Paws and Effect (Mystic Notch 4 4)

by Leighann Dobbs

  “She’s her usual head-strong self,” Willa said and Pandora hoped she detected a note of fondness in the human’s voice. “Though I am a bit worried. She’s acting very anxious lately.”

  “No doubt,” Elspeth gave Pandora a knowing glance. “There’s been a lot going on what with that box being found at the groundbreaking and all.”

  The two women launched into a conversation about the mysterious box, giving Pandora the opportunity to trot off to the barn, followed by Tigger.

  It was still daylight so Pandora could see everything inside the barn—the hay bales, wooden pallets and dust motes in the air. There were crude ladders up to the hayloft, and at the far end of the barn was a row of stainless steel cat dishes which Elspeth took pains to keep full and clean. The smell of sweet hay, warm wood and salmon dinner Fancy Feast spiced the air.

  Inkspot looked up from a bowl of cat food when Pandora entered. ”Greetings, Pandora. Do you bring us some news?”

  Pandora had to force herself not to blurt out her discoveries too quickly. She didn’t want to seem over-eager. She slowly told them how she’d overheard the conversation between Pepper and Willa regarding the celestrium lily extract.

  “What makes you think that this mythical extract is actually contained in the box?” Otis addressed her in his usual irritating manner.

  “It makes perfect sense,” Pandora said. “The ghost cat, Obsidian, told me there was something very important in that box. Something that we didn’t want to fall into the wrong hands.”

  “She has a point,” Snowball said. “But still, we do not know whose hands to keep it from.”

  “I think I might have that figured out, too.” Pandora’s fur puffed out with pride. More cats came out from behind the bales of hay. They sat in a circle with their tails curled around them while Pandora told them about her research on the Internet.

  “That’s preposterous!” Otis said. “You know you can’t trust everything you read on the Internet.”

  Pandora bristled. “Well, of course not, but this was history. It has to be correct.”

  “Otis has a point,” Inkspot said. “We can’t make a judgment based on one article. All the people interested in the box had ancestors that were around in 1656.”

  “As does one of our most hated enemies, one who already claims to be a witch,” Kelley chimed in.

  “Felicity Bates,” Snowball said as if they all didn’t know who she meant.

  Felicity Bates had ties back to the beginnings of Mystic Notch and she’d also married into one of the oldest, and richest, families in town. Rumor had it that she fancied herself to be a witch, although Pandora didn’t think she was a very good one.

  Willa had had run-ins with Felicity before and, based on the outcome, Pandora doubted Felicity’s magic was very strong. Then again, that might be a reason why she would be interested in the box. Maybe she hoped the lily extract would increase her powers.

  “But she’s not one of the humans trying to get the box,” Pandora pointed out.

  “Not overtly,” Inkspot said. “But maybe she has formed an alliance with one of the others, or maybe she’s trying to get it in a different way that has yet to be revealed.”

  “Maybe …” Pandora considered it. They could be right, but she doubted this was the case. Pandora had a very strong feeling this had something to do with Danforth … or did she just think that because she was the one who had discovered the information about his ancestor?

  “And let’s not forget about Fluff,” Snowball hissed.

  Pandora had recently had a run-in with Fluff, one of Mystic Notch’s most evil felines. Pandora had barely escaped and managed, with the help of Hope, to outsmart the white Persian who looked like an angel but was really a devil in disguise. It was not lost on her that Fluff had taken up with Felicity Bates, which was a big surprise to everyone since she’d previously acted like she hated cats.

  “Have you been able to influence Elspeth or any of the other humans in this matter?” Pandora decided to attack it from another angle. If the other cats’ ‘old ways’ weren’t working, maybe they would be more inclined to act on the information she found with her ‘new ways’.

  “I heard Elspeth and Bing talking about the box, but they were using such vague terms I couldn’t tell if they had a plan,” Tigger said.

  “That’s why we need to come up with one,” Pandora stated.

  “A plan for what?” Inkspot was the voice of reason. “We don’t even know if this lily extract is what is contained in the box.”

