The Case of Too Many Clues

by Cindy Vincent

  And then amscray!

  It seemed like it took us forever before we reached the second-story landing. From where we stood, we could see the room where Trixie had been held. I shuddered, just looking at it.

  But we didn’t take any time to dilly-dally. Instead, we just kept on going up those stairs. Up and up and up. Inside that very silent mansion.

  Finally, we got to the third floor, where the safe was supposed to be. That’s when Trixie made some motions with her paw and gave us some silent directions. She pointed down another hallway and then tilted her head to the right. Which meant the safe was clear back on the far side of the house.

  By now, we’d had enough of taking it slow. So we picked up the pace and trotted down a hallway. Together, we all turned a corner, ready to head for the safe.

  That was, until we saw a sight that made me feel like someone had just dunked me in water. And I don’t mean warm water, either, like our Mom used when she gave us a bath. No, I felt like I’d been dropped smack dab into freezing cold water that was filled with ice cubes.

  I’m sure the rest of the cats were just as horrified, too, since we all came to a screeching halt. For there, right in front of us, were two big dogs. Dobermans, I think they were called. And they must have been lying in wait for us at the top of the stairs.

  But no matter what kind of dogs they were, they suddenly sprang to life and snarled at us. Drool dripped from their teeth and their eyes practically glowed an eerie yellow. Clearly it was only a matter of seconds before they attacked.

  And we would be goners!

  Holy Catnip!

  CHAPTER 23

  Holy Mackerel!

  There we were, on the top floor of Garnet’s mansion, practically standing face-to-face with two nasty guard dogs. Dogs with very sharp teeth, I might add.

  And before we could turn around and run, Lil hollered, “Mitzi! Magnolia! Full claws! Pounce!”

  After that, everything happened in a flash. I caught glimpses of tiny, needle-sharp claws as the two little calicos went flying through the air. And I do mean flying! Of course, they were also sort of spinning and flipping at the same time. The next thing I knew, there was fur and dust and dander coming up in kind of a cloud around the two dogs. There was yelping and hollering and the whir of tiny feet as the attack went on.

  Much as I wanted to jump in and help those two girls, everything was moving so fast before my eyes that I wasn’t sure who was who. In fact, I even thought the girls switched sides a couple of times. And to be honest, it looked like they had the situation under control.

  Feet of fury was right!

  The whole scuffle ended in about a minute. Then I could finally make out the two dogs who were now covered in scratches and big bare spots where their fur had once been. Their noses were scratched and their ears were scratched, but their eyes were wide and their mouths were hanging open in shock and terror. They looked like they weren’t sure whether they should run or just stay put. But one thing was for sure, those two dogs looked more scared than I have ever been in my whole life.

  Mitzi and Magnolia, on the other hand, landed on their feet in front of me. As near as I could tell, they didn’t have a scratch on them. And they didn’t have a single strand of fur out of place. They hadn’t even lost their sunglasses in the whole scuffle.

  Both girls just bowed and said, “Oooss.”

  Then without so much as a “woof,” those two dogs just amscrayed on out of there.

  I watched them go and my chin practically hit the floor. One minute I thought we were goners, and the next minute I could hardly believe what I’d just seen.

  While Lil and Trixie congratulated the girls, I glanced over at my brother. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows had practically shot up to the top of his forehead. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so shocked before. He blinked a couple of times and then he shook his head slowly.

  “Bogey,” I muttered under my breath. “Do you think we might’ve overdone it with the kittens’ training?”

  “Could be, kid,” he choked. “Could be. But they saved us from those dogs. And right now we’ve gotta think about the bottom line here.”

  “There was a line somewhere?” I gasped. “I didn’t see any lines anywhere.”

  “Just an expression, kid,” Bogey told me.

  Trixie shook her head. “I was not expecting those dogs. They’re new. I know Garnet didn’t have any dogs before.”

  Bogey frowned. “Not a good sign. So let’s shake a leg, folks. Time to get this safe open and snap a few photos. And then get out of here.”

