Revenge at its Felinest

by Patricia Fry

  I must be hallucinating, Savannah thought. I’m so distraught I’m seeing things. She kneeled to get a better look. Even though the woman was blindfolded and gagged, Savannah was pretty sure it was Rochelle. But how? A pang of fear washed over her. What is going on?

  Savannah looked around and saw another opportunity—a kitchen cabinet at about the right height. Perfect, she thought, as she began to carefully rub the bandana around her mouth against the corner of the cabinet. It didn’t take long for her to push the gag down around her neck. “Rochelle,” she said. Her voice sounded croaky, so she cleared her throat and said again, “Rochelle.”

  Rochelle struggled to sit up.

  “Rochelle, it’s Savannah. I was kidnapped and brought here. I guess you were too. Let me try to lift your blindfold. Hang on, I’ll turn around and see if I can get a hold of it.” It took a little dexterity, but Savannah was able to lift it enough that they could see one another.

  Rochelle’s eyes were as big as dinner plates when she saw Savannah kneeling next to her.

  “Let’s get the gag off,” Savannah said. She turned around and used her hands to pull the gag down around Rochelle’s neck.

  “Oh God, Savannah,” Rochelle said. “I knew I should have trusted my instincts. I saw danger ahead for us.”

  “I don’t know how we could have avoided it, do you? You didn’t know what was coming or when. You didn’t do anything wrong, Rochelle.”

  “I guess not. I’m just so sorry, Savannah.”

  “Hey, there’s no time for that kind of talk. We have to find a way out of here.”

  Rochelle sat up straighter. “Yes, you’re right. How? Do you have any ideas?”

  Savannah looked down. “You’re barefoot.”

  Rochelle nodded. “I guess that’s to keep me from running away.” Sarcastically, she added, “While I’m cuffed, blindfolded, and gagged.”

  Savannah spun around. “Someone’s coming.” She told Rochelle to rub against the mattress and try to replace the blindfold and gag. She returned to her mattress and fixed her own as best she could. By the time the man entered the house, the two women were quiet and appeared to be sleeping.

  “Good girls,” he said. “You just make yourselves at home while I try to figure out what to do with you. Now I’m going to go get drunk.” He laughed. “Don’t get into any trouble, now.”

  Savannah clenched her teeth . Well, let’s hope he bought enough beer so he’ll pass out and we can make our escape. For now, I guess we’d better just relax and save our strength.

  ****

  Gladys arrived at Michael’s and Savannah’s hotel suite shortly after he called her and they both spoke with the police officers who came to take a report. The pair felt as helpless after the officers left as they had before they’d arrived.

  “So, I guess they’re going to question people who work at the grocery store,” Michael said, “and look at anything that might have been caught on their surveillance cameras. Do you think that will do any good?”

  Gladys shrugged. “Maybe they’ll learn something when they check her car for fingerprints.” She stood and walked toward the window. “I feel so helpless. I imagine you do too, Michael.”

  He nodded. When his phone chimed, he eagerly looked at the screen, then said, “Peter, anything?”

  “No, you?”

  “’Fraid not. Damn, this is awful,” Michael paused, then asked, “What did the police say to you? Anything encouraging?”

  “No. They actually don’t seem to believe that someone would take both women. They insinuated that maybe the girls got fed up with us and ran away for a few days, or that…”

  “That what?” Michael asked. When Peter seemed reluctant to continue, Michael urged, “We have to consider everything—any little thing.”

  Peter spouted, “Yeah, well, I sure as hell can’t even begin to consider that those two are lesbians and they’re having an affair behind our backs.”

  “Good Lord!” Michael shouted. “That’s just…”

  Startled, Gladys asked, “What?”

  Michael shook his head. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” He said into the phone, “That’s…um…well, ridiculous.”

  “I know. So what did Craig say?”

  “He’s flying down here to see if he can help. Gladys is with me.”

  Peter was quiet, then said, “Listen, Michael, I suggest that you get some sleep—you and Gladys.”

