Katz Pajamas Series Boxset

by Jack Lugar

  Seeing a “CLOSED” sign in the corner of the game booth, I grabbed it, set it on the front counter, and exited the booth. I made my way through the midway waving to each of the game attendants and suspiciously eyeing them as I mentally questioned whose side they were on.

  Leaving the midway, I could see Vittles Village only a short distance away. As I approached the venue, I had to decide which place the boss would choose to eat. What would be his food of choice? Elephant ears? Popcorn? Burgers or Pizza? Maybe he would be at the dairy car with a big glass of chocolate milk. The dairy car was always one of my favorite places to go at the carnival when I was a kid. I could get delectable items such as milk shakes, ice cream, all sorts of cheeses, and yummy yogurt. Just thinking about those options made me hungry, and my appetite only increased as I walked closer. I could smell all the choices wafting into the air. It was a smell much sweeter than the putrid scent I’d encountered in certain areas of the park and most recently in the tunnel.

  Finally, at the edge of the Village, I scanned the area hoping to catch a glimpse of Ichabod. And it didn’t take long. Just on the other side, across a sea of picnic tables and cats, I saw him dusting the dirt off his pants as he suspiciously looked around. With a final swipe of his paws across his knees, he took a deep breath like he was calming his nerves and stepped inside the dairy car.

  Quickly, I started to make my way through the multitude of dining cats in the courtyard. However, I was only a few steps in when I was stopped by a familiar voice.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Being focused on my goal of peeking in the dairy car’s window and because of the accusatory tone of the question, insinuating that I was in the wrong place; I kept walking in hopes the voice wasn’t talking to me.

  “Hey, Mr. Milktooth!” the voice hollered at me.

  I stopped in my tracks at the forceful tone. Apparently, it was for me. I didn’t want to turn around and possibly miss out on seeing Ichabod’s boss, but there was also always the chance that the familiar voice would have just the clue I was looking for. Turning, I saw Caterina sitting at a table. She wasn’t in costume, but she was nonetheless easy to recognize because her foot was still in a boot.

  “Hi!” I said.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked again.

  I smiled and laughed. “A cat has to eat sometimes,” I said, remembering that I’d not had a bite to eat all day.

  “I guess that’s true,” she concurred. “Come. Sit.”

  “I really have to go…”

  “Just for a minute,” she insisted.

  An invitation such as this would normally be welcomed if I were not at work. With all the pieces starting to come together, it wasn’t ideal for me to pause even for a moment. Fortunately, the seat available would allow me to sit facing the dairy car, which would put me in a position to see if Ichabod and his boss were to exit.

  Reluctantly, I sat.

  “Now, if I remember correctly, you said your name was Mickey,” she recalled.

  “That’s correct,” I replied, trying to keep an eye inconspicuously looking over her shoulder at the dairy car.

  “Not a name I’d normally associate with a cat.”

  Her insinuation was clear. Of course, if it were my real name, I might have been slightly offended, but what did I care? I’d made it up on the spot and might not have remembered it myself if it weren’t for her good memory. “My brother was the fortunate one in talent and name.”

  “Please don’t get me wrong. It’s a fine name, just not that common.”

  “Maybe more so for a mouse?” I asked.

  She smiled and let out an innocent laugh, adding, “or a rat.”

  Then it struck me, Caterina was doing some investigating too. She had every right considering she was the victim of one of the acts of sabotage, but what did she know? Did she know who the boss was? My mind scanned through the possible answers when it hit me. I was on her list of suspects. I was new to the carnival and snooping around for the broken wire under the bleacher. I could also tell she was not convinced that I had a talented trapeze artist brother named Miles. Pretty good investigative work for an amateur even though she was wrong about me being a suspect.

  As I pondered Caterina’s quest for clues, I spotted Ichabod exiting the dairy car by himself. Or at least that’s what it looked like. I didn’t see anyone with him, but he appeared to be having a conversation with someone that was blocked by the crowd of cats. I craned my neck to get a better view with no luck. Instead, I only raised suspicion as Caterina turn to see what I was looking at and also spotted Ichabod.

