The Secret Claws

by Patricia Fry

  “It’s okay,” Savannah said graciously. “It happens more often than you would think.”

  “Yeah, he hitched a ride here without us knowing it,” Holly added. “He does stuff like that all the time.”

  “Really?” Lois said disbelieving. “What sort of cat is that, anyway?”

  “A bit of a troublemaker, actually,” Savannah joked.

  The woman stared down at Rags. “Well, let me apologize again. And thank you for allowing me to visit with him. He’s a handsome cat. What’s his name?”

  “Rags,” Savannah said. “He’s part ragdoll.” When the woman hesitated, she added, “Actually, his name is Ragsdale, but we call him Rags.”

  “Ragsdale,” Lois repeated. She smiled at the two women. “And you are?”

  “Savannah,” she said. “This is my sister-in-law, Holly.” She introduced Darlene and Shelby as well. “Shelby actually found Rags,” she said, “or Rags found her.”

  “Marvelous,” the woman said. She focused on Shelby and Darlene. “Oh yes, the Shaws. Good to see you again.” She faced Savannah. “Nice to make your acquaintance.”

  “Thank you,” Savannah said. “You, too.”

  “You found him, did you?” Scott asked when he saw Shelby leading Rags toward the porch. He stood up with baby Tucker. “Shall we go eat?” he suggested to his family. “Shelby, give the cat back to the ladies, Daddy’s hungry.”

  Savannah took the leash and leaned over to give Shelby a hug. “Thank you for finding him.”

  “Yes,” Holly said, “good job!”

  Shelby smiled shyly, took her mother’s hand, and walked into the restaurant with her family.

  Holly and Savannah followed with Rags. Just then Gladys, Jennie, and the children approached. Holly rushed to take Teddy from Gladys, cuddled with him for a moment, then settled him into the stroller they’d left in the lobby.

  When Jennie attempted to pay the bill, Robin said, “No-no; your lunch has been taken care of. Mrs. Lancaster said it’s the least she can do for the undue stress and worry she caused you.”

  “Oh, that’s not necessary,” Savannah protested.

  “It’s done,” Christopher said, as he entered the room. “Go on about your day with your family, now.” He winked at Savannah and said more quietly, “And don’t let that cat out of your sight.”

  “Thanks,” Savannah said, smiling. “And thank you for the wonderful lunch. You’re an amazing chef.”

  He bowed deeply, then turned toward the kitchen and called over his shoulder, “Be well.”

  As the group made their way with the small children toward the shuttle stop, Jennie grabbed Gladys’s arm and said, “That’s him right there.”

  “Who?” Savannah asked.

  “That no-good son of Lois Lancaster. The one who didn’t get any riches and who evidently can’t figure out why.” She shook her head. “Paul just isn’t right, that’s all there is to it. He can’t be trusted to handle a large sum of money. I tell you, I believe in treating all of my children the same, but it would be a disservice to give one of them a pot full of money if they had a mental disability or a drug problem. It would be irresponsible.”

  The four women watched as the young man finished smoking a cigarette, then snuffed it out on the ground with his foot.

  Rags suddenly pulled Savannah in another direction, and she said to him, “What? You want to go potty? Why didn’t you do that when you were running amuck?” She called to the others, “I’ll be right back.” She led Rags to an appropriate area and waited while he dug around in the soft dirt. At the same time she watched for the returning shuttle and that’s when she noticed, “There’s Christopher Lancaster’s brother again. That must be his beat-up bicycle he just rolled out from behind the trash bin.”

  She saw him remove a backpack that had been hanging on the handlebars. He put it on, and straddled the bike. Before pedaling off, he reached into his pants pocket for a tube of lip balm and swiped it across his lips. That’s when Savannah saw a piece of paper float to the ground and cartwheel across the blacktop, landing on the other side of the Dumpster. Before she could alert the young man that he’d dropped something, he’d ridden around the corner of the building and out of sight. By then Rags had finished his job. She picked it up with a plastic baggy and led him to the trash bin, where she deposited it. She started to walk toward the others, who were still waiting for the shuttle, when Rags stopped her. “What now?” she cranked.

