CATalyst for Clues

by Patricia Fry

  “Pretty much,” Savannah admitted.

  ****

  Fifteen minutes later, Savannah parked her car across the street from 148 Peony Circle.

  Marci whispered, “I don’t see the cat.”

  Savannah chuckled. “I don’t think they can hear us.”

  Appearing a little embarrassed, Marci said, “Oh. I guess you’re right.”

  “What does he look like?” Savannah asked.

  Marci pulled a photograph from her purse. “This is a picture of him. I printed it from the online edition of our newspaper.”

  Savannah smiled. “Awww. A British shorthair-mix.” She looked in the direction of the house again. “Wait, I see a cat in the window. Oh, that’s a black cat.”

  Marci pointed. “The last time I saw this cat, it was in that neighbor’s yard.” She stretched to scan the area. “Hey, is that him? Look,” she whispered, “he just sat down next to the porch step there. I’m pretty sure that’s him.”

  After studying the photograph again, Savannah said, “Could be. Let’s see if he’ll come to us.”

  “Oh, gosh, I hope we don’t get arrested,” Marci worried.

  “Me too.” Savannah gazed out at the tree-lined neighborhood. “Do you see anyone around?”

  “No.” Marci cringed. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

  “Hello, kitty,” Savannah said from a crouched position on the sidewalk. “Want a treat?” she enticed.

  “You brought cat treats?” Marci noticed.

  “Always prepared,” Savannah quipped. “Let’s try to lure him closer to the car.”

  “Good thinking,” Marci whispered. She followed along as Savannah dropped treats and the cat obediently ate one, then moved toward Savannah, hoping for another one. Once the cat was close enough to the car, Savannah picked him up and quickly got into the vehicle with him. She waited until Marci had buckled her seatbelt, then handed the cat to her. “Here, hold onto him. Now where’s the nearest vet who has a chip reader?”

  “Oh, um…” Marci stammered.

  “You didn’t find that out?”

  She winced. “I guess I’m not very good at this stuff.”

  Savannah smiled at her. She drove around the corner and stopped to use her phone. It took a few calls before she found a veterinarian with a chip reader, and she was pleased to learn the office was nearby.

  “So you found a cat, did you?” Dr. Victoria Slaughter asked.

  Marci and Savannah nodded.

  “Looks like a well-cared-for cat. Let’s see if we can get him back to the people who love him.”

  “That’s our goal,” Savannah said.

  After checking with the registry, the veterinarian announced, “Cat’s name’s Snickers. He belongs to Billy Garnett, 1235 Bronson Avenue, right here in town.”

  Savannah saw Marci’s face become pale. “Well?” she asked.

  Marci nodded.

  When she saw that Marci seemed unable to speak, Savannah said, “Thank you so much,” and she reached for the cat.

  “Would you like our office to contact the owner,” Dr. Slaughter offered, “or do you want to handle it?”

  “Thank you,” Savannah said, “but we’ll make sure Billy gets his kitty back.” As she climbed into the car with the cat minutes later, she said, “So Marci, you were right. Good job.”

  “Yeah,” she said, her voice weak, “now what? Oh my gosh, Savannah, now what?”

  “Now we take Snickers back to his family.”

  “Yes, that’s definitely what I must do. Only I’m scared.”

  “Of what?”

  “That boy saw me, Savannah.”

  “Don’t back out now, Marci. You’re taking steps in the right direction. Come on, are you with me?”

  Marci wiped at her eyes, then nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry I’m such a wimp. Yes, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  “I think it’ll do you a world of good to return the cat to him. And just imagine what it’ll do for Billy.”

  Marci managed a feeble smile.

  Ten minutes later, Savannah and Marci stood on a shallow porch in front of a small wood-frame home in an older neighborhood. It didn’t take long for a woman of about forty-five to answer their knock.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hello, I’m Savannah Ivey and this is…”

  “Snickers!” the woman yelled. She glanced at Savannah, then Marci. “Is that our Snickers?” She reached for the cat’s tail and examined it briefly. “It is Snickers! The hair never grew back in that spot after he had a close shave with a dog. Billy!” she called. “Billy, come quick!”

