On the Wrong Side of the Paw Read online

  On the Wrong Side of the Paw

  by Patricia Fry

  On the Wrong Side of the Paw

  A Klepto Cat Mystery

  Book 35

  Author: Patricia Fry

  ISBN: 978-0-9980367-7-9

  All rights reserved

  © 2019 Matilija Press

  Contents

  On the Wrong Side of the Paw

  On the Wrong Side of the Paw

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter One

  “Rags! No!” Savannah cried when she heard a quiet rumble and saw dirt quickly filling the hole. “Michael,” she screamed, “it caved in! Rags is in there. Oh Michael, we’ve got to get him out.” She snuggled with the kitten in her hands and muttered into its fur, “We just have to save him and your little sisters and brothers.” When Michael lay down at the entrance to the small burrow and started pulling dirt out by hand, she quickly placed the kitten in the nearest carrier and joined him.

  Soon Michael leaned back on his heels. Breathlessly he said, “We need something to dig with. Go see if you can find a shovel.”

  Savannah ran toward the stables. Shovels, shovels, she repeated to herself, scanning the corrals and surrounding areas for digging tools. “Joe!” she shouted when she saw Bonnie’s brother trimming a horse’s hoof. “Joe, we need help! The burrow caved in; there are cats inside.”

  He looked up. “Huh?”

  “We need shovels. Where can I find shovels?”

  Joe let the horse's hoof drop, and tossed his tools outside the corral. He gestured as he dumped grain from a plastic bucket. "There's a shovel. Here, take this bucket, too." He had another idea. "The backhoe." He asked her, "How deep down do you think those cats are?"

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’d better get these to Michael.”

  Joe eyed the backhoe, then jogged to where it was parked. Good, the key’s in it. He thought, How lucky that Barney had that septic-tank problem. This little machine just might be what we need to dig out those cats. If only I can remember how to operate it. It’s been a while since my uncle let me mess around with the one he kept at his equipment yard. He cheered silently when he got the thing running. He worked the bucket up and down a couple of times. “Yeah, I got this,” he muttered as he drove to where the Iveys and Margaret were frantically digging.

  “Stand back!” Joe shouted as he began removing dirt from the area of the collapse.

  Savannah put her hands up to her mouth. “Be careful.” She grabbed Michael’s arm and hid her face against it. “God, don’t let that thing crush the cats.” She didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t keep from watching. All she wanted was to see Rags appear unharmed. Is that too much to ask? She wondered. Please, please, she prayed. As she watched in horror, she thought back to the events that led had up to this terrifying moment.

  ****

  It had been several weeks since the Iveys’ yard was transformed into a temporary boarding facility for horses left homeless after a fire. Fall was in the air. Savannah’s friends, Bonnie and Barney Teague, had finished rebuilding the corrals on their own property, and the horses had been returned. All that remained at the Iveys were a few temporary corrals which were in the process of being dismantled and removed.

  Michael winced upon seeing Savannah at the kitchen window that early October morning looking out over their expansive yard. He wrapped his arms around her. “So how are you feeling, hon?”

  “Okay. Why?” she asked.

  “Well, I know how excited you were to have all those horses here. I thought that watching the teardown might be a little—you know, emotional for you.”

  “Actually,” she said, “I loved having the horses here and I enjoyed all the people coming around to ride, and,” her eyes lit up, “being able to do so much riding myself.”

  “But…” Michael prompted.

  “But I’ll be glad to have our life back and our yard.” She admitted, “Yeah, I’m pretty much over the idea of having my own boarding stable. It’s a lot of work. It’s a lifestyle—a big commitment that…well, that I guess I’m not ready or willing to make.”

  “Halleluiah!” Michael shouted. He ran to where Lily played with blue Play-Doh and lifted her into the air. “Did you hear that? No more horses pooping all over our yard. Mommy’s out of the horse business.” He lowered the three-year-old to the floor and took Teddy from Gladys’s arms as she entered the room. He danced around with the baby chanting, “No more horsies! No more horsies! We have Mommy back. No more cowgirl-Mommy, just regular Mommy.” He kissed the baby’s cheek. “Aren’t you happy, happy?”

