by Patricia Fry
After considering it, Savannah said, “I think we’ll put him to bed, then we’ll be down.”
“Okay,” Kat said, “see you then.”
“What’s wrong, hon?” Michael asked as they walked with Rags back to the room.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “It’s just that I guess I don’t know how to handle being an author. It’s something I was sort of thrown into, as you know. I didn’t have any background. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do or what I can do.”
“About what?” he asked, concerned. “I think you’re doing a great job of promoting your book. You represent it quite professionally.”
“It isn’t that, Michael, it’s Kat.”
“What does she have to do with it?” he asked.
She faced him briefly. “Didn’t you hear her? She wants to post pictures of Rags and the kittens and I don’t think she’s supposed to do that. Rob said we have rights to Rags’s brand. I don’t think she’s supposed to post anything about Rags without our permission.”
“Sounds right to me,” he said. “So what’s the problem? Didn’t you already explain that to her?”
She nodded. “And she agreed, but didn’t you hear her just now?” She was talking about going viral with pictures of Rags.”
“Probably just a figure of speech,” Michael said. When she didn’t respond, he suggested, “Hey, didn’t you say Rob’s coming this weekend? Have him talk to her. She needs to understand what she can and can’t do.”
“You can bet I will. I sure don’t want to get into an uncomfortable discussion with her.” She let out a sigh. “Yes, I’ll let Rob take care of it.”
****
“Your presentation was fabulous!” Kat said, while she helped Savannah gather up her display of books, brochures, and bookmarks the following afternoon.
Savannah folded the blanket Rags had been lying on and stuffed it into her bulging tote bag. “Thank you. It was fun. What a great group of people.”
“Yes they are. Well, let’s get you and your books over to the cat show. It’s in the north ballroom. Do you need help?”
“First I have to make sure my shipment of books has arrived. Michael went out for a while, so I’ll need to go up to the room and check on that. I have a wheelie-cart thing I can bring them down with. See you there in a few,” she said, leading Rags out of the room.
Savannah was halfway across the lobby when someone stopped her. “Excuse me. I’ve just got to meet that cat.” When Savannah acknowledged her, the woman said, “Hi, I’m Fern. I loved your presentation.” She reached down and petted Rags. “What a wonderful cat.” She spoke more softly. “Now tell me, does he really do all that you say he does? I have a clever cat, but she’s not as clever as you claim he is.”
“Yes,” Savannah said, “he has done all of that and more.” She glanced toward the elevators. “Listen, I’m on my way to the book signing in the ballroom where the cat show’s being held. Come and see me there and we can talk more.”
“Okay. I’m signing books too.”
“Oh? What are your books?”
“I have just one.” She smiled. “It’s a situational memoir of a period in my life with a very special cat.”
“Oh, the one you told me about? The clever one?”
“No, this is one I had when I was younger. I traveled with her one summer and finally sat down to write about it. I kept a journal, and I’m awfully glad I did. Some of the memories had faded, but my copious notes made it possible for me to relive the experiences and write about them as if it happened just yesterday.”
“Sounds interesting,” Savannah said with sincerity. “I’ll certainly look you up at the signing. I have to go up to my room and get my books now.” She started to lead Rags away.
“Um, excuse me,” Fern said. “I hope I’m not overstepping, but I saw you talking to Kat Stockton. Are the two of you friends?”
“Well…” Savannah stalled, “I met her just recently. She offered me the opportunity to give the presentation here. I don’t know her all that well. Why?”
“Well, you have a unique story with that cat, like I do. I just want you to be watchful.” Fern glanced to see who might be within listening range, then she said more quietly, “She either doesn’t understand about this thing called copyright or her ignorance is a ruse. Just be careful what you give her access to.”
Savannah was speechless for a moment, then she asked, “Has she plagiarized your work?”
