Cattywampus Travels (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 23)

by Patricia Fry

  When Rosemary started to fuss, Colbi eased her from Leah’s arms and Leah walked to the dining room table. She started busying herself by placing the table settings around. The others sat in quiet contemplation as Craig tapped his phone screen several times. When it signaled an incoming call, he announced, “Oh good, it’s my secretary.”

  “I didn’t know you had a secretary,” Colbi said.

  “Yeah, I share her with other detectives. It’s a service, actually.” He put the phone up to his ear. “Yes, Sharon. Good news, I hope.” He listened, then smiled smugly. “Yes, perfect. I’ll be by to pick them up.”

  “Good news?” Leah asked.

  “Yup. We have tickets on a flight out of Frisco tomorrow at three.”

  “Tomorrow afternoon?” Leah screeched. “We have to find him before dark tomorrow and it’s a five-hour flight.”

  “Yes,” Craig put his arm across her shoulders. “But remember, Hawaii is three hours behind us, so we should arrive in Honolulu around five, local time. By my calculations, the pick-up spot is a half-hour drive.”

  “God,” Harrison said, pacing, “that’s cutting it close. What if…”

  “There’s no room for any what-ifs, Harrison,” Craig warned. “And we will make it. Don’t you two worry, now.” He made eye contact with both of them. “I’ll pick you up at nine tomorrow morning. Pack light—no need for luggage. We’re taking a red-eye flight back home with your baby tomorrow night.”

  “Craig,” Leah said quietly, “they say we’re to come alone. I’m worried that if they see you…”

  “Honey, I will be invisible to them. I’ll be there for you if you need me, but they—whoever they are—will never know I exist. I promise you that.” He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Okay?”

  She nodded, then hugged him. “Thank you, Craig.”

  Harrison patted Craig on the back. “We owe you, big time.” He took a deep breath. “Hey, want a bowl of soup and some of Colbi’s homemade bread?”

  “Yeah. I don’t mind if I do,” Craig said.

  Damon approached Harrison and handed him something. “Use this for whatever you two need.”

  “A credit card?”

  Damon nodded and stepped away, saying over his shoulder, “For whatever you need. Please. We want to.”

  Harrison bit his lip, then reached out for Damon’s hand. “Thanks, guy.” He went to Colbi and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you. We will pay you back.”

  Colbi patted his hand. “Just bring that little guy home, will you? That’s priority number one.”

  He smiled and saluted. “You got it.”

  Chapter 3

  “Are we going to make it?” Leah asked from the backseat of Craig’s car the following morning as they drove south to San Francisco. “Traffic’s terrible.”

  Craig clenched his teeth. “Yes, I didn’t expect this.” He glanced in the rearview mirror at Leah. “We left in plenty of time. But just in case we’re cutting it close once we get to the airport, I’ve arranged for VIP service to the gate. They may even hold the plane for us. Let’s hope so, anyway.” In a more soothing voice, he said, “I doubt that will be necessary, though. We’ll be fine. We’ll be just fine.”

  Leah ran her hand over Charlie’s car seat, which was seat-belted into Craig’s car next to her.

  “So are you two ready for an adventure?” Craig asked, trying to lighten the mood. When no one spoke, he asked, “Have you let your parents know what’s going on, Leah?”

  She shook her head. “No. Maybe I’ll tell them about it once we have our son back. Or maybe I’ll never tell them what happened.”

  Each of them sat with their own thoughts for several minutes, then Craig instructed, “Harrison, look it up on your phone to see what time it gets dark this evening in Honolulu.”

  After locating the information, he said, “About six forty,”

  “Just as I figured. And we land around five, island time,” Craig muttered. “By the time we get off the plane and flag down a cab...” When he heard Leah gasp, he said, “Not to worry. We have a nice warm security blanket all lined up. Your son will be in your arms by…” he paused while he calculated, “…around nine thirty tonight our time.” He glanced briefly at Leah again. “Okay with you?”

  She nodded.

  Harrison reached back and took Leah’s hand. He squeezed it. “Don’t forget there are people praying for Charlie.”

