The Purrfect Lie (Klepto Cat Mystery Book 12) (9 page)

“Oh, he does have dark hair and great brown eyes,” Savannah noted.

“Yeah, his family was from Brazil.”

Savannah winked at Mary. “…talk about a good-looking guy.”

Mary smiled. “Yeah, he is.”

“Well, let’s get back to our playdate, shall we?” Savannah suggested. “Thanks, hon, for fitting Regina in.”

He nodded, then asked, “Where’s our child?”

“With Helena. She was still napping when we left.”

“Okay. Well, nice meeting you, Mary. You girls have fun.”

****

“I love your home,” Mary said as she entered the living room with Crissy in her arms and a diaper bag over one shoulder.

Savannah smiled. “Okay if I let her out?” she asked, placing Regina’s carrier on the sofa.

Mary glanced around. When she saw Lexie dance into the room excited to see people, she said, “She’s kind of aggressive with dogs.”

Savannah thought for a moment before suggesting, “Let me check on Lily and then we’ll organize the animals so everyone will get along. Just drop your stuff anywhere, Mary, and make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”

Before Savannah could leave the room, however, Helena entered from the downstairs hallway with Lily in her arms.

“There you are, punkin’,” Savannah said, walking toward them.

“Ma-ma,” Lily said, reaching out for Savannah.

“Did you have a good nap?” she asked, taking the baby and glancing at Helena.

“She just woke up,” Helena responded. “Yes, a good nap.” She ran her hand over the baby’s blond curls. “She slept like a baby.”

“Helena, this is my friend Mary and her daughter Crissy,” Savannah said. “This is Helena, another one of Lily’s favorite playmates.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mary said, reaching out with one hand.

“You, too,” Helena said. She smiled at Crissy, then told Savannah, “There are brownies just out of the oven and fresh lemonade in the fridge.”

“Thank you. Sounds wonderful.”

“Gosh, she must be a jewel,” Mary said after Helena had left the room. “She cleans, watches the baby, and bakes for you?”

Savannah nodded. “Sometimes she makes a casserole or a stew for our supper while she’s cleaning. She’s one good multi-tasker.” Savannah turned toward the dog. “Okay, Lexie, you’ve greeted everyone. Let’s put you out in your pen for a while, shall we?”

“She’s a sweet dog,” Mary said. “She seems to like babies. She came right to Crissy—made her giggle.”

Savannah smiled. “I told you we have friendly animals.” She glanced up and saw their grey-and-white cat sauntering in from the kitchen. “That’s Rags.”

“Goodness, he’s huge!” Mary exclaimed.

“Ki-ki,” Lily said, pointing.

Mary took Lily’s little hand and said, laughing, “Yes, a giant ki-ki.” She asked Savannah. “What breed is he?”

“They told me at the shelter he’s part ragdoll. I guess that’s where the size comes from.”

“Is he…?”

“Gentle?” Savannah said.

When Mary nodded, Savannah responded by saying, “Oh yes. He can be a nuisance and a worry, but he is gentle and actually rather a comedian.”

“Interesting,” Mary said, squatting down and holding her hand out to entice the cat. “Hi Rags,” she said, petting him. She laughed when he flopped onto his side, rolled over, and invited a tummy-rub. After enjoying the massage for a few moments, he jumped to his paws and began sniffing the air. His nose soon led him to the carrier on the sofa and the cat within, who was waiting impatiently to come out. Mary, now almost convinced that Rags was merely curious and not contemplating an attack, put Crissy on the floor and unlatched the carrier door.

Upon seeing the large cat peering in at her, however, Regina wasn’t at all sure she still wanted to come out.

“Well, give her room, you big lug,” Savannah said. “She can’t come out and play with you standing in the doorway.” She eased Lily to the floor and took hold of the eager cat. “Come on, Rags. Let her out,” she said, removing him from the sofa. Both women laughed when they saw Regina ever-so-cautiously peek out through the opening in the carrier.

“What
is
that, Regina?” Mary said laughing. “Biggest cat you ever saw, isn’t it?”

They watched as Regina stepped out and glanced around the room. She jumped down off the sofa and started to explore, when she spotted Rags walking toward her. She locked eyes with him briefly, then crept under the coffee table.

“How about a treat?” Savannah suggested. “Come on Rags, give her some space. Let’s get your treats.”

When Savannah and Rags returned to the living room, Mary was holding Regina on her lap. The tortie’s ears perked up when she heard Savannah rattle the treat packet.

