The Case of Too Many Clues

by Cindy Vincent

  Somehow, just knowing that made me smile. And I kept on smiling as I looked over to see Gracie laughing and talking with everyone else. It took almost a whole hour before a girl named Brianna completed both sides of her game sheet. After that, Gracie announced her as the winner.

  But not before she had checked all her answers, that is.

  And Gracie even read all the answers out loud, for the kids who hadn’t completed their game yet. Plus she awarded Brianna the special cupcake that she’d made. One with jelly in the center and the word “Winner” on top in red icing.

  Then Gracie served the rest of her cupcakes, too. Along with some pink punch that she’d made.

  “That was so much fun, Gracie,” a girl named Jennifer announced so the whole group could hear. “You did a great job making that game.”

  “You really did,” Marissa even chimed in. “I’m so sorry I was such a pain. You really got us talking to each other.”

  “Without our cell phones,” Tommy added. “We all see each other at school. But I didn’t even know all this stuff about each one of you. It was fun just to . . .”

  “Talk?” Gracie said, finishing his sentence for him.

  “Yeah,” he told her. “It was fun to talk. We should all talk more often. Face to face. Without our cell phones.”

  “That’s right, Gracie,” a boy named Bryson chimed in. “There’s so much I didn’t know about everyone else. You’re the best, Gracie!”

  And with those words, Bryson started to clap for Gracie. Then a few more kids started to clap, too. Before long, all the kids were clapping for her.

  Once again, Gracie had tears in her eyes. But this time, they were happy tears. Several of the kids gave her hugs, and then everyone just started talking and talking and laughing. Mostly about the things that Gracie had put in her game. Plus, everyone ate lots of cupcakes, and as near as I could tell, it was the best party that Gracie had ever hosted.

  When the party was over, everyone thanked her and picked up their cell phones on the way out. Our Mom stood by Gracie as she said good-bye to her guests.

  When the last one had gone, our Mom turned to Gracie. “I am so very proud of you, honey. You had a problem and you found a solution for it. But you went above and beyond all that. I’ll bet you and your friends will be having great conversations from now on, all because of your party.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Gracie said as she gave our Mom a hug. “I haven’t decided what to do about my cell phone yet. I’m not sure I need it. Not unless there’s an emergency.”

  Our Mom wrapped her arms around Gracie and kissed the top of her head. She smiled and I could see she had happy tears in her eyes, too.

  And let me tell you, anytime there were hugs and kisses going on, well, I wanted to be right in the middle of it all! So I reached up Gracie’s side and meowed until she picked me up. Then I gave her a kiss on the nose.

  Right before I glanced out the window.

  And saw Officer Phoebe coming up the front walk. She had a big frown on her face, and all of a sudden, I felt like frowning, too.

  A few seconds later, she knocked on the door, and our Mom let her inside.

  Officer Phoebe said a quick hello to all of us before she turned to our Mom. “Could I please talk to you alone for a minute, Abby?”

  I had to say, Officer Phoebe sounded upset.

  Very upset.

  In fact, I’d only ever heard her voice sound like that when something bad had happened.

  Our Mom’s voice sounded pretty serious, too. “Sure, let’s just step into my office.”

  Gracie bit her lip and put me down. “I’ll go clean up from the party.”

  “Sounds good, honey,” our Mom told her.

  Thankfully, Bogey suddenly appeared, and together we followed our Mom and Officer Phoebe into the office. We jumped right up on the desk so we wouldn’t miss a thing. Our Mom shut the French doors, probably so Gracie couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  Then she turned to Officer Phoebe. “What’s going on?”

  Officer Phoebe sighed and stared at her shoes. “We checked the diamonds under a microscope and we found serial numbers. And I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”

  Our Mom put her hand to her chest. “No. It can’t be. It’s not possible.”

  “I don’t understand it, either,” Officer Phoebe said quietly. “But I’m afraid those diamonds belong to Garnet.”

