A Picture-Purrfect Christmas (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 13) (16 page)

As it turned out, Savannah knew the guard. “Hi John,” she greeted. “Got you on sentry duty, huh?”

He nodded. “You know the little gal in there?” he asked.

“Yes. Thanks for taking good care of her. Okay if I visit?” she asked, showing him the card.

“Sure. She doesn’t get many visitors.”

“Has she had any?” Savannah asked.

“Not on my watch.”

“Hi, Erin,” Savannah said as she entered the room cautiously. “Are you up to having an early morning visitor?”

The teen rolled onto her back and smiled. “Yes. How nice of you to come.” She looked expectantly at Savannah. “Did they find Rissy?”

Shaking her head, she said, “Not yet. But they will, I’m sure of it.” She put her hand on the teen’s arm and asked, “How’re you feeling, hon?”

Erin took a shallow breath and coughed. “I’ve been better.” She smirked a little. “But I’ve been worse, too.”

Savannah cringed when she saw the scrapes on Erin’s pretty face. One arm was bandaged. She sat down next to the bed, her hand still on the girl’s arm, and asked, “So how did it happen?”

Erin looked away for a moment, then turned to face Savannah. “She pushed me out of the truck,” she said quietly. “Detective Craig…he’s so nice.” She smiled weakly. “He said the Cottons are in jail, so I shouldn’t be afraid to tell the truth.” She grabbed Savannah’s arm. “I was scared to death they had Rissy and terrified that they…” she scowled, “…or those evil nephews…would harm her if I told the truth. Hopefully, my story will keep them in jail forever.” She looked despondent. “Only then Rissy and I will have no place to go.”

“You’d go back there?” Savannah asked, shocked at the thought.

Erin hesitated. “Well, I’m no Einstein, but I’ve learned that you may not be in the best place, but if you have a roof over your head and food on the table, maybe you shouldn’t make any waves. Things could be worse. Know what I mean?”

Savannah gritted her teeth. “How did you end up there, anyway?” she asked. “Marissa said she doesn’t think there’s a social worker involved.”

Erin thought for a moment. “I’m not really sure.” She looked at Savannah. “No, there’s no one monitoring what goes on in that house. As I remember, Mavis needed a babysitter. She knew one of my foster moms—we lived in the same neighborhood. I guess she pulled some strings or broke some laws, maybe, to get me.”

“Gads, those other children must have been infants. You were babysitting infants at ten?”

Erin grinned. “Oh yes. When my parents died in that fire, my childhood pretty much died along with them.” She looked at Savannah. “You’d be surprised what’s expected of kids in foster homes—well, probably not all of them, but…” Suddenly, she grabbed Savannah’s hand. “Did they arrest those two freeloaders, too?”

“You mean the nephews? I don’t know,” Savannah said. “I don’t think so.”

“Ms. Savannah,” Erin said quietly, her eyes pleading, “they’ve just got to find Rissy! She’s…well, she’s like a sister to me.”

Savannah thinned her lips. “There are a lot of people looking for her. Today, we’re taking our cat out to see if he can find her.” She cringed. “I don’t know how that’ll go.”

“Oh, Rags?” Erin asked. “Marissa talks about him all the time. She loves that cat. She loves most all animals, but…I could tell there’s something special about your cat,” she said, her eyes welling up.

In an effort to calm the teen, Savannah asked, “Do you like animals?”

Erin rolled her head toward Savannah. “Yeah. Yeah, I like them. Never had one of my own, that I can remember.” She stared toward the window. “I have an old picture of myself as a very little girl and there’s a puppy licking my face. I’m laughing.” She chuckled. “It’s really cute. So I might have had a dog back then.” Her mood became dark. “But once my original foster mother died, I went from home to home until I landed with the Cottons seven years ago. I don’t remember any of the homes having pets—just an overflow of kids.” She looked at Savannah. “I’ve never been close to any of those kids until Rissy.” She began to cry.

“I know,” Savannah said, hugging the girl gently. She pulled back and asked, “When can you leave the hospital?”

“I don’t know. No one has said anything about me leaving.” She began to weep, saying, “That’s probably because I have no place to go…”

Savannah leaned toward the teen and ran her hand over her hair. “Erin, do you mind if I ask a few questions about you and your condition? Is there anyone who’s speaking for you—on your behalf?”

