by Elle Rush
“Thank you.” But then she smiled at him because he admitted he had messed up.
“I suppose I should visit Pumpkin while I’m here,” Decker continued. “Since you think I’m going to be adopting him and all.”
“Who said that?” Not her. She wanted Decker to come to that realization on his own. Besides, if she were going to lose Spooky, Midnight, and Stinky, it would be nice to know she’d be able to check in on one of her babies.
“Why don’t you go say hello and I’ll be there soon to check on them?” Joy suggested.
She wasn’t a minute behind him, but it was long enough to hear Decker say, “Since when did you start separating Pumpkin and the terrible trio? Where are they?”
“They’re in the same case where they always are,” Joy shouted back.
“No, they’re not,” he called from the other aisle.
Joy fought off a shiver. “Yes, they are.” Stinky and Pumpkin had been fighting over a catnip mouse the last time she’d seen them; Pumpkin had been trying to shake Stinky off the tail.
“No, Joy. They aren’t here.”
Chapter Fifteen
Decker
Joy had Pumpkin clutched to her chest in a grip she wouldn’t be loosening any time soon. Decker knew this because he was holding Joy the same way. “Breathe,” he ordered. Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably as she drew in another breath, making a pained noise that shook him to his core. He hated that sound. “I need you to pull it together so we can find the terrible trio. You can do this, Joy. I know you can.”
She shouldn’t have to. Decker had no doubt the fake coupons and resulting rush of customers were the setup. The kittens were the score, although he had no idea why. They were the feline equivalents of mutts; they had no value.
“I’m sure they’re okay,” he said.
“What if the kidnapper hurts them? Halloween is coming,” she answered.
“What does that have to do with—really?” That was an actual thing? Decker had worked his fair share of Hell Nights and Halloweens but the most he’d ever dealt with was a few arson cases and some drunks being terrified of the decorations at a haunted house party. He assumed stories about black cats and Halloween were urban legends or Hollywood creations.
“We’ve never had any trouble, but we don’t sell black cats in October, just in case. That’s what I told the guy.”
“What guy?” Now they were getting somewhere.
“The guy! The guy who wanted all three of them. I’m sure I told you about him. The one who came in three times this week and asked if Spooky, Midnight, and Stinky were up for adoption.”
“No, Joy, you’ve never mentioned him,” Decker said. He needed her to calm down.
She took a breath. “This guy wants my cats. When I told him they wouldn’t be available until November, he got mad. He even offered me a bribe. I ordered him out of the store last time when he propositioned me,” she said.
“Can you describe him?” It wouldn’t be hard for Decker to get access to the mall’s security camera system, especially when an actual crime had occurred. He needed Rob to make an official report, the faster the better.
“College student. Brown hair, over-styled. Brown eyes. Coke-bottle lenses in his glasses.” Decker started to get a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. “An embarrassment of a goatee. A couple inches taller than me. I think I know him. I recognized him the first time he came in but I couldn’t place him.”
It was enough. Her description painted an unmistakable picture in his head. Pure Bred. Liam. The kid had promised Decker a purebred Bombay by the end of the week. He must have been the one to supply Lorraine with the photo. No wonder the kittens looked so familiar; they were. Liam had motive and access.
“Joy!” Rob was not a big man; he was as tall as Joy and about fifty pounds heavier, although according to Joy it was all heart. He also had the voice of a drill sergeant when he was mad. He appeared at the end of the aisle holding a sheet of paper. “Why do we have an invoice for eleven thousand dollars from North Pole Unlimited for a Funster doll?”
“It’s obviously a mistake. How long have I worked for you? You know I’d never do anything like that. Can we find my missing kittens before you lay into me about someone else’s clerical error?” Joy was getting over her shock and into fighting form by the sound of it. But if they didn’t move quickly, her anger was going to swing back to despair and worry, and she’d lose the edge they needed to solve this case.
“You’ve called the police, right?” Decker asked.
Joy nodded. She wiped her eyes, smearing her makeup.
