I gulped and stared out of my pet carrier. If only we’d been able to save her already. Then we might even be sneaking her home with us right now. But instead, she had been taken away for the night by that awful Count and Countess.
Holy Catnip!
CHAPTER 13
I closed my eyes and hung my head the whole way home. I could hardly believe it. After all our work to save the Princess, in the end, we still failed to rescue her. The scene where I asked her to jump just kept playing over and over in my mind. If only I could have found the right words to make her leap off that pillow in time. Some great cat detective I turned out to be.
Worst of all, I kept thinking about the Princess being carted off by the Count and Countess. Who knew what they might do to her tonight?
I sighed and covered my head with my huge paws. Maybe I wasn’t really cut out to be a cat detective. Maybe it would be best for everyone if I just quit the business while I was behind.
I heard Bogey meow from the pet carrier beside me. “I know things look ugly right now, kid. Sometimes this is an ugly business. But you just can’t let it get to you.”
I peeked out to look at him. “Too late. It already did.”
Bogey flopped down on his side. “I can see that, kid. But sometimes you have to hang in there long enough to make things work. You can’t give up now.”
I tried to think of something to say to him. But right at that moment, the words just wouldn’t come to me.
We got home to find Officer Phoebe Smiley of the St. Gertrude Police Department waiting to talk to my Mom. Bogey and I sat in the living room and listened in while Officer Smiley asked a whole bunch of questions.
She flipped out her little notebook and then looked at my Mom. “When was the last time you remember seeing your bracelet, Abigail?”
My Mom put a finger to her mouth and stared at the floor for a second or two. “It was right after Bogey ran the Agility course. I remember being careful when I picked him up. I didn’t want the bracelet to snag his fur.”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” Officer Smiley said as she wrote something down. “Did you notice anyone looking at your bracelet during the day?”
My Mom shook her head. “Nope. I’m afraid not.”
Officer Smiley asked a few more questions and that was that. She shook my Mom’s hand and gave us each a pet on the head. All the while I wished she would’ve asked us some questions, too. Because I guessed she didn’t know there’d been other missing jewelry at other cat shows.
For dinner that night, Gracie hosted a little celebration for us in our dining room. She invited a few friends over. And while the humans ate pizza, she fed us our favorite food — tuna fish. She carefully laid our blue ribbons on the table, so everyone could see.
We heard lots of “ooohs” and “aaahs” from everyone. Plus our Dad kept petting us and saying that he was so proud of us. Lil joined in the party, too, and she kept glancing at Bogey and me.
Sure, I know I should have been enjoying myself. Especially since Gracie had been so thoughtful to host this little party in our honor. But somehow, I just couldn’t get into the spirit of things.
After dinner, Lil sat down in front of us. “Looks like you’ve had quite a day. What’s the scoop, Detectives?”
That’s when Bogey told her everything. From start to finish. Now, more than ever, I wondered why Lil had quit the cat detective business. Because she sure seemed interested in this case. Amelia had told me that Lil was pretty well known around St. Gertrude. Once again I started to wonder why. Was it possible that Lil had a whole other life that she’d never told me about?
Holy Mackerel!
I wanted to ask her about it but I didn’t get the chance. That’s because she was busy asking Bogey tons and tons of questions. Then she repeated back everything he said, like she was making sure she’d heard him right.
Funny, but hearing a replay of the day just made me feel even worse than before.
So I decided to excuse myself. I had to clear my head. Besides that, I really needed some answers.
And I knew just where to get them.
The Wise One.
I climbed the stairs and walked slowly to the sunroom, where I knew I’d find her. But the closer I got, the more I wondered if this was a good idea. After all, I’d never gone to talk to Mokie by myself before. I was scared enough of her when I was with Bogey. How would I feel when I was all alone with a cat who was so important and wise?
I inched closer to the door, trying to decide whether I should go in or not. That’s when I noticed my paws were shaking. I wondered if I needed to give this whole idea a little more thought first. Maybe I’d been way too hasty when I had headed up to talk to Mokie.
I’d almost made it to the door when the smell of tuna fish floated back to me. I figured Gracie must have taken some tuna up to Mokie as well.
I crouched down on the ground. Part of me wanted to go in and talk to Mokie. And another part of me said I’d been through enough scary things for one day already. Maybe I didn’t really need one more.
But then something else popped into my mind — the Princess. She had been scared, too. So scared that she wouldn’t jump off her pillow. So scared that she wouldn’t even let us rescue her.
Fear had held her back from doing the very thing that could have saved her.
That’s when I decided I wasn’t going to let fear hold me back, too. Because Mokie might be able to give me some answers that could save me in a way. After all, she didn’t get the name “The Wise One” for nothing. And if I stayed in the hallway all night, I’d never get any answers.
So I took a deep breath and stood up tall. Then I stepped up to the door of the sunroom.
Mokie lifted her chin from her food dish. She tilted her head sideways and looked at me. “Detective Buckley. Good evening. I’m surprised to see you. I don’t think you’ve ever come here alone.”
