Abe chuckled. “I should think, Evaline, that after the article I read in this morning’s newspaper, you wouldn’t be interested in any cats. Though I do like a good disaster.”
Evaline put her hand on her hip. “‘Take Your Cat to the Museum Day’ was Byron’s idea. Not mine.”
“Yes, of course,” Abe smiled. “Always Byron’s fault, isn’t it? And it’s your belief that Byron always owes you something of some sort. Am I correct?”
Murwood bounced from one foot to the other. “Let’s get out of here. I’m bored.”
Seconds later, with barely a goodbye, Evaline and Murwood left Abe’s store.
Right about then, I flopped over onto the floor. What in the world was going on?
I could hardly wait to talk about it all with my brother. Just as soon as we got out of there and back to our Mom’s store. Bogey peeked around the corner of the display case and I did the same. If only we could see another customer coming into Abe’s store.
Unfortunately, what we saw wasn’t a customer. Instead, we saw Pete staring right at us. Apparently, Abe had let his bird out.
“Traitors! Traitors! Traitors!” he screeched. “Arrest them! Arrest them!”
“My goodness gracious, Pete, old chum. What has got you in such a tizzy this time?” Abe asked.
Seconds later, Abe himself leaned over the display case and spotted us.
My heart skipped a beat. What would Abe do now? What would happen to Bogey and me? Would we be in big trouble?
Abe laughed loudly. “Well, good afternoon, gentlemen. So lovely to see you both again. I suspect you must have followed me over from Abigail’s store. Apparently we’ve become fast friends. So much so that you decided to pay me an unexpected visit. Though I wish I had known you were here, so I could have provided proper hospitality. Even so, I do like having feline visitors.”
Bogey nudged me. “Go into your cute routine, kid.”
And I did just that. Even though I had started to shake, I tilted my head to one side. Then I tilted it to the other.
“Well, my fine furry friends,” Abe said. “Perhaps it’s best that I take you back to your Mother’s store. She might be worried about you by now.”
Well, I had to say, that sounded like a good idea to me.
Minutes later, Abe put us both into a box. He kept the top open and carried us out of his store. I wanted to give him a kiss on the nose to thank him.
But I forgot all about it when we reached our Mom’s store.
That’s because Byron Bygones was walking out just as Abe was walking in. Byron held the door open wide and kept it open while Abe put the box on the ground. He let us jump out and into our Mom’s store.
“Hello, Abe,” Bryon said. His deep voice sounded sort of slippery.
“Good afternoon to you as well,” Abe said in return. “I understand you’ve got a most stunning exhibit on display at your museum. You must have pulled many a string to convince Mr. Daunton’s great-great-great-granddaughter to let you display such a priceless collection. After all, Mrs. Vera Glitter is known for being rather emotional and protective of her collection.”
Without saying a word, Byron just gave him a smug smile. Then he turned and walked down the sidewalk.
But I hardly noticed. That’s because I couldn’t stop noticing the plastic bag that Byron carried. It looked like he had bought something in our Mom’s store. I could see the outline of the item pushing against the bottom of the bag.
And that item was exactly the same size as the package we’d hidden in my pet carrier.
Holy Mackerel!
CHAPTER 16
_____________________________
Holy Catnip! My breath kind of caught in my throat, and I’m sure my eyes went wider than they’d ever gone before. Because I couldn’t stop staring at the beige plastic bag that Byron Bygones was carrying as he walked away.
Abe picked up his box, winked at us and left. I stood frozen on the hardwood floor as the door closed behind him.
I turned to my brother. “Bogey, did you see that? Did you see what Bryon had?”
Bogey took a deep breath. “I saw it, kid. The outline in the bag was about the right size. But there’s only one way to know for sure.”
“There is?” I sort of squeaked out.
He nodded in the direction of the back room. “Yup, kid. We’d better go check out your pet carrier. And see if our package is still there.”
