Cats in Cahoots (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 18) (13 page)

“Where’s the cat, Dad?” Misty asked.

“He ran off. Couldn’t get a hold of him.”

“What was wrong with it?” Savannah asked.

“I saw a sore on his back. Looked like he was trying to clean it. He sure didn’t want to be caught.”

She frowned. “What did the cat look like?”

“Like Buttercup,” Aaron said.

“That’s our orange cat,” Melanie explained. “An orange tabby.”

“Oh, Sunbeam,” Savannah said, searching for a sign of her through the kitchen window. She let out a sigh. “Well, thanks for trying to help her. I hope she finds her way home and gets the right kind of treatment.” She glanced around the room. “Ready to eat? We have some yummy-looking breakfast rolls Max made and Brianna’s breakfast casserole with sausage and veggies.”

“Brianna made a breakfast casserole?” Melanie asked. “How’d she do that; she just got up, didn’t she?”

“She made it yesterday. I just had to bake it. There’s juice or milk to drink and coffee,” she added.

“Sit down, Vannie,” Melanie insisted. “I’ll get the kids’ drinks.”

“So where are we going today?” Brianna asked.

“Mel wants to drive down to the old part of town where Auntie used to take us for ice cream and a ride on that mechanical horse.”

“Oh my goodness, is it still there?” Gladys asked.

“I think so,” Savannah said. “There’s also an outlet mall nearby.”

Melanie smiled. “Great. We didn’t live anywhere near an outlet mall in Indiana. I’d love to check that out.”

Ron returned to the kitchen, wiping his hands dry with a paper towel. “Our car’s already packed to the hilt, Mel,” he reminded her. “Let’s not think about buying a bunch of stuff until we’re in our own place, okay?”

“Yeah, but I can get an idea of what’s available and start making lists.”

“Mel and her lists,” Ron complained good-naturedly. “She writes down everything.”

“So how many want to go on the shopping trip?” Savannah asked.

“Me,” Misty said, raising her hand and jumping up and down.

“Me,” Aaron mimicked. “I want to ride that horse.” He looked up at Savannah. “Is it real?”

“It’s a mechanical horse. We used to love riding that thing when we were your age. I hope it’s still there.”

“Mechanical?” he asked, scrunching up his face.

Misty smirked at her brother. “Yeah, dummy, like a merry-go-round horse.”

“I think I’ll hang out here with the cats and dog,” Ron said. “There’s a game on I’d like to watch, if you don’t mind.”

Savannah nodded. “Sure.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet you’re ready for some peace and quiet,” Brianna added. She looked at Mel and Savannah. “I’d like to go. What about you, Mom?”

“Maggie and I talked about taking a ride out to your grandfather’s old mill today. Let me check with her and see if that’s still the plan.”

****

It was afternoon by the time the three cousins and the three children arrived at the shopping area. They’d wandered through several shops and let the children ride the mechanical horse, then decided to stop at the ice cream parlor. “Let’s sit on the patio, shall we?” Savannah suggested.

“Got plenty of napkins?” Brianna asked.

Mel nodded. “I think so.”

“Why, are you messy?” Savannah teased.

“I was thinking about the kids, smarty-pants.”

“Smarty-pants,” Misty repeated, giggling.

Savannah grinned and squeezed Misty to her briefly. “Want sun or shade?” she asked.

“I like this spot,” Melanie said, slipping into a white wrought iron chair.

“I want to sit by Lily,” Misty announced.

Once they were seated, it became quiet while everyone tried to catch up on the ice cream dripping from their cones. While the others devoured their cones, Savannah fed Lily small bites of vanilla ice cream with a spoon, when suddenly, something caught her attention. She tilted her head. “Hey, do you guys hear that?”

“Yeah,” Melanie said. “It’s the sound we heard from your house.” After quickly swiping at some ice cream running down Aaron’s arm, she pointed. “There! It’s a musical instrument. See that kid up the street? It’s coming from his flute.”

“Yup, that’s what it is, all right,” Savannah said. She looked at the others. “Want to check it out?”

“Why?” Brianna asked. “So now you know the kids next door have some sort of flute.”

Savannah studied her sister for a moment. “Come on, have you ever heard a sound quite like that? It’s unique. It’s not actually music, but a rather eerie tone. I want to know more about it, don’t you?”

“Not really,” Brianna grumbled, using a splash from her water bottle to clean a smidge of ice cream off one hand. She shoulder-bumped her cousin. “What do you think, Mel, shall we humor her?”

