Meow and Forever

by Patricia Fry

  Michael shrugged. “That’s odd.” Buttoning his jeans, he asked, “So are you going to tell all this to the detective?”

  “Yes, I sure am. He needs every bit of evidence and information he can get, even if some of it’s kind of out there.”

  “Yeah, Rags on a boat wearing a corset,” Michael murmured. “That does present quite a peculiar picture.” He grinned at her. “That’s something Rob would be interested in for one of the children’s books.”

  Savannah thought about the concept, then walked into the bathroom.

  ****

  “A corset?” Craig exclaimed into the phone later. “Savannah, I’ve met Rochelle, and I like her and Peter. They seem like normal people, but my impression of her is a bit—what would you say—cockeyed, after hearing about this.”

  “Oh, Craig,” Savannah soothed, “just put that information into your memory bank. It might prove to be important or not. Don’t discard it—especially the part about the boats.”

  “Now that’s another thing,” Craig said. “Can you imagine your cat on a boat?”

  “Sure, he’s been on a boat before,” Savannah said. “He’s not crazy about water, but it doesn’t freak him out, either.”

  “Well, in my world, cats and boats and water belong at opposite ends of the dictionary.”

  “Huh?” Savannah muttered.

  “I can’t imagine your cat anywhere near the water, at least not willingly.”

  “Craig, let’s not miss any opportunities to find him,” Savannah said, choking up. “You usually listen to Rags. You pay attention to his clues before you pay attention to mine. Craig, I think Rags spoke to Rochelle last night.” “Why Rochelle?” he asked. “Why not you or me?” “Because she knows how to listen, and you obviously don’t.” Savannah felt uncomfortable with the silence that followed. She wasn’t about to speak lest her emotions come even closer to the surface.

  After pondering her comment, Craig finally said, “Well, that certainly makes sense.”

  “Yes, it does,” she said. “So will you check out this lead or theory or whatever it is?”

  “Well actually, Savannah, that’s exactly where the clues are taking us today.”

  “Where?” she asked.

  “To a small marina in the Bay Area. Want to go?”

  “Me? When?” she asked. “I’m getting ready for a big fundraiser here this weekend, you know.”

  “I’ll have you back in time. See if Helena will help with the kids and the party preparations. I’d really like you to be there. Rags will respond to you—you know, in case he’s locked away someplace.” Craig said more quietly, thinking aloud, “Maybe we should get Rochelle in on this raid, as well.”

  “When are you leaving?” she asked.

  “I’ve reserved seats on a flight to San Francisco. It leaves in two hours. I can pick you up at eight thirty. Can you do it?”

  “Yes. I’ll make it work. I’ll call Rochelle.”

  “You can do that on the way,” he said. “If she can do it, we’ll discuss where to meet once we land in San Francisco. Just get some breakfast and pack a few things: Rags’s things and something for overnight, just in case we get hung up there.”

  “Okay. See you at eight thirty,” she said before ending the call.

  “See who?” Michael asked once she’d finished the call.

  She took a deep breath. “Craig.” She sat down on the bed next to where Michael was putting on his shoes. “He thinks he knows where Rags is, and he wants me to go with him to a marina in the Bay Area to see if we can find him.” When she saw the concern on Michael’s face, she said, “Craig believes he’ll have a better chance of finding Rags if I’m with him. He’s confident that Rags will respond if he hears or senses me.”

  Michael finished tying his shoes and stood up. “What about that long to-do list I saw you working on last night? Hon, you have a big fundraiser happening here tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I know that, Michael,” she said walking into the kitchen with him. “Mom knows what needs to be done, and I’ll get Helena or her sister to come in and help. Antonio and Juan said they’d help. Everything will be fine.”

  “But what about me?” he asked quietly. When he heard Gladys chuckle, he glanced at her and sat down at the table. “Well, don’t I count?”

  “Of course you do, honey,” Savannah said, wrapping her arms around him. He scooted his chair out and she sat down on his lap and smothered him with kisses.

  “Mommy doing?” Teddy asked, walking into the room with his small wagon. “Mommy doing, huh, Mommy?” he asked again, raising his arms to be lifted.

