The ImPAWssible Mission

by Patricia Fry

  “Before what?” Savannah insisted, fully aware that she was trembling. In a small voice she asked, “What do you think is going to happen?”

  “I wish I knew, honey. I wish I knew.” After several seconds, he whispered. “I think you should make a run for it. I’ll stay and watch for your cat.” When Savannah started to protest, he said, “Here’s the key. Drive down to the café and call the police.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “No signal. Check your phone.”

  After studying the screen, she said, “No. Nothing.” She then pleaded, “Craig…”

  “Go, Savannah. I want you out of here when…or in case…you know…something goes down.”

  “But Rags…”

  “He’ll be fine. No one here knows of his…” He chuckled nervously, “…his super powers. They’ll just think he’s a ratter.”

  “A what?”

  “You know, brought in to take care of the rat problem.” He hissed. “Go. Call for help. I’ll be fine.”

  Savannah hesitated. When she realized that Craig meant business, she took one last look toward the mine shaft, then crept away. She dug the small light from her pocket and shined it on the ground in front of her. As she made her way toward the car, her mind was a jumble of thoughts. Why I agreed to come out here with Craig, I’ll never know. And what a huge mistake it was to bring Rags. Yeah, Craig thought he could help us to find the jewelry, but we should have considered the danger more carefully. There would surely be someone guarding that stash. I should have known things wouldn’t go smoothly. She shook her head. As if my life isn’t rich enough, I have to get involved in the crooked underground. Maybe I should have been a cop instead of a veterinarian. Sure, finding cures for ailing pets is satisfying, but maybe I’d feel more fulfilled if I were out solving crimes. That really interests me…until I find myself in a situation like this. A tear slid down her cheek. And now Rags is in danger…all because of me and my darned curiosity

  She made it to the car using the flashlight and the beginning of daylight. I wonder if the café will be open this early, she thought as she drove the nearly four miles into the tiny town. I see a light in the diner. Good. The cook’s probably in there. She parked the car and checked her phone. No signal. She ran to the front door. Locked. She began knocking on the door and shouting, “Hello! Is anyone in there? Please help.” Within a minute or so, she saw a figure through the window.

  The man waved saying, “We’re closed.” He tapped on his watch. “Open at six thirty.”

  “I need to use your phone!” Savannah shouted. “Your telephone. Please.”

  “No. Come back at six thirty,” he said. “Boss says let no one in.”

  “Please, it’s an emergency,” she pleaded.

  After a few minutes of contemplation, the man opened the door. He handed Savannah a portable phone, then closed the door and locked it.

  “Thank you,” she said, taking the phone. She made the 911 call and learned that someone would be there in about twenty minutes. Gads, what should I do now? She wondered. Wait here or go back up to see if I can help Craig? What time is it? She looked at her watch. Six twenty. Ten more minutes, she thought, then I can go in and get a cup of coffee and wait out of the cold for the police. Or I can get two cups of coffee and take one to Craig. Hopefully he has Rags with him. Oh, I can’t stand it. I have to go back and find my cat. She slipped into the car and headed back up the hill.

  “Craig,” she whispered when she arrived at the mine shaft. “Craig!”

  “Good morning, Señorita,”

  Savannah turned quickly toward the voice. “Oh, River, hi. What are you doing up so early?”

  “My job,” he said, cheerfully. “Feeding the mules. They must be finished eating to be ready for work in the mines by seven.”

  “River, have you seen Señor Craig?” she asked.

  The boy shielded his eyes from the first rays of the sun. “No. Is he up already?”

  She glanced around, then focused on the mine shaft. “Yes. We took a walk earlier…with the cat. I drove down to…um…get coffee, but they weren’t open.”

  “Six thirty sharp,” he said, smiling. “Mom says Millie’s café is too rigid for this area. Sometimes people want an early breakfast before they travel. Sometimes they get home late and want to eat supper down there. But Millie stays open only until seven. If you get there at ten minutes after seven, you do not get to eat!” He glanced toward the sun again and told Savannah, “They’re open now!”

