Cat's Don't Squeal Read online

  Cats Don't Squeal

  A Klepto Cat Mystery

  Book 32

  by Patricia Fry

  Cats Don't Squeal

  A Klepto Cat Mystery

  Book 32

  Author: Patricia Fry

  ISBN: 978-0-9980367-1-7

  All rights reserved

  © 2018 Matilija Press

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 1

  Gladys giggled. “My friends will never believe this.”

  “Neither will my grandchildren,” Janet said. She shivered with delight. “I can’t wait to tell them about Nana’s stakeout.” She handed Gladys her cell phone. “Here, take a picture of me.”

  Savannah grinned from her position at the sliding glass door. “You need a hoodie, Janet.”

  “Yeah,” Holly agreed. “Zip up your sweatshirt, and look like you mean business.”

  “Like this?” Janet asked, slipping on a pair of dark glasses and pulling her sweatshirt hood over her graying hair.

  “All you need now is a cigar and a weapon,” Holly joked.

  Gladys looked incredulous. “Do you think we should have a weapon? How about a rolling pin, or maybe an umbrella?”

  “No,” Janet insisted. “All we need is Officer Perot on speed dial.”

  “The front door’s locked, isn’t it?” Holly asked.

  “Yes. We’ve checked it ten times,” Savannah exaggerated.

  “Eleven,” Janet added.

  Gladys looked sheepish. “Twelve.” She then said, “Shouldn’t we be quiet? On TV they’re always quiet during a stakeout.”

  Janet huffed. “This isn’t TV. Is it too late to call this off and go home?” she whined.

  Savannah chuckled. “You are home.”

  “Oh yes, I guess I am.” Janet peered outside through a slit in the drapes. “And there’s our bait—my diamond-and-ruby brooch.”

  Gladys scrutinized the woman. “It’s not real.”

  “I know, but hopefully he’ll think it is.”

  “He doesn’t seem to care about the value of the things he takes,” Savannah reminded her.

  Holly agreed. “No, he certainly isn’t discerning. Maybe he grabs what he sees and evaluates it later.”

  “Perhaps,” Gladys acknowledged, “but I’m still trying to figure out why he’d take my skein of embroidery thread.”

  “Oh, Mom,” Savannah asserted, “I still think it blew away when you weren’t looking.”

  “Blew all the way up to the Conklins’ beach house?” Gladys challenged. She shook her head. “No. I think that beach burglar grabbed it along with Lily’s little tiara, and dropped it during his getaway. Remember, the kids found the tiara and my thread on the beach not too far from the Conklins.”

  “What do you think he wants with things like that, anyway?” Holly asked, not expecting an answer. “I can see why he’d pick up nice jewelry and cash, for heaven’s sake, but why this piddly stuff?”

  “For his yard sales?” Janet suggested. “Hey, maybe that’s it! He’s into yard sales.” She gazed at the others intently. “He steals things to sell at his own yard sales. That’s how he makes his miserable living.”

  “Hmmm,” Savannah muttered. She looked out through the large window from another angle. “Okay, let’s be quiet. He could show up at any time now. Is everyone in place? Got your phone ready to take a picture? We want hard evidence.”

  “Pshaw!” Janet said. “We thought we had fingerprint evidence on that package of Top Ramen noodles we found on my neighbor’s front porch, but that didn’t pan out. I guess he wears gloves.”

  Savannah chuckled softly. “Mom, did you hear what our cousin said?”

  “Yes,” Gladys responded. “I’m not deaf. Why?”

  “Don’t you think she sounded like Auntie Maggie just then?”

  Gladys thought for a moment. “Oh, the ‘pshaw’? Yes, Janet, my sister uses that phrase sometimes.”

  Janet laughed. “I guess that proves we are cousins.”

  “Shhh,” Gladys shushed. “I think I saw someone.”

  “Oh, my God!” Janet hissed. “Who is it? Can you see who it is?”

  “Get your phone ready to take a picture, Mom,” Savannah instructed quietly.

