I forced myself to smile at him. “Thanks. Your left hook might just come in handy with the Count.”
Ranger grinned at me. “Nasty fellow, isn’t he? He reminds me of a man in New Mexico who was mean to my Mom once. Well, let me tell you — I let him have it! Nobody messes with my Mom.”
I knew just what Ranger was talking about. I didn’t like anyone messing with my Mom either. And I didn’t like that the Count had stolen her bracelet and upset her so much.
For that matter, I didn’t like the way he’d treated the Princess. She was just a little, tiny cat, and he’d been so mean to her.
And that’s when I realized what I had to do. I had to gather up every bit of courage I could muster. I had to find bravery that I didn’t even know I had. Because, Big Stage or not, I had to save the Princess. And this time, the plan had to work.
So I took some big, deep breaths and watched while lots of cat Moms and Dads entered the huge hall. While they found seats in the audience, I tried to concentrate.
I knew my first task was to show the other cats how to open the stage cages. I started with Ranger, and then I signaled to Bogey. From where he sat, he could see exactly how I slid the simple latch open and closed. I watched both cats practice once or twice.
I was about to signal to Bogey again, when a loud fanfare sounded. Everybody turned their heads to see what was coming through the door. In walked the Count, carrying the Princess on her pink pillow. And behind him came the Countess, with a boom box playing the music. They practically marched to the stage like they were part of a parade or something.
One thing was for sure, the Count was planning on the Princess winning Best in Show. And I think he was trying to sway the judges with all that music.
At long last, the Count put the Princess in her cage next to Ranger, pink pillow and all. That’s when I had to smile. Because, little did the Count know, but he’d just played right into my paws.
While the Count and Countess sat in the front row, I meowed over to the Princess. Then I showed her how to work her cage latch. I watched while she carefully practiced opening and closing it a few times.
“I can do this, Buckley!” She smiled and stared at me with her big, green eyes.
Holy Catnip! All at once my heart started to beat like a big, bass drum.
But I took another deep breath and forced myself to focus. After all, I knew I’d have plenty of time to look into her eyes later. Right now I had to think about rescuing her.
The three judges entered the room and sat at a table in front. I sure was happy to see Seymour Katts among the bunch.
Finally, Felicia Fairweather came up on the stage. She leaned into the microphone and started talking about the St. Gertrude Cat Show. Then she thanked all the people who had helped her. I turned to Bogey and signaled to him. Because I knew we were only waiting on Lil to make her move now. Then we would make ours.
I took some more deep breaths and looked outside my cage. The judges wasted no time in starting the competition. Before long, they were taking cats out of their cages, and holding them up for display at the podium.
I whispered a quick “Good Luck!” to Amelia before she was taken out. Then I watched in awe as she put on the performance of her life. The audience cheered and clapped over every move she made. It was almost like Amelia actually enjoyed being on the Big Stage. She kind of seemed like she was born for this.
In fact, everyone was cheering so much that the judge had to wait a few minutes before he pulled me out.
I cheered for my friend, too. “Wow, Amelia, I’ve never seen a cat do as well as you did. I think you’re going to win.”
Amelia smiled at me. “Thanks, Buckley. It would be nice. But mostly I’m just glad I made so many new friends today. Including you!”
“Me, too,” I told her as Seymour Katts reached in to get me.
Yet all the while, I wondered why Lil hadn’t made her move yet. I quickly glanced over at Bogey. He frowned and shrugged his shoulders. I guessed he must have been wondering the very same thing.
Why hadn’t Lil set our plan into motion already?
People started cheering and clapping for me when Seymour Katts took me to the podium. And now I put on the show of a lifetime, too. I tilted my head and glanced upward. I meowed at the audience and stood on my hind legs while batting at the feather wand. I gave the judge a kiss on the nose and I waved at the audience. Everyone cheered and clapped and whistled for me.