  Savannah couldn’t help but stare into the shaft. She walked toward it.

  “I don’t think you should go inside there, Señorita,” River said. She looked at him and he said, “No one goes inside there.” He frowned. “Bad juju.” When she continued to stare at him, he explained, “Bad things happen in there, so they closed it up for good. Señor Milner say so.”

  “Oh really?” Savannah said. “So where are they doing the mining up here?”

  River pointed. “Up along that bluff and down next to the river. Those are the active mines Señor Milner leases.”

  “How does your father fit into all this? Is he the overseer?” When she saw that River looked confused, she explained, “…the boss. Is he the boss?”

  “Oh no, Miguel is the boss man when Señor Milner is not here.” He looked down at his feet and said quietly, “Señor David Milner was the boss before that, but he went away. His brother, Señor Harold Milner, say Señor David doesn’t want to be with us no more…um…I mean anymore, so he moved someplace far away.” The boy’s eyes grew wide. “He doesn’t even write or call. That makes us all sad.” River glanced around, then spoke more quietly, “Mama say Señor David was the good brother.” He sighed. “When Señor David Milner left us, Miguel became the boss. But that may change again when Señor Harold Milner finds his fortune and comes back here to live.”

  “When was the last time Señor Harold was here?” she asked.

  “About two weeks.” River said. His face lit up. “Before that, he came for my birthday in July and he brought me a hunting knife.” He frowned. “Mama made me put it away until I’m older.”

  “Good idea,” Savannah said. Just then she noticed a car was making its way up the dirt road toward them.

  “It’s the police!” River said. He turned. “I’d better go get Miguel.”

  She watched the boy sprint away, then called out, “Craig!” She turned and looked in all directions. “Craig!”

  “What?” came a voice from behind her.

  She gasped “Oh, Craig, you scared me. Where were you? Why didn’t you answer me?”

  “Oh, I’m just hanging out waiting for your cat.”

  “You didn’t find him?”

  “No, but I’m watching the opening there. He’ll come out when he’s finished exploring.”

  “What about that man we saw earlier? Who was that? Did you see who it was?”

  Craig chuckled. “That was our young friend, River. He had a flake of hay on a pitchfork and in the early dawn half-light, it made him look like a larger person.”

  She looked confused. “But he said he didn’t see you.”

  “No, he didn’t. I stayed hidden. He sat out there with the mules for a while playing a harmonica. Actually, I thought that would bring your cat out—the music and the kid.”

  Savannah looked into the shaft. “Maybe he’s hurt or lost.”

  “Hello,” came a voice from below them on the road. “I’m Officer Davis. He nodded toward a female officer. “This is Officer Tipton. You called for help? What seems to be the problem?”

  Craig cleared his throat and coughed. “Well, we found a body in that mine shaft there and I thought you’d want to know about it.”

  The officer scratched his head. “I happen to know that shaft has been closed for probably a month now. What makes you think there’s a body in there?”

  “Well, I found a way in and discovered it.”

  “You bro
ke in?”

  “You might say that,” Craig admitted.

  “Why?”

  As the two officers drew closer, Craig showed his badge and said, “I’m investigating a case from Colorado, Mr. Milner’s home state, and thought it was important to follow my instincts.”

  “By breaking and entering?” Davis asked.

  “Are you interested in the body or not?” Craig pushed.

  The officer looked at Craig and Savannah, then he suddenly jumped a little and pointed. “What’s that?”

  “Oh, Rags!” Savannah said with relief. She started to reach for him, but recoiled. “What do you have?” she asked.

  Craig joined her. “What is it?” He squatted and studied the item Rags had dropped in front of him. “Well, it’s not a piece of jewelry,” he lamented.

  “Jewelry?” Officer Tipton repeated. “Why would you expect a cat to have a piece of jewelry? Where did that cat come from, anyway? Hey, he’s wearing a harness and leash. Is that your cat or something?”