  “Phoebe, none of this makes sense,” our Mom gasped. “I don’t know how those diamonds got there. I didn’t take them and Gracie certainly didn’t. She’s just a girl. A good girl! Not a thief. She wouldn’t even know how to steal diamonds.”

  Officer Phoebe shook her head. “I don’t believe it myself, Abby. But any way you look at it, I’m afraid I’ve got to bring both you and Gracie in for questioning. Down to the station.”

  And that’s when I think my heart skipped a beat or two. Maybe even three. I could hardly believe that Gracie and our Mom were going down to the police station. Bogey and I both knew they didn’t take those diamonds! Somebody had put them on our front porch. The very person who was playing some kind of a rotten game with us.

  Now, more than ever, I knew that Bogey and I had to solve this case. It had taken a lot for me to step up to the plate today. And now I knew I had to do it again. I needed to be the best cat detective that I could possibly be.

  Just like our Mom had told Gracie that she had gone above and beyond, well, now I had to do that, too!

  For the sake of my family.

  Holy Catnip!

  CHAPTER 20

  Holy Mackerel!

  Let me tell you, I’ve had to do some pretty scary things since I became a cat detective. Things I sure didn’t want to do. Yet they were things I knew I had to do. To solve a case or to help a cat in need. But of all the scary things I’ve ever had to do, the thing I had to do today was the absolute scariest.

  And the hardest.

  Because I thought my heart was going to break into a million tiny pieces when I had to step back and watch our Mom and Gracie head to the police station. I couldn’t help but wonder if they would ever come home again. What if they were put in jail and had to stay there?

  To make things even worse, I didn’t think Gracie really understood what was going on. Our Mom and Officer Phoebe sort of explained it to her. But they left out a lot of details.

  “Glad to see they candy-coated it,” Bogey meowed, just under his breath. “Makes it easier on Gracie.”

  “Candy-coated?” I repeated. “They’re going to give Gracie some candy?”

  Bogey shook his head. “Just an expression, kid. It means they’re not making it sound as bad as it really is.”

  Well, if you asked me, it all sounded pretty bad. In fact, I thought it sounded downright awful. One of the worst things that could ever happen.

  I remembered the note that I’d found in the clue jar at the cat treat factory. The person who wrote it said they knew what our weaknesses were. And well, they weren’t kidding. First they’d put an innocent kitten in danger, even though I was pretty sure the whole trap in Mrs. Bumble’s backyard was meant for Bogey and me. Then they’d put Bogey out of commission at the cat treat factory. And now they were setting our family up to be accused of a crime. A bad crime. One that might land Gracie and our Mom in jail.

  Yet according to the note in that jar, all Bogey and I had to do was close down the BBCDA. But was it too late? Now that our Mom and Gracie were headed for the police station?

  Thankfully, Officer Phoebe had let our Mom call our Dad before they left. And she even said our Mom could follow her down to the police station in her own car.

  Of course, I didn’t let them go without putting up a big fight. I made a beeline to the door to the garage just as our Mom and Gracie were about to leave. Then I stood on my hind legs and put my front paws on the door. I stretched up just as tall as I could go, and I did my best to block them. And I let out such a yowl that even Bogey jumped.

  �
��Buckley doesn’t want us to go,” Gracie said softly.

  Our Mom sighed. “That makes two of us. But like it or not, we have to get this sorted out.” Then she reached down, slid her hands around my ribcage, and gently pulled me away from the door.

  But I wasn’t about to give up so easily. Not at all. So instead of backing off, I made a big, flying leap straight into Gracie’s arms. She caught me, and I immediately wrapped my arms around her neck. I buried my nose in her hair while she circled me with her arms and held me tight. I could hardly believe it — she hadn’t even had a chance to change out of her pretty red dress yet.

  “I love you, Buckley,” she whispered into my fur.

  And that’s when I hung on extra tight. If she was going to the police station, well, then I was going with her. And if she went to jail, then I was going to jail with her. Because nobody was going to pull me away from her.

  “Can we take Buckley and Bogey?” Gracie asked our Mom. “They go lots of places with us.”

  “I know, honey,” our Mom answered gently. “But this time they have to stay here.”