  “Oh no,” Gladys complained. “I can’t make it work. It won’t work.”

  “Let me do it,” Janet whispered, joining Gladys at the kitchen window. “There,” she said. “I got it.” She jumped up and down and squealed quietly, “I got his picture!”

  “Who is it?” Savannah asked quietly, joining the others.

  Janet handed the phone to Savannah. “I don’t know. The picture’s dark and I can’t fix it. See, my hands are shaking.” She turned her head. “Anyway, I’m not sure I want to know who it is.” She watched as Savannah ran her finger over the phone screen to enlarge the photo. “Who is it?”

  Gladys snickered. “Do you want to know or not?”

  “I don’t know,” Janet wailed.

  Suddenly, Savannah began to laugh.

  “Who is it?” Gladys asked hesitantly.”

  Janet barked, “Holly, call Officer Perot. Let’s get him over here to arrest the man.”

  “It’s not a man,” Savannah announced, heading for the door.

  “A woman?” Janet screeched. “A woman has been robbing us?”

  “It’s not a woman.” Savannah opened the door. “Hi, Adam. Did you come to join the party?”

  The boy held up Savannah’s cell phone. “Not really. Dad said you forgot this, and he thought you’d want it.”

  “What?” Savannah retrieved a phone from her pocket and quickly realized her mistake. “I picked up your dad’s phone, didn’t I?” She shook her head. “Well, that’s odd.” She exchanged phones with Adam. “Thanks. Hey, want to be part of our surveillance team?”

  The boy looked around and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Suddenly Janet shouted, “It’s gone! My brooch is gone!”

  “What?” Gladys shrieked.

  Savannah joined the other women at the window. “Adam, did you see anyone out there when you came up the walkway?”

  “No. What’s gone?” he asked. “Do you mean the burglar came and you didn’t see him?”

  Savannah looked askance. “I guess that’s exactly what happened. How can that be?”

  Janet shrank back and said, her voice a mere squeak, “Is he still out there? Holly, did you call that policeman?”

  She shook her head. “Should I? I wasn’t sure if I should or not.”

  Savannah thought about it before saying, “Yeah, we should let them know that he was here. They might find him in the neighborhood somewhere with Janet’s pin. I still don’t know how we missed him,” she carped.

  “Or her,” Holly added. When the others looked at her she explained, “She’s sly, she’s clever, she’s operating under the radar, and she must be small and agile. Yeah, I think it’s a woman.”

  Savannah studied her sister-in-law for a moment. “Well, he or she certainly seems to be cunning.” She spoke more softly when saying, “...and invisible.” She thought back to the events leading up to the mystery that had brought these four women together that evening to engage in a clandestine stakeout.

  ****

  It was a Friday in early June. Savannah and her mother were straightening the kitchen after breakfast when Savannah asked, “Have your friends scheduled some fun things for your visit in LA?”

  “Just the usual,” Gladys said, “lunch at our favorite beach café, maybe a drive out to the farmers ma
rket, and definitely a day at the mall.” She giggled. “I miss mall-shopping.”

  “I imagine so,” Savannah said. “All we have around here are small strip malls. But that could change with the number of tracts being built in this area. So will you be there for a book-club meeting?”

  “Yes,” Gladys said brightly, “and Joanne wants me to go to a quilting class with her.”

  “Doesn’t sound like you’ll have any time to work on your genealogy project.”

  “I certainly hope I will.” Gladys faced Savannah. “Did I tell you I met another relative through the genealogy site? She lives in Orange County, very near where Peter’s beach house is, actually. I hope to meet her while I’m there.” Gladys grinned. “She seems more my style.”

  Savannah cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, some of the shirttail relatives who’ve contacted me seem a little odd for my taste—you know, they ask about my political preferences right away or whether a family member has committed suicide or is mentally ill...”

  “What?” Savannah cried.

