The Corral Cat Caper (Klepto Cat Mystery Book 7)

by Patricia Fry

  "Well, we left the animals with Bonnie when we visited my mom and someone cut into the pen. Buffy got out. Rags clawed the guy up pretty bad. We saw the creep on the camera, but he got away."

  "Wait, you had cameras out there? You saw him?"

  "Well, sort of. We didn't see his face. But we know he was clawed up pretty bad and we saw what he was wearing: camouflage clothes."

  Iris sat back in her chair, a smirk on her face. "Every third man coming into the diner wears camouflage," she said. She leaned toward Savannah. "So tell me about your dream."

  "Well, I saw Peaches in a wire corral surrounded by brush. She was okay. But I don't know how long she'll be there. If a hunter has her, he may be going back home to Idaho or Kansas and leave her or…worse yet…take her with him," Savannah said. She bent down to pick up Lily's set of plastic keys and put them back on her tray. "So the dream showed me she's okay for now. But I don't know how to find her. Iris, do you have any ideas for using what I learned in my dream to get my horse back?"

  Iris gazed at her friend. She took a deep breath. "Wow, honey, you really do have a predicament, don't you? So you believe this dream? I mean, you're sure it was a premonition dream and not wishful thinking?"

  "Heck, Iris, if I had a wishful thinking dream, I'd have my mare home. No. It was a true premonition dream. There's no mistaking it. Of course, Michael is skeptical. He said I've never told him about these dreams. I sure thought I did. Or maybe I didn't. But he isn't a believer. That doesn't help me. I really needed to talk to someone who understands."

  "Now kiddo," Iris said, "you know I've never had one of those dreams."

  "Yes, but you understand."

  "Yes, I do," she said giving Savannah a knowing look.

  "So what would you do if you had this…"

  "…insider information?" Iris suggested.

  "Yeah, exactly."

  "I'd pursue it. But I'm not saying you should traipse all over that hillside looking for her. You've already done that, anyway. No, you need to work smarter. You've been given this information for a reason. And I would bet there's more information where that came from. You just have to figure out how to get to it. It's within your realm of knowing—of knowledge." Iris dropped her head. "The problem is figuring out how to access it." She closed her eyes. Savannah sat silent. Finally Iris said, "You must be watchful, Savannah. Pay close attention to everyone and everything around you. You may be given a sign or an opportunity. Don't discount those."

  Savannah's eyes grew wide.

  "You should also use what you've been given to learn more."

  "How do I do that?" Savannah asked. "Do you have any ideas?"

  "Before you go to sleep at night, close your eyes and bring the vision of your horse in that pen to your mind. Focus only on that image. When you have the image strong in your mind, start looking beyond that vision. What do you see just outside the corral? What can the horse see from where she is? Do you hear anything? Do you see anyone around her? Look for even the tiniest details—footprints, the horse's feed, anything and everything."

  "Wow, Iris, that's a great suggestion."

  "And pay attention to who comes into your life during the next several days. What gifts do they bring? It might be something as subtle as an impression or idea or as concrete as detailed information."

  "Okay. Thanks Iris. I feel so much better knowing that maybe I can do something about getting Peaches back and stopping this attack on Bonnie and Barney," Savannah said.

  "I hope it's helpful," she said.

  "Well, it makes perfect sense to me—as much sense as is possible under such senseless circumstances."

  Iris looked at her watch. "I'd better scoot." She rubbed Lily's arm and said, "Playdate's over, punkin. Aunt RisRis has to go." She looked at Savannah. "This has been so nice. Thanks for calling me. I really enjoyed our morning."

  "Me, too. And thank you for all the help—with Lily and with my woo woo question." She hugged Iris warmly. "You're the best."

  After Iris left, Savannah dialed Bonnie's number. "Hey girlfriend, ready for another ride?"

  "Sure!" she said with enthusiasm. "Where do you want to go?"

  "Remember that fork we didn't take? I think we ought to go exploring. That lone rustler, as Craig calls him, just may be camping up there with my horse, your goat, and the cow."

  "Oh, so that bloody rag was his?" Bonnie asked.

  "Seems so," Savannah said.

  "When do you want to go?" she asked.