  Marci held her breath.

  Seconds later a boy of about ten appeared. “What, Mom?” He glanced at Savannah and Marci, then he saw the cat. His thin face opened into a bright smile. “Snickers! It’s my cat, Snickers!” he shouted. “Where’d you find him?”

  When Marci didn’t respond immediately, Savannah said, “He was living with another family about two miles away.”

  “But how…?” the woman tried to ask. “How did you know…?”

  Savannah waited for Marci to explain and was pleased when she finally did. “I’ve…um…I’ve been looking for him.” When she noticed the boy and his mother both staring at her, she cleared her throat and added, “I saw the article in the paper and I knew how devastated my boy would be if he had lost his cat. I live in the area where you…um…lost him, so I put up posters.” She gestured toward Savannah. “My friend and I found him this morning.”

  Mrs. Garnett looked confused. “But how did you know this was…?”

  “The microchip,” Savannah said.

  “Oh yes, when Snickers was donated to us, they told us they’d implanted a microchip with our contact information. Since we keep him inside, we never thought we’d need to rely on it.” Her demeanor became grave. “But he disappeared after the accident, you know.” She smiled broadly. “I can’t thank you enough. This is so kind of you. Everyone has been so kind.” Tears came to her eyes as she looked down at Billy, who was hugging his cat. Mrs. Garnett smiled and ruffled the fur on Snickers’s head as he rested his chin on the boy’s shoulder.

  “He’s hugging you,” Marci said to the boy. “I’ve never seen a cat hug someone before. That’s really cute.”

  “Yes, Snickers is an unusual cat,” Mrs. Garnett said. “And he’s such a comfort to Billy. He’s a therapy cat; did you know that? He alerts Billy when he’s going to have a seizure. Oh, we have his seizures pretty much controlled with medication, but he has one occasionally and Snickers is our first responder.”

  “I want to go show Misty that we got Snickers back,” Billy said before running off with the cat.

  “Misty’s his older sister. By the way, I’m Rose Garnett.”

  Marci looked surprised. “Oh, I have a daughter named Rose.”

  Rose stared into Marci’s face. “Now that’s just serendipitous, isn’t it?” She then asked more seriously, “Are your children healthy?”

  Marci nodded. “Rose has Downs, but she’s healthy.”

  Rose Garnett studied Marci for a moment, then said, “Billy’s facing more surgery.”

  “Surgery?” Marci asked quietly.

  “Yes, he needs a kidney. We’re keeping him prepped—you know, healthy and all—so he’ll be ready when one comes along.”

  “Was it caused by…?” Marci started.

  When Savannah saw Marci struggling to ask this important question, she said, “Was it an accident that damaged the kidney?”

  “Oh no. He was born with a diseased kidney.”

  “How…um…how long’s he been waiting?” Marci asked.

  “Almost a year.” Rose lowered her eyes. “They’re hoping one will come available within the next few months.”

  “Does he have a good doctor?” Marci asked.

  “Oh yes, he’s a patient at Children’s Hospital in the city. We’re working with a team led by Dr. Hanover.�
� She smiled. “Yes, he’s in good hands.”

  “Well, we need to go,” Savannah said. “So glad he has his kitty back. I hope he can have the surgery soon and that he’ll be healthy again.”

  Rose smiled. “This was just so nice of you. Thank you so much.” She called out, “Billy, Billy, the ladies are leaving!”

  When the boy returned, still holding the cat, he said shyly, “Thank you.” He hugged Snickers. “I’m over-the-moon happy right now.”

  Marci smiled.

  Savannah ran her hand over the cat’s fur. “You take care now, okay?”

  Once they were buckled into the car, Savannah turned to Marci. “Good job. Are you feeling better?”

  “A little. I’ll feel a whole lot better once I’ve actually made it up to that family.”

  Savannah frowned. “Like how?”

  “I’m not sure. But I think I probably need to tell Eric what I’ve done and maybe the police. That’s going to be really hard. Savannah, I might have to go to jail.”