Fern nodded. “In a manner of speaking, yes. I self-published my book, so I don’t have anyone to stand up for me. When I discovered that Kat was using my copyrighted material without my permission—you know, basically retelling portions of my story without crediting me, I hired an attorney. Kat has ceased and desisted—or whatever the terminology is. But the damage is done and I’m in the hole because of what I had to pay the attorney.”
Savannah frowned. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” She tightened her lips in contemplation. “So, at this point, if she were to exploit Rags, it isn’t because she’s ignorant. She’s been informed of the rights and the wrongs of copyright infringement.”
“Absolutely,” Fern declared.
Savannah glanced in the direction Kat had gone and let out a deep sigh.
“Has she already done damage to you?” Fern asked.
Savannah winced. “I don’t know. But I have my suspicions. My agent will be talking with her later today and hopefully that will quell any ideas she has to mess with me and Rags. But she should be stopped from doing that altogether.” She looked around at the others in the lobby. “This conference and the contacts she’s making is a virtual playground of opportunity for her if, indeed, she’s purposely trying to…um…”
Fern chimed in. “…make money off of our efforts?”
“Right,” Savannah said. “That’s just not cool.” She put her hand on Fern’s arm. “Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I’m awfully sorry about your loss. I hope you can make it up through sales. I certainly want to take a look at your book.” She smiled. “Sounds like it would make a good gift.”
Fern smiled.
Savannah turned to leave. “I’ll see you at the signing and I’ll let you know what my agent says after he has a little talk with Kat.”
“Great!” Fern said.
Savannah was about to push the elevator button when she heard another voice.
“Hi there, famous speaker.”
Startled, she turned. “Oh, Rob. Hi!”
“Great job!” he complimented, hugging her.
“Thanks. You were there? I didn’t see you.”
“I sneaked in about half-way through your presentation. Everyone was totally immersed in what you were saying. I didn’t want to disturb anyone.” He smiled at her. “Very well done. Great display of photos and videos.” He glanced around and asked, “Are you signing books now?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way up to the room to get them.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re headed?”
“Yes, and I want to give Rags a chance to use his litter box.”
“Need help?”
She nodded. “I might. Michael’s off running around with his veterinarian friend today.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
“Rob, about Kat and her possible interest in misusing our copyrighted material, I just had a talk with someone who had this sort of a problem with her.”
“I’m all ears,” he said.
By the time the couple and the cat had reached Savannah’s signing table with her books, she had laid out the facts as Fern had described them for Rob to assimilate and possibly to act upon. While helping her to set up her display and get the cat settled, he said quietly, “Point this Kat woman out to me, will you? I’d like to have a little talk with her sooner rather than later.” When Savannah appeared uncomfortable with the idea, he said, “No worries, I won’t drop any bombshells until after the conference.” Her intense stare prompted him to say, “Pro
mise. This will simply be an opportunity to put our ducks in a row.” He leaned closer. “But if she’s intentionally or even ignorantly planning to undermine what we’ve got going with Rags, we will take appropriate action. She will be stopped.”
****
Savannah and Rags had been greeting people and a few cats for about an hour when a bell rang. Almost everyone applauded. It startled a woman who was browsing through one of Savannah’s books. She looked around, asking, “What does that mean? Is it a fire alarm? Should we evacuate?”
Savannah put her hand on the woman’s arm as a calming gesture. “Oh no, nothing like that.” She smiled warmly. “It means a homeless cat or a kitten has just this minute been adopted.”
“Ohhh,” the woman said. “Then bravo!” she shouted while applauding.
“You must have just arrived,” Savannah said. “That’s number six. Six cats and kittens have been adopted.”
“And it’s no wonder,” the woman said. “Did you see those darling pipsqueaks down there?” She shivered with delight. “They’re beyond adorable.”
“Yes they are,” Savannah said. She put her hand on Rags. “This guy sure likes them.”
The woman looked stunned. “He does? This big cat?” She studied Savannah more intently, looked at the back of one of her books, and exclaimed, “This is you! You’re the author.”