“Like we used to do when she wanted to re-enact those silly Nancy Drew mysteries she had her nose in all the time?”

Brianna joined Melanie in laughter. “Yeah, like that.”

“You loved playing Nancy Drew with me,” Savannah insisted.

Melanie smirked playfully. “Not when you made us play the dead guy and we had to lay there while you ran off searching for clues with that stupid magnifying glass.”

Savannah grinned, wiped Lily’s face and hands, and aimed the stroller in the direction of the young man with the wooden flute. “I’ll be back in a minute, then.”

“Still as curious as ever,” Mel said under her breath. She called out after Savannah, “See you later, Nancy Drew.”

As Savannah approached the young man who sat against a wall playing the instrument, she noticed a loop of rope around one foot. Her eyes followed the rope to what appeared to be some sort of animal half-hidden in a duffle bag. Written on a crude cardboard sign leaning against the bag were the words
healing sounds
.

“Healing sounds?” Savannah questioned.

The young man lowered the instrument, looked up at her, and nodded. “I make them. The music is peaceful and healing—for stress relief.”

“It’s an unusual sound,” she said. “Haunting, in a way.”

The boy smiled shyly.

“Can just anyone play one of those?” she asked.

“No instructions needed. You just find the tone that…uh…that sort of…you know…resonates with you and you feel more relaxed and peaceful.”

“How many notes are there? It seems to be pretty much a one-note instrument.”

The kid squinted up at Savannah and explained, “Some of the flutes have four notes; some have eight. I even make one-note flutes. Some people find their resonating note right away in a one-note flute.”

As the young man talked about the instruments, Savannah studied the ball of fur more closely.
Is that a cat?
she wondered.
It looks like an orange tabby cat.
Without warning, it began to move and the next thing she knew, she was staring into a familiar cat face. “Sunbeam?” she questioned.

The young man stopped talking. He gazed at the cat, then back at Savannah.

“Who are you?” she asked.

Without answering, he stood, grabbed the duffle bag with the cat inside, and started to trot off down the street, then suddenly stopped. A look of terror on his face, he tossed the bag to one side, elbowed Savannah in the same direction, and shoved Lily’s stroller away from her.

The earsplitting crashing sound she heard seconds later, paralyzed Savannah until she thought of Lily. Stunned by the young man’s brutal behavior and feeling a very real sense of horror, Savannah scrambled to stand and find her baby.
My God, what just happened? Where’s Lily? I hear her crying. Where is she?
“Lily!” she shrieked.

“Mama!” the baby called. “Mama!”

Suddenly, she saw her child, still safely strapped in her stroller, holding her little hands out for her mother, and crying.

“Lily!” she said, rushing to her. She unstrapped the baby and lifted her from the stroller, holding on tightly. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking her over.

“She’s fine,” Brianna said, as she approached rather breathlessly. “Are you okay? Did that car hit you? It looked like it hit you.”

Savannah shook her head. “No. What happened? Was that a car that whizzed past me?”

“Yes.” Brianna pointed at her sister’s arm. “You’re bleeding. Are you sure you didn’t get hit?”

“Oh, I guess I got a scratch from the fall.” Still holding tightly to Lily, she looked around at the commotion forming around her.

“My God, are you okay?” Melanie shouted as she approached, holding both of her children by the hand. “Did you get hit, Vannie?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“And the baby?” She looked at the car which was now resting against the side of a building, the front end crumpled like a wad of paper. “That kid pushed her out of the way just before the car hopped the curb.”

Tears spilled from Savannah’s eyes and down her cheeks. “Is that why he grabbed the stroller away from me?” She gazed at the car, then ran one hand over Lily’s head, whispering, “He saved my baby.” Frantically glancing around at the people who had gathered, she asked quietly, “Where is he? Oh my gosh, he didn’t get hit, did he?”

“No,” Misty said. “He took his stuff and ran away.”

Savannah looked up and down the street, hoping to glimpse the young man, when a woman in a dress and high heels rushed up to her. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Kayleigh Brown with the local TV station. What just happened?” she asked, holding a microphone toward Savannah. “Did you see what happened?”

Savannah shook her head. “Not really.”

“I was across the street in that store with my crew when I heard the crash,” she said, motioning toward the camera man who was aiming his camera at Savannah. “Were you hit?” When she saw tears still fresh on Lily’s face, she asked more gently, “Is the baby all right?”

