Meow for the Money (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 14) (4 page)

“Are we talking about a child?” Savannah asked, concern in her tone.

The woman nodded. “He’s just eighteen months old.”

“How long has he been gone?” Savannah asked.

“Hell, I don’t know…maybe half an hour…maybe ten minutes. I put him down for his nap over thirty minutes ago.”

June let out a deep sigh. “Well, he can’t have wandered far. Keep looking. Get the whole staff looking for him inside the house and out,” she demanded.

“I can help,” Savannah said. “Tell me where to go.”

“Great,” June said. “Jody, this is Savannah and that’s Ragsdale,” she said pointing. “He can help, too.”

“A cat?” Jody sneered.

“Yes,” Savannah answered. “Where do you want us to go?”

“If I knew, I’d look there,” Jody spat. “We’ve looked everywhere,” she said, bursting into tears. She covered her eyes with one arm and waved the other one. “Ask the men out there.”

Savannah nodded. “May I see the bear for a moment?”

Jody stopped sniveling and stared at Savannah suspiciously. Reluctantly, she handed the toy to her and Savannah showed it to Rags. “What are you doing?” Jody asked. “Do you think he’s a bloodhound or something?”

Ignoring the questions, Savannah handed the bear back and turned to leave with Rags in tow, quickly assuring June, “Try not to worry. I’m sure someone will find him.” Once outside, she rushed to where she saw two men rustling around among some shrubs. “How can I help?” she asked, approaching them.

One turned and started to speak. He looked at Savannah and then at the cat, who was pulling on the leash. “We haven’t gone to the east portion of the estate. That’s next, if you’d like to tackle it,” he suggested.

“Clarence,” the other man said, “I don’t think he’s on the property at all. I’ll bet he was taken. We should be calling the SWAT team.”

“Well, Phillip, they have a helicopter coming and dogs,” the first man said. “They ought to be here anytime.”

When Rags continued pulling on the leash, Savannah decided to follow him. She practically ran behind him when he rushed ahead as if he knew exactly where he was going.
I hope he’s not taking me on a snipe hunt,
she thought.
It seems weird that he’s so focused, but I guess I have to learn to trust him.

After four or five minutes, Rags suddenly slowed. He pricked up his ears as if he were listening to something. Suddenly, Savannah heard it, too.
It sounds like a child whimpering,
she thought. Hesitantly, she edged closer to the sound, when something scampered across her path into the shrubbery.
What was that? Looked like a cat.
Taking Rags’s lead, she walked slowly behind him, moving through tall grass and large green bushes, when suddenly he stopped. Rags looked up at Savannah, then focused on something in front of him.
What does he see?
she wondered. As she stepped through the wall of shrubs, she realized they stood on the rim of a narrow ravine. Remaining quiet, she stared into the crevice and suddenly she saw something move. Focusing more closely, she realized she was looking at a cat—a different cat and then another and another.

There it is again…the whimpering.
She looked around, frowning.
Is that a cat I hear?
“Darn it Rags,” she scolded. “You brought me out here to meet these cats? Is that what you’re doing?” She looked back at the house, which was nearly a city block away.
These are probably some of the cats she feeds. They actually look rather well-fed.
She cocked her head.
There it is again…the whimpering sound.
Rags must have heard it, too, for he began pulling on the leash. “Now what, Rags? Where are you taking me? Do you want to visit the cats? I don’t think that’s a good idea. They might not like you.”

Suddenly she spotted something. “A little shoe. Oh my gosh,” she said, rushing to pick it up, “is the baby out here? Is that what we hear? Is that why you brought me here?” She began looking more intently down into the ravine. “Wait, what’s that?” she said, moving toward a group of restless cats.
It’s a little foot.
She quickly slid down the side of the ravine and rushed to find a dusty, dirty toddler. He lay still, fussing softly.

“Carlo,” she said. “Carlo.”
As she approached the boy, she noticed the cats darting off in all directions…all but one small white cat with a very dirty coat. He stepped back a bit and sat down, watching Savannah with interest. “Carlo,” she said again, touching the boy. Suddenly, he opened his dark-blue eyes.
Gads, if this is Carlo, he sure doesn’t look like his mother with that dark hair and olive skin—except for maybe his eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked the little boy. She gently checked him over for injuries, then held her hands out to him.