  Savannah and Michael laughed as she lifted him onto her lap and the two of them snuggled with their baby son.

  “A piggy pile?” Lily asked, running from where she’d been pouring kibbles for the cats. “Can I play?” she asked, trying to climb onto what was beginning to resemble a human totem pole.

  “The more the merrier,” Savannah said, helping her up.

  That’s when Michael shouted, “Hey, you guys are squashing Daddy!” The more he complained, the more the children laughed. When he started tickling Lily and Teddy, the children giggled and wriggled so much that they slipped off Savannah’s lap, and she eased each of them down onto the floor. She stood up and Michael said, “Ahhh, that’s much better. Now Daddy can breathe.”

  “Again! Again!” Teddy cried, trying to climb up onto Michael’s lap.

  “Let’s eat breakfast now,” he said. “Come on, let’s eat some yummy fruit and peanut- butter-banana toast.”

  “Yay!” Lily cheered, scrambling up onto her booster seat.

  “Yay!” Teddy mimicked as Savannah lifted him into his high chair.

  “So you’re going where?” Gladys asked once they were all seated.

  “The Bay Area on a small plane with Craig. He has a lead on where Rags might be.”

  “So he went fishing?” Michael asked.

  Savannah giggled. “Could be, I guess. He does like fish.” She continued, “I remember once when he was a kitten…”

  “Rags was a tiny kitten, Mommy?” Lily asked.

  “Yes, he was. But Mommy didn’t adopt him until he was a teenager kitten. On his first night home, I thought he might want to play with Bubbles, my fish.”

  “A goldfish?” Lily asked. “You wanted him to play with your goldfish?”

  “No,” Savannah yelped. “I didn’t want Rags to play with Bubbles, so when we went to bed I put him in a closet on a high shelf and....”

  “You put Rags in the closet?” Lily asked.

  Savannah shook her head. “No, Bubbles.”

  “So Rags wouldn’t hurt him?” Lily asked.

  “Yes. When I got up in the morning, guess what I found?”

  “Rags?” the child chirped.

  “Yes, Rags and a broken fishbowl and no goldfish.”

  “Where did Bubbles go?” Lily asked, wide-eyed.

  “Probably in Rags’s tummy,” Michael said.

  “Rags ate Bubbles?” Lily asked disbelieving. “Tiny kitten Rags ate your goldfish, Mommy?”

  “That’s what I thought, until I found Bubbles on a shelf in a cupboard a few weeks later,” Savannah explained.

  “Live?” Lily asked.

  “No. Fish can’t live out of water,” Savannah explained. “I guess Rags didn’t want to eat Bubbles so he hid the fish from me.”

  “Why, Mommy?”

  “Why does Rags do any of the things he does?” Michael countered.

  “Why, Daddy?” Lily persisted.

  “Nobody knows,” he said. “Now eat your breakfast.”

  ****

  “So is everything in place at the busy Ivey household this morning?” Craig asked when he arrived at their door at eight thirty sharp.

  “I hope so,” Savannah said. “Thank goodness for cell phones, in case I have forgotten a detail.”

  “Are you taking all this?” he asked when he saw what Savannah had packed.

  “Oh,
Craig, it’s just an overnight bag and a tote. I have Rags’s harness and leash, his backpack, and his favorite blankie for his trip home, food in case he hasn’t been fed…oh, and treats that might help us lure him.”

  Craig shook his head. “So you’ve packed for two.”

  “Indeed I have.” She pointed. “You can take the duffle bag, if you will. Thanks.” She invited hugs from the children and told her mother good-bye. “Now call if you need anything, Mom. Helena will be coming over to help. You have my to-do list. Michael’s leaving the clinic early this afternoon to help Antonio and Juan set up tables, chairs, and shade tarps.”

  “We’ll be just fine, Vannie,” Gladys said. “You go on now and bring back your cat.”

  “Sure hope so.” She picked up her purse and the tote and headed toward the door.

  “That bag looks heavy,” Gladys said. “What do you have in there?” Savannah frowned. “Yes, it is heavier than I thought.” She patted the blanket on top and said with a laugh, “I guess I’m getting weak. Bye everyone! Love you!”

  “Did you call Rochelle?” Craig asked, driving out of the driveway.

