Second Chance (26 page)

“No way I’m going to see a penny
of that bounty.”

“Shucks.”  He grinned.  “Guess
I’ll just have to marry you anyway and die a pauper.”

Her heart jumped.  “We’re getting
married?”

He looked innocently at her.  “Did
I say that out loud?”

~*~

Elissa turned off the computer. 
“You going to the pub tonight, Grant?”

He looked up from the lab report. 
“What’s happening at the pub?”

“Harry sent out the word that he
and his friends have a big announcement to make.”

“What announcement?”

Amused, she picked up her bag. 
“That’s what they’re going to announce at the pub.”

“Well, I was going to meet Tam
there for dinner, so sure, I’ll be there.”

Grant had hoped to get there
early, but by the time he closed the clinic, read some last minute reports, did
a few phone calls, fed the cats, dog, mice and goldfish, showered and changed
and finally got there, the pub was crowded.

He found Tam sitting with some of
his friends at the bar.  Molly and Ash were missing, so presumably home with
their youngsters.  After dropping a kiss on Tam’s lips, he sat on the bar stool
she’d saved for him.  “What’s happening?  What’s the big announcement?”

“You’re just in time, it’s about
to start,” Tam replied.  “Harry and Mr Haddell have been busy setting some
things up, connecting wires and stuff to the big TV screen.”

“Hope it’s not porn.”  Ryder took
a sip of light beer.  “Some of the people in here might not take it too well. 
And some of them I
really
don’t want to do CPR on.”

“You’re getting picky in your old
age,” Simon observed.

“Hey, I’m just saying.  Dee, I’d happily do mouth-to-mouth.  You, however, get the oxy-viva.”

“I’m not sure which of us is the
luckiest,” Dee said, only to gasp when Ryder jerked her close and kissed her
long and deep.  When he finally released her, she was a little red in the face
and breathless.  “Okay, I’m the luckiest.”

You got it, babe.”  Smugly, Ryder
stood behind her stool, leaning his hip against the bar while wrapping his arm
around her waist and pulling her back so she rested against him.

“Here it comes,” Tam murmured as
Harry tapped the microphone.

Grant winced as it squealed.

“Ladies and gents.”  Harry’s voice
was sombre, but his leg jiggled in excitement.  “Tonight, I and the rest of my mystery
busting team are going to bust a mystery!”

Scott, leaning against the bar,
raised his eyebrows.

“This ought to be good,” said
Simon.

“For several months now we have
been at the mercy of a thief who has robbed us!  A thief who has slipped onto
our verandas and into our backyards and taken things!”

Kirk straightened, a frown
creasing his brow.

“This thief has baffled the
police, perplexed the community, and slipped through the fingers of justice!”

“He’s on a roll,” Del commented.  “Even I’m impressed.”

Moz snorted a laugh.

Curious, Grant waited.  Maybe he’d
find out what had happened to his socks.  Who knew?

“Damn it.”  Kirk started forward. 
“If he has information, he should let us know first before he causes a lynch
mob.”

Seeing Kirk moving, and not to
have his moment of glory taken away, Harry finished in an excited jumble of
words, “We set cameras in certain places and collected the data and tonight we
reveal the Stealth Thief!  Haddell, get it rolling!  Now!”

Kirk cursed, the lights went down
and the TV screen sprang to life.

“Anyone got popcorn?” Ryder asked.

A hush fell over the crowd, Kirk
the only one trying to get through in the darkness lit by a dim TV.  Pretty
impossible with the crush of people.

The TV screen reflected a dark street,
the camera angled up.  Quietness, then movement.  Something passed, a shadow
right across the camera screen.

There was an expectant silence,
everyone leaning forward,  watching intently.

Minutes later, movement further
back, the sound of something squeaking.

Squeaking?  Grant frowned.  No animal
he knew squeaked like that.

“Sounds like my dog’s missing
squeaky hamburger,” Ernie commented.

“The Stealth Thief,” Cheryl
breathed.  “Your days are numbered.”

Squeak-squeak-squeak.

“Definitely Muffin’s hamburger,”
Ernie confirmed.  “It’s really soft, doesn’t take much to squeak.”

Kirk had almost reached the front
of the room, trying to get there before anyone saw the thief’s identity.  Phil
and Maggie, his fellow cops, were trying to get to the same place, working
inwards from the side.

“Ten bucks says Kirk doesn’t make
it in time,” Simon offered.

“Done,” Ryder said.

“I’ll double it,” Elissa said.