  “Oh, Michael,” Savannah carped, “don’t be so dramatic.”

  “You’re getting rid of your horses?” Gladys asked.

  “No, Mom,” Savannah said. “We’ll still have Peaches and Gypsy.”

  “Ponies, Mommy?” Lily whined. “Ponies can come back here, okay?”

  Savannah kneeled next to the child. “No, honey-bun. The ponies have to stay at Bonnie’s so Bootsie and Haylie can ride them.”

  Lily pouted. “I want the ponies here.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, honey. We can visit them,” she promised

  Lily’s face lit up. “Today?” She sat down at her small craft table and began coloring. “I’ll make Sassy a picture and Bart. Okay, Mommy?”

  Savannah laughed. “Good idea. The ponies will like that, but how about we eat breakfast first.” More enticingly, she said, “I made pancakes and blueberry sauce.”

  Michael smacked his lips. “Yum. Doesn’t that sound ’licious? Come on, punkin, let’s wash your hands and get ready for breakfast.” After fixing Lily’s plate for her and sitting down at his place, he asked Savannah, “So when do they expect to have the rest of the corrals cleared out of here?”

  “Bonnie said everything will be gone today.” Savannah added, “Oh, I asked her to leave one corral. I offered to buy it for Gypsy. That’ll free up our workout ring for…well, to exercise the horses.”

  “Good idea,” Michael said.

  “Know what Bonnie told me?”

  “What?” he asked, stabbing a couple of pancakes with a fork and putting them on his plate.

  “She’s giving it to me for helping them out these past weeks.”

  “Cool. Yeah, how many weeks did we have the equine guests—six?”

  “Almost,” Savannah said. “They arrived in the heat of the summer and they’re leaving on the breath of fall.”

  “How poetic,” Gladys said, chuckling. “Are you writing poetry now?” She then asked, “You are doing some writing, aren’t you? Didn’t I hear you tell someone recently that you’ve started another book?”

  Savannah smiled widely. “I have. Rags has provided me with some pretty interesting stories lately, and I want to get them down before I forget some of the juiciest details. Besides, I really enjoy the process of writing. I’ve been eager to get back to it, even though I don’t have a lot of spare time.” She stared dreamily across the room. “I find writing rather healing, but then I guess that’s a benefit of most creative endeavors.”

  Michael took a sip of orange juice. “Aren’t you philosophical this morning?” He chuckled. “Poetic and philosophical.”

  Gladys patted her daughter’s arm. “Like your father. He was a thinker.” She raised her eyebrows. “Now your sister…”

  Before Gladys could continue, there was a rap at the door. Savannah turned to see Brianna peering into the kitchen. “Well, hi, Sis.” She laugh
ed. “We were just about to talk behind your back.”

  “Really?” Brianna asked, looking around at the others. “In what context? What rumors were you going to spread?”

  “Nothing bad,” Gladys insisted.

  “What brings you out this way so early on a weekday morning?” Savannah asked, hugging her sister. “Don’t you have patients to take care of?” She stepped back. “Oh, wait, this is Wednesday. Doctor’s take off on Wednesdays, right? So are you going golfing or to the gym or…”

  Brianna smirked playfully at her sister. “You know better than that, Vannie. The gym? I don’t think so. Anyway, I work all week and play on the weekend.” She hugged her mother from behind and smiled across the table at Michael. She kissed Teddy’s cheek, then blew raspberries on Lily’s neck, causing the child to giggle.

  Lily squealed, “Stop it, Aunt, Bri. You tickle me.”

  Brianna laughed. “You are getting so big, Lily! How old are you now, thirteen?”

  “No,” Lily insisted. “Three,” she said proudly, showing three fingers.

  “Almost four,” Savannah reminded her. “Can you hold up four fingers?”

  Lily demonstrated that she could.

  “Want coffee?” Savannah offered. “How about a pancake with blueberry topping?”

