The Cats that Stalked a Ghost (8 page)

Elsa glanced irritably at the seal-point sisters.  “Both of you are such brats.  Hope you’re having fun annoying me.” 

“Ma-waugh,” Scout agreed, then slowly slinked out of the room, muttering a volley of Siamese.  Once outside the playroom, Scout yawned while Abra stretched.

Elsa looked up at the ceiling, in frustration.  She stooped down, grabbed Abra, and attached the wedding cape to the cat’s collar.  She tugged the jeweler’s ring box from her dress pocket and placed it on the floor.  Scout inched toward it.

“No, not you,” Elsa cautioned.  “You’ve already got Katz’s ring for Jake on your collar.  This is for Abra.”

The rehearsed plan was for Abra to trot down the stairs first with Scout following a minute later.  They had practiced the routine many times, and each time the Siamese had  nailed it — without any catly deviations from the plan.  Until . . .

“Abra, are you ready?” Elsa whispered.

Jake called again, “Abra, bring it.”

Abra grasped the box with her V-shaped jaws.  She sprinted down the steps, four-at-a-time, with such speed her cape blew backward, like Superman’s. Scout ran behind her.

Elsa, freaking out, said, “Scout, come back here.  You’re not supposed to go yet.”

Scout stopped on the first landing and sassed a loud “waugh,” which seemed to say to Elsa, “Go to blazes.  I’ll go when I want to go.”

Elsa threw up her hands, and said, “I give up!”  She carefully walked down the stairs in her high-heeled sandals.  Stopping on the bottom step, she studied the room.  She spotted Iris peeking out from behind the Eastlake hall tree, but Lilac and Abby were nowhere to be seen.  And Scout and Abra were missing, too.  Elsa was relieved that none of the wedding guests noticed her, and that all eyes were on the happy couple.

Jake said again, “Abra, bring it to me.”

Abra came out from underneath the chair Grandpa Cokenberger was sitting on.  When Grandpa felt her brush by his leg, he broke into a loud laugh.  “Here,
kitty, kitty.”

Abra gave a side glance of extreme distaste to the elderly man.  She didn’t like being called “kitty.”  She was a Siamese diva, and expected to be addressed that way.

The guests cooed and awed at the sight of Abra in her lace cape.  Still clutching the jeweler’s box in her jaws, she approached Jake, rubbing the side of her face against his leg.  Abra was in her element, loving every second of attention until the judge’s cell phone rang an annoying Sci-fi themed ringtone.

“Oh, no,” Katherine whispered to Jake, recalling the first time she laid eyes on Abra.  It was during a Hocus Pocus magic act in Chicago where the cat had launched off the stage and into the audience to seek out an obnoxious cell phone.
Clearly the past doesn’t repeat itself
, she hoped. 

Abra stood up on her hind legs in a meerkat pose.  Her head remained motionless, but her ears swiveled back and forth trying to pinpoint where the phone was located.  She dropped the ring box at Jake’s feet, then ran into the parlor where the judge’s purse was lying on the floor.  She pounced on it like it was “something good for dinner.”  Scout joined her and engaged in a tug-of-war; Scout clutched the strap, while Abra clawed the bag. 

The judge, not being a cat person, didn’t know what to do.  She looked at Katherine for a hint.  Katherine mouthed the words, “Wait just a second.”  The judge nodded.

Elsa launched into cat-wrangling mode and made a mad dash for the Siamese.  She grabbed Abra, then reached for Scout, but the errant Siamese bit her, and then trotted over to Katherine.  Lilac and Abby were positioned on the parlor window valance, craning their necks to get a better view of the Scout and Abra fiasco.  “Me-yowl,” Lilac cried gleefully.  “Chirp,” Abby cried softly.

Katherine snatched Scout.  “Sweet girl,” she said affectionately.  She kissed the Siamese on the head, and held her close while Jake removed the ring from her collar.  Jake took the ring and handed it to the judge.  He then picked up the jeweler’s box, and handed that to her, as well. 

Katherine motioned Tommy to take Scout to the carrier in the next room.  Tommy, in his rented tuxedo, looked very dapper, and older than his twelve years of age.  He took Scout from Katherine’s arms, draped Scout unceremoniously over one shoulder, and disappeared around the corner. Scout protested the entire way. Tommy spoke very quietly to calm her down.  “You’re such a cutie,” he said.

