The Case of the Crafty Christmas Crooks

by Cindy Vincent

  "Turkey-flavored cat treats," he said with a grin. "This'll get you going for a while. Because we have a long night ahead of us, kid."

  Holy Catnip.

  CHAPTER_15

  __________________________

  Holy Mackerel! The next morning, it was still dark out when our Mom and Gracie put Bogey and me in our pet carriers. We waved good-bye to Lil and the Princess as we were being carted out. Bogey and I hated leaving them short-pawed for the day, especially with so many break-ins going on around town. And especially when we knew it would be pretty hard to put our action plan into place with just the two of them.

  But we had no choice. Bogey and I had to go help our family at the Craft Fair. And that was that.

  Suddenly I felt just a little bit nervous. After all, I'd never been to a craft fair before. I glanced out the window and watched as we passed lots of houses. I noticed other people had lawn ornaments up, too. And lots of people had wreaths on their doors and Christmas lights along their rooflines. I had to say, St. Gertrude sure looked pretty for the Christmas season.

  The St. Gertrude Events Center was also decorated for Christmas. Two tall trees sparkled with lights at the front entrance. And a big sign adorned with a giant-sized bow announced the Craft Fair today. On the inside, garlands and ornaments were strung up all over the place. Strands of lights twinkled from the ceiling to the floor. And there were five big trees in the entryway, all decked out in different decorating themes.

  It was enough to make a guy's head spin. Especially when Gracie carried me into the area with the booths. Although, most of the booths weren't actually booths at all. Instead they were just areas that had been sectioned off, side by side, down a row, on opposite sides of the aisle. And they all looked completely different. But most of them had tables or shelves, so the people could display the stuff they'd made to sell. Some people had curtain backdrops, and almost everyone had a sign.

  These "booths" stretched as far as the eye could see. There were rows and rows and rows of them. And they filled the whole Events Center.

  And let me tell you, even though the Craft Fair wasn't officially open for business yet, the place was hopping! There were so many sights and sounds and smells that I could barely take it all in. I smelled everything from cinnamon to pine trees to nutmeg. Bells were ringing and Christmas carols rang out through the loudspeaker. A group of Christmas carolers in old-fashioned clothing practiced in one corner.

  As we passed each booth, I saw that people were selling just about anything and everything that had something to do with Christmas. There were handmade ornaments and flower arrangements. There were placemats and cookies and cakes. There were hand-knitted sweaters, hand-painted bow ties, and quilted tree skirts. And on and on and on. Most of it in green, red, gold or silver. The colors were all so vivid that I didn't know where to look first.

  Holy Catnip!

  In front of me, our Mom carried Bogey in his pet carrier.

  "Keep your eyes peeled, kid," he meowed back to me. "Things are going to get real busy real quick. So better take a good look around before the place fills up with people."

  "Aye, aye," I meowed back. I tried to salute him but I only ended up falling on my side. Let me tell you, trying to keep your balance inside a pet carrier can be a big challenge.

  Still, I got back up again and glanced out. I remembered what Bogey had said about the crooks having a weakness for stars. So I tried to spot all the stars that I could.

  Pretty soon I realized that almost everyone had stars at their booths! Even Gracie had put stars on her cat Christmas collars. And our Dad had made some big wooden stars covered in lights that people could hang on their roofs.

  I shook my head and covered my eyes with my arm. How would we ever spot a crook who liked stars in a place like this? With so many stars on display?

  I took a deep breath and peeked again.

  And that's when I saw it. The brightest star in the whole Events Center. Several rows away, someone had put a big, huge star high up on a really tall pole. The star was so big you might even say it was gigantic. That star could be seen everywhere.

  Something told me it would be a good place to start looking for clues.

  If we could ever figure out how to get there.

  After going over a few aisles and then down an entire row, we finally arrived at Gracie's booth. And I had to say, I thought her booth was the prettiest of all. She had her shiny red tablecloth across her table, and the cat collars looked so colorful hanging on their display stands. Plus she'd made a curtain for the back of her booth from some kind of shiny, glittery fabric. She had a big sign pinned to the fabric that read: "Dress your Cat up for Christmas, Too. With Cat Christmas Collars."