  With those words, we all trotted right up to the safe, which was about the size of a closet. Then I leaned up against the door, and Bogey jumped up onto my shoulders again. Using all my strength, I boosted him up so he could reach the keypad.

  But unlocking the safe turned out to be a lot trickier than punching in the alarm code at the back door. Sure, Trixie had given us the code to the safe. And I was pretty surprised when she told us the numbers were 1-2-3-4. Because that sure didn’t seem like a very sneaky code for someone who was as sneaky as Garnet. But even with the code, the safe’s keypad was a lot more difficult to work with. Mostly because it was so small, and even Bogey’s lean paws were too big to hit those numbers. So he had to extend one of his claws and use it to punch in the numbers very carefully. One at a time.

  Thankfully, he got the job done pretty fast. Then he was ready for the next part of the plan. And he didn’t waste a single second before he got right to it. He leaped off my shoulders and grabbed onto one of the spokes of the safe handle. Then he hung on tightly and used his weight to make the spoke turn downward. Which unlocked the safe.

  We heard a loud whoosh sound and the door of the safe popped open just a crack. And that’s when Lil and Trixie went to work. They used their paws and claws to tug that heavy safe door open. A half an inch at a time. It wasn’t easy to do, but they kept at it until there was enough of a gap for Lil to reach her arm through. Then, little by little, Lil pushed her shoulder in and then her head. At long last, she got her whole body through the gap, pushing the door open wider as she went. Trixie jumped in next and leaned up against the door, until she and Lil had pushed it fully open.

  A light automatically went on inside the safe. And that’s when I gasped. In fact, we all kind of gasped. Even Bogey. Because, just like we had suspected, the whole thing was filled with jewelry. Shelves and shelves of jewelry. The exact same stuff that had been in Garnet’s store.

  And let me tell you, it sure did sparkle!

  Of course, we all stepped inside to take a better look. Lil let out a low whistle and I just kept on looking around in a daze.

  “Now, that’s what I call evidence,” Bogey said with a grin. “But no time to be dazzled, ladies and gent. Let’s get to work.”

  So we did just that. Mitzi and Magnolia used their tiny claws to remove Lil’s collar, so we could use the camera she’d been carrying. Then Bogey leaned down while Lil and the kittens managed to move the camera onto the top of his head. I held the camera in place as Bogey sat up slowly, bringing it up with him, like he’d now become a camera stand. Then Trixie got into position and started taking pictures right away. Every time she snapped a photo, Bogey very carefully turned in a different direction, and I held the camera steady. So Trixie took pictures from all around the safe. I even leaned the camera back once or twice, to make sure she got photos of the upper shelves full of jewelry, too.

  And as she worked, I noticed Trixie did the same thing that Bogey had done — she extended one huge claw to push the button on the camera. And it worked really well. Especially since her paws were even bigger than mine.

  Finally, Bogey said, “I think we’ve got it. Let’s wrap this up.”

  Then he leaned down again and the girls took the whole setup — collar and camera attached — and moved it back to Lil’s neck. While Trixie held it in place, the kittens went to work fastening the collar. That’s when I steppe
d over to a tall, narrow chest that was near the door of the safe.

  One that looked kind of familiar.

  Probably because I’d seen that very chest in our Mom’s store. And when I used a couple of claws to pull open a drawer, I saw some jewelry from our Mom’s display case.

  Jewelry that I was sure she hadn’t sold to Garnet or anyone else.

  Holy Catnip! Not only was Garnet trying to blame Gracie and our Mom for her own crime, but she’d even stolen stuff from our Mom!

  “Bogey, take a look at this,” I murmured.

  Just as a dark form moved right in front of the safe. I glanced up to see a face surrounded by fluffy, bright red hair.

  Garnet.

  And her two dogs were right behind her, blocking our way out.

  She looked down at us and started to laugh. Though let me tell you, it wasn’t a happy kind of laugh like most people laughed. Instead it reminded me of the noisy crow that always landed in our yard and cawed at us through the window. The sound made the fur on my back stand on end. Without even thinking, I jumped in front of the kittens and put my big paws out to protect them.

