That meant I couldn’t stop running. And I couldn’t get caught. I had to outrun all the crooks who were chasing me. No matter how tired my legs were getting. And no matter how heavy that statue felt.
I gritted my teeth even harder around the fabric covering the statue. And I pushed my legs to keep running, running, running. As fast as I could go.
More than anything, I wanted to stop and take a really nice deep breath.
But I tried not to think about it. Instead I tried to think about things that made me happy. My Mom and Dad. And Gracie. And my home. And my brother and the Princess.
All of a sudden, I got a sick feeling in my stomach when I thought about Delilah grabbing the little Princess. I remembered how Delilah had tried to hurt Bogey. Would she do the same thing to the Princess now?
I couldn’t let that happen. I had to get the people from the recital back to the Princess. Before Delilah could hurt her.
So I kept on running. The people behind me sounded like they were getting closer. Or maybe I was just starting to slow down.
I crinkled my forehead and pushed myself even harder. By now the statue dangling from my mouth felt like it weighed a million pounds. When Mr. Daunton made the Tessa statue, he used the best stuff he could find. But he must have also used the heaviest stuff he could find.
Seconds later, I felt someone on my tail. Was this it? Had my plan failed? Would we be goners?
The next thing I knew, a black streak flew up and joined me.
It was my brother!
Just seeing him gave me an extra boost of energy.
“Good job, kid,” Bogey said as he ran next to me. “This is one for the record books.” He grinned at me like he always did.
I don’t think I’d ever been so happy to see Bogey before in my life. Except for the day when I got adopted from the cat shelter. And I found out I was going to have a big brother.
There was so much I wanted to tell him, but I knew I couldn’t. I didn’t dare stop and put that statue down. I just had to keep running as hard and fast as I could.
Bogey glanced behind him. “Here’s the situation, kid. We’ve got four behind us. Byron, Abe, Evaline, and Murwood. Murwood’s pretty sore because I took a page out of your book. I bit down on him pretty good. That arm of his will probably never be the same. So he wants to pay me back as much as he wants the statue.”
I nodded a little bit. Just to let Bogey know I understood.
“Byron is our big worry, kid,” he went on. “He wants to get the statue to show off to Delilah. And Delilah, by the way, had a good hold on the Princess. I don’t think the Princess will be getting away from her anytime soon.”
I sure didn’t like the sound of that!
Now Bogey kept pace with me as I ran. And let me tell you, it sure helped a lot. For some reason, I could focus on his running and not mine.
“I’m guessing you’re going to drop that statue in the middle of the recital, kid,” Bogey said. “It’s a good plan and it might just work. As long as we can get the recital people to follow us back to the secret passage.”
I sort of grunted through my teeth, to let him know I’d heard him.
“Okay, kid,” Bogey said. “You just do your part and don’t sweat it. I’ve got your back. Now it’s time for me to run a little interference.”
With those words, Bogey loped off to the side. That’s when I saw Murwood jump ahead of me and try to grab me with his hands. Before he could get me, Bogey came flying through the air and landed on his back. He sunk his claws into Murwood’s skin and Murwood threw his arms up and screamed. He fell to the floor on all fours.
I jumped around him and Bogey dropped down and ran beside me again.
Just as we turned the corner. I had one last hallway to run and then I was home free.
Up ahead, we saw Luke the church cat sitting with Henry and Annie. Luke’s eyes went wide and so did Henry’s. They probably didn’t understand what was going on, but they sure knew Bogey and I were in trouble.
They dropped down from the bench they’d been sitting on. Ready to help us out.
Bogey hollered out to Luke. “You take the one on the left and get Henry to take the one beside him. I’ll get the one on the right.”
“Anything we can do to help,” Luke meowed back.
He signaled to Henry and Henry nodded. Henry might not be able to hear, but he was as good a guy as you could ever find. And he picked up on what Luke was saying.
