The Case of Too Many Clues

by Cindy Vincent

  Bogey gave me a grin. “I gotta hand it to you, kid. That was some pretty quick thinking.”

  “Thanks,” I said and tried to smile.

  I only hoped I’d done the right thing. Because now that I’d given her a name, there was no taking it back.

  Bogey waved to get the kitten’s attention. “So . . . Short-stuff . . . Mitzi . . . Since you want to be a cat detective, maybe you’d like to see our latest clue.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Wow, oh, wow! This is the best! Not only did I get a name, and a place to stay, but now I get to see a clue.”

  Bogey nodded toward the dining room. “Then let’s get a move on.”

  With that, we made a beeline for the potted plant that I’d used as a hiding place.

  Mitzi did her best to keep up with us. “What is the clue?” she chirped. “Diamonds? Fingerprints? Footprints?”

  “Nope, it’s a little jar with wooden squares,” I told her.

  Then I used one of my big paws to slide the jar out from behind the plant. Just far enough for us to get a better look. Of course, I was careful to keep it out of Gracie’s line of sight. She was still sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, and we didn’t want her to see the clue by accident. As always, we thought it was best to keep our cat detective activities hidden from our humans. For their sake and ours, too.

  Bogey extended the sharpest claw on his right front paw. “Time to take a look-see at this paper on top.”

  Then with one smooth swipe, he cut through the tape that held the paper on the lid. He slid the paper to the floor and opened it so we could all see it. And there, in big black letters, were the words, “Ready to play, BBCDA?”

  I barely finished reading the message when lightning flashed and thunder boomed. This time it was so loud it made our whole house rattle. Just like before, I nearly jumped to the ceiling.

  Gracie glanced up for half a second and went right back to staring at her phone. Much to my amazement, she didn’t even notice that it had started to rain. Hard. In fact, the huge, angry raindrops made quite a racket when they pelted the windowpanes. I even got the feeling those raindrops wanted to break right through the glass and get us.

  More than anything, I wanted to run straight under our Mom and Dad’s bed. And I wanted to stay there until this loud storm was long gone.

  But I stayed put instead. After all, I was supposed to be a big, brave cat detective. And I sure couldn’t go running off when we’d finally gotten a chance to look at our clue. Plus, I really didn’t want to look like a big scaredy-cat in front of this tiny kitten. So I took a really deep breath and kept my eyes glued on the message before us.

  I crinkled my forehead. “Somebody sent us a poem?”

  Bogey shook his head. “Not sure that was the point of it, kid.”

  I scooted closer to the paper. “Oh, then I wonder what it means. What do they want us to play?”

  “Beats me,” Bogey murmured. “But I don’t like the looks of this. Somebody has figured out where we are. Makes me wonder if they’ve figured out who we are, too.”

  I blinked a few times. “You mean, they might have figured out that the BBCDA is run by a couple of cats?”

  Bogey frowned. “Could be, kid. But I don’t know how. Think you could help me get the lid off this jar? You’ve got the right size paws for the job.”

  “Sure,” I told him.

  So I sat on my haunches and squeezed the lid of that jar between my paws. Then I slowly unscrewed it. Seconds later, that shiny black lid dropped to the floor. It spun around a few times until it stopped with a thud! I had to say, it was nice that my huge paws had come in handy twice in one day.

  Mitzi’s eyes went wide. “Wow, you guys really are good cat detectives!”

  “We’ve had a little practice,” Bogey told her with a nod.

  Funny, but when I thought about it, I knew my brother was right. Sure, compared to Bogey, I was still a rookie. But compared to a young cat who wanted to be a cat detective one day, well, maybe I even looked kind of smart.

  With that in mind, I tipped the jar on its side and pulled out the four little squares. Bogey turned each one face up so we could see all the letters. The letter G was the first one, then came the letters, E, M, and A.

  “G-E-M-A?” I said out loud.

  Bogey shook his head. “Nope, kid. Let’s try switching the A and the E around.” And so we did. Until the letters spelled out the word, G-A-M-E.