  How could that be? Bogey and I needed to be there, too. To make sure they were okay.

  “I have to put you down now, Buckley,” Gracie told me. She leaned over and tried to pry my arms from her neck.

  “Nooooo!” I yowled again as an ice-cold chill raced through my entire body.

  “Let her go, kid,” Bogey meowed. “We’ll work on the case from here. No more chasing clues. Time for us to take the bull by the horn and put two and two together.”

  “Bulls? And math?” I meowed back. “What’s that got to do with Gracie and our Mom going to the police station?”

  “Just expressions, kid,” he told me. “Meaning, let’s solve this case. The crook has left us plenty of clues.”

  And with that, I allowed Gracie to put me on the floor next to my brother. Then she and our Mom went out the door while Bogey and I just stood there. Staring. My stomach did so many somersaults I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to eat again. More than anything, I really wanted to yowl some more.

  Bogey set his mouth in a firm line and squinted at the door. “No time for wallowing, kid. We’ll have the office to ourselves. So let’s go roll up our sleeves and put the pieces of this case together.”

  “We have sleeves . . .?” I started to ask.

  “Nope, kid,” he said as he turned around. “It means ‘dig in and get to work.’”

  “Um . . . okay,” I sort of sniffled, right before I took a deep breath and followed him to the office.

  And I do mean followed! Because Bogey ran so fast that I’m pretty sure he went airborne. I couldn’t keep up with him at all as I raced behind him. By the time I jumped up on our Mom’s antique desk, he was already at the computer.

  He glanced at the screen and reached for a hidden bag of cat treats with one arm. As near as I could tell, he sort of did it automatically. Without thinking at all. But then he hesitated for a moment and stared at the bag. Right before he shrugged and pulled the bag open.

  “Tough times call for tough measures,” he said as he passed me a couple of cat treats. “Now let’s go over this case, kid. Maybe you should start by telling me about the last clue. The one at the cat treat factory.”

  I sat up nice and tall. “The only thing in that jar was a note. But it wasn’t just any old note. Oh, no. It was addressed to us and it said, ‘I know your weaknesses. Shut down the BBCDA or else . . .’ Or else!” I repeated.

  Bogey shook his head. “Or else, huh? Sounds like quite a threat. And whoever wrote it knows our weaknesses, all right.”

  I was already nodding. “And they really figured out how to get to us when they set up Gracie and our Mom. Making it look like they robbed the jewelry store. That’s when they hit us right here.” I put my paw to my chest to emphasize the words. Right over my heart. Which, by the way, actually felt like it hurt at the moment.

  “You got it, kid,” Bogey agreed. “We’re dealing with a real nasty piece of work.”

  I practically gulped down my cat treats. “And I’ll bet they just keep on getting nastier. Do you think we should close down the BBCDA?”

  Bogey arched a brow. “We’ve solved a lot of crimes, kid. And we’ve helped a lot of cats. Not to mention, we’ve helped plenty of people, too. Do you really want to give that up? And spend your days batting around cat toys? Just waiting for your next meal? Sounds pretty dull, if you ask me.”

  Well, when he put it that way . . . I guess there really was only one answer.

  “No, I sure don’t,” I told him.

  Bogey grinned. “Me either, kid. Not on your life. Especially if we only shut down the agency just because some rotten crook tries to force us to.”

  I glanced out the window. “But won’t they just do meaner and meaner things? To us and everyone around us?”

  Bogey downed another treat. “Not if we start running the show, kid. And quit jumping every time they drop a clue on our doorstep. Because think about it — they’ve had us running all over town, right?”

  I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  Bogey passed us each a couple more treats. “They’ve got us chasing our tails and we’ve been going nowhere fast.”

  “Really fast,” I said and practically gulped down a treat.

  “All because somebody left us a bunch of clues, kid. Too many clues. Clues that never added up to much of anything.”

  I nodded. “And clues usually lead us somewhere.”

  Bogey squinted his eyes and glared at the computer screen. “As near as I can tell, it all boils down to one thing.”