Seymour Katts took me back to my cage. I gave him one more kiss on the nose and meowed to the audience again before he put me inside. I tried to be as cute as I could be. But deep down, I just kept wondering what was keeping Lil.
I watched as Bogey was taken up to the podium, too. He just grinned the whole time and looked out at the crowd. When the feather wand was put in front of him, he grabbed it so quick that the judge didn’t even see it. Then he stood on that wand and meowed to the crowd.
Now I started to pace in my cage. If Lil couldn’t come through with her part of the plan, well, we’d be dead in the water.
Bogey went back into his cage and I signaled him again. I wondered if we’d need to come up with another plan in a hurry.
Then I heard the crowd all say “aaahhhh” as the Princess was brought out. It was the first time I’d ever seen her perform in a cat show, and let me tell you, she was a real pro. She tilted her head better than anyone, and she smiled and cooed and meowed right on time. Wow, I’ve never seen such a show in my life.
But as she was brought back to her cage, she glanced at me with scared eyes. I’m sure she was wondering what had happened to our plan, too.
More than anything, I wanted to tell her that everything was okay. The only thing was, I wasn’t sure it was okay myself.
But then it happened. The thing we’d been waiting for.
All of a sudden, the lights went out. And I knew it was time to go into action and save the Princess.
Holy Mackerel!
CHAPTER 17
Holy Mackerel! It’s a funny thing about cats — we can see in the dark. And that’s exactly what we did. So even though the lights were out, we could see everything just fine.
The humans, on the other hand, couldn’t see a thing. And lots of them screamed or shouted or started talking really loud. Of course, Felicia Fairweather did her best to get everyone and everything under control. The only problem was, her microphone went off when the electricity went off. So she just barked out orders and told people to sit still. Then she called out a bunch of names and asked those people to find their way to the closet with the fuse box. Those people stood up and felt around and stumbled over chairs and other people.
Most of them looked lost and moved in the wrong direction. But some of them managed to head toward the hall.
Even so, Bogey and I knew that anyone who made it to the hall would still have trouble getting around. That’s because the whole building was completely dark. And it wasn’t going to be easy for a human to find that fuse box in the dark.
So for once, us cats really had the advantage! Holy Catnip!
Still, we knew we had to work fast! Because eventually, some person would get the lights back on.
My heart was thumping in my chest as I quickly opened the latch on my cage. Ranger did the same thing and so did Bogey. I jumped onto the stage and Ranger jumped down next to me. I asked him to wait there and then I ran to the Princess’ cage. In the meantime, Bogey ran for the door to meet Lil.
I looked up at the Princess and she stared back at me with wide, scared eyes.
“Okay, Princess,” I told her. “I want you to unlatch your cage.”
“I will, Buckley,” she said. “I can do it.”
Her paw was shaking while she moved that latch. Since she was so tiny, it took all her strength to open it.
“Now push the door open,” I told her.
She nodded and pushed it open wide.
I scooted closer to her cage. “Okay, Princess. It’s time for you to jump
.”
And that’s when I saw her pause.
She took a deep breath and looked into my eyes. “I’m scared, Buckley.”
Right about then, I think my heart sank clear down to my knees.
Holy Mackerel! Was she too scared to jump again today? If she didn’t jump now, we’d never save her.
That’s when I took a deep breath, too, and I made up my mind. I decided that the Princess was going to jump, even if I had to tug her out of that cage myself.
Because I, Buckley Bergdorf, cat detective, wasn’t going to have a repeat of what had happened yesterday! So I stood on my hind legs and reached up to the bottom of her cage.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” I told her. “You promised me you would jump today. So now you have to keep your word.”
But she didn’t answer. Instead, she just bit her bottom lip and started to tremble.
And that’s when I figured out how I could get her to jump. I leaped into her cage and stood by her side.
“Let’s jump together,” I told her. “I’m going to count to three and then we’re going. Okay?”
She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Here we go,” I said. “One . . . two . . . three!”
Then I nudged her back foot and together we flew out of that cage!
