Patricia Fry - Klepto Cat 05 - The Colony Cat Caper

by Patricia Fry

  “What was this place, anyway?” Savannah asked as they approached the cul-de-sac at the end of the industrial area. She looked around. “Why is it so far away from the rest of the buildings?” Before the others could answer, she said, “Uh-oh—chain-link fence—can we get in? We can’t even see in there through that green mesh stuff.”

  Margaret grinned back at Colbi who sat buckled in the backseat of Margaret’s SUV. “She’s sure full of questions, isn’t she?”

  “Well, I had a lot of them, too, but Damon clued me in about a few things.” She leaned toward Margaret and said, “You’ve lived here for a long time. You probably know the history of this building.” She tapped Savannah on the shoulder and said, “But I can tell you that there is a way in through that daunting fence, and we will have to go in there if we want to find the cats. When Damon and I were here, there was no problem going through the gate. See, Maggie, the opening is just over there to the right. You can park closer so Savannah doesn’t have to walk far.”

  “You mean waddle,” Margaret said with a chuckle.

  Savannah made a face at her aunt.

  “Well you do waddle, girl…big time!” She laughed out loud. “Looks funny.”

  “Looks uncomfortable,” Colbi said with an air of concern. “But it won’t be long now, right?” she asked, her pretty face lit up in a smile.

  “We’re down to four and a half weeks,” Savannah said, grinning.

  “Okay,” Margaret said once she had parked the car, “who has the notepad and pencil? Our first task is to identify the cats, right?”

  Savannah looked at the notes she had taken at the workshop and said, “Yup. Count and identify.”

  “And evaluate,” Colbi offered.

  “That’s right,” Margaret said, pulling a lawn chair from the back of the SUV. She then led the others toward the opening in the fence. “Let’s get started.”

  “What’s the chair for Auntie?” Savannah asked.

  “You!” she said.

  “How thoughtful,” Savannah said with a wide smile.

  “Not really. I just don’t want you having that baby on my watch. You’re gonna take it easy.”

  “Oh Auntie,” she said, “I’m not even having contractions. But I sure do get tired when I stand for too long.” She looked down at her aunt, pulled her jacket around herself, and said, “Even if you weren’t being thoughtful, I appreciate it.”

  Margaret stopped and stared at Savannah. “You look like a big pickle in that green jacket. Where’d you get it, anyway?”

  “It’s Michael’s,” she said, pouting a little. “None of mine will go around me anymore.”

  Colbi grinned at the two women and then said, “Now let’s enter quietly. We’re more apt to see cats if we don’t startle them.”

  The threesome walked through the slightly ajar gate. As they did, they saw a flurry of muted shades of black, white, grey, and tangerine disappear in all directions. Most of the cats darted under the building through a crawl space that had long ago lost its cover. Margaret leaned the chair against the fence, set a stack of large stainless steel bowls nearby, and motioned for the others to follow her. They walked slowly around the perimeter of the large, old building, glancing in all directions with hope of spotting cats. Margaret whispered, “Looks like someone has fed them at one time. See those crusted-over bowls?” She gazed around the area. “I don’t see water anywhere.”

  “I’m sure the water was shut off years ago,” Savannah said. “Guess we’ll have to haul it in.”

  “Oh no,” Colbi said, “we should have brought some.”

  “Got it in the car,” Margaret said.

  Colbi cocked her head. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you, Maggie?”

  “Yeah, a time or two,” she admitted.

  “Look,” Savannah said in a hushed tone, “the dirt under that faucet is damp. See, it’s dripping.” She walked over to the spigot and attempted to turn the knob. “It’s stuck.”

  “Guess we need pliers to turn it on,” Colbi offered. “Put that on your notepad, Savannah.”

  “Yes, pliers and a watering hose,” she said as she wrote. “Oh!” she exclaimed.

  “What?” Colbi and Margaret asked, looking in Savannah’s direction.

  “I disturbed a little cat hiding in these bushes. It just ran around to where the others went under the building.”

  “Listen, let’s go back over there and hang out for a while,” Margaret said. “…see if we can get a good look at any of the cats.”

