by Patricia Fry
“Oh my gosh, Rochelle,” Savannah yelped, “do you know who he’s talking about?”
“Who?”
“Your friend, Alison-Francesca.”
“What?” Rochelle screamed.
“When I saw her yesterday, she was wearing all white. I’d forgotten. I’ll bet that was her that I saw in the shadows when we were there last night, too. Could she have taken Rags? How in the world would she have gotten her hands on him? And why would she…? Rochelle, you know her, why would she do that?”
Rochelle considered the question before answering. “I don’t have the slightest idea what her interest would be.”
“It’s possible that it was a different woman and a different cat,” Peter said. He glanced sideways at Simon. “Or the figment of someone’s imagination.”
“Well, I’m eager to get back over to the building and see if Rags shows up,” Savannah said. She asked Peter, “So are you bringing Clayton out there? Do you think he can tell us where Rags is, or at least if he’s still in the building or not?”
“Maybe he can,” Peter said. He looked at Simon. “Yeah, let’s give it a try.” He asked Savannah, “Are you going over there now?”
She nodded. “Yes, I want to do some checking before the place fills up and gets chaotic.”
“Okay, we’ll see you there in a little bit,” Peter promised.
◆◆◆
“Thank you for opening up early,” Savannah said when the director greeted her. “Did you see any signs of my cat this morning?”
He shook his head. “Some animal ate the food, but that doesn’t mean it was your cat. It could have been rats or possums or any number of critters.”
“I thought you said there was no way my cat could get outside if he were in the walls.”
That’s right,” he said.
“Then where would rats or possums come from?”
“Well, we used to have openings to outside, but we were getting animals in here, so we sealed the openings off. We don’t know what might still be living in this building. Strange things show up in here sometimes—I’m guessing from inside those walls. Yeah, there’s something living in there and there actually could be a place we haven’t found yet where animals are getting in—squirrels and things.”
Savannah let out a long sigh. “Well, I’ll go look around the food and water dishes I left.” She asked. “You didn’t clean it up, did you?”
“No.” He picked something out of a trash container. “I did pick this up, though. What do you make of it?”
“What is it?” she asked, taking a closer look.
“Darned if I know.” He started to toss it back into the trash when Savannah stopped him.
“It looks like part of a money strap.”
“A money strap?” he asked. “What’s that?”
“Banks use them to bundle bills. That looks similar to a strap that was around some fake bills we used in a play when I was in high school. One kid’s father was a banker and he brought them for us to use. I took some home and my cat played with them for days.”
“Well, we’ve seen some odd things appear, but never a money strap.” He leaned toward her. “My wife thinks ghosts are bringing this stuff in—a ghost with a sense of humor.”
“Sense of humor?”
“Yeah, like I said, you should see the things we’ve found in here—remnants of a cigar, part of a shoelace, poker chips, playing cards, the center of the ace of spades.” He shivered. “That was eerie. Glad I wasn’t the one who found it.” He raised one finger. “Oh yes, and we’ve even found what appear to be shreds of paper money.” He shook his head. “It could have been play money, I guess, but it sure looked real.”
“Interesting,” Savannah mused. When the director took a call, she walked to where she’d left Rags’s food and water. Yup, someone ate the food and lapped up a little of the water. Savannah called, “Rags. Here boy. Kitty-kitty.” She watched and she waited.
“He didn’t come out?” the director asked, approaching her a short while later.
“Well, if he came out and ate the food, he must have gone back into the wall.” She looked around. “Or he’s napping in a box under someone’s table. Maybe you could make another announcement this morning when all the vendors are here. Tell them to contact me at booth thirty-two.”
“Sure, I can do that,” he agreed.
Just then Peter walked in with Simon. When the director caught sight of the cage Peter carried, he said, “A bird? First a cat and now a bird.” He asked Savannah, “Do you also write about parrots?”
“No,” Savannah said. “He’s a friend of the cat’s and we want to see if he can find him.”
“You’re going to turn the bird loose in here too?” He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea. No, I won’t authorize that. I’ve been pretty lenient with you and your cat. No. No birds flying loose in here.”
Feeling somewhat defeated, Savannah groaned, “All right, we’ll just take him to the spot where we think Rags went in and see if he reacts, okay?”
“As long as you keep him in the cage,” the man asserted.
Savannah agreed, then motioned for Peter and Simon to follow her. She led them to her booth and instructed. “Put the cage down next to Rags’s pen and let’s see his reaction. Oh look,” she remarked, “he seems excited. I think he smells Rags’s scent.”
“Absolutely,” Peter said. “Yes, he seems to be looking for him.”