  “Ah-hah-hah-hah-hah!” Garnet cackled on. “My, my, my, but who do we have here? The famous cat detectives, Buckley and Bogart. Along with their cronies. Amazing, isn’t it? For a couple of cats who think they’re so smart, you certainly did a good job of falling right into my trap. Hope you’ve all had a nice life, little felines. Because it’s about to be curtains for you.”

  Funny, but up until that moment, I had thought the whole situation was pretty scary. And now here she was, talking about decorating.

  I glanced at my brother. “She’s giving us curtains? What does she want us to do with them? Decorate our Mom and Dad’s house?”

  Bogey shook his head but kept his eyes trained on Garnet. “Nope, kid. Not that kind of ‘curtains.’ It’s just an expression. It means she wants to put an end to us all.”

  “Oh . . .” I kind of muttered.

  Well, I had to say, I didn’t exactly like that kind of curtains. And just thinking about it made me start to shake in my paws.

  “Any last words?” Garnet jeered. “After all, I know you can talk in human language. I caught you one day when you didn’t know I was around. I was at Abigail’s store, looking at her jewelry and trying to figure out what I wanted to steal. That’s when I saw you in the window, and I sneaked up behind you. Then I listened in. And believe me, I got an earful. So now I suggest you start talking to me in human language. For I wish to be amused by you before I finish you off.”

  Bogey responded by meowing. Not to her, but to us cats instead. “Whatever you do, everyone, don’t speak in human language. Just keep meowing. And Lil, lean over to Trixie, would ya? So she can use her claw to hit that little red button on the side of the camera? The one that starts recording a video?”

  And that’s when I stretched out my front paw and meowed, too. To distract Garnet from what Trixie was doing. After all, Garnet had been doing things to distract us for days. And like Bogey had once said, two can play at that game.

  Garnet’s eyebrows knitted into a deep V. “Cat got your tongue?” she said before she started to laugh again. “Well, that’s enough of that. I demand that you speak to me. In human language.”

  “Keep your cool, everyone,” Bogey commanded. “In fact, let’s give her a good show. Act like you’re bored.”

  So we did. I yawned and stretched. Then Mitzi and Magnolia both flopped over on their sides and closed their eyes. All the while, Bogey just stared at Garnet.

  And it seemed to make Garnet madder by the moment. “Oh sure,” she went on. “Just pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. But I do know what I’m talking about. I know all about you. I also know you were the only ones who could have stopped me in my little scheme.”

  Bogey responded again by meowing to us. “Keep it up, folks. You’re doing great.”

  “You don’t think I’m very smart, do you?” Garnet went on. “Well, I’ll have you know, I am very smart. I set up everything. I knew you couldn’t resist those clues I left for you on your front porch. And I knew you couldn’t resist rescuing a cat that I had locked up. Especially when I didn’t feed her or give her water. That’s why I left that laptop in her room. Because I knew she’d contact you. And I was right.”

  About then, I was starting to feel pretty mad myself. Especially when I thought about the way she’d treated Trixie.

  “Take it easy, everyone,” Bogey meowed. “She’s just trying to bait us.”

  And she was doing a pretty good job of it.

  “I knew you couldn’t resist bringing the little jar with the diamonds into your house,” she sneered. “Then I knew I could frame Gracie and Abigail for stealing the jewelry from my store. It was so easy to sneak my jewelry home and make it look like my store had been robbed. I knew I could get away with it. I only had to tie up one loose end, and that was to get rid of all of you. And I knew just how to do it. I knew you couldn’t resist coming over here to investigate. After all, that’s what you do, isn’t it? Investigate? I even made it easy for you. I left the back door open and I made sure Trixie knew all the codes. I made them so easy that I knew even she could remember them.”

  “Wow,” I meowed to my brother. “She sure does know lots of stuff.”

  Bogey held up a paw and glanced at his claws. “Yup, kid, she sure does. But there’s one thing she doesn’t know.”

  “Oh? What’s that?” I asked him.

  Bogey grinned. “She doesn’t know that I didn’t turn off the alarm.”