  Holy Catnip!

  I leaned over for a closer look at the squares. “Well, I guess that’s what someone wants to play. A game. It’s strange, though. They put part of the message in the note and the rest in the squares.”

  Bogey nodded. “You got that right, kid. It’s a lot of drama for a little message. Somebody wanted to get our attention. And they did a pretty fine job of it.”

  I sat back and stared at the jar. “I wonder what kind of game they want to play?”

  “Good question.” Bogey glanced at the storm raging outside. “Like I said before, I don’t like the looks of this. Any of it.”

  I was about to agree with him when we suddenly heard a racket coming from inside the house. It was Mitzi, meowing and screeching at the top of her lungs.

  Was she hurt? Had she been captured or catnapped?

  “Buckley! Bogey!” I heard her scream. “Quick! Come here! I caught him!”

  She caught him? The person who had left the clue? The person who wanted to play the game?

  My heart started to pound as I turned to my brother. “Where is she?”

  He jumped to his feet. “It’s coming from the kitchen, kid.”

  Then without another word, we both took off running just as fast as we could go.

  “Hurry!” Mitzi hollered again.

  And so we did.

  We made a beeline for the kitchen. We were zooming so fast that we skidded right around the corner. But once we got inside the room, we put on the brakes and came to a screeching halt.

  Because there, right in front of us, was a sight that made my mouth fall open. In fact, my chin nearly hit the floor. I had to blink a couple of times, because I could hardly believe my eyes.

  In all the time that I’ve been a cat detective, I’ve never seen anything like the scene I saw before me!

  Holy Catnip!

  CHAPTER 3

  Holy Mackerel!

  I blinked some more and shook my head. Just to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. “Is this for real?” I asked my brother. “Am I really looking at what I think I’m looking at?”

  Bogey grinned and let out a sigh. “’Fraid so, kid.”

  Before we could say another word, Mitzi squealed with excitement and meowed at the top of her little lungs. “I got him, Buckley and Bogey! I got him! See, I caught the crook. I’m already a good cat detective! Don’t you think so?”

  Then she beamed down at us, from high atop her perch.

  On our Dad’s head.

  As near as I could tell, he’d probably just gotten home from work.

  He glanced up and then looked at our Mom with a twinkle in his blue eyes. “I see we have a new cat.”

  Our Mom laughed. “She’s a foster kitten, Mike. We’re just keeping her until Mrs. Bumble can find a permanent home for her.”

  “Good thing she’s so tiny,” our Dad said as he reached up and untangled Mitzi from his blond hair. “I see she’s finding her way around the house okay.”

  Our Mom glanced at the clock. “Gracie was supposed to be watching her.”

  “Well, I’ll say this much . . . she’s got some excellent climbing skills.” Our Dad held Mitzi face-to-face, so he could get a good look at her. Then he chuckled, ruffled the fur on her head, and put her on the floor.

  She held her tail high and trotted right over to Bogey and me. “See, Buckley and Bogey? See, see? I caught him!” she meowed as she started to dance around the room.

  Bogey grinned. “Well, you caught somebody, all right.”

  Mitzi’s ey
es suddenly went wide. “Somebody? Oh, you mean . . . you mean . . . that’s not . . .”

  “Nope,” Bogey said with a shake of his head. “He’s no crook.”

  “That’s our Dad,” I explained.

  “Oh,” she whispered. “You mean . . . I messed up?” And with those words, she hung her tiny head and started making that dreadful mewing sound. Just like she had before.

  Not this again!

  For some reason, that sound made my heart flutter and my stomach turn somersaults. More than anything, I just wanted that noise to stop. Not to mention, I could hardly keep up with all the ups and downs of this little kitten. She went from hyper and happy to sulky and sad in half a second.

  My brother, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all.

  He just grinned and gave her a pat on the back. “Don’t sweat it, Short-stuff. You showed some good get-up-and-go there.”

  “I did?” she whimpered.

  Bogey nodded. “Some of the best I’ve seen. But why don’t you hold off on catching bad guys. Leave that to Buckley and me.”