  She'd even brought a stand for Bogey and me to sit on while we helped with the sales.

  And that's exactly where we were sitting when the doors opened and the people all came in to shop.

  Before they arrived at our booth, Gracie slipped a bright, green satin collar with a white bow tie on me. And our Mom put a red collar on Bogey. His had little gold and green ornaments attached.

  I have to say, we looked kind of handsome in those collars. Bogey gave me a "paw bump" just before a whole pack of people arrived at our booth.

  "What are these?" one lady asked.

  "Cat Christmas collars," Gracie told her.

  "Okay, kid," Bogey meowed. "Here's your chance. Put on your 'cute' routine."

  And so I did. I remembered everything Lil had taught me, just before we went undercover in a cat show once.

  I tilted my head to the right.

  "Ohhhh, how cute," one lady sighed.

  Then I tilted my head to the left and raised my right paw. This brought "oooohs" and "aaahhs" from the crowd.

  Then all of a sudden, everyone wanted to buy one of Gracie's collars. In fact, the more I tilted my head and looked cute, the more collars she sold. Our Mom took the money and made change, while Gracie put the collars in bags for her customers.

  Bogey grinned at me and stretched out on the stand. "Good job, kid. I think you've got the hang of this."

  With a big yawn, he just sat back and enjoyed the show.

  Two hours later, Gracie had so many sales that she couldn't help but squeal. "You're doing great, Buckley. I've already made enough money to buy Christmas presents! Keep up the good work!"

  She kissed me on the top of my head.

  So I kept on tilting my head back and forth and raising my paws. I looked just as "cute" as I possibly could.

  There was only one problem with the whole plan — after a while, I started to feel really, really dizzy.

  All at once I noticed the room seemed to be spinning.

  I heard Bogey say, "Deep breaths, kid. Deep breaths."

  But by then it was too late. I couldn't tell which way was up or which way was down. And suddenly I felt myself falling, falling, falling.

  Right into the box with the extra cat collars.

  "Buckley!" Gracie hollered. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

  I waited until my eyes straightened out again. Then I crawled up the side of the box. I had collars draped on both of my ears and several along each arm. I even had one in my mouth.

  I spit it out and hung onto the edge of the box.

  Gracie brushed off the collars and picked me up. Then she held me tight.

  "I'm going to get an extra special present for you this year," she said. "You've been such a big help to me."

  Our Mom petted me on top of my head. "Maybe the boys need a little break. Why don't you put them in their wagon and take them for a little walk? You can put some collars in the back and sell them along the way."

  "Sounds good, Mom. Could I please have my money so I can go Christmas shopping?"

  "Sure, honey," our Mom said. "I'll take care of things here at your booth while you're gone. Be sure to stop at your Dad's booth and see how he's doing. Don't be gone too long."

  Gracie pulled our red wagon out from under her tab
le and put it in front of her booth. Then she put me in the harness and Bogey in the back. She grabbed a whole bunch of collars and put them all around Bogey.

  "I won't be long at all, Mom," she promised.

  And we were off. Gracie walked beside us as I pulled Bogey in the wagon. We'd only gone a few feet when someone noticed us.

  "Ooooohhh," a lady with curly black hair said. "That is the most adorable thing I've ever seen!"

  And the next thing I knew, the crowd sort of parted to let us go past. Almost like we were in a parade.

  "What are you selling?" an older gentleman asked.

  "Cat Christmas collars," Gracie said with a smile. "Just like my cats Buckley and Bogey are wearing. I made them myself."

  The man smiled at her. "I'll take three."

  A young woman jumped in, too. "I'll take two for my cats."

  And that was how it went. I pulled Bogey in the wagon and the crowd scooted out of the way for us. Gracie sold more and more collars as we moved along.

  At the rate she was selling cat collars, I figured she'd be able to pay for college before long.

  Finally, after what felt like an hour, we arrived at our Dad's booth.

  He laughed when he saw us. "You boys are really earning your keep today!"

