Furever Friends Read online

  FURever Friends

  A Klepto Cat Mystery

  Book 34

  by Patricia Fry

  FURever Friends

  A Klepto Cat Mystery

  Book 34

  Author: Patricia Fry

  ISBN: 978-0-9980367-5-5

  All rights reserved

  © 2019 Matilija Press

  Chapter 1

  It was after midnight when Savannah donned her boots and windbreaker. Since the damaging fire at her friend Bonnie’s stables, the Iveys’ property had become a temporary boarding facility for several horses, and Savannah wanted to make sure they still had shelter from the wind and the predicted rain. She grabbed a flashlight and started to open the door when she noticed Lexie dancing around her. “Do you need to go out?” she asked the dog. “Well, come on. I’ll put you in your run while I check on the horses.” She ruffled the fur on Lexie’s head and smiled. “Don’t want to lose you in this gale, and I don’t need you getting underfoot in the dark.”

  Once she’d secured the gate to Lexie’s outdoor pen, Savannah shined the light toward the corrals and chuckled. Bonnie’s right, it’s not easy being responsible for eight horses. They’re probably all just fine, unless one of the temporary shelters has cartwheeled away or the wind has frightened the ponies.

  She’d just finished checking on each of the horses when something startled her. Before she could react, someone grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and causing her to lose her grip on the flashlight. She struggled and screamed, hoping to be heard over the roar of the wind.

  “Quiet down!” a man said, his breath warm against her cheek. “No one’s going to hear you with that wind howling.” Someone else tied a bandana around her mouth. She attempted to identify him in the dim light, but his face was shaded by a Western hat and distorted by a clear plastic mask.

  The man behind her demanded, “Give me the key to that gate.” He fumed, “Who locks up horses, anyway? Don’t you know what could happen in case of a fire?” He jostled Savannah. “Where’s the key? I want the key.” He pushed her shoulders so she faced him. “Do you have it on you?”

  At the same time, the second man pulled her arms behind her and wrapped a piece of rope tightly around her wrists. Savannah continued to struggle against her attackers, but she had the wherewithal to study the first man’s face. He, too, wore a mask. The only features she could make out were his unusually thick, dark eyebrows. She tried to kick him, but he tightened his grip on her upper arms, and held her at a safe distance.

  “Give me the key,” he demanded. He called to his partner, “Hey, Steve, check her pockets. She probably has it with her.”

  Although Savannah fiercely resisted, the man managed to hold her steady enough that Steve could check her clothing for the key.

  “Not on her,” he announced

  The first man shook her and growled, “Where is it?” Suddenly distracted, he hissed to his partner, “Shut that yapping dog up, will you? He’s gonna wake the whole town.”

  “Yeah, well, how am I gonna do that, Hank?”

  “I don’t care how; just do it.” When Steve didn’t make a move, the apparent boss-man said impatiently, “Okay, come hold onto her. I’ll take care of the mutt.”

  “What are you going to do?” Steve asked.

  “What does it matter? Get over here and hold onto this wildcat.”

  In the meantime, Savannah yelled through the cloth and continued fighting against the man’s grip.

  “Settle down,” he snarled.

  But she wasn’t about to give in. When Hank eased up to let Steve take over, she lunged in an attempt to slip away from her attackers. But they were more cunning than she was and stronger, and she ended up on the ground with a foot in the middle of her back.

  “Don’t let her up,” Hank instructed.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Steve grumbled.

  She lifted her head enough that she could see the outline of the man walking toward Lexie’s pen. In the dimness, she saw him open the gate and start to walk inside, when Lexie raced past him and tore around the yard, frantically barking. Savannah grinned at how agile Lexie was and how clumsy the man had become as he chased her with a length of pipe raised over his head.

  Suddenly, Michael opened the door and called Lexie’s name. He shouted, “Savannah, are you out here?”

  She tried to scream through the gag, but Michael couldn’t hear her muffled voice over the howling wind and Lexie’s incessant barking. Her heart sank when she heard Michael call out, “No, Rags! Rags, come back in here!”

