He took two big leaps and landed just inches from me. His arms were stretched out in front of him and his hands were aimed at my neck. I bounced to the back of the cage and raised a paw as high as I could. I uncurled my claws and I was ready for a fight.
But just before the Count got me, Ranger leaped into the air. With his claws extended on his left paw, he hit the Count on his backside with all his strength.
At the same time, Bogey bit the Count on his ankle. I could see from the look on Bogey’s face that he’d chomped down really, really hard.
The Count screamed louder than I’ve ever heard anyone scream. Plus he kind of twisted in the air as he fell to the ground. Along the way, he hit his head on the rim of the cage. And when I say he hit his head, well, that’s kind of an understatement. He hit it so hard that we even heard kind of a “thunk” sound. Seconds later, he just lay on the ground. Face down and out cold.
The whole crowd gasped once again.
Bogey glanced up at me. “Okay, kid, is this the part of the plan that you came up with? The part you wanted to tell me about?”
I nodded. “Uh-huh.”
Now he grinned. “Then show us what you’ve got, kid.”
So I did. I put my claws out and started tearing the top of that pink satin pillow to shreds.
A couple of people in the crowd cried out in shock. But I just kept on ripping away. A few seconds later, the jewelry in that pillow spilled out all over the bottom of the cage. The bright lights overhead shined on the gems and the glistening metal. Before long, the whole bottom of the cage sparkled like a Christmas tree.
Below me, the Count moaned and came to life. Probably because the people in the audience all started talking at once.
One woman yelled out, “It’s my necklace!”
Another said, “And my ring.”
By now, my Mom had come up to the stage. She picked up her bracelet and then she picked me up, too.
She hugged me tight. “Oh, Buckley. You found my bracelet. Good boy, Buckley. Very good boy!”
She kissed my forehead and I kissed her on the nose.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the rest of the crowd to put two and two together.
One of the Dads said, “So the Count and Countess really are the Quiet Cat Burglars.”
“They’ve been stealing stuff all over the world,” said a Mom.
Seconds later, the Count stood up and rubbed his head. And the Countess inched back toward the door.
But Felicia Fairweather pointed to her. “Somebody stop the Countess!” she yelled into the microphone. “Hold them both until the police get here!”
Then a few of the cat Dads and Moms grabbed the Count and Countess and held onto them. While people tied them up with pet leashes, my Mom dialed 911 on her cell phone. She talked into the phone for a few minutes.
Then she looked up again. “The police are on their way.”
All of a sudden, everyone cheered. After that, they clapped for Bogey and Ranger and me. Lots of cat Moms congratulated our Mom, and Ranger’s Mom, too. Right at that moment, I couldn’t ever remember being happier. And sure, it was nice to get all that applause. But mostly it was such a relief to know the Count and Countess would never hurt the Princess again.
When the applause died down, Seymour Katts waved to Felicia Fairweather. “Would it be all right if we announce the winner of the Best in Show Competition now?”
Felicia frowned. “Well, I’m not sure. After all, we’ve got a number of cats out of their cages . . .”
But Seymour just smiled. “It won’t matter. Because the cat we’ve chosen for Best in Show is still in her cage. This year there was one cat who truly stood out to us. She improved so much throughout the whole show. She’s a cat who had a mishap in one of her early rounds, but she worked very hard to overcome that. She was always nice and kind to everyone around her. And in the end, all of us judges agreed on our winner. So we’re very proud to announce that this year’s winner of the St. Gertrude Cat show, Best in Show, is . . .”
With those words, Seymour Katts stopped and looked around the room.
All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe. I knew what name I wanted him to say, and I could only hope and pray that he did. I looked at my new friend, Amelia, and she looked back at me. Was it possible? Could hers be the name that was about to be announced?
Now Seymour Katts turned and bowed toward the stage. “The winner of the St. Gertrude Cat Show, Best in Show is . . . none other than Amelia!”
