The Case of Too Many Clues

by Cindy Vincent

  And the more I looked at it, the more it gave me the shivers.

  “This is the place,” Lil said quietly.

  I turned to my brother. “Is it just me, or does that house look kind of, um . . . well . . . creepy?” Even the dark windows looked like big eyeballs staring at us.

  Bogey squinted his eyes and stared right back. “It doesn’t exactly scream ‘cheerful’, does it, kid? Not with the power out and the whole place being pitch-black. Except for that front room with the fireplace.”

  I glanced at the very window he was talking about. Sure enough, I could see a couple of people sitting around the bright light of a fireplace. I couldn’t quite make out their faces, but I could see they were laughing and talking. Almost like they were having a little celebration. And as near as I could tell, they didn’t notice us cats outside at all.

  Much like they obviously didn’t notice Trixie on the inside, either. Instead of having her with them as they celebrated, she was locked up without anything to eat or drink. Just the idea of a cat being neglected like that made me hopping mad. Even though I’m not the kind of guy who gets mad very much. And it was funny, but being mad kind of warmed me up, and all of a sudden, I didn’t mind being out in the rain so much. Not when I knew we were about to rescue a helpless cat and take her away from this awful place.

  Bogey crinkled his brow and kept on staring at the house. “Do you have a roadmap to reach this pal of yours, Lil? We’ll follow your lead.”

  Lil nodded toward the side of the house. “We have to go around to the back and climb up to the second story. That’s where Trixie’s room is. She told me she’d be sitting in the window, so we could see her.”

  Then, without wasting another second, Lil and Bogey took off running. I followed them, with Mitzi still riding on my back. We quickly reached a fence on the side of the house. A wooden fence that we would have to climb.

  “Okay, this is where you get off,” I told my passenger.

  Mitzi did as she was told, and then she stared up at that tall fence. Her tiny mouth was set in a firm line, and I could tell she was trying to be brave. But I could also see that she was nervous about doing something new and probably scary to her. Gee, how many times had I felt that way in my life? I couldn’t even count the number on all four paws.

  So I gave her some pointers while we watched Lil and then Bogey go up and over the fence. “Did you see how they went?” I asked Mitzi. “I want you to do exactly what they did.”

  She nodded and bit her lip. “Okay, Buckley. I can do it! I can go really fast, too!”

  And sure enough, she scurried her way up like a pro. Then I climbed up after her, only to find her sitting on a board that ran across the top of the fence.

  “Buckley, I’m scared,” she said with a little whimper. “It’s a long way down to the ground.”

  And she sure had a point. It was a long way down, especially for a tiny kitten who’d probably never climbed a fence before. Funny, but it was always a whole lot easier to climb up than to climb down.

  “Watch me,” I told her. “And run right behind me. When you get close to the ground, kick off and jump down. Ready?”

  “Ready!” she squeaked in a fierce, little voice.

  Then I pointed my nose toward the ground and ran straight down that fence. Halfway there, I kicked off and jumped into the yard. She followed me the whole way and stayed just a few inches behind me. I landed on all fours and kept running, while she slipped and rolled in the mud when she hit the ground. But she quickly bounced back onto her feet. She shook off the mud in great droplets as the rain quickly washed her clean.

  “That was kind of fun, Buckley,” she said with a smile.

  Did she say fun? I’m sure my eyes would’ve gone pretty wide right about then, if I didn’t have so much water running into them.

  “We’d better hurry,” I told her. “So we can get Trixie out of there.”

  Then off we went. We caught up to Bogey and Lil as they stood in the backyard, looking up at the second story of the house. Sure enough, there was a huge, mostly white cat sitting in one of the windows.

  And I do mean huge! In fact, I did a double take when I saw her. If I thought I was a big cat, well, I almost looked sort of small compared to her.

  She raised a shaky paw to wave at us, and I could tell she was feeling pretty weak.