  "I think I can arrange to get away anytime. Bonnie, this is a priority for me. I want my horse back…unharmed."

  Bonnie hesitated before responding. "I know you do, Savannah. And I still feel so bad that this happened."

  "I'm not blaming you. It just makes me so mad that someone would so callously steal from you guys and create such havoc in your peaceful lives. It's not fair and I want that creep caught, even if I have to find him myself."

  "Wow, you are riled up, aren't you?" Bonnie said, chuckling. "I don't believe I've ever seen you like this."

  Savannah laughed. "I don't know if I've ever seen myself like this."

  "How's late this afternoon?" Bonnie suggested.

  "Hey, that would work. I'll see if my aunt will take care of the baby until Michael gets home from the clinic. What time does it get dark? Seven-thirtyish?"

  "Yes, about then. Can you be here around three?"

  "Sure."

  ****

  By three fifteen that afternoon, Bonnie and Savannah were saddled and ready to ride.

  "Be careful," Barney said. He glanced at both women. "Do you have your cell phones, water, jackets, sunscreen, pepper spray…?"

  "Pepper spray?" Savannah scoffed. "How about a scattergun?"

  "Yeah, like I would turn you gals loose with a gun…" Barney chuckled.

  "Very funny," Bonnie said. "See you later," she called as they rode out toward the pasture gate.

  "There's Elsie's place," Bonnie said, when they approached the old homestead at a trot.

  "Yeah, it took us a little less than an hour to get here, and the fork in the trail is—what—another eight or ten minutes away?"

  "Yes, why?" Bonnie asked.

  "I'm just trying to figure the time element. If we can get to the highway in, say, an hour and a half on horseback, it would take someone on foot two hours or more."

  "Yeah, but who would walk out here at night? Remember, he has your horse—maybe he's riding her."

  "Good gosh, of course. We did find horse droppings. I'd sure not be walking around out here at night if I had a horse. Yes, he's probably using her and that makes me feel a little better."

  "Why?" Bonnie asked, scrunching up her face.

  "Well, then I know she's still around here and…" Savannah choked up, "not in a can of dog food, for heaven's sake." She wiped her eyes, blinked, and said, "Hey is that Elsie out there? Looks like she's milking a goat!" she exclaimed. "Bonnie," she said in hushed tones, "is that your goat?"

  "Holy moly," Bonnie said. She rode on until she had a better look down into the yard where Elsie sat on a small stool, milking a goat. "Damn," Bonnie said. "That's not her! That's not the goat that's missing." She started chuckling softly. "Savannah, you aren't thinking that old woman is sneaking in to our place at night carting off livestock, are you?"

  Savannah smiled. "That is rather ridiculous, I guess." She then said, "Darn. For a minute there, I thought we'd scored." She nodded toward the trail ahead. "Well, let's carry on. We have a lot of ground to cover."

  They reached the fork after about nine minutes. "Whew, this trail is steeper than the other one. He probably wouldn't take this one—he'd opt for the easier one," Savannah said.

  "If he's on horseback, it doesn't matter to him, right?" Bonnie reasoned. "Gads, it doesn't appear that this trail has been used recently." After they'd ridden half a mile, Bonnie turned in her saddle and looked at Savannah. "I think we're out of gas here. This looks like a dead-end idea."

  Savannah s
topped her horse. "Well, that's disappointing. What next?" she asked.

  Bonnie shook her head. "I don't have a clue."

  "And a clue is what we desperately need." Savannah stood in her stirrups and gazed down over the valley. "Where could he have taken her?" she asked, not expecting an answer. "Where is he keeping her?"

  "What was that?" Bonnie asked quietly, staring hard off to their right.

  Savannah whispered, "Sounds like there's something in the brush over there."

  The two women sat still in their saddles, watching and waiting. Bonnie slowly reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the pepper spray, holding it in her hand. They listened and watched, as they continued to hear rustling in the thick brush a distance above them. Suddenly a shot rang out.

  "Oh my God!" Bonnie shouted.

  The rustling sound in the brush came closer and closer. In the meantime, Zeke reared up and spun around. Wilson raised his head and stared in the direction of the sound. He began dancing in place, his ears perked to take in the sounds. As the women struggled to keep their mounts calm, something crashed through the brush and sprinted toward them.