  Brianna shook her head. “No, thanks. I have to get to work. I just stopped by to…”

  “Come sit down,” Savannah invited, pulling out a chair.

  Once seated, Brianna eyed the blueberry topping. “That looks good.”

  “Here, have some,” Gladys insisted.

  “Really, no. I had breakfast.” Brianna grinned before saying, “Graham crackers smooshed in milk and sprinkled with sugar.”

  Gladys clasped her hands together. “Oh, your father’s favorite. He called it his ‘yummy-nummy snack.’”

  Everyone laughed and Brianna repeated, “Yummy-nummy? I can’t imagine Dad using those words, but yeah, that’s what I’d call it.” She leaned toward Savannah. “Say, Sis, the reason I stopped by…” She looked at Michael. “Well, I guess I really need to talk to you.”

  “What’s up, Bri?” Michael asked cautiously.

  “It’s Frankie. He’s not acting right.”

  “Your cat?” Michael asked.

  “Yes. He’s not eating and he’s…”

  “Bri,” Savannah scolded, “you live with a veterinarian. What does Bud say?”

  Brianna stared down at her hands. “I haven’t told him.” When the others looked puzzled, she reluctantly announced, “I moved out. I’ve rented an apartment in town with Frankie and Snowball.”

  Savannah gasped. “You broke your engagement? Since when? What happened?”

  “Well, I don’t have time to go into it right now.” Brianna looked pleadingly at Michael. “Could you check him over, please, and let me know what I need to do?” She glanced at her watch. “I have a patient in twenty minutes. I really have to go.”

  “Sure, Bri,” Michael agreed. “Bring him to the clinic.”

  “Um…well, I have him in the car. Do you think you could look at him without Bud knowing? I’d rather not involve him.” Before Michael could speak, she stood up and hurried out the door, returning with a carrier containing a stunning white, long-haired cat.

  “Hi, beautiful Frankie,” Savannah gushed, taking the carrier from her sister and peering inside. “He doesn’t look sick to me.”

  “Well, he’s not eating and that’s unusual for him, and he’s not as frisky. Something’s wrong.” She edged toward the door and waved. “Gotta go. Thanks, guys.” Before leaving, she threw an air kiss toward the carrier. “Love you, little fur-man.”

  Savannah broke the silence that followed Brianna’s exit. “Wow! So she left him. I wonder why, and I wonder why she didn’t tell me.”

  “She just did,” Michael reminded her.

  Savannah noticed that her mother was sitting quietly. She placed the carrier aside and sat back down at the table. “Mom, did you know about this?”

  Gladys shook her head. “Sure didn’t. But then I haven’t seen Bri much lately. She has a busy practice and we’ve been traipsing all over. Then you got busy with the horses and…well, life just got away from us.” She lamented, “I wonder if there’s anything I could have done.”

  “I doubt it, Mom.”

  Gladys frowned. “But I thought she was happy.”

  “Did you?” Michael asked. When he realized the women were waiting to hear more, he said, “I didn’t think they’d stay together this long. I mean, they just don’t seem like a good fit.”

  “Well, how astute of you,” Savannah said. “I didn’t realize you noticed things like that. You always seem sort of oblivious.”

  “What?” he demanded.

  Savannah cocked her head. “You don’t usually have an opinion about what goes on with other couples—you know, our friends and family.”

  “Oh, I have opinions,” he said. “I just don’t talk about it and cause a bunch of trouble like women tend to do.”

  “Cause trouble?” Savannah challenged.

  “Yeah, if I’d said in the beginning, ‘I don’t think this will last,’ that wouldn’t be kosher, would it? I’d rather keep my opinions to myself until…”

  “Until you’re proven right, then you gloat?” Savannah asked jokingly.

  “I’m not gloating,” he said. “You’re the one who’s making a big deal out of it.”

  Savannah huffed a couple of times, before saying, “Well, I’m disappointed.”

  “About what?” he asked.

  “That they’ve split up.”

  “You thought it was a good match?” Michael asked.