  “That’s true,” Otis agreed. “If it is not the extract the box contains but something less threatening, then, perhaps, we do not have to act so hastily.”

  Pandora hissed out a sharp, exasperated breath. What was with the cats? They were so slow-moving. “But Obsidian said whatever was in the box could plunge Mystic Notch into the deep abyss of an evil greater than mankind has ever known, so even if it isn’t the extract, I think we still need to act quickly, before—”

  “Obsidian said what was in there,” Inkspot interrupted her. “That was in his time over three hundred years ago. We don’t know what’s happened to the box over time. It’s best we find out what really does lie inside before we make any rash decision.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you that. But we need to find out what’s in there pretty quick, in case it is something bad.” Pandora said.

  Inkspot nodded. “I agree.”

  “Okay. Good. So how do you propose we do that?” Pandora asked.

  “I know of only one way.”

  8

  Dusk was Pandora’s favorite time of day, but she didn’t have time to enjoy the elongated shadows of the trees, the mellowing color of the sun as it approached setting, or the cool temperatures as she raced through the woods that provided a shortcut between Elspeth’s house and the police station.

  She hoped their task would not take a long time. She wanted to get back before Willa ended her visit with Elspeth and found Pandora missing from the barn. Her human was already a little nervous about Pandora's odd behavior and she didn’t need to add any fuel to the fire that would make Willa watch her any closer or, worse, take her on an unnecessary trip to the veterinarian.

  Pandora could have stayed back, but she had been unable to resist. She knew curiosity killed the cat, but she was dying to find out what was inside that box.

  When they reached the edge of the police station parking lot, Inkspot motioned for them to duck into a narrow alley between the police station and the pizza place. They hunkered down behind a dumpster that smelled of stale dough and rancid vegetables. Pandora dialed down her senses to keep from gagging.

  “You know where the box is?” Inkspot asked Pandora.

  “Gus said she was going to keep it in her office,” Pandora answered.

  Inkspot turned to the others—Kelley, Sasha, Snowball and, of course, Otis, who Pandora thought only came along because he didn’t want her to be in on something that he wasn’t.

  “We don’t want to be too conspicuous,” Inkspot said. “So only two of us will go in. Me and Pandora. We will locate the box, look inside and then return.”

  “Maybe whatever is in the box is small enough that you can take it with you,” Snowball suggested.

  Inkspot tilted his head to the left. “I don’t know if that would be a good idea. We could leave it on the porch for Elspeth. I wonder if she would know what it is.”

  “I don’t think we should meddle in the business of humans!” Otis hissed. “Until we know exactly what is going on it might not be safe for us to take whatever is in there, especially if it is a vial of this mythical celestrium lily extract.” Otis’ yellow eyes slid over to Pandora.

  Pandora ignored him. “If it is easy to carry then why not take it? We are in agreement that whatever’s in there is dangerous and should be given to the right parties, right?”

  “Yes, this is true. But dropping it on the porch for Elspeth is risky. She might not know what to do with it and it could c
ause problems for her if she has to explain to the other humans how she came to possess it. I think it is best that we get a handle on what is going on first, and then decide if we need to take such drastic intervention,” Inkspot said.

  The alley door to the police station opened and Pandora saw their chance to get inside. She didn’t want to waste all night out there arguing with the cats.

  “Here is our chance,” she whispered. “Let’s not sit around talking all night when we could be doing.”

  She ignored Otis’ hiss of disapproval and rushed across the alley.

  Pandora and Inkspot kept to the shadows, skulking along the alley to the doorway, where they slipped inside just as the door was closing. The police station buzzed with the hubbub of conversation, clacking of computer keys and ringing of phones. It stank with the sweat of fear and stale booze from the drunk and disorderly arrests that made up the bulk of Mystic Notch’s crime. Pandora dialed down her senses another notch and pressed on.