He charged like a tiger right past me. I glanced back to see him go straight for Evaline. When he was just a few feet away, he made a flying leap right at her head. He had his arms out and claws fully extended. Evaline screamed and skidded to a stop. She fell backwards and hit the floor. Henry landed on her stomach and knocked the wind out of her. She screamed and rolled over as Henry jumped away. He made a quick U-turn and loped on back.
By now I was starting to slow down. No matter how hard I tried to keep going, my legs started to wobble. They felt kind of rubbery, and they just wouldn’t go where I wanted them to go.
But I pushed on through until I finally reached the bench where Annie was sitting. That’s when it seemed like I couldn’t take even one more step. In fact, I could barely stand up. I stopped beside the bench and put the statue on the floor. Then I stood there and gasped for air.
I turned back in time to see Bogey and Luke take on Abe. Abe tried to kick Bogey, and the second he lifted his leg, Luke bit the other leg from behind. Abe fell forward and Bogey jumped on his back. He sunk his claws into him as the man went down. Abe hit the floor. Hard.
Then Bogey, Luke and Henry all went after Byron.
Music from the piano recital floated out into the hallway. And I heard the song I knew by heart. Gracie’s song.
That meant it was the end of the recital and it was her turn to play.
Above me on the bench, Annie said. “Here, Buckley. Take a drink of my water. That will help.”
She pushed a little water dish my way. I jumped up on the bench and took a few slurps. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my friends take down Byron. It took a little more to get him to the ground, but my three friends managed to get the job done. They gave each other paw bumps when they were finished.
“Thanks,” I gasped to Annie.
“I wanted to help, too,” she said.
Well, she had helped a bunch. Because that water was exactly what I needed. I was ready to roll again.
And not a moment too soon. Murwood was heading my way like an angry buffalo. And the other people were slowly getting to their feet, too.
So I jumped off the bench and picked up my statue. Then I ran for all I was worth. Straight for the open door.
The other cats quickly caught up to me. Bogey ran beside me and Luke and Henry ran behind me. We zoomed as fast as we could go while the crooks now chased after us again. Together we all went barreling down that last hallway.
Gracie was still playing her music, and so far she’d been playing it perfectly. That was, until just a few seconds before we reached the doorway. Then she played a few wrong notes and stopped playing altogether. The crowd kind of gasped and I was afraid Gracie was going to start crying.
But maybe not after she saw what was headed her way.
Us cats were running so fast that we skidded around the corner and ran right into the room. Seconds later, the crooks ran in behind us.
“Go, kid, go!” Bogey hollered to me.
And I did just that. I ran like I’ve never run before. My paws barely touched the floor as I made a beeline for that little stage with the piano. I heard Gracie cry out as I leaped on the stage.
Then I turned around and dropped my statue on the floor. I held onto one edge of the cloth with my teeth and pushed the statue with one of my big paws. The statue started to roll, and kept going until it was completely out of the cloth.
That’s when the overhead lights caught the diamonds on the statue and sent sparkles of light flashing all over the place.
Now
the crowd really gasped.
Bogey and Luke and Henry ran to the edge the stage and moved over to the side. So everyone could see the statue.
The people chasing us stopped right in the middle of the aisle. Kind of like they just realized they had run smack dab into a crowd.
The people in the audience started murmuring and talking and making more gasping noises.
Someone shouted, “What is that?”
And another person said, “Isn’t that one of the missing Daunton statues? The Tessa statue?”
“It is!” someone else screamed. “That’s the missing Tessa statue!”
I sat up nice and tall and showed my full size. Then I stared straight into the eyes of Abe Abascal.
Holy Catnip!
CHAPTER 25
_____________________________
Holy Mackerel!
I just stretched up even taller and straighter and kept on staring at Abe. I didn’t even blink.
Neither did he. In fact, he and Murwood and Evaline and Byron stood frozen in place.