  “No. Like you said, I had a busy morning. I’ll do it now.” Savannah placed the call. “Good morning, Rochelle.”

  “Hi. Everything okay?” “Yes. I’m with Craig, and we’re coming down your way to see if we can find Rags. With what you told me this morning and some leads Craig has uncovered, he thinks he knows where to look. He wondered if you would be able to meet up with us and maybe guide us in finding him.”

  “Certainly I will,” Rochelle said. “When and where?”

  “Um, I don’t know yet. We’re heading to a small airport up here. Just a minute, Rochelle.” She turned to Craig. “Do you know where you want Rochelle to meet us?”

  “I have the address on my phone,” he said. “Tell her you’ll send it after you end your call. Tell her it will be coming from another device.”

  “Have you ever flown out of here?” Craig asked, pulling into a small airport about forty-five minutes later.

  “A couple of times,” she said. “I like those puddle jumpers.”

  “Puddle jumpers?” he questioned.

  “That’s what Dad used to call small airplanes—puddle jumpers.”

  Craig grinned as he turned off the ignition and proceeded to exit the car. He opened the back passenger door and gasped, stepping back so quickly he stumbled and fell against a parked car.

  “What’s the matter?” Savannah asked, clasping her hands at her chest.

  “Good god, Savannah. You could have told me you brought her. But why?”

  “Huh?” Savannah said. “What are you talking about? What’s in there? A spider? Lizard?”

  “Cat!” he spat. “A dang cat. Why, Savannah?”

  She moved closer to Craig and peered into the car, where she was surprised to see two bright gold eyes staring back at her.

  Mew!

  “Glori, for heaven’s sake. How did you…? Oh Craig, I’m sorry. I don’t know how…” When she saw Rags’s blanket draping from the tote bag, she said, “She must have crawled in under that blanket for her morning nap. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”

  When he didn’t respond, she looked sheepishly at him and saw that he was grinning and shaking his head. “A real stowaway, huh? So you didn’t plan this?” he asked.

  “No, but she could actually be helpful in finding Rags. She does love him, which might be why she chose to nap under his favorite blanket this morning,” she quipped. “Or maybe she knew we were going in search of him. She seems a little sad lately.”

  “Well, how will you handle her on the plane? You didn’t sneak a cage in too, did you?”

  Savannah shook her head. “No. But Glori’s fairly manageable. I should be able to carry her and keep her contained on my lap, using the blanket.” When she saw Craig’s doubtful look, she said, “Really, she’s well-mannered and quiet. Not a behavioral problem at all.”

  “Except that she stowed away,” he complained. More impatiently, he said, “Well, get your stuff and wrap up the cat as best you can. We have a plane to catch.”

  “Oh, wait,” Savannah said, “I have Rags’s leash and his carry pack. I may be able to adjust his harness to fit her. Yeah, we’ll be okay. She’s a good girl. You’ll see.”

  “You’re flying with a live animal?” the clerk asked several minutes later when the couple and the cat reached the check-in counter. “It will have to go below in a container.”

  “Oh no,” Savannah said. “I’ll hold her on my lap. I promise she won’t cause any trouble.”

  “It’s regulations,” the woman explained drily.

  Savannah shook her head defiantly. “No! No way will I allow her to ride down there. Listen, she’s a stowaway. She’s going to help us find my other cat—he’s rather famous, you know. If you care about cats you might have heard of Rags. He works with the police to nab criminals.”

  The ticketing agent looked down at Glori and back at Savannah. “It’s regulations. It must ride in a crate below.”

  Craig let out a sigh, moved up next to Savannah, and showed his badge. “Police business, ma’am. This is a member of our feline team. We’re on our way to the Bay Area to rescue this team member,” he said, flashing a picture of Rags on an official-looking identification card. “None of our feline or canine team members ever fly below. Now, let’s hurry this up. We have a deputy cat in serious trouble, and we need to deploy quickly in order to save him.”

  “Oh,” the woman said, glancing at Glori again and at Savannah. “Okay, then you’re all set. Gate two. They’re waiting for you, Detective.”

