And if all that wasn’t bad enough, well, things got even worse when the lady who ran the tour started to pass out samples. Because Bogey seemed to get even more muddled with every treat we tasted.
I waved one of my big paws before his eyes. “Umm . . . Bogey, do you think we should check out that clue?”
But it was like he didn’t even see me. “Clue, kid? There’s a clue? All I can see are cat treats.” And then he went back to repeating, “Cat treats. Soooo many cat treats. Everywhere. Can’t think. Can’t focus.” He acted like he was in a trance.
And before long, I realized that Bogey was pretty much out of commission. I guess the sight and smell of all those cat treats was just more than he could take. Obviously he wasn’t in any kind of condition to investigate our case. Let alone make full sentences.
That meant it was up to me to take the lead and make the decisions for us. For once, I had to be the one in charge. There was just no way around it.
I gulped at the thought. Especially since I was starting to worry that my brother might be in trouble. I knew I needed to get that clue and get us out of there. And fast.
“Lean on me,” I told him. “And I’ll stand you up next to a wall. Then I want you to stay put for a minute.”
“Sure thing, kid,” he managed to mumble.
He put his weight against me and I half-carried him to a corner. When we were just a few inches away, I leaned him against the wall. It was enough to keep him standing on his feet.
“I’ll be right back,” I told him. “I’m going in. After the clue.”
“Be careful,” was all he could manage to mutter. “Looks dangerous.”
“Aye, aye,” I told him.
Then for some reason, I stood up straight and saluted him. Perfectly. I was amazed that my big paw went exactly where I wanted it to go.
Bogey gave me a nod and then raised a paw to his own forehead. He did a sliding salute and quickly put his paw back on the ground again. “Back at’cha, kid. Now hurry up and save the day, would ya? Daylight’s burning.”
So I turned in the direction of that big mixing bowl. The lady giving the tour was now showing the group how the whole setup worked. And wouldn’t you know it, she decided to turn those beaters on extra fast, just to demonstrate. The gigantic stainless steel bowl started to shudder, like it was alive.
Oooohs and aaaahs rose up from the tour group.
But I just wanted to tell the lady to turn those beaters off!
Only I couldn’t exactly do that.
Instead, I took a deep breath and tiptoed around the outer edge of the group. Then I inched closer and closer to that giant mixing bowl. The closer I got, the louder it got. And the louder it got, the more scared I got. To tell you the truth, I was pretty sure it was going to break free from its stand and come right after me. Any second now.
Holy Catnip!
More than anything, I wanted to turn around and run. But I knew I couldn’t. So I kept on inching forward, closer and closer to that little jar. By now my heart was pounding almost as loud as that big bowl. And with Bogey fading fast, I knew I’d better hurry up. That’s when I decided to do something I’d heard our Mom talk about — I took a big, giant leap of faith. I closed my eyes for a second, gathered up all the courage I could find, and then I jumped in behind that big bowl.
And right beside that little jar.
Without waiting a single second, I batted the jar with my big paws and kept it moving. I batted it all around the backs of the whole tour group while everyone watched the lady demonstrate how those beaters worked.
I kept on moving that jar until I reached Bogey. He was still wobbling back and forth, and mumbling about cat treats with a glazed look in his eyes. So I opened the lid of the jar and looked inside myself. And I could hardly believe what I found.
A little note.
Written to Bogey and me.
It said, “I know your weaknesses. Shut down the BBCDA or else . . .”
Shut down the BBCDA? Were they crazy?
That’s when my heart started to pound even more. Whoever was doing all this really was out to stop us. They didn’t want us to investigate any more cases. To top it off, they were right about one thing — they sure knew Bogey’s weakness. Cat treats! And they had proven it by putting Bogey out of commission with more cat treats than he could handle.
But more importantly, they knew our biggest weakness of all. They knew they could get to us by putting our family in peril. And in this case, the diamonds that were planted on our front porch sure got the job done, all right.