  They made their way down the hall, taking care to hide in the shadows of doorways and under the hard, orange plastic chairs that seemed to be everywhere. A pair of red stilettos came out of Gus’ office and click-clacked down the hallway causing Pandora and Inkspot to dive under a small table.

  Pandora could not see who it was without revealing their hiding spot, but once the person had passed, the hallway was empty. Now was their chance to get into Gus’ office unseen.

  They scurried out from under the table. Pandora was feeling pretty good about the success of their mission until they rounded the corner into Gus' office and found it crowded with humans who were engaged in some sort of argument.

  Pandora froze when she saw that one of those humans was Oscar Danforth, the other was Felicity Bates. Pandora and Inkspot entered unnoticed and hunkered down under a gray metal folding chair. Inkspot motioned with his tail toward Gus' standard-issue green metal desk. On the corner sat the silver box.

  Pandora’s eyes flicked from Danforth to the box. Was he trying to edge his way closer?

  “No one is getting the box!” Gus was saying.

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Felicity rasped, her red hair flowing about her head as if it was possessed. “I just came to get the town clerk to notarize Fluff’s pedigree papers. I heard about the box and wanted to stop by. I never said I wanted to take it … but I would be interested to see what’s in it.”

  Pandora shuddered as she remembered her earlier run-in with the evil white cat. She peeked out from underneath the chair, her gut churning when she saw a white, fluffy tail twitching from underneath Felicity’s arms.

  Fluff had some magical power that drained Pandora’s energy. She certainly didn’t want that to happen now. She needed her energy to get away, not to mention that she somehow had to get to the box on the desk and open the lid without anyone seeing—a task that seemed impossible given all the people who were pressed into the small room.

  Maybe they should leave and try again another time? But with both Danforth and Felicity here, there might not be another time. Luckily, the humans were too busy arguing to pay attention to much else.

  “You don’t need to see what’s in it. And Danforth, those papers still don’t prove a thing.” Striker stood in between everyone else and the box as if he was protecting it. Was he? Pandora wondered, because Striker seemed to be spending an awful lot of time in this police station when he had his own police station in the next county.

  She remembered how Hester’s ghost had been pleading with him to protect the box. At the time, Pandora didn’t think he was taking the plea seriously. He seemed more concerned with making sure Willa didn’t notice that he was talking to spirits. Maybe he had given it more weight than Pandora had thought. Maybe he’d had another chat with Hester and was watching over the box, making sure it didn’t get into the wrong hands. But did Striker even know whose hands were the wrong ones?

  Pandora wondered if she should back off and let Striker handle it, as Otis had suggested. No. She couldn’t trust that he would take it seriously enough.

  The humans kept talking but Pandora ignored their noise and focused on the silver box. She had to get a peek in that box without being seen.

  She signaled Inkspot and they inched their way closer. They darted from under the chair and slid underneath Gus' desk, keeping close to the back where they would be in the shadows.

  Unfortunately, their movements caught the attention of Fluff. They watched in horror as his furry, white head stretched down from Felicity’s arms. He peered at them with his eerie, orange eyes.

  “Hiss!” Fluff’s evil glare froze Pandora in her tracks.

  “Meowl!” Inkspot lashed out at Fluff with his oversized paw.

  “Merrrl!” Fluff scrambled out of Felicity’s arms, leaping under the desk. Pandora panicked. Fluff’s magic was strong. He could zap their energy in an instant and the whole mission would have been for nothing.

  “I’ll occupy his attention, you look in the box!” Inkspot darted out from underneath Gus' desk. He leaped up onto her bookcase, running along the edge and spilling half a dozen books out onto the floor. Fluff followed him, spilling even more books. The humans all turned in that direction, taking their eyes away from the box on the corner of the desk.

  Pandora took advantage of the pandemonium to sneak up on the edge of the desk. She crept over to the silver box and lifted the lid just enough to see inside.

  Nestled in dark purple velvet was a glass vial. The silver stopper was shaped like the head of a newt, its body and tail wrapped around the thin glass which held a thick, silvery blue liquid that shimmered like moonlight. Celestrium lily extract.