  Savannah spoke more quietly. “I sure hoped it was, for Brianna’s sake—well for Bud’s, too.”

  “I agree with Michael,” Gladys said. When the others looked at her she explained, “I also had hoped it would work out for the two of them. I like Bud, but I had my reservations. It seemed that something was missing between those two.”

  “See, your mother knows,” Michael said. “She’s tuned into these things.” When Savannah didn’t respond, he stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head. “I know you want your sister to be happy—to find what we have—and now maybe she’s free to do that. Or…” he paused.

  “Or what?” she asked looking up at him.

  “Or Bri and Bud are just taking a break and this will be a turning point in their relationship.” When Savannah started to respond, he placed a finger across her lips. “Let’s not speculate, okay? You’ll wear yourself out. Just try not to think about the news Brianna brought this morning. Let’s focus on our day and poor Frankie there. You can talk to Bri later and find out what this is all about. It’s probably not as dire as you might think.”

  She looked suspiciously at him. “Do you know something I don’t know?” She edged out of her chair and followed him across the room, where he picked up his lightweight jacket. “What is it, Michael? Has Bri found someone else? Or Bud…is he seeing someone?”

  Somewhat impatiently, he said, “Savannah, I swear I don’t know anything. Now I’m going to work and I want you to settle down. Relax,” he said in a soothing voice. He started to pick up the carrier, then said, “Hon, why don’t you let Frankie out and observe him this morning. See what you notice about his behavior. Bring him to see me later today. Would you do that?”

  “Sure, hon. What time?”

  “Call Scarlett. She’ll let you know.”

  Savannah kissed him. “Okay, see you later.” She smiled as he kissed each of the children, and she blew him a kiss as he left. She placed the carrier on a chair and peered inside. “Hi, Frankie. Want to come out and play?”

  “What if he’s contagious?” Gladys asked. “You don’t want your cats sick.”

  “They’re all up on their inoculations,” Savannah said. “Besides, he doesn’t look like he has anything that would be contagious. He’s not coughing or sneezing.” She lifted him out of
the carrier, placed him on the countertop, and ran her hands over his body. “He doesn’t appear to have ringworm or any sort of skin disorder that the others could catch.”

  When Rags joined them, she acknowledged him. “Hi, Rags. Did you just notice we have a visitor? This is your cousin, Frankie. You’ve only seen him a couple of times. Do you remember when he visited us as a kitten? Hasn’t he grown up to be a beautiful boy? Frankie, this is Rags. You boys are going to play nice today, all right?” She eased the white cat to the floor.

  “Is he a Persian?” Gladys asked.

  “Angora,” Savannah said. “Maybe you remember when Bri and Bud rescued his mother from that feral cat situation at the old Fischer Building.”

  “This pretty cat was a street cat?” Gladys asked.

  “Actually he kind of was. When Mr. Fischer had that accident that landed him in a nursing home, the caretaker for the building turned Mr. Fischer’s beautiful white Angora cats out with the feral cats that were hanging around. We worked with that colony a few years ago.” She laughed. “Bud took Bri there one night on a date, of all things. Well, that night they found one of the Angoras in labor. They took her to the clinic and helped her have the kittens. Frankie, here, was the only one that survived. I guess Brianna bonded with the mother and this baby, and she decided to adopt them.”

  Gladys shook her head. “I believe that’s the first I’ve known of her caring anything about a cat.”

  “I think it was a nesting thing.”

  “A nesting thing?” Gladys questioned.

  “Yeah, Bri and Bud were thinking about setting up housekeeping together, and Bri’s mothering instinct kicked in.”

  “So she adopted cats because she wants children?”

  “Something like that, I’m guessing,” Savannah agreed.

  “Do you think they’ll play nice together?” Gladys asked. “I mean Rags and Frankie?”

  Savannah stood back and watched the two male cats for a moment as Frankie slinked around the kitchen checking out the new scents and sights. Rags tagged after him sniffing the areas Frankie had visited. “I think so. He seems to be a sweet cat. I saw him schmoozing with a baby goat once when we were at Bud’s ranch.”