Savannah nodded. “Yes, and this is Rags, the star of that book and these children’s books.”
“Oh my goodness. Yes, this does look like him here on the cover.” She spoke quietly to Rags. “What a handsome boy you are. Awfully nice to meet you. I’m Amanda.” She addressed Savannah. “So he was fraternizing with the kittens?”
“Yes,” Savannah said. “He escaped yesterday and we found him in the kittens’ pen. The kittens were crawling all over him.”
“Yeah,” Rob said, tapping on his phone. He held it out to the woman. “Here he is being the godfather.”
Amanda put her hands against her cheeks. “Oh my, isn’t that sweet?” She started to reach out to Rags, then stopped and asked, “May I stroke him?”
“Sure,” Savannah said.
“Well, downstairs at the cat show they discourage you from touching the cats.” She giggled. “Now that’s almost impossible, to be so close to those beautiful cats with such gorgeous fur and not be able to touch them.” She frowned and continued to pet Rags, saying, “I suppose that rule’s in place so someone doesn’t rub chocolate or toffee or something else sticky into their fur and spoil their chances at the judging table.”
Savannah explained, “There’s also the issue of passing along disease.”
“Oh!” Amanda said. “I didn’t think of that.”
“Do you have cats?” Savannah asked.
This excited Amanda. “I sure do. I have a big black boy I call Clancy. and his sweet little sister, Harmony.”
When the bell rang out again, Amanda cheered. “That’s seven. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Just then another woman approached Savannah’s table and insisted, “I must have a set of your children’s books for my grandchildren, and I want to get a picture of Rags putting his paw print in there.”
“Sure,” Savannah said.
She extended her hand. “By the way, I’m Judith. I’m on the board of Angels for Felines. I loved your presentation.” She petted Rags and cooed, “I especially loved the stories about you being an eyewitness for the police department and when you saved that sweet little cat from that horrible cat-hater. What a guy.” She looked at Savannah. “What’s he going to wear for the grand entrance tonight? I’m dressing my Princess Eliza in her sparkliest evening gown and her fanciest tiara.”
“Fun!” Savannah said. She petted Rags. “I think all he’ll allow is his bow tie.”
“The cats are going to dress up?” Amanda asked.
“Yes,” Judith said, “for the parade. Bring your camera. It’s a great photo op.” She looked Amanda in the eye. “Did you attend Ms. Ivey’s session?”
“No. I just came for the cat show.”
Judith addressed Savannah. “You were hands down my favorite speaker today.”
“Well, thank you,” Savannah said graciously.
“I’m not kidding. That one woman had nothing interesting to say—she was dull, dull, dull. And that man who spoke about Internet promotion for your cat books, blog, etc.—dry. Oh my, I didn’t understand a word he said.” She leaned closer to Savannah. “Of course, the last thing I want to do is promote my blog. I just want to write it, share my kitty photos, and care for my cats.”
Savannah smiled.
Suddenly the loudspeaker crackled and a woman made an announcement. “Attention everyone! One of the show cats is loose. We’ve closed the doors. Please check your area. She’s a Mountain Ridge Cattery queen—mostly white Persian with calico markings. Please, would you all take a moment to look for her? She should be easy to spot.”
“Oh dear,” Amanda said. “I think I saw that cat being judged. What a beauty. I hope she’s okay.”
“I’m sure she is,” Judith said. “They must deal with this sort of thing often and probably have a variety of retrieval tactics in place. In fact, they’ve probably found her by now.”
As Savannah continued to chat with the two women, Rob, who’d been looking at something on his phone, nudged her and asked, “Is something wrong with Rags? He seems to be kind of restless.”
“He’s probably ready to take a break. Even a friendly cat like Rags can become annoyed with too much attention.” She looked at her watch. “My stint’s almost over. I’ll be replaced shortly. I could start packing.”
