Patricia Fry - Klepto Cat 05 - The Colony Cat Caper (21 page)

“Before they take over here Maggie, can you tell me if you saw the two men remove anything from the building
?”

Margaret looked over at Colbi. “I don’t think so. They sure did a thorough search, but I don’t think they found anything, do you, Colbi?”

“No. In fact, they were pretty angry by the time they left—you know—all discouraged and stuff.”

Margaret frowned
at Colbi and then she smiled.

“What?” Colbi demanded.

“Your hair,” Margaret said. “I’ve never seen it so messy and tangled. Is that your bed- head style?”

Colbi smirked at Margaret. Turning away, she reached up and tried to smooth her hair a little. “O
uch, it hurts to move my arms,” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” Margaret said. “We stayed in that yoga position just a little too long, didn’t we?” She chuckled half-heartedly.

***

An hour later, as Savannah rested between contractions, Michael stepped out of
the labor room. He bought a candy bar and a bottle of water from a row of vending machines and took the opportunity to check his messages. “Honey, are you awake?” he asked when he returned to Savannah.

She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“They found Maggie and Colbi,” he said. “They’re just fine. They’re on their way here to be checked out.” He smiled and said, “It’s going to be a regular family reunion.”

“Oh, thank God,” she said. “Where were they, do you know?”

“Locked in the old building, all tied up and gagged, so they couldn’t even call out for help.”

“The Fischer building?” she asked.

Michael nodded.

Savannah rolled her head back and forth and then grabbed Michael’s hand and bore down during yet another contraction.

“You’re doing a fine job, honey,” Michael whispered into her ear as she started to relax.

Just then the doctor came in, examined her, and said, “Well, it looks like we’re about to have a baby.” He looked at Michael and Savannah and asked, “Are you ready for this?”

“Absolutely,” Michael said.

Savannah took a deep breath and said, “Easy for you to say, Michael,” as she gripped the bed railing and twisted her body in an attempt to move through the next surge of pain.

“Breathe, honey,” Michael said.

Savannah looked at
Michael through eye slits. “You breathe. I’m too busy,” she snapped.

Chapter Twelve

At five twenty-one that afternoon, the first cries of Lilliana Grace Ivey were heard. And the first words out of Michael’s mouth were, “A little girl! Oh Savannah, she’s beautiful!” He looked over at his wife, who was smiling and looking down at their baby amidst a circle of hospital staff. She glanced up at Michael. “And so are you,” he said.

“Are you going to cry, too, Daddy?” she asked with a laugh.

“I just might,” he said. He mouthed to her as the hospital staff worked with the baby, “I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you, too.”

A few minutes later, the Iveys’ daughter was wrapped in a blanket and snug in her mother’s arms. Michael reached over and ran his fingers over the baby’s head and along her face. “She is beautiful. Little Lily,” he said with a smile. “My beautiful Lily.”

Just then, they heard a familiar voice, “Vannie?”

Savannah looked up. “Hi, Mom.” She reached one hand toward her. “Come meet your granddaughter,” she said choking up a little.

Gladys didn’t even try to hold back her tears of joy. “Oh Vannie, Michael, I am so happy.” She hugged Savannah and then Michael. Then she stared down at the baby. “Look at that,” she said using a reverent tone. “She is
gorgeous.” She leaned down toward the baby and said, “So sorry I missed all the excitement. Nana so wanted to be here for your grand entrance,” she cooed.

“Not me.”

Everyone turned toward the voice.

“Auntie,” Savannah said. “Come in.”

“You didn’t want to be here for the birth, Maggie?” Michael asked. “It was spectacular. Savannah was amazing.”

“Yeah, amazing,” Savannah said with sarcasm, smirking over at Michael.

Margaret moved slowly toward the others. “No,” she said emphatically. “I like babies after they’re all wrapped up in their blankies.” She looked down at the infant and her tone softened. “Oh, she’s so cute.” She glanced up at Michael and said, “Looks like she has your hair, Daddy?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, it’s already hanging down over her forehead on that one side.”

“Well, I’ll be,” he said.

“But she has Savannah’s features, don’t you think, Gladys?”

“Uh, hard to tell. But let’s hope so.” She looked up at her son-in-law. “Michael’s are too masculine.”

“Thanks, I think,” he said.

Margaret clasped her hands together under her chin and asked, “What’s her name?”

“Yeah, what’s her name?” Gladys asked.

“Margaret Elizabeth?” Margaret suggested.

Gladys pushed her sister in jest and said, “No, Gladys Ann. Or Jordan! Jordan’s good for a girl and it’s meaningful because that’s your maiden name, Vannie.”