  “He’s interested in that piece of paper that guy dropped!” Holly called out.

  “Rags, come on,” she instructed. She looked down at him just as he picked up the paper in his mouth. “Give me that,” she scolded.

  “Here it comes!” Bethany shouted. “Aunt Savannah, don’t miss the baby bus!”

  “Uh-oh,” she muttered, picking up Rags. She took the paper from him and thought about going back and dropping it into the bin, but the shuttle had pulled up to the stop by then, so she stuffed it into her pocket and walked swiftly to where the others waited to board.

  Savannah lifted Teddy out of the stroller and watched as Holly folded it up. She stepped aside and allowed the driver to disembark, then she boarded the shuttle with the baby and Rags, followed by the rest of her party and a few other people. They’d just become settled in their seats when the driver returned with an announcement: “I’m afraid I have some bad news. There’s a problem with one of our tires and a tow truck is on the way to replace it. Another shuttle will arrive within ten or fifteen minutes to take you back to the village. I hope this doesn’t inconvenience any of you too much.”

  Holly grinned at Savannah. “It’s always an adventure when I’m with you.”

  “You’re blaming me for the delay?” Savannah defended good-naturedly.

  Holly laughed. “You or your cat.” She stood up. “Come on, let’s go wait for the next ride, shall we?” She took Teddy from Savannah and helped Lily get situated to walk down the steps out of the shuttle. Savannah watched as Gladys took Bethany’s hand, and she followed them out of the bus with Rags in her arms.

  “That’s never happened to me before,” Jennie said once they’d left the vehicle.

  Holly giggled. “It’s Savannah or her cat.”

  Jennie looked at Savannah. “Oh?”

  “Yes,” Holly explained, “if the cat’s along, you can count on things going awry.”

  Jennie laughed and asked, “Gladys, is that true?”

  “No comment,” Gladys said. She gazed toward the restaurant. “Hey, I see a couple of shaded tables on the porch. Do you suppose they’d mind if we wait there?”

  “Good idea,” Jennie said. She took Lily’s hand. “Let’s go, shall we?”

  The women had been sitting around a large table for a couple of minutes when Jennie asked, “Does he do tricks?”

  “Huh?” Savannah said. “Oh, you mean Rags? Yes, a couple.”

  “I want to see him do a trick,” Bethany chirped.

  Savannah smiled. “Okeydokey.” She reached into her tote bag for the cat treats. “Rags, want to show off a little?” She held a treat above Rags’s head and said, “Sit up, boy. Can you sit up?”

  “Wow!” Jennie said, applauding. The little girls clapped their hands too.

  “Clap your hands, Teddy,” Bethany said, showing him how to do it.

  Everyone laughed when the baby patted one hand against the other.

  “Do another trick with Rags,” Bethany begged.

  “Can you lie down, Rags?” Savannah said, holding a treat toward the ground. “Lie down, Rags.”

  There was another round of applause when Rags complied.

  Savannah held a treat over Rags’s head and turned her hand in circles. “Dance, Rags,” she commanded, at which point Rags made one spin around before grabbing the treat from Savannah’s hand.

  “Want to jump up in my lap?” Savannah urged. “Up, Rags!”

  Jennie giggled with delight when Rags leaped up onto Savann
ah’s lap. She reached out and petted Rags, saying, “You are one smart cat.”

  “Oh, here’s one he’ll do sometimes,” Savannah said. She slipped one of the treats to Bethany and told her to hide it in her hand, then asked the others to close their fists and hold them down where Rags could see them. Rags sniffed each hand, then stopped in front of Bethany, sat down, and looked up at her. “Give him the treat, honey. He’s telling you that he found it.”

  “Wow!” Jennie said. “I’ve had cats over the years, but never one who would react on command. He’s amazing.”

  “What’s that brother doing?” Holly asked quietly. When Savannah looked confused, she said, “Chef Christopher’s brother, Paul. He’s just sort of hanging out over there, looking this way.”

