Gracie giggled and giggled while our Mom laughed, too. Then she started to gently comb out the tangles in Trixie’s fur.
Bogey raised a brow to me. “Better enjoy this while you can, kid. We’ll have to put our nose to the grindstone the minute we get out of here.”
“Nose to the grindstone? Won’t that hurt?” I tried to cover my nose with my paw but I only ended up poking myself in the ear instead.
Bogey grinned. “Just an expression, kid. It means we’ve got to get right to work. We need to give this latest clue the once-over. Maybe even a twice-over. But any way you look at it, we need to give it a good going over.”
I was already nodding at my brother. “So we officially have a new case for the BBCDA?”
“Looks that way, kid,” Bogey meowed. “This is the second clue that appeared from out of thin air. And I have a funny feeling the sender is just getting warmed up. So we might as well make this investigation official. Let’s check out that second jar before we run surveillance tonight.”
I was about to say more when our Mom stood up and looked from one cat to the next. “I think everyone’s clean and dry enough now. And my, what a good-looking bunch they are!”
Beside her, Gracie nodded and smiled. “They all look so pretty and their fur is so shiny.”
For some reason, all that praise made me sit up extra straight. Because the truth was, I liked how I felt after a bath. Sometimes it was really nice to have such shiny, clean fur. I only wished I didn’t have to go through the horror of a bath to get that way.
Our Mom reached down and petted Trixie’s head. “Trixie’s long hair looks so lovely now that it’s all combed out. Wherever she came from, I don’t think she was well cared for. We’ll have to be sure to brush her a lot so her hair doesn’t mat up again.”
Trixie glimmered up to our Mom, saying thank-you with her bright eyes.
If only our Mom knew the truth about how we had rescued Trixie. Because one thing was for sure — she wouldn’t be too happy if she knew how badly Trixie had been treated!
Our Mom turned to Gracie. “Honey, would you mind showing Trixie and Mitzi around the house? And let them know where the food and water dishes are?”
Gracie’s dark eyes sparkled and she scooped Mitzi up in one hand. “Sure thing, Mom. I’d love to.”
And the next thing I knew, the door to the bathroom was open and we all went into the hallway. While the girls trotted off with Gracie, and our Mom headed to her room to change clothes, Bogey and I zoomed down the stairs. Straight to the dining room. We heard our Dad cleaning up in the kitchen, so we figured we had a little time to ourselves without being spotted.
Of course, we made a beeline for the little jars that someone had left on our doorstep. The first one was exactly where we had left it, with the wooden squares right next to it. So I scooted the second jar closer to the first one. Then I unscrewed the lid on the second jar and dropped it to the floor. At long last, we got a good look at the jewels inside. There were ten small stones that sparkled in the light.
“Do you think those are real diamonds?” I asked my brother.
“Near as I can tell, kid. But we’ll need the Princess to take a look and tell us for sure. That dame knows her diamonds.”
I had to say, she sure did. In fact, it was thanks to the Princess that we were able to identify some gems on another case. She even came to us with a diamond collar. One that our Mom kept locked up in a safe.
I glanced from the diamonds to the four wooden squares and then back to the diamonds again. “Why would anyone leave this stuff on our front porch?”
Bogey arched an eyebrow. “Looks like a trail of breadcrumbs to me.”
“Breadcrumbs? I don’t see any breadcrumbs.” I scooted closer to the diamonds for a better look.
“Just an expression, kid. It means someone is trying to lure us into following a trail.” Bogey used a claw to snag the bag of cat treats that he kept stashed behind the potted plant.
I glanced outside the window. “Oh, okay. I wonder where this trail starts?”
My brother pulled the bag open and handed me a treat. “I’d say this last jar gives us a pretty good clue.”
I munched on the fish-flavored treat. “We’ve got too many clues, if you ask me. All in one night. Because I’m still not sure where any of this leads.”
