Black Cat and the Accidental Angel (Black Cat Mysteries Book 3) (17 page)

“Cindy. Run on into your room. I need to talk to the officers.” John nodded toward her bedroom. She didn’t need to hear this. She wouldn’t understand. No point dumping it all on her at her age.

Cindy got up from the blanket and carried the black and white kitten into her room.

“Do you have any idea who might have fired the shot?” Officer Nina pulled a can of breath mints from her pocket and popped one into her mouth. She held out the can toward John.

John shook his head. “The bank is threatening to foreclose on the ranch and someone has approached me about buying my land.” John ran his hand through his hair. “Of course, under the circumstances, he offered to pay pennies on the dollar. We’ve had several incidents over the past several weeks. Eggs have been stolen from my Emu nests and someone opened the gate and let my birds out. A few days ago, a hobo came up to the house and scared my little girl, now this
accidental shooting
. It doesn’t all sound like a coincidence, does it?”

“You say someone wants your land? You got a name?”

“My neighbor, Chuck Skimmer, made me an insulting offer.” John’s face warmed at the memory. He clenched and unclenched his hand. “Skimmer figures he can pick up the property for a tenth of its value.” He looked toward Cindy’s room. “…my little girl…”
First the bank, and now this?

The officer nodded and wrote on his clipboard. “We’ll stop by and have a word with Mr. Skimmer. See if he has an alibi for this morning.” The Sheriff snapped his clipboard shut. “Call us if you need anything. We’ll come right out. In the meantime… Do you own a pistol?”

The lady officer glanced at the sheriff.

John nodded. “I’ve got my rifle and my dad’s service revolver in the closet.”

“I don’t mean to alarm you. You can do as you like, but if I were you, I’d get the pistol out of the closet and keep it handy. I’d not be doing my duty, though, if I didn’t tell you. If the gun’s not registered, you should go down and get a permit. You shouldn’t have any trouble with this report on file.”

John nodded. “I’ll do that.” Next time the skunk tried something, things would be different.

Officer Nina leaned down and ran her finger over Muffins’ little head. “I’ll see you soon, Muffins.” She turned at the door. “Tell Cindy good-bye for me, will you?”

“Thanks,” John called, as they pulled the door closed behind them. He went into his bedroom, came back with the revolver and holster and laid them on the buffet.

“Cindy. Come in here.” He opened her bedroom door. “I need to talk to you.”

“Yes, Daddy?” She carried the kitten back and laid him on Angel’s blanket.

“Officer Nina said to tell you good-bye. She’ll see you when she comes back for Muffins. Right now, we’ve got to talk about something serious.” John pulled Cindy down on the couch beside him
. Lord, give me the right words so I don’t scare her.

“We’ve talked about guns before and you know you’re not to touch my rifle. I’ve brought my pistol in from the bedroom and put it on the buffet. Sometimes when we go out, I’m going to wear it. Other times, I’ll leave it right up there.” He pointed toward the gun. “Guns aren’t toys and they’re not meant for children. You’ll remember that you’re not to touch it, won’t you? Promise me?”

“I promise. Did the sheriff find the man who shot at us?”

“No. We think someone must have been target shooting and it came our way by mistake. Don’t worry about it.” He didn’t need her losing any sleep over this. Bad enough he’d be lying awake all night.

“If it was an accident, how come you got out your pistol?”

His child was perceptive beyond her years. Just how was he supposed to keep her dreams full of butterflies and roses? How long could he protect her from the dark side of life when she could already see past the cloak of sunshine?

The vein beside John’s mouth throbbed and the wrinkles in his forehead deepened.

“I’ve got work to do. I’ll be out in the bird enclosure. Lock this door and stay inside.” He picked up the revolver and holster and strapped it around his waist. “When I come back, I’ll fix us some pancakes.” He smiled and ruffled Cindy’s hair. “Now, you and Angel take care of Cindy, Black Cat. I’m counting on you.” He set his jaw as he went out the door. This time he’d be better prepared if the shooter came back.

Black Cat curled on the couch for a nap. Sleep wouldn’t come, and John’s problems swirled round and round in his head. Pushing them from his mind, he lifted his head and gazed at Angel and the kittens. Weren’t they the light of his life? He didn’t know his own name, much less how to find his home. He didn’t know how John’s problems would turn out or if they’d be able to stay with him if the bank foreclosed, but right now, he had John and Cindy and Angel and the kittens and that was enough. The babies could care less of the woes of the world as they nuzzled and kneaded Angel’s tummy for a mid-morning snack. Wasn’t life just the best? How could it get any better? His heart lurched at the joy of the
now
.

The phone rang, interrupting his reverie.

In that instant a chill rippled from the back of his ears to his tail. He stood and shook his long fur, trying to shake away the sense of foreboding
. I knew it was all too good to be true.
Don’t answer, Cindy. Let it ring. Please. Make it go away.

Cindy ran to the phone and lifted the receiver. “Hello? Goldstein residence…yes…
uh huh
… She’s gold with stripes and gold eyes…yes…she just had kittens… Alright…” Cindy wrote something on a piece of paper. “I’ll have my daddy call you in a little while. Good bye.” She hung up the phone and turned toward the stove. Her eyes were bright with tears that threatened to spill at any moment. Her mouth quivered.

Black Cat hung his head.
I knew it. It was about Angel, wasn’t it?

Cindy burst into tears as she hurried to the sofa and buried her face in Black Cat’s fur.