The room froze as something
dropped in front of the camera.

Yep, definitely a toy hamburger.

The Stealth Thief leaned down -
and a small nose, whiskers and furry chin appeared, a mouth opened, picked up
the toy, and something very furry passed the camera, a tail gliding along in its
wake.

Squeak-squeak-squeak.

Grant blinked.

“What the-” came Farris’s voice.

“Get the other film going!” Harry
yelled.  “Stat!  That can’t be right!”

The TV flickered, and Kirk shook
his head and started forward again.

No doubting this time what crossed
the screen on the dark night.  The grey silhouette was clear.  The furry thief
looked around on the road, reflective eyes looked directly at the camera, and
it trotted off.  Kirk stopped, watching as the Stealth Thief reappeared, this
time dragging a pair of undies behind it.

“Well, look there,” Mr Duncan
said.  “Your granny knickers, Martha.”

“Shut your chops,” Mrs Duncan
snapped.  “We’re in public.”

“So’s your knickers,” he cackled.

Hmm...that animal looked familiar
… 
Grant squinted.

“Can’t be right.”  Harry pointed
to Mr Haddell.  “Fast forward.”

There was no doubting it.  The incriminating
evidence was clear to see.  One very busy Stealth Thief made nightly and daily
trips past the cameras in different areas, going one way with nothing in its
mouth, coming back with an assortment of things - toys, a fluffy penguin, a
black and pink bra Grant
definitely
recognised, a baby bootie, a big
sneaker she had to pull and tug across the road by the shoe lace.

“Gotta admire her determination,”
Robby commented.

Grant couldn’t believe what he was
seeing.  It just couldn’t be…

Tam squeezed his hand.  He hung
on.

Next thing the Stealth Thief
trotted happily back with a torn piece of paper in her mouth.  As the paper
brushed past the camera, the title read ‘Gully’s Fall Fire Stat-’ and the rest
was torn off.

“Guess we know where the roster
went,” Simon said cheerfully.

With every new crime, Grant could
only shake his head.

“Okay,” Harry said wearily, his
former excitement gone.  “I guess we can turn it off.  We all know who the
Stealth Thief is.”

“Can we play some more?” Ryder
called.  “It’s just getting entertaining.”

Grant groaned.

A rippled of laughter went through
the pub.

The TV flicked off, the lights
were turned up and Grant found himself looking into a crowd of amused faces. 
And a few accusing ones.

With a groan, he dropped his
forehead onto the bar.

Gretel was the Stealth Thief.  He
could have pretended she wasn’t, but the bright blue collar with the little
silver butterflies on it plus the ginger fur was a dead giveaway in the daylight
crimes.

“Grant?”  Tam rubbed his back.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

His cursed friends were howling
with laughter.

“I think so.”

“I’m not sure I can marry into a
criminal family.”

Lifting his head, he scowled into
her amused face.  “Very funny.”

Someone tapped his shoulder.

“Sir,” Kirk said seriously.  “I
need you to come to the station with me.  We’re doing a line up of felines and
we need your-”

“Up yours.”

Kirk grinned widely.

With a sigh, Grant held up his
hands and moved out from between the bar stools.

A round of applause met him.

“Way to go, Doc!” Ian, the
furniture shop owner, laughed.  “Harbouring a criminal all this time!”

“You can keep Martha’s knickers,”
Mr Duncan offered.

Mrs Duncan glared at him.

“What?  It’s not like I get into
them that much,” he said.

She huffed and folded her arms.

“All right, all right.”  Grant
blew out a breath.  “Firstly, let me apologise for - and I can’t believe I’m
saying this - my cat.”

Sniggers went around the room.

“I assure you I will do my very
best to find out where she is hiding her loot and return it to you ASAP.”

“And what about her thieving?”
Maree asked, highly entertained.  “How are you going to stop that?”

“I’ll have to keep her inside.”  Gretel
was going to hate that, but better inside than facing the wrath of people.

“Don’t think there’s any point.” 
Maggie shrugged.  “Anything goes missing now, we know where to come.”

“Cat’s got spirit,” Ernie said. 
“I doubt any other town has a cat like her.”

“As long as you return our stuff,
I’m okay with her running loose.”  Cheryl picked up her drink.  “Guess we’ll
just have to ensure we keep our valuables locked up.”

Thank God that seemed to be the
general consensus, most of the townsfolk finding it incredibly funny and
entertaining, but Grant was determined to make sure Gretel didn’t roam as much
as she had done, and that included putting a big-arsed bell on her collar so
people could hear her.