“Good,” he continued. “Go to the bathroom. Splash some water on your face. Then give the description of that guy to the police officer who comes to take your report. Give whoever it is the case number you got after the break-in the other night. I have to go.”
She shouldn’t be allowed to look at him like that. Like he’d broken her heart. “I might have a line on Spooky, Stinky, and Midnight, but I have to go now. Alone. As soon as I know anything for sure, I’ll call you. I promise.” He was asking a lot, and he knew it. He’d been in Joy’s life for days. The cats had been there for months.
But she nodded at him and stepped back. “If you don’t get the answers you want, I’m going to try. I don’t care if you are an ex-police-officer private detective. If somebody knows something and they aren’t cooperating, I promise I can be scarier than you.”
“How about we save that for Plan B?” He had to get moving. Had to before her eyes teared up again, or she asked him to stay, because he would. For as long as she wanted. He gave Pumpkin a rub behind the ears, and strode out the door.
He wanted to storm Pure Bred and demand they hand over the kittens but that wouldn’t work. He might be able to intimidate Liam, but Lorraine wouldn’t fold so easily. If she suspected anything was off, he had no doubt she’d get rid of the evidence. If he wanted to do it right, he needed a few minutes to prepare.
For the first time ever, Decker was glad he was in a mall. A quick stop at a men’s store netted him a fresh shirt. He ducked into a public restroom to change and comb his hair. He looked like a man on a mission who would not be put off for any reason. Perfect. Liam wouldn’t put up a fight, and Lorraine would hesitate. One opportunity was all he needed. He couldn’t rush it, so he didn’t enter through the store. He walked into Pure Brewed and stood in the slow line. When he finally made it to the counter, he ordered a large decaf vanilla latte. He’d give it to Joy if he finished quickly. Then he squeezed past the woman sitting by the store entrance who had dragged over a chair for her poodle.
The usual number of customers meandering through the store gave Decker time to look around before getting down to business. Charlie didn’t make him wait long; once he spotted his back-up enter the store, Decker tapped the cell phone in his pocket and made his move.
He came up behind Liam, trapping the shelf stocker between him and the plainclothes officer at the other end of the aisle. “Liam, how are you doing? Do you know how I’m doing? Not well.” Decker continued without giving the young man a chance to speak. “Do you know why I’m not doing well? Because I ordered a purebred Bombay cat from you a week ago and I still don’t have it. Why don’t I have my cat, Liam?”
He was pushing hard, but he had to. He had a bad feeling about the kittens being away from Joy for a minute longer than necessary.
“Back,” Liam choked out. “They’re in the back.”
“Show me,” Decker ordered.
Lorraine was there waiting. She gave him a close-lipped smile and waved her hand over a wire cage that was a single square foot big. The terrible trio were in it, looking worse for wear. The color-coded collars Joy had given them were missing. Decker was surprised he recognized them anyway: Spooky with his floppy ear, Stinky with the kink in his tail, and Midnight with that permanent sleepy look on his fuzzy face. “Are these the Bombays?” Decker asked.
“Yes.”
“How much do you want?�
��
“Two thousand. Cash. You get first pick because of your persistent inquiries,” Lorraine said.
“Are they chipped?” Decker asked. He squatted beside the cage, undid the door and reached in to pet them. The kittens crowded around his hand, silent and shaking. The stillness was wrong. They were supposed to be raising a ruckus. Spooky should be trying to lead the escape, and Stinky should be farting, and then spinning around trying to see where the smell was coming from.
Lorraine hesitated. She doesn’t know the answer, Decker thought. “They’re awfully young. Can they be chipped this early?” he asked.
“No, they can’t, and no, they aren’t. The breeder was leaving that up to the owners. I do have the paperwork guaranteeing their pedigrees, though, if you’d like to see it.”
“Yes, I would.” As soon as it was in his hands, he’d give the word and Lorraine and Liam and the whole Pure Bred pedigree scam would tumble down like a house of cards.
