Mystery of the Missing Cat (2 page)

“Yes,” said Violet. “Let's get started right now.”

“Mrs. Valentine said Mr. Woods goes out and looks for Spotzie every day. But if he doesn't like people, I bet he hasn't asked the neighbors,” said Jessie. “We can ask.”

“Yes, let's do that,” said Violet.

Jessie looked down the street. “There are eleven other houses on this street,” said Jessie. “Soo Lee and Benny and I will go to those six houses over there. Violet, you and Henry can go to the other five houses. Then we can meet at the corner.”

“Good idea, Jessie,” said Henry. “Come on, Violet, let's go.”

Jessie, Soo Lee, and Benny headed to the first house on their side of the street. A man in a straw hat was standing in the small rose garden in front. They asked if he'd seen a little calico cat.

“I don't like cats,” he replied. “They're always digging in my garden.”

“She's a
nice
cat,” said Soo Lee. “I don't think she would do that.”

The man looked down at Soo Lee, and the frown left his face. “Well … spotted, you say? I'll keep an eye out for her. But I haven't seen her.”

No one was home at the next house. At the third house, a big dog came running down to the gate, barking loudly.

“Uh-oh,” said Benny, backing up. “It's a good thing Watch isn't with us!”

As if he knew who Watch was, the dog barked even more loudly.

“I don't think any cats would go
there
!” exclaimed Jessie. “Come on.”

No one at the last three houses that Jessie, Benny, and Soo Lee visited had seen a little lost cat, either.

Henry and Violet didn't have any better luck. At the first house, a man holding a crying baby opened the door.

“Cats?” he said. “Who has time for cats? Besides, I'm allergic to them. So is my son.” He nodded at the baby he was holding. The baby cried and cried.

“Thank you,” said Violet politely.

At the next house, a young woman wearing glasses and holding a book in one hand came to the door. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with one finger and peered out at them. “Yes?”

A moment later, a big fat orange cat stuck its head out the door, too.

“Lost cat?” she said when Henry told her why they were there. “Oh, no. No cat would
dare
come around this house.” She bent to pat the orange cat's head. “Malcolm here is a very tough watch cat. He wouldn't allow another cat on his property. But I'll keep my eyes open.”

No one at the next three houses had seen Spotzie either, but everyone the children spoke to promised to stay on the lookout for the little calico cat.

The five children met on the corner at the end of the street.

“No luck,” Jessie told Henry as he and Violet walked up.

“We didn't have any luck, either,” Henry answered. “We'd better be getting home. It's almost lunch, and we've got chores to do.”

The five children got on their bikes and pedaled slowly back to the big old house.

“Where could that cat have gone?” wondered Jessie.

Henry shook his head. “It's a mystery, that's for sure.”

Violet, who was riding next to Soo Lee, said softly, “Poor Spotzie. She's lost and all alone.”

“We'll find her soon,” Soo Lee said.

“I hope so,” Violet answered. “I hope so.”

CHAPTER 3

A Trip to the Animal Shelter

“I
f I were a cat,” said Jessie, passing the mashed potatoes to Benny, “and I got lost, I wonder what I would do.”

Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Henry were having dinner that night with their grandfather, sitting around the table in the dining room. They'd been telling him about the mystery of the missing cat.

“I'm surprised at how quickly Spotzie disappeared from the porch,” said Grandfather Alden.

“Maybe she started chasing something,” said Benny. “When Watch chases squirrels, he doesn't even listen when you say his name.”

From his place by the door, Watch heard his name. He pricked up his ears and tipped his head to one side as if he were thinking about what Benny had said.

“That's true, Benny,” said Grandfather. “More green peas?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Benny.

“What we need is a picture of Spotzie,” said Jessie.

“That's a good idea, Jessie,” Henry said. “Do you suppose Mr. Woods has a photograph of her?”

“If he did and we could get it, we could show it to people,” said Jessie.

“Yes,” said Violet. “And we could even make signs to put up. We could put them up at the animal shelter.”

“And at Dr. Scott's office,” said Benny. Dr. Scott was a Greenfield veterinarian who was Watch's doctor. She also helped take care of the animals at the Greenfield Animal Shelter and she had helped the Aldens with two mysteries they'd solved, one involving the animal shelter and the other a dog show that had come to Greenfield.

“That's a good idea, too, Benny. She might be able to give us some suggestions. And we need to talk to Mr. Woods,” said Henry.

“We can make some signs in the morning,” said Benny. “We have posterboard and markers out in the boxcar.”

“We'll do that first,” agreed Jessie. “Then we can put them up at the shelter and at Dr. Scott's and talk to her.”

“And to Mr. Woods,” Henry reminded her.

Grandfather Alden smiled at their enthusiasm. “Sounds like you have a busy day planned for tomorrow.”

“Yes,” said Benny. He smiled back at his grandfather. “What's for dessert?”

The four Aldens went out to their boxcar right after breakfast the next morning and began working on the signs about the missing cat.

“I don't know what Spotzie looks like, so I'm just drawing a cat with spots on her,” said Violet. “Someone should be able to recognize her from that.”

“That's good, Violet.” Jessie looked at her sister's picture. “The important thing is to let people know to look for a lost cat.”

“And who to call about her,” added Henry, writing their phone number on his poster.

The Aldens were good at making signs and posters. They soon had enough for the animal shelter and the veterinarian's office and for the neighborhood where Spotzie was lost.

They put the signs in their backpacks and got ready to go look for Spotzie.

“You stay here, Watch,” said Violet. “I don't think you want to go to Dr. Scott's office.”

“Watch can keep me company in the kitchen,” said Mrs. McGregor. “I may even have a dog biscuit for him.”