  Let me tell you, just seeing that big cat suffering stirred something deep inside of me. It bothered me so much that I took off running without even thinking. To save her. Without waiting for Bogey and Lil. Because more than anything, I wanted to get that poor cat away from those awful people who were treating her so badly. I wanted her to be safe and full and happy. Like I was. Like all the cats in my family were.

  I zoomed across the yard so fast that rain droplets flew right off my fur! Then I shimmied straight up the trunk of a huge tree that was next to the house. When I reached a big branch, I pulled myself up and walked across it very carefully, putting one paw directly in front of the other. One step at a time. I had to be extra careful not to slip, or I would have fallen straight to the ground.

  The branch led to a small, shingled roof that was just below Trixie’s window. A really steep little roof. And once I was close enough, I kicked away from the branch and jumped right onto that roof. From there I walked straight up the steep slope to Trixie’s window.

  Or, at least, I tried to walk straight up that slope.

  But I hadn’t realized just how slippery those shingles were when they were dripping wet. And with rain pelting me harder than ever, I soon started to slide backward instead of going forward.

  Which probably wasn’t the best way to rescue a cat in danger. Especially when I started to wonder if I was about to become another cat who needed to be rescued. Because no matter how hard I tried to stop, I just kept on sliding down, down, down, until I could see the edge of that roof. Right about then, I realized I probably should have waited for Bogey and Lil. And maybe even come up with a plan.

  “Turn around, kid,” came Bogey’s voice from somewhere to the left of me.

  “Huh? Turn around?” I repeated, wondering if the rain had affected Bogey’s eyesight. And my hearing.

  “Yup, kid,” he said. “Turn around. Dig your back claws in and walk your front legs up. Then switch. Dig your front claws in while you push your back legs up the roof. Keep it up until you reach the window.”

  “Um, okay,” I answered him.

  And even though it was pretty terrifying, I did just what he told me to do. Then little by little, I went up that roof. Like a reverse inchworm. All the while, my heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest. It didn’t help that I was staring straight down into the backyard. Below me, Mitzi bounced around and waved to me, like she was trying to direct me. Lil stood near her, and glanced from me to the house and then back to me again. I figured she was also on the lookout for any humans who might suddenly show up.

  “You’re doing great, kid,” Bogey coached me. “Just a few more inches and you’re there.”

  That’s when I realized he’d climbed up a whole different way. And he was now on a little roof just above me.

  He jumped down onto my roof and met me at the window. “Now let’s get this poor cat outta here.”

  At long last, I made it to the window. Then I turned around and got a good look at Trixie for the first time. My mouth fell open so wide that I sputtered and choked on rainwater. Because, even though Trixie was a huge cat, she was also very thin. And I do mean thin. In fact, I’d even say she looked downright skinny. She had fur that was twice as long as mine, but it was matted into huge clumps all over her body. As near as I could tell, it had been a long time since someone had brushed her hair. That made me extra sad, since our Mom and Gracie brushed us all the time.

  I nodded to her and tried to smile, just to cheer her up. But the truth was, I really didn’t feel much like smiling at the moment.

  Though Bogey managed to flash her a grin. “Howdy, ma�
��am. Lil called in the cavalry and here we are. I’m Bogey and this is Buckley. Now hang tight while we slide this window open.”

  I took a closer look at the window, and I could see that Trixie had gotten it unlatched on the inside. Just like she’d told Lil in her message.

  “Okay, kid,” Bogey said to me. “I’ll hook my claws around the outside edge and pull. You push from the middle.”

  “Aye, aye,” I told him as I got into position.

  Then we both gave it everything we had. With a little work, we finally slid that window open.

  And set off the burglar alarm.

  Right away, my heart started to pound about a million miles an hour. Especially since that alarm screeched so loud that I wanted to cover my ears. But I knew I couldn’t.

  Trixie shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the alarm was on.”

  Bogey darted a quick glance inside the room. “No problem, ma’am, but we’d better pick up the pace.” Then he held out his paw to give Trixie some support. “Watch your step, Trix. It’s as slick as the marble floor at the museum out here.”