  ****

  “How fast can you get us to this address?” Craig asked a taxi driver before he stepped into the cab around five forty-five that afternoon.

  “This time of day—maybe an hour.”

  “Make it in forty minutes and there’s a hundred-dollar tip in it for you,” Craig told him.

  The cabby looked at Craig, then at Leah and Harrison. “Okay man, you got it!”

  “God,” Harrison said, looking at his watch, “do you think we can make it?”

  Craig winced. “We’re cutting it close. We sure didn’t need that unexpected delay at the airport. Darn unfortunate,” he complained.

  As the cabby concentrated on his driving, Harrison kept a close eye on the time. They were several miles on the other side of Honolulu when he announced, “God, Craig, it’s almost six thirty.”

  “We’re close,” the driver said.

  “How much farther?” Craig asked the driver, handing him the fare and showing him a hundred-dollar bill. “We may want to walk in.”

  “Four blocks, that way,” he said, pointing. “You’ll see an old building with a clock tower on the left.”

  “Thanks,” Craig said, handing the driver the bill. “My friends are getting out here and I want you to drive me to the site. But don’t pull over unless I tell you to. Just drive by normal like. Got it?” He said to Harrison and Leah, “You two go as fast as you can. Grab Charlie and take him around the nearest corner. We’ll pick you up there. You may have to dive into the car while it’s rolling. Whatever you have to do, do it.”

  “Run!” Craig said, as the couple climbed out of the taxi.

  “God, it’s already starting to get dark,” Harrison said. He turned to Leah. “I’m going ahead; I’m faster than you are.”

  “Okay, go!” Leah hissed.

  When Harrison arrived at the building with the clock tower, he stopped and looked around. No trash bin. What the hell! Where’s the trash bin?

  “Around the corner!” Leah shouted from half-block behind him. When she caught up to him several seconds later, completely out of breath, she burst into tears. For there he stood before her, holding their sleeping baby boy in his arms.

  “Is he okay?” she screeched. She pulled the blanket away from Charlie’s face and watched as his dark eyes opened. When the baby saw Leah, he smiled broadly and reached for her. “Oh, Charlie,” she said, tears streaming down her face as she hugged him tightly.

  Harrison put his arms around both of them and cried along with her.

  Suddenly they became aware of a horn honking. Harrison looked up and saw what he thought was their cab. Craig was nowhere to be seen, but the driver was shouting through the passenger-side window and motioning wildly. “Let’s go,” Harrison said, taking the baby from Leah. He rushed toward the cab with Leah right on his heels. When they reached the taxi and still didn’t see Craig, they hesitated until they heard his voice. “Get in! Quick, get in!”

  Harrison stood back while Leah leaped into the car. He quickly followed with the baby, landing awkwardly. Before he could reach out to close the door, the driver took off and the door banged against a light post before slamming shut.

  “Whoa!” Harrison said, recoiling.

  “Uh-oh, I guess I owe you another hundred,” Craig said, rising to a sitting position in the front passenger seat and buckling his seatbelt. “Now punch it. Let’s get outta here.”

  The cabby, however, was a bit concerned. “I don’t want no ticket, man.”

  “Not a problem. We’ll take care of that.
We’re more concerned about gangsters than cops.”

  But the cab driver was still nervous. “Where’d you get that baby?” he asked. “Where’d it come from?” He peered at Leah in the rearview mirror. “You didn’t just pop it out, did you?” When his passengers remained silent, the driver complained, “Hey, man, I’m not no getaway car. You can’t be coming here and kidnapping babies. I won’t have any part of that, man.”

  Craig smiled and patted the driver on the shoulder. He showed him his badge and said calmly, “Fact is, man, this is their baby. We just got him back from his Hawaiian kidnappers.” He smiled. “Now let’s go back to the airport so this family can get home and go about raising their little boy in peace, shall we?”

