The Case of the Cat Show Princess

by Cindy Vincent

  He frowned and placed a blue ribbon on the side of her cage.

  I guessed that meant the Princess had won the first round of her competition, too.

  Suddenly I sort of chuckled to myself. Who would’ve ever imagined that I’d have something in common with a royal cat. After all, she’d won a blue ribbon and so had I. Back when I was living in an animal shelter, I never would’ve dreamed that this would happen to a guy like me!

  At long last, the Count walked away from the cage and down the row in the other direction. Let me tell you, wherever he was going, he was sure in a hurry to get there. Because he was out of my sight in a matter of seconds!

  And that’s when I knew it was time to make my move! This was my chance to talk to the Princess and find out what was going on.

  But first I had to zoom across the row right in front of me. And I had to wait until the coast was clear so no one would see me. So I watched carefully as a whole bunch of shoes went by. I kept looking one way and then the other. It kind of reminded me of how Gracie acts when she’s trying to cross the street.

  After a few minutes, I got my big break. An announcement came over the loud speakers and everyone stopped walking. They all stood still and tilted their heads upward to hear what Felicia Fairweather had to say.

  “I’m sorry, Ladies and Gentlemen,” she announced. “Apparently we’ve had a rather large fuss in the Agility area . . .”

  While Felicia kept on talking, I took a deep breath and zoomed. In fact, you might say I just sort of reacted without even thinking. I flew across that row and only touched the ground twice before I landed beneath the first table on the other side.

  I got there in time to hear Felicia Fairweather finish her broadcast. “But everything is under control now,” she said. “So we will resume the Agility Competition. Thank-you for your patience.”

  My heart was pounding so loud that I could barely hear what she was saying. I glanced around to make sure no one had seen me.

  Then I raced to the floor beneath the Princess’ cage.

  I quickly took another look around to make sure no humans were close by. That’s when I noticed I was shaking just a little bit. To tell you the truth, I was kind of scared right at that moment. But I knew I couldn’t let that stop me. After all, I had an important job to do. And I wasn’t about to come this close to the Princess without talking to her.

  So, I took one more look around and then I did something I never dreamed I would ever do. I jumped onto the table right in front of the Princess’ cage. I quickly pulled back one side of the silver curtains with my big, black paw. Then I ducked behind the curtain and scooted as far back as I could. For once, I wished I wasn’t an oversized cat. Because, let me tell you, there wasn’t a lot of room back there for a big guy like me.

  The Princess spun around and gasped. Her tiny chin dropped open just a little bit. Then she just sort of stared at me with those big, green eyes.

  Before I knew it, my mind went totally blank. I completely forget what I was supposed to say. I even forgot my name or where I lived or anything else. Right at that moment, the only thing I could think about were those big, green eyes.

  Funny, but my heart started to make a strange “thunk-thunk-thunk” noise and I felt sort of mushy all over. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of a thing to say.

  She was the first one to speak. “Who are you? And what are you doing by my cage?” For a second, she looked like she was going to scream.

  But I knew if she screamed, someone might come running.

  I couldn’t let that happen. So I shook my head and tried to focus. Because I had a job to do.

  “Wait! Don’t scream,” I told her. “I’m Buckley. With the Buckley and Bogey Detective Agency. You sent us an email.”

  “Oh, Buckley,” she sighed in the softest voice I’ve ever heard. “I’m so glad you’re here. Can you help me?”

  I tried to remember what Bogey had told me to say. “Bogey and I are working on a plan. But first, you’d better tell me everything that’s been going on. Tell me about being in danger.”

  “Oh, Buckley, I’m so scared of my owners.” Tears formed in her eyes.

  I nodded to let her know I was listening. “The Count and Countess?”

  “Yes, yes,” she sighed. “They’re mean to me all the time. They hit me if I don’t win a ribbon in the cat shows. They’re always threatening to do bad things if I don’t do what they say.”

  Now my heart felt like it was sinking inside my chest. “Maybe you could just jump off your pillow when they carry you around. Then you could run away.”