Bogey took a couple of treats for himself. “I think the wooden squares and the note were meant to get our attention. But I’m betting those diamonds are supposed to lead us straight to Garnet’s Jewelry Store.”
I felt my eyes go wide. Really wide. “They are?”
“That’d be my guess, kid. “
I nodded. “We’ve had a couple of cases that involved jewels.”
Bogey gave us each another round of treats. “Some people just can’t keep their paws off. Not when it comes to something shiny.”
“And Garnet’s Jewelry Store probably has lots of shiny stuff,” I said before I ate another treat. “That store is really close to our Mom’s antique store.”
Bogey stashed the cat treat bag behind the plant again. “You got it, kid. It’s just a few doors down. We could go to work with our Mom tomorrow and sneak out when the coast is clear.”
I nodded my head. “And then sneak into the jewelry store. Without anyone even knowing we’re there.”
“You read my mind, kid. But now we’ve got to decide if we want to play along with this ‘game’ or not. And follow this trail of clues that someone left us.”
“But Bogey . . . could we be walking into a trap?”
Bogey glanced out the window for a moment, and his ears perked up. “Could be, kid. Could be. We’ll have to think on our paws. Like we always do.”
All of a sudden, my heart started to pound really hard. “Maybe we should just stay home. And not even risk it.”
Bogey shook his head. “Then we might miss another clue. And we’ll never get to the bottom of this. I think it’s a risk we’ve gotta take. But what do you say, kid? Are you in?”
I gulped and stared at my brother. Somehow I knew he would want to investigate. In spite of any risks. But as far as I was concerned, I’d been through enough risks tonight to last me for a long, long time.
Even so, in my heart, I already knew what my answer would be. After all, what kind of a cat detective would I be if I didn’t go out and investigate?
So I took a deep breath and nodded to my brother. “Okay. I’m in.”
“Good deal, kid,” Bogey said with a grin. “I knew I could count on you.”
Now I had to wonder, what were we getting ourselves into? And exactly how risky was this case that already seemed to have too many clues?
Holy Catnip!
CHAPTER 7
Holy Mackerel!
For the rest of the night, I couldn’t stop thinking about our plan to sneak into Garnet’s Jewelry Store the next day. And I couldn’t shake the feeling that we might be stepping smack dab into a big trap. After all, somebody sure seemed to be baiting us. They had even sneaked right up on our front porch to leave us those clues. And I really had to wonder why.
I also wondered if they might be back again tonight.
Worst of all, my mind just kept on wondering and wondering. No matter how hard I tried to make it stop. All that wondering made me pretty nervous as we ran our first surveillance round of the night. I even had a hard time keeping my mind on the job. Thankfully, I’d been running surveillance with Bogey since the day I’d become a cat detective. So now I kind of did it automatically.
Of course, I didn’t even know what the word surveillance meant until I met Bogey. So if you’ve never heard of it before, well, like Bogey would say, don’t sweat it. Surveillance is just a big word that means “checking the place out.” To make sure all the doors and windows are locked. And to make sure the whole house is safe and sound.
It’s part of our jobs as cat detectives. We do it as a way to pay our family back for all the things they do to take care of us. Sort of as a
way to earn our keep, you might say. Of course, Bogey and I are always happy to help our family, especially when it comes to keeping them safe. And with them now tucked away in bed, it was our time to be on patrol. The lights were all off, but that wasn’t a problem for us cats. Like I said before, we can basically see in the dark.
Normally, I enjoyed running surveillance rounds. But tonight it felt like my heart was racing even faster than my legs. And every little noise I heard sounded about ten times louder than normal. Plus all the shadows looked like big, giant monsters ready to pounce on me. I was so frazzled by the time we passed the big upstairs window that I went straight up like a rocket when an owl suddenly hooted outside.
Bogey grinned when I landed back on all fours. “A little jumpy tonight, kid?”
I let out a huge sigh. “Uh-huh.”
“Those clues got you rattled?”