So at that very moment, I knew we had to get out of there. And I knew I had to get my brother to safety.
I put my arm around him. “Bogey, let’s go!”
He blinked a couple of times. “What about the clue, kid?”
“I’ll tell you all about it when we get home.”
“Was it bad?”
“Uh-huh . . .” I murmured. “Now lean on me and I’ll get you outside.”
But I’d barely spoken the words when I realized I had no idea how I’d get Bogey out of the building. Even so, I kept on going anyway, and I helped him move toward the swinging doors that led to the front room. Once I got there, I found the doors were completely shut. So I stood up on my back legs and put my front feet on one of the doors. Trying to figure out a way to open it.
And I have to say, I was pretty happy that I did. Because there are times when it pays to be an extra big cat. One who weighs a whole bunch. And it turned out this was one of those times, since the door swung right open when I put all my weight on it. Then all I had to do was drop my front paws to the ground and keep the door open.
Well, okay, maybe that wasn’t all I had to do. Because I also had to get Bogey to go through the door as well. Yet with him being so hazy, I knew it was going to take a lot to get his attention. And get him to “amscray, skedaddle, or vamoose,” as he would have said.
So I took a deep breath, crinkled my brows, and commanded him to, “Follow the sound of my voice! And come with me, Bogey. Right now!”
I couldn’t believe how bossy I sounded. But I guess a guy has got to be a little bossy sometimes. Because it was enough to get Bogey moving.
“Right behind you, kid,” he mumbled as he wobbled on through to the front room.
Thankfully, getting through the outer door turned out to be pretty easy. We just waited until some people opened it, and then I half-pulled, half-dragged my brother outside.
Bogey started to come around the minute we hit the fresh air. Then he shook his head and blinked a few times. As though he finally knew where he was.
Dave was already waiting for us in the parking lot. He’d gotten there early and he helped us to his car when he saw us. I had to say, I was really starting to like this Dave guy. A lot. Especially when he picked up Bogey and put him in his seat.
“Whoa . . . little dudes,” he said. “Bogey doesn’t look so good. You must’a had too many cat treats.”
Bogey took some deep breaths and kept on looking around. He even sat up as Dave drove the car through the parking lot. I can’t even begin to say how relieved I was to see my brother doing better. But then I glanced out the side window as we turned onto the street. And I got nervous all over again.
For standing behind the factory’s huge picture window was a man.
A man who was staring at our car as we drove away.
A man holding a bowler hat.
It was Mr. Pennypacker. And he had a very big frown on his face.
Holy Catnip!
CHAPTER 19
Holy Mackerel!
I nearly fell off my seat when I saw Mr. Pennypacker staring at us as Dave drove us out of the parking lot. Thankfully, Dave had buckled us in with seat belts. Otherwise, I probably would’ve gone right over the edge when I spotted Mr. Pennypacker.
Funny, but I hadn’t seen him on our tour. So where had he been? And did he have anything to do with the clue that had been left for us?
More than anything, I wanted to talk to Bogey about it. But I wasn’t sure if he was in any kind of shape to discuss our case at the moment. Plus, I didn’t want to interrupt Dave who kept on pointing out different sights as he drove us home. That would have been just plain rude. Especially since he was so nice to Bogey and me.
When we got home, Dave let us out in front of our house, just as some of Gracie’s friends were showing up for the party. They gave us some pretty funny looks when we jumped out of Dave’s blue car.
But the timing sure made it easy for Bogey and me to get back into our house. Because we just slipped right in with some of the kids who were walking inside. Then I guided my brother to the office, so I could make sure he was okay.
Bogey shook his head. “I don’t know what came over me back there, kid. That place really knocked me out.”
I nodded. “That’s for sure. It was pretty weird to see you like that.”
He rubbed a paw over his head. “Thanks for getting me out of there, kid. Don’t know what I would have done without you. Mind filling me in on the details of what happened back there?”