  Trixie put her two front paws on the roof just outside the window. “Thank you,” she murmured. “Lil told me she worked with some of the best cat detectives in the business. And you two are tops.”

  “Always happy to help a dame in distress,” Bogey said as he kept one eye on the bedroom where Trixie had been held captive. “Now the trick is not to get caught. So let’s all step lively out here.”

  With our help, Trixie was soon standing outside on the roof. Of course, the rain immediately drenched her long fur and plastered it to her sides. And that’s when I saw that she was even thinner than she’d looked before. In fact, she was kind of a skeleton cat under all that fur.

  Which probably accounted for the way she wobbled.

  Bogey glanced at me. “Let’s get this window shut again, kid. It won’t turn off the alarm. But if anyone checks this room, it’ll take ‘em a while to figure out that Trixie is gone. It could buy us some time.”

  “Sure thing,” I told him.

  So we went right to work. With some tugging and some pushing, we had that window shut in a hurry. But even with it closed, I could still hear the alarm ringing, ringing, ringing.

  “Good job, kid,” Bogey told me. “Now let’s all amscray.”

  “Amscray?” I repeated.

  “It’s an expression, kid,” he said. “It means ‘scram’. Skedaddle. Vamoose. In other words, let’s get out of here.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Trixie said in a shaky voice.

  And we were about to do just that when it happened — a big gust of wind came up and sent us all slip-sliding down the roof.

  Bogey and I held on and managed to stay standing. But poor Trixie was no match for that gale. Much to my horror, her legs buckled and she flopped over onto her side. Right away, I put out a big paw and managed to grab her. So she didn’t go sliding off that roof. Then I held onto her with all my might and glanced at my brother.

  Now I had to wonder, how in the world would we get Trixie back on her feet and safely down to the yard below? Without all three of us getting caught by her abusive owners?

  Especially since it was becoming harder and harder to see, thanks to the rain that was now coming down sideways. Not to mention, the lightning that flashed all around us, even more than before.

  Holy Catnip!

  CHAPTER 5

  Holy Mackerel!

  There we were, up on that roof, trying to rescue Trixie and get her away from this awful place.

  The only problem was, Bogey and I were having a pretty hard time hanging on to those slick shingles. And trying to hang on to Trixie at the same time just made things a whole lot harder. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure if we could hang on much longer. Especially since Trixie was still lying on her side and starting to pant. Worst of all, I had no idea what to do next.

  So I was pretty happy when I saw Lil race up the same tree that I’d used to get onto the roof.

  “She’s probably just dehydrated,” Lil hollered over to us.

  “De . . . what?” I hollered back.

  Bogey tilted his head in my direction. “De-hy-drated, kid. She needs water.”

  Lil scooted a little closer. “Open your mouth and take a drink, Trix.”

  For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I’d heard Lil correctly. Did she really want Trixie to take a drink? But how could she, when there wasn’t a water dish nearby?

  Then I looked cross-eyed at the water dripping down my nose, and I realized, well, there was water all around us. Everywhere, you might say.

  I held up my arm so Trixie could see the droplets falling from my paw. “Lil is right, Trixie. Just open your mouth and let the raindrops fall in. There’s plenty of water and you’ll have a nice drink.”

  Without a word, she did just that. She opened her mouth and drank and drank and drank and drank. Then she drank some more. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat who was so thirsty before. Sure, I’d been thirsty myself a time or two, but never like that!

  In the meantime, Bogey kept an eye on the window of the room where Trixie had been held prisoner. The burglar alarm was still ringing, but thankfully, no one had shown up at the window and spotted the three of us out on the roof.

  Yet.

  Once Trixie had finished drinking, she perked up right away. “I really appreciate all of you coming out to save me like this. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “We’re happy to help, my friend, but we’re not home free,” Lil replied as she glanced around. “And the faster we get out of here the better.”