Amelia! I cheered and cheered for my friend who stood frozen in her cage! Then I heard Amelia’s Mom let out a scream and go running up to the stage.
Right about then, I think I smiled bigger than I’ve ever smiled in my life! I couldn’t have been happier for my friend.
I waved at her and hollered, “Good job, Amelia!”
But I wasn’t sure if she saw me or not. Because her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open. And she just sort of sat there in a daze.
Even so, Ranger and I kept cheering for her while Bogey just smiled a really goofy grin. He couldn’t take his eyes off Amelia.
Finally, he shook his head very, very slowly. “Now that’s a dame among dames. A gal after my own heart.”
After that, Seymour Katts awarded the big gold trophy to Amelia’s Mom. She took Amelia from her cage and hugged her tight. Then she put Amelia next to the trophy and they both waved to the audience.
Now it was Amelia’s turn to be in the spotlight. People clapped and took pictures and made quite a fuss over my calico friend. As far as I was concerned, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer cat.
Minutes later, Officer Smiley and two other officers showed up to take the Count and Countess away.
My Mom carried me and Gracie carried Bogey as we followed behind the officers. Officer Smiley turned at our row and led everyone on.
But she stopped when she spotted our cage. “Wow, that’s a lot of blue ribbons. Do those belong to your cats, Abigail?”
Our Mom smiled. “Oh, yes. And they earned every one of those ribbons.”
I looked up to see the Count and Countess standing frozen in their tracks.
The Count seemed to be choking on something. “What? No, it can’t be . . . How . . . It’s not possible . . .”
He glared at me. Then he turned to look at the ribbons, and then back to me. “How did those flea-bitten mongrels win all those blue ribbons? How is it possible?”
“Never mind,” said Officer Smiley. “There won’t be any cat show competitions where you’re going.”
Then she pushed him along to the entrance.
#####
Excitement rang through the air as everyone packed up to go home that night. Bogey and I exchanged email addresses with all our new friends. We promised to keep in touch. But before we left, the Havana Brown kittens poked their heads out and showed us all their ribbons. It seemed they picked up ribbons in every color in the rainbow. They were so happy and bouncing off the walls. Just like kittens always do.
And the nasty Siamese next door just hissed and then hid when he saw all our ribbons. Of course, it was kind of hard for him to hide, with just a red and a purple ribbon covering his cage.
Last of all, our Mom put us in our pet carriers. Little did she know, but we both had extra passengers. Lil was with Bogey, and I had the Princess with me.
“Soon you’ll be in your new home,” I told the Princess. “You’re about to become part of our family.”
It was the first time I’d ever seen her smile. “Oh, Buckley, that is so wonderful.”
That made me smile, too. “Bogey and I plan to hide you in the sunroom for a couple of weeks. You’ll be sharing with Mokie, the wisest cat we know. After that, we’ll bring you out with the rest of the family.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Thank-you. I can’t even tell you how much I look forward to it. But won’t your Mom notice an extra cat around the house?”
I nodded toward Bogey. “Don’t worry about
it. Bogey’s got that one covered.”
Seconds later, my Mom picked up my carrier and Gracie picked up Bogey’s.
My Mom grunted just a little bit. “My, Buckley, but I think you put on a little weight over the weekend. Maybe you should lay off the cat treats for a while.”
Gracie grunted, too. “Yikes! I think Bogey needs to cut back on the cat treats, too. I think he put on a bunch of pounds.”
But Bogey and I just grinned at each other. It felt great to have our plan work out. Not only did we save the Princess, but we also caught a couple of international jewel thieves. Not too bad for one weekend. And I have to say, right about then, it felt absolutely fantastic to be a cat detective!
Holy Catnip!
CHAPTER 18
A couple of weeks later, I went up to visit the Wise One again in the sunroom. She was sitting on her couch. But this time she had company.
She nodded to me when I walked in. “Ah, young detective. Please join us. I was so delighted to learn of your success with your case. You have done well, Grasshopper.”