Well, let me tell you, he sure didn’t have to tell me twice. He took off running and so did I! For once in my life, I ran even faster than Bogey did. We raced around dressers and tables and sofas and bookshelves. We jumped around lamps and past display cases.
I flew through the opening into the back room, with Bogey on my tail. The pads on my paws were pretty hot by the time I put on the brakes. I screeched to a stop right smack dab in front of my big pet carrier. It was an extra big carrier for an extra big guy like me.
Then I just sort of froze in place. For some reason, my muscles wouldn’t work. Maybe it was because I knew I was about to find out whether our package was still there or not. If it was, I knew I’d be one happy cat. But if it wasn’t, I knew I’d be so disappointed I would probably quit being a cat detective forever. And worst of all, Bogey and I would never, ever find out what was wrapped up in that brown paper.
And I sure didn’t want that to happen.
Bogey caught up to me. “Moment of truth, kid. Let’s see if it’s in there or not.”
I still seemed kind of stuck in place.
Bogey patted me on the shoulder. “Daylight’s burning, kid.”
He was right. This was something that couldn’t wait any longer. So I took a deep breath and forced myself to go forward. I pulled the door open and slowly stepped inside my pet carrier. I headed for the back, where Bogey said he’d hidden that package. It took me a couple of seconds to walk all the way through.
But just as I was almost there, I couldn’t stand it any more. I ran the rest of the way and pulled up the blanket and the mat.
And sure enough, right where Bogey said he’d hidden it, was our package.
Holy Mackerel! Talk about relief!
I flopped over on my side, right next to our package. I let out a really big sigh and closed my eyes for a second. Funny, I didn’t even know what was wrapped up in this bundle. Maybe it was something important and maybe it wasn’t. But I sure was glad to see it.
“Well, kid?” Bogey hollered from the outside.
“It’s here, it’s here!” I meowed to him.
Then I pulled the mat and the blanket back over the package again. I made sure it was hidden really, really well. So no one would find it. Then I walked out of my pet carrier and crawled over to my cat bed. I flopped onto my side and tried to calm down.
Bogey grinned. “See, kid? No need to sweat it.”
I raised my brow and tilted my ears his way. If you asked me, I got the feeling Bogey was a little nervous about our package being gone, too.
He grabbed the bag of cat treats he had stashed behind his bed. “Okay, kid, I’ll admit it. I was sweating it a bit myself.”
“I’m still a little shaky,” I told him.
I tried to rub my head with my paw. But I only bonked myself in the nose instead. So then I tried again. This time my big paw went exactly where I wanted it to go.
Bogey handed me a cat treat. “Here you go, kid. This’ll get you calmed down.”
I took the treat from him. “I’ll be so glad when we get our package home. Maybe then I won’t worry about it so much.”
Bogey took a cat treat for himself. “Don’t be so sure, kid.”
I munched on my treat. “Um . . . what do you mean?”
Bogey passed me another treat and took one for himself. “Two people were already here today looking for a package, kid. And I’ll just bet our package is the one they’re after. Nobody’s said a word about what’s in it, but I’ll bet it’s something pretty special. Just judging by the way these people are acti
ng. And when they don’t find it here, they might suspect we took it home.”
I munched on my second treat. “They might?”
Bogey stashed the bag of cat treats behind his bed. “Yup, kid.”
I gulped. “And they might try to find it at our house?”
Bogey nodded. “‘Fraid so, kid.”
That’s when I’d had about all the danger and scary stuff I could take for the moment. My heart started to pound and my paws started to shake. Sure, I was trying hard to be a big, brave cat detective. But sometimes . . . well, sometimes a guy just needs his Mom.
And a really good hug.
I jumped out of my cat bed. “I’ll be right back,” I said to my brother.
Bogey tilted his head at me. “You okay, kid? You look a little rough.”
But I didn’t want to tell him what I was thinking. After all, a good cat detective wasn’t supposed to go running to his Mom for a hug. Instead I just raced out of the back room without saying a word.