I nodded. “Usually I’m pretty happy to find clues. But I don’t like these clues. And I don’t like it when people leave things like this on our doorstep.”
Bogey glanced toward the staircase. “It’s a little too close to home, isn’t it, kid?”
“It sure is.”
Now he arched an eyebrow. “Let me guess. You’re wondering if the person who left them might come back.”
I gulped. “I really am. Do you think they will?”
“Take a deep breath, kid,” Bogey told me. “I doubt we’ll hear from them again tonight. They probably got their message across and now they’re waiting for us to make the next move. I think we can rest easy for a bit. Why don’t you get some shut-eye when we’re done here.”
As if I would actually shut both of my eyes at the same time tonight. To tell you the truth, I planned to sleep with one eye open.
If I even slept at all.
And apparently I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t going to sleep tonight. When we ran past Gracie’s room, we saw her staring at her cell phone. It glowed with a bright light in the dark of the room. It was enough for me to see that her poor eyes looked red and tired. And sore.
“Isn’t she supposed to be asleep?” I asked my brother quietly.
“Yup. She should be sawing logs by now.”
“Sawing . . . what?” I asked.
Bogey grinned. “Just an expression, kid. For snoring.”
“Oh,” I murmured. “Well, whatever it’s called, she’s going to be really tired in the morning. And she’s supposed to help our Mom at her antique store tomorrow.”
Bogey tilted his ears in her direction. “You got that right, kid. Too bad humans haven’t figured out how to take catnaps.”
I nodded to my brother. “If she keeps this up, she’ll be so tired tomorrow that she’ll need a whole bunch of naps.” I tiptoed closer to her bed. “So maybe I should step in and help her out.”
“Knock yourself out, kid,” came Bogey’s reply.
And so I did. Well, sort of, anyway. I had a pretty good idea that Bogey didn’t really want me to knock myself out. And I figured that was just another one of his expressions.
So I jumped up on Gracie’s bed and gave her a kiss on the nose. She giggled and turned her head away from me. And that was all the time I needed to give her phone a really good swack! Of course, I planned to hit the side of the phone and send it flying out of her hands. But my huge paw didn’t go exactly where I wanted it to go. And instead, I hit the phone smack dab in the middle of the screen. That’s when I heard a weird blurp sound.
Gracie gasped. “Buckley, you just sent a reply to a message that Sophie sent me!”
I did? How did I do that? I crinkled my brow and glanced at her phone. The thing sure was sensitive.
Gracie gasped again and thunked a hand to her chest. “And you sent it to Jackson! That’s the boy that Sophie likes. Oh, Buckley, she’s going to be so mad at me! I’m going to be in so much trouble!”
Well, I really didn’t mean for that to happen. I only wanted Gracie to get off her phone and get some sleep. But now I felt pretty bad, just hearing that Gracie was going to be in trouble. I hung my head as Bogey jumped up beside me. Then he put his paw on the top of the phone and pushed it to the bed. Of course, he never had any problem getting his paws to go where he wanted them to go.
Gracie sighed. “All right, all right, boys. I’ll get off my phone. Especially since I have no idea how to explain this to Sophie. I guess I’ll have to try to sort it all out in the morning. If I can . . .” With that, her tired eyes fell shut and she went right to sleep. She didn’t even pull her covers up, which was strange. She never went to sleep without her covers in place.
I glanced at my brother. “Gracie sure has changed a lot since she got her cell phone.”
“I hear ya, kid,” Bogey said as he shook his head.
I reached down and used my claws to snag the top of her covers. For once, it didn’t matter whether my big paws went where they were supposed to go or not. I pulled the covers up to her shoulders as she started to snore softly. She’d been up way too late for a girl her age.
Then Bogey and I jumped off her bed and ran back into the hallway. Now, not only did I feel nervous, but I felt sad, too. I really didn’t mean to cause problems between Gracie and her friend.