  “Ugh! I can’t stand that one,” she said.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m not a fan of the game runners,” she replied and then apologized with a, “no offense...”

  Of course, I was again not offended because even though I was dressed in the standard candy striped jacket and skimmer hat, I wasn’t a game runner. And in many ways, I shared Caterina’s feelings.

  “But he’s the worst of them all,” Caterina added. “The sound of his voice, the horrific odor, and beady little eyes. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot…”

  And then she stopped. Her eyes widened with a new knowledge about the shifty Ichabod. I could see that she had just discovered what I already knew about him even though she never said so. Instead, she smiled at me as she grabbed her crutches and started to hobble off. Looking back, she said, “You’ll have to excuse me, Mr. Milktooth. I just remembered I have an appointment.”

  She was pretty quick even with one bad leg, but I could tell this kitty was on a mission. Caterina was on to Ichabod and I suspected she had a plan to confront him, which from my perspective, was not a good one.

  Caterina had quickly disappeared from Vittles Village and so had Ichabod. Not only had I missed my opportunity to catch a glimpse of Ichabod talking to his boss, but in my effort to not lose track of Ichabod, I’d lost track of Caterina.

  After wading through the sea of dining cats, I found the hole where Ichabod had made his quick exit. Running back to the dairy car, I peered in the window, but there was no one there who looked like a boss orchestrating the demise of C. T. Barncat’s carnival. Was it possible that the boss had snuck out when I wasn’t looking? I had only taken my eye off the entrance for a second.

  It’s times like these that I remind myself to think quickly, but not rush. I needed to take a moment to think through everything I’d learned in my investigation. What did holes, hideous smells, broken wires, mysterious fires, and a shady game runner mean? How did they fit together? And who was this boss that Ichabod was so intimidated by?

  It was starting to make sense. I knew that Ichabod was a party to the sabotage, and I had a hunch about the identity of his boss. But it seemed to me that there were one or more accomplices in this scheme, and I was pretty sure who they were.

  I was a little concerned about Caterina. She had run off so quickly in pursuit of Ichabod, and if she were to confront him about the plot, he might not treat her kindly. Being pretty confident in my knowledge of the team of conspirators, I was fairly sure on where to find Caterina, Ichabod, the boss, and others.

  What I wanted to do first was contact Mr. Barncat and have him join me. I also needed to call in reinforcements from the Cat Cops because if my suspicions were correct, I would need several hands on deck.

  I didn’t have to wait too long after getting word to Saber and Barkley. C. T. Barncat with Teeny Tiny Tom or Cassius Peanut as I’d come to know him perched atop C. T.’s shoulder and his crew met me outside the sideshow tent in quick order eager to find out what I knew. “Katz, what can you tell me?” C. T. Barncat asked.

  I indicated that we should keep our voices down holding a digit to my lips and whispered, “The element of surprise is very important. I’m afraid Caterina is being held captive inside.”

  “In my tent?!” Tiny Tom questioned in shock.

  C. T. Barncat’s eyes widened. “What do you me
an?” he asked in a hushed tone.

  “I believe Caterina was onto the conspirators and went to confront them,” I explained. “Follow me and…” But before I could actually finish my sentence and step inside the tent, a voice called out from behind Saber and Barkley.

  “What’s up, Mr. Barncat?” the voice said as we all jumped with a shock. Turning around we found N. Kahoots, still in full clown garb, staring at us with a ridiculous smile… but that smile may have actually merely been painted on his face. The other thing I noted was that N. Kahoots was not inside the tent with the other conspirators. Maybe he had nothing to do with the sabotage after all.

  Quickly, Mr. Barncat ran over to N. Kahoots and shushed him saying, “We’re closing in on the saboteurs.”

  “Oh, that’s fabulous! Let’s get ‘em,” N. Kahoots said enthusiastically as he started for the tent like he would lead the way.

  Not only was the seriousness of the situation lost on N. Kahoots, but you can imagine what we’d look like trying to surprise the conspirators being led by a clown. Fortunately, Mr. Barncat put out a paw and blocked the clown cat’s path, which was all that needed to be done for N. Kahoots to get the message that he was relegated to the end of the line.