Holy Catnip!
I could hardly believe it! I’d finally gotten her to jump!
I heard Amelia cheer from her cage and I wanted to do the same thing. But I knew I didn’t have time.
Instead I just turned to the Princess and looked right into her big, green eyes. “Now, Princess, I want you to run with me to the door.”
She nodded her little head. “Okay, Buckley. I will.”
And amazingly, she did. Together we raced to the door like gazelles running across a field. She ran so fast that she almost beat me there.
Holy Mackerel! I had no idea how fast that little Princess could run! And from the look on her face, I don’t think she did either.
Lil was waiting at the door with Bogey. She’d brought the roll of flyers that I’d hidden in the bottom of my pet carrier. Now Bogey used his teeth to grab the rubber band holding the flyers together. Before I could say a word, he zoomed back to the stage with them.
Lil gave me a paw bump. “Sorry it took me so long to turn off the switch at the fuse box, Detective Buckley. Someone moved a few of the boxes that Bogey and I’d set up earlier. So I had a little trouble getting up to turn off the lights.”
“It’s okay,” I told her. “You got the job done.”
She glanced around. “Yeah, but we’re not finished yet.”
Boy, she wasn’t kidding. Our plan wasn’t even half over.
I looked at the Princess. “Princess, this is Lil Bits. She’s one of the finest cat detectives ever and she’s helping us out. I want you to go with her and she’ll explain everything after she hides you. You’ll be safe really soon. I promise.”
The Princess nodded. “I trust you, Buckley. Thank you so much.”
Lil nodded to the Princess. “Please follow me, Your Highness.”
Then the two of them ran off toward our cage. And our pet carriers.
But I knew the Princess wasn’t totally safe just yet. She wouldn’t be until we completed our plan. So I turned and raced back to the stage. By now there were even more humans wandering around in the dark. I had to make some pretty fancy moves just to dodge their legs and get around them. And let me tell you, fancy moves aren’t exactly easy for a big guy like me. So it took me a lot longer to get back to Bogey. And if I thought I was nervous before, well, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. Especially since I guessed it would only be a matter of minutes before the lights went back on.
I quickly leaped onto the stage and raced to join Bogey and Ranger. Then Bogey jumped up into the Princess’ cage with the roll of flyers. He dropped the roll onto the cage floor and bit through the rubber band that was holding it together. All of a sudden, the flyers fell loose across the bottom of the cage. That’s when Bogey went to work with the same speed that he’d run the Agility course. He pushed flyers out of the cage and they flew all over the place. Some landed on the stage floor and some flew out into the audience.
Then he jumped down to the stage. “Okay, boys, make sure the judges each get one of these. I’ll start spreading the rest around here so everyone gets a look. You can help me finish up when you get back.”
Amelia waved at us. “Do you need me to help, too?”
I shook my head. “Nope. We’ve got it covered. But thanks anyway.”
Her eyes went wide. “Wow, you guys really know what you’re doing!”
I only hoped she was right. Because it wasn’t easy picking up those flyers with our teeth and then running with them. Especially since even more humans were wandering around on the floor between the audience and the stage now. Wow, we really had to dodge those people right and left! But somehow Ranger and I managed to get flyers onto the Judges’ Table.
Then we ran back to the stage and helped Bogey scatter the rest of the flyers. We pushed them all over the stage front and then onto the floor below. So it would be easy for the humans to pick them up. We were almost finished when the lights suddenly went back on.
In a flash, Bogey jumped back into the Princess’ cage and sat on her pink satin pillow. Ranger and I stood guard near the bottom.
A few seconds later, someone screamed. And screamed again.
It was the Count!
He grabbed his hair with his hands and rushed up to the edge of the stage. “It’s you cats again! You wild beasts! You flea-bitten mongrels! What have you done with Princess Alexandra?”
He had barely spoken those words when Bogey pushed one the flyers out of the Princess’ cage. The flyer floated to the ground and landed just a few inches from the Count.