  Savannah picked up Glori and skipped a little to catch up with Craig. She couldn’t help but glance back at the ticketing agent, who was staring blankly after them. “That was some fast talking you just did, Craig, Thank you so much for not allowing them to put her below. I just think that would be horrible for an animal.” She snuggled with Glori. “You get to sit with us, Deputy Glori.” She tilted her head and said, “You have an ID card for Rags? I didn’t know that.”

  Craig simply winked at her and continued leading the way to gate two.

  ****

  “Rochelle will meet us at the dock,” Savannah said to Craig as he drove the rental car toward a local wharf ninety minutes later. “She said she’ll probably be there ahead of us.” She snickered. “She couldn’t believe what Glori did this morning—you know, stowing away like that.”

  “I’m still having trouble believing it myself,” he grumped.

  Minutes later Savannah pointed. “There’s Rochelle’s car. Oh, I see her out on the dock. See her there?”

  Once the threesome and the cat had exchanged greetings, Craig asked, “So Rochelle, have you had any more of those feelings you get? Do you know where we should look?”

  She shook her head. “Only that I sense he’s close. If he’s not here now, he was here recently. I’m pretty sure this is the spot. What brought you here, Craig? Why this particular dock?”

  “Well, it was a combination of several things that Arthur told me about the quirky actor and his fascination for the ocean, and the fact that there are warehouses here. As I told Savannah, the guy’s preparing to audition for a role that takes place on a wharf, and Arthur believes he’s currently living in a converted storage unit or warehouse somewhere. Arthur checked with some of this guy’s actor buddies, and a couple of them said they’ve seen him in this area. He knows someone with a boat here, and one of his friends or acquaintances said he heard Virgil was living on that boat.” He asked her, “Does this information coincide with your dream or whatever it was?”

  “Well, I don’t know about that guy—you say his name is Virgil?” Rochelle said. “Yeah, I don’t know about him, but I believe Rags could be close.” She stooped over and petted Glori, who was on Rags’s leash. “Can she tune into him? I believe she can.”

  “Maybe,” Savannah said. “She does sort of idolize him. She loves Buffy�
��they’re like soul mates, but there’s something special between her and Rags.” She chuckled. “Although I think it’s one-sided. She looks up to him, follows him around and all. He likes her, but he isn’t as fanatical about having a relationship as she seems to be. She actually takes kibbles to him from the kibbles bowl sometimes.”

  “She takes food to him?” Rochelle confirmed. “Is that ever adorable.”

  Savannah nodded. “Yes, and the other day Rags got closed in the linen closet.” She grimaced. “Yes, it happens. He can push the door open when he’s ready to come out, but Glori probably didn’t know that. When she realized where he was, she went bananas. She ran to us and began carrying on so much that we followed her to see what the problem was. She led us to the linen closet and sure enough, there was Rags inside trying to have a quiet afternoon nap.”

  Rochelle smiled at the cat and scratched her behind one ear. “She’s a love bug. Sweet cat.”

  “Well, gals, and cat, let’s do our thing,” Craig suggested.

  “Which is?” Savannah asked.

  “I want to snoop around and ask some questions. You two keep your eyes and ears open.”

  “Yes, sir,” Savannah said, reaching to pick up Glori.

  “Leave her down,” Craig suggested. “Let’s see where she wants to go.”

  “Okay,” Savannah said, letting Glori take the lead. Craig and Rochelle followed.

  ****

  “So what do we know?” Craig asked an hour later.

  “That the catnapper, Virgil whatever-his-name-is, is kind of a character around here, and he’s rather elusive,” Savannah said.

  Rochelle agreed and added, “Even though he hangs around here, he’s rarely ever seen.” She asked Craig, “Do you think he’s a creature of the night? You know, he sleeps all day and comes out at night…like a cat? That could be why he’s seldom seen.”

  “Or it could be because he’s sometimes disguised, and people don’t recognize him,” Savannah suggested. “It appears he’s renting warehouse space here someplace, but no one seems to know where it is.”

  Craig nodded. “That one guy believes he’s living on his friend’s boat.” When neither of the women responded, he said, “I’d like to check it out. That’s’ where I think we need to go first.” He looked at his notes and recited, “It’s the next-to-last boat in Section W.”