  “Shall I go get the food and water?” Colbi asked.

  Margaret considered her suggestion and answered, “Yeah, why don’t we bring it in now. I thought we’d feed when we left, but maybe we’ll have a better chance of observing the cats if we feed them now.” She whispered to Savannah, “Wait here. We’ll be right back.”

  “Sure,” Savannah said. As she waited, she kept her eyes peeled on the opening leading under the building. Upon seeing nothing—no movement, no inquisitive kitty noses or curious eyes, she looked around the area. She observed that the building was in dire need of paint and some of the windows had been broken. You’d need a really tall ladder to climb in, though, she thought. Like a fireman’s extension ladder. She noticed bars on some of the windows. I wonder what this old place was used for. It must have employed a lot of people at one time. And they must have had a few cats around for rodent control. She peered through a tear in the green mesh at the area beyond the industrial park. Yeah, it’s still kind of wild out here. I can see that they might have a rodent problem. So they brought in some cats, didn’t prevent them from breeding, and next thing you know, they’re faced with an explosion of cats—and probably not nice cats—but strays that, without human contact, have turned wild.

  “Here, sit,” Margaret instructed when she and Colbi returned. She opened the lawn chair and set it on solid ground for Savannah.

  “Thanks, I will.” She looked up at her aunt and whispered with a smirk, “I’m enjoying all this pampering.”

  “Don’t get used to it, Missy,” Margaret spat good-naturedly as she and Colbi prepared breakfast for the cats. “Now be still,” she whispered to her companions.

  Once the bowls of food were set out for the cats, the three women waited and watched from a distance of about twenty feet. Savannah held a pad and pencil in her lap. It didn’t take long for the cats to begin making an appearance.

  Colbi crouched next to Savannah and whispered, “Black-and-white long-hair with white tip on tail. Approximate age…” she looked up at Margaret.

  “Adult,” the older woman said with a shrug, as she snapped a photo of the cat with her phone camera.

  Colbi continued, “Cream-colored—maybe it was originally white. An older cat. Two tabbies—one dark and one light. The light one has white paws. Oh another tabby—orange—skinny, short-hair with a white muzzle. An all-white long-hair—under a year. Dark-mackerel-and-white…large cat. Very thin, white paws. Two half-grown kittens—black-and-white—one has more white than black. Another white long-hair—smaller than the others.”

  “I see something just inside the crawl space,” Margaret said. “Those may be the kittens you saw the other night, Colbi.”

  “They’re sure hungry,” Savannah whispered. “Look at them go for the food. And thirsty…” she added. “But those kittens are afraid to come out and eat.”

  “Abscess,” Margaret whispered loudly.

  “Which one?” Savannah asked.

  “The orange skinny one—on his face, dammit. He needs care. Gonna have to trap him first, and maybe that other real skinny one.”

  “Yeah, how do you do that?” Savannah asked after making notes on her pad. “I mean, how do you catch the one you want?”

  “That can be a problem,” Margaret said. “I’ll leave one of the traps set and we’ll hope for the best.”

  “Got tuna?” Colbi asked, brushing dust from the knees of her extra-small size jeans.

  “Huh?” Margaret said.
“Are you hungry?”

  “No.” Colbi scrunched up her nose. “To bait the trap.”

  Just then the women saw the cats scatter. Most of them darted into the crawl space. A couple of them ran around the side of the building into an overgrowth of shrubs.

  “Now what caused that stampede?” Margaret asked. She glanced to her right and said, “Uh-oh. Cops.”

  Chapter Two

  Colbi glanced up. “It’s just a security guard, Maggie,” she said while twisting her long hair into a loose knot on the back of her head.

  “Yeah, I see that.”

  The women watched as a slight man, wearing a tan uniform with an emblem on one sleeve, and large highway-patrolman-type sunglasses, approached. His drab brown hair was pulled back at the neckline into a short ponytail.

  “Hello officer,” Margaret said with a smile.

  “What are you ladies doing here?” he asked flatly glancing from one to the other.

  “We’re from the Hammond Cat Alliance and we’ve come to assess the situation with the feral cats out here,” Margaret explained.