“You’ve discovered her weak spot,” Mary said, watching the cat jump from her lap and trot toward Savannah.

After both cats had devoured a few kitty treats, Rags head-bumped Regina and promptly darted toward the staircase. As if she understood the gesture, the tortie scampered after him. The two cats slipped between the dowels in the baby gate, raced up the stairs, and quickly disappeared.

“Can I trust him to be alone with her?” Mary asked, chuckling. “He isn’t some sort of Casanova is he?”

Savannah laughed. “When it comes to Rags, I can’t make any promises.” She quickly added, “Except to say that I’m sure he won’t hurt her…at least not physically. I can’t speak for his allure.”

Both women laughed and Savannah motioned toward the kitchen. “Come on, let’s have a brownie, shall we? Can Crissy have a cookie?”

“Sure,” Mary said.

“Let’s put the girls here in the dining room with these toys. Have a seat there at the table, if you like. I’ll go get the brownies and tea.”

The two women didn’t get much opportunity to relax. They found themselves chasing after the toddlers, who both delighted in exploring. What one didn’t think of, the other one did. Mary and Savannah were up and down numerous times throughout the afternoon, trying to divert the toddlers’ attention away from sleeping cats, their water bowls, and from behind the furniture. Crissy spent a good part of the afternoon tossing toys through the baby gate that stretched across the bottom of the staircase, then fussing when she couldn’t reach them. Buffy decided to take her nap on the upstairs landing, where she could watch the children from a safe place. Even Walter changed his daily routine when his sleep on the plum-colored chair was interrupted by inquisitive baby fingers one too many times.

Rags and Regina, on the other hand, seemed to thrive on the adventure created by the toddling duo and their interesting array of toys. In fact, the two cats remained on the fringes of the baby activity for much of the afternoon.

Despite the constant activity, the two women managed to chat on many topics, including the location of the nearest beauty school where they could get cheap haircuts while supporting hard-working students, the cozy mysteries they’d read lately, the possibility of going on a horseback ride some weekend when their husbands were home, public school versus private or homeschooling, and other subjects of interest to both of them.

“This has been such fun,” Savannah said as Mary packed up to leave. “Be sure to send me that selfie you took of the four of us, and the one of the girls hugging. I missed that one.”

Mary laughed. “I think it was more of a stranglehold. Crissy wanted that toy Lily was playing with.” She added, “Send me the one you took of Crissy and your horse. I don’t think she’s ever seen such a big
doggie
.”

Once Mary’s car was loaded, she turned to Savannah, who was holding Lily. “Thank you again,” she said, hugging them both. “Next time maybe you can come to our place and we’ll go to the park.”

“We’d like that, wouldn’t we?” she said to Lily.

Lily raised her little hand and began wriggling her fingers.

“Oh, she’s waving. How cute is that?” Mary said. “Lily, you’ll have to teach that to Crissy.”

Savannah poked Lily in the tummy playfully. “And she can teach you patty-cake.” With that, Lily began patting one hand against the other rather awkwardly. “Yeah, patty-cake,” Savannah said.

“See, she can do it. Big girl,” Mary said. She then pointed toward the house behind Savannah. “Uh-oh, do you want him out?”

Savannah turned in time to see Rags stepping out through the front door and trotting down the porch steps. “No. Darn it. I guess the door didn’t latch. Rags!” she called, but it was no use; he quickly jaunted off around the side of the house out of sight. “Better go see if we can capture him,” she said. “Drive safely. See you soon,” Savannah called out as she moved, baby in her arms, toward the errant cat.

Dang, where’d he go?
she wondered. “Rags, here kitty, kitty. Rags, where are you?”

“Ki-ki,” Lily said.

“Do you see the kitty?” she asked, glancing around the area.

“Ki-ki,” the baby repeated while holding her hands out in front of her and shrugging.

Savannah chuckled and kissed the baby. “Yes, he’s all gone, isn’t he?” She called out again, “Raaags!”

“Aaag!” the baby shouted, mimicking her mother.

Savannah couldn’t help but laugh out loud and snuggle for a moment with Lily. She said, “Well, we’d better go change you, get our jackets, and see if we can find the kitty.”

“Ki-ki,” Lily said, as Savannah carried her inside.

By the time Savannah had Lily strapped into the stroller and had started the trek around the property, her cell phone chimed. “It’s Auntie,” she said to the baby as she answered it. “Hi.”

