The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues

by Cindy Vincent

  I pulled the paper out and put it on the floor. Then Bogey used his claws and together we unfolded that paper.

  There was writing on the front. But unfortunately, it looked like the paper had gotten wet and the ink had run.

  “I don’t understand it,” I said. “I didn’t put it in my mouth. I was careful not to get it wet.”

  Bogey put his paw on my shoulder. “I know, kid. Looks like it got wet a while ago. But it’s dry now. Let’s see what letters we can make out.”

  So we did. We saw a capital “A” and a little “b.” Then there was a lot of smeary stuff. After that, we could make out a lower case “a” and “l.” Next there was a space and we could read part of what looked like the word “Antiques.” Even though the last few letters had run. Below that, we read a very smeary number three, then a smeary number eight. This was followed by the numbers two, four, five and seven.

  I rubbed my forehead. “What do you think this means?”

  Bogey stared at the paper for a few more minutes. “It looks like the name of our Mom’s store, kid. Followed by some numbers.”

  “Abigail’s Antiques. And six numbers . . .” I said under my breath. “It can’t be a phone number.”

  Bogey’s ears perked up. “And it couldn’t be a zip code. Or a date.”

  I crinkled my forehead. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  Bogey flexed his front paw. “Right now, kid.”

  I pointed my ears toward my brother. “Huh?”

  I guess nothing was making any sense to me at the moment. Including what my brother had just said to me.

  He grinned. “It doesn’t make any sense right now, kid. But that doesn’t mean it won’t make sense later. I’ll bet it’s another piece to the puzzle.”

  Well, I had to say, Bogey had a point. There were lots of things that didn’t make sense the first time we saw them. Or read them or looked at them. But they sure made sense later. I only hoped this one of those things.

  I was about to say more when we smelled it.

  Perfume. Very strong perfume.

  Holy Mackerel. We sure had a lot of smells on this case!

  Seconds later, I recognized that perfume. It was the same scent we’d smelled at the Museum. The perfume that Delilah had been wearing.

  Bogey glanced at me. “Look alive, kid. I think we’ve got company. Let’s go see what she’s doing here.”

  “Aye, aye,” I told my brother. I tried to salute him, but I accidentally hit myself in the mouth instead.

  Thankfully Bogey didn’t see me. Because he was already headed for the entrance to the main part of the store. I followed him and together we followed the scent.

  Then sure enough, we found Delilah right smack dab in the middle of the store. She was perched on a green velvet couch with a curvy wooden back. Her brass-colored hair looked sort of greenish, too.

  Today she had on a pink dress and a pink hat with a veil. She had on long white gloves and lots of glitzy bracelets. Her bracelets even sort of reminded me of the little statues we’d seen at the Museum. That’s how glitzy they were!

  Delilah was crying and dabbing at her eyes with an old lace handkerchief. Our Mom spotted her and then sat on the couch beside her. Bogey and I trotted over and planted ourselves on the floor just across from Delilah. To tell you the truth, it was the first time we’d come face to face with her.

  “Hello,” our Mom said in a very soft voice. “I’m Abigail Abernathy. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Miss Wunderfully,” Delilah told her. Then she started crying even harder.

  Our Mom patted Delilah’s hand. “There, there, now. What’s got you so upset?”

  “It’s my sister,” Delilah sniffled. “She traveled here a few days ago. She was with a very horrible man. I think they were going to get married.”

  She drawled out her words to make them extra long. Just like when we saw her at the Museum.

  Our Mom’s eyebrows went up. “Uh-oh. I’m guessing you didn’t want her to marry this man.”

  Delilah thunked her hand to her chest. “My goodness, no. Especially since they needed money to get married. They stole one of my dear, beloved great-auntie’s most favorite belongings. They planned to sell it so they’d have some money.”

  “Have you reported the theft to the police?” our Mom asked.

  For a second, Delilah’s long eyelashes flickered up and she stopped crying. She seemed to have trouble breathing for a moment, but then she recovered really fast. She started sniffling and dabbing at her eyes some more.