The documents looked authentic, as far as animal paperwork went. Decker had done a little research to know what to look for, and everything that was supposed to appear was there, including the seal. “Okey-dokey, Smokey, it’s a wrap.”
He closed the cage door and picked the carrier up. “These guys will be coming with me.”
“You can’t take all of them. I already have buyers lined up for the other two,” Lorraine protested.
Decker heard a human squawk come from the corridor outside Lorraine’s closed office door. “I’m not buying them. They aren’t yours. And they aren’t Bombays. They’re Ottawa alley cat specials. Is there anything else you’d like to say before you’re read your rights?”
There was a knock on her office door. “Come in and call the police! This man is stealing my cats.”
The door opened. “I’m the police.” Charlie Barr entered the room grinning. “You make this too easy, Harkness.”
“I live to serve.”
Decker waited for Charlie to finish reading Lorraine her rights. The kittens waited for the click of the handcuffs before they spun around to face the back of the room, almost shaking the cage loose from his hand as they meeped at the shadowed corner. “Yes, I know. We’ll get you back to Joy right away, where she can scan your microchips and prove you are who I said you are.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to add to your order, Harkness?” Charlie asked.
The kittens went nuts again, diving toward the corner only to bounce back when they hit the cage wall. “What is wrong with you guys?” he asked, not expecting an answer.
“Meeeeep!”
“Harkness?”
There was nothing else to be done here. Nothing else he needed. Everything had been tied in a big red bow.
Except.
Except for the one thing that had brought him to Pure Bred in the first place. The catalyst. The MacGuffin of a missing prototype which had set half a dozen other balls in motion.
“Give me a minute.” What were the odds NPU would send an invoice to Kitten Caboodle for E.L.V.I.S. today? With the doll being valued at over ten thousand dollars, whoever had possession of it without a receipt was guilty of a lot more than a shoplifting misdemeanor.
“I wonder if E.L.V.I.S. has left the building,” Decker said aloud.
“What?” Lorraine asked. It was the only word she’d spoken since she said, “I want my lawyer.”
“I was hired to find a missing prototype for North Pole Unlimited. An E.L.V.I.S. model. I told you about it, Charlie. Lorraine is the store’s manager, and she assured me it wasn’t shipped to Pure Bred. Today NPU sent the invoice to Kitten Caboodle, which means if that doll is here, Lorraine is guilty of receiving stolen property.”
“I am not a thief. Liam stole the cats,” Lorraine insisted.
“I didn’t say you stole the terrible trio. You did, however, try to sell falsely them as purebreds. But we aren’t talking about that. We’re talking about a twelve-inch doll with rubber shoes and a shiny utility belt worth a lot more than any cat. I bet if I took a step over there” —Decker pointed to the corner— “I’d find more of Kitten Caboodle’s missing property.”
In the end, he didn’t take the step. His former partner took it for him. Charlie reached into the corner and pulled the doll out by its head. Decker tried not to flinch at the thought of thousands of dollars of electronics and micro-gears being squished in his friend’s iron grip. Instead, he took the evidence bag Charlie dug out of his pocket, wrapped it around the doll and sealed it tight.
Two cases closed.
Chapter Sixteen
Joy
Early November
Joy clenched the lapels of her coat as she walked across the parking lot against the wind. The brisk air cleared her head of the usual daze she was in when she thought about Decker.
Since the catnapping a week and a half earlier, thinking about him was an hourly occurrence.
When Decker returned to Kitten Caboodle two hours after he’d left, with all three kittens in tow, Joy was not ashamed to say she kissed him in front of her boss, the police officers taking their statements, and mall security. She almost kissed his friend Charlie too, but managed to restrain herself to a hug when it came to him.
But first she and Rob had scanned the kittens and showed Charlie the cats were, in fact, already microchipped and registered as belonging to the shelter.