He responded weakly by reaching for her and allowing her to pick him up. Resting his head on her shoulder, he pointed. “Cat! Cat!”

“Yes, those are cats, all right,” Savannah said, struggling to climb out of the ravine with the boy in her arms and holding the end of Rags’s leash. Once she reached the rim, she dropped the leash, quickly stepping on it. She then pulled her phone out of her pocket and made a call. “June, I have the boy. He seems sleepy, but he’s okay.”

“Oh my God, Savannah, where was he?”

“With a colony of cats in a ravine.”

“With the cats?” June asked, her voice an octave higher than usual. “How’d he end up there, I wonder?”

“Hard to imagine, unless someone brought him here. I don’t think a little tyke like this could walk that far by himself. We’re heading back to the house now. Tell his mom, will you?”

“Sure will.”

“Cat,” the boy said as they headed away from the ravine. “Cat!” he said, pointing behind them and fussing a little.

“Here’s a cat,” Savannah said. “See the cat?” She held him down near Rags so the boy could touch him and she smiled when he patted Rags’s coat.

As they continued walking toward the main house, it wasn’t long before Savannah saw a group of people rushing in her direction. Jody was the first to approach, quickly taking the boy and hugging him to her. “Where did you find him?” she asked. She glanced rather anxiously beyond Savannah. “Was he with anyone?”

“I’ll cancel the search crew, Ms. Jody,” Clarence said, walking away holding a cell phone to his ear.

“So where was he?” Jody asked again.

Savannah pointed. “He was with a colony of cats. He sure seems to like cats.”

“He does?” she asked, frowning. She looked him all over, hugged him to her, then kissed him and hugged him again. Focusing on Savannah, she asked, “You say he was with those mangy cats in the ravine?”

“Yes. They seemed to be comforting him. All he talked about on our way back here were the cats.”

“Cat!” he said, pointing at Rags.

“Oh, I thought he was saying
hat
,” Jody said. “I didn’t know that meant
cat
. How did you find him?” Jody asked, staring out in the direction Savannah had come from.

“Rags led me to him.”

The woman scowled down at the cat on the end of the leash, then peered at Savannah suspiciously. “The cat did?”

By then, Megan had caught up with the others, pushing June in a wheelchair. The elderly woman, having heard the last part of the conversation, said, “Cats can do a lot of things, Jody. They aren’t useless creatures, you know. In fact, Rags is pretty smart. He’s the one who found my Mazie Mae.” She shook her head. “You shouldn’t discount the value of cats. Carlo knows. Don’t you Carlo?” she purred. “Cats are smart and useful, aren’t they?”

“Cat!” he said, resting his head on Jody’s shoulder.

June looked concerned. “He seems tired,” she said, rubbing the boy’s bare foot.

“Look how far he walked,” Jody said. “No wonder he’s tired.”

Savannah gazed at Jody for a moment.
She doesn’t really think the boy walked all that way, does she?
But rather than say so, she let out a sigh. “Well, I’d better get this cat home. I think he’s had enough excitement for one day. Just let me know when you’ve filled out the paperwork June, and I’ll pick it up.”

“Yes, and I want to get a check to the alliance for the reward. If you don’t mind coming back and meeting with my attorney on that matter, I’ll set something up.”

Savannah nodded. “Sure.” Suddenly she spun around, momentarily losing her balance. “What are you doing, Rags? Stop it!” she said gritting her teeth. When he kept tugging on the leash, she looked in the direction he was leaning and laughed. “Well, maybe he wants to use the soft dirt over there for a potty break.” She decided to follow his lead. “Okay, come on.” However, he didn’t stop at the patch of dirt. He pulled Savannah past it and disappeared behind a row of shrubs that were hugging the foundation of a small house on the back of the property.

“What are you doing?” Savannah asked, sounding frustrated. She took a few steps toward the cat and shrieked, “Oh no!”

“What is it?” June asked, sounding panicked.

Savannah picked up the cat and charged out from behind the bushes. Taking a shallow breath, she stuttered, “…a…oh my gosh…a…body.”

“Where?” Clarence asked.

When Savannah pointed, he and Phillip stepped cautiously in that direction; Megan followed behind them.

“It’s Drew,” Megan soon reported, now looking almost as pale as Jody.

“I’d better call the police back,” Clarence said with a sigh. Once he ended the call, he approached June and knelt next to her. He lowered his head. “I’m so sorry.”