Maybe a cow bell or something.

Returning to the bar, he held up
his hand to Shazza.  “Beer.  A big one.”

“Poor baby.”  Tam rubbed his back
again.

“Oh, now you get close to me.”

She dimpled at him.  “Well, you’re
not going to gaol, so it seems safe.”

“Thank you very much.”

Laughing, she leaned forward and
kissed him.  “Come on, it
is
funny.”

Now that he thought about it, the
memory of his cat happily prancing through the streets with her stolen loot was
funny.  He grinned.

“Damn,” Ryder said.  “I liked the
Stealth Thief.  What are people going to complain about now?”

“Never mind that.”  Grant downed
the beer.  “Tomorrow I have to go on a hunting mission.”  He turned to Tam. 
“You in?”

“Sure, nothing I like better than
searching for the Stealth Thief’s stolen loot.”

~*~

In the late morning sunshine,
their arms folded, Tam and Grant looked in silence at the pile of stolen loot
on the lawn - a thin, tattered, rolled up newspaper, a gardening glove,
Morganna’s expensive collar, a hand puppet, a couple of cleaning sponges, squeaky
toys, fluffy toys, panties, a pair of boxers, socks, bras, one sneaker, a
slipper, a comb, bits of paper, and the fire stations torn roster.

At their feet sat Fergus.  Slinky
nosed amongst the loot with interest.  Gretel sat on the veranda washing her
important bits, pretending she didn’t know anything about it.

“She hid it at the back of the dog
house.”  Grant shook his head.

Tam nodded.  “Smart.  Blame the
dog.”

“Yeah, but Fergus can’t get out of
the yard.  Nor does he ever sleep in the dog house.”

“Incrimination by association or
something?”

“That might be us.”

“You?”

“
Us
.  You and me.”  He
looked down at her.  “What’s your is mine, what’s mine is yours, remember? 
That includes the Stealth Thief.”

Tam sighed.  “If I’d only know
about your family beforehand…”  Laughing, she dodged his hand aimed at her
bottom in a light swat.

Grant dived at her, bringing her
down onto the grass, taking the fall himself before rolling to place her
beneath him.

Fergus bounced around, barking,
before sitting to quirk his head on one side as he watched.

Slinky batted a ball out of the
pile.

Gretel studied a spider in the
rafters.

Capturing her wrists, Grant pinned
them above her head.  “Anything else you want to say with that smart mouth
before I kiss the sass right out of it?”

“You like the sass,” she reminded
him.

“I do.  Plus I know there’s always
more where it comes from.”  He winked.  “Always be plenty more.”

“If I’d only known what would
happen years ago when I tried to get your attention by pulling your daks down.”

“Unfortunately, I lost it.”

“Your daks?”

“No, my first chance.”

“Mmm.”  Deliberately, she wriggled
beneath him, liking the way his eyes went a tad hot.  “This is your second
chance.”

Lowering his head, lips brushing
hers, he smiled.  “Definitely not losing the second chance.”

Accepting his mouth eagerly,
washed away by his essence, his love, his taste, Tam knew that he considered
her his second chance, but deep down she knew better.

Grant was her second chance.  And
she’d nabbed him.  Hadn’t even needed to pull his daks down to do it.

Life was great.

####

After Word

“Really?” you might ask
sceptically.  “A cat who steals things?  Is that even possible?”

Well, yes.  Yes it is, actually. 
There are some very entertaining videos on the internet featuring cats who
steal things, and their owners who collect the items and wait for people to come
looking for them.

I thought it’d be pretty
entertaining to have the respected town’s vet be the owner of his very own
furry thief!

So this is the last of the Gully’s
Fall series.  What was originally a four book series grew to be six books, but
that’s okay.  Gully’s Fall is a cool place.  I’ve enjoyed living the lives of
my characters there, being with them during their travels along the rocky,
funny, sweet road of love.  I’m going to miss them all.

I thank those who have written to
tell me how much they’ve enjoyed the trip, too.  It’s always fun having other
people share my sometimes frustrating times with characters (as some readers
have heard me whining about).  Most of these I’ve shared on my Goodreads blog
and newsletter, with some wonderful, witty and supportive replies from fans of
the characters - thank you all.

So while we leave the Gully’s Fall
friends and families to their love and laughter, it’s onwards to other
characters, other situations, and other loves to write and read about.  So many
people, so many stories.  I hope you’re with me for them all!

Cheers

Angela