  That’s all we need, she thought, is Rags in the mix. If only I could get Michael’s attention. I need to warn him. I don’t want those men hurting him or Rags or Lexie. Poor Lexie. What if he catches her?

  Alarmed by Lexie’s behavior, Michael stepped back inside the kitchen and came out with a flashlight of his own. By then, the men had shuttered theirs and were hiding in the shadows, one of them still holding Savannah pinned to the ground. “Lexie!” Michael called. “Lexie, come here, girl.” When the dog obediently approached, Michael saw that she was agitated. “What’s wrong, girl?” he asked. He gazed out beyond the porch, shining his flashlight around where the portable corrals had been set up in the yard. He cupped one hand around his mouth and shouted again, “Savannah!”

  Growing more and more frustrated, she twisted her body, trying to free herself from under the man’s boot. What if they have a gun or a knife? Michael could be in danger. She considered her thought process. Heck, what am I thinking? I could be in danger and certainly poor Moose is. Those guys are surely after the horse we’re boarding. I’ve got to find a way to stop them. She put all of her energy into flipping her body over, which caused the man called Steve to lose his balance. Before he could recover, she pulled one knee up to her chest and slammed her foot into his shin. She watched him stumble backward, and she knew she had to think fast. She scrambled to her feet and rubbed her cheek against a post on Peaches’s corral, sliding the gag down enough that she could scream out. “Michael, go get Roy and Joe!” Where are they, anyway? She wondered. They’re supposed to be protecting that horse. Suddenly she had a frightening thought. Her heart skipped a beat. What if those guys killed Roy and Joe?

  She wasn’t sure what to do next, but all she could think of was keeping the horse safe. She made her way to Moose’s corral and realized she’d forgotten to lock the gate that evening. The men had seen the padlock, all right, but they evidently didn’t notice it wasn’t locked. She turned her back to the gate and managed to push the shank into the padlock, then suddenly she became aware that one of the men was approaching her. She gasped and retreated in horror when she saw the metal rod Hank carried, but before he caught up to her, he tripped over something and fell hard on his face.

  “Damn raccoon,” he muttered. He started to leap to his feet, but something stopped him. He hollered in pain. “Good God, it’s a cougar!” He shrieked, “Get that thing off me!” When he saw his partner running in the opposite direction, he yelled, “Come back here you…”

  Savannah stared in horror, not knowing what had happened, when the area was suddenly lit up. In the beam of a flashlight, she saw something leap off Hank’s back and into one of the corrals. Who is that coming this way? she wondered. She recoiled and fought to free herself from the rope around her wrists, but relaxed a little when she saw that the man behind the light was Michael.

  Hank saw him too. Now on his feet, he paused just long enough to locate his hat. He scooped it up, flashed a quick look at Moose, then turned and ran as fast as he could across the Iveys’ property into a stand of trees.

  Michael ran after him, calling, “Stop you creep! Stop!” But the trespassers had a head start on him.
He heard two car doors slam. All he could do was watch as the taillights disappeared into the distance.

  “What happened?” Michael asked when he returned to Savannah. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “I think so.” She turned her back to him. “Can you get this dang rope off me?” She glanced around. “Is Lexie okay?”

  “Yeah, just upset,” he said, taking the steps up into the tack room and returning with a knife in a sheath. “Where’s your cat?”

  “I’m not sure,” she said, removing the remnants of rope he’d cut off her. She rubbed her wrists. “I think he saved my life. That man thought he tripped over a raccoon and was attacked by a cougar.” She managed a strained grin. “I think it was Rags.” When they heard a faint meow, they looked in the direction of the sound and saw Rags sitting in Moose’s feed bin as the horse sniffed him and nickered softly.

  “Did they do something to that horse?” Michael asked.

  “I don’t think so.” She climbed through the rails into Moose’s corral. “But I want to remove any feed left in his bin and rake out the hay, just in case they tried to poison him or drug him or something.”