“Andrew is dead?” June asked, disbelieving. “Are you sure?”

“Sure looks that way, ma’am.”

“My God,” she said. “How, Clarence? Did he have a heart attack? What was he doing way out here behind the guest quarters? He’s a household domestic, for heaven’s sake.”

“Maybe he came out to smoke,” Clarence reasoned.

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Phillip said, joining them.

“Drew didn’t smoke,” June said quietly. She looked up at the two men. “Did he?”

Both of them shrugged.

“Well, call someone!” June shouted.

“We did,” Clarence assured her. “They’re on their way.”

Just then Jody, with the toddler still in her arms, picked something up off the ground. “His binkie,” she said quietly.

“What?” June asked.

“Carlo’s binkie. What’s it doing out here?” Jody then stared in the direction of the body and began speaking at an accelerated pace. “Do you think Drew took him and then croaked and left my son on his own? Maybe that’s how Carlo found his way to the ravine all by himself? It’s a short walk from here,” she said, calculating the distance with her eyes.

“Why would he do that?” June asked. “Why would Andrew take Carlo out of his bed?”

Jody thought for a moment, then said, “Maybe he got up by himself and Drew found him wandering around.”

“But I thought you said you were just outside his door,” June said. “You would have seen him.”

Jody glanced around nervously. “But Megan and I were talking loud and laughing a lot. Maybe we didn’t hear him come out of his room.”

“How would he open the door to get outside?” Megan asked. “He can’t even reach the doorknobs yet, can he?”

“The police are here,” Savannah said, waving them over. She watched as two officers exited their car. “Hi Ben, Jim. This is June Balcomb and her niece Jody.” She glanced at the two men and Megan, who were standing off to the side. She pointed. “The body’s behind those bushes.”

After the two officers took a quick look, Ben stepped aside to make a call and Jim rejoined the women. He glanced briefly at each of them. “So who is he; do you any of you know?”

“Yes, I understand it’s one of my employees, Andrew Pritchard,” June said. She pointed. “Ragsdale found him.”

Jim spun around and looked at the cat. Pressing his lips together, he said, “Not again. Unbelievable.”

Ben, who had joined the others by then, raised his eyebrows.

“Was it a heart attack?” June asked.

Jim shook his head. “I don’t think so, ma’am. It looks like he was stabbed.”

“Stabbed? My God!” June said clutching her chest. “Who would want to…” she started.

“Yeah, especially since he was your pet,” Jody snarked.

Without speaking, June scowled at Jody. She made an obvious attempt to hold her temper, finally saying, “That was uncalled for.”

“Well, he was. He was your chosen one in your will, wasn’t he? Because he liked cats, right?” she said sarcastically.

“Not now, Jody,” June warned.

While Deputy Ben seemed interested in the strange family exchange, Savannah could see that Jim was focused on something else. She looked in the same direction, finally asking, “What is it, Jim?”

“Oh, I guess nothing. I thought I saw a wisp of smoke or steam over near those sheds.” He faced the others, saying, “Must have been my imagination.”

Savannah nodded. “Yeah, it’s kind of misty this time of day. In fact,” she said, shivering a little, “it’s getting cold. June, let’s get you inside.” She looked at the deputies. “Okay if we take her home? It’s the house right up on that knoll. I’m sure it’s okay if you come knocking with any additional questions.”

June nodded. “Yes, I would like to get more comfortable and have a spot of tea. Of course, officers, come to the house if you need anything further from me. I’ll be waiting for your report. Let’s go, Megan,” she called, rather impatiently. “Don’t make Savannah push this old lady up that steep hill. She has a cat to manage.”

Once June was settled in her chair, Megan stepped out of the cat room and Savannah picked up an afghan, wrapping it around June’s shoulders. “Better?” she asked.

“Oh yes, I
was
getting chilled.” She glanced up to make sure the two of them were alone then added, “I wasn’t going to let those other women know it, though. It’s not smart to show weakness in front of your enemies.”

“Enemies?” Savannah asked quietly, creasing her brow.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” June said. “Sometimes I just babble. Don’t always mean what I say, in particular when I’m tired.” She smiled. “You and Rags go on home now. I’m sure your baby and that wonderful Dr. Mike are missing you. Go on now, and we’ll get together soon.” She swiped her hand across Rags’s fur. “Come back to see me any time.”