“No, she is not Gladys, Margaret, or even Jordan,” Michael said. He looked at Savannah and asked, “You want to tell them?”

“Mom, Auntie,” Savannah said, “meet Lilliana Grace Ivey.”

Both
women stood stunned. They stared at Savannah and then at the baby. Gladys wiped a tear that was starting to form at the edge of one eye. Margaret took a ragged breath. She was first to speak: “After Mama,” she said, choking up.

“Yes, after her great-grand
mother Lillian Grace.”

“That’s nice, Vannie,” Gladys said. Lilliana, I really love it. It’s so…”

“Feminine,” Michael said.

She turned toward him. “Yes, feminine. And she is a dainty, sweet bundle.”

Just then Lily scrunched up her little face, opened her mouth wide, and let out a loud wail.

“And she has an opinion,” Margaret said.

Savannah stared down at her baby for a few more minutes and then she took on a more serious tone, reached her hand out, and said, “Auntie, where did they find you? What happened?”

“Do you mean while you were here birthing a baby?”

“Yeah. We were so worried.”

Gladys looked at her sister. “What happened, Maggie? What did I miss?”

“Well, long story,” Margaret said. “Two guys held Colbi and me at knifepoint and then tied us up and left us gagged in the Fischer building.”

Gladys frowned and then she tilted her head and grinned. “Oh come on, Maggie. What really happened?”

“That’s what happened, Gladys. Colbi and I were kidnapped and detained in a very uncomfortable manner all night.”

“At the the old Fischer building out in the industrial park?” Gladys said.

Michael shook his head slowly. “You were right under our noses and no one knew it.”

“I guess so. I don’t know what you guys were thinking.”

“Well, your car was gone and we didn’t have a key to the building. We figured you went wherever your car went.” Michael looked toward the door and said, “By the way, where’s Max? Does he know you’re safe?”

“Yeah. I saw him earlier. We decided it wasn’t necessary for him to follow me h
ere. Colbi and I’ll get a ride back to Hammond.”

“Where is she?” Savannah asked.

“They were still looking her over when I left the emergency room.”

“I can give you a ride home, Maggie,” Gladys said. “And Colbi, too.”

“I think Damon’s coming to get Colbi.”

Just then Michael’s cell phone rang. He looked at it and said, “It’s Iris. Oh no, I forgot to call her.”

“Michael, how is she?” Iris asked. “Is there a baby, yet?”

“Yes, Iris…a beautiful baby girl, born just minutes ago. Sorry I didn’t call. B
een busy around here. Lot’s of admirers, you know.”

“Awww, a girl. How nice. Are you happy?”

“Couldn’t be happier. Here, want to talk to Savannah?”

“Yeah, if she feels like it.”

“I’m sure she’ll feel like talking to you.”

“Hi Iris. Thanks for calling.
”

“Congratulations, hon. Michael says she’s beautiful.”

“She sure is. Can’t wait for you to meet her. We’ll probably be home tomorrow. Come by, will you?”

“Sure will. Hugs.”

Just then a nurse came in and said, “There are too many in the room. And there’s someone outside who would like to say hello. Okay if someone named Colbi comes in?”

“Oh yes. Please, let her come in,” Savannah said.

“Okay,” the nurse said, “but someone will have to leave.”

Gladys looked over at her sister. “Maggie, I’m sure you wa
nt to get home after your ordeal. Why don’t we go?” She looked at Savannah and Michael. “I’ll get the house ready for Lilliana and see you two tomorrow.” She gave Savannah a kiss, patted the baby through the blanket, and hugged Michael. “Good job guys—good job,” she said.

“Do you have your key, Mom?” Savannah asked.

“Sure do.”

As Gladys walked toward the door, Savannah reached out to Margaret. “Auntie, I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said through tears. “Now take care of yourself. Get lots of rest, okay? D
id they get the bad guys?”

“No, but they have a pretty good idea of who they are. Oh,” she looked at Michael and then Savannah, “we found a hidey-hole and nothing was in it. Craig thinks the crooks must have found it and taken off with the goods.” She loo
ked from Savannah to Michael and said, “But Colbi and I don’t think they found anything, so Craig is still searching.” She patted Michael on the shoulder. “We’d better go. Max is waiting for me. ’Bye, guys.”

“You walk funny,” Savannah observed as Margaret
headed slowly toward the door.

Margaret turned and glared at her niece. “Ever been hogtied, Vannie?” she said without emotion. “Well, it’s not a fun way to spend the night.”

“I’m sorry, Auntie,” Savannah said trying to contain her chuckles. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I’m just so glad you’re okay—well, sorta okay.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Margaret said with a backhanded wave as she exited the room behind Gladys.