  “Maybe not. I mean, a hit-and-run is illegal, but maybe if you turn yourself in, you will get off without jail time. You’ve never been in trouble before.”

  “Yeah, but I probably need to be behind bars.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I did such a bad thing. The guilt just haunts me something fierce.”

  “Well, I’m proud of you,” Savannah said. “Your heart’s in the right place and you’ve taken a positive step toward restitution.”

  Marci took a breath. “You know, I’ve made some mistakes in my life—some of them have affected other people. Keeping Adam a secret from his father for eight years is one of them.” She choked up. “I regret that to this day. Why Michael doesn’t hate me is beyond my comprehension.”

  “Yeah,” Savannah said, “he misses having known Adam in his younger years. But, Marci, you made it right—you’ve given both of them such a precious gift.”

  “And I have to make this right too.”

  When Marci didn’t say anything else for a several blocks, Savannah glanced at her. “Marci, you’ve been quiet. What are you thinking?”

  “He needs a kidney, Savannah.”

  “Yeah, I know. But not because of anything you did.”

  “No, but I still feel a sense of responsibility. Can you understand that?”

  Savannah frowned. “Now what are you planning to do?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m just not sure.” She patted Savannah’s arm and smiled weakly. “But I can tell you I do feel better. Thank you for helping me get his cat back to him. It means a lot to me to see how much it means to him.”

  “So a little healing has taken place, huh?”

  Marci nodded. “Yes, a little healing.”

  ****

  “What are we doing this week?” Adam asked from the back seat as the Ivey family drove home later that day.

  “Well, what do you want to do?” Savannah asked.

  “Ride Peaches. Is she home now or still spending the night at your friend’s horse ranch?”

  “I have good news!” she said. “Bonnie’s bringing her home tomorrow.”

  “Cool. Can we go riding?”

  “I imagine we can.”

  His eyes widened. “Can Kira go with us?”

  “Oh, that would be fun—I haven’t seen Kira in a long time, either. We’ll have to call her and find out if she can come out and play. I think where she lives they have a pool. Maybe we could swim one day. I want to start teaching Lily how to swim.”

  “Is Kira’s school on break too?” Adam asked.

  “She’s being home-schooled now, so she has a kind of flexible schedule.”

  “What’s home-school?” Adam asked.

  “She has her classes at home and if she were to go on an outing with us in the morning, then maybe she could work on that day’s lesson in the evening—or spend more time on it the next day.”

  “Oh.” Adam was quiet for a minute, then asked, “So her parents are her teachers?”

  “Yes, mostly her mom.”

  “Are the other kids having school at home?”

  “I think just Timmy and Kira.”

  “I hope we get to swim in their pool. Hey,” Adam said excitedly, “they could do swimming for PE.”

  “I imagine they do. Kira has a friend who’s home-schooled and her PE activity is horseback riding.”

  “Boy, I wonder if my mom would home-school me.”

  Savannah and Michael grinned at each other.

  “Will we do the Sunday lunch someplace with all our friends?” Adam asked.

  Savannah chuckled. “You’re really filling out your dance card, aren’t you, buddy?”

  He frowned. “We’re going dancing?”

  She chuckled. “You never know. But yes, we’re planning to meet with everyone after church on Sunday. You enjoy that, do you?”

  “I only went once with you. But yeah, it was fun.”

  “Where are we meeting this time?” Michael asked.

  “Um…let’s see…oh, I think it’s Auntie’s and Max’s turn, which means it’ll probably be at our house. Max said he’d love to do the cooking, but he thinks the guests will be more comfortable at our house since we have more space.”

  “Can Kira come that day so I have someone to play with besides grown-ups?”

  Michael smiled at him in the rearview mirror. “Good idea, son.”

  ****

  The following morning, Adam was helping Lily pick up the pieces to her plastic tea set when he heard a light knock. He unlatched the kitchen door, then swung it open wide. “Hi, Kira!”

  “Oh, is she here?” Savannah asked from the pantry, where she’d been taking inventory and making a grocery list. “Hi!” she said, excitedly rushing to the girl and grabbing her in a bear hug. “Am I ever happy to see you!” She stepped back. “You’ve grown a whole head. Hey, I love your hair cut like that.”