  Gladys continued, “Yeah, one gal from Grandpa’s side is trying to locate a line leading to someone famous—anyone famous. Most of these people live out of state, so I’ll probably never meet them even if I wanted to.” She smiled. “Janet’s about my age, and we have some of the same interests: reading, our grandchildren, gardening, sewing...things like that.” She shivered excitedly. “We even look a little alike.”

  “How’s she related to us?” Savannah asked.

  “As I understand it, her great-great aunt was married to one of Mama’s great grandfathers. We haven’t figured out what that makes us. Probably cousins. When you think about it, Vannie, a person can have an awful lot of cousins if you count the second cousins, third cousins, and then there’s the once- and twice-removed business.” She waved her hand in the air. “Oh, I just can’t figure out all that.”

  Savannah chuckled. “I imagine it can get confusing. How fun to find new relatives, though. So you plan to meet her when you’re in LA?”

  “Yes. I expect that to be the highlight of my trip, actually. I’ll spend five days or so with my friends, then join you all at the beach house, where I’ll meet up with Janet.” Gladys added, “I expect I’ll be ready to relax with an ocean view by then.”

  Savannah smiled. “I think you’d better relax while you’re with your former neighbors. I don’t imagine you’ll get much rest when you join us. There’ll be five active kids, Rags, friends coming and going...”

  “You’re taking Rags?”

  “Yes. What else can we do with him?” Savannah chuckled. “No one wants to take responsibility for him. Besides, we’ll be doing some book signings and Rob—you know, Rags’s agent—likes him to be in on those.” When her mother looked askance, Savannah added, “He’ll be okay. We’ll take his pen. He’s familiar with the house, so he should be comfortable. I think it’ll work out. Besides, he likes the beach.”

  “Yeah,” Michael said, joining the women, “he’s a regular beach-bunny cat.” He motioned toward the dining room. “Hon, I think that’s your phone.”

  “Oh, I’m expecting a call from Rob.” Savannah wiped her hands before picking up the phone. She looked at the screen, then answered, “Hi, Rob. How’re things going?”

  “Good,” he said. “I have signings set up at some of the same bookstores that hosted you and Rags with the children’s books a few years ago, plus a couple of others.”

  “Hey,” Savannah protested, “I’m supposed to be on vacation, you know. You aren’t going to book us solid, are you?”

  Rob laughed. “I’ll try not to do that, but when you’re in demand...”

  “I’m in demand?” she asked.

  “Well, yes. Rags’s memoir book is selling and people want to meet you and, of course, Rags.” He paused. “How about this: you’ll be here in the LA area for, what, two weeks?”

  “Not quite,” she corrected. “About twelve days, actually.”

  “Okay. I’ve set up four presentations; two are on the same day. Do you think you can handle a couple more and still have plenty of time to chill on the beach? I can try to book them on the same day. I think that works well, don’t you? I’ll make sure they’re in the same vicinity, so you won’t have to do a lot of traveling. That shouldn’t be too disruptive.”

  Savannah remained silent for a moment. “I guess not. That’ll still give us plenty of free days.”

  “Yes, and the signings will each take only an hour or so.” His tone livened. “You enjoy the signings—you and Rags.”

  “Yes, we do, most of the time. Yeah, Rob, that’ll be fine. But how about no more than that, okay?”

  “Deal,” Rob said, “that is, if you’ll do one thing for Cheryl and me.”

  “What?”

  “Invite us for a day at the beach.”

  Savannah laughed. “Of course, you’re invited. Anytime.”

  “Okay, then. When are you folks leaving?”

  “Day after tomorrow.” Savannah looked at her mother. “Mom’s leaving tomorrow. She wants to have a car to tool around in while she’s visiting her friends.” She chuckled. “I think she’s looking forward to traveling with more legroom. Passenger space in our car is pretty tight. We’ll have Adam with us, you know.”

  “Will Michael’s brother and his family be traveling with you?” Rob asked.

  “No,” Savannah said. “Keith, Holly, and the girls will fly into LA from Colorado Monday afternoon. They’ll rent a car and drive out to the beach.”

  “Sound like you’re all set. Let me know if you need anything from this end.”