Now she waved a paw toward the Princess who was relaxing on the other side of the couch. “And I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting with young Princess Alexandra here. With all her travels and adventures, she certainly has become wise beyond her years.”
The Princess turned to me and her diamond collar sparkled in the sun. “It’s so nice not to be scared anymore, Buckley. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as peaceful as I have here. Even though I’ve been hiding out in a way.”
For a moment, she just stared at me with her big, green eyes. And suddenly I forgot why I’d even come up to the sunroom.
Thank goodness she broke the spell when she jumped down and headed for Mokie’s food dish. As I watched her nibble on the food, I had to smile. That’s because I’d heard Gracie telling my Mom earlier that she’d had to fill Mokie’s food dish again and again. She thought Mokie had suddenly gotten a really big appetite.
Little did she know, but Mokie’s food dish had been feeding two these days. For the Princess had been hiding in the sunroom for the past few weeks.
Ever since the cat show had been over, there had been talk around town about what had happened to the Princess. So we decided it might be best for her to lie low and stay hidden until all the hubbub had died down. For her own protection. Plus, we knew if the Count and Countess ever got out of jail one day, well, they might come looking for her. So it was important that they never find out what had happened to her. That meant we would always do our best to keep it a secret that she was at our house now.
Of course, we’d also hidden her from our Mom. But this was the day when we decided to let our Mom know that the Princess was living here, too. As you probably already guessed, Bogey had devised a plan to introduce the Princess. And well, we figured it would be best if we used her nickname. Lexie.
I waited until the Princess had finished her snack. Then I smiled at her. “Okay, Princess, it’s time for you to join the family.”
She suddenly froze in place and stared at the floor. “What if they don’t like me? What if they toss me out of the house? Then what will I do?”
On the couch above her, the Wise One shook her head. “Not our Mom and Dad and Gracie. They are the best of the best when it comes to human beings.”
I nodded. “I know you’re used to people who are mean. But not all people are like that. Our humans are really kind and wonderful. They’re going to love you. Trust me.”
She took a ragged breath. “Okay, Buckley. I trust you.”
“Good,” I said. “Now come with me, please.”
We said our good-byes to Mokie and then we trotted out of the sunroom. The Princess followed me through the hallway and down the stairs. We passed Lil along the way and she smiled and gave us a paws up. Lil had been doing a lot of smiling these days. And I have to tell you, I was happy to see her working as a cat detective again. Even though she never told me why she’d quit being a detective in the first place.
Once we were on the first floor, the Princess followed me to the office. Then we hid just outside the room.
I peeked inside and the first thing I noticed were all the blue ribbons hanging on the back wall. Eight in a row. Our Mom had hung them up the day after the cat show. Now, whenever Bogey and I worked in the office, we were surrounded by our ribbons.
Somehow, every time I looked into that room, I noticed those ribbons right off the bat. I guess I still wasn’t used to having them. They made me feel so proud every time I saw them.
I looked at our Mom who was sitting at the desk. She was showing Gracie something on the computer, and Gracie was giggling away. Bogey sat on top of the desk beside our Mom. When he spotted me, I gave him the signal.
That’s when he grinned and grabbed a piece of paper that had been sitting on the printer. He scooted that paper over and onto the keyboard.
Our Mom just laughed. “It looks like you’ve got something you want me to read. Huh, Bogey?”
His only response was to purr.
Gracie reached over and picked him up. “It looks like it’s a letter.”
Our Mom raised her eyebrows. “It does look like a letter.”
She rubbed Bogey on the head. “Isn’t it interesting, Bogey, how I keep finding letters from people in my office? Letters that I don’t remember finding in the mail?”
But Bogey didn’t so much as meow. Instead he just leaned his head over next to hers. Then he pumped up the volume on his purring.
Gracie scooted closer to our Mom, too. “Read it, Mom. What does it say?”