  Bogey barely had a chance to meow back before someone asked about our wagon that looked like a sleigh. And the next thing we knew, our Dad started selling wagons and other lawn ornaments, too.

  Finally, Gracie waved good-bye to him. "I'm taking Buckley and Bogey and going Christmas shopping, Dad!"

  "Spend wisely," he told her.

  So we kept on rolling up the aisle. About halfway up, Gracie stopped and bought a beautiful emerald-green sweater for our Mom. Then we moved up a few more booths and she bought some barbecue mitts and a barbecue apron for our Dad.

  She wrapped her gifts in tissue paper and hid them in the bottom of our wagon. That's because she wanted our Mom and Dad to be surprised when they opened their presents on Christmas Day. Of course, we were more than happy to help her with that surprise.

  Once she had her presents stowed away, we rolled on again. We passed a few more booths, and then Gracie spotted a necklace she thought her friend might like. So she stopped to buy it for a Christmas gift.

  That's when I pointed to the big star in the middle of the store. "Take a look up there," I told Bogey. "I'll bet our crooks would absolutely go crazy over that star."

  Bogey grinned at me. "I'll bet you're right, kid. And I'll bet there are even more stars in the booth below it. Let's go check it out."

  I turned to look at my brother. "But how? Gracie's almost finished with her Christmas shopping. She'll be ready to go back to her booth in a few minutes."

  Bogey grinned. "Not if we lead the way, kid. Not if we lead the way."

  I looked up and down our aisle. "But how will we find it? I'm kind of lost already and I don't know what row it's in."

  "Don't sweat it, kid," he told me. "Just follow the star. It'll lead us there."

  I crinkled up my brow. Hmmmm . . . where had I heard that before? Wasn't it part of the Christmas story the Wise One had told me?

  I started pulling the wagon again and led the way, just like Bogey had told me to do. And sure enough, Gracie followed behind. As she did, she sold even more collars and bought more presents.

  A few minutes later, I came to the end of the row and turned left. All the while I kept that star in my sights. Of course, it wasn't exactly easy to do. Not with all the tall humans who wanted to stop and pet us. Or buy a collar from Gracie.

  Still, I pulled that wagon on and on, until I found the right row. Then I took another left and headed down toward the booth with the big star.

  Right about then, I started to feel a little tired. Pulling our wagon had been fun at first. But now I only wanted to get out of that harness, flop over, and take a break.

  But I knew I couldn't take a break right at that moment. And I knew Bogey wasn't big enough to pull the wagon himself. If I stopped now, Gracie might take us all back to her booth. Then we'd never have a chance to check out that star.

  Well, let me tell you, when I signed up to be a cat detective, Bogey told me there would be times like this. So I took a deep breath and pushed on. We had to check out that booth, no matter what. For all I knew, we might find the clue that could crack this case wide open. Or . . . at least break it open a little bit.

  And I sure didn't want to miss that.

  Behind me, Bogey must have figured out that I was getting kind of tired. So he jumped down from the wagon to lighten the load.

  He handed me a cat treat. "Here you go, kid. This'll keep you going."

  I munched on the treat and leaned forward once more. Bogey walked beside me as I rolled on. My muscles ached and my feet hurt a little bit, too. But I just focused my eyes on that big, bright star.

  We were about halfway down the aisle when we finally spotted the booth right below that star.

  Actually it was three booths. They'd all been taken up by one business. And what a business it was!

  Suddenly my heart skipped a beat. "Bogey, I think I'm seeing stars . . ."

  Bogey gasped. "You got that right, kid. I think you hit the mother lode!"

  My jaw fell open so far I thought it was going to hit the floor. For a second or two, it felt like I couldn't even breathe.

  For there before us, at the St. Gertrude Craft Fair, was the biggest collection of stars I had ever seen in my life.

  Holy Mackerel!

  CHAPTER_16

  __________________________

  Holy Catnip! I could hardly believe my eyes. For a few moments, all I could do was sit and stare at the triple-wide booth. I looked from star to star to star to star. I don't think I'd ever seen so many stars in one place before. Except for in the night sky when Bogey and I gazed out the window.