  “Oh my, no,” she cooed. “I certainly wouldn’t call the police. No need to bring them in . . . on a family matter.”

  “Well, then how can I help you?” our Mom asked gently.

  Delilah touched our Mom’s hand. “I wondered if she’d stopped in here. If maybe she’d tried to sell you something. Or if she’d left something in your store.”

  “Do you have a description . . .” our Mom started to ask.

  Suddenly Delilah sort of perked up. “Oh yes,” she said. “A package wrapped in brown paper. About this high.” She held her hand up from the seat of the couch.

  Our Mom smiled a little. “No, I was asking if you had a description of your sister. And the man she was with.”

  “Oh, that,” Delilah said. “No, I’m afraid I can’t give you that.”

  Our Mom’s mouth fell open. “You can’t give us a description of your sister? I don’t understand. Don’t you know what she looks like?”

  Delilah coughed into her hankie. “Well . . . she was in disguise . . . Yes, that’s it. The last I saw her she was wearing a disguise. And you know how disguises go. They can change every day.”

  Holy Mackerel! Talk about something being fishy! I sure didn’t believe a thing this lady was saying.

  I stole a glance at my brother. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and nodded. I could tell he thought her story sounded pretty fishy, too.

  Now Delilah started to cry really hard again. “Maybe you could check and see if anyone’s tried to sell you something in the last few days. Or if someone left something here.”

  “Okay, I’ll check,” our Mom told her. “But I don’t think they have. And it’s kind of strange . . . you’re the second person who’s been in here today, talking about a brown paper package.”

  Delilah gasped. But then she quickly started crying again.

  Our Mom patted her hand once more. “I’ll have Merryweather double-check our records. You wait here. I’ll get you a cup of coffee while she’s looking.”

  “Oh, thank you so very much,” Delilah said in kind of a breathy voice. “I would be so very grateful.”

  Our Mom stood up. “Anything to help you find your sister.”

  “Who?” Delilah asked. But then she blinked a couple of times and finally smiled. “Oh right, my sister. Yes, anything to help find her.”

  With those words, our Mom left and headed for the cash register counter. Delilah suddenly stopped crying and pulled a pointy nail file from her purse. She started to file her fingernails, and a smile slid across her face.

  That was, until she spotted us. “My, my, but look at the two of you. Where I come from, cats aren’t allowed inside. They’re supposed to stay outside with the rest of the trash.”

  Right at the moment, I felt my chin practically drop to the floor. Had I heard her right? What a mean thing to say to anybody. Especially a cat!

  And strangely enough, I also noticed she didn’t seem to have her accent any more!

  Bogey glared at her with squinty eyes. He started pacing across the floor, back and forth. He didn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Then again, I may have been too hasty,” Delilah laughed. “I know exactly what you little varmints would be good for . . .”

  She pointed right at Bogey. “You would be perfect on my gray coat. Oh yes, you’re so nice and sleek, your shiny fur would look stunning as a collar.”

  “And you!” She pointed at me. “You’
d make a nice fuzzy hat. Oh yes, your fur would keep me perfectly warm in the winter.”

  I crinkled my brow. But I needed my fur. It kept me warm in the winter.

  “Don’t let her get to you, kid,” Bogey meowed to me.

  I scooted back toward a desk. “But how would she get our fur?” I meowed back. “She’d have to . . .”

  “Not gonna happen, kid,” Bogey told me.

  “Why don’t you come over here, little kitty?” she said to Bogey. “I’ll take you right on over to a tailor. I’ll have that beautiful black fur on my coat in no time.”

  Now Bogey jumped up on the other end of the couch. He stepped toward her really big purse. It was almost as big as some suitcases.

  I started to shiver and shake. “No, Bogey! Don’t go over there! Get back!” I meowed as loud as I could.

  But Bogey just kept stepping toward her purse. I could see it was open wide and some stuff was even sticking out of it.

  “That’s a good kitty,” she said. “I’ll shove you right in my handbag and take you straight out the door. Nobody will even know you’re gone. I’ll come back for the big one later. I’ll have to bring an extra large sack for that cat.”

