CATalyst for Clues (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 25) Read online

  “Still sleepy, huh?” Gladys said. “That’s okay. Grammy will have your wake-up breakfast ready soon.” She raised her eyebrows and asked enticingly, “Want puppy-dog pancakes?”

  Lily shook her head.

  Gladys looked at Savannah. “Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

  “I guess she did,” Savannah said, lifting her daughter and snuggling with her. She sat in a kitchen chair with Lily on her lap. “Don’t you want one of Grammy’s puppy-dog pancakes?”

  “No,” Lily groused. “Kitty-cat pancakes.”

  “Kitty-cat pancakes?” Gladys repeated. She grinned. “Okay. I think we can do that. Kitty-cat pancakes coming right up.” She rolled her eyes for Savannah’s benefit and added, “…at least, I hope so. Puppy-dogs, I know. Not sure about kitty-cats.”

  “Just fake it, Mom,” Savannah suggested. Her face brightened. “Hey, I have some cat cookie cutters—one of a cat body and one of a cat face. Why not make the pancakes, then we can cut them into shapes.”

  “Brilliant.” Before returning to the counter, Gladys said, “Craig sure made arrangements in a hurry for that trip to New York. When did Michael leave?”

  Savannah yawned. “Around midnight.” When Lily scrambled off her mother’s lap and began scooting a chair toward the counter next to Gladys, Savannah stood to help her. She gave the child a boost onto the chair, then took a deep breath and began to pace. “Mom, I can’t stand this. I’m going to drive down to LA this morning and talk to some people.”

  Gladys scooped banana slices and strawberries into a bowl for Lily. “What people, Vannie?”

  “People in the Los Angeles office of that adventure group. I did some digging and learned that they have a branch just outside the city. It could be that Brianna’s tour group flew out of LAX rather than from New York—I mean, it makes sense that they did. Maybe those people down there know something.”

  “Can’t you call them and save yourself a trip?”

  “After the runaround Elaine gave us, I doubt it. I agree with Craig. I think we’ll be more successful if we catch them off guard and in person.” She placed a small bowl of