  “He was watching the cat show,” Gladys said. She hugged herself. “He gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “Well, let’s just ignore him,” Holly suggested. When the two little girls began squabbling over a toy, she said, “Hey, how about let’s color. I have some paper and crayons in my backpack. Shall we color a picture to take back to your Daddys?”

  The women and the children had been entertaining themselves with their art project for several minutes when Gladys announced, “Here comes the replacement shuttle.”

  “Good,” Savannah said. “I don’t think the children could have waited much longer.” She stood up and suddenly realized that Rags’s harness lay at her feet in a heap and Rags was no longer attached to it. “Oh no. Oh no,” she said under her breath.

  “What?” Gladys asked.

  “He’s gone,” she whimpered, glancing all around them. “Did anyone see him get away?” She turned in place. “Where in the heck did he go?”

  “I didn’t see anything,” Holly said. “I was entertaining the girls.” She stood and turned in all directions in search of the cat. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

  “Your cat’s gone?” Jennie asked. “How can that be?”

  “I don’t know,” Savannah wailed. She picked up the harness and examined it. “It’s broken, darn it. The stitching came loose. I felt him pulling and all, but I had no idea…”

  “Yeah, he seemed kind of restless,” Holly agreed, “but I didn’t know he could break free.” She shaded her eyes and gazed all around the area, continuing to look for Rags.

  “That bum on the bike’s gone too,” Gladys said.

  “What? Do you think he…?”

  “Gladys could be onto something,” Jennie said. “It’s likely the cat’s riding down the hill on that bike as we speak.” When Savannah looked at her, she explained, “That kid goes back and forth between here and the village all the time. I saw him watching us and I wondered if he was interested in the cat. Hey, let’s get on the shuttle and we’ll look for him going down the hill. Surely we’ll overtake him. Come on, let’s load up.”

  Savannah hesitated. “What if Rags comes back here looking for me?”

  “I’ll contact Christopher,” Jennie said. “As soon as we get on the shuttle, I’ll make a call and have him and his staff watch for Rags. Come on,” she urged, “we don’t want to miss the shuttle.”

  Savannah took Lily’s hand and followed along with the others. When they arrived at the shuttle, she shoved Rags’s harness and leash into her tote bag and lifted Teddy out of the stroller, then Holly folded it up. Savannah took Lily’s hand and stepped on board with Teddy, opting to sit in the backseat with the children.

  Holly joined her with Bethany. She tucked the stroller under the seat, then made room for Gladys and Jennie on the wide bench seat. She put one arm around Savannah. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” she lied, while trying to get a glimpse of Rags out the window.

  Gladys reached around Holly, patted Savannah’s knee, and smiled at her.

  Savannah smiled weakly.

  “You girls watch out that window on the way down the hill,” Jennie instructed. “Gladys and I’ll watch out this way.”

  “What are we watching for, exactly?” Holly asked.

  “That scoundrel on the bicycle. I think he absconded with Rags.”

  The shuttle had navigated the curves on the winding road for several minutes when Jennie shouted, “There! There he is! Now look to see if he has the cat. Get ready,” she warned. After they passed the bike, Jennie asked, “Did you see anything?”

  All four women turned quickly in their seats and watched until the bicyclist was out of sight.

  “I didn’t see Rags,” Savannah said.

  “Yeah, but he could have been in his backpack,” Holly offered. “I don’t remember that backpack being so big. He definitely has something in there,” she insisted.

  “Could be his jacket and helmet,” Gladys said. When the others looked at her she explained, “I think he was wearing a jacket earlier, and bicyclists are supposed to wear helmets, aren’t they?”

  Savannah shrugged. “I just don’t know.”

  Jennie’s eyes sparkled impishly. “Well, I’d say we should lie in wait for him at the village. We need to confront him and make sure he doesn’t have your cat.”

  “Yes,” Savannah agreed. “Let’s do that.” She then said, “What if he’s not going all the way to the village? What if he’s going someplace else with Rags?”

  Jennie studied Savannah for a moment. “Let’s hope he doesn’t. If he does veer off, I don’t know where it would be…unless…”

  “Unless what?” Holly asked.