  “Yes,” Savannah said. “He got away from us earlier. We’ve been looking for him.”

  “What’s going on?” someone called from behind them.

  Craig and the others turned and saw Miguel hurrying toward them. River trailed behind. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “This is private property.”

  “Hey, look,” River said. “The cat found my knife sheath.” He rushed toward Rags and started to pick it up, when Officer Davis stopped him.

  “Leave it where it is, son. It may be evidence.” He motioned to the female officer, who scooped the sheath into an evidence bag. Davis cocked his head. “Where did he get it?”

  “That’s the sheath for your new knife?” Savannah asked. “I thought your mother made you put it away.”

  “Yes, that’s why I was surprised to find it gone one day. I figured Mama had moved it so I wouldn’t know where it was.” He lowered his head. “I think she doesn’t trust me.” He looked around. “Where’s my knife?” he asked. “Has anyone seen my knife?”

  “It’s probably in there,” Craig said. When the boy started to head in that direction, Craig stopped him. “But I don’t think you should go in there right now.”

  “Why not?” Miguel asked. “The mine is locked. He can only go in as far as the gate.”

  Craig looked him in the eye. “Just take my word for it.” He turned to Savannah. “Will you stay with the boy?”

  Savannah put one arm across the boy’s shoulders. “Sure,” she said. The two of them watched as Craig led Miguel and the officers into the mine shaft.

  Chapter 5

  When the group returned from the mine shaft, Officer Davis made a call. “We need the coroner and an investigative team out here at the old Kramer place. Yeah, take Road 265 north from Millie’s Diner. You’ll see my cruiser about four miles in. Yeah, homicide.”

  Upon hearing this, Savannah looked at Craig. “Murder?”

  “Yeah, didn’t you see…” He glanced at the boy, who was walking around the area leading Rags.

  Savannah shook her head. “No. I didn’t look. I was just hoping it was an accident.”

  “Nope,” Craig said. When he saw that River was out of hearing range, he grinned and said quietly, “…unless the guy fell on a knife several times.”

  “Gruesome,” Savannah said, shuddering.

  “Hey, kid,” Officer Davis called out, “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  “Okay,” River said. He then complained, “The cat doesn’t want to come over there!”

  “I’ll get him,” Savannah said, approaching him and picking up Rags. She listened as the boy was questioned.

  “You say that knife sheath is yours?” Officer Davis asked.

  River nodded.

  “Do you know how it got out here? Were you playing with it out here?”

  “No, sir,” River said. “Mama put that knife up right after Señor Milner gave it to me. She said I could only use it when an adult was with me.”

  “Do you know where she put it?”

  “Yes. But when I went to look at it last time, it was gone.”

  “When was that?” the officer asked.

  “When Wolf was here from college.” When the officer looked confused, River explained, “That’s my brother. I wanted to show it to him and it was gone. Mama told me she had moved it to a new place. She went and got it so I could show it to Wolf and then she put it back and I don’t know where.”

  “So your mother was the only one who knew where the knife was?”

  River shrugged. “I guess she could have told someone else. I’m probably the only one who didn’t know.”

  Officer Davis gazed at the boy for a few moments, then said, “So the last time you saw it was when your brother was here. When was that, do you remember?”

  “Yes. He spent his birthday with us—August second.”

  “So about…uh… six weeks ago?”

  “Yes, I guess so.”

  By then some of the mining crew had gathered to see what was going on. The deputy glanced around at them. “We’ll want to talk to each of you,” he announced. “We have a team of investigators on the way. No one is to leave this property.” He then asked, “Do all of you speak English? Are there any Spanish-speaking-only people here?”

  Miguel pointed out a couple of the men. “Spanish,” he said. He pointed to another one. “Spanish. Everyone else, English.”

  “We’ll call in an interpreter. For now, I’d like to get your names and those of any others who live or work here.” He handed a clipboard to Miguel. “Make sure everyone writes down their name and contact information.”