Elsa was busy.  Struggling to maneuver in her high-heeled sandals — worn only to impress the wedding photographer — she’d already jogged with Abra into the next room, and put her in the carrier.  Now she had to find Miss Siam.

First, she looked behind the Eastlake hall tree.  No Iris.  Then, she caught the flick of a pencil-thin tail nearby, thumping on the floor.  Iris was hunkered underneath Cokey’s chair, and with her delicate brown paw, was extracting his wallet out of his back pocket.  Cokey didn’t have a clue what was going on, but sat whispering to Margie about how hungry he was, and that he couldn’t wait for the reception. 

Elsa swooped down, snatched Iris, and held the Siamese in her arms.  Iris protested with loud caterwauling the entire way upstairs to the playroom.  Elsa thought she needed double pay for her services, but giggled at how clever Katz’s cats were. She wasn’t out of deep water yet; somehow she had to get the other two down from the valance.  She lamented,
That’s just what Katz needs right now, for me to put up a ladder.

The judge cleared her throat, then said to Jake and Katherine, “These rings mark the beginning of a journey filled with wonder, surprises, tears, laughter, grief, and joy.  May these rings glow with the warmth and life that flows through their wearers today.”  She placed Jake’s ring in Katz’s hand. 

Katherine turned to Jake and lovingly looked into his brown eyes.  “With this ring, I give you my heart.  From this day forward, you shall not walk alone.  May my heart be your shelter, may my arms be your home.”

The judge handed Jake Katherine’s ring.

Jake said, “Katz, I give you this ring as a symbol of my trust, my faith, and my love for you.”

The judge said joyfully, “By the power vested in me by the State of Indiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife.  You may now kiss the bride.”

Jake didn’t need any prompting.  He swept Katherine into a kiss that went on for more than the customary few seconds.  Daryl pulled Colleen into an embrace and did the same.  The wedding guests stood up and gathered around the happy couples.  Grandpa Cokenberger was the first to congratulate the pair, followed by Cora and Johnny.  Mum planted a kiss on Katherine’s cheek and said, “T’was perfect. May you always be happy.” 

Chapter Eight

Russell Krow snapped several more photos of the bride and groom, then followed the judge with his eyes.  She was leaving.  She’d already cleared the door to the back office, and was about to take the stairs to the basement.  Obviously, she had parked in the rear of the mansion. 

Russell wanted to talk to her.  He wanted to set things right.  He knew he should take more photos of the wedding party, before they left for the reception, but his need to talk to Janet was far greater.  What would Katz and Jake do anyway — fire him?  It was a little too late to do that.  Besides, he thought, he’d make up for the lost photos at the reception, where he’d be taking pics by the hundreds.

“Janet, wait just a second,” he said to the judge.  He rushed over to her side.

The judge glared at him. “I want nothing to do with you.”  She headed down the stairs. 

Russell followed her.  “Wait!  Dammit, woman, would you
just
give me a second?”

“Why, so you can tell me more lies?”

“What are you talking about?” He caught up with the judge and seized her by the arm.  “Come with me.”  He pulled her deeper into the basement.

“What are you doing?  Let go of me,” she said, struggling.

“Let’s have a little fun before we go to the reception,” he said seductively.

“Listen, I know you’ve been cheating on me.  Everyone in town is talking about what a fool I am for dating a younger man.  But they neglected to tell me you’ve been seeing other women, particularly that gal upstairs who takes care of Katz’s cats.”

“You’re nuts,” Russell said, almost affectionately.  “Who told you this pack of lies?”

“Shhh,” the judge whispered.  “I hear someone coming.”

Chapter Nine

Katherine pinched the side of her dress and hiked it up a few inches above her knee, so she wouldn’t trip and take a nose dive down the steep basement steps.  “Judge, are you down there?” she called.  At the foot of the stairs, she turned right, and noticed the half-bathroom door was closed.  She could see light underneath the door and assumed the judge was in there.

She knocked, but there wasn’t an answer.  She knocked again, “Judge, I have your bag.”

When she didn’t hear an answer, she tried the doorknob, but it was locked. “Who’s in there?” she asked.  She knocked on the door again, then jiggled the knob. 

“Whatever,” she said, in exasperation, turning away. She thought she heard people whispering farther in the basement. 

“Who’s back there?” Katherine demanded.  Starting to walk back, she stopped when she smelled a strong odor behind her.  She couldn’t readily identify it.  Was it perfume?  Perhaps, the judge’s perfume? 
No, it couldn’t be her perfume
, she thought. 