Once I got into the main part of the store, I listened for our Mom’s voice. When I heard her talking to Millicent, I made a beeline in their direction. I found my Mom on the other side of the store. I starting rubbing around her legs and meowing to her.
She kneeled down and petted me. “Hello, Buckley. I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Boy, she could say that again. I climbed right into her arms and wrapped my own arms around her neck. She laughed and held me nice and tight. I tucked my head under her chin and started to purr.
Millicent said, “Ooooh. What a nice guy you are, Buckley.”
“There’s nothing like a good afternoon hug,” our Mom murmured into my fur.
I closed my eyes and drifted off. Suddenly all the scary stuff of the day sort of melted away.
That was, until Officer Phoebe strolled into the store and joined us.
“Just thought you’d like an update on that man who went out in the ambulance,” she told our Mom and Millicent.
“Is he all right?” Millicent asked.
Officer Phoebe shook her head. “Not yet. He’s still out cold. He’s in the hospital and will probably stay there for a few days at least. It looks like someone drugged him.”
Our Mom and Millicent gasped. I turned my head and looked at Officer Phoebe.
So Bogey had been right! Someone had given the sea captain something to knock him out.
Holy Catnip!
“I guess that’s why he was weaving like he was,” our Mom said.
Right about then, I noticed Bogey standing off to the side. He must have followed me out of the back room.
He caught my eye and motioned for me to join him. Let me tell you, I had a pretty good idea what he wanted to talk about.
So I gave my Mom a kiss on the nose. Then I jumped down out of her arms and off I went with Bogey. Seconds later, we were both sitting in our cat beds again.
“That was a good call, kid,” Bogey told me. “Running off like you did. Otherwise we might have missed that part of the puzzle. We never would’ve known what happened to the sea captain. That he’s still in the hospital. And he’ll be in the hospital for a while. Somebody sure wanted that guy out of commission.”
“B-b-but, Bogey,” I started to say. “I was really kind of running to our Mom to get a . . .”
Bogey held up his paw. “No need to explain, kid. Every good cat detective has gut feelings. Sometimes you just gotta act on ‘em right away. You did a great job.”
I bit my lip. “Gee, thanks, but the truth is . . .”
Bogey shook his head. “Don’t say another word, kid. I’ve been in your paws a time or two myself. Now, then . . . about this case. Doesn’t it seem strange to you that all these people shopped in our Mom’s store in one day? The sea captain, Delilah, and Byron? And Delilah and Evaline and the sea captain all were looking for something in Abe’s store, too?”
Well, Bogey sure had that one right. It was kind of strange.
I nodded. “I also noticed they weren’t very nice. Even to each other. Maybe one of them drugged the sea captain.”
Bogey stared off into space. “That’d be my guess, too, kid. Because I think these people are all connected somehow. They seem to know each other. Almost like they were friends once.”
I shook my head. “Well, they sure aren’t now. But one thing is for sure. This is our most complicated case ever.”
Bogey reached over and gave me a paw bump. “You can say that again, kid.”
Then he glanced up at the clock on the wall.
“It’s almost time for our Mom to leave, kid,” he said. “Gracie will be home from school pretty soon.”
That meant we would be going home with our Mom. Holy Mackerel, this was one day that had just flown by.
“Best get into your pet carrier,” Bogey said. “So our Mom doesn’t notice it’s got something extra in it.”
“Aye, aye,” I said to my brother.
I tried to salute him and this time I was only slightly off. I touched the top of my head, but not quite all the way down to my forehead. Boy, I sure hoped I could get my paws to go where I wanted them to go someday.
“Okay, kid,” Bogey said. “Pull the package out and sit right on top of it. So it doesn’t scoot around when our Mom picks up your pet carrier. And so the weight is in the middle.”
“Got it,” I told him.