  “Oh, no,” she said with wide eyes. “I’d be too scared to do that. They told me if I ever jumped off that pillow, they’d hurt me worse than ever before.”

  I flapped my tail in anger. “Hurting an animal is against the law.”

  She held a paw to her forehead. “Oh, they don’t care about the law. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be traveling all over to these cat shows.”

  I crinkled my brow. “Huh? What do you mean?”

  She hung her little head. “Oh, sure, they like it when I win all these ribbons. Then they can brag about it to their friends. But that’s not why they’re really here. Traveling to the cat shows is just a front.”

  I tilted my ears forward, in case I hadn’t heard her right. “A front?”

  She shivered. “Oh, yes. It gives them the perfect cover for their real crimes . . .”

  But she’d barely gotten the words out when I felt a tug on my tail. A hard tug.

  And everyone knows you should never pull on a cat’s tail. That’s because it hurts the cat a lot.

  Most cats will yowl really loud if you pull on their tail. And that’s exactly what I did right at that moment.

  Then I jumped and poked my head out from behind the silver curtain.

  There stood Count Von De Meenasnitzel, with his hands on his hips. He glared at me with his dark, beady eyes. His eyes looked so mean I thought they might shoot out laser beams!

  “Where in the world did this mutt come from?” he yelled. “Who let this fleabag near Princess Alexandra?”

  I stepped out from behind the curtain. Who was this guy calling a fleabag? My Mom just gave me a bath two days ago!

  Now he hollered even louder. “Security! Security! My area has been breeched! Arrest this animal!”

  Holy Catnip!

  I heard footsteps running my way and I suddenly froze in place. Did I have any hope to escape? Did cats really get arrested?

  Just then I felt hands circle my ribs and I figured I was a goner. I only wished I could have said good-bye to Bogey. And to my Mom and Dad and Gracie. And to the other cats who live in my house, too.

  I had just pictured my life behind bars, with nothing to eat but dry cat food and water, when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye — an antique diamond bracelet! Whoever was grabbing me was also wearing that bracelet on her wrist.

  It was my Mom! I looked up into her smiling face.

  Then I jumped into her arms and wrapped my own arms around her neck. I held on as tight as I could, and burrowed my head into her hair. I started to purr, just to let her know how happy I was that she’d rescued me.

  After she’d cuddled me for a second, I peeked out to see what was going on.

  That’s when I noticed Gracie standing behind us and holding Bogey.

  Bogey grinned and meowed, “Good job, kid!”

  Gracie waved a blue ribbon in front of me. “See, Buckley? Bogey got a blue ribbon, too.”

  I felt my eyes go wide. “Did you win?” I meowed to Bogey.

  He grabbed a cat treat from Gracie’s pocket. “Oh, yeah, kid. Nothing like a good run on the old Agility course.”

  But before I could ask him more, the Count started talking to my Mom. Or, maybe talking wasn’t the right word. You might say he started speaking very, very forcefully.

  He put his hands on his hips again. “Madame, does this unholy beast belong to you? Would
you kindly remove it before it passes on some sort of disease to my prize cat?”

  I could tell by the way my Mom tensed up that she didn’t like what this Count guy had to say.

  But she put a smile on her face anyway. “We’re very sorry,” she said. “He didn’t mean any harm. There was a commotion during the Agility Competition. Buckley must have gotten scared and managed to get out somehow.”

  The Count pointed his nose into the air. “Have you no couth, Madame? Have you no class? And have you no control over that animal that barely passes for a cat?”

  I heard the Princess gasp inside her cage. Bogey growled.

  My Mom held me tighter and stared right at the Count. “There is no need to be rude. Buckley simply acted like any cat would when he was afraid.”

  “Yeah,” Gracie said. “Buckley even won a blue ribbon already. Just like your cat.” Then Gracie smiled at the Princess. The Princess tilted her head in return.

  Bogey waved at her. “Hiya, Your Highness,” he meowed. “Nice to meet you. I’m Bogart, and I just want you to know that Buckley and I are on the case. So don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.”

  Funny, but Bogey sure didn’t have any trouble thinking of something to say to her.