  There were star ornaments, star candleholders, star wall hangings, and star furniture. There were star nightlights and star mobiles. I saw stars covered in lights, stars covered in rhinestones, and stars covered in glitter. Right in the middle of it all was an entire display of stars for the top of Christmas trees.

  Just about every kind of star a cat could imagine was right there inside that booth.

  Eventually, all those stars turned into one big blur in front of my eyes. So I shook my head and tried to refocus my sight.

  Then I glanced up at the sign on the top that read: "Starry, Starry Night, Inc."

  I gulped. "Wow, how will we ever find some clues in all this stuff? It could take us days to go through all this."

  Bogey jumped back into the wagon. "Don't sweat it, kid. We'll just cut through the muck."

  I glanced from side to side. "The muck?"

  To tell you the truth, I didn't exactly see a lot of muck. So far, all I could see were a whole lot of stars.

  I was about to ask Bogey what he had in mind, when the lady who ran the booth noticed us.

  She squealed so loud we both kind of jumped. Then she slapped her hands to her cheeks and stared at us with her mouth wide open. She had a huge head of golden hair that stuck out in points everywhere. Her blue eyes looked giant-sized behind her big, black-framed glasses that were covered with little rhinestone stars. Plus she had star rings on her fingers and a shirt with a big star on it.

  "That is the cutest thing!" she shouted. "Hello, kitties!"

  Before we could so much as meow, she waved to Gracie. "Hello, there! Are these your cats? They're adorable. My name is Star Gazer and this is my booth. Could I interest you in a star for Christmas?"

  Gracie's eyes went wide and she kind of choked for a moment. "You sure do have a lot of stars."

  "Yes, we do," Star said. "And you sure have some handsome cats. What are you selling?"

  Gracie smiled at Bogey and me. "Cat Christmas collars. Would you like to buy one?"

  "Ooooh," Star said. "I've got a beautiful gray cat named Orion. And a beautiful striped tabby named Cassiopeia. They'd love some Chr
istmas collars. Would you be willing to trade me for some?"

  Gracie's eyebrows went up. "Trade?"

  "Sure," Star answered. "You give me some cat collars and I'll give you some stars in exchange. Do you see anything you'd like?"

  Gracie pointed to a set of three glass star ornaments. They had shiny gold flecks inside the glass.

  "I like those," Gracie said. "They would look beautiful on our Christmas tree."

  "It's a deal," Star told her. "Now, I'll take two of those red collars and two gold collars in exchange."

  Gracie handed the collars to Star, and Star pulled the ornament set from the display. Then she passed the set to the huge, hulking blond man next to her. He was kind of hunched over and didn't look at us at all. He started wrapping Gracie's star set in tissue paper.

  Now Star smiled with bright, white teeth. "This is my boyfriend. His name is Big Dipper. Say 'hello,' Big Dipper."

  But the man didn't really speak and only kind of grunted at us.

  "Nice to meet you, Mr. Dipper," Gracie told him. "And you, too, Miss Gazer. My name is Gracie and these are two of my cats. Buckley is the big one and Bogey is the shiny one."

  "Nice to meet all of you," Star said.

  But her boyfriend still didn't say a word.

  "Are you finished with your Christmas shopping?" Star asked.

  Gracie smiled up at her. "I just finished a few minutes ago."

  "Good for you!" Star twinkled at us. "Say, haven't I seen you around before? Aren't you Abby's daughter? The lady who owns Abigail's Antiques?"

  While Gracie and Star talked away, Bogey jumped down and nudged me in the ribs. "I'm going in, kid."

  I glanced from one side to the other. "In? In where?"

  Bogey grinned at me. "In there, kid. I'm going into the booth to take a look around. If there's a clue in there, I plan to find it. You stay here and cover me."

  I gulped. "Um, okay. But how are you going to get in?"

  Bogey tiptoed over to the edge of the booth. "It's easy, kid. There's nothing but a tablecloth here. I'll sneak right under and go poke around. You keep them distracted by looking cute."

  I rolled my eyes. There was that word again. Cute. Why did I always have to be the one who looked cute?