A Very Meowy Christmas

by Patricia Fry

  “So they wandered off on their own, did they?” The man said, “By the way, I’m Blake and this is Storm. We’re from the local ranger station.”

  “Storm?” Peter questioned, shaking his hand.

  “Long story,” he said. “Maybe I’ll get a chance to tell it. Meanwhile, you say the boys have been gone for over an hour?”

  “Almost two hours, now,” Peter said.

  “How old are they?” Blake asked. “Ten?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did they leave this area? It looks like you were here to fish and…” he glanced around, “have a little picnic?”

  “Yes,” Michael said. “The boys simply went to find more pinecones for the fire.”

  “Got it,” Blake said. “Are they dressed for the weather? Do they have water on them?”

  Michael looked at Peter. “Adam was still carrying his canteen, wasn’t he?”

  Peter nodded. “I think so. Yeah, they would have had maybe half canteen full of water. I saw Simon stuff a handful of grapes in his jacket pocket.” He added, “Yes, they’re dressed for the weather.”

  “And they walked off which way?”

  Michael pointed.

  “Okay, get in,” Blake suggested. “Let’s drive on up and see what we can see. It shouldn’t be too difficult to track a couple of kids that age.”

  “That your dog?” Storm asked.

  Michael nodded.

  “Is he attached to the boys?”

  “Yes, I’d say she is.”

  “She might come in handy. Watch her,” he instructed. “Let us know if it appears she’s caught a scent, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay,” Michael said. He added, “We actually have a cat who’s better at that.”

  Both rangers stopped and looked suspiciously at Michael. Blake asked, “Did you say a cat?”

  Michael nodded and took a ragged breath.

  “Not with you, right?” Storm confirmed. Several minutes later, he announced, “Okay, so we’ve followed the boys’ footprints to this point where the road becomes a shale trail. You won’t be seeing any prints in that stuff.”

  Peter prepared to get out of the Jeep. “So should we take the trail?” he asked.

  “Well,” Blake stalled, “we don’t know if they continued along on the trail or if they headed into the brush on this side or the trees over there. Why don’t we spread out from here? What are their names?”

  “Simon and Adam.”

  “Okay, Mr. Ivey and Mr. Whitcomb, you take the trail. We’ll head into the stand of trees and the brush. We’ll meet back here at four o’clock.”

  At a little after the hour, the four men returned to the vehicle with nothing of consequence to report.

  “What would attract their attention so that they’d leave the trail and get themselves lost?” Michael asked.

  “They’re boys,” Blake said, “and when boys go adventuring together, they often lose track of time and space. They don’t pay attention to their surroundings. It’s easier than you might think for kids to get lost.”

  Storm looked down at Lexie. “The dog didn’t react to anything, huh?”

  Michael shook his head, then said, “We had a fire going. We kept feeding it with wet grass and other things that would cause smoke. Wouldn’t they be able to see it or smell it?”

  Storm nodded. “Yeah, if they were paying attention, but like Blake said, youngsters can get easily distracted.”

  “We’d better head back and regroup,” Blake suggested.

  “Just give up?” Michael asked, panicked. “It’ll be dark soon. They could freeze to death overnight.”

  “We won’t leave them alone overnight,” Blake assured him. “We have a larger group of search and rescue folks preparing as we speak. As you can imagine, night searches require a different kind of preparation.” He smiled. “I’m confident that these professionals and their trained dogs will find the boys before morning.” He looked Michael in the eyes. “They’re very good at what they do.”

  Chapter Seven

  It was after seven that night, more than six hours since Adam and Simon had been seen. Michael held tightly to Teddy, his eyes brimming with tears as he paced in front of the Buckhorn Café. He put one arm around Savannah, and whispered, “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  Savannah embraced Michael and their sleeping son. “I know, honey. They’re okay.” Her voice cracked. “They just have to be.”

  “I hope so,” Peter said, overhearing her comment. He laughed a tad hysterically and made an attempt at humor. “Because, when I get a hold of Simon I’ll…” He couldn’t continue.