At that moment, I couldn’t even speak. All I could do was nod my head. But then I remembered to bow. Just like Bogey always did around Mokie.
For some reason, this made her smile. “I see you’ve come for some advice. Very well, let me be seated so I may hear what troubles you.”
With that, she tottered over to the purple, velvet couch on her stiff, old legs. She glanced up at the seat and waited a moment or two. Then she leaped onto the couch and took her position, like a queen taking her throne.
Finally, she raised a paw and addressed me. “Now, young detective, what advice is it that you seek?”
“W-w-w-ell,” I stuttered. “I’m wondering if I should be a cat detective or not. I’m not sure if I’ve got what it takes to do this job.”
She nodded. “Ah, I see. So you must have come up against a case that has you quite befuddled. Please tell me about it.”
And so I did. Just like Bogey had told Lil all about it. The only thing was, when I finished telling the Wise One my whole story, I kind of felt better. Like a gigantic weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
“So what should I do?” I asked her.
“Ah,” she told me. “Only you can decide what to do. We must all choose our own path in life.”
Now I tilted my head to the side. “We must?”
She nodded her head very slowly this time. “Yes. For when you attempt to do something important, you take a risk. In the end, you might succeed. Or you might fail. The result is yours to live with.”
I sighed. “But I don’t want to fail. I feel so horrible right now I can hardly stand it.”
She angled her ears forward. “Fear of failure is a very bad feeling. Most of the time. But perhaps in your case, it might be good.”
I’m sure my eyes went wide. “Huh? How can it be good?”
She raised her paw again. “Sometimes, such fear makes us want to do better. Sometimes it makes us work harder to make things go well.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know if I can work harder right now. Because I really feel like giving up.”
Mokie eyed m
e carefully. “Ah, some give up and never try again. That is the path that some choose.”
I stared at the ground for a moment. “Hmm . . .”
Right about then, the thought of giving up didn’t sound so bad to me. It sure would be a lot easier than going through all the torment I’d been going through. And if I just gave up, I wouldn’t have to worry about whether I could save the Princess or not.
But then something dawned on me. I looked back up at Mokie. “Is that what happened to Lil? Did she just give up?”
Mokie nodded and didn’t say a word.
That’s when I realized that giving up might not be all it was cracked up to be. After all, I wasn’t sure if Lil was happy not being a cat detective anymore.
Mokie examined the claws of her right front paw. “But some don’t give up. And sometimes they go on to greater glories. But only you can decide where your heart lies. Have you looked into your heart, young one?”
Okay, I wasn’t exactly sure how I was supposed to look into my heart. But I guessed she was telling me to think about how I really felt about things.
So I thought about it for a few seconds. And to tell you the truth, I was pretty sure I knew the answer right away.
“I really want to save the Princess,” I told Mokie. “I want her to be happy and safe and have a home. Because I know what it feels like to not have a home. I remember what it was like to live in a shelter, and not have a family.”
“Ah,” Mokie said. “Then you must also remember this — if you give up now, you will never succeed. Then you will have failed already.”
I gulped. Holy Catnip. I sure didn’t want to fail at something just because I gave up on it. And in this case, that “something” was the Princess.
Now Mokie sat up straight and tall. “Life is not always easy. But know that you can never really fail by trying. When you can, choose to help others. For in the end, good always wins over evil.”
“Wow,” was all I could say for a few seconds. Mokie sure had given me a lot to think about.
I looked up and right into her eyes. “I do like helping other cats. For some reason, it makes me happy.”
That’s when something really amazing happened — Mokie smiled.
She raised her paw again and held it in the air. “You have done well, Grasshopper.”
I tilted my head. “Huh?”
“That is all I can tell you now, young cat. You must leave me.” She yawned and waved me away. “It is time for me to rest.”
I bowed and then I tried to salute her. But I only ended up poking myself in the ear. Maybe I should have asked for some advice on saluting. But I noticed she’d already closed her eyes.
So I turned around and left the room.
Then I raced downstairs to find Bogey. All the while, I couldn’t stop wondering about Lil. What had happened to make her give up on being a cat detective? Did she have a case like I did once? Did it make her feel like a failure, too?
Now I wondered again what I should do. Should I keep on being a cat detective? Or should I give it up and become nothing more than a lap cat?
I shuddered at the thought.
And, well, when it really came down to it, I knew the Wise One had been right. If I gave up now and didn’t even try, that meant I would have failed before I even started. And if I gave up, then what would happen to the Princess? She’d never get rescued. And I could never live with myself if I didn’t at least try to save her.
I stepped onto the hardwood floor of the main level. Right then and there, I knew I couldn’t quit being a cat detective. And I knew I couldn’t give up on this case. No matter how bad it made me feel. I figured that was something else Mokie had been right about. Because my fear of failure made me even more determined than ever to save the Princess.
By the time I found Bogey in the kitchen, I was actually feeling a whole lot better. He pulled me aside while our human family started to turn down the house for the night. Soon they’d be turning out the lights and heading for bed.
“I had a little chat with Lil,” he told me. “And she had some ideas that might help us out.”