  No matter how much I warned him, Bogey kept on moving toward that purse. Then Delilah raised her arm with her pointy nail file still in her hand.

  What was she going to do to Bogey? And why was he still headed for her purse? Didn’t he know what was going on?

  That’s when I let out the loudest yowl I’ve ever yowled in my whole life. I leaped forward, just as she swooped her arm down.

  And just as someone grabbed Delilah’s wrist from above.

  It was our Mom!

  For a few seconds, our Mom and Delilah just stared at each other. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our Mom’s dark eyes look so mad. Merryweather came up behind her and gasped.

  “Let me make something perfectly clear,” our Mom said in a quiet voice.

  But even though her voice was quiet, it was still very, very angry. She even sounded a little scary. She held onto Delilah’s wrist really tight and took the nail file out of her hand.

  “Nobody, but nobody,” our Mom said, “tries to harm or threaten or kidnap my cats. I consider them to be part of my family. And just so you know, it would be a very big mistake if you ever tried to harm any member of my family. Feline or otherwise. My friend, Officer Pheobe Smiley of the St. Gertrude Police, would be more than happy to back me up.”

  With those words, she let go of Delilah’s wrist. I barely caught sight of Bogey stuffing some kind of paper between the cushions of the couch. But I was too scared to give it much thought at the moment. I was just glad she hadn’t hurt or cat-napped my brother!

  Delilah stood up and straightened her dress. “That’s a fine way to treat a customer! Did you find my package?”

  “You are certainly no customer,” our Mom told her. “Because you will be leaving my store at once. And you will not be coming back. Ever.”

  And the next thing I knew, our Mom had Delilah by her elbow and she was pushing her toward the door. Delilah kind of tripped along as Merryweather and Millicent followed. Bogey and I ran alongside them, all the way to the front door. Our Mom opened the door and sort of pushed Delilah out.

  Delilah made a huff noise and stomped down the sidewalk. Bogey and I jumped on top of a buffet so we could see out the front window and watch her go.

  She took about five steps before she paused and turned around. She spotted us in the window and squinted her eyes. Then she pointed at us. She clenched her jaw together so tight that veins popped out on her forehead.

  “I’ll get you for this,” she yelled at us.

  After that, she twirled around and strutted down the sidewalk.

  Holy Catnip!

  CHAPTER 14

  _____________________________

  Holy Catnip! For a moment or two, I could hardly breathe. I just sat there and sort of gulped in air. My eyes were glued to Delilah as Bogey and I watched her slowly walk away. She swung her hips from side to side, and it seemed like an hour passed before she was out of sight.

  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop shaking. “Bogey, weren’t you scared? That lady was going to . . .”

  But I couldn’t even finish my sentence.

  Bogey shook his head slowly. “I know it, kid. But I still had plenty of time to jump. Plus, I knew our Mom was on her way back.”

  He paused and took a deep breath. “But any way you look at it, kid, that dame is bad news.”

  I glanced back outside. “I’m sure glad our Mom kicked her out of the store.”

  Now Bogey grinned. “I knew she would, kid. Plus I noticed you jumped in to save me, too.”

  I tilted my head. Up until that moment, I guess I hadn’t even realized it. But Bogey was right. I did jump in to save my brother. Without even thinking about it. And I would have saved him if our Mom hadn’t shown up on time. Funny, but no matter how scared I was, I wasn’t going to let someone hurt Bogey. I guess it was just one of those natural instinct kinds of things.

  Bogey put his paw on my shoulder. “Only a good cat detective would jump in like that, kid.”

  That made me smile. Because Bogey was right. It was exactly the kind of thing he would have done. And exactly the kind of thing Lil would have done, too.

  Suddenly, I felt just a little bit taller than I had before.

  I grinned at my brother. “Thanks for saying that.”

  He pulled a bag of cat treats from a glass vase on the buffet. “Nothing you didn’t earn, kid.”