  “You’ll what?” Rochelle challenged gently.

  Peter ran both hands through his hair. “I don’t know. I’m just so worried and angry at the same time.”

  Michael choked up. “Welcome to parenthood, guy.” He looked off into the distance. “I don’t know why the search crew wouldn’t let us go with them tonight. I feel so helpless.”

  “You were out there all day,” Savannah soothed. “The guide is right. We need to rest. Remember, tomorrow we’re following Rochelle’s vision. We’ll meet at daylight with fresh supplies and Rags.”

  “What if Rochelle’s wrong?” Michael hissed. “We could be wasting precious time. You heard them say that the boys could easily find themselves in trouble. They could fall off a cliff or into a swift-moving portion of the river.”

  Savannah stared into his face. “What if Rochelle’s right? Besides, there are people out there with search dogs. They know what they’re doing, Michael.” She added, “And so does Rochelle. Her predictions and visions are rarely wrong. She has helped in a lot of situations like this.”

  Michael shook his head. He looked down at Teddy.

  “Why don’t you let me lay him down?” Gladys asked quietly. “I’ll sit with the children.”

  He kissed his nineteen-month-old son and handed the sleeping toddler to his mother-in-law. “Are you going back to the cabin?”

  “Yes. I think we all are.” Gladys sensed Michael’s resistance. “They know where you are. They’ll call. Come on you two, let’s get some rest,” she urged. “You may have a long day ahead.”

  Michael glanced at Peter and Rochelle, who stood on the edge of the porch gazing down the road where the search team had driven from view. He took a deep breath, raised his eyes to the heavens, and muttered, “If there’s such a thing as a Christmas miracle, we could sure use one now.” He took a ragged breath and called out, “Hey guys, let’s go try to get some sleep.”

  When Peter hesitated, Rochelle said, “There’s nothing we can do here. They know how to get in touch with us.” She squeezed his arm. “Peter, I just know they’re okay. There’s a reason for this and it’s going to stun us all when we learn the truth.”

  “If you believe they’re okay, why are you so dang nervous,” Peter challenged. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “You’re worried too. I know you are.”

  She nodded. “I’m terrified. But that’s the human part of me. I’m trying real hard to accept what the universe is telling me—that the boys are safe.”

  Savannah smiled weakly at Rochelle, and followed the others to the cars.

  “Wait,” Michael said. He faced Savannah. “Did you say Rags is going with us in the morning?”

  She nodded. “Rochelle suggested it. She said he’s more intuitive than any of us and he loves both Simon and Adam. She believes he can lead us to the boys. In fact, I guess a cat was part of her vision.”

  “Lordy, lordy,” he muttered as the two of them climbed into their car.

  ****

  Michael awoke at daylight to the sound of a helicopter overhead. He sat straight up, then leaped out of bed, knocking on the wall as he headed for the bathroom. “Peter, let’s get going.”

  “Been waiting for you, pal,” Peter called back. “I think the gals are almost ready.”

  Michael dressed quickly. He looked down at Rags, who had sauntered into the room,
and muttered, “I’m counting on you today, boy.”

  “There you are,” Savannah said, snapping Rags’s leash onto his harness. She stopped and looked at Michael for a few moments. “We will find them. It’s going to be okay.”

  He pulled her to him and buried his face in her neck, mumbling, “I hope to God you’re right.”

  “I’ll be praying every minute,” Gladys said as the two couples walked out the front door of Cabin Cricket a short time later.

  When they arrived at the Buckhorn Café, the two men quickly approached members of the search team who seemed to be just returning.

  “Nothing,” Storm said. “Not a sign beyond where that shale trail starts. We spent most of the night on the mountain side because that’s where we’d expect a lost child to go.”

  “Then let’s try something different this morning,” Michael suggested.

  “With a cat?” a member of the team asked, staring at Rags, who was winding his leash around Michael’s ankles.

  “Yes, I don’t have time to explain, but he’s experienced in these things.” Michael glanced at Peter. “More so than we are, actually.”