And I did just that. I pulled our package into position. Then I laid down right on top of it. Smack dab in the middle of my pet carrier. It was a good thing I was an extra big cat with really long fur. Because I covered our package perfectly. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but sometimes being a cat detective isn’t very comfortable.
Now Bogey jumped into his pet carrier, too.
And not a moment too soon.
Our Mom came strolling in and grabbed her purse from the cabinet.
She smiled at us. “My goodness, boys. It looks like you two are ready to go.”
Normally I would have given her a kiss on the nose. But not this time.
She zipped up our pet carriers and then picked us up.
She groaned when she picked up mine. “My goodness, Buckley. Are you growing some more? I don’t remember you being this heavy this morning.”
I just meowed to her. A few minutes later, we were in the car and on our way home. Finally. I was so happy to know our package was with us.
That was, until our Mom drove out of the alley, turned the corner and drove past the front of the store. That’s when I saw Delilah, Byron, Evaline and Murwood. They were all standing on the street and staring at our car. And let me tell you, they did not look happy! In fact, their heads all turned and they just kept on watching us as we drove by.
Holy Catnip!
CHAPTER 17
_____________________________
Holy Mackerel! I scrunched down lower into my pet carrier and tried to stop shaking. There was something about the way those four people had been staring at us that gave me the creeps! I sure hoped they didn’t come looking for our package at our house, like Bogey had thought.
But as long as I’d known him, he’d almost never been wrong.
“Did you see those people?” I asked my brother.
He nodded toward the window. “Oh yeah, kid. I saw them all right.”
I pushed my front paws against the sides of my carrier, to steady myself. “They sure were staring at us.”
Bogey stood up and glanced toward the back of the car. “Yes, they were, kid. We might want to start running extra surveillance rounds tonight.”
I gulped. The only times we ran extra surveillance was when we really needed it. When we thought there might be a threat to our house or to our family.
Bogey turned back to me. “Let’s hide that package under the couch when we get home, kid. I’ll let you know when the coast is clear. We’ll move it upstairs tonight when our family is asleep.”
“Aye, aye,” I told him. I tried to salute him and this time I got even closer to my forehead.
Our Mom pulled into our driveway and then into our garage a few minutes later. After that, everything happened really fast. Our Mom brought us in, put us on the kitchen floor and then unzipped our pet carriers. Gracie got home from school and our Mom went to the front door to greet her.
“Quick, kid!” Bogey hollered to me. “Here’s your chance! Move that package now!”
I didn’t wait for him to tell me a second time. I jumped out of my pet carrier and turned around. Then I picked up our package and backed out of there. I had that bundle safely hidden under the family room couch before our Mom and Gracie came into the room.
Gracie kissed us cats hello before she went and changed her clothes. Then she didn’t waste any time getting right to her piano practice. After all, her recital was coming up on Saturday night!
As always, Bogey and I scampered into the living room to listen to her play. We nodded to Lil and the Princess before we joined them on the floor behind the baby grand piano. Gracie was already practicing her recital song, and if you asked me, she played it even better than yesterday. She was almost through the whole song before she made a mistake.
And that’s when she quit playing. “Ugh!” she cried out.
She put her hands over her eyes and hung her head. “I’ll never get this right. Everyone is going to laugh at me at the recital.”
That made my ears perk up. After all, I couldn’t imagine anyone laughing at Gracie. I’d be pretty mad at them if they did!
Especially when we knew she could play her song really well.
Maybe all she needed was a little encouragement. I remembered what had helped her yesterday. So I jumped up onto the piano bench beside her. Then I reached up and gave her a kiss on the nose. Below me, Bogey grinned and jumped up to the front ledge of the piano. He reached down and hit a few piano keys with his paws.
And though Bogey might be one of the greatest cat detectives ever, well . . . his piano playing was a different story.
Gracie giggled. “Okay, boys. I get the message.”
I was sure glad she did. Because it was a really important message. I gave her one more kiss on the nose just to be sure. Then I sat back on the bench to let her play.
The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues Page 14