  "A deer!" Bonnie exclaimed, as the two riders watched the doe dash down the hillside out of sight.

  "Good, she got away," Savannah said. She looked up toward the top of the knoll, asking, "But who was shooting at her? Who's up there?"

  "I don't know and I'm not going to find out," Bonnie said. "Anyway, how do you know they were shooting at the deer?"

  Savannah continued to take up the rear, as the horses carefully made their way down the steep hillside. She turned in her saddle and looked up the hill behind them. "Bonnie," she whispered excitedly, "I see something."

  "What?" Bonnie asked, stopping her horse abruptly.

  "Oh darn, it's gone. Bonnie," she said as if confiding in her, "I think it was Peaches. I saw something through the brush right over there and it looked like the color of Peaches's coat."

  Bonnie peered in the direction Savannah pointed and then shook her head. "Savannah, it was probably another deer. There are a lot of them out here and your horse is about the same color."

  "Oh," Savannah said, disappointed. "You could be right." She turned and looked that direction again, saying, "But Bonnie, we know someone's up here. Deer don't shoot guns."

  "True. But that guy's probably long gone by now hunting on the other side of the ridge where he's supposed to be. They can't hunt this close to residents—Elsie's place is right down there, you know." She took in a deep breath. "It's not deer season, anyway. Either that guy was shooting at a pig or a turkey and flushed the doe out or he's poaching."

  Savannah sat back down in her saddle. "Well that's disappointing. Another bunch of false clues."

  "Yes, it is disappointing. Hey," she said checking her watch, "we'd better head back or we won't make it before dark."

  ****

  The next day, Savannah was on her way to town with Lily. "We need to pick up some pretty napkins for the wedding party," she told the baby, who was strapped in her car seat. "We'll buy a gift for Aunt RisRis and Uncle Craig," she said in a singsong manner. "And Mommy has to get groceries."

  Savannah smiled upon hearing Lily's delightful baby sounds.

  All of a sudden, Savannah gasped, "Oh my gosh!" She quickly pulled the car over and grabbed her cell phone from her purse. That guy has a big bandage on his right forearm. I wonder if he's our thief. He looks like he might be comfortable in the wilderness—a live-off-the-land type, with that big backpack he's toting. And he's wearing a camouflage outfit. The guy on Bonnie's camera the night Rags scratched him wore camouflage and he had the sleeves of his jacket pushed up just like that. It must be him. I'll watch and see where he goes. Oh, now that makes sense—he's going into the sporting-goods store.

  Savannah waited and watched until the man came out of the store. She snapped a few pictures with her phone, and then exited her car. Carrying the baby in her arms, she entered the sporting-goods store.

  "Hello," she said to the sixty-something balding clerk. "That man who was just in here wearing camouflage—do you know him?"

  "We get a lot of guys in here wearing camouflage, lady. You'll have to be more specific."

  "Well, he just left. He was your last customer. He walked out with a paper bag."

  "Oh, him." He looked at Savannah suspiciously, glanced at the baby, and asked, "Why do you want to know? Are you an ex-wife wanting alimony?"

  "No," Savannah said. "I thought I recognized him and wanted to make sure it was who I thought it was before I approached him," she stumbled over her words, trying to make sense without letting on the real reason she had him in her sights. "So do you know him?" she asked.

  The clerk didn't seem convinced that her motives were genuine. "No, must be an out-of-state hunter. I don't know him."

  "Well, what did he buy?" She glanced around the store and then asked, "Did he say anything about having a horse? Does he hunt on horseback?"

  Before the clerk could respond, two more customers walked in and approached the counter where Savannah stood. When the clerk saw them, he said quietly to Savannah, "Hey, lady, why don't you go ask him yourself. He said he was going to The Office—that's the bar just half block down." He turned and addressed one of the waiting customers, "Can I help you?"