  “It’s my summer cut,” the ten-year-old said. “Klara left hers long.”

  “You two are outgrowing the twin thing, are you?” Savannah quipped. She smiled at Tiffany, who had walked in behind her daughter.

  “They’re individuals, those two,” Tiffany said. “Very different people.”

  Savannah nodded. “I remember.” She added, “Good to see you. You look great—are things going well for you?”

  Tiffany nodded, then looked down at herself. “I’ve put on some weight—finally. It’s nice to be able to shop in the women’s clothing section again, instead of the children’s.” Before Savannah could respond, Tiffany said, “I hear you have a new baby.”

  Savannah smiled. “Yes, our son was born May sixteenth. Do you have time to come in and meet him?”

  She glanced out into the yard. “Well, I have Allia in the car.”

  “Bring her in,” Savannah invited warmly. “I’d love to see her.”

  “She’s almost two,” Kira reported. Just then she saw Lily at her small table. “Oh there’s Lily.” She walked to her. “Hi Lily. Do you remember me? How old are you, now?”

  The toddler held up two fingers.

  “Two and a half,” Savannah said.

  “You’re a big girl, Lily,” Kira said.

  Lily pointed, “My baby Teddy.”

  “You have a baby brother, don’t you?”

  Lily pouted, “No brother. My baby,” she insisted.

  Tiffany joined the others with Allia in time to hear Lily’s remark. She laughed. “So he’s your baby, is he?”

  Lily nodded and pointed toward the portable crib, which was set up in the kitchen.

  Kira and her mother approached the crib and Tiffany said, “Awww, what a darling. See the baby, Allia?” She turned to Savannah. “What’s his name?”

  “Teddy.”

  “Awww, cute. So he’s about a month old?”

  Savannah nodded. “Almost four weeks.” When Gladys walked into the room, Savannah said, “Mom, ha
ve you met Tiffany? This is Kira’s mother, and Kira’s sister, Allia.”

  Gladys took Tiffany’s hand. “Nice to meet you. And you, Allia.” She turned to Kira. “Good to see you again, Kira.”

  “So, did you bring your PJs and riding clothes?” Savannah asked, looking down at the girl’s tote bag.

  Kira nodded.

  “I think she has everything,” Tiffany said. “It was so nice of you to invite her for the entire weekend.”

  “We’re excited to have her. Adam has a lot planned. He’s the host with the most.”

  Tiffany grinned at Savannah. “Yeah, but who’s doing all the cooking?”

  “That’ll be a team effort,” Gladys said, smiling.

  “I can help,” Kira said. “I get to help Mom in the kitchen a lot.”

  Savannah pulled the girl to her by the shoulders. “Great.” She glanced at Gladys. “We’d love the help.”

  Before Kira could respond, Adam said, “Hey, Kira, let’s go work on my fort.”

  “You have a fort?” she asked.

  “Dad’s helping me build one out where there used to be an old barn.” He took on a more serious look. “It burned down a long time ago.”

  “Really?” Kira said.

  “Kira, why don’t you take your things to your room, first,” Savannah suggested. “You’ll be next door to Adam.”

  “Yeah, I’m sleeping in my old room this time. I have two rooms—one upstairs and one downstairs.”

  Kira’s face lit up. “I’ll have my own room?”

  Savannah nodded. “Upstairs. And Grammy is right across the hall.”

  “But I’ve never ever had my own room before. This will be so cool.” She started to walk away, then said, “Once Klara went to a friend’s overnight and I thought I’d finally have my own room for one whole night. Then Justin got mad at Tommy and Dad let him sleep in Klara’s bed.”

  “You poor abused child,” Tiffany teased.

  Adam grabbed Kira’s arm and pulled her toward the staircase. “Come on. Let’s go put your stuff away.”

  When Savannah saw the girl struggling with her overnight bag, she called out, “Adam, why don’t you help her? That looks heavy.”

  He looked inside the tote and pulled out a pair of cowboy boots. “I’ll carry these,” he said, racing up the stairs.