Patricia Fry - Klepto Cat 05 - The Colony Cat Caper

by Patricia Fry

Craig spun around and said to Michael, “Speaking of your cat…”

  “Uh-oh,” Michael said. He then sat up straight and looked the detective in the eye. “You know, Craig, Rags may have to start charging for his services now that we have a new mouth to feed.”

  Craig took on a serious tone. “And I’d pay, too. He has been one valuable resource to our department.”

  Michael stood and ushered the detective into the dining room. “So what is it you need him to do now, Craig?” he asked.

  “We think we’ve found the gems, but we can’t get to them. We already know that Rags can reach them. It looks like they’re hung up in a tight elbow joint. I believe the cat could either push or pull them through. Do you think he would do it?”

  “Well, he’s a cat, Craig. As you know, cats don’t do things on command.”

  “Yeah, if there’s nothing else I’ve learned from you about cats, I have picked up on that,” he said with a chuckle.

  “But yeah,” Michael said. “I’m willing to take him out there again, if you think it will help to resolve your case. When?”

  “As soon as possible, Michael. As soon as possible.”

  Michael glanced back into the living room and said, “Let’s run it by Savannah first, okay?”

  ***

  The next evening Michael and Rags met Craig out at the Fischer building.

  “What’s with the cat food?” Craig asked when he saw Michael enter the gate carrying a large bag of kibbles.

  “I told Bud and Spence that I’d do the feeding tonight, since I’m out here already,” he said, opening the bag and pouring food into the bowls. He then filled the cats’ water bowls. When he walked back to the truck, he opened the passenger door and said, “Okay Rags, time for you to earn your keep. Now let’s don’t disappoint the detective, okay? We need to find those little white pouches full of pretty stones for him.”

  Before lifting the carrier, he looked in at the cat through the wire and noticed he was staring up at him as if concentrating on what he was saying. Michael smiled and then said, “Come on, buddy,” as he lifted the carrier from the seat and walked toward the gate. “You have your own key now, Craig?” Michael observed as he watched the detective open the door to the building.

  “Yeah, borrowed it from Anson Fischer’s ex-wife,” he said.

  “The plot thickens, huh? Where did you find her?”

  “Right here in town. Maybe you know her; she has some of those white cats. Her name’s Janice Tuttle.”

  “Oh sure, I know her. She brings her angoras to us. Gosh, small world, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, too small for us and those crooks; let’s put this case to bed—get those gems out of temptation’s reach.” He led Michael to the opening in the wall and slid the board back.

  Rags perked up and started pawing at the door to the carrier. “Looks like he wants to go in there,” Michael said. He opened the carrier door, snapped on the tether, and Rags walked out, heading right for the opening. Michael followed along behind him. “Gosh, he’s going right on in there,” he said.

  “Cool,” Craig said. “That’s what I was hoping for. Now, if he’ll just bring us what we’re after. Can you do that, Rags, old boy?”

  Michael let the tether slip through his fingers until it was about half swallowed up in the tunnel. He glanced at the end that remained and shook his head. “He can’t get out under the building, can he, Craig?”

  “No.”

  “He stopped,” Michael said.

  Craig held a flashlight steady into the tunnel. The men could see the cat. “He’s turning around and coming this way,” Craig said. “He’s got something.”

  Craig moved his head so Michael could peer inside the opening. “Yeah, it’s one of those pouches. Wow, good boy, Rags,” Michael said. “Bring it on out.” Suddenly he saw the cat sit down and drop the pouch. “No,” Michael said, “bring it to us. Come on Rags.”

  “It’s okay,” Craig said. “We can reach it from here.”

  As the men watched, however, Rags picked up the pouch again and walked out through the small tunnel opening.

  “Good boy,” Michael said, petting the cat and rubbing him all over. He took the pouch from Rags and handed it to Craig, who promptly peered into the bag.

  “Rubies,” he said. “Gosh, this is great! So those crooks didn’t get to these. Fischer sure knew how to hide things, didn’t he?”

  Michael nodded. “Yeah, maybe his angora cats helped with that.”

  Craig chuckled. “Could be.” He then turned to Rags. “Wanna go get more, boy?”