She thought for a moment. “Ms. Shelly came to see me, but she had to leave in a hurry. She had some sort of family emergency in another state. I think she flew out yesterday to Minneapolis or someplace.” She fidgeted with the edge of her blanket, then added, “There is one nurse who has asked me a lot of questions. She’s been real nice to me. Why?”

“What’s the nurse’s name? Is she on duty today?” Savannah asked.

“Yeah, I saw her a little earlier. Her name’s Diane.”

“I’ll be right back,” Savannah said. “Is there anything you need from the gift shop, or can I run out and get you a soda or something?”

Erin rolled her head back and forth against her pillow. “Oh, I guess not. I don’t think so…unless…” she smiled a little.

“Unless what?” Savannah asked. “Your wish is my command.”

“I’d sure like to have a bowl of ice cream.”

“What’s your favorite flavor?” Savannah asked, grinning.

“If you can find it, chocolate. If not, vanilla is fine or strawberry…”

Savannah patted her hand. “I’ll be right back. You wait there.”

“Yeah, right,” Erin said. “Where am I going?”

When Savannah returned, she carried a large bowl of chocolate ice cream and a couple of chocolate-chip cookies. “Here you go; your ice cream prescription. This ought to make you feel lots better.”

Erin tried to laugh a little, but soon found herself doubled over, holding one side.

Savannah set the bowl on the bed tray and helped Erin to sit up. “Hon, I talked to your doctor. Diane introduced him to me. He said you can go home any time.”

Erin’s eyes grew wide with anticipation. “Really?”

“Yes, as long as you have a place to stay where you’ll get the right kind of care.”

Deflated, Erin said, “Well, I guess that means I stay here.” She squeezed her eyes closed, then opened them and said, “Do you know where I want to be more than anything?”

Savannah shook her head.

“Out there searching for Rissy.”

Savannah patted the girl’s shoulder and massaged it a little, then said, while moving the tray closer to her, “Hon, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Erin took a small bite of the ice cream. “Mmm, tastes so good.” She then looked at Savannah. “What?”

“I spoke to your doctor.”

“Yeah, you told me.”

“I asked if
I
could take you home.”

Erin placed her spoon in the bowl and looked at Savannah in disbelief. “To your home?”

“Yes. We have plenty of room and my husband and I would love to give you a safe place to recover. Your doctor said he would clear it with the hospital social worker—he thinks it’s so much better that you be with someone you know and can trust than a random foster situation.”

The teen looked up at Savannah through tears. “I would love it. That would be so awesome. Rissy told me what a wonderful home you have and how nice you and your husband are. Oh…what a…surprise,” she said. “Yes, I would very much like to stay with you until I’m on my feet.” She gazed at something behind Savannah. “I’ve been thinking that I should drop out of school for now and get a full-time job. I’m old enough to support myself. I’ll be eighteen next month. I was only staying in that hell hole for Rissy. Maybe with county assistance I can support both of us.”

“Well, let’s not think about that right now,” Savannah suggested. She smiled down at the girl. “One step at a time, okay?”

“Okay,” Erin said, smiling. “Thank you, again.”

“Sure. I’ll check back with you later today. Right now, the detective and I and…” she cringed, “the cat are going in search of your little sister.”

“Yes. We thought I could mold this canvas carrier across the front of my saddle. I think I can make him fairly comfortable. Hopefully, he won’t object too much. I had a little talk with him so he knows where we’re going and why.”

Craig narrowed his eyes. “You think he understands something that complex, do you?”

“Yeah. Think about it, Craig,” she said as they pulled out of the driveway with the horses in tow, “doesn’t your Tommy kitty sometimes seem to understand your words or your intentions?”

He looked confused. “Huh?”

“Well, when you head into the kitchen to feed him or you ask him if he wants a treat, doesn’t he sometimes respond before you even start to open the can or the bag of treats?”

After some consideration, Craig said, “Yes, I’ve noticed that. He beats me to the kitchen sometimes and waits at his dish. I figured he has a built-in clock and knows what time it is.”

“Could be. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about taking Rags out for a walk and he races to his harness without my saying a word.” Her expression brightened as she said, “I can even narrow it down to this—when the carrier comes out because we’re going to the clinic for his shots, he hides. If we’re going someplace else or to the clinic for another reason, he walks into the carrier just fine.”

“Hmmm,” Craig said. “So what did you say to get him in there today?” he asked.