  “Yeah, we should try to do that. You too, buddy. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, unless either of us hears something tonight, okay?”

  “Sure. G’night.”

  ****

  Craig arrived at Michael’s hotel suite just after six the following morning and was surprised to learn that there had been no follow-up to the original note. “There’s something he wants,” Craig insisted. “Once we find out what it is, we’ll know more about his intentions.” He asked, “Where’s Peter?”

  “San Francisco,” Michael said.

  “I think you should get him down here. I’d bet the women are both here in the city. When did you say Rochelle went missing?”

  “Um…I guess it could have been sometime Sunday or early Monday. So you think the creep brought her here and he’s holding both of them somewhere in LA?”

  “Either here or up in the Bay Area.” Craig thought for a minute. “What time did you say you got that note, Michael?”

  “About nine last night.”

  “And Peter got one while you were talking to him; what time was that?”

  Michael sat down and shook his head. “Only about half hour or so later.” He looked at the detective. “How could that be?”

  Craig grimaced. “Like I said, there could be more than one person involved.”

  Michael slumped and moaned. “I sure don’t want to believe that’s true.”

  “Or,” Craig added, “he simply paid some random bum to deliver the note to Peter long after he’d left the area.” Craig put a hand on Michael’s shoulder and announced, “I’m going to contact my people up there in San Francisco. I want us to be on the same page. We can’t let anything get past us.” He looked at Rags, who lay curled up on one of the beds. “Did they swab him last night?”

  Michael looked confused.

  “You know, did the officers take any samples from his fur or claws or teeth?”

  “I don’t think so,” Michael said. “I didn’t see them do it.”

  “We need to do that. A lot of time has passed, but we might find something on him that could lead us to the girls. I brought small collection bags.”

  “Gosh, Craig, you think of everything,” Gladys said. She then asked, “So you believe that both Vannie and Rochelle are here someplace?”

  He nodded. “It’s an educated guess. I mean, it appears that Rochelle went missing first, but Peter didn’t get any sort of notification until after Savannah was taken, so he didn’t know for sure that Rochelle was missing until someone snatched Savannah. If this scumbag has any brains at all, the last thing he’d do after having these notes delivered would be to transport a kidnap victim or two kidnap victims across county lines and put himself at risk of being caught. No, he’d hide them in a safe location, I’m guessing, somewhere in LA.” He scratched his head. “But how did he know where the gals were and why is he doing this?” He nodded toward Michael. “Yes, to torment you and Peter; to get back at the two of you. He made that clear in his note. But why? Who is he and why does he hate you two so much?” Craig faced Michael. “Did you say that Peter has been getting threatening notes—I mean, before this?”

  Michael nodded.

  “What did they say, do you know? Where were they showing up—in the mail?”

  Michael shook his head. “No. Peter found them on his car, at his studio, and at his apartment.”

  “On his car?” Craig repeated. “So whoever this is has been watching him. He knows where Peter goes, who he’s with...”

  “Yes,” Michael said. “In fact, they just moved, and the l
ast few notes were delivered to his new address.”

  Craig looked at Michael. “And you haven’t been getting anything like that? Nothing?”

  Michael abruptly stood up and muttered, “Oh, my gosh.”

  “What?” both Gladys and Craig asked.

  “Well, one day some weeks ago, Rags found something in our orchard.” Michael shook his head. “It was muddy and crumpled, but Savannah was convinced it was some sort of threatening note. I didn’t believe it, but now, thinking back—gosh, maybe it was!”

  Craig rubbed his chin, thinking. “So it’s someone who knows both you and Peter and he knows something about your lifestyle and routine.”

  “How could that be, Craig?” Michael asked.

  Instead of responding, Craig said, “Call Peter. I think we need him down here.”

  “Should I see about getting him a room?” Gladys asked.

  “Don’t worry yourself about details,” Craig insisted.

  “I must do something,” Gladys asserted. “I’ll go crazy with worry otherwise.” She looked at Michael. “Teddy’s asleep; I’ll walk down to the desk with Lily and…”

  “Wait,” Michael suggested. “Let me call him and make sure he’s willing to come down here.”