  With a nod of his head, Mr. Barncat indicated to me that he was ready to proceed.

  “Watch your step so you don’t fall into one of these holes,” I cautioned as we tiptoed into the tent. The entry area was dark, but we could hear familiar voices in the adjacent room; the room where I’d met Gigi, or as she’s more famously known, Gigantress, the Strongcat.

  Pausing for a moment just outside the room to listen, we could hear Ichabod’s unmistakably grating voice asking, “Who else knows? Who have you talked to?”

  In the dimness of the room, I could see C. T. Barncat’s eyes open with surprise as if he were asking if Ichabod was involved. I nodded and pointed to my ear to encourage him to listen more.

  As we listened, we could hear the voice of Gigi chime in, “Maybe she hasn’t said anything.”

  I could see Mr. Barncat’s jaw drop in further astonishment. Of course, what I couldn’t explain to him was there were more involved. That would have to be revealed on the other side of the tent flap.

  Deciding that I’d heard enough to at least catch Ichabod and Gigi and rescue Caterina, I made my way into the adjoining room catching the occupants off guard. There in the center of the room sat Caterina tied to a chair with Ichabod and Gigi standing on either side.

  “Ichabod! Gigi!” C. T. Barncat exclaimed. “How could you?”

  At the sound of his voice, Gigi and Ichabod turned their attention from Caterina to the six of us as we entered. They shared a collective look of surprise which quickly turned to anger. Gigi, who couldn’t have been more sweet when I first met her had the menacing look of a wild wolverine.

  “Sorry you had to see this, Mr. Barncat,” Ichabod said with a calm but threatening tone.

  “Ichabod, how could you do this?”

  Ichabod was about to answer when I stepped in between. “Actually, Ichabod is only one of many in this act of sabotage.”

  Ichabod realized it was me and that I was, in fact, not in costume or at least not the costume that he thought. “You! But I thought you was…,” he started.

  I held up a paw to stop him from continuing. “Please, Ichabod, I have a process I like to go through to explain all that has happened.”

  Not wanting to wait either, C. T. Barncat asked, “Is Gigi the instigator?” He looked to the strongcat, “Why?”

  Gigi let out a menacing growl as a beastly string of drool hung from the corner of her mouth.

  “All in due time, Mr. Barncat,” I responded. “As we can all see, Gigi and Ichabod have tied Caterina to a chair. This would indicate that as Caterina had discovered, in doing her own little investigation, Ichabod and possibly Gigi were in on the sabotage that resulted in Caterina’s injury.”

  “But how did you know Caterina was…”

  I stopped Mr. Barncat mid question. “I followed Ichabod to Vittles Village where I encountered Caterina. It was there I realized that Caterina was also investigating and actually suspected me in the sabotage. Her suspicion was aroused because I was new to the carnival and she didn’t believe my story that I had a twin brother who was a trapeze artist.”

  C. T. Barncat looked to Caterina who was still bound to the chair and gagged, which meant all she could do was make muffled noises and nod.

  “When she saw me look at Ichabod coming out of the dairy car at the Village, Caterina excused herself quickly and went in pursuit of him. I figured he was her new prime suspect.”

  N. Kahoots chimed in, “Ooh, this is getting good, but how’d you know they’d be here? Because of Gigi?”

  “I did have a suspicion that Gigi was in on it, but that was for a different reason,” I replied. “I thought they were here because of the true mastermind of this sabotage.”

  “And who would that be?” inquired Mr. Barncat.

  “Well, that was a bit of a mystery,” I confirmed. “Who was Ichabod’s boss?”

  “I am the boss,” Ichabod stated as he took a threatening step toward me. “It all started with me, and it all stops with me.”

  I laughed at the boldness of Ichabod’s claim. “We all know that’s not true, because your boss is here in this room right now.”

  There was a collective gasp from my companions as they looked around at each other wondering who I might be referring to.

  “That’s preposterous!” Ichabod retorted.