  He passed me a treat and then took one for himself. For a second, I just sat there chewing on my treat. But then I remembered the paper that Bogey had stuffed between the cushions of the couch.

  I turned to my brother, all ready to say something.

  But he beat me to it. “I’ll bet you’re wondering about the paper, kid. I grabbed it from Delilah’s purse. I only got a quick glance at it. Near as I can tell, it looked like some kind of airline schedule.”

  “An airline schedule?” I asked. “Does that mean she was on a plane?”

  Bogey passed me another treat. “That would be my guess, kid. But we’ll know more after we check it out.”

  I took the treat in my paw. “I didn’t believe the story about her sister. Did you?”

  Bogey grabbed another treat for himself. “Not one bit, kid. She was here to find that package. Pure and simple.”

  I munched my treat and stared outside at the sidewalk. “Wow, we had two people here in one day, both looking for that package. Who do you think that package belongs to?”

  Bogey grabbed a couple more treats for us before he hid the bag back in the vase. “Don’t know, kid. We won’t be able to figure it out until we open it.”

  I sighed. More than ever before, I was just dying to see what was in that package.

  I finally felt my muscles start to relax when a thin, bald man suddenly appeared in front of the window. He waved and smiled at Bogey and me.

  Holy Mackerel! I must have jumped a mile. Where in the world did that man come from?

  He laughed and walked into the store. Then he headed straight over to see Bogey and me.

  “Well, hello there, kitties,” he said in a musical voice. “I wish I would have known you were here. Because I would have brought you some of the fish I had for lunch. You two are about the most handsome black cats I’ve ever seen. And I do like a handsome black cat.”

  I had to say, I kind of liked this man, too. He sure was nice to us cats, anyway. I scooted closer to him and started to purr. I was all ready for him to pet my head or scratch behind my ears.

  But he only talked to us instead. “I’d invite you over to my store. But I’m not sure you and my parrot would get along. My Petey is a rather colorful fellow. And I do like a good colorful parrot.”

  A parrot? This man had a parrot? And by the way, who was this man?

  I turned to my brother, to see what he thought about all th
is. But Bogey just sat there with his eyes half-closed. He looked kind of bored, as near as I could tell. Though I did notice his eyes never turned from the man’s face.

  Our Mom showed up and smiled at the man. “Hello, may I help you find something?”

  The man smiled back at our Mom. “Well, hello, charming lady! Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m Abe Abascal, and I would guess you must be Abigail. I hope you'll accept my apologies for not stopping by sooner to say hello. But with moving in and getting my store set up . . . I fear the time has simply gotten away from me. But it’s so lovely to meet you now. And, my, how I like a neighbor who knows her antiques.”

  Now our Mom’s eyes went wide. “Oh hello, Abe. So nice to meet you, too. And I’m sorry I haven’t stopped by to welcome you back to St. Gertrude.”

  Abe waved his hand in front of his face. “Nonsense. No apologies necessary, my dear lady. None at all. Though I must confess, I am here today to be sure you are all right. I saw an ambulance and a huge crowd over here. Was someone injured?”

  Our Mom shook her head. “I’m not sure. We had a man pass out in our store.”

  Abe gasped and put his hand to his mouth. “Oh my gracious . . . how awful. Was he kind of scruffy and in dire need of a shower, perhaps? And acted sort of drowsy or dizzy?”

  “Why, yes,” our Mom told him. “That sounds like the man.”

  “He was at my store, too!” Abe practically sang out. “He said he was looking for a package of some sort.”

  Our Mom nodded. “That’s what he was looking for here, too. In fact, we had another person looking for a package a few minutes later.”

  Abe glanced around the room. “My good gracious, that truly is strange. Did either of them find the item they were looking for?”

  “No,” our Mom said. “But there’s no way any package could be in my store. I checked the whole place to make sure nothing was missing on Saturday night. After someone had broken in. I’m sure we would have noticed if we had a strange package sitting around.”

  Abe rubbed his forehead. “My store was broken into on Saturday, too. But nothing was taken. I’m sure it was simply some teenagers out having a little fun. Perhaps doing something on a dare.”