Savannah’s eyes welled up again. “We’re fine.”

“A street urchin saved them,” Melanie said.

“A street urchin?” Ms. Brown asked, moving the microphone toward Melanie.

“He was selling some sort of musical instruments. He pushed my cousin and her baby out of the way just before that car jumped the curb,” she explained.

“Where is this person?” the reporter asked, looking into the faces that surrounded her. “We want to interview him.”

“Is anyone hurt?” Savannah asked. “What about the driver? Did someone check?”

A bystander nodded. “Yeah, they got him out. He’s on the ground. I think he had a stroke or something.”

The reporter focused on Savannah again. “So you don’t know who it was that saved you and your child?”

Savannah shook her head. “I’d sure like to thank him.”

“Misty’s right, he’s gone,” Brianna said. “He picked up his stuff and ran as soon as he knew you and the baby were okay.” She put her hand on her sister’s arm. “Vannie, you don’t look so well. Do you want to sit down? I’ll get you some water.”

“You know, I think I’d just like to go home.”

But the reporter kept pushing. “Can I have your name and phone number, please? We’re honoring local heroes this weekend in the park and I’d like to find that man. If we do, we want you and the baby to be part of the ceremony.”

Just then a police officer approached Savannah and the others. “Everyone okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes, just shaken. That was too close for comfort.”

“May I ask you a few questions?”

“I really need to get home. Please, can I give you my information and you can contact me later—or I’ll come down to the station tomorrow. I just can’t do this now. My little girl,” she started choking up, “nearly lost her life here just now. I hope you understand.”

Melanie spoke up. “I saw it all, officer. I’ll tell you what happened.”

At that, the reporter shoved her mic toward Melanie and motioned for the camera to roll. In the meantime, Brianna led Savannah and Lily back to the patio at the ice cream shop, where they sat watching the activity from a distance.

“I’ll be so glad when Michael gets home,” Savannah said.

“Well, you don’t have to wait long. They’re leaving in the morning. Should be home for supper tomorrow, don’t you think?”

****

The following morning after an early breakfast buffet at the Sheridans, Melanie and her family prepared to leave on the last leg of their trip to Los Angeles.

“Thank you for everything,” Melanie said, hugging each of her cousins and aunts. “Thank you, too, Max. It was wonderful meeting you.” She picked up Lily and kissed her cheek. “You are such a doll-baby. Wish I could take you with me.”

“Can we, Mama?” Misty asked.

Melanie flashed a grin at Savannah. “Sure, if you can talk her mommy into it.”

“Not on your life,” Savannah said, taking the baby from her. She said to the seven-year-old, “Good bye, Misty. Thank you for helping out with the animals. You did a good job.”

“Me, too?” Aaron asked.

Savannah tousled his hair and smiled. “You too, buddy.” She gave Ron a one-armed hug. “Nice meeting you, Ron. Welcome to this crazy family.” Everyone waved as their car edged out of the driveway.

“I’ll see you in LA,” Gladys called. She turned to Max and Margaret. “Breakfast was wonderful. Thank you.”

“Yes, it was delicious,” Savannah agreed.

“Are you feeling better?” Margaret asked her as they went back into the Sheridans’ house.

Savannah nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“She slept in the baby’s room last night,” Brianna reported.

Margaret’s eyes welled up. “I don’t blame you, Vannie,” she said, sniffling. She kissed Lily’s pudgy hand. “That was a close call.”

Brianna sighed. “It’s been a crazy week. You know, I came here to relax and…”

“Oh no,” Margaret said, laughing. “Hang around the two of us and you never know what’ll happen; right, Vannie?”

Before Savannah could answer, her phone rang. She looked at the screen and reported, “It’s June Balcomb. I haven’t talked to her in a few weeks.” Into the phone, she said, “Hi June. How are you?”

“As good as can be expected at my age. How are you, dear Savannah, and your beautiful family?”

Savannah hesitated before saying, “We’re fine. Michael’s in Oregon helping out in an awful animal-hoarding case. He should be home later today. How’re things at the cat ranch? Sorry I haven’t been out to help lately. We’ve been busy with a wedding and now I have family visiting…”

“Well, we miss you, of course, but you don’t have to feel guilty for taking time off. I understand. We have a few new volunteers who are working out quite well.” She paused. “Uh, Savannah, what I called about is that I’ve nominated Ragsdale to be honored on Hero Day.”