  Blake, the ranger who had initiated the search the day before, approached the group with two more men. “Al, Bill, this is Mr. Ivey and…” he stalled.

  “Peter Whitcomb,” Peter said.

  Al asked, “It’s your boys we’re looking for?”

  Peter and Michael nodded.

  “Well, grab your coffee or whatever and we’ll meet you at the Jeep caravan,” Bill said. “There’s room for four more in the lead vehicle. I understand your wives are going with us.”

  Michael nodded.

  Just then Savannah and Rochelle walked out of the café, each were carrying two large coffees and a bag filled with fruit and breakfast bars. That’s when they heard a gruff voice. “Scat!”

  Michael looked up and saw Rags at the end of his long leash with his paws on the side of a truck sniffing the air. It was the fur trapper. It seemed they could not avoid him.

  “Git,” the man said, rushing toward the cat. It appeared that he was about to give Rags a swift kick when Michael intervened.

  “Hey!” Michael shouted, quickly picking up Rags. “He’s not doing anything. He just smells…um whatever it is in your truck there.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s nosy and he’s a cat. I hate cats.”

  As annoyed as Michael was, he saw this interaction as an opportunity and decided to take advantage. He asked casually, “So where have you been these last few days? Have you taken any interesting roads?”

  The trapper scowled and opened his truck door.

  “Please, Mister,” Michael said, “our boys are missing. They were curious about your truck and I’m wondering if they might have tried to follow you. If you tell me where you were yesterday…”

  “None of your damn business,” the trapper spat, starting his truck.

  “Please, Mister,” Michael pleaded.

  But the driver gunned the truck forcing Michael to step back with Rags.

  “What was that about?” Peter asked.

  “I thought the boys might have run into him up there and tried to see what he was doing. You know how curious they were about that guy.”

  “Did he say he saw them?” Peter asked eagerly

  Michael gritted his teeth and watched the truck disappear from sight. “No, dammit. He wouldn’t even talk to me.”

  Just then they heard another voice. “Hey, I can tell you exactly what that guy’s up to.”

  Michael and Peter turned quickly to face a man of about fifty dressed in camouflage. Michael responded, “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, but I doubt the trapper had anything to do with your missing boys.”

  “Why’s that?” Peter asked.

  “He’s too focused on what he does.” He lowered his head. “But there’s always the chance that the boys happened along where he sets his traps.” He grimaced. “That’s why I think I should tell you what I know.”

  “Which is?” Michael coaxed.

  “Where he’s setting traps.”

  Peter and Michael looked at each other, and Peter asked rather impatiently, “And where would that be?”

  “Yeah,” Michael said, “and how do you know about this? He seems so secretive. He sure won’t talk to us.”

  The man looked down and said, “I thought I’d like to do some trapping, so I paid the guy to teach me his profession. I mean, he sure seems to be making money, but what I learned from him is so reckless that I’ve just about decided to give up the idea.” He looked off into space, then said, “Those boys could have wandered into one of the areas where he sets those traps. He’s reckless, I tell you.”

  “God,” Michael muttered, terrified at the thought. “So can you tell us where the traps are?”

  “Yes. Me and my buddy—we were sworn to secrecy, but saving those boys is way more important. Besides,” he said, “I don’t think I could stomach trapping innocent animals. Yeah, I’ll show you where he sets his traps.” He opened up a forest service map. “Here, I have them marked.”

  “Let’s go!” a ranger bellowed from the Jeep caravan.

  Michael looked back at the convoy, then asked the man in camouflage, “Can I take this map with me?”

  The man hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. Like I said, I won’t be using it and maybe it will help you to find your boys. So, yeah. Go ahead.”

  “Thank you so much,” Michael said. He and Peter shook the man’s hand before trotting back to the caravan.

  “Good luck,” the man called after them.

  “Sir,” Michael said, approaching the lead ranger, “I want to show you something.” He glanced at Peter. “We’re concerned that the boys might have seen the trapper up there and tried to follow him.”