And just as I was about to open my mouth, Lil came running toward us. “Thank goodness you two are back! Because we’re going to need all paws on deck for this one.”
Bogey raised an eyebrow. “Do tell, Lil. What’s got your dander up?”
Lil shook her head. “Gracie’s having a tough time. Because the kids are refusing to go along with her idea and give up their cell phones for the party. Some of them are even being pretty mean to her.”
Somebody being mean to Gracie? That sure made my ears stand at attention!
And Bogey’s too. “Count us in, right, kid?” he said with a nod to me.
“Right!” I practically hollered.
Then the three of us raced to the living room to find Trixie standing guard over a basket. Attached to the basket was a sign that read, “Be present at my party and not on your phone. So put your phone here and leave it alone. You’ll get it back later, before you go home.”
The only problem was, there were only three cell phones in that basket. And there were a whole bunch of kids at the party.
That meant most of the kids still had their phones. In fact, three or four of them were on their phones right now. I suddenly understood why Gracie had planned for them to put those phones away for a while. Otherwise, they would’ve been off in their own little world, you might say. And not even thinking about the party.
A girl named Marissa had one hand on her hip and her phone in her other hand. “Why should I give up my phone for your stupid party, Gracie? It’s my business when I’m on my phone. Not yours.”
I could tell Gracie was near tears. She had put on her pretty red dress and it looked like she’d even decorated the room. She’d gone to a lot of work for her friends, and some of them sure didn’t appreciate it.
“I’m just asking you to give up your phone for a few hours,” Gracie explained. “Not forever.”
“What if I get a message from Violet? What if I miss it?” Marissa demanded.
“I’m sure Violet will understand if you’re busy,” Gracie told her.
“I wish I hadn’t come here at all!” Marissa practically snarled.
And that was about enough of that for me. I sure didn’t like anyone talking to Gracie that way. I nodded to Bogey and I knew he understood exactly what I was thinking. So while he scooted the cell phone basket over, I reached up and pushed the cell phone right out of Marissa’s hand. It dropped straight into the basket with a loud Plop! Then we scooted over to a boy who was on his phone, and we did the same thing. After that, Trixie joined in to help with a taller girl. Since, well, Trixie was a taller girl herself.
And we kept on going, filling that basket up one cell phone at a time. As we went along, the kids sort of gasped and choked and made all kinds of funny noises. Some even laughed and smiled.
“Did your cats just . . .?” One girl started to ask.
“I can’t believe it,” another girl said. “But I think your cats are gathering up the phones.”
Well, he sure had that right! Once we had all the cell phones, I went back to Gracie and rubbed around her legs. Just to let her know I had her back. So to speak.
She smiled down at me. “In case you didn’t know it, I have some very smart cats.”
“I’ll say,” a wide-eyed boy agreed.
“Now that we’re all here,” Gracie went on, “I came up with a little game for us to play. Remember when I asked you to email me with some interesting things about yourself? Well, this is what I did with it.”
And with that, Gracie passed out a copy of the game she had made up the night before. Plus, she passed out pencils to everyone.
A boy named Tommy looked at all the lines printed on the paper. “This is two pages long! I don’t want to read all this.”
Gracie shook her head. “It’s only one page. Front and back. This will be fun, believe me.”
“I don’t believe you at all,” Marissa whined as she flopped into a chair. “First you take my cell phone away. And now you expect me to read something? What kind of a party is this?”
And that’s when us cats jumped into action again. I leaped up onto the chair right next to Marissa and I pointed one of my huge paws right at that sheet of paper. Then I stared at her. I even squinted my eyes so I’d look kind of mean myself.
The other cats did the same thing to some of the other kids.
Trixie sat right next to Tommy. “Okay, okay,” he finally agreed. “I’ll play this game.”
Somehow, Gracie managed to put a big smile on her face. Though to tell you the truth, I’m not sure how. Because I had a pretty good idea that she didn’t exactly feel like smiling at the moment. But I knew she was a good hostess, and she was working hard to make sure all the kids were going to have fun.