No. No. Please God. Not Angel. I don’t want to hear.

“Oh, Black Cat! The lady on the phone said Angel is her lost cat. She wants Daddy to call her back. She’s going to take Angel away.”

Chapter Nineteen

L
ost and Found posters! Someone had recognized Angel from Cindy’s posters
.
A shiver ran down Black Cat’s back.
But, what about me?
They were a pair, weren’t they? If the lady was Angel’s
person
, why hadn’t she mentioned him? Didn’t they belong together? Would the caller take Angel and leave him behind? He couldn’t let that happen. He wiggled out from under Cindy and ran to tell Angel. They had to leave before John called the lady.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw her asleep on the blanket, one paw thrown over Muffins and the other babies curled in a ball next to her tummy.
My little family
. And, now, they were about to be torn apart.

Angel would never leave the babies and they were much too young to take along on a hike to God knows where. Angel’s
person
would probably take her and the babies. If the bank foreclosed, maybe John would bring Black Cat with him, but more likely, he wouldn’t be able to have a cat underfoot.
I will be completely alone and homeless. A stray, like Cindy’s mother said.
Where will I go?
What will I do?
The questions pounded through his head.

John opened the door, his face flushed from his work outdoors. He stopped just inside the door when he saw Cindy’s tear-streaked face. “Now, what’s wrong?” He glanced at Angel and the kittens clustered on the blanket near the potbelly stove. He looked out the window. “Did someone come to the house again?” He crossed the room, sat beside Cindy and pulled her into his lap.

“A lady called,” Cindy sobbed. “She said someone sent her the poster. She said Angel is her cat that was stolen a couple months ago. She wants to come and get her.” Cindy buried her face in his shoulder and wept.

“There, there, now.” He patted her back. “We knew this might happen. Isn’t that why we put up the posters, so we could find their families? Now, you’re all upset. This is what your mother feared would happen. That’s why she thought it best to give up the cats before you got attached. You see? She wasn’t being mean. She wanted to spare you all these tears when we found Angel’s family.”

“But, Daddy. Nobody called for so long. At first, I wanted to help Angel find her home, but nobody called and now she and Black Cat belong to us. And the babies… I love them so much.” She sniffed and wiped her sleeve across her wet cheeks.

Preach it, sister
. Black Cat’s heart beat in unison to Cindy’s lament. Angel belonged to him, too. And the children.

“Angel and Black Cat—they’re our cats now.” Cindy leaned over and shook her daddy’s shoulders. “Don’t you see? We can’t give them back.”

John took her hand off his shoulders. “Cindy. Listen to me. If you lost your pet and someone found it, wouldn’t you want them to give it back?”

Her chin dropped. “Yes.” Her voice was just a whisper. “I’d want them to call me. But, Daddy!” Her face brightened in a smile. “She didn’t ask about Black Cat. So we can keep him, can’t we?”

“We’ll see.” A shaky smile crossed his face. “Perhaps she only mentioned Angel. Surely they came from the same place. He’s the kittens’ father.”

“Maybe they met and fell in love after Angel got lost.” Cindy’s smile brightened and her tears stopped. She wiggled out of John’s arms and ran to Angel’s blanket.

Black Cat’s head swirled. Could that be the explanation? Surely he was the kittens’ father. It was so obvious. Just look at them. The black and white kitten, newly christened Rambo, looked just like him, and they all had six toes on each foot. How was it possible that he and Angel didn’t belong to the same family? He glanced over at Angel sitting all prim and proper on the blanket, pretending she couldn’t understand any of this conversation and having the nerve to look not the least bit concerned.

“Angel? Is she right? Did we live with the same
person
? Don’t we belong together?”

Angel put up her nose and turned her head.

She knew. Why wouldn’t she tell?

John dialed the lady’s phone number. He spoke to her for a minute, and then went into his bedroom.

Black Cat tried to follow, but John closed the door before he could wiggle through. He danced on pins and needles, trying to hear through the door. No luck. It was as quiet as a mortuary. What was he saying in there? Did they belong to the lady caller or not?

The door finally squeaked open. John’s face looked pale. He wasn’t happy.

Black Cat’s heart sank.

“What did she say, Daddy?” Cindy hopped on one foot and then the other.

“She’s convinced that Angel is her lost cat, but Black Cat doesn’t belong to her. Apparently her cat has been gone for several months, long enough for Angel to meet Black Cat and find their way here. She wants to come and get Angel.”

Black Cat’s heart pounded in his ears, almost preventing the words from penetrating his head. They didn’t belong together. The woman only wanted to take Angel?

“When is she coming?” Cindy’s eyes sparkled with tears. She clutched Angel to her chest.

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Then we have the rest of today and tonight.” Cindy rubbed Angel’s head with her chin.

“Are you going to be okay? I wouldn’t want you to be naughty about this and make a scene. If you’d rather not be here when she comes, Cindy, you can spend a few hours with Mrs. Ramsey at the little store.”

“I’ll be good… What’s Angel’s real name? Did she tell you?”

“Yes.” John laughed, but it came out more like a snort. “Her name is Miss Boopkins. Now, isn’t that the stupidest name you’ve ever heard? I’d run away too, if my name was Miss Boopkins.” John’s chest shook with a chuckle.

Black Cat shuddered. How could he have fallen in love with a
Miss Boopkins
? On the other hand, it wasn’t Angel’s fault she’d been given a ridiculous name. For all he knew, his real name might be
Clyde
or
Throckmorton
or something equally idiotic.