  Michael lifted Rags out of the feeder. He gathered the last of the hay and grain into a bucket. Before carrying it away, he looked at Savannah. “How’d you get so dirty? Looks like they really did a number on you.” He asked more tenderly, “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Yeah, they were kind of rough. That one jerk held me down on the ground with his big boot,” she complained. She took a raspy breath. “I’m going to be sore tomorrow, but nothing’s broken or anything.” When she realized Michael was waiting to hear more, she said, “Just a few scrapes, and probably I’ll have some bruises. I’m okay.” She picked up Rags.

  “So they want that horse, do they?” Michael asked a few minutes later as they walked toward the house. He stopped and glanced around. “What do you think is up with those guards? Where are they, anyway?”

  “Good question,” she said. “Did you go rattle their cage?”

  “No. When I saw something odd going on out here, I…”

  “Do you think they slept through all that? The wind is howling tonight.” She stared toward the small RV that was parked near their orchard. “Why don’t you go out there and let them know what happened. I think they should stay close to that horse tonight in case those guys come back.”

  “Good idea, but first I want you safely inside.” He held the door open and watched as Lexie ambled into the house. Savannah followed with Rags in her arms. “Lock it,” he instructed.

  When he returned, Savannah asked, “So what were they doing—sleeping soundly?”

  “I guess. Only one of them was there. Joe evidently slept someplace else tonight. I told Roy what happened and suggested rather strongly that he stake himself out near the corrals, at least until daylight.”

  “Good.” She stared out the window for a moment. “Someone must really be serious about hurting that horse—or maybe stealing him. I mean, do they want him, or do they want to put him out of commission?”

  “Those two thugs were pulling a horse trailer, so I’d say they were going to take him.” He double-locked the door, poured a glass of water, and yawned. “Well, I’m serious about getting some sleep. Come on back to bed. I doubt they’ll try anything else tonight, but if they do, Roy’s on it.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” Savannah said. “I want to make sure the small animals are okay.” She pushed her hair away from her face and grimaced. “Then I really need a shower.”

  Michael stared at her before saying, “Okay.” He hesitated. “Hey, do you think we should call the sheriff’s office?”

  “Can you identify the vehicle?”

  “No. Not with any certainty. It looked like a dark-colored pickup towing a white or silver two-horse trailer.” He huffed, “That probably describes at least a quarter of the rigs owned by the ranchers out this way.”

  She shook her head. “Then no. I couldn’t see their faces at all. We scared them off. Let’s get some rest; we can deal with this tomorrow.” She picked up Rags and placed him on the kitchen counter, murmuring, “Are you okay, buddy? You really dug into that guy, didn’t you?” After checking Rags over, she petted Lexie. “You two did a good job out there tonight. Yes, you’re quite a team.”

  While removing her boots, she thought about the events leading up to this frightening night.

  ****

  It was early August and the Iveys and Michael’s brother’s family were on their way back to Hammond after a short stay at Detective Craig Sledge’s mountain cabin, when Savannah got a disturbing call from her friend Bonnie Teague. There’d been a fire at the boarding and training stables run by Bonnie and her husband, Barney. While they were able to rescue all of the animals, including Savannah’s mare, Peaches, there was a lot of damage to the buildings and wooden corrals. Bonnie explained that they needed to find suitable quarters for the horses while the buildings and corrals were being rebuilt and asked if Savannah and Michael could help with that. At the time of their conversation, Bonnie mentioned that one of the horses was special.

  Savannah remembered thinking, All horses are special. “Of course, we’ll board some of the horses,” she’d told Bonnie. While Michael was a little apprehensive about the enormity of the responsibility, Savannah was eager to help out her friend and riding buddy. She was also excited about the prospect of running a boarding stable, if only for a matter of weeks or a few months. She revealed to Michael at the time, “I’ve always dreamed of doing something with animals and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d rather have a barn full of horses like Peaches than a shelter full of cats like Rags.”