  “You!” Pandora jerked her head toward the sound of Gus' voice just in time to see Gus reaching for her. She pulled her paw back from the box. The lid snapped shut. She lurched away from Gus. Her back legs scrambled across the desk, spewing a stack of papers in the air. Gus stopped her pursuit of Pandora and grappled at the whirlwind of paper.

  Pandora leaped onto the back of Gus' old, wooden chair with enough force to knock it over. On her way down with the chair, she locked eyes with Inkspot, who was busy trying to avoid Striker’s grasp. Pandora jerked her chin toward the hall in a signal to make their escape.

  Striker stumbled forward and knocked over a table. Gus was still busy trying to catch the flying paperwork. Felicity was on her knees, trying to fish Fluff out from under the kneehole in the desk, and Danforth was standing with his eyes wide open.

  Pandora and Inkspot careened out of the office and down the hall, making a run for the side door. Luck was with them—a patrolman was coming in just as they turned the corner. They quickly darted out the door. Pandora almost crashed into the red stilettos, but darted left at the last second and then made a beeline for the woods with the other cats following.

  * * *

  Pandora’s heart thudded against her ribs as she raced back to Elspeth’s. Would Willa still be there or would she have already left, venturing home alone after Pandora did not answer her call? Pandora was in luck. A quick trip onto Elspeth’s porch to listen at the screen door revealed that the two women were still talking inside. Pandora took the opportunity to go into the barn and discuss the situation with the other cats.

  “It does look like the extract is in there,” Inkspot told the other cats in the barn. “Pandora saw it.”

  “So what should we do?” Kelley asked.

  “We must protect Hope.” Snowball cast her blue eyes towards the small cat who was lounging in the loft.

  The black side of Hope’s face was toward them, the orange side in the shadows giving her face a more equal appearance. She cast a brilliant, green eye on them. “I don’t need protecting. My powers are strong, as you have already seen.”

  “We can’t take the risk of anything happening to you,” Inkspot said.

  Pandora could see the fur on Hope’s back ruffle. Hope had been upset that she couldn’t be included in the trip to the police station, but the ca
ts felt it was best that she stay hidden away, in case there was trouble.

  “Speaking of which,” Sasha said. “I think it’s time you get back to your home.”

  Elspeth took care of most of the cats in the barn, but like Pandora, Hope had a loving forever home. Like most of the cats in Mystic Notch, she had a little escape route that allowed her to come out and gather in the barn. Naturally, she didn’t want her human to know about it, so Hope needed to get back before her human came home from work. Due to her precious nature, the cats insisted that someone accompany her for her own protection. Tonight it was Sasha’s turn.

  “Not yet,” Hope said. “I want to hear the plan first.”

  “It seems obvious what we must do,” Pandora said. “We know the powerful lily extract is in the box and we know that Danforth is after it. He was in Gus' office just tonight.”

  “And so was Felicity,” Inkspot added.

  “Of course. The two of them are probably in on it together!” Pandora paced around the room. “I don’t think we have any time to waste. We need to take Danforth out of commission now.”

  “Wait a minute!” Otis objected. “We can’t just go taking humans out of commission without ironclad proof.”

  He had a point. It was an unspoken rule that they didn’t mess around in the business of the humans unless they had a really good reason.

  “But we have proof,” Pandora insisted.

  “Pffft,” Otis hissed. “That is not proof. Let me talk to Ming. He would know what his human is up to. I don’t think Danforth is the one to worry about. Ming would have warned me if he was.”

  Pandora narrowed her eyes at Otis. “How do you know you can trust Ming? He could be in on it with them and acting like he’s a friend. A spy, taking you into his confidence so he can get information on us from you.”

  “I don’t like what you are insinuating,” Otis huffed. “I’ve been friends with Ming for several of our lives and I’m wise enough to tell which side someone is on … don’t forget, I have much more experience than younger cats such as yourself, and with experience comes finely honed senses.”