  “Just the itinerary,” she said. “By the way, will you be going with us to the signings?”

  “Yeah, I’d like to be there when I can. I should make most of them.” He hesitated before saying, “I can coordinate with Michael on that so you aren’t venturing out alone. I imagine he feels as I do on that subject.”

  More quietly, Savannah said, “Yup. I’ve already been informed that I’ll have a chaperone pretty much wherever I go. You guys make me feel like a glass princess or something.” When Rob didn’t respond, she added, “I have to say, I’m feeling a little nervous about being in LA again, but I’m trying to work through that fear. I’ll tell you one thing; I won’t be going out to any grocery stores at night alone.”

  “To be rational,” Rob said, “I’m convinced that you’ll be in no greater danger than any other woman who’s walking around in Los Angeles. What happened the last time you were here was a total fluke. You were targeted by a disturbed creep who had a vendetta against Michael. What are the chances of that happening again?”

  “I keep telling myself that. But then I wonder, what are the chances of it happening even once?” Before Rob could respond, she said, “I’m really getting along okay, but I do want to talk to Rochelle to see if she has any sage advice I can use to keep myself from derailing while we’re in that area.”

  “Good idea,” Rob agreed. “Although Rochelle was a victim of that deranged jerk too.”

  “Yes, but she has some wisdom that I wasn’t blessed with, and I think she can probably give me some sort of chant or something to see me through any random panic attacks.”

  “Come on, Savannah, I don’t see you having a panic attack, but do what you need to do. We want you to enjoy a wonderful experience in our lovely city this time.”

  “Thanks, Rob, but we won’t exactly be in the city. Our temporary address will be in Orange County, won’t it?”

  “True. Tomatoes—tomâtoes. Hey, see you in a few days. Safe travels.”

  Savannah had just walked away from her phone when it chimed again. She picked it up. “Hi, Iris. How are you? I haven’t talked to you in a few days.”

  “I know. I’ve been busy. There are two family reunions this month at the inn.”

  “Family reunions? Where the whole family takes over your place?”

  “Yes,” Iris said. “Twenty-five in one
group and thirteen in the other, and these usually involve some little kids. Francine has to be extra careful with the cats when there are children around. We’ll keep most of the cats closed in and just allow a couple of them out to roam under supervision. You know, not every child is taught to be gentle with animals, and there’s the problem of little ones letting cats out. We don’t want to lose any of our cuddle cats.”

  “I understand how that could be a worry.”

  Iris spoke more excitedly. “Hey, Gail and Ronnie paid me a visit.”

  “Really? At the inn?”

  “No, at home. When Gail found out that I had a spirit-being here and that it might be her mother, she wanted to talk to her.”

  “Oh?” Savannah remarked. “Who told her about Violet?”

  “You won’t believe who it was,” Iris said.

  “Who?” she asked again.

  “My dear husband.”

  “Craig? Really?”

  Iris explained, “Well, Craig called them in to get their side of the story about Ronnie’s disappearance and the assaults on Gail over the years. By the way, I guess Tyrone will probably be locked up for the rest of his miserable life for his part in kidnapping and torturing Ronnie and his attacks on his sister. I think there might be a charge of obstructing justice or something since Tyrone knew where Ronnie was and he didn’t tell anyone. Anyway, he’s in a lot of trouble.”

  “Good.” Savannah shuddered. “I think he’s evil. I’m awfully glad he won’t be bothering Gail any longer. But, Iris, did you say Craig told Gail that her mother was haunting you? I mean, he doesn’t even believe in that stuff, does he?”

  “Not really,” Iris confirmed, “but I guess he said something to them about my—you know—ghostly experiences, and Gail thought this might be a chance to talk to her mother—be in her presence, only...”

  “Only what?” Savannah asked.

  “Only I think Violet’s gone. I haven’t been aware of her since Ronnie returned.”

  “Iris, isn’t that what you and Rochelle expected—that she would leave once the truth was known about Ronnie?”