  Walk into a bar with a baby? I don't think so, Savannah thought to herself. Instead, she returned to her car. Once Savannah had Lily buckled into the car seat, she climbed into the driver's seat and pulled out her cell phone. "Craig, I was hoping to catch you. I hope this message reaches you in time. Hey, there's a guy dressed in camouflage with a bandaged right arm at The Office bar right now." She looked around for a street sign. "It's on Frederick, near…Blanche," she said. "You might want to question him. He may be our rustler. Talk to you later." Before ending the call, she said, "I'm sending a photo I took of him."

  After Savannah and Lily had run a few errands, Savannah said, "All we have left to do is get groceries. Shall we stop and see Daddy before we go to the store? Mommy can feed you; you're probably hungry."

  "Hi Scarlett," Savannah said to the receptionist as she walked into the Ivey Veterinary Clinic with Lily in her arms.

  "Hi Dr. Savannah and baby Lily," Scarlett said. "You are getting so big," she said.

  Lily rubbed her eyes with her fists and buried her face in Savannah's shoulder.

  "Is she sleepy?" Scarlett asked.

  "Yes, we've been all over the place today. I dropped in here to feed her and then maybe she'll sleep while I do the grocery shopping."

  "She'll sleep in the grocery store?"

  "Yeah, I think so. I'll just put her car seat in the basket." She thought for a moment and said, "Or I can drop her off for her nap at my aunt's." She laughed. "With a baby, you're always playing it by ear. I've thrown my agendas out the window."

  "Yeah, my sister has a baby and that's what I've noticed about her. She used to be really organized—I mean to the point of being obsessive. But all of a sudden…" She threw her arms up in the air. "…poof! No more schedules."

  "Hi hon. Hi baby girl," Michael said as he walked into the waiting room carrying a file.

  "There's Daddy," Savannah said to Lily.

  Lily raised her head and smiled shyly at Michael. He handed Scarlett a patient's chart and reached for his daughter. "Give Ms. Elsie some extra bandages and another tube of that ointment, would you?" he said to Scarlett. "And make an appointment for next week."

  "Sure, Dr. Mike."

  Savannah noticed a woman standing next to her with a dog in her arms. "Oh hello there Elsie," Savannah said when she saw it was the woman who lived out in the old shack in the wilderness.

  "Hi," Elsie said, smiling. She stared at Savannah for a moment and then said, "I've seen you before. You rode your horse by my house."

  "That's right," Savannah said. She glanced down at the woman's housedress, which was covered by a canvas apron. She reached out and touched the dog's head, thinking, That's the dog
we saw in her yard the day we discovered her place.

  "He got caught in a trap," Elsie explained. "Dr. Ivey thinks we can save his leg."

  "I hope so," Savannah said. "Looks like a nice dog."

  "The best," Elsie said, brushing a wiry white curl from her face with one hand. She addressed Scarlett. "Would you call me a cab, dear?"

  She sure is friendly today—like day and night. I wonder what her story is—why she lives out there like that and how she manages. She doesn't look all that strong.

  Before she knew what she was saying, Savannah spoke. "I can give you a ride home." I'd really like to know more about her. Maybe she's seen the rustler. Maybe she's had problems with him, too.

  Elsie looked at her for a moment and said, "Well that would be right kindly of you."

  Excited at the prospect and the opportunity, Savannah glanced at Lily and said, "Can you wait for me while I feed the baby? I'll be ready in about fifteen minutes."

  Elsie looked around. "Sure. It would take that long for a cab to show up. I'll just sit here," she said carrying the dog to a chair in the waiting room.

  Soon Savannah buckled a sleeping Lily into the car seat in the backseat of her SUV and helped Elsie climb into the passenger seat in front.

  "What's his name?" Savannah asked as she placed the dog in Elsie's lap.

  "Ellwood," she said. "He's a mutt, you know."

  "Yes, looks like he could have some sheltie in him and maybe terrier. He's a handsome boy," Savannah said smoothing the fur on his head.

  "How old's your baby?" Elsie asked once they were on the road.

  "Just about five months." She glanced at her passenger. "Do you have children, Elsie?"

  "No," she said shaking her head. "I did once, but they took him away…said, because of my condition, I couldn't care for him."

  "Your condition?" Savannah questioned.

  "Yeah, I had an accident, you see. My brain doesn't always work right since my accident."

  "Oh, I'm sorry," Savannah said sincerely.