  The driver looked at Craig, then at the couple and reluctantly agreed. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  Craig glanced around the area as they drove off. Just as he expected, he spotted a couple of Hawaiians who appeared to be in their early sixties parked across the street from the clock tower. Probably Charlie’s grandparents, he thought. Hopefully, this is the end of it for Leah and Harrison. When something else caught his eye, he turned to see two men in suits approaching the Hawaiian couple—one from each side of the car, weapons drawn. He leaned back and smiled. Yeah, those gangbangers won’t be on the streets again until they’re too old to do any real damage in their community.

  ****

  “Hi Auntie,” Savannah said into the phone the following morning. “Did you hear the news?”

  “About what?”

  “Leah sent a text from Hawaii. They rescued baby Charlie and they’re on their way home. They took a night flight, so they could actually be home by now.”

  “That’s wonderful news. You know, Vannie, I’ve never been so glad that someone was stupid enough to give up a baby. I mean, I halfway believe the baby’s grandparents aren’t all that bad, since they gave Charlie back. But the reason they did it still makes me sick. How could anyone reject that beautiful little boy?”

  “And thank heavens they did. What a blessing for Leah and Harrison, not to mention baby Charlie. Hey, Auntie, I don’t have a lot of time to talk, just wanted to tell you that I spoke with Rob and we’re all set for our book tour in Los Angeles.” When her aunt didn’t respond, she asked, “You haven’t changed your mind about going, have you?”

  “No. I want to go. I’m just wondering if I have the energy to do all the traveling we have planned.”

  “Why? Are you sick?”

  “No,” Margaret said, “just old. You know, traveling is a lot of work and we’ve planned back-to-back-to-back trips.”

  Savannah chuckled. “No worries. By the time we leave for LA, I’ll be almost in my third trimester and needing afternoon naps.”

  “What’s that in months—about six?”

  “Just about, and you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping up with me by then.”

  Yeah, I guess you’re right. We can move at whatever speed we want. We’re both aware that we need to pace ourselves.” Margaret paused, then said, “If only…”

  “If only what?”

  “Well, there’s the issue of your cat. Will he cooperate and agree to take it easy on us?”

  “Hey, he’s a cat. We’re in charge,” Savannah insisted. “No problem.”

  “Pshaw. Sure, Vannie,” Margaret snarked. “And the earth is flat and the sky is green.” When Savannah didn’t respond, Margaret asked, “So, what’s our itinerary?”

  “We’ll leave on Thursday the sixteenth—a month from today. We have signings Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and Tuesday morning. We’ll drive back up to San Francisco Thursday and spend the night. Michael and Max will pick up Adam and meet us at the hotel that afternoon. Iris and Craig will meet us at the airport Friday morning and we’ll all fly to Massachusetts together. Mabel and Roland expect us around noon on Saturday to surprise Marissa.”

  “I thought Iris’s boys were going with us.”

  “I guess Chris has a class and Brett is working, plus they have some sort of sports event over the weekend. So they’re meeting Iris and Craig in New York the following week.”

  “Is Marissa’s party a surprise?” Margaret asked.

  “She knows she’s having a birthday party; she just doesn’t know the bunch of us are crashing it.” Savannah shivered. “It will be so much fun. I can’t wait to see the look on her little face when she sees all of us.”

  “When is her actual birthday?”

  “It was last month. But she wanted to have her party after she healed from her surgery,” Savannah explained.

  “So her surgery was a success?”

  “From what I hear, a perfect success. She’ll be off the crutches by the time we get there.” Savannah giggled. “She sent me a picture of herself standing on straight legs—with the help of the crutches, of course. She has the biggest smile on her face.” She then asked, “Auntie, have you made your travel plans to Baltimore?”

  “Max is taking care of that. He’s had the best time planning that leg of our trip with his son’s family. The kids are eight and ten now and they’re eager to show grandpa around their town.”

  “What does his son do?”

  “Brian works in the technology field. His wife, Deborah, is a teacher. I haven’t met her except on FaceTime. You may remember she wasn’t able to attend our wedding.”

  “Well, it’ll be fun getting to know all of them. How long will you stay?”