  Craig approached the officer. “Hey, we need to get on the road. Do you have any additional questions for us? ”

  Officer Davis looked at Craig, then Savannah, and said, “Yeah, let’s start with your contact information. Can I see your IDs?” Once Davis had copied the information from their driver’s licenses and Craig’s credentials, he asked, “So what brought you up here?”

  Craig glanced around, then requested, “Can we speak more privately, please?”

  “Yes.” The officer led the couple away from the others, then continued, “You said you’re following up on a Colorado case.”

  “Yes, a seventy-year-old robbery.”

  This stopped the officer. “A seventy-year-old case?”

  “Give or take a year or so,” the detective said flippantly. When he was certain he could not be overheard, he explained, “We were looking for the jewelry stolen in that robbery when we happened to come across the corpse.” He nodded toward Savannah. “She’s a friend with a very special cat who often seeks out and finds important clues in some of the cases we pursue. So on a hunch…”

  “A hunch, huh?”

  Craig thinned his lips and nodded. “Yeah, on a hunch and a whole lot of evidence, we decided to come out here to the suspect’s place and check out a few things.”

  “The suspect? You believe Mr. Milner is a suspect?”

  Craig nodded.

  The officer smirked. “In a seventy-year-old theft?”

  Craig chuckled. “Well, yes and no.” He rubbed his chin. “The original theft took place in the forties.” He nodded in Savannah’s direction. “Mrs. Ivey and her family rented the home of the original suspect in that case, and this cat…”

  “The cat, sir?”

  Craig nodded. “Yes, he found a few pieces of jewelry thought to be from that old crime. But by the time we figured out where the stuff had been hidden, someone had beaten us to it and we believe they blew up the house to cover their tracks. We have reason to believe that was Harold Milner and we tracked him here, thinking this may be where he hid the jewelry.”

  “Did you find the jewelry here?”

  Craig shook his head. “Just a corpse, which may be an important clue in the case, actually.”

  When Savannah saw that Officer Davis was trying to absorb what Craig
had told him, she said, “River told me the dead man is Harold Milner’s brother. That is, if the ID Craig found on him is actually his ID.” When Both men seemed interested in what Savannah had to say, she continued, “He said that David Milner was the boss, but Harold Milner told River that his brother decided he didn’t want to be here anymore and he went away.”

  Both men looked at her for a moment, then the officer said, “Okay, thanks. I’ll make sure the boy is questioned more thoroughly.” He looked from Savannah to Craig. “Yeah, you folks can go on your way. I’ll get in touch if we have more questions. Oh,” he called out, “where’s Milner now—I mean Harold Milner?”

  “In jail,” Craig said, “on charges of kidnapping, holding hostages, and possibly breaking and entering and assault.”

  “Oh!” the deputy exclaimed. He made a few notes, then said, “Okay, go on. Let us do our job here.” As Craig led Savannah and the cat toward his car, the deputy called out, “Thank you, by the way.”

  Craig waved off-handedly as he and Savannah climbed into his SUV and drove back to the main house.

  “We should have packed the car before we left this morning,” Savannah said.

  “Yeah, it may be a little dicey to get our stuff now.” Once he’d parked in front of the main house, he started to get out of the car, then said, “Let’s leave your cat here. It won’t take you long to get your things together, will it? I’ll help you with the litter box.”

  “Okay. No. It won’t take me long.”

  Savannah was right, it took only seconds to toss her belongings into her overnight bag and the tote. She pulled the blankets up over the bed, glanced around the room, and headed out with the two bags. She met Craig in the hall, took his small bag, and gestured with her head. “Litter box is right inside the door.”

  “Let’s go,” Craig urged when Savannah lagged a little at the bottom of the stairs.

  She frowned. “Well, I’d like to thank White Fox. She’s been so nice.” She faced Craig. “It would be rude to just leave.”

  Before he could argue the point with Savannah, White Fox appeared. “Are you leaving us?”