But the people in the audience were sure active and excited. Everyone was talking and some people stood up. Others pointed and murmured. Gracie wiped away her tears and she stared at me with wide eyes.
Officer Phoebe stood up from her seat close to the front. “That is the missing Tessa statue! Now I’d like to know why these people were chasing Buckley and the other cats. I don’t like the looks of this.”
She scooted out from her row and took three big steps toward the crooks.
All four of them took a few steps back.
“Not so fast,” Officer Phoebe commanded them. “Stay right where you are. I’d like to know what’s going on here.”
That’s when Abe pointed at Evaline. And Evaline pointed at Byron. And Bryon pointed at Murwood. And Murwood pointed at Abe.
Then every single one of them spoke at the same time. They all said, “He did it.”
Except for Abe, who was pointing at Evaline. And he said, “Here’s your culprit, Officer.”
“Uh-huh,” Officer Phoebe said. “I think you’d all better have a seat. Apart from each other. It looks like you’ve got some explaining to do.”
She pointed to some chairs off to the side. All four of the crooks grumbled and did as they were told. Then Officer Phoebe used her radio mic on her shoulder and called for backup.
Right about then, I quit staring at them. It was time to save the Princess.
Bogey looked up at me. “Have you got this covered, kid? I’m gonna head to the church office with Luke. We’ve got an email we need to send.”
And I knew exactly who he would be sending that email to.
I nodded. “I’ve got this.”
Bogey took off with Luke. Then Pastor Tom stepped onto the stage. He carefully picked up the Tessa statue with his handkerchief.
I heard Gracie hollering to me. “Buckley! You came!”
And she was right. But now I needed her to come with me. Along with our Mom and our Dad and any other humans I could get.
So I ran over to Gracie. I jumped up on the piano bench beside her and gave her a kiss on the nose. She tried to give me a hug but I jumped back.
Her eyes went even wider. “Buckley, what’s wrong?”
I grabbed her sleeve with my teeth and started to pull.
“Buckley,” she kind of laughed. “What are you doing?”
Now I grabbed her bracelet in my teeth. This time I tugged so hard that I almost pulled her over.
“Buckley! Why are you acting like this?” Gracie cried out.
Just like I’d hoped, our Mom and Dad joined us by the piano.
Gracie looked at our Mom. “What’s wrong with Buckley?”
Our Mom shook her head. “I don’t know. How did he even get here? How did Bogey get here?”
That’s when Gracie sort of gulped. “Um, Mom. They came with us. But they’re not the only ones. Lexie was with them.”
Our Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “They did? Then where is Lexie?”
I let go of Gracie’s bracelet and latched onto my Dad’s sleeve. Then I tugged as hard as I could.
“I think Buckley’s trying to tell us something,” our Mom said. “Lexie must be hurt. Or trapped.”
Gracie jumped to her feet. “We’ve got to find her!”
I bounced down from the piano bench and ran to the edge of the stage. Then I turned my head and looked back at them. I let out a really loud and really long, “Meeee-oooow!”
Our Dad looked at our Mom. “Does Buckley want us to follow him?”
Our Mom nodded. “Looks like it to me.”
Gracie was the first to run after me. “Take us to Lexie, Buckley. We’ve got to rescue her!”
Holy Catnip! She had that right! I only hoped we weren’t too late. My heart was pounding like a big drum as I led my family out of the room and down the hallway. Another Mom and Dad joined us. Then some of the piano recital kids came along, too.
Before long, it seemed like I was sort of leading a parade. The hard part was, I was ready to run for all I was worth. But the people behind me were just walking fast and not running. And I didn’t want to lose them. Especially when I turned into the secret passage.
The closer we got to that secret passage, the more chills raced up my spine. I started to wonder, was I too late? Would the Princess still be there when we got there? Or had Delilah cat-napped her once and for all? More than anything, I wanted to stare into those big, beautiful green eyes again. Even if they did make me go all goey inside.