  My jaw practically dropped to the felt-covered floor of the safe. “You mean . . . you mean . . .”

  Bogey grinned. “Yup, kid, I only punched the numbers in once.”

  I gasped. “And since you didn’t punch the numbers in twice, you set off the silent alarm.”

  “You got it, kid,” he said. “The police should be on their way.”

  Then right on cue, we heard sirens in the background. And they were getting louder and louder by the second.

  Garnet’s eyes went wide. She was so mad that smoke practically came out of the top of her head.

  She stared right at Bogey. “You didn’t . . .”

  And he just kept on grinning.

  Then Lil issued a command in cat language. “Mitzi! Magnolia! Full claws! Pounce!”

  And the next thing I knew, the two kittens went airborne. Garnet screamed and hit a button on the side of the safe door. Without warning, a big, dark object fell from the ceiling of the safe. It knocked the kittens to the ground and covered all my friends.

  But I reacted with lightning speed and jumped right up next to the tall jewelry chest. The one that held the jewelry from our Mom’s store. Thankfully, the falling object only skimmed the side of me, but it didn’t cover me. And that’s when I finally got a good look at the thing.

  What I saw made my heart skip a beat. Maybe even two or three. For the object that was covering my friends and pinning them to the floor was a net. A big, dark net. One that would take a long time to escape from.

  Worst of all, Garnet had started to push the door of the safe shut. That meant she planned to lock us all inside. And the walls of that safe were so thick that nobody would ever hear us hollering for help. So even when the police showed up, they would have no idea we were in there.

  Right away, I knew exactly what I had to do. I pushed off the side of that jewelry box with all my strength and went airborne myself. I practically flew past the door of the safe, just as Garnet was pushing it shut. I’d barely gotten out when I heard that door close behind me with a loud thud! It even caught a few of the hairs on my huge tail and yanked them right out. But I sure didn’t let that stop me. After all, Garnet had just locked my friends in her safe. And it was up to me to save them.

  Yet the instant my feet touched the ground outside the safe, I came face-to-face with one of the dogs. That’s when I did something so brave and so daring that I even shocked mysel
f. Because instead of shrinking back, I charged at him with everything I had. I tried to make it look like I was a big tiger and not just some housecat. I guess I really took that big dog by surprise, and maybe even scared him a little.

  Because he backed right out of my way.

  But only for a moment.

  And as I raced off, both of the dogs were already nipping at my huge tail.

  I heard Garnet scream, “Get him!”

  Then I dug my claws in deep for traction and zoomed out of there just as fast as I could go. I fought to keep my legs in control as I skidded around the corner and ran down the hallway. I reached the staircase and flew down the stairs, taking them three at a time. All the while, those dogs were right on my heels. One of the dogs even passed me before I reached the second-floor landing. Then he turned around so he could catch me when I tried to run down to the first floor.

  With one dog behind me and one in front, I did the only thing I could do. I took a quick zigzag into the hallway and made a beeline for the very room where Trixie had been held prisoner. It was just enough to fool the dogs and buy me a little bit of time. I’m pretty sure I was going about a million miles an hour when I flew into that room and skidded around the corner. Then with all my might, I reached up and slammed the door shut. And I quickly scooted a chair in front of it. I even leaned the chair at an angle, so nobody could open it from the other side.

  I knew it wouldn’t hold for long, but I figured I might have enough time to escape through the window. And go get help. So I ran right to the window where we’d rescued Trixie, and I tried with all my might to pull it open. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t make it budge. Then I headed for the laptop computer sitting on a desk. Probably the same one that Trixie had used to contact Lil days ago. Now I only hoped that I could get a message out, just like she had, asking for help. Then I might have a chance to save the other cats.

  So while the dogs banged on the door outside, I got that laptop up and running. But now I had one more problem — how would I type out a message? With my huge paws, I’d never been able to type on a computer keyboard. Bogey had always handled that, since his paws were so much slimmer than mine. Plus he could make his paws go where he wanted them to go. When he wanted them to go there.