  Michael was right in suspecting that Peter might reject Craig’s idea. “What if she comes home?” he said. “She could be here in San Francisco, you know. Savannah could be here too.”

  “Craig doesn’t think so,” Michael insisted.

  After a long pause, Peter said, “Let me think about it, okay? Let’s stay in touch.”

  “Absolutely,” Michael agreed. “Talk later, buddy.”

  “He doesn’t want to come,” Michael reported. He looked at Gladys. “But why don’t you take Lily downstairs? Let her get some fresh air.” When Gladys reached for the stroller, he faced her and said, “On second thought, I don’t want her out of my sight.”

  Craig started to approach Rags, but stopped. “Good thinking, Michael. We don’t know who we’re dealing with. Keep the kids close. Gladys, I don’t think you should go out anywhere without Michael or me, okay?”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. She then said as cheerfully as she could, “Come on, Lily, let’s play paper dolls. Want to play with the new paper dolls Grammy brought you?”

  “Okay,” Craig said a few minutes later, after collecting some dander and fur from Rags, “want to trim his front claws?” Once Michael had done so, Craig said, “I’ll take this to the police lab and see what it will tell us.” He looked at Michael. “Stay here. Don’t go anywhere until I get back.” He started to leave, then turned back. “Did you cancel the book signings?”

  Michael slapped his palm against his forehead and cried, “Rob! I’d better call him.”

  Gladys looked at her watch. “This early?”

  Before Michael could decide what to do, his phone chimed. He picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Michael, it’s Rob. I’m trying to reach Savannah, but I keep getting her voicemail. I know she gets up early with the kids. Is there a problem with her phone?”

  “Um…yeah, maybe,” Michael said.

  “Mind if I talk to her? There’s been a change with one of the signings.”

  “Rob,” Michael said, “something has happened.”

  “What?” he asked. “Is one of the kids sick?”

  “No.” He hesitated, then said, “Rob, Savannah’s missing. We think she’s been…um… Oh man, this is hard to say.”

  “What, Michael?”

  “We’re pretty sure she’s been abducted.” There was silence on the other end of the phone. “Rob?”

  “I’m sorry, Michael. I’m just…well, stunned. How did this happen? When?”

  “Last night. She went to the grocery store. She called me. I think she was trying to tell me what had happened and maybe where she was, I don’t know. The phone went dead. Then Rags came back to the hotel room…”

  “Rags?”

  “Yes, she’d taken Rags with her and he came back with a note tucked into his harness.”

  “Good God, Michael. What did the note say?”

  “Just that someone is trying to get revenge. Peter got the same note.”

  Rob remained quiet, then asked, “Peter? Your friend in San Francisco?”

  “Yes. Rochelle, his wife, is missing too.”

  “Unbelievable,” Rob muttered. “So what’s being done—I mean to find them?”

  “Our friend Detective Craig’s here. He’s trying to get some evidence or find a clue.” Michael took a deep breath, then asked, “What are you doing up so early?”

  “Oh, it’s Cheryl,” Rob groused. “She’s pretty upset about her brother. She thinks she knows where he’s staying. She seems to be afraid he’s going to do something stupid like jump off one of the freeway overpasses or dive in front of a train.” He spoke more softly. “Wouldn’t bother me if he did something like that.” Rob hesitated, then said, “She insists he’s acting weird. But I think he’s always been goofy. Anyway, in the middle of the night she remembered something. She thinks she knows where he might be staying and, this morning, she went out there.”

  “Alone? Is he safe? I mean is she in danger? Would he hurt her?”

  “Well, she doesn’t believe he would. She wanted to go out there alone, sooooo…” He spoke more solemnly. “Have you come up with any clues at all?”

  “No,” Michael said.

  Rob had a thought. “Hey, didn’t those two go to another signing together when you were in San Francisco, after Cheryl and I flew back to LA?”

  “Yes,” Michael said. “Why? What are you thinking?”