  “It does? What?” I leaned forward, dying to hear what Bogey was going to say next.

  “A giant distraction, kid. Somebody wanted to distract us and they’ve done a fine job of it.”

  Bogey’s words almost knocked me right over, and I wondered why I hadn’t seen it sooner. “They sure have.”

  “And we took the bait, kid,” Bogey said, shaking his head slowly. “We’ve been reeled in since the crook put that first jar on our front porch. They knew we couldn’t resist investigating a bunch of suspicious jars. Jars with clues that led to more clues and even more clues. Whoever did this must know us and know that we’re cat detectives. And they knew we’d drop everything to investigate.”

  I felt my eyes go wide. “But how would they know? We always thought humans had no idea that the BBCDA was run by a couple of cats.”

  Bogey munched on a treat. “I hear ya, kid. As a general rule, humans have no idea how smart cats are. But somebody must’ve figured it out. Then they sent us on a wild goose chase.”

  Right at that moment, I had a pretty good idea there weren’t any actual geese involved. I figured this was probably another one of Bogey’s expressions.

  He downed another treat and went on. “It’s gotta be somebody who’s close to us, kid. Somebody who’s been watching us.”

  Shivers suddenly ran up my spine. “That’s easy. Mr. Pennypacker was watching us when we drove away from the cat treat factory today. And we’ve seen him staring at us a few other times. Plus, he does own the cat treat factory. He could have put that clue with the note there.”

  “Could be, kid. But we’ve hardly ever run across him before. Not until this week. So the odds of him knowing the truth about us are pretty slim.”

  I munched thoughtfully on a treat. “What about Mrs. Bumble? She lives only a few doors down from us. And she brought Mitzi over. Plus, we found a clue right in her backyard. Maybe she’s been watching us and figured things out.”

  Bogey put a paw to his chin. “Maybe, kid. But we’re just guessing here. Let’s look at this from a different angle. Why would anyone want to distract us? And why would they want to see the BBCDA shut down?”

  The answer to that question popped right into my head. “Because they wanted to commit a crime and they didn’t want us to investigate it.”

  Bogey grinned at me. “And they knew we’d solve the crime. Especially since we�
��ve solved crimes that the police couldn’t solve. So that brings us to another question. What is the crime that someone doesn’t want us to investigate?”

  “Well, there was the robbery at Garnet’s Jewelry Store,” I suggested.

  Bogey stashed the bag of cat treats back in its hiding place. “It’s a possibility, kid. The crime is unsolved, and somebody’s trying to pin it on our Mom and Gracie. Do you remember what we saw when we were in the jewelry store? When Mitzi knocked over Garnet’s bills?”

  “Um . . . well . . . bills?” I crinkled my forehead.

  “But what kind of bills, kid?”

  “Oh . . . um . . . there was one for her insurance company. She uses the same insurance company as our Mom does for her store.”

  Bogey grinned. “Yup, kid, and if Garnet’s store was robbed, what would happen?”

  “Her insurance would pay for all the stuff that was stolen,” I said with a nod.

  “You got it, kid.” Bogey flexed a paw and examined his nails. “Now let me ask you another question. What didn’t you see while we were in her store?”

  I glanced at the ceiling and tried to remember. “Well . . . there was lots and lots of jewelry. Everywhere. But there weren’t any customers. Except for Mr. Pennypacker.”

  “So maybe business wasn’t exactly booming,” Bogey went on. “And remember the night she knocked on the door? She told Officer Phoebe that she’d already filed a claim with her insurance.”

  “She sure didn’t waste any time,” I added. “She should be getting lots of money pretty soon. From the insurance company.”

  Bogey was already nodding. “You got it, kid.”

  I tilted my head. “And there’s one other thing. The night that she was here . . . the night when she spotted those diamonds . . . Why didn’t she make a big commotion and tell Officer Phoebe to search the rest of our house? Just like she did at our Mom’s store?”

  And that’s when Bogey’s mouth dropped open. “Kid, I believe you just cracked the case.”