  “Three nights. I figure that’s long enough to invade anyone’s privacy.”

  Savannah chuckled. “You’re probably right.”

  “Then Max wants to visit a couple of his chef friends who live in the Philadelphia area, so we’ll probably meet back up with you in Connecticut some time Friday afternoon.”

  Savannah swooned. “This itinerary is rather hard to keep up with.”

  “Yes, it is. When will you guys go to Connecticut?”

  “Let’s see—we’re driving over Monday. Keith’s family will be there when we arrive. They’re trying to arrange for a couple of condos for all of us, so have Max hold off on making hotel reservations there.”

  “Condos?” Margaret said.

  “Yes, the complex belongs to a friend of Keith’s parents.”

  “Parents?” Margaret questioned.

  “Well, his adoptive parents. They’re his parents—they raised him. Anyway, it’ll be nice to have the privacy to get acquainted.” She giggled. “Keith wants to take Michael and Adam fishing. I don’t think either of them has ever been fishing before.”

  “Ice fishing?” Margaret asked. “That doesn’t even sound fun.”

  “You’re right. That’s probably something we should do when it’s warmer. I know the guys want to spend some time retracing their childhood…digging up their roots. Michael might come home from this trip knowing about a few more relatives.”

  ****

  Nearly four weeks later, Savannah stood in the middle of her bedroom staring down at an array of clothes she’d pulled from her closet, when Michael walked in. He took one look around the room and asked, “How’s the packing going?”

  “Not very well,” she admitted. “Ever try to pack for two different trips to two different climates for two weeks when your figure seems to change by the day?”

  He chuckled. “Can’t say that I have.”

  “Add to that the fact that I’m also packing for a baby and a cat.” She moved a stack of blouses from the chair and plopped down. “It’s all so overwhelming.”

  “No problem,” Michael said, smiling. When Savannah looked up at him inquisitively, he said, “You have a credit card in case you need something.” He moved a couple pairs of slacks and sat on the bed opposite his wife. “Why don’t you pack light and shop along the way for things you need.”

  After thinking about it, Savannah said, “That might work. But I doubt that we’ll actually have much opportunity to shop. Shopping can take time and thought, you know.” She gri
maced. “One of my problems is that I dress according to my mood. I’m a mood-dresser. So typically, I pack twice as many tops as I’ll probably need so I have more choices.”

  Michael shook his head. “Well, I guess I can’t be much help to you because I sure can’t predict your moods.”

  “What moods?” Savannah snapped.

  “Um…well, you just said you have them.”

  “Yeah, but you don’t have to agree. Michael, I don’t consider myself moody. Do you?”

  Michael stood up and began to fidget. “Um…no…no, I don’t think you’re moody. You just…um…sometimes…I mean…”

  “What do you mean, Michael?” she insisted.

  Suddenly, he looked toward the hallway. “I think I hear Lily. I’d better go see what she’s doing.”

  Thirty minutes later, Savannah joined her husband in the living room. “Where’s Lily?”

  “Taking a nap.”

  “Oh, I didn’t hear you put her to bed.”

  “I didn’t want to disturb you while you were...” He winced and looked up at her, asking, “Did you get your packing done?”

  “I think so, but I’ll probably change my mind a few times before we leave. I packed both suitcases—one for our stay in LA and one to take with us to Massachusetts and Connecticut. I’m pretty sure I have everything Lily, Rags, and I’ll need. You’re on your own as far as packing.” She faced him. “Have you found a place where we can rent a pen for Rags while we’re in the East?”

  “Yes. They’ll deliver it to the condo in Connecticut. That was a good idea to make that arrangement ahead of time.”

  She kissed him. “Yeah, I have a good idea once in a while.”

  “Yes, you do,” he agreed.

  When Rags walked up to Savannah and rubbed against her, she asked, “So Rags, is there anything you’d like to take that I might have forgotten?”

  “Got his food, portable water bowl for the road trip, treats for luring him if he gets away from you, two harnesses in case he slips out of one, two leashes…” Michael recited.