Just then Colbi walked in, also gingerly. “Hi there, Mommy and Daddy,” she said, hugging both Michael and Savannah. She then looked down at the baby in Savannah’s arms and just about melted into a puddle of honey. “She is…oh Savannah, there are no words to describe her. She’s…yummy. Look at how gorgeous…”

“A reporter at a loss for words…now that’s
one for the books, isn’t it?” Michael quipped.

Colbi looked up at him through tear-filled eyes and he walked over and enveloped her in a bear hug. He pulled back and looked down at her. “Are you okay, kiddo?”

She nodded and wiped at her eyes with both hands. “Just so much…”

Just then they heard another voice. The trio glanced toward the door. “Damon, come in,” Michael said.

“I was looking for Colbi,” he said, his eyes quickly finding hers.

She rushed to him
and he held her tightly to him as she sobbed. Michael walked back toward Savannah and reached out to touch his daughter again.

Savannah smiled and asked quietly, “Wanna hold her?”

“Sure do,” he said. He picked up the baby, cradled her against his chest, and continued to stare down at her. He then looked over at Savannah, who was smiling up at him, and reached out for her hand. She squeezed his hand briefly, saying, “Both hands on the baby, hotshot.”

“Come see the adorable baby,” Colbi said, wiping at her
eyes with her jacket sleeve and leading Damon by the hand toward Michael. The proud father pulled the pink blanket away from Lily’s face a little so Damon and Colbi could look at her.

“Gosh, she’s so small,” Damon said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such
a new baby.”

Colbi backed away from Damon a little and looked over at him. “You haven’t?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s a girl?” he asked.

Michael nodded.

“Guys, she really is beautiful,” Colbi said, reaching out and touching a bare arm that had wriggled out of the blanket.

“She doesn’t have any clothes on yet?” Damon asked.

“Nope, she’s wearing her birthday suit. But we’d better get her dressed pretty soon, shouldn’t we, hon?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Savannah said.

Damon put his arm around Colbi and she put hers around him as they stood looking down at the baby. He kissed Colbi on the side of the head and said, “Maybe we can have one of those some day.”

Colbi stared up at Damon, her eyes wide. “Is this a proposal?” she asked.

“Um…I mean…uh…” Damon stuttered.

Everyone laughed and Michael said, “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, buddy.” He looked over at Savannah and said, “With the right person it’s…well, pretty amazing.”

“Thanks for the recommendation,” Damon said, hugging Colbi to him.

***

In the meantime, back in Hammond, Craig pulled away from Janice Tuttle’s home in his unmarked car. “Well, that was an interesting turn of events, wasn’t it, Gonzalez?” he said. “Sure was.” He shook his head. “Imagine finding those women tied up in there.”

“Yeah,” Craig said, running his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe they were under our noses this whole time. That was a sloppy investigation we ran—the way we found them. How do we explain overlooking the obvious?”

“If it was obvious, you wouldn’t have overlooked it, Sledge,” Gonzalez said. “So where to now?” he asked.

“To the sheriff’s storeroom.”

“What for?” Gonzalez asked frowning.

“To check out some protective clothing.”

“Uh-oh, what do you have in mind?” he asked suspiciously.

“Gonzalez, I
’m going to take you perhaps where you’ve never gone before.”

“I don’t like the sounds of it, Sledge.”

Craig smiled over at his partner. He then looked down, pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket, and handed it to Gonzalez. “It’s a text. Wanna read it for me?”

Gonzalez looked at the screen and said, “From Iris. It says, ‘It’s a girl.’” He looked confused.

“Oh, isn’t that nice?” Craig said with a grin. “A little girl.” He then glanced at his partner and said, “The Iveys. They just had a baby girl.”

“Oh.” Gonzalez was quiet for a moment and then he said, “I have one of each. Wouldn’t part with either one of them, but I have to tell you, little girls are something special.”

***

After the men had checked out overalls and head covers and picked up a few
face masks and other items, Craig drove back to the Fischer building. Once there, he opened the trunk of his car and motioned toward the apparel inside. “Suit up,” he said to his partner. “You know, Michael Ivey and I were going to do this and never got around to it. I kind of considered it a last-resort effort. Didn’t really want to do it, I guess. But it looks like Michael was right all along—at least let’s hope so.”

“So you think that secret compartment opens up under the building, is that it?” Gonzale
z asked.

“Yeah, or maybe there’s a drop box under the flooring.” He looked at the crawl space and said, “We may know soon enough.”

“Or we’ll find nothing. Maybe that isn’t where the gems were hidden, after all,” Gonzalez suggested.