  “Is it? Then why were you so frightened when I told you the boss wanted to see you?” I paused for a moment waiting for Ichabod to respond. When he said nothing, I asked, “Or are you afraid of yourself? When you left the Balloon and Dart game, I tracked you to where your boss would normally hang out. I was pretty sure it was somewhere in Vittles Village because of his enormous appetite which you mentioned. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see who you were meeting with because I was delayed by Caterina. But I did see you enter and exit the dairy car. When I finally did get to the dairy car, I couldn’t find anyone there that appeared to be the boss though. But as I’ve been reminded today, appearances can be deceiving.”

  A muffled noise came from Caterina, which I assumed was her plea for me to hurry up.

  I acknowledged her request with a nod and continued. “I thought through how I could have missed seeing Ichabod’s boss, even though I was unable get to the dairy car before Ichabod had left. And then I remembered that Ichabod seemed to be talking to someone that I couldn’t see because of the crowd.”

  “So, where is this mastermind of the sabotage, Katz?” C. T. Barncat asked.

  “As I said, he’s here in this very room, right now,” I answered. “Ichabod, would you like to introduce us to your boss.”

  Ichabod tried to look at the floor; but before he did, he momentarily looked right at his boss. This was a trick I’d learned many years ago. I could usually get a culprit to out his partners just with a glance, which comes in handy in a situation like this. I was pretty sure I knew who the boss was but a final confirmation is always nice. And that’s what Ichabod did. He looked directly at his boss.

  “Thank you, Ichabod,” I said.

  “What? I didn’t say anything,” he protested. “I’m the boss!”

  “That’s not what your eyes said.”

  “My eyes? I don’t speak with my eyes.”

  “In fact, you do, and you did.” I turned to face C. T. Barncat and looked him in the eyes. “Mr. Barncat…”

  “He didn’t look at me, Katz,” Mr. Barncat said.

  “No, of course he didn’t, but he did look at…” I paused for effect. “Teeny Tiny Tom.” And with that I looked at the imposter cat on C. T. Barncat’s shoulder.

  Tiny Tom’s eyes widened like saucers full of cream as he looked at the very large cats surrounding him. “That’s ridiculous! Tell him C. T.,” he squealed. “We’ve been pals since we were little.”

&n
bsp; C. T. Barncat looked over to Tiny Tom sadly, “Is it true? Cassius, why?”

  “This cat doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Tiny Tom protested.

  “I don’t?” I responded. “You see; I couldn’t see who Ichabod was talking to because of your diminutive stature.”

  “Proves nothing!” Tiny Tom retorted.

  “And the fact that your favorite place is the dairy car is because you’re not a cat at all, but a mouse.” I flicked off his top hat revealing his round mousy ears.

  “A mouse!” N. Kahoots shrieked as he jumped into Barkley’s arms.

  “Yes, a mouse with an addiction to cheese,” I exclaimed.

  “This is rubbish!” Tiny Tom pleaded.

  C. T. wasn’t buying the act though. “I thought we were friends.” A tear beaded in his right eye. “But recently, you’d been acting different.”

  And then the look on Tiny Tom’s face changed. It went from the look of a scared mouse to one of a domineering, ruthless boss. “Aww, peanut brittle!” he exclaimed, and before Saber could grab him, he’d scurried off C. T. Barncat’s shoulder and onto the knee of the seated and bound Caterina.

  “Cassius, why are you doing this?” Mr. Barncat asked.

  “Why? Originally we were just going to devalue the carnival so we could buy it cheap,” the mouse explained.

  “Buy it cheap? Cassius, you’re my friend. I’d have given the carnival to you.”

  “What?! You’re telling me that now? Well, as it turns out that’s what you’re going to do anyway. We’re taking over the show.” And with the snap of his little fingers he said, “Gigi, take care of them.”

  Gigi grabbed a barbell with the heaviest weights on each end and lifted it easily above her head as if she were going to throw it at us. Everyone behind me began to duck or take cover. I have to admit that even I flinched a little at the thought of being hit by such a weight, but I held my ground. In fact, that’s what I was counting on - the ground - because as she brought the barbell to the peak of her reach, the ground beneath her started to crack and crumble.