Tricky was one way of putting it; world’s greatest cat detective was another. Atticus gave her a parting growl and leapt out of the pit with the Inspector.
The wildcats had retreated to the tunnel entrance but they were still watching the Inspector closely.
‘I recorded everything, Dad,’ Callie said, tapping her watch. ‘Lady Jemima’s definitely going to prison.’
‘Well done, Callie,’ Inspector Cheddar said proudly. ‘You’ll make a brilliant detective one day.’
‘This means you’ll inherit the gold, Dad,’ Michael reminded him.
Inspector Cheddar smiled ruefully. ‘I don’t think I want it after all,’ he said, glancing gratefully at Atticus.
‘But what are you going to do with it, then?’ asked Mrs Cheddar.
‘We’ve got an idea,’ Callie said, smiling broadly at her brother.
‘What?’ said Inspector Cheddar.
Michael was smiling too.
Atticus crossed his paws.
‘You can use it to turn the moor into a wildcat sanctuary!’
Inspector Cheddar gave them both a big hug. ‘That’s exactly what I’ll do,’ he said. ‘What a good idea!’
Atticus watched the three of them affectionately. Inspector Cheddar wasn’t all that bad, really, once you got to know him. And the kids and Mrs Cheddar loved him, which counted for a lot.
‘You did it, Atticus!’ Mimi and Bones congratulated him. ‘You saved the moor!’
‘We all did,’ Atticus said modestly. ‘Not just me.’ He looked around for the wildcats so that he could say goodbye, but they had already melted away into the maze of tunnels and disappeared.
It was New Year’s Eve and at Biggnaherry Castle the Hogmanay party was in full swing. Everyone had come from the village by bus to celebrate.
Chomper had been rounded up by a team from a nearby safari park and taken to live there. No one was scared of the Cat Sith any more, not now the moor was to be turned into a wildlife sanctuary and the wildcats were finally safe.
Even Great-Uncle Archie had been persuaded out of his room for the night to join in the celebrations. And, now that he knew that the Cat Sith wasn’t real, Great-Uncle Archie wasn’t so frightened of ordinary cats any more. He and Mr Tucker sat in the drawing room, smoking smokie pipes and telling each other scary stories. Bones sat between them contentedly, practising knots with a piece of string.
Atticus and Mimi were in the kitchen eating delicious scraps of party food. They were waiting for the final game of the evening to take place. So far, Debs had won everything except the hairiest sporran competition, which had gone to Don, and the wrestling, which had been won by Mrs Tucker. (Mrs Cheddar had cancelled the skinny-dip in the loch, in case anyone got cramp and drowned like poor old Stewart Dumpling.)
‘Would all the competitors for the final event please make their way to the library,’ Mrs Cheddar announced through a megaphone. ‘The cheese throwing will take place from the patio.’
Atticus and Mimi followed the excited crowd of people into the library. It was a lovely room lined from floor to ceiling with shelves crammed with dusty books. He was glad it was going to be preserved, along with the rest of the castle, which was to be turned into a visitors’ centre for people who came to visit the wildcat sanctuary. Inspector Cheddar had asked Don and Debs if they would look after it and to everyone’s delight they had agreed.
Mrs Cheddar ushered the crowd on to the patio. Inspector Cheddar took his place between Debs and Mrs Tucker. He had his cheese-throwing outfit on – a bright blue nylon tracksuit with his name stitched on the back. Lots of other people from the village were taking part too.
‘On your marks …’ Mrs Cheddar said.
The competitors selected their cheeses from a big pile in the middle of the patio.
‘Get set …’
The competitors stood beside the patio wall and hefted the cheeses to their chins.
‘Throw!’
The cheeses sailed into the air like cannonballs and landed in the floodlit garden. All except one, which landed with a splash in the loch.
‘And the winner is my darling husband, Inspector Ian Larry Barry Dumpling Cheddar!’ Mrs Cheddar said, throwing her arms around him.
‘Well done!’ Debs said generously. ‘That was the best cheese throw I’ve ever seen.’ She handed him the trophy.
Everyone clapped Inspector Cheddar on the back. The happy crowd disappeared inside the library.
Atticus sat on the patio wall and gazed out over the loch. Beyond it lay the moor. Both were shrouded in mist. He wondered where the wildcats were. At least he’d learnt something about his past, he reflected. The way he felt about the moor, the way he looked, Don was right – he definitely must have some Highland Tiger in him somewhere along the line.
Mimi jumped up beside him.
‘Do you want to join them?’ she asked quietly. ‘Only I’d understand, you know, if you did. History is a powerful thing. It gives you a sense of belonging.’
Atticus took a deep breath of the fresh, zingy air. He was glad to have met his distant cousins, the wildcats, but since he’d lived at Littleton-on-Sea with the Cheddars he already had a sense of belonging. ‘Not really,’ he said. ‘I mean, I did think about it a bit, but it’s not for me. I’d rather stay with you and the Cheddars. We’re a family.’
‘I’m glad,’ Mimi said, squeezing his paw.
Atticus squeezed it back. His eyes gleamed in the moonlight. ‘Besides,’ he added mischievously, ‘that way we can have some more adventures.’
For George
with special thanks to Henry
As you probably guessed from the picture, Atticus closely resembles me! I mean me, Henry the cat, not me, Jennifer Gray, the author. I’m thrilled to have so many fans and wanted to let you know that my, I mean, Atticus’s new adventure is even funnier and more exciting than the last one. Thanks, Jennifer, for turning me into an action-cat hero! And thanks, you guys, for reading.
Henry (and Jennifer)
Author’s Note
Atticus Claw on the Misty Moor started life about ten years ago as The Legend of the Loch. It was the first book I had ever written and, fortunately for you, it never got published. The only good thing about it was the plot. I always felt a touch nostalgic about it though, so when I decided to set Atticus’s sixth adventure in Scotland, I dug the manuscript out of a box, dusted it off and pulled out the best bits to use again. The original inspiration for the story was Rosemary Sutcliffe’s wonderful book The Eagle of the Ninth about a legion of Roman soldiers which mysteriously disappeared in Caledonia in AD 117. All I can say is if you haven’t already read it, I strongly recommend that you do!
About the author
Jennifer Gray is a barrister, so she knows how to spot a cat burglar when she sees one, especially when he’s a large tabby with a chewed ear and a handkerchief round his neck that says Atticus Claw. Jennifer’s other books include Guinea Pigs Online, a comedy series co-written with Amanda Swift and published by Quercus, and Chicken Mission, her latest series for Faber. Jennifer lives in London and Scotland with her husband and four children, and, of course, Henry, a friendly but enigmatic cat.
By the same author
Copyright
First published in 2015
by Faber & Faber Limited
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2015
Typeset by Crow Books
All rights reserved
Text © Jennifer Gray, 2015
Illustrations © Mark Ecob, 2015
The right of Jennifer Gray to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed
under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
978–0–571–31711–0
Atticus Claw On the Misty Moor Page 13