“Okay, let’s take him to where we think Rags went into the wall.”
However when they carried the cage close to the opening, there was no reaction from Clayton.
Peter looked around. “Could he have found another opening?”
“I see one,” Simon said, pointing across the room. “Let’s take him over there.”
“Nothing,” Peter said. He carried the cage back to Savannah’s booth, placed it on the table, and Clayton began dancing around on the perch saying, “Hello, pussycat. Hello, pussycat.”
“Well, it’s not conclusive,” Peter said, “but it sure seems like the scent trail begins and ends right here.” He looked under the table. “Is there a loose panel in the floor that he could have escaped into?”
“Or did that woman take him from right under Tina’s nose yesterday?” Savannah suggested. “But why would she be out there with him last night? And how would she manage him? He wouldn’t stay with a stranger for a minute if he had a choice.”
“Maybe she bribed him,” Peter suggested. “Or drugged him.”
Savannah suddenly felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. “My poor Ragsie,” she whispered. She thought of something. “His leash.” She dug around in a box at the back of her booth, then pulled things out of her large tote bag. “His leash and harness are gone.” She stood up and thought for a moment. “I must have left it out where she could see it. Darn.”
“Or she came back to get it when you all were looking for the cat,” Peter suggested. With renewed energy he said, “Here comes Rochelle. Hi, honey.”
“Hi. Did you find him?”
Simon answered her. “That lady must have took him somewhere. Clayton says he isn’t here anymore.”
Rochelle placed an oversized book on the table and approached Savannah. “I’m so sorry.” She faced Peter and Simon. “You didn’t let him fly into the duct, did you?”
Simon glanced at the director. “He wouldn’t let us.”
“So Rags could still be inside the walls where Clayton can’t detect him,” Rochelle suggested.
“Possibly,” Savannah said. “But it appears his harness and leash are also missing.”
“What do you have there?” Peter asked.
“Yeah,” Simon said, “that’s sure a big book.”
Rochelle smiled at him, then opened the cover. “These are the original plans for this building. Savannah and I are going to see if they might help us to find Rags, that is if he’s in the building someplace.”
“Okay,” Peter s
aid, “Simon and I had better take Clayton home and go open the gallery.”
He leaned toward Rochelle. “Hey, I spoke with that police officer just now and told him what we discussed.”
“What?” Simon asked. “What did you discuss? Something about me? Hey, I’m not going to no stranger’s house, you know. I’ll just run away. I know how to live on the streets. I’m not afraid of that.”
Peter tousled the boy’s hair. “I’m sure you aren’t. No, I’m not going to suggest you go live with a stranger, but I will suggest you go to school, get regular baths, maybe get a paying job…”
“What?” he complained. “A job? I’m only ten.”
“I thought you were thirteen,” Peter teased.
Simon stammered. “Um…well, not yet.”
“What about school?”
“Yeah, I want to go to school. There are things I’d like to learn about. Benny said they have computers in schools and teachers who show you how to use them.”
“And books,” Peter said, as the two of them walked away with Clayton.
Meanwhile, Savannah asked, “Rochelle, where’d you get those plans?”
“My contact at the museum brought them over this morning. I thought you’d want to see them.”
Savannah grinned. “You have a contact at city hall and a contact at the museum?”
“What can I tell you?” Rochelle quipped. “I have friends in all the right places.”
“Looks old,” the director said, approaching.
Rochelle nodded. “It’s a copy of the original plans for this building.”
“But you know that it was rebuilt after a fire in the thirties or forties, so those plans may not do you any good.”
“Really?” Rochelle said, sounding defeated. “So was it an extensive rebuild?”
“As I understand it, yes.”
“Well, let me see if I can get those plans, then,” Rochelle said. She put a hand on Savannah’s arm. “You go ahead and sell books. It’s likely that Rags will come out and find you. He’s a smart cat.”
“Yes, if he’s still here. Clayton didn’t show any sign of sensing him. Simon says a woman took him.”
“Savannah,” Rochelle said sternly, “Clayton is a bird with a bird brain and Simon is an impressionable maybe-not-always-truthful little boy.”
“But Rochelle, his harness and leash are missing.”
“Anyone could have picked them up. Or maybe you took them home last night. You had a bag full of stuff, didn’t you?”
Savannah nodded. “Yes, some things I’d brought with me that we didn’t need—table cloth, a plastic banner that didn’t fit—yeah, I guess I could have inadvertently packed the harness and leash.”
Rochelle rubbed Savannah’s arm. “Let’s not rule out or fully accept any possibilities until we’re sure, okay? Now, I’m going to see if I can run down the most recent set of plans for this place.”