  “The trapper?” Bill repeated.

  “Yes, the bearded guy in the classic pickup. He wouldn’t talk to us, but another man came forward and gave us this map. Evidently it shows where he sets his traps.” He tapped the map. “I think we should check out this area.”

  “Who gave you this?” Bill asked.

  “Does that matter?” Peter asked.

  Michael spoke quickly. “We’re worried that the boys might have stumbled across one of these blasted traps. I want to check out those closest to where we were fishing yesterday.”

  “Well, that wasn’t where we had in mind,” Bill said, “but, yeah, you might be on to something. You say the boys know this guy?”

  “Not really,” Michael said, “but we’ve seen him around, and they were interested in him and whatever he carries in that truck.”

  “And concerned about the trapping he was doing,” Peter added.

  Michael nodded. “Like I said, we’re afraid they may have tried to follow him.”

  “Okay, let me show this to the others. Climb in and we’ll be off in just a minute.” When he looked down and saw Rags, he said, “Um…you’re leaving the cat here, right?”

  “No,” Michael said, firmly. “He’s going with us. If anyone can find those boys this cat can.”

  Bill let out a frustrated breath and walked away.

  “You laid it on a little thick there, didn’t you?” Peter asked. “I mean about Rags.”

  Michael shrugged. “Maybe, but I needed to get my point across fast. No time to explain things.” He turned and looked for the man who had given him the map, but he was nowhere to be seen. He handed Rags’s leash to Savannah who was sitting in the back of a Jeep, then slid in next to her on seats facing Peter and Rochelle.

  Al slipped into the front passenger seat. He turned toward the others and introduced himself to the women. “Hi, I’m Al. You must be the wives.”

  Michael nodded. “Yes. This is Rochelle and Savannah.” He glanced around and asked, “Do we have a paramedic? We might need a paramedic.”

  Al pointed to the second Jeep. “Yes, Eleanor’s a paramedic. Actually we all have some EMT training.” He stared at Rags. “So why did you bring a cat? I d
on’t even know if that’s allowed. It’s certainly out of the ordinary.”

  “Never mind,” Bill said, quickly stepping into the driver’s seat and closing the door. “They say he’s experienced and he knows the boys. So…”

  “Hmmm,” Al muttered. “This should be interesting.”

  Ignoring him, Bill said, “We’ll drive up near the first area you’ve marked here, Michael—closest to where the boys were when they disappeared. We’ll walk in from the road.”

  Al looked back at Savannah. “How will we handle the cat? Will you carry him? That’s going to bog us down, isn’t it?”

  “We have a pack for him and he walks on the leash. He’ll be okay,” Michael assured him.

  Once the caravan was on the road, Savannah whispered, “Did I hear you ask for a paramedic?”

  Michael nodded. “Yes. I just want to be prepared,” he said, turning away in order to hide a rush of emotion.

  Bill glanced sympathetically at Michael a couple of times in the rearview mirror. When he thought Michael would be able to speak, he asked, “So how did you come upon this information about the traps? We’ve found a few traps lately and we’ve been trying to zero in on who’s setting them. He’s slippery, that one.” He glanced again in the mirror. “You say that guy in that restored truck is trapping?”

  “Yes, and now I’m terrified that the boys might have—you know, found their way into one of those areas and...”

  Savannah took a ragged breath. “Good God.”

  ****

  Once the searchers had pulled off the road, strapped on their packs, and started walking along the trail, Bill caught up with Savannah and asked, “So why did you bring the cat?”

  “He has a knack or a sixth sense when it comes to locating missing persons—even more so when it’s someone he knows and cares about.”

  Bill stared at Rags, who was riding atop his pack on Michael’s back. “No kidding.”

  “He works with the local sheriff’s department in Hammond,” Michael explained, “on all sorts of cases. We only brought him up here with us this week because he was recently injured and we wanted to keep an eye on him.”

  Savannah nodded. “Yes, someone shot at him and he fell down into a well.”