Then they had to explain what had happened with the fake coupons. Inspector Barr said it was a relatively new scam which the police had tracked back to a bunch of university students. A few days later, he reported Liam had apparently teamed up with them and used the coupon confusion as a distraction to steal the cats.
“About the second theft,” the cop said after they scanned the kittens.
“Second theft?” Joy had done a head count after Decker left. All dogs, cats, birds, and guinea pigs were accounted for. She’d counted twice. The merchandise was a secondary concern, since it would take at least a day to find out how many Funsters had walked out the door.
“Are you aware North Pole Unlimited has a toy doll worth more than ten thousand dollars? It’s called an E.L.V.I.S. model, I believe,” Inspector Barr said.
“Yes, the one Decker was looking for. We got an invoice for it this morning,” Joy said. She was about to say it had to be a mistake, but she saw Decker put a finger to his lips. She took the hint and stopped speaking.
“We found the doll in the manager’s office at Pure Bred. It’s likely it was stolen at the same time as the kittens, although both the manager and her accomplice are denying it. If you’re willing to provide a copy of that invoice, we’ll add it to the list of charges.”
Behind him, Decker nodded, silently telling her to agree. He reached for Rob’s arm, to give him the same advice. Rob waved him off; apparently, he didn’t need the warning. The men let Joy keep talking. “I’ll have to check with Rob, but I think we can do that,” she said.
Truthfully, she didn’t care about the doll. She had her boys back. It was enough. The police were welcome to everything else. Inspector Barr took her and Rob’s statements, the coupons, and the invoice, and then he, Decker and E.L.V.I.S. left.
Decker showed up at her apartment after she got home from her shift and didn’t leave her side all evening. The only exception was when Pumpkin cried for him in the kitchen until Decker went to check on him and his three little brothers.
Decker started adoption proceedings the next day.
Joy skipped his background check.
He had stiff competition. Kitten Caboodle had made the evening news, and people were clamoring to adopt the “cat-napped” kittens, as well as their other animals. The shelter had also acquired all the animals from Pure Bred after it had been shut down pending a full criminal investigation. Fortunately for them, Joy and Rob had final say on who went home with whom.
As a result of the booming sales, the fact their biggest competitor had vanished overnight, and official notification that he didn’t have to pay for an eleve
n-thousand-dollar doll, Rob had given her a raise and a bonus.
At first, she thought it was a nice surprise that would allow her to stay at Kitten Caboodle a while longer. She hadn’t heard back from the employment agency regarding her last interview anyway. The bonus was also enough to put down as a huge deposit against pet damage at an apartment building allowed cats where she put in an application. In a convenient coincidence, Decker had been hired to run her background check for the rental company.
Too bad Joy might not be around to enjoy the move.
Her luck continued to improve. A week after that, she’d received a call from the agency telling her that she’d made it to the second round of interviews. These ones were in person, in Ottawa. Thankfully, Rob had responded to her emergency email and agreed to cover the first half of her shift the next day.
She hadn’t told Decker about it. She didn’t want to cause unnecessary tension if she didn’t get the job.
A familiar man in a golf shirt and sport coat rose from behind the table in the hotel conference room. “Hi, Joy. I’m Nick Klassen. It’s nice to meet you in person,” he said.
“Hi, Mr. Klassen.”
“Just Nick. Please, sit.”
She took a seat, and he gestured at a plate heaping with cookies, and an assortment of drinks on the table. Joy took a bottle of water, more to keep her hands busy than because she was thirsty.
“I know it’s unorthodox not to know the name of the company you’re applying for, especially at this stage. We’ve found interviews go better if we discuss exactly what you’ll be doing and what your compensation will be before we talk about whom you’ll be doing it for,” he said. “Are you ready to get started?”
The more Nick spoke, the more excited she got. It sounded like a dream job. Working directly under a veterinarian, caring for all kinds of animals. With the salary they were offering, she could almost swing a down payment on a small house of her own if the price was right.
Then came the kicker. The company wasn’t in Ottawa. It wasn’t even in the province. Joy’s heart dropped.