  “You’re trespassing,” he said, his face expressionless.

  “Um, the gate was open and there are cats in here that need attention.”

  “Cats can take care of themselves,” he said dryly. He glanced around and then added, “Anyway, what makes you think there are any cats here?”

  Colbi spoke up. “We saw them. There are at least eight or ten of them and some of them appear to need medical treatment.”

  “Not to mention food,” Margaret added.

  The officer rubbed the side of his face and looked around. “Well, I don’t know about cats. All I know is I’m supposed to keep people out of here. So I suggest you leave and don’t come back.”

  Margaret stared at the guard for a moment and then asked, “Who do you answer to?”

  “What?” the officer questioned.

  “Who owns this building? We’d like to address the situation with him or her,” Margaret said. “The cats cannot fend for themselves. They need human intervention and we aim to help them any way we can. Perhaps we should start by speaking directly to the property owner.”

  “Uh…well…” the officer stammered. He looked down at his shoes.

  Savannah, who sat a short distance away in the lawn chair, followed his eyes with hers. What’s the deal there? she wondered to herself. Looks like he’s wearing spats. Spats? Now that would be weird. Maybe he can’t afford the shoes that go with the uniform so he covers his street shoes to make them look more to code. She smiled. I wonder if his boss knows he’s out of uniform.

  “If you can’t tell me who owns the building, I’m sure I can get the information from the company you work for. By the way, what is your name?” Margaret asked.

  “Um…Brad…Brad Whitcomb.”

  “And the company name? Are you with Ace Security…or that other one…what is it?” Margaret asked, and then answered herself, “Oh yes, NoCal.”

  “Yeah,” the guard said, swatting a fly away from his face. He looked directly at Margaret. “It will do you no good to pursue this. I suggest that you just leave those cats alone. Mind your own business.” He started to leave and then added, “If I see you here again, I will report you.” With that, the guard said, “Good day, ladies,” spun on his heels, and walked out through the gate.

  “Hmph,” Margaret responded, turning to address Colbi and Savannah. “We need to find a way to get permission. I sure don’t want to be hassled every time we come out here.”

  “Yeah, and from the looks of the cats, we’d better do it soon,” Colbi said.

  Savannah stood and folded the lawn chair. “Let’s shove those bowls under the building there,” she said, “so the cats have better cover while they eat.”

  Margaret grinned up at her niece. “I’ll do it, preggo lady. If you get down there, you may never get back up.”

  “I can do it,” Colbi offered.

  “Yeah, you’re the smallest and the youngest. You do it.” She thought for a moment and then turned to Savannah and said, “I have Grandpa Jed’s cane at home. It would come in handy for pulling the cat dishes out from under the building and pushing them back in.”

  “Good idea,” Savannah said, making a note on her pad about the cane.

  “Are you going to set the trap?” Colbi asked.

  Margaret thought about it for a moment and then said, “Naw, let’s wait until we get authorization. Don’t know how long it’ll take. We’ll start trapping maybe tomorrow.”

  A few seconds later as they walked to the car, Savannah looked around to see if they were being watched. She said, “Did you guys notice anything odd about that guy?”

  “Yeah, where did he disappear to?” Margaret said. “I didn’t hear a car drive up or leave, did you?”

  “Yeah, I thought he’d keep watching us to make sure we left,” Colbi reasoned.

  “Well that, too, I guess,” Savannah said. “But no, there was definitely something odd about him.”

  Margaret glanced up at her niece, who stood a good head taller than herself. “Oh Vannie, all those security guards are odd.”

  “No, but there was something not quite right about this one.”

  “What?” Colbi asked.

  “I’m not sure,” she said after thinking about it for a moment. “He just didn’t seem like security-guard material.”

  Margaret stared at her niece and shook her head. She then said, “Okay, I know what we need to do next. Ladies, let’s go talk to Jim.”

  “So why are we going to talk to Deputy Jim?” Savannah asked.

