Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance) (20 page)

Police. She was in so much trouble
now.

Damien half turned towards her and paused. He
pointed to the cage and mouthed the word "cat." She nodded
vigorously as she stood up. He motioned to the door.

"Time to face the music guys. Wish me luck." A
chorus of sound came from the daubpups just before two of them
started a new wrestling match for the ball. Penny and the baby took
turns grooming each other on the tree limb.

She wished she could stay with them. Play the
daubpup version of fetch, maybe. But, the meowing cat needed to be
returned, and she had some hard questions to answer.

Damien's bot worked at the door lock, pushing
it open after a series of clicks. Vallory slipped through the
doorway with the cat cage in front of her, quickly shutting the
door behind her before any of the daubpups decided to follow
her.

"Any problems getting the cat?" Damien asked
reaching out to help steady the cage.

"No. It was still playing with the
baby."

"Not it, and not just a cat." A man with
flushed red cheeks pushed past two of the security guards and
grabbed the cage from Vallory. He set it down on the floor and
opened the door to pull it out. The cat draped himself in the man's
hands, purring up a storm. Yep, it found its owner. "His name is
Stanford Wilby the Second, and he's the pride of my prize-winning
breed."

"Glowing cats," she heard one of the police
whisper to another.

Mr. Beel cleared his throat. "Morrison Wilby,
the owner. Ms. Schist, we do need to talk."

"Of course, Mr. Beel," Vallory said, glancing
past him. Police were holding a line to a crowd fronted by Mr.
Pyman. She didn't feel safe. Not for herself, her daubpups, or even
other exhibitors. They may have control now, but it may not last
long. "However, I don't think this is the place for it. Perhaps we
could move to the Show main office? That is, if I can be assured my
daubpups are safe and secure."

A woman with skin of a reddish brown cast and
black hair braided down her back stepped forward. One of the
police, to judge by the uniform. "Alice Redsong, head of Redpoint
One internal security. I am leaving several of my teams at the show
and in this building in particular to deal with the crowds. I do
agree with you. The sooner we can move to an outside location, the
faster this crowd will calm down."

She'd warranted the head of internal security
to come down? Or maybe she was called? Probably by a grouchy old
man who thought he knew everything.

Vallory nodded, struggling to keep her smile
in place. "After you, Mr. Beel?"

"I'm coming," Mr. Wilby said, standing with
his cat still in his arms but leaving the cage on the floor. "I
want the rest of my cats."

With a guiding hand at the base of her back,
Damien turned Vallory after Mr. Beel. As if he was expecting her to
say something right then and there. Maybe if she were angry, she
might have. Right now, she was just afraid. Afraid for her daubpups
after she told another secret.

Where would they go from here if they were
kicked out of the show? That was, if she wasn't
arrested.

Damien kept his hand on her back, even once
they made their way out of the building, guided through the crowd
by security and police. She didn't say anything, or try to move his
hand. She rather liked his hand there. It gave her a delicious
shiver of satisfaction. A small silent gesture, just like how he
held her hand when they went walking. A mix of old style and grace.
She would have never expected if from him to look from the
outside.

The walk across the grounds to the show
offices allowed her the time to take a few deep breaths and prepare
herself for what was to come. She kept her attention straight
ahead, not allowing herself to look at the crowds to the right or
the left. She knew how it looked. People in uniforms with her in
the middle.

Okay, not a good thought to think of when
trying to calm herself.

The separate building housing the main offices
of the grounds sat not far away from the exhibition building. A
long conference room sat past a a door at the back of the main
office. She found a seat at the big table taking up the center of
the room. Damien, Mr. Wilby, Mr. Beel, Officer Redsong joined her,
and still there was plenty of space left over for the other show
officials.

Her breathing increasing as all attention
turned towards her.

"Ms. Schist," started Officer Redsong, pulling
an epad out from a pouch, flipping it open, "when did you first
notice the missing cat in your enclosure?"

And so it started. Officer Redsong's voice
remained steady through it all with a calming quality to it, but
her quick eyes took in everything. Vallory didn't get the
impression of complacency in anything about her. No, this was a
smart woman.

Vallory had nothing to hide. Why bother? She
told of seeing the cat playing with her new baby and calling Mr.
Beel immediately. The rest they pretty much knew, but Officer
Redsong walked her through it anyway.

All through it, Mr. Wilby cradled and stroked
his cat. Someone had set the unused cage beside his chair, but it
didn't look like he was inclined to use it. The cat showed no
desire to go elsewhere. It also looked in good health.

"The thieves must have fed Stanford well." She
took a sharp breath, realizing she'd said it out loud while
relating capturing the cat and putting it in the cage. Besides, why
did she have to explain it? They'd all been there for that
part.

Mr. Wilby frowned, his stroking increasing in
speed as he stared her down. "Not amused."

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be amusing. Really,
he looks well fed," Vallory said.

"Why don't you get to the rest of the story?
The part about how my cat got into your enclosure?" Mr. Wilby
said.

Here came the hard part.

Officer Redsong glanced down at her epad. "I
understand one of your daubpups escaped your enclosure the start of
the pet show? Have you determined how it escaped?"

When Officer Redsong's full attention settled
back on her, she knew she looked guilty. She'd never been good at
hiding her emotions. Not good at suppressing them sometimes,
either.

"I have a theory," Vallory said
slowly.

"Of course you do," Mr. Wilby said with a
sniff. The cat sniffed, too, but at the top of the table and not at
Vallory. When it tried to climb on the table, Mr. Wilby pulled it
back, holding it firm. As if expecting it to disappear
again.

