," she said.
"Hey, I've heard of cats traveling long distances to return home," Dave said. "Maybe he's at home waiting for you."
When no one responded, Tammy said, "Well, we have a date with a big bass or trout or something. See you all later."
"Have a good one," Holly called after them.
****
It wasn't long before the women returned to their site in Wolf Camp.
"Well, we wore Teddy out," Savannah said quietly. "I think I'll just let him sleep in the stroller rather than disturb him." She said to the girls, "Would you kids like a little bottle of water?"
Lily nodded.
"Beth-Beth?" Savannah asked.
"Yes," the child said.
"Now what?" Holly asked when the two women eased into lawn chairs with their own bottles of water.
"Gads, I don't know," Savannah said. "I'm still blown away to think that LouAnn is the camp creeper."
"Camp creeper," Holly repeated, laughing. "Good one."
Savannah thought for a moment. "But what evidence do we have? Just a receipt that shows she bought butterscotch candy."
"And," Holly said dramatically, "she has a new cat."
"Oh," Savannah said, slumping. "You're right. I hadn't connected those dots." She leaned forward. "Holly, we must get a look at that cat." She picked up her phone. "Hey, I wonder if I can get LouAnn to send me a picture of it."
"Good idea," Holly agreed.
"Okay," Savannah said. "I sent her a text. But Holly, if she took Rags, she's not apt to send me a picture, right? In fact, thinking about it, why would she even tell us she has a new cat if, indeed, she took Rags?"
"Maybe she didn't know it was our camp and your cat. If she only prowls around at night, how would she know?" Holly reasoned.
Savannah thought about the logic in Holly's remark for a moment, then she sat up straighter. "Okay then."
"What?" Holly asked, suspiciously.
"We'll have to go over to her house and see for ourselves if she has him," Savannah explained. She looked up and saw the guys and Cassie approaching. "Here come the fishermen. Want to go? They can take over with the kids."
Holly shrugged. "Sure, I guess." She shook her head. "I'm torn."
"About what?" Savannah asked.
"Well, I hope it's Rags so you can get him back, but I also hope it isn't, because I don't want to think of LouAnn as a thief."
Savannah stared at her for a moment. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But for me, the priority is getting Ragsie back."
When Savannah started to weep, Holly winced and rubbed her arm to comfort her. "I'm so sorry. I know you miss him terribly. We'll find him." She chuckled. "Or he'll find us."
Savannah blubbered, "I hope so."
Chapter Ten
"Here we go," Savannah said, getting out of the car with Holly. She glanced at her phone. "LouAnn still hasn't returned my text, by the way." Under her breath she said, "I hope she has a good reason for that."
"What do you mean?" Holly asked.
Savannah knocked on the door and said quiet
ly, "Well, if she knows she has my cat, she could be avoiding us, right?"
Before Holly could respond, LouAnn opened the door, obviously surprised to see her visitors. "Savannah, Holly, hi. What are you doing out here this late in the afternoon? It must be just about dinnertime for your family."
"Um…" Savannah stalled. "You mentioned you have a new cat and I was wondering if we could see it."
"You made a special trip just to meet my new kitty? Well that's mighty neighborly of you. Come in," she invited enthusiastically.
"Yeah," Savannah said, "I texted you, asking for a picture, but you didn't respond."
"Really?" she said, picking up a phone off the coffee table. "Oh, yes, I see your text. She stared at her phone and mumbled, "Looks like someone else saw it first." She gazed toward the hallway. "I wonder why he didn't tell me about it." She faced her guests. "I'm sorry that I missed your text. Yes, I would have sent you a picture; he's a handsome fellow. He actually looks a little like…"
Before she could finish her sentence, a man walked into the room. "Oh," he said, obviously surprised. He gazed at the women for a moment, then bowed slightly and said, "Well, good afternoon, ladies."
Savannah and Holly stared back at the man.
"You ladies know Alex," LouAnn said. She giggled, "I guess you know him as Freddie. He's the one who brought me…"
Freddie moved forward, reaching for Savannah's hand, then Holly's. "Good to see you again, ladies."
LouAnn held her phone up and asked, "Freddie, you didn't look at my text, did you?"
"Now why would I do that?" he asked. "Aren't you going to invite these ladies to sit down?"
LouAnn smiled. "They came to see the king."
"The king?" Savannah questioned. "So you named him after Elvis?"
"Oh no," LouAnn said. "My indoor kitties get royal names. He's King Tut."
Savannah and Holly exchanged looks.
"I'll go get him," she said, turning away.
"No-no," Freddie said, "you sit down and visit. I'll go get him."
"Well, thank you," LouAnn said. She perched on a straight-back chair and motioned for the others to be seated as well.
"Here he is," Freddie said, entering the room with a coal-black cat.
"Freddie," LouAnn complained.
"Now LuLu," he said, "don't you think the ladies would be interested in Charles? He's pretty unique, don't you think so?"