  Mitzi was about to say something more when Gracie walked in and picked her up. “There you are, baby cat. I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

  Our Mom glanced at Gracie. “Honey, I thought you were going to watch the kitten. Right after dinner, I think you’d better show her where the food dish and litter boxes are.”

  “Okay, Mom,” came her half-hearted reply. Then she grabbed her cell phone and stared at it while she cuddled Mitzi.

  Our Dad crinkled his brow. “Gracie, weren’t you supposed to set the table?”

  “Oh yeah, right . . .” she said as she looked up and glanced around. It was almost like she was seeing the table for the first time in her life. “I’m not sure how I forgot that.”

  “I have a good idea why,” our Mom said gently. “I think you’ve been spending too much time on your cell phone. It’s time to put it away, honey.”

  And then Gracie did something I’ve never heard her do before — she started whining like a really little kid. “Oh, Mom, can’t I just have it for a few more minutes?”

  What was going on? First the kitten made that crying noise and now Gracie was whining. What would happen next? Would Bogey throw a temper tantrum or something?

  Our Mom shook her head. “Gracie, this isn’t like you. And you know the rules — no phones at the dinner table. Besides, we gave you that phone mainly so you’d have it in case of an emergency. It’s not supposed to be something that takes up your whole day.”

  “All right, all right,” she moaned.

  She was about to put her phone down when a bright bolt of lightning crackled outside. It was followed by a gigantic boom of thunder.

  Then the lights went out.

  This time I wasn’t taking any chances. I jumped straight into our Dad’s arms and tucked my head in.

  Though to be honest, I didn’t really care so much that the lights had gone out. After all, cats can see in the dark. But what I didn’t like was all that flashing and banging going on outside.

  Our Dad chuckled. “Take it easy there, big fella.”

  He gave me a nice hug, which made me feel a whole lot better. Let me tell you, there are times when a guy just needs a good hug. Especially in the middle of a loud, scary storm.

  “Our house is safe, Buckley,” he told me as he put me back on the floor. “And since you’re a housecat and you don’t have to go outside, you’ll be just fine.”

  I have to say, it was on nights like this when I was extra happy to live in a house at all. Before I was adopted into my family, I had been living in a cage in a cat shelter. And before that, I was out on the mean streets and didn’t even know where my next meal was going to come from. I sure didn’t have a chance to stay warm and dry like I was now.

  And I sure didn’t have a family of people and cats. Or a big brother like Bogey.

  I turned and made my way back to where he sat with Mitzi, just as a flashlight suddenly lit up the room. Or, at least, I thought it was a flashlight. But then I realized the light was coming from Gracie’s phone.

  “See, my phone has a flashlight built in,” she declared. “I guess it really is good in case of an emergency. Should I leave it on during supper?”

  Our Mom laughed. “Why don’t we eat by candlelight instead?”

  “That sounds like fun,” Gracie agreed.

  Our Mom grabbed some plates from the cupboard. “Would you like to get the candles?”

  “Sure thing,” Gracie replied, sounding like her old self again. “And I’ll set the table, too. Right away.” She leaned over, put Mitzi on the floor, and got to work.

  “Thank you,” our Dad told her as he grabbed a box of matches from a drawer.

  While our humans went into action, two of the other cats who live in our house came trotting into the kitchen.

  The first was Princess Alexandra, a small, white cat with big, green eyes and medium-length fur. She’s a kind of cat called a Turkish Angora and she moves like a little ballerina. She used to be a cat show cat who always had to act prim and perfect whenever she performed for the judges. That was, until we rescued her from her abusive owners.

  Following the Princess into the room was Lil Bits, a big, white cat with black spots. Lil is years older than us, and she’s a kind of cat called a British Shorthair. She’s got short legs and is pretty low to the ground. Gracie always says Lil looks like a Teddy bear, but to me, she sort of looks like a football player. Either way, I sure wouldn’t want to be tackled by her! Lil was once known as being one of the best cat detectives in the business. But then she suddenly quit one day and went into retirement. Though no one knows why for sure. Thankfully, she still helps Bogey and me with our cases sometimes.