She spoke more solemnly, “I told him tomorrow is Christmas Eve—which is a very special day for children, and that we need to find his friend Marissa so she can celebrate her first Christmas.”

“With who?” he asked. “Her poor-excuse-for-parents are in jail.”

“Oh, they didn’t celebrate Christmas anyway.” Her demeanor brightened. “With us. I want to invite her to spend Christmas with us.” She added, “You know, Erin’s coming to our house.”

“Yeah, I got the memo. She’s old enough to be on her own, isn’t she?”

Savannah nodded. “Almost, I guess. But she needs rest and care right now and she doesn’t have any place to go.”

Craig glanced at Savannah and then at the cat in the carrier sitting between them on the seat. “God, I hope he can perform a miracle out there for us today.”

“Amen,” Savannah said. Under her breath she added, “A Christmas miracle.”

Over an hour later, the pair rode along the trail on horseback with the soft carrier wedged across the saddle in front of Savannah.

“How’s he doing?” Craig asked.

“Good,” Savannah said. “He was trying to stand up and kept losing his balance. He has figured out he’s better off just lying down. Yes, he’s getting the hang of it. I think he kind of likes it. He’s just watching the scenery go by like he does during a car ride.”

Craig chuckled. “Yeah, I can just see him trying to hitch a ride on the horse by himself next time he goes out to the corral.” He glanced back at Savannah again. “You brought his leash, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

“Okay, let’s leave the horses here, shall we?” he suggested when they reached the meadows. “This is where most of those mine shafts are. We’ll take the cat on his leash from here.”

“If we go very far, we may have to carry him. Cat’s don’t have a lot of endurance.”

“Okay.” Craig peered at the cat. “Do your stuff, Rags, old boy.”

“Yes, please,” Savannah said. “Come on, Rags. Where’s Marissa? Find Marissa.”

The couple and the cat had been searching for nearly ninety minutes when Craig said, “Damn, we’re almost out of options.” He pointed. “The last visible shaft appears to be about a quarter-mile north.”

Suddenly, Rags stopped. His ears perked up and he sniffed the air. He seemed to be listening intently to something, then he began tugging on the leash.

“Where’s he going?” Craig asked. “He’s not after a rabbit, is he?”

“I don’t think so,” Savannah said. “It doesn’t seem like rabbit-induced excitement. I think he’s on to something, Craig. Let’s follow him.”

“I’ll try to keep up—man, he’s really focused, like a bloodhound. A feline bloodhound,” he said, chuckling.

“Sure is. Easy Rags, it’s brushy out here—and rocky.”

The couple continued following the cat as he tugged and pulled them into the dense brush. Savannah could see a cluster of small trees off in the distance. As they drew near, she said quietly, “Craig, there’s a cabin. Someone must live out here.”

“I doubt it—could be a hunter’s cabin. I think that’s where he’s taking us.”

Suddenly, they heard a voice. “What’re ya doin’ out here?”

The couple turned and found themselves facing the two grubby men Savannah and Shelly had seen before on dirt bikes.

“Oh, it’s you, girlie. Come back to party?” the taller man said, leering at her. He looked down at Rags and frowned. “What’s that?”

“Never mind,” Craig said, revealing his badge. “Who are you and what are you doing out here?”

“Uh, nothin’. We work out here, ya know.”

“What’s your name?”

“Sam.”

When Craig looked at the shorter man, he quickly responded, “Red.”

“What kind of work do you do?” Craig asked, glancing around the area.

“Whatever Scaif needs,” Sam said.

Red nudged his partner as if to quiet him.

“Who’s Scaif?” Craig asked.

After hesitating, Sam said, “Our boss. We do odd jobs, that’s all.”

“Have you seen a girl out here?” Craig asked.

Sam motioned toward Savannah. “Yeah, we saw her and another gal just last week.”

“I mean a little girl.”

“No, uh-uh, no little girls out here,” he said.

“Mind if we look around?”

Suddenly, Savannah felt Rags tug at the leash. She looked in the direction he pulled and said, “Craig, he wants to go to that shack.”

Craig spun around and looked at the cat. “Let him go.” He then said, “Here, give him to me, I’ll go. Savannah, you stay here.”

“I don’t think so,” Sam said, gruffly. “You’re not goin’ ta snoop around on
our
watch.”

When Savannah looked in Sam’s direction, she saw that he held a gun, which was aimed at them. She gasped.