  “I wonder if he will,” Michael said. He picked up the cat and pointed him in the direction of the tube opening. “Go on, boy. Go get more for Craig.”

  Rags just sat staring into the hole and wouldn’t budge.

  Michael looked over at Craig and said, “You know, there’s nothing to keep us from cutting into that compartment, is there?”

  “Not really,” Craig said. “I just didn’t want to do it until I knew the gems were there. Rags showed us they are. I have what I need in my car to get to the rest of them.” He thought for a moment and then said with a laugh, “I think I’ll get some of the younger guys in here to go under the building this time. They can do the dirty work.”

  “Well, if Rags is finished here, I’m going home to my family,” Michael said.

  ***

  Thirty minutes later, Craig had his work crew lined up and outfitted. He led officers Conklin and Cheng to the crawl space on the north side of the building, squatted down, and shined his flashlight toward the tube. “Just remove the cap I put on there and see if you can locate those pouches up in that tube. If they aren’t visible, use this saw to cut into the floor above the tube.”

  The officers agreed.

  Craig handed Cheng a black bag with a zipper. “Here, put them in this, so they don’t spill on your way out.”

  Within a few minutes, he heard Conklin call out, “Got ’em. They dropped right out when we opened the cover.”

  Cheng asked, “How many are there, Sledge?”

  “By my calculations, there should be four bags left—two diamonds, a bag of emeralds, and one of rubies.”

  “All accounted for,” Conklin called.

  The men had just climbed out from under the building and handed the black bag to Craig when they heard a stranger’s voice. “Okay, hand it over.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Well damn,” Craig said under his breath when he turned and saw Mark Chandler and a man fitting the description of Tim Sneed staring back at him. He looked down at their hands. Hmm, the gun Chandler’s holding belongs to the officer stationed out front. He couldn’t see Sneed’s hand, as it was hidden inside his jacket pocket. Does he have a weapon or not? he wondered.

  “Hand them over,” Chandler demanded again.

  “What?” Craig asked.

  “Don’t play with us,” he said. “I heard you guys say you found the stuff.” He held his hand out. “Give it up.”

  Craig chuckled. He glanced back at the officers and said, “It worked, guys. They really think we found something.”

  Chandler and Sneed looked at one another and back at Craig and the bag he held in his hands. “Grab that, Tim,” Chandler ordered.

  Craig pulled the bag back. “Not so fast, gentlemen. We knew you’d be here and we set the stage, that’s all. Now hand over your weapons,” Craig said holding his free hand out. “If you don’t do as I say, I’ll give the snipers the high sign.”

  Just then, Craig thought he heard the crunch of gravel under a footfall coming from the west side of the building. A few seconds later, from out of the darkness, they saw the beam of a flashlight and heard a woman’s voice. “Drop it.” Chandler swung around to see Leta Barnes standing there wearing a bandage on one temple. A sling cradled her left arm. She held a small gun in her right hand.

  “Why you double-crossing…” Tim Sneed said when he turned around and saw her.

  “Oh no, Mr. Whoe
ver-you-are, you’re the double-crosser; you and your pitiful, cowardly friend there. You didn’t know who you were dealing with, did you? Well, you can’t mess with my emotions and get away with it; either one of you scumbags,” she said, pointing her gun from one to the other of them. “Drop it, I said!”

  Chandler reluctantly let the gun drop. Craig kicked it out of the way and grabbed the man’s arms, bending them behind him. Conklin frisked him and cuffed him. Cheng, in the meantime, cuffed Sneed before patting him down. The officer pulled a switchblade out of Sneed’s pants pocket and tossed it toward where the gun lay.

  “Call for backup, Conklin,” Craig said.

  “Already did, sir.”

  Craig looked over at Leta. “Ms. Barnes, you can put that gun down now,” he said.

  “I’m not sure I want to,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “These men ruined my life, and they’re going to pay.”

  “Now Ms. Barnes, please, give me the gun,” Craig said walking slowly in her direction.

  But she kept walking toward the two men, staring at them, her gun pointed directly at Sneed’s chest.