I turned down another hallway and waited for all the humans to catch up to me. Then I trotted along, hoping I might get them to move a little faster. Finally, after what felt like forever, I was just inches from the opening to the secret passage. I stopped to let the humans catch up again.
And, so I could listen for any sounds coming from the secret passage. I wanted to hear the Princess meow, to know she was okay. And, to know that she was still there.
But instead, I heard Delilah and the sea captain. Even though it wasn’t the Princess, at least it meant Delilah hadn’t cat-napped her.
“I think I like this ruby the best, don’t you, Ralph?” Delilah drawled.
“Arrr . . . she’s a beauty, all right,” the sea captain agreed.
“Well, you big, strong, handsome man,” Delilah said sweetly. “Why don’t you just take this chest full of treasure right out of here for me? Maybe we should get going. Before the others get back.”
“Anything for you, my lady,” said the sea captain.
Right about then, our Mom and Gracie caught up to me.
“How come you stopped, Buckley?” Gracie asked.
I rubbed Gracie around the legs, and then I led them straight into that secret passage.
“Wow,” our Mom said. “I didn’t know this was here.”
“Neither did I,” our Dad agreed.
I zoomed on ahead as fast as I could. Right to where Delilah was sitting on the floor in a pile of gems she’d taken out of the treasure chest.
I instantly spotted her holding the Princess by the back of the neck. The poor Princess looked absolutely terrified and almost like she was going to faint. At least her eyes lit up the second she saw me.
But seeing Delilah hold the Princess like that made me so mad I could hardly stand it. I lunged right at Delilah, without even thinking.
That’s when the sea captain saw me. He jumped up and tried to grab me. I ducked out of his way.
“Arrr,” the sea captain said. “It’s that cat that nearly took my hand off. He’ll be a dead cat now!”
“Oooh, get him!” Delilah hollered. “That’s the cat I’m going to turn into a hat. And I’m going to use this little white one for mittens. Especially since I don’t think she’ll make it through the day. This pathetic little creature is fading fast!”
She held her up and the Princess hung kind of limply.
Then suddenly everything went dead silent. Delilah and the sea captain stared up and f
roze. Delilah dropped the Princess and the Princess ran right to me. I put my arm around her and she tucked her head into my shoulder.
“I knew you’d come back for me, Buckley,” she whimpered. “I just knew you would.”
I looked up to see what had made Delilah and the sea captain freeze up like they did.
That’s when I saw our Mom. And I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so mad. The only word I could use to describe her was “furious.” Her dark eyes burned with anger and her jaw was clenched really tight. So were her fists.
Our Dad stood behind her. He looked really mad, too.
Right about then, I think our Mom could have taken on twenty Delilahs and come out on top.
She pointed to Delilah. “You again! You tried to hurt my cats once and now you’ve tried again. I will see to it that you go to jail.”
Delilah and the sea captain scooted back and moved closer together.
“They’re just a bunch of dumb cats,” Delilah squeaked out.
“Nobody calls my cats dumb,” our Mom yelled. “And nobody, but nobody, tries to hurt them and gets away with it.”
Behind her, our Dad smiled.
Then our Mom pushed her arm out toward Delilah. I thought she might slap her. Delilah cringed and ducked.
“Let’s see how you like the same treatment you gave little Lexie,” our Mom said.
With those words, she grabbed Delilah and pulled her up by the back of her collar. She practically lifted her off the ground. Then she pretty much marched Delilah out of the secret passage.
“Please get Lexie and Buckley,” our Mom said to Gracie.
Gracie smiled. “With pleasure!”
Our Dad grabbed the sea captain’s arm and walked him out behind our Mom. Gracie leaned down, and the Princess and I climbed into her arms. We both wrapped our arms around Gracie’s neck and tucked our heads under her chin.
Then we all went back to the recital room. I climbed down from Gracie’s arms but the Princess stayed cuddled up. I figured she probably would for a while.
The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues Page 21