Just then Kat rushed up to the signing tables. “Savannah, can you stay for another hour? One of our members isn’t going to make it. You’re drawing such a crowd...”
“I’d love to. I’m having a great time.” Savannah nodded toward Rob. “Kat, this is Rob, my agent.”
Kat looked at him without expression. “Yes, we’ve met.”
Savannah continued, “Well, he’s going to cover for me while I take Rags for a little walk.” She chuckled. “Rags may need to use the big litter box outside.”
“Just scoop up after him,” Kat said curtly. “There’s a receptacle available.”
“Sure,” Savannah agreed. Before walking away, she asked, “Do you have Suki with you?”
Kat nodded. “Yes. He’s in his pen and the door’s secured by a chain. I don’t think he can break out of there.”
“What about a fire?” Savannah asked. When Kat looked confused, she explained, “You want someone to be able to free an animal in case of fire.”
“Oh, it’s not locked. Just, hopefully, Suki-proof.” When Kat saw someone at another signing table waving at her, she excused herself. “Thanks for staying, Savannah. By the way, your presentation was phenomenal.”
“Phenomenal,” Rob repeated, smiling.
Savannah blushed. “Well, I’m not sure I’d say that, but I do feel good about it.”
Rob winked at her, and she walked away carrying Rags down the stairs into the cat-show area. She stopped to look at a couple of young Abyssinians that were snuggled together in a leopard-print bed inside a tastefully decorated pen. When Rags struggled to get down, she eased him to the floor and led him toward an exit door. She was distracted, though, when she saw several people skittering around nervously, obviously looking for the missing cat. A middle-aged woman with dyed green hair sat sobbing in front of an empty pen while a man with a ponytail comforted her.
When Rags began pulling in the opposite direction, Savannah held tightly to the leash. “Hey, Rags, we need to get you to a bathroom.” She picked him up and walked briskly toward an exit where a man stood guard. He looked at Rags and at Savannah. “I’m with the cat conference,” she explained. She motioned toward the loft. “I’m signing books up there. My cat needs to use the litter box.”
He looked at Rags again, then opened the door to let them out.
When she returned with Rags on
his leash, she noticed that he still seemed worked up. Even though she’d allowed him time to roam and explore in the cat-friendly area outside, he hadn’t settled down much. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
When a man sitting nearby gave her a sideways look, she said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was talking to my cat.” Unsure as to whether he believed her, she hurried past him and resigned herself to allowing Rags to take the lead. “Excuse me,” she said a couple of times as Rags pulled her through one tight aisle after another where people were grooming their cats and chatting with others.
The announcement came over the loudspeaker again, “Please, stop what you’re doing and look around your area for a mostly white calico Persian. She’s missing. Please, we must find her.”
Savannah’s heart went out to the owner of the cat. Despite Rags’s persistent tugging, she looked around, hoping to spot the missing Persian. She probably found her way out of the ballroom by now, she thought. Someone could have taken her. I wonder if she’s valuable. “Rags,” she scolded when he tugged more roughly against the leash. Suddenly he stopped and Savannah found herself face-to-face with a heavyset woman wearing a hideous print tent dress and a scowl on her face. “Sorry,” Savannah said, backing up a few steps. “My cat…”
“Git!” the woman hissed when Rags pushed past her and started nosing around under her exhibiter table.
“Rags, come here,” Savannah coaxed, squatting down. She thought she heard something and cocked her head.
“Get him out of there,” the woman snarled, grabbing Rags’s leash and lifting it up so he was hanging in midair.
Before Savannah could react, Rags dropped to the floor and quickly disappeared under a cloth table skirt. Savannah yanked the leash from the woman’s hand and discovered that the cat was no longer attached to it. “Rags!” she called.
Meanwhile, the woman picked up a wooden dowel and began poking it under the cloth. “Scat, cat!” she hissed. “Git out of there!”