A warm hand closed over the top of her left
where it lay on her thigh. Damien's hand. He gave her hand a
squeeze. The squeeze and warmth heartened her. At least she had one
ally in the room, and he didn't even know the full truth
yet.

Vallory took a deep breath. "I think one of my
daubpups went exploring last night, found Stanford, and brought him
back with it when they returned."

Okay, not a good explanation. Everyone had
blank expressions on them, except Mr. Beel.

"Are you saying you let your animals out at
night?" Mr. Beel demanded. "Show rules clearly state that all
animals are to be under your control throughout the duration of the
show."

"No, no, that's not what I meant. The door of
their enclosure has been locked this entire time," Vallory said
quickly. Okay, time to say this better. "What I mean is that the
daubpups can come and go as they please, even if the door is
closed."

"Perhaps your enclosures have a security
issue," Officer Redsong said to the man. Which wasn't
fair.

"No, more like the daubpups get bored and want
to see other things. They are always like that." Why was she
squirming around the honest truth? At another supportive squeeze of
her hand, she blurted out, "They can walk through
walls."

The room fell into silence. Even Stanford
Wilby the Second stared at her. Vallory turned her hand over and
grabbed Damien's, squeezing it hard, waiting for the rest of the
reaction.

Officer Redsong leaned forward, pinning her
with a hard stare from across the polished surface of the table.
"Are you saying they can move through solid materials?"

Vallory nodded, not trusting her
voice.

"And you did not make this aware to the pet
show?" Mr. Beel's voice started to rise. "An ability that could
compromise this entire show and the safety of all other
pets?"

"Daubpups are not hunters. They are strictly
vegetarians," Vallory said. "Yes, they are curious creatures, but
they would never harm another animal."

"Safety, as in disease spreading, Ms. Schist.
One never knows what disease can be passed from species to
species." Hard eyes pinned her to the back of her chair. "You
should have informed the committee."

"And then you would have said no, and I had to
be here. For them. To find a new home." Vallory jumped to her feet
and gave him a glare of her own. "I applied for the exotic building
and was turned down, just because not enough xenobiologists have
bothered to look at my findings and the creatures themselves to
affirm what I already have data to confirm. The only way to get
into this show was to buy a place in one of the pet buildings. So,
I did."

"You do not have the right to jeopardize the
other pets in this show," Mr. Beel said, also rising to his feet,
but in a slow and graceful movement. Okay, not graceful. More
menacing.

"I did not jeopardize this show. Neither have
the daubpups." Vallory gestured towards Stanford, which stared
meowing as if on command. "See? One of my daubpups actually found
one of the missing pets!"

"Why did you need to be at this show, Ms.
Schist?" Officer Redsong's firm but commanding voice interrupted.
She didn't move. She didn't have to. Authority radiated from her,
and even Mr. Beel responded to it.

Vallory sank back to her chair, as did Mr.
Beel. "Because they no longer have a home, and I must find another
one. The group I have is the last in existence."

Mr. Beel's face blushed deep red. Only for an
instance, but she'd seen it, and prepared herself for another
outburst. Yet, his voice was controlled as he asked, "Are you
saying they are nearly extinct?"

Vallory nodded, "Yes, that is exactly what I'm
saying."

"It's why she hasn't been around for the
judging." Damien's firm male voice filled the room. "She's been in
meetings with various experts in hopes of matching environments to
move the creatures to. It's also why none of them are for
sale."

"Also why I needed to get Stanford out of the
enclosure so quickly." Vallory put a hand out to him, but stopped.
He probably wouldn't shake it. He still looked angry. "Sorry I
couldn't wait for you, Mr. Wilby, but the baby now in my group is
the first one any scientist has seen of their kind. Now I know they
can breed. That baby is incredibly important to the
species."

"And cats are at heart hunters." Mr. Wilby
gave Stanford one more stroke before bending over to slip him into
the waiting cage. This time, Stanford settled right in without a
peep. When Mr. Wilby straightened, he looked her straight in the
eye. "As a breeder, I am aware of the value of a new litter of a
rare animal. I'm one of only three breeders of my type of feline.
Yours? Well, even more valuable if they are as endangered as you
say."

No outburst at all. Just understanding, even
though she could tell he was still tense.

"However, this does not help me find the rest
of my cats." Mr. Wilby settled into the back of his chair. "All the
cats I brought with me are missing, except Stanford. Where are the
others?"

"An excellent question," Officer Redsong said.
"And if your animals can move so freely and are as curious as you
say, what are the odds they will return to the location of the
other animals?"

"Wait, you are assuming she truly is not
guilty," one of the show security guards in another chair said. "If
her animals can walk through walls, how do we not know she trained
them to do it?"

There it was, the accusation she worried
someone would hurl in her direction.

"I see no deception before me," Officer
Redsong said, keeping her full attention on Vallory. "Ms. Schist,
are you able to account for all of your time since the start of the
pet show?"

"Yes, although no one saw me get lost in the
station. Except that small maintenance bot." Vallory turned towards
Damien for the first time since entering the room. "Unless it can
vouch for me?"

"Not quite so easy." To the others Damien
said, "As some of you know, we've been having problems with the
station infrastructure. Ms. Schist was involved with a near-fatal
issue on the day one of her daubpups went missing. She later took
myself and Arthur Getty to the location. We are working on the
problem."

"I consider that enough proof." From the
sounds around the table and towards the door where police officers
guarded it, not everyone agreed with Officer Redsong.

Wait. That night. Penny going
missing…

Vallory dug into her pocket and pulled out the
pocket computer. "How about this for proof, and maybe an answer to
the pet-nappings? All of my daubpups have tracking devices in their
collars, and so far they don't mind having them on."