Only, they didn’t know it yet.
“All right, everyone,” she said. “Here’s how we play. I’ve got the things you sent me all typed down here. There are forty of them altogether. But I jumbled them up so they’re not in any kind of order. Now you have to figure out what items belong to each person. Then fill in the blank beside each item with the correct person’s name. And you have to do that by going around the room and asking each person one question at a time.”
“Huh?” Marissa said.
I gave her another squinty-eyed look.
“Well,” Gracie went on. “For instance, the first statement says, ‘Find someone who has been to Australia.’ Then fill in the blank with that person’s name.”
Tommy shook his head. “But everybody already knows the answer to that one. It’s . . . it’s . . .” He knitted his brows together and glanced around the room. “Wait . . . I can’t remember who . . .”
“That’s right,” Gracie said, never letting her smile dip. “Now you have to find that out. But you can only ask each person one question at a time. So if you ask Sophie question number ten, and that’s not her item, then you have to move on and ask someone else. And you can’t cheat off anyone else’s paper. The first person who gets all the right answers wins. And I baked a very special cupcake for the winner. So let’s get started. Ready, set, go!”
So they did. Everyone got to their feet and turned to the person next to them. I heard kids asking things like, “Do you fit question number eight? Did you win a dance contest?”
Gracie’s friend Sophie turned to a girl named Laura. “Are you number fourteen? Do you know how to sew clothes?”
Laura quietly nodded yes.
Sophie’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t know that! That’s really awesome!”
“I made the dress I have on,” Laura told her.
Sophie’s mouth dropped open wide. “That’s amazing! Could you please show me how to sew sometime?”
“I’d be happy to,” Laura answered with a big smile. “Now, let me guess, are you number twelve? Do you own a St. Bernard dog?”
But Sophie shook her head. “Sorry. It’s
not me. Guess we’d better move on to the next person.”
And they did just that.
All the while, I watched as some kids wrote names on their papers and some didn’t ask the right people the right question. Yet all the kids kept moving along, asking questions as they went.
Marissa even got in on the fun. She turned to another girl and asked, “Are you number sixteen? Did you once win a spelling bee?”
In the meantime, Tommy turned to Gracie. “Do you have some of your things on this paper, too?”
Gracie nodded. “Yes, I do.”
Tommy moved closer to her. “Well . . . I see you have cats. Are you number twenty? Do you make Christmas cat collars every year? And sell them at the St. Gertrude Craft Fair?”
Gracie smiled and nodded. “That’s me. My Mom and Dad let me set up a booth of my own.”
Tommy’s eyes went wide. “Really? So you sell your stuff and you make your own money?”
“Yes, I do,” she told him. “It’s fun to make my own money. I spend some and I save some. And I buy Christmas presents for my Mom and Dad all by myself.”
“I didn’t even know that,” Tommy told her. “And we’ve known each other for years.”
“It’s so true,” Gracie agreed. “We’ve all been friends since we were little. But there’s lots of stuff we don’t know about each other.”
And so it went. The kids kept on moving from person to person. Everyone asked questions and then stood there and talked. And laughed.
A bunch.
Before long, the living room got pretty loud with kids talking. It was clear that everyone was having a great time.
Us cats just stood there together and kept an eye on things. Usually Bogey would have pulled out a bag of cat treats at a time like this. But today, he just left the closest treat bag stashed behind a couch.
Bogey turned to Lil. “Did the kittens stay upstairs? Like they were supposed to?”
Lil gave Bogey a nod. “They’re taking a nap up in the sunroom. They’re pretty worn out after practicing their cat karate all day. Plus, I took them on their very first surveillance run. But now the Princess is keeping an eye on them. And Miss Mokie, too. Her eyes sparkle so brightly every time she wakes up and sees them.”
The Case of Too Many Clues Page 19