  “Well, maybe someone saw the two of them. They’re very attractive women, you know. It would have been easy to find out Savannah’s name. Maybe the gals were followed back to Peter’s and Rochelle’s house.”

  Michael thought about that for a moment, then asked, “But how would he know our itinerary—that we would be in Los Angeles, and when?”

  “That’s public knowledge, I’m afraid. You gotta promote these things and we did so with flyers online, in newspapers…” Rob explained.

  “But he’d have no idea where we’re staying. How could he know that?” Michael asked. “Unless he followed us all the way to LA, which seems unlikely, doesn’t it?”

  “He could have an accomplice—one might have taken Rochelle while the other one followed you here,” Rob said. He sighed. “Heck, I don’t know. But I do think we ought to check surveillance cameras in the bookstores where Savannah spoke in San Francisco. Maybe she even told someone where you’d be staying.”

  Michael’s head was spinning. Finally he said, “You know, Craig might be interested in what you just suggested. Why don’t you come over here? Craig will be back shortly and we can all go downstairs for breakfast.” Off-handedly, he added, “The kids will have to eat.”

  “Where’d Craig go? Chasing after a clue?”

  “Yeah. To the police lab to have some of Rags’s fur and toenails tested for evidence.”

  “Okay, let’s meet in the hotel dining room,” Rob said. “What time? Seven thirty?”

  “Yes, I think Gladys and I can have the children ready by then.”

  “Hang in there, Michael,” Rob said.

  His voice thick with emotion, Michael muttered, “Yeah, I have to for the kids.”

  ****

  “Did you learn anything?” Michael asked when Craig joined the others around a large table in the hotel dining room.

  “Yeah,” he said, gulping down some water, “your cat is a dirt magnet.”

  “Dirt?” Rob questioned. “From any certain area? Were there any significant clues in the dirt?”

  Craig shook his head. “Not so far. What they found on him could have come from any dirt patch in any yard in any city or dusty corner in any home or vehicle.”

  “What about the stuff from his claws?” Michael asked.

  “There doesn’t appear to be any evidence that he has attacked an
yone lately.”

  “Well that’s disappointing,” Gladys said. “I’d hoped he had the key to the girls’ whereabouts. I mean, he has found and rescued so many people…” She dabbed at her eyes. “It’s just not fair that he can’t help Savannah and Rochelle.”

  Michael smiled weakly at his mother-in-law.

  “Where’s Mommy?” Lily asked. When no one spoke, she said, “Daddy, where’s Mommy?”

  “She’ll be home soon. Here, eat more of your fruit. It’s strawberries,” he said enticingly. “Your favorite.”

  She sat back and eyed Michael’s plate. “Eat your strawberries, Daddy.”

  “Okay, I will if you will,” he promised.

  Once everyone had eaten what they could, Craig excused himself, saying he wanted to talk to the people at the grocery store and then follow up with Rob’s suggestion. He turned back and said, “Oh, Michael, I believe they’ve finished going through your car. I can give you a ride over to get it later, if you want.”

  “Yes, that would be good. And I’d like to take Rags out for a while this morning. He really needs outdoor time when we travel. Savannah always…” He choked up and Gladys patted his arm. He looked at her. “Shall we go get the stroller and take everyone for a walk? It looks like it’s going to be a nice day.”

  “Yes. I think that’s a good idea,” Gladys agreed.

  “Come on, Rob; you can hang with us, if you want to.”

  “Thanks, Michael, but I’d better get back to work. And I want to check on Cheryl. I’ll probably see you later.” Rob stared at Michael for a moment. “Hang in there, guy. I’m sure they’ll find them. They just have to.”

  Chapter 7

  Meanwhile, early that same morning Savannah thought she heard something. A car. Oh, my gosh, what does that mean? Are we going to be rescued? Is it the police or…or is it friends of that awful man coming to…to do…what? Savannah could hear Rochelle moving around on the cot across the room, but she focused on the sound coming from outside. Suddenly someone rapped on the door. A woman’s voice called out, “Mark, I know you’re in there. Open up. I want to talk to you.”