  She winced. “Well, there’s an abandoned hunting lodge just outside the village, where our local derelicts are rumored to hide out when they need to—you know—evade the law or whatever. Teens sometimes stay there when they come up for a ski weekend. It’s a free place for them to hang out or hide out and no one bothers them. There are no neighbors to complain about wild parties and other goings-on.”

  “Don’t local police or rangers or whatever patrol that area?” Holly asked. “They certainly don’t want irresponsible kids and homeless people wreaking havoc out there, do they? Sounds like a definite danger to the forest and the animals and everyone up here if they were to start a fire, for example.”

  “Oh, our meager policing forces do what they can. Yeah, they’re always chasing people out of there, but they don’t have the manpower to make it a regular patrol.”

  Savannah groaned at hearing this. “Poor Rags,” she murmured, holding Teddy close.

  “What’s this?” Bethany asked, when she saw something sticking out of Savannah’s pocket.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Oh, that paper your cat found,” Holly said, edging it from Savannah’s pocket. “I saw you take it away from him.” She studied it for a moment, saying, “It’s a list of names. Hey, there’s Jennie’s name.”

  That got Jennie’s attention. “What?”

  “Your name’s on this paper Rags found,” Holly said.

  “I’m on a list?” Jennie chuckled. “Who else is on that list—people I’d like to associate with?”

  “It depends on who you’d like to associate with,” Holly joked.

  “Well, some of my favorite First Ladies of the United States,” she said, “and other women respected throughout the world…”

  “I’m afraid there are no First Ladies listed here,” Holly said, “but here’s that kid, Thad’s name and Marilyn Rankle. That’s probably the lamp guy’s wife.”

  When Teddy began to fuss, Holly handed Savannah the list and reached for the baby. “I’ll entertain him for a while,” she said. “We’re almost back at the village.” To Teddy, she said, “Hey, big boy, want to play with my necklace? You like Aunt Holly’s necklace, don’t you?”

  ****

  Meanwhile, after their lunch that day the fishermen left their boat at the dock, and hiked upstream. They hadn’t gone far when they met up with Thad.

  “Hey,” Michael called, “looks like you found a metal detector? Having any luck?”

  “No luck.” Thad stood up taller, then twisted to stretch the m
uscles in his back. “How about you—catching any fish?”

  Michael shook his head. “We’re beginning to believe there are no fish in these waters. The fish we saw on the dock yesterday had to have been manufactured somewhere or farmed and brought in.”

  “Maybe they were an illusion,” Keith offered, laughing.

  Thad laughed, too. “Oh yes, there are fish here. Those you saw yesterday were real. What are you using?” he asked.

  “We have it all,” Michael said, “jigs, lures, worms, crawdads, minnows.”

  “No we don’t, Dad,” Adam said. He looked at Thad. “Today we’re using cheese balls—you know, made from cheese. That’s what a guy told us to do yesterday.”

  “Yeah,” Cassie said, “it’s not working very good.”

  “Neither did worms,” Keith added.

  Thad offered, “Let me see if I can get you started. Sometimes all you have to do is catch one fish and then the others start biting. I don’t know why that is.”

  “Another old ladies’ story?” Adam asked.

  When Thad looked confused, Keith laughed and said, “I think he means old wives’ tale.”

  “No,” Thad said. “Proven fact. Here,” he said, reaching for Adam’s pole, “want me to show you how to scare a fish out from under a rock?”

  Yeah!” Adam said enthusiastically, “a hungry one.”

  Everyone watched as Thad reeled in the line. He examined the hook. “What else you got in your tackle box there? I’d use a smaller hook—you’re going for trout, not the big-mouth bass. Do you have any crickets?”

  “Uh, no,” Keith said.

  “I have some in my stuff. Let me get my cricket box. They’re live. There’s nothing like fishing with live crickets,” he explained. “It’s important to hook the cricket just right so it stays active. That way it’ll entice the fish.” He attached a red-and-white bobber to the line. “This will keep the cricket from lying on the bottom. You want it up and dangling where the fish can see it.” Thad tossed the line into the water and within minutes he reeled in a nice-sized trout.”