  Bogey shook the rain from his eyes. “Think you can stand up again, Trix?”

  I scooted closer to her. “You can lean on me while we get you off this roof.”

  Lil was already nodding. “Then you can lean on me when you get out to this branch. And we’ll all help you get down the tree.”

  Trixie plastered a wobbly smile on her face and struggled to her feet. “You cats are spoiling me. First I get rescued and then I get treated like a queen. This must be my special day.”

  I had to say, I was pretty impressed by the way she kept her spirits up. For a cat who was practically dying of thirst and almost starving to death, she wasn’t complaining one bit. When I thought about it, I wasn’t sure if I’d be so upbeat if I were in her paws!

  And speaking of paws — ones with claws — I dug mine in extra deep, just to make sure I could support her. Before long, Lil and Bogey and I had her off that roof and safely down to the ground. I was so happy that I even thought about giving that ground a big, giant kiss.

  But only for half a second. Especially now that I was standing in all that water and mud in the yard.

  Trixie looked pretty happy herself as she sat for a quick rest. “What a team! You cats are terrific.”

  Lil nodded. “You won’t find a better bunch. And there are more back at our house.”

  “That’s right,” I told Trixie. “Princess Alexandra is playing her part to make sure we get back inside. Plus we have Miss Mokie, a really old cat who gives us lots of good advice. You’ll be amazed at how wise she is. We also have a human Mom and Dad, and our human sister, Gracie. You’re going to love them all.”

  “They sound wonderful,” Trixie murmured.

  Now Mitzi started to bounce around with the same speed that raindrops were hitting the grass. “Tell her my name, Buckley! Tell her I’m Mitzi. Tell her I’m going to be a cat detective, too!”

  Trixie let out a little laugh. “Nice to meet you, Mitzi. And for that matter, it’s been a real pleasure to meet you all.”

  “The feeling is mutual, Trix,” Bogey told her. “But let’s save the niceties until we’ve finished rescuing you first.”

  He had barely spoken the words when sirens sounded in the distance. And we had a pretty good idea where they were headed — straight for the big, creepy house in front of us. So we didn’t waste another second before we
vamoosed. Or, in the words of Bogey — amscrayed.

  Once we got to the fence, Mitzi looked up at Trixie. “Watch me, Trixie! I’ll show you how to climb this fence. Going down is the hard part. But if you do what I do, you’ll be okay.” Then Mitzi immediately raced all the way up to the top board. She gave us a wave before she ran down the other side.

  Well, I had a pretty good idea that Trixie had climbed a fence or two in her lifetime. But because she was so weak, we had to give her a little boost this time. Even so, she made it down the other side with almost no effort at all.

  “See, Trixie!” Mitzi said when we were all in the front yard. “That wasn’t hard, was it?” But she didn’t even wait for an answer before she started to dance around again.

  For some reason, this made Trixie smile as she turned to Lil. “The CDITs seem to get younger every year, don’t they?”

  “CDITs?” I repeated.

  “Cat Detectives in Training,” Lil explained to me. “But I’m not sure if Mitzi is really in training. I think she’s more of a tagalong.”

  Tagalong was right. Though she didn’t tag along so much as she “rode along.” In fact, she jumped on my back the second we started for the street. I had to say, it sure would have been nice if she had asked me first. I didn’t mind her weight so much on the way over. But now it seemed like she was getting heavier and heavier as we ran through the yard and crossed the street together in the pouring rain.

  It took all the strength I had to keep up my speed. Thankfully, we weren’t exactly running at top speed anyway, not with the way Trixie was wobbling along. We were halfway up the block when we looked back to see two police cars pull up in front of the stone mansion. The flashing lights on the patrol cars lit up the dark night and practically blinded me. But we didn’t stay to watch. Instead, we just kept on moving, so we could get back home.

  And get out of the rain.

  By now, I was starting to drag my paws. But little Mitzi just seemed to gain more energy by the minute, and she kept on talking and talking and talking. Mostly to Trixie.