  “Just want to have some sort of authority in case that guard shows up again. If Jim knows what we’re doing, maybe he’ll stick up for us.” Margaret opened the driver’s side door and continued, “That Benevitas woman should have covered the trespassing issue. I’ve encountered it before in cat-rescue operations.”

  Once everyone was seated in the car and Margaret had pulled out of the industrial area, Savannah turned toward her and said, “There’s gotta be some sort of protocol they want us to follow in situations like this. Yes, I’m surprised she didn’t mention the trespassing issue.”

  Colbi leaned toward the women in the front seat. “Damon has an appointment with the guy who owns the building this week. Maybe we could meet with him too, and get permission from him.”

  “Now there’s an idea,” Margaret said. “Where is Mr. Fischer now?”

  “I think Damon said he’s in a nursing home in Straley.”

  Margaret was quiet for a moment, then she said, “What if he denies us access? It could become a bit gnarly—I’d almost rather just sneak around and make sure the cats are cared for—take our chances, you know.”

  “On the other hand,” Savannah broke in, “maybe the owner would be glad we’re taking care of the cats. And if we sign something saying we won’t hold him liable if one of us gets hurt on his property…”

  “Good thinking, Vannie. Maybe we should bypass Jim and see if we can get permission from the owner.” Margaret made eye contact with Colbi in the rearview mirror. “When is Damon interviewing this guy Fischer? It’s Anson Fischer who still owns the building, right?”

  Colbi nodded. “I think that’s what Damon said. He’s going to see him today or tomorrow.”

  “Call him, Colbi, would you? See if you can get an address. We could drive over there and take care of this today.”

  “You’re not needed at your shelter today, Auntie?” Savannah asked.

  “Naw, the census is low and we have volunteers coming in to clean pens and socialize the newer cats. My hubby should be able to do without me for a while longer,” she said. She reached over and patted Savannah’s hand. “I’m enjoying this time with you lately, since you’ve been staying home from the clinic. It’s kind of like old times, isn’t it—you and me out and about, trying to save cats?”

  Savannah laughed. “Yeah, and getting ourselves in trouble. It’s déjà vu, for sure.”
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br />   “My call went to voicemail,” Colbi reported. “I left a message.”

  “I’m thirsty,” Savannah said. “How about we stop for an iced tea while waiting for Damon to call?”

  Margaret glanced quickly at Colbi. “There are water bottles in that little cooler next to you—wanna get one for Vannie? …and me too, if you don’t mind.” She quickly changed lanes and said with a sigh, “Well since we have time, let’s go ahead and talk to Jim. Might as well cover that base, too.”

  “Good plan, Auntie,” Savannah said. “Glad you’ve learned your lesson about trying to outwit the sheriffs.”

  Margaret looked briefly in Savannah’s direction. “What are you talking about? When did I ever do anything that wasn’t above board and lawful?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Savannah shrieked. “Trespassing, spying, running illegal surveillance operations, hiding evidence…”

  “Okay stop!” Margaret shouted. “False, false, false…” she said, accenting her words by poking her index finger in the air.

  Savannah stared over at her aunt and crossed her arms over the top of her baby bump. “Oh really?”

  Margaret cringed slightly. “Well, there were extenuating circumstances,” she said quietly, and then more loudly, “and we did save those cats, didn’t we?”

  “Touché,” Savannah said, laughing. “Indeed, we did.”

  “You two are a crack-up,” Colbi said. “And fun to hang out with.” She leaned toward Margaret from the backseat and said, “Maggie, did you really do all those things?”

  She flashed a smile back at Colbi. “Whatever it takes to save the cats, girl. Whatever it takes.”

  “Now you’ve got me worried,” Colbi remarked. She added with a smile, “And kind of excited.”

  “Yeah, with Auntie along, this gig will not be boring.” Savannah laughed. She then said, “Uh-oh, do you think we could stop for a potty break before we go see the sheriff?”

  “Gotta go again, huh?” Margaret said. “How about at McDonalds? There’s one just ahead.”

  “I’m not fussy. Just get me there in time, that’s all I ask,” Savannah said, looking anxiously toward the fast-food restaurant off in the distance. “These urges sometimes come on in a hurry.”