  “Ms. Barnes, I’m warning you,” Craig said. “Put the gun down or I’ll be forced to fire.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters,” she said. “My life’s over, anyway.”

  As Craig spoke quietly and calmly to the distraught woman, he noticed reinforcements walking in behind her; weapons drawn. Just as she beaded in on her target, arm outstretched, one of the officers came from behind and grabbed her. He raised her arm and the gun went off, the bullet grazing the building.

  “Whoa,” Sneed said. “That was close. Crazy woman. What’s your problem, anyway?” he asked. “You had a good time, didn’t you?”

  “I believed you, you damn liar,” she said, dropping to her knees and sobbing. “I believed you.”

  Craig looked down at Leta Barnes, then scoured the area with his eyes. “Hey, Morrison,” he called, “could you come here?”

  “Yes, sir,” the female officer said.

  He motioned for her to take care of Leta Barnes.

  She nodded and walked toward the woman. “Let’s go get a cup of coffee, shall we? I’m sure the officers have some questions for you. Come on,” she coaxed, “we’ll go back to the station where it’s warm. Come on now,” she said as she eased the woman up off the ground and walked slowly with her toward a sheriff’s unit.

  ***

  The following morning, after Lilliana had breakfast and a sponge bath, Michael carried her into their home office and turned on the webcam. “Meet your new sister,” he said as he held the baby up to the camera. “So what do you think, buddy?”

  “Sure is small,” Adam said into the microphone at his end.

  “She weighs about the same as Walter and Buffy put together,” Michael said.

  “Oh. What can she do?”

  Michael and Savannah chuckled. She said, “She can sleep and she can eat—oh, and she can cry.”

  “She can poop in her diaper,” Michael said.

  Adam laughed. “You’re funny, Dad.” He then turned serious, “Does Rags still take her toys?”

  “He’s more interested in her now, so he hasn’t bothered her toys as much.”

  “He likes her?” Adam asked.

  “Sure does,” Michael said, “except when she cries. That sound scares him a little.”

  Adam laughed.

  “Would you like to come see her?” Savannah asked.

  “Yeah,” Adam said with enthusiasm.

  “We’ll talk to your mom and find out when’s a good time, okay?”

  “Okay. Oh, here comes Mom now,” Adam said. “Hey Mom, come look at Lily.”

  “Hi Marci,” Savannah and Michael said.

  “Hi.” She moved up close to the monitor and said, “She’s darling.”

  “When can we go see her, Mom?” Adam asked.

  “Whenever it’s convenient for your dad and Savannah,” she said.

  “Anytime, Marci. We’d love to see all of you,” Savannah said. And then she added, “How about this—I haven’t even discussed it with Michael, yet, but I’ve been thinking about having a little welcome-home Christmas party for family and friends, say weekend after next. You could come for the day or the weekend. We have room for you all, if you’d like to stay.”

  “Can we, Mom? Huh? Can we?”

  Marci smiled over at Adam, ran her hand over his hair, and said, “Maybe we can. Let me talk to your other dad, okay?”

  Savannah chuckled a little. Adam loved both his biological dad and his stepdad and referred to both of them as, Dad. And both sets of parents respected that.

  Marci spoke into the microphone. “I’ll let you guys know.”

  “Good,” Michael said.

  ***

  Nearly two weeks later on a rainy Saturday, the holiday party at the Iveys’ home was in full swing.

  “So you like your newest little sister, do you, Adam?” Margaret asked.

  “Yeah, she’s okay.” He looked over at the baby as Colbi held her and he said, “She doesn’t know how to do much, yet.” He perked up when he saw Rags appear. “Hi Rags, wanna play?” he said.

  “He’th playing with me,” Charlotte said. “But you can play with uth, too. Come on, let’th go thee what he’th been hiding in hith toy bocth.”

  “Okay,” Adam said, enthusiastically.

  Margaret watched the two children bound up the staircase and then she turned her attention toward Iris and Craig. “So Craig, you wrapped up another mystery, did you? Are we safe to go out and continue our work with the cats at the Fischer building?”

  He laughed. “After all that has happened out there these past weeks, I’m surprised Engleson still allows you access.”