  And tonight Lil was all business. She had a grim look on her face, and right away I could tell something was wrong.

  She made a beeline for my brother and me. “Detectives Buckley and Bogey, I’m afraid we’ve got a situation.”

  She almost always addressed us by our titles. Out of respect. Lil was just really nice like that. And for a guy like me who was still a little new on the job, I sure appreciated the way she talked to me.

  But before she could say another word, the Princess spotted Mitzi. “Oh, my gracious!” she said with a sweet smile. “Where are my manners? I didn’t know we had a visitor!”

  I put my arm around the kitten’s shoulders. “Mitzi, meet Detective Lil Bits and Princess Alexandra. Mitzi is going to be staying with us for a while. Until Mrs. Bumble can find a forever home for her.”

  “That’s right,” Bogey added with a nod. “Our house is just a pit stop for Short-stuff here.”

  “Well, welcome to our home,” the Princess said as she sidled up to Mitzi. “We’re very pleased to have you, no matter how long you stay.” Then she turned my way and glimmered up to me.

  And I made the mistake of looking right into her big, green eyes. That’s when my heart started to thump and the room started to spin. Just like it always did when I stared into her eyes. But like Bogey would have said, now was not the time to get all dizzy over a dame. Especially since Lil hadn’t even told us the whole story about her “situation” yet.

  So I took a deep breath, turned my head, and made myself focus on what Lil was about to say.

  Bogey gave her a nod. “What’s got your dander up, Lil? I’m all ears and then some.”

  Lil’s mouth formed a worried line. “I just got a message on Gracie’s laptop up in her room. From an old friend of mine. She’s in trouble. Very big trouble. So I’m hoping we can do a rescue. Tonight.”

  Bogey immediately tilted his ears toward her. “Who’s this pal of yours? And what kind of a pickle is she in?”

  “She’s an old cat detective friend,” Lil told us. “Her name is Beatrix. Or Trixie, for short. Her human Mom was a sweet, little old lady. The lady passed away, and then her son and his wife took Trixie into their home. But they don’t really want her. At all. So they�
��ve shut her away in a room. They feed her now and then, but mostly they just forget about her.”

  Bogey clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

  “Exactly,” Lil agreed. “Poor Trixie hasn’t had water in days. And her food dish has been empty for a while. She won’t last much longer. She got her paws on an old laptop in the room and sent me an SOS.”

  “Lousy way to treat a cat,” Bogey said, flexing his claws. “Sounds like a job for the BBCDA. And we don’t have a minute to lose.”

  I gulped. “A rescue? Tonight?” I glanced outside as lightning lit up the sky once more. “But . . . but . . . it’s pouring out there.”

  I shuddered at the thought of going out into that mess. After all, humans knew better than to go outside in a really bad thunderstorm. Shouldn’t us cats be just as careful?

  Bogey shook his head. “It’s gotta be done, kid. Storm or no storm.”

  Lil nodded. “If we don’t save her pretty quick, she might not make it.”

  And that’s when I knew they were right. We didn’t have a choice. We had to do whatever we could to save that poor, starving cat. Even if it meant going out in that horrible storm.

  “Then let’s go save her,” I said in a voice that sounded a whole lot shakier than I wanted it to. “Because a friend of Lil’s is a friend of ours. Does she live far from here?”

  Lil shook her head. “No, not far at all. I’ve got the route all mapped out. If we stick to the backyards, we’ve got about a block and a half to run.”

  Little Mitzi sat up as straight and tall as she could. “I’ll help!”

  “So will I,” the Princess put in.

  “Oh, there’s one other thing,” Lil told us. “Once we get her out, Trixie won’t be easy to hide. Even though she’s a calico, she’s mostly white, like me. So she can’t hide under the cover of darkness. And she’s a Maine Coon Cat.”

  That made me smile. “Like me.”

  “She’s even bigger than you are, Buckley, if you can believe it,” Lil told me. “She makes plenty of dogs look tiny.”