“Thanks,” Savannah said, her voice cracking. She watched Rochelle walk away, then sighed deeply and began setting up her book display.
◆◆◆
“Good morning, Savannah. Please tell me you have Rags back,” Tina said, rushing up to the booth minutes later.
“I’m afraid not, but we’re working on it. It doesn’t look like he can get out of the building.” She gazed across the room. “Unless someone took him out.” She shook her head. “Hopefully, he’s just having himself a good ole adventure and he’ll come back to the booth when he’s finished.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. You must be worried sick.”
Savannah nodded and continued to arrange her books. When she glanced up several minutes later, she saw another familiar face. “Rob,” she greeted.
“Hi. Any word about Rags?”
She shook her head.
He gazed around the room and looked up at the ceiling. “Gads, so this old place swallowed him up, did it?”
“It appears so.” Savannah grimaced. “Or he was taken. There’s the possibility that someone has him.”
“Oh?” he asked.
“Someone saw a woman with a cat.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know how credible the witness is.”
Rob acknowledged Tina. “How’re we doing? Selling lots of books?”
“Sure am,” she said. “If today’s as hot for sales as yesterday, I’ll be out of books by noon.”
“Good thing I brought more.” He turned to leave. “I’ll go get them.”
About thirty minutes later he returned with a box of books under one arm.
“What took you so long?” Tina asked.
“Oh, someone stopped me and I got sidetracked.” He spoke to both Tina and Savannah. “I guess she heard me talking to the guy at the door about being here to see two of my clients. She’s interested in an agent for her book.” His face lit up. “In fact, she invited all of us to her mansion for a party.”
“What?” Savannah said.
“Yeah, she’s having an intimate party at her home in the hills tonight. She says it’s one of the finest old places in the city. She wants to talk to me about how we can work together. Sounds like a great opportunity.”
“But how do we fit in?” Savannah asked. “Why did she invite us?”
“Yeah,” Tina said, equally puzzled.
Rob shrugged. “Maybe as a reference. I imagine she wants to quiz you on my credentials or something. I don’t know, but I’d sure appreciate you being there. Cocktails at six.”
“Oh,” Tina moaned, “I’d better not. In fact, I can’t. I have a plane to catch, remember?” “Okay,” Rob said. He looked at Savannah.
“Well, I’m staying at…” she started.
“I know, Peter and Rochelle’s. They’re invited too.”
“Well, that’s kind of odd, don’t you think so?”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s just a little cocktail party and her home sounds amazing. It won’t take a lot of time, and I think you’ll enjoy seeing the place.” He lowered his voice. “It could be a great opportunity for me to take my business to the next level.”
Savannah looked into his eyes and tried to stifle a grin. “Okay, you big baby. How can I resist that puppy-dog look?” She asserted, “But I can tell you, if I haven’t found Rags by then I won’t be very good company.”
“We’ll find him,” Rob assured her. He looked around. “Hey, I’m going to get a cup of coffee, want anything?”
Tina spoke up, “Yeah, a bottle of water.”
Rob nodded, then looked at Savannah.
“Coffee sounds good. Thanks.” She gazed in the direction of the duct where Rags had most likely gone, then looked around the room again.
When she caught sight of Rob, she was taken aback. She wondered, Who’s that blond he’s talking to? Hmmm, she sure has her hands all over him. She cringed in disgust. Rob is such a man—eating up all that attention. She stood up and walked to the open duct and listened. “Rags!” she called.
“Still haven’t found your cat?” a nearby vendor asked.
She shook her head. “No. Please would you watch for him?” She pointed. “I’ll be right over there. Let me know if you see or hear him, would you?”
“Yeah, no problem,” the man said. “So you’re sure he went in there and didn’t run out of the building?” he asked.
Savannah gazed across the room at the front entrance. “No,” she said. “No, I’m not sure of anything at the moment.”
Chapter Five
Later that day Rochelle approached booth thirty-two. “How’s it going?” she asked, walking up behind where Savannah sat, and massaging her upper back.
Savannah slumped and relaxed. “Oh, does that feel good. Thank you.”
“Yeah, honey, you’re a bit tense, aren’t you?” Rochelle murmured. “Selling lots of books?”
Savannah nodded. “But I sure miss my best buddy.”
Rochelle’s tentative smile faded. “Gosh, I was hoping for good news.” She squeezed Savannah’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry.” She removed a
large envelope from her purse and said more brightly, “Maybe this will help. It’s the plans for the rebuild after the fire. My friend told me it’s pretty much the same as the original, with only a few differences.”
She looked around. “Can we maybe spread this out at one of those outside tables? I noticed there are a few empty ones.”