  She batted her eyes at him. “I am so grateful.”

  And all the while, the Count just sneered at us.

  I’m pretty sure he was making my Mom really mad. Because she stepped closer to him and glared at the man.

  “If there’s a problem,” she said in a low voice, “why don’t we go talk to Felicia Fairweather about it. After all, she personally invited our cats to be in this show.”

  Holy Catnip. Did our Mom just say she wanted to talk to Felicia Fairweather?

  Uh-oh.

  That’s when my eyes went wide. I turned to Bogey and noticed his eyes had gotten a little rounder than usual, too.

  I gulped hard. Was my Mom going to take us all to talk to Felicia? If she did, she would probably find out that Felicia had never sent that letter. And we might have to leave the cat show. Which meant we’d never be able to save the Princess.

  But then a strange thing happened. Something that really surprised me.

  The Count took my Mom’s hand. “No harm done, dear lady. I fear I may have flown off the handle, as you say here in America. Please accept my apology.”

  And the next thing I knew, he had leaned over her hand and kissed it.

  Gracie giggled and Bogey and I growled.

  Holy Mackerel! One thing was for sure, Bogey and I didn’t like this guy kissing my Mom’s hand one bit! And I don’t think my Dad would have liked it either.

  My Mom kind of sucked in her breath, and she turned a little red in the face. “All, right,” she stuttered. “I guess you’re forgiven.”

  She pulled her hand away and the Count grinned at her with very large teeth. All the while, he kept looking into her eyes. She turned away and he just kept on staring at her.

  Now it was my turn to do some staring. I looked at the Count and I didn’t look away. After all, I noticed he hadn’t bothered to apologize to me. And he should have, too. Especially with all the mean things he’d said about me.

  My Mom motioned for Gracie to turn to leave and we meowed our good-byes to the Princess. As my Mom and Gracie carted us off, we promised the Princess we’d be in touch later.

  On the way back to our cages, I was about to fill Bogey in on what I’d learned from the Princess. But then we heard another announcement over the loud speakers.

  It was the voice of Felicia Fairweather again. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time for Round Two of the Cutest Family Pet Competition. This time we’re taking the winners from Round One and all remaining cat contestants under four years old.”

  I glanced at my pal. “Looks like that’s me again.”

  Bogey grinned at me. “Break a leg, kid.”

  I hoped that would turn out to be nothing more than an expression. Because, with the way things were going, a broken leg would be all we needed.

  While Gracie took Bogey back to our regular cage, my Mom took me back to the competition stage. She told Gracie to join us in a few minutes.

  I guessed it was time for me to be cute again. The only problem was, I sure wasn’t feeling very cute at the moment. Not after seeing how Count Von De Meenasnitzel treated the Princess!

  Holy Mackerel!

  CHAPTER 8

  Holy Catnip! Before I knew it, I was back in a wire cage and on the stage for Round Two of the Cutest Family Pet Competition. Gracie had just kissed me on the head and wished me good luck when I spotted my old friend Amelia being carried in.

  I waved at her. “Try to get into the cage next to mine!”

  She waved back. “Buckley! I’ll do my best!”

  Then she leaned forward in her Mom’s arms and frantically paddled her front arms like she was swimming in a pool. All the while she kept her head pointed at the cage beside mine. She looked like she wanted to jump, but her Mom held on to her.

  Her red-haired Mom laughed. “All right, Amelia. You can be next to your pal, Buckley. I guess you champs like to stick together.”

  She placed Amelia in the cage and kissed her good luck.

  Once her Mom had left, Amelia turned to me. “Did you find P.A.? I am just dying to know. It must be so exciting to be a cat detective.”

  Funny, but I guess I’d never really looked at it that way before. But when I thought about it, well, yes, it was kind of exciting to be a cat detective. The only problem was, sometimes it was kind of scary, too. Especially since I was still just a rookie.

  I nodded at Amelia. “We did find P.A. It turns out that P.A. stands for Princess Alexandra.”

  Amelia let out a long, slow whistle. “Wow, so that’s who P.A. is. I was looking for a cat whose first name started with a ‘P’ and last name started with an ‘A.’ Who would have ever guessed the ‘P’ was for ‘Princess?’”