“Are you missing a member of your family?”

“Yes,” Savannah said. “Is he over there? That darned cat.”

“Not original, Vannie,” Margaret said.

“What?”

Margaret repeated. “That darned cat. Someone already used it in a movie and a book,” she said, laughing. “Yeah, he’s here—came looking for Jack, I guess. Maybe he was trying to escape your guests. Didn’t he like his playmate?”

“I thought he did. He and Regina seemed to have a good time getting to know each other.” Savannah let out a sigh. “Hey, I have his harness with me. Lily and I’ll come get him. Do you have him corralled?”

“Oh yes, he’s in the house with me, lounging on the sofa like this is some sort of exotic spa or something.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Yeah, please do, before he asks for a massage or maybe a facial.”

“Hi, Rags,” Savannah said as she walked into her aunt’s living room carrying Lily a few minutes later. “Just what do you think you’re doing, anyway?”

“I guess your company was too much for him,” Margaret said in the cat’s defense, while reaching for the baby. Savannah headed for the cat, harness in hand, when suddenly, Rags slunk off the sofa and ran around behind it.

“Rags,” Savannah said, sharply. She walked to the right side of the sofa just as Jack sprinted between her ankles, joining Rags.

That’s when they heard a man’s voice. “What are you two doing?”

“Oh, hi Max,” Savannah greeted. “Rags escaped and came to visit Jack. I don’t think he wants to go home.”

Max laughed. “That cat not only marches to a different drummer, he has a whole diverse orchestra behind him.”

“So how did things go with Sam?” Margaret asked. Before Max could respond, she explained to Savannah, “He’s taking this mentoring thing with Sam really seriously. Today they went to the cat colony down in the baranca near the old Barrister orchard, didn’t you?”

Max nodded. “It went well. I believe he’s beginning to understand animals, their needs and requirements, and his obligation to them as a caretaker. I’m feeling rather…positive about his progress.”

“That’s good to hear,” Savannah said. “Max, I bet you make an excellent mentor. And you seem to enjoy it.”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” he said. “I like Sam. He’s a good kid who hasn’t been given many breaks in life.” He cocked his head and turned back toward the kitchen. “Oh, I think that’s my delivery. See you later, Savannah.”

“Here he comes,” Margaret said from the other end of the sofa. “Hey, he’s got something. Rags, have you been in my jewelry box?” she almost shouted.

“Ki-ki,” Lily said, pointing and squirming to get down.

“Yes, there goes the kitty with some of my stuff,” Margaret complained, placing the baby on the floor and heading toward the kitchen after the cat.

“Do you have kitty treats?” Savannah asked.

“Yes,” Margaret said, reaching into a cupboard. She handed Savannah a packet.

“Mmm, your favorite,” Savannah said enticingly as she knelt down and held out a couple of treats for the cat. “Come on, boy.” She frowned and turned toward Margaret, “Hey, I thought you said he had something. I don’t see anything.”

“Well, he did have something, like a little gold necklace.” Margaret looked around the room, then peered into the living room. “Oh, there it is. Now Lily and Jack are interested in it. No, pretty boy,” Margaret said, rushing to retrieve the item.

“What is it?” Savannah asked, slipping the harness on Rags.

“A tiny necklace.”

“Is it yours?” she asked her aunt.

“No,” Margaret said, shaking her head slowly. When Lily reached for it, she pulled it away from her. “No, no, baby girl.” She examined it again. “Looks like a baby’s locket on a tiny chain. Is it hers?” she asked, nodding toward Lily.

Savannah drew closer, narrowing her eyes. “No. She doesn’t have a locket. Gosh, I wonder if it belongs to Mary’s little girl Crissy. Did he have it when he came in here?”

“No,” Margaret said. “I’m sure he didn’t.” She then chuckled when she saw Lily squat down to peer at two of the Sheridans’ house cats, who slept in matching beds.

“When did you first see it?” Savannah asked her aunt.

“Well, Rags came out from behind the sofa with it.”

“And you don’t know where it came from?”

Margaret shook her head. “The only baby who’s been in this house is Lily.” She squinted in contemplation. “Hey this might be a long shot, but remember the night we found the note in the basement?”

“Yeah,” Savannah said, taking Lily’s hand and walking her away from where Layla was eating kibbles.

“That night, Rags took the envelope behind the sofa—do you remember that?”

Savannah peered at her aunt for a moment. “Yes, but he came out with the envelope, right?”