I was still feeling bad when we headed for the final room on our run — the sunroom. Of course, since it was nighttime, there was no sun in there at the moment. Instead, I saw plenty of stars twinkling in the dark sky when I glanced through the windows. That meant our bad thunderstorm was completely gone.
Which was probably one of the reasons why all the other cats in the room looked so happy and relaxed. Because we found Lil, Trixie, Mitzi, and the Princess all chatting away and resting on chairs when we trotted in. Thankfully, I also noticed the big, gray cat relaxing on a purple velvet couch.
Miss Mokie.
I bowed to her right away, and Bogey did the same. Bogey once told me that she is a kind of cat called a Norwegian Forest Cat. She has long, thick fur that forms a big ruff around her neck. It kind of makes her look like a lion. And believe me, she is just as majestic as any lion.
She waved her paw above us like a queen on her throne. “Good evening, Detectives Buckley and Bogey. Please arise and carry on. From what Lil and our guests have told me, I understand that you’ve had a rather eventful evening. I’ve also been told that you and the rest of the team performed admirably. And, I might add, with great courage.”
For some reason, her words suddenly made me feel a whole lot better. “Umm . . . thank you, Miss Mokie,” I managed to get out.
Though Miss Mokie is her real name, the rest of us cats simply know her as the Wise One. And let me tell you, the name fits! Paws down, she has got to be the wisest cat in the world. Probably because she’s so old and she’s seen so many things in her lifetime. Bogey once told me that she’s lived in five different states and two different countries. And, it’s been said that she even flew on an airplane back when she was my age. But that was a long, long, long time ago.
Now, none of us actually know just how old she is. I once heard Gracie say that Miss Mokie was over a hundred in human years. I wasn’t sure how old that made her in cat years, but it still sounded pretty ancient to me! I only hoped I would be as old and wise as she was one day.
Yet even though Miss Mokie is very wise, her joints are another matter. I guess they’re kind of stiff and achy, and it makes it really hard for her to get around the house. So she mostly just stays in the sunroom. She likes to feel the warmth of the sun as soon as it comes up in the morning. The heat makes her aching joints feel better.
But if you looked at the sparkle in her green eyes, you’d never know she had any problems at all.
She pointed a paw in the direction of her private water dish. “Please partake of a drink, Detectives. You must be parched after your long day.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Bogey said as he touched his forehead, like he was tipping a hat.
And so we sidled up to her water dish. Of course, I wasn’t going to mention
that we’d probably seen enough water for one night. No, that would’ve been really rude, since she’d just graciously offered us a drink. And nobody, but nobody, is rude to Miss Mokie. So instead, we both took a nice drink before we checked the windows in the room. Just to make sure everything was locked up tight.
On the way out, Bogey nodded to the Princess. “Mind taking a look-see at one of our clues downstairs? We could use your eye for jewels.”
She smiled her sweet smile. “Why, certainly. I’d be happy to.”
“Jewels?” Lil repeated with a tilt of her head. “Sounds like an interesting case.”
Bogey rubbed his head with his paw. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, Lil. So far, anyway.”
Though he didn’t add that it was a case that had landed right on our doorstep. I couldn’t help but shiver when I thought about it.
“You two look beat,” Lil said quietly. “Need an extra cat to take your rounds tonight?”
Trixie sat up straight and towered over everyone. “I’d be happy to lend a paw if you’d like Lil and me to run a second surveillance team.”
But Bogey shook his head. “Another night, Trix. First, you need to get your strength back. So why don’t you and Lil sit back and keep talking about old times. Then maybe you could get some shut-eye. We’ll see how you’re doing tomorrow.”
Trixie responded with a tired smile, and I knew the big cat really wanted some sleep. As near as I could tell, she was pretty worn out. Mitzi, on the other hand, was another matter. In fact, she was still bursting with energy. Even after the big rescue and a big bath.
“I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go!” she insisted. “I’m going to be a cat detective. I’ll be as good as Buckley. Maybe I can use my cat karate tonight.”
The Case of Too Many Clues Page 7