Hearing the word “biscuit,” Watch trotted happily after Mrs. McGregor to the kitchen, wagging his tail.

The Aldens set off on their bicycles to put the signs up around Greenfield, heading first for the Greenfield Animal Shelter.

“Has anyone brought in a calico cat?” asked Henry when they got to the animal shelter.

The shelter attendant behind the desk looked surprised. “A calico cat? That's funny,” she said. “There was a man just here, describing a cat that he'd lost that sounded a lot like yours.” The attendant leaned over the counter and looked around, as if she expected the man to still be there. But the Aldens were the only ones in the waiting room.

“I wonder if that was Mr. Woods,” Jessie said.

“He didn't tell me his name,” the attendant said.

“Did you have his cat?” asked Violet carefully.

The attendant shook her head. “No, and I'm sorry, we don't have yours, either. No one has brought in a calico cat.”

“Oh. Then, may we put this up on your bulletin board?” asked Jessie, showing the woman one of the signs they'd made.

The woman nodded approvingly. “Of course you can.”

“Thank you,” said Jessie. She took the sign over to the bulletin board and put it up right in the middle.

“That's a good sign. Very simple and clear,” said the shelter attendant. “If we get any cats fitting that description, we'll call you.”

“Thank you,” said Jessie again, and the other Aldens echoed her words.

“It's funny that there are two lost cats who look alike,” said Benny, as the Aldens went outside.

“Unless it's the same one,” Jessie said, lost in thought.

The day was getting hot, and they began to push their bicycles slowly up the hill outside the shelter.

“Hey, Jessie, slow down!” Henry called out.

But Jessie didn't seem to hear. She just kept walking faster and faster.

“Jessie?” said Henry.

Abruptly, Jessie stopped. “Let's turn here,” she said.

“But that's not the way to Dr. Scott's office,” said Violet.

“Let's go a new way,” said Jessie mysteriously.

Puzzled, her brother and sister agreed and turned down the street Jessie had suggested.

“Can't we go more slowly?” panted Benny.

Jessie looked back over her shoulder and stopped again.

“We're being followed,” she said.

“What?” said Henry.

“Don't look,” Jessie said quickly. “But there's a man back there. He started following us as soon as we came out of the animal shelter!”

CHAPTER 4

The Mysterious Stranger

“W
hat should we do?” asked Violet.

“Let's keep walking,” said Henry. “But not so fast.”

The four children began to walk down the street, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

Jessie glanced quickly over her shoulder. “He's still there.”

“Why is he following us?” Benny asked.

“I don't know, Benny,” Jessie answered.

“Why don't we ask him?” suggested Benny.

Jessie looked down at Benny. Suddenly she smiled. “You know, Benny, that's not a bad idea. I think we
should
ask him.”

“Oh, Jessie!” gasped Violet. “Really?”

“What could happen? It's the middle of the day and we're on a street in the middle of town,” Jessie pointed out sensibly.

“You're right,” said Henry.

The four stopped again and looked at one another.

“Okay,” said Jessie, “let's go.”

The Aldens turned around and began walking back toward the man who was following them.

For a moment, he stood in the middle of the sidewalk as if he didn't know what to do. Then abruptly, he turned and began to run.

“Come on!” shouted Jessie. She jumped on her bicycle and began to pedal after the stranger. The other children did the same.

But it was no use. The man turned up a narrow alley, leaped over a low fence, and disappeared.

The Aldens stopped by the fence, breathing hard. After they'd gotten their breath, they turned around and went back the way they'd come, heading for Dr. Scott's office.

“Did anybody recognize him?” asked Henry.

Nobody had. It had been hard to tell anything about the mysterious stranger. He'd been too far away, and even though the day had gotten hot, he was wearing a hat, a coat, dark glasses, a scarf, and baggy pants. They couldn't even tell whether he was fat or thin!

“Maybe he has something to do with Spotzie,” said Jessie thoughtfully.

“But what?” asked Violet.

“I don't know,” said Jessie. “I've just got a funny feeling.”

The Boxcar children walked in silence for a while, thinking about what Jessie had said.

The Aldens kept a careful watch for the mysterious stranger all the way to Dr. Scott's office, but he never reappeared. When they got to the veterinarian's office, her assistant said, “Dr. Scott is very busy right now.”

At that moment, Dr. Scott walked out to the waiting room with a girl holding a small dog with a bandage on its paw.

“And make sure she stays off that paw,” Dr. Scott said.

“Thank you, Dr. Scott,” said the girl. She and the dog went out.

Dr. Scott saw the Aldens and greeted them. “So you have a cat now, too?” she asked, seeing the sign Violet was holding.

“Oh, no,” said Violet. “The cat belongs to someone else. We're just helping find her.”

“You can put the sign up on the wall over there.” Dr. Scott pointed. “I'll keep an eye out for her, too. Good luck.”

“Thank you,” said Henry. “By the way, Dr. Scott — has anyone else been in looking for a missing cat? A spotted one like Spotzie?”

Dr. Scott shook her head. “No one.” A man came into the waiting room with a large, shaggy dog bouncing at the end of a leash. “Well, I need to get back to work. Good luck again.”

The Aldens put the sign up on the wall and went back outside.

“Lunchtime?” said Benny hopefully.

“Not quite, Benny,” said Jessie. She looked back over her shoulder, but the mysterious stranger had not reappeared. “We need to go see if Mr. Woods has a picture of Spotzie. That would help our search.”

The Aldens rode their bicycles over to Mr. Woods's house. This time, when they got there, Mrs. Valentine opened the door when Henry knocked.