by Jack Lugar
Her look of anger changed to concern as she looked down and saw the earth beneath her opening up. Before we knew it, she had dropped the barbell and crashed through the dirt floor, submerging half her body in the open ground; unable to pry herself free.
With Gigi confined by the ground, Barkley and Saber were able to capture Tiny Tom and Ichabod. This left the easy job of freeing Caterina to N. Kahoots.
C. T. Barncat approached Gigi to inspect where the earth had opened up and submerged her almost halfway below the ground. He was careful to stay out of the reach of her flailing arms as he exclaimed, “We’ve been saved by an earthquake!”
I laughed at the thought. “Actually, there was no earthquake. The reason the ground opened up is because Ichabod and his team have been digging tunnels throughout the carnival grounds. There are so many tunnels that the ground has become a bit unstable.”
“Tunnels?” C. T. Barncat asked.
“Yes, all these holes that have been appearing around the carnival grounds are part of an intricate tunnel system.”
“Cats digging tunnels?” N. Kahoots questioned.
“That’s a good question. Knowing that cats are not known for their digging,” I concurred. “The answer to that question is ‘no.’ Cats have not been digging tunnels”.
“Then how did the tunnels get here if Ichabod didn’t dig them?” asked Mr. Barncat.
“I never said that Ichabod didn’t dig them,” I reminded. “In fact, I’m pretty sure he was involved.”
“This makes no sense,” N. Kahoots stated.
“Remember, I said that the tunnels were not dug by cats, but Ichabod is not a cat.”
The revelation even caught Caterina off-guard even with all her investigating as she blurted out, “Not a cat?”
It was moments like these that I enjoyed the most. To be able to reveal a secret that no one had discovered. To catch everyone unawares. To reveal the answers only I knew.
Walking over to Ichabod who was being held by Barkley or Saber (the only mystery I hadn’t solved), I removed his hat and inspected the backside of his head; separating the thick, matted fur. Just as I had suspected, I found a zipper. Taking the pull tab into my fingers, I slid the zipper down from the top of his head to the middle of his back.
At this point, I had everyone’s attention. The room had fallen silent as they watched me reveal the mystery beneath the furry cat costume. I pulled the covering from his head and revealed the true face of Ichabod to a collective gasp from my audience.
“It’s a rat!” Caterina shrieked.
“Ichabod is a rat?” C. T. Barncat asked incredulously.
“A brown rat, to be specific,” I clarified. “Brown rats are known for their exceptional size, burrowing ability, and bad eyesight. I expect you’ll find Gigi to be a similar breed although… much larger.”
C. T. Barncat found the zipper on the back of her head and proved me correct by revealing a very large rat beneath the mask. Taking a shocked step back, he questioned, “How did you know?”
“There were many clues indicating a rat problem. The holes, the smell, and the tunnels to be exact. You see, when I first arrived today, I got a whiff of the stench, which was familiar but not typically associated with the mouth-watering smells of carnivals such as the elephant ears, popcorn, and cotton candy. It took me a little while to remember where I’d come across the smell before, but while crawling through one of the tunnels, it hit me. While I was a Cat Cop, we had a case where brown rats were tunneling throughout the city and leaving holes just like here at your carnival. So while the evidence of rats was everywhere, I couldn’t find them. That’s when I came across Ichabod at the end of a tunnel, and he thought I was in costume. It was at that moment; I knew I’d found my rat.”
“Of course, where there’s one rat there’s lots more,” N. Kahoots chimed in.
“Ewwwww,” Caterina responded.
“That is correct,” I agreed. “I suspect there’s an entire team of rats at work here, but I’ve contacted the Cat Cops; and you’ll soon have this infestation under control.”
“Thank you for your skillful work, Katz,” Mr. Barncat said. “Without you this would have ended in disaster.”
“I’m glad to be of service.”
C. T. Barncat continued, saying, “This is a very sad day for this Catastic Carnival.”
“Actually,” I interjected, “I have some information that might bring this to a happy ending.”
“What could ever make me happy after all this?”
“The last piece to the puzzle,” I said. “You see, not everything is as it appears as you know Mr. Barncat. This sideshow for example is a bit of trickery. We see what we want to see because that’s the fun in letting our imaginations run wild. Things like cats swallowing swords or eating fire are tricks. Consider the strongcat; the heavy weights, while heavy are not the actual weight that’s written on them.” I grabbed the large barbell and lifted it over my head. Admittedly, it took two paws and much of my strength to get it there because it was still heavier than I expected.
“The same could be said about Teeny Tiny Tom,” I said as I set the barbell down and walked over to N. Kahoots, who was now holding onto the world’s smallest cat. “As you know, Mr. Barncat, Tiny Tom is not a cat at all.” I pointed to his mousey ears and unimpressive tail.
“I know all of this, Katz,” Mr. Barncat stated. “In fact, I’m the one who revealed Cassius Peanut’s true identity to you.”
“Yes, this was a helpful clue,” I confirmed. “Knowing that Cassius was a mouse, helped me think outside the world of cats as I solved this mystery. And this leads me to offer you some good news.”
“If only that were possible, Katz,” C. T. Barncat said weakly.