He picked it up and started to read it. Funny, but it seemed like the more he read, the more pale he got. Sweat dribbled down from his forehead. For a minute, I thought he was going to faint.
“What is it?” called out Felicia Fairweather.
“It’s a flyer,” yelled Seymour Katts.
“They’re everywhere,” someone else hollered.
The Count’s dark eyes turned angry. “This is nonsense! Just stories! So these cats can cover up their crime! They’ve kidnapped Princess Alexandra.”
Now my Mom stood up and made her way to the front of the room. “My cats are not kidnappers. Or, rather, catnappers.”
Ranger’s Mom came forward to. “My little, snuggle-uggums would never do something bad like kidnap another cat. Would you ootsy-pie?”
Ranger rolled his eyes and groaned. Then he tried to hide behind me. “I love my Mom. But why does she have to talk to me like I’m a baby?”
Holy Catnip! I sure was glad my Mom didn’t call me names like that.
Especially when she turned to face the audience. “Before we jump to conclusions, why don’t we read this flyer first.”
Then she and Ranger’s Mom started picking up flyers and passing them out.
Felicia leaned into the microphone, which was working again. “It appears there aren’t enough to go around. So I’ll simply read one aloud.”
The Count raised his fist into the air. “This is ridiculous! This is slander. This is libel. It’s those meddling cats! They’ve done this!”
The Countess stood up to join the Count. All the while, her eyes shifted from side to side. Then she glanced back at the door, like she was trying to figure out how to escape.
Felicia held a flyer in front of her. “It looks like this flyer has an article on it. It says, ‘Jewelry thefts across Europe and the United States have police baffled. Millions of dollars of jewelry have been stolen in different cities across the continents. Sometimes the jewelry was even stolen while the owners were still wearing it.’”
Felicia took a breath before reading on. “But according to the police, it is believed the jewelry thefts are the work of the same two people. The police have e
ven dubbed them as the Quiet Cat Burglars.”
Now Felicia looked up and her eyes went wide. “I wonder if they’re the same people who stole the jewelry here at our cat show?”
Gasps rose from the audience. And all the while, I kept my eyes on the Count and Countess. That’s when I noticed the Countess had started to inch toward the door.
“There’s more,” Felicia told the crowd. “It looks like someone has typed something extra below the article. It says, ‘All the jewelry robberies took place in cities that were hosting cat shows. And most of the jewelry was taken from people at the cat shows. That’s because the Count and Countess Von De Meenasnitzel are the Quiet Cat Burglars!’”
Now Felicia gasped, too, and stared at the Count and Countess. “Could it be true?”
Right about then, I think the whole audience breathed in at the exact same moment. Because there was this really loud “Aaaah” kind of noise. Then a couple of the cat Moms even screamed.
Someone yelled out, “They did it! They’re the burglars!”
One cat Mom stood up and shouted, “All along they were nothing but crooks!”
Bogey jumped down from the Princess’ cage and joined Ranger and me on the stage floor.
Bogey took a deep breath. “Let’s hope this does the trick, boys.”
But judging from the way the Count was stomping around, it looked like he wasn’t going down without a fight.
He waved his fists in the air and his face turned red. “This proves nothing! You have no evidence at all.”
And that’s when I knew it was time to put my part of the plan into place. I only hoped it would work. I jumped into the Princess’ cage and stood right on top of her pink pillow.
But the Count saw me. And let me tell you, he made a beeline straight for the stage! Then he stared directly into my eyes and snarled. Right at that moment, I knew that he knew that I knew exactly what was in the Princess’ pillow.
Holy Catnip!
He put his hands on the edge of the stage and pushed himself up. Then he quickly swung his legs over and stood up on his feet. The next thing I knew, he was coming right at me!
“I’ll get you, you good for nothing animal!” he screamed. “When I’m done with you, you won’t even be fit for another cat show!”
The Case of the Cat Show Princess Page 14