The odor had a pungent, sweet smell, and was almost medicinal.  She followed the scent to the classroom and was alarmed to see the exterior door standing wide-open. 

Scout and Abra stood on the threshold.  When they saw her, they began swaying back and forth, in a macabre dance.  Scout’s pupils were mere slits, and Abra’s eyes were glowing red. 

“Waugh,” Scout shrieked.  Abra growled a deep-throated growl. 

Katherine had seen the death dance before.  It always terrified her.

She slowly walked toward them, speaking in a soothing voice.  “Come to me, my treasures.” 

Scout arched her back like a deranged Halloween cat and began hopping up-and-down.  Abra mimicked Scout’s movements.

Katherine inched her way to the upset Siamese.  “Come here,” she said with a comforting tone.  She knew from experience that if she made a false move, they’d do the opposite of what she wanted, and run outside.

The Siamese turned on their back legs, and darted out of the house.

Katherine hurried out, frantically calling for them. “Scout, Abra.  Come here.”  She hadn’t seen in what direction the cats had run.

She scanned the back parking lot for the Siamese.  Three vehicles were parked there:  a shiny black Dodge Ram pickup, Jacky’s rental car, and the judge’s Corvette.  She wondered why Stevie was at Mrs. Harper’s next door when he’d told her the job was done.  Why was Jacky’s rental car there?  Where was he?  He certainly wasn’t at the wedding. 

She worried the cats could be hiding underneath any one of the vehicles.  She approached the judge’s car first. 
This is odd,
she thought. 
Where’s the judge? She’s not in the house.  Where is she
?  She put her hand on the driver’s side door handle and started to open the door. 

From the corner of her eye, she saw movement.  She turned and saw a translucent shape gliding toward the carriage house.  In a matter of seconds, it changed into the figure of a teenaged girl.  It was the same apparition she’d seen at the yellow brick Foursquare.  Katherine wondered why it would be haunting her back yard.  The spirit urgently beckoned Katherine to follow.  Her feet were not touching the ground, but her hand was pointing toward the carriage house. 
No
, Katherine thought. 
She can’t be real.  Why is she pointing at the carriage house?

Katherine’s eyes widened in terror and disbelief.  She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.  At first, she thought she was imagining things, until she realized the Siamese were stalking the specter. 

Scout and Abra were crouched down, their heads hung low, shadowing the ghost, and poised to pounce at any second.  Their tails were bushed out, and fur stood up on their backs.  When they saw Katherine, they dashed right through the ghost, and into the carriage house.  The girl’s ghost disappeared in front of Katherine’s eyes. 

Katherine began trembling; she was too shocked to hear someone step up behind her.  A strong, muscular arm seized her around the neck and pulled her back.  With the other hand, he positioned a rag over her mouth and nose.  It was the sickening sweet scent she’d smelled earlier.  She struggled for a moment, then lost consciousness. 

The man looked around to see if anyone had observed him. When he was satisfied the coast was clear, he carried Katherine to his pickup truck, and laid her down on the truck bed.

He eased calmly and smoothly into the driver’s seat, as if he’d done this act of kidnapping a million times before, and fired up the engine.  He was too busy checking out the parking lot to notice a svelte, brown-masked cat with a slender whippy tail sprint from the carriage house.  The Siamese leaped effortlessly into the back of the truck, and burrowed underneath a painter’s tarp.

The kidnapper put the truck in gear, and drove to the service alley behind the mansion.  He had to get the judge to the abandoned storm cellar before the chloroform wore off. He was completely oblivious to the bridal dress worn by the unconscious judge, but he wasn’t paid to notice those things.  His job was to take “the package” from Point A to Point B.  If he screwed up, he’d have hell to pay.  The boss lady didn’t like mistakes.

Chapter Ten

Jacky, dressed in his black suit, staggered out of the mansion’s basement bathroom, and stumbled against a garbage cart.  The bin fell and lay on its side with its contents strewn across the floor. 

He was so intoxicated, his hands shook when he reached in his pocket for a pack of Marlboros.  Opening the box, he plucked one out with his teeth, and struggled to strike a match to light it. Having mastered that task, he lit his cigarette, then flicked the still-burning match.  It landed very close to a pile of oily rags.  Taking a long drag, he inhaled deeply, then blew the smoke out, through his nose.  He thought he heard someone talking, farther back in the basement.