“This is not Cassius Peanut,” I stated.
“What?” N. Kahoots blurted out.
“But… How?... Who?...,” was all that Mr. Barncat could get out.
“This is…,” I paused for dramatic effect as like to do. “… Cornelius Peanut.”
“Cornelius?!” Mr. Barncat exclaimed. “Cassius’ brother?”
“Correct. The world’s smallest cat is an imposter of an imposter,” I confirmed.
C. T. Barncat leaned in to get a closer look at Cornelius.
“After our conversation earlier, I figured there was only one mouse that could fool you, considering your close relationship with Cassius,” I explained.
“It’s great to know that my best friend didn’t betray me, but he’s still gone. What happened to Cassius?”
“I think this might have the answer,” I said as I went to the box I’d seen earlier that day. “When I first met Gigi, she told me that she had caught a ‘morsel.’ I didn’t think much of it at the time, but as the clues started coming together, I reminded myself that if everything was not as it appeared, then maybe the world’s smallest cat, who wasn’t even a cat, wasn’t even the mouse that we thought he was either. Even I pretended to be a twin of myself from the same litter in my undercover work. So, if my calculations are correct, Cassius Peanut is in here.”
I picked up the box and offered it to Mr. Barncat. He took the box gingerly and slowly opened it. Inside he revealed a mouse curled up in the corner. It was Cassius, weak but alive.
“Oh, joy!” C. T. Barncat exclaimed as he reached into the box and lifted Cassius out.
“Katz, you have saved my best friend and made me the happiest cat alive!”
As he hugged me enthusiastically, the Cat Cops entered the tent and took Cornelius Peanut, Gigi, and Ichabod into custody. For the rest of the day, the Cat Cops searched for Ichabod’s brown rat crew and filled in the tunnels after clearing them. It was probably only the tip of the iceberg, but the Cat Cops were able to find seven more rats working the carnival in disguise and follow the tunnels to a secret hideout where 12 more rats were captured.
One of those rats was Bobo Bananas who had pretended to be injured by Gigi and was the rat that set the fire in the bleachers of the Clown
Tent. No wonder the fire was so close to him.
In all, it was a successful day.
Typically, after solving a mystery, I’ll make my way back to my office, sit at my desk, and type up a review of my case. I try to do it while all the events are still fresh in my head, and I would have done the same this time around except C. T. Barncat offered me a free meal at Vittles Village. I had spent the entire day chasing clues and hadn’t taken a moment to eat all while smelling the wonderful aroma of the carnival’s deep fried delicacies.
So instead of sitting at my noisy typewriter, I went to the dairy car and loaded my dinner tray with a juicy hamburger, creamy mocha milkshake, and an elephant ear and sat in a comfy booth. Thinking back on my younger days when I’d come to the carnival with my parents, I remembered how I’d always start with the elephant ear. I never could save my dessert for last.
Taking a quick peak over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching, I decided not to break tradition and took the largest, sugary bite of my dessert. It was just as I remembered. On my lips, I could feel the sprinkles of cinnamon and sugar, but on my tongue the sweet, buttery flavors of lightly crisped dough. It was so good, before I knew it, I’d devoured the entire ear. It’s a good thing real elephant ears don’t taste like this because then there would a lot of earless elephants.
Brushing the stickiness off my paws, I picked up my pen and started making notes between sips of my milkshake. I thought back on how my experience with previous cases gave me information that helped me solve the mysteries of this one. My knowledge of brown rats, their smell, and use of tunnels was priceless. I also made note of how going undercover and dressing as a clown, trapeze artist, and game runner gave me unique access but created new challenges I’d never had to deal with in the past.
Ultimately, as I finished off my hamburger, I reflected on the idea that things are not always as they appear. At C. T. Barncat’s Catastic Carnival, a cat is not always a cat. And the mouse that was pretending to be a cat was not even the mouse that he claimed to be. The same could be said for all the cats that were really rats. What I saw today was how deception can be used for fun at a carnival where we are willing marks, but it can also be used for devious purposes. As a cat that solves mysteries for a living, I’m always a little more suspicious than the average cat; but in everyday life, it’s nice to be able to let my guard down and just enjoy the tricks.
Before today, it had been several years since I’d been to the carnival. Several years since I’d eaten an elephant ear. As I took the last few sips of my mocha milkshake, I enjoyed the thought that I wouldn’t wait as long for my next trip to the carnival. In fact, next year when C. T. Barncat returns to New Purrt, I’d make sure I was one of the first in line.
Maybe if I’m lucky, I can find a way to get back in the center ring and dust off my clown skills again.
The End
Get the latest details on Katz Pajamas and his upcoming mysteries http://www.jacklugar.com.
Jack Lugar is the creator and author of the Katz Pajamas book series. Most Recently he has written the young adult Sessi Nilsson novel series including Sessi and the Gate to Hel and Sessi and the Race to Odin under the name J. R. Lugar. He has also written the nonfiction books The Starving Artist’s Diet and Hollywood Break-In. He is Professor of Cinema and Media Arts at Anderson University in Indiana and teaches storytelling, screenwriting, film production and other media related courses. Lugar lives in Fishers, Indiana with his wife and three kids.