Our Mom raised the letter a little higher and started to read. “Dear Abigail. I know you have a kind heart. I was wondering if you could take in my cat and give her a good home. I can no longer afford to feed her. And she would fit in perfectly with the rest of your cats. After all, what’s one more in your household?”
My Mom looked up and stared at Bogey. “Huh? Another cat?”
Then she looked back at the letter and kept on reading. “Her name is Lexie. And I’m sure you’ll love her a lot. Signed, CeeCee.”
My Mom crinkled her brow. “CeeCee? I don’t remember anyone named CeeCee.”
Gracie shook her head. “I don’t either. But she knows us. And she wants us to take care of her cat. Otherwise the cat won’t have a home.”
With those words, I figured it was the perfect time for me to walk into the room. So I strolled in with my tail held high.
I looked up at Bogey and meowed, “CeeCee?”
He just shrugged. “Hey, when I wrote the letter, I just used the initials of the Count and Countess.”
I rolled my eyes. “C. C.”
Bogey grinned. “You got it, kid.”
That’s when I motioned for the Princess to enter the office, too. She walked in shyly and just stood by the door. I noticed she was shaking a little bit, so I went to stand beside her.
Right then and there, my Mom’s eyes went wide. And Gracie’s eyes went wide. They stared at the Princess, then at me, then at Bogey. And then back at the Princess.
My Mom coughed once or twice like she was choking. “Isn’t that . . . Isn’t that . . . Is that who I think it is?”
Gracie sighed. “It sure looks like . . . But this cat is named Lexie . . . Can we keep her Mom? Can we please? Huh? Please? Please?”
Now our Mom looked at me and then at Bogey again. “I don’t know how, but I have a feeling you boys had something to do with this. Not that it matters.”
Our Mom looked at Gracie. “Yes, we can keep her. Because our little friend, Lexie, deserves to have a good home. And I have a feeling she wasn’t treated too well in her old home.”
She got up and walked over to where the Princess sat. She reached her hand down and the Princess cowered a little bit. But then my Mom just picked her up gently and held her in her arms. She cuddled the Princess until she finally started to purr.
From the way tears formed in the Princess’ eyes, I wondered if she’d ever been cuddl
ed before.
“Welcome to the family,” my Mom said and kissed her on the top of her head. “Lexie.” Then she put her back on the floor and carefully removed her diamond collar. “Why don’t we put this somewhere safe and keep it for special occasions. We’ll get you a pretty new collar that you can wear every day.”
She petted the top of the Princess’ head again and the Princess rubbed up against her. Then my Mom went off to cook dinner.
Gracie put Bogey down and flopped into the desk chair. She put her elbows on the desk and her head in her hands. For a few seconds, she just sat there and stared starry-eyed at the Princess.
The Princess’ lower lip started to quiver. She looked from me to Bogey to Gracie.
“I’ve never had a real home before,” she said. “I think I’m really going to like it here.”
I grinned at her. “You will. Believe me. Welcome home, Princess.”
She turned to me. “Buckley, I never did thank you properly for all that you’ve done. If you hadn’t saved me like you did, well . . .”
But she didn’t even finish her sentence. Instead, she just reached over and gave me a kiss on the nose.
Stars flashed before my eyes and I thought my heart was going to pound right out of my chest. I tried to say something, but instead, I just flopped over onto the floor.
Right at that moment, I decided I really did like being a cat detective.
Bogey jumped down and waved a cat treat over my nose. “Here kid, this’ll get you going again.”
I munched on the treat and tried to focus my eyes. Just in time to see Gracie pick up the Princess and dance out of the room.
“Dames,” Bogey said. “They’ll get to you every time.”
I pulled myself up. “Has a dame ever gotten to you?”
Bogey nodded. “I’m afraid so, kid. I’m just about to send an email to Amelia. I’ve never met a gal like her before.”
He jumped up on the desk while I helped myself to a few more cat treats. Just to clear my head.
The Case of the Cat Show Princess Page 15