For the first time in hours, I felt like smiling. “Sounds good to me.”
Bogey handed me a cat treat. “But there’s something you’ve got to know, kid. Lil wants to come back and be a cat detective again. She really wants to help out with this case.”
Now I really smiled. “Cool . . .” was all I could say. To tell you the truth, I was so happy for Lil. I didn’t like the idea that she’d quit being a cat detective because something had gone wrong once.
Bogey grabbed a cat treat for himself. “But before we officially bring her in on this case, I wanted to make sure you were good with this. You know, since this is supposed to be the Buckley and Bogey Detective Agency.”
I nodded to my friend. “I’m happy to have an extra paw in the mix. And if it gets Lil going again, I’m all for it.”
Bogey grinned at me. “I figured you’d say something like that.”
But before I could say any more, Gracie came over and gave us each a hug and kiss goodnight. I gave her a kiss on the nose to let her know I loved her.
Suddenly Lil appeared and followed Gracie up the stairs. She had a spring in her step like I’ve never seen before. She gave us a quick salute before she went. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Detectives,” she meowed to us. “After I get Gracie settled in.”
Bogey nodded to her and I gave her a “paws up.” It was good to see Lil acting so happy.
A few minutes later, the lights were out in the house and our human family was fast asleep.
And that’s when us cats went into action.
Bogey and I made a beeline for the office. I turned on the computer while he manned, or rather, “catted” the keyboard.
He typed in a few words and then he looked at me. “Okay, kid, let me bring you up to speed. Lil and I figured the key to this case depends on us solving the mystery of the missing jewelry. And I mean jewelry stolen from this cat show and all the others.”
I blinked. “It does?”
Bogey nodded. “Yup. But we’ll talk about it when Lil gets back. She and I even started to come up with a plan.”
I blinked again. “You did?”
Bogey passed me another cat treat. “Oh, yeah, kid. And believe me, you’re going to like it.”
I munched on the salmon-flavored treat. “I’m sure I will.”
Bogey put his paws to the keyboard. “There’s only one catch, kid.”
I glanced up at the computer screen. “What’s that?”
Bogey started to type. “To pull this off, we also need to be in the Best in Show Competition tomorrow. That means we have to win our next rounds.”
I gulped. “How are we going to do that?”
Bogey started to type. “Let me put it this way, kid. I’ve got to run that Agility Course faster and better than ever.”
I took a deep breath. “And me?”
Bogey grinned at me. “Well, kid. You’re going to have to be cuter than you’ve ever been in your life.”
I moaned and covered my face with my huge paws. Did he say cute again? To tell you the truth, I’d had about all the being cute that I could take for a long, long time.
Why did our plan have to depend on me being cute? What a guy had to go through just to save a Princess!
Holy Mackerel!
CHAPTER 14
We left for the cat show again bright and early in the morning. The sun was shining when we arrived at the St. Gertrude Events Center. Gracie carried Bogey in his pet carrier and our Mom carried me in mine. All the while, Gracie couldn’t stop smiling. She had a bounce in her step and she kept talking about the upcoming Best in Show Competition. She was so sure that Bogey and I would both be in it. And every time she even said the words, “Best in Show,” she finished with a little squeal.
I have to say, it really felt good to know that she believed in us that much.
But little did she know, we had to
be in that competition. It was important if our plan was to go off without a hitch. And what a plan it was. Holy Mackerel! Bogey and Lil and I had put our heads together the night before. Right after we’d done tons of research on the Internet. That’s when we learned some very interesting stuff that helped us come up with a real doozie of a plan!
Holy Catnip!
When Bogey told me yesterday that we would come up with a better plan than the first one . . . well, he wasn’t kidding!
Just thinking about it made every strand of fur on my body stand on end. That meant I probably looked extra fuzzy today. The only thing was, I wasn’t sure if looking extra fuzzy meant I looked extra cute. And for once in my life, I actually wanted to be as cute as I could be.
I glanced over at Bogey in his pet carrier. He grinned back at me. Nobody ever would’ve guessed that he had a passenger with him — Lil. She was so well hidden under a blanket in the back that I couldn’t even see her. And Gracie must have been so excited about the show that she didn’t notice Bogey’s pet carrier was heavier than before.
I shook my head in amazement. I sure was glad it was Lil hidden back there. Because one thing was for sure — I never could’ve pulled off something like that. No, I was way too big to be hidden somewhere. I would have been spotted in a heartbeat!
Even so, I did have a few things hidden in the bottom of my pet carrier. I had a diagram of the St. Gertrude Events Center that showed where the fuse box was. And you probably already know that a fuse box is where you can turn all the lights on and off for a whole building. Besides the diagram, I had a whole bunch of flyers that we’d made up the night before. Each flyer had a copy of an article that we’d found, plus some extra stuff that Bogey had typed onto the bottom. We’d spent a lot of time last night printing off a whole bunch of copies. Of course, the hard part was rolling them up and putting a rubber band around them.
Holy Catnip! It wasn’t an easy thing for a couple of cats to do.
The Case of the Cat Show Princess Page 11