  I felt my ears perk up. “You’ve heard of her?”

  All the while I kept an eye on the competition just outside our cages. We had the same judge, Seymour Katts, and he’d already pulled the first cat from its cage. But things didn’t go so well for that silver-haired cat. At least, not when it came to the part where she was held up and stretched out. Apparently she didn’t think much of that plan. Because she suddenly started to yowl. And she yowled loud! Really loud!

  She was back in her cage in a matter of seconds, which seemed to suit her just fine.

  Amelia watched it all, too, and then she turned back to me. “I didn’t know anything about Princess Alexandra till today. I guess she’s pretty famous in the cat show world. I’ve seen her several times this morning. Her cage is just across the row and about three cages down from me.”

  “It is?” I could hardly believe my luck. Maybe Amelia could somehow help us rescue that little Princess.

  Amelia licked her paw and then groomed her forehead. “Yup. There was even some kind of big hubbub there this morning. Her owner, the Count, was yelling at someone and saying some pretty nasty stuff. But I couldn’t see what was happening from my cage. All I could see was the Count’s back since he was blocking my view.”

  I was pretty sure I knew all about the “hubbub” that Amelia was talking about. It was probably when the Count caught me hiding behind the Princess’ curtain. But, I figured there was really no need to mention this.

  Now Amelia licked her other paw and cleaned off an ear. “My Mom kept talking to the lady next to us about the diamond necklace that Countess was wearing. My Mom used to work for a jewelry store and she knows a lot about diamonds.”

  I laid on my stomach and stretched my legs out in front of me. “She does?”

  Amelia’s eyes went wide. “Oh, yes. And my Mom said the diamond in the center of that necklace looked familiar. I guess some diamonds are kind of famous.”

  I crinkled my brow. “I wonder why she thought the diamond looked familiar.”

  “I’m not sure,” she said as we bo
th kept our eyes on the competition.

  The next cat being carried up for judging was a gray-striped kitten named Spot. Wouldn’t you know it, but Spot went absolutely gonzo over the feather wand. That’s a kitten for you.

  Amelia laughed at him. “You know, the Princess isn’t much bigger than that kitten over there. And I can’t believe the way the Count and Countess treat her. Is that why you’re here to rescue her?”

  “Yup,” I told her. “We’ve got to save her from those nasty people.”

  Just then the judge walked up to Amelia’s cage and pulled her out.

  “Looks like I’m up,” she said.

  I smiled at her. “You’ll do great!”

  Then I watched while the judge went to work and Amelia did her best to be cute. Everything seemed to be going well until the judge tried to hold her up and then stretch her out. That’s when he must have accidentally touched some ticklish little spot under her ribs. Because she suddenly started to squirm and squeak and holler like a mouse. The whole thing must have thrown her off balance. And her black, orange and white tail sort of went around and around in a circle while she tried to get her bearings again.

  Poor Amelia! She sure had tried to do her best in the show. But, well, sometimes things just happen.

  The judge brought her back to her cage. She went to the back corner and sulked.

  I instantly knew I had to think of a way to cheer up my friend. Just as soon as I got back from being judged myself. Because first I had to make my own Mom and Gracie proud by doing my best in the competition, too.

  The judge picked me up and took me to the podium. “Buckley is back again,” he told the crowd. “He is the blue ribbon winner from Round One.”

  He’d barely gotten the words out when the whole audience clapped and clapped.

  After that, I’m not quite sure what happened. But all those people clapping for me somehow turned me into a big ham. In fact, I no longer tried to act like the Cutest Family Pet at the St. Gertrude Cat Show. Oh, no, I suddenly tried to be the Cutest Family Pet in the Whole Universe. I tilted my head sideways and raised one paw. When the crowd went “Aaahhhh,” I moved one ear forward and the other ear back. The crowd said “Ooohhh,” so I stood on my hind legs and batted the feather wand with my front paws. All the while I kept tilting my head from one side to the other. Back and forth. Tilt, tilt, tilt.