  “Yeah, well, our new recruit might have some clout, actually.”

  “Oh, who’s that?”

  “Janice Tuttle. She’s interested in trying to rescue the remaining angoras and their offspring.”

  “Cool,” he said. “That’ll give you ladies a break.”

  “Yup, Savannah can concentrate on being a mommy, Colbi can take care of her own cat colony at home, and I can put more time in with my kitty menagerie.” She patted Max’s hand and said, “And my poor neglected husband.” Margaret leaned toward Craig and said, “You’ll never guess who’s going to help Janice out there.”

  “Who?” he asked curiously.

  “Leta Barnes.”

  “Really? How did that come about?”

  “Well, Savannah, my big-hearted niece, stayed in touch with Leta after all of the…excitement, and I guess got her to thinking outside of herself. Oh, and we introduced her to Frankie and Snowball. It was love at first sight.”

  “That’s the new kitten and its mother?” he asked. “Isn’t Brianna taking those cats?”

  “Yes, but we showed them to her as a lovely example of the success you can have with these colonies, and this somehow touched a nerve with Leta.” Margaret paused for a moment and then said, “Evidently, it brought back memories of some of her most treasured childhood moments with a white kitty named Booboo and—well, she was hooked.”

  Craig looked across the room at Leta and said, “She looks a lot happier and more relaxed than she did a few weeks ago.”

  “Yeah, sure does. Oh, and she got a job she thinks she’s going to like over at Twin Gardens Nursery.”

  “What a difference a day makes, right?” Iris said.

  Craig smiled at her. “Yeah.” He then looked over at Damon, who was sitting with Colbi and baby Lily on the sofa and said, “We’ve seen some awesome differences in our day, haven’t we, babe?”

  Iris smiled. “Oh yes, and I predict more to come.”

  Just then Savannah walked up to the small group gathered in the living room. “Everyone doing okay?” she asked.

  “Sure are,” Iris said.

  Margaret agreed, “Max and I are having a wonderful time. Thanks for doing this.”

  “Oh, my phone,�
�� Craig said. He pulled it from his pocket and stepped out on the porch to take the call. When he returned, Michael greeted him at the door and asked, “What was it— neighbors complaining about the loud party?”

  “No,” he said. “Where’s your wife?”

  Michael looked around and pointed toward where she stood talking to Brianna, Iris, and Margaret. “Why?” he asked.

  “Come on, I’ll tell you both at the same time.”

  “Honey, Craig has something to tell us; do you have a minute?” Michael asked.

  “Yeah, what is it, Craig?”

  “No need for you to leave,” he said to the others. “I think you’ll want to hear this, too.

  “What?” Margaret asked.

  “Well, you’re not going to believe this, but that was a reporter from the Los Angeles Times. They want to do a story featuring Rags and his crime-solving skills.”

  Savannah and Michael were stunned into silence—a condition that did not affect their friends.

  “Wow! Way to go, Rags!” Iris said.

  “That’s my nephew cat,” Margaret said with a wide grin.

  “And that’s not all,” Craig said. “He knows a film producer who may be interested in making a movie around Rags’s experiences.”

  While everyone else expelled celebratory remarks, Michael and Savannah looked soberly at one another.

  “The revenue could put Adam, little Lily, and their future brothers and sisters through college,” Craig said.

  Savannah pursed her lips. “Well, that’s something we’ll have to think long and hard about,” she said.

  Craig took out a pen and a business card and wrote something down. “Here’s the number in case you decide you want to talk to the filmmaker. His name’s Scott.”

  Savannah took the card and then handed it to Michael. She looked toward the sofa, where Colbi still sat holding the baby. “All I want now is to enjoy my little family,” she said, looping her arm in Michael’s and looking up at him adoringly. He brushed his lips against her forehead and smiled.

  Other books in the Klepto Cat Mystery series

  Catnapped

  When Savannah Jordan agrees to help her aunt while she recovers from a broken foot, she doesn’t expect to walk into a mystery, become part of a not-quite-legal surveillance team, be kidnapped by a deranged stranger and meet a steaming hot veterinarian.