  ****

  The two families shared their last meal together at the Iveys’ early the following morning. The Pettits would fly home to Colorado later that day.

  “So when are the horses coming?” Keith asked while helping four-year-old Bethany spread some of Savannah’s homemade plum jam on her toast.

  Savannah shrugged. “As soon as they get the corrals up, I guess. Most of the horses are at the fairgrounds now.”

  “I talked to Barney last night,” Michael said. “He thought they’d start setting up the portable corrals here this afternoon. He still had some clean-up for his hands to take care of at their place. In fact, he says they’ve hired several more men and women to help them with the rebuilding and daily chores.”

  “Yeah,” Savannah said, “Bonnie told me they’ll arrange to have the corrals cleaned and the hay brought in for us. I’ll feed most mornings and help with exercising the horses that need it.”

  “That’s sure going to spoil your nice view,” Holly said.

  Savannah winced. “Yeah, and having all those horses out there will ruin our lawn, but it’ll come back once this emergency’s over, unless…”

  “Unless what?” Michael asked cautiously.

  “Well, unless I decide to open my own boarding stable,” she said rather frivolously.

  He nearly choked when gasping, “Huh?”

  She grinned. “Yeah, I might like it so much I won’t want to give up the horses.”

  “Lordy, lordy,” Michael muttered.

  Holly laughed. “You two crack me up.” She nudged Adam. “Aren’t your dad and stepmom a kick?”

  “I guess,” he said without much enthusiasm.

  “What’s wrong, Adam?” Savannah asked tenderly. “Aren’t you feeling well?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay—just bummed.”

  Savannah smiled at the boy. “Do you mean sad? Yeah, I am too. I just hate to see all of you go.” She dabbed at one eye. “It has been the absolute best vacation I can ever remember.” She hugged Adam briefly, then looked adoringly at Keith and Holly. “I just…well, I just love you guys so much.” She hugged Bethany and squeezed Cassie’s hand from across the table. “All of you. I’ll sure miss you.”

  Cassie stood up so abruptly that her chair almost tipp
ed over backward. She ran to Savannah with her arms out and hugged her tightly. “I love you, Aunt Savannah.” She wrapped her arms around Michael. “I love you, Uncle Michael.”

  Michael hugged Cassie, then watched quietly as the seven-year-old hugged Lily and Teddy, then Gladys.

  Holly fought back tears. “It has been wonderful. We’ve had a great time. It’s as if…as if we’ve known each other always.”

  “Yes!” Savannah exclaimed. “Maybe we have. I mean, the guys certainly have a real connection to one another. They knew each other in the womb. But I agree, Holly, we’re so tuned into one another it’s eerie. How is that possible?”

  “I wonder that, too,” Holly said. She looked at Gladys suspiciously and joked, “Are you sure you didn’t give away a twin when Savannah was born?”

  Gladys shook her head. “I’m afraid not, girls. You’ll have to come up with another explanation.” She suggested, “Maybe it’s just that the twin brothers have the same taste in women and they fell in love with women of a similar nature.”

  “Could be, I guess,” Savannah stared into Holly’s eyes, “but I swear we were sisters in another life.”

  Holly spoke more quietly. “I consider you my sister in this life.”

  Savannah reached for Holly’s hand and the two women unsuccessfully fought back tears.

  “You girls are pitiful,” Michael said.

  “Yeah, kind of melodramatic, aren’t they?” Keith agreed.

  Holly tilted her head and challenged, “Do you mean you two aren’t feeling sad this morning? Aren’t you already missing each other?”

  Michael glanced at his brother. “Not yet,” he said rather unconvincingly.

  Keith shook his head. “No, because we’re still together. I don’t want to jinx a moment of our time together by thinking about how much I’ll miss you all.”

  “I agree,” Michael said. “When you guys leave, there will be an awful void. But you’re here now, and I’m going to continue enjoying the heck out of our time together.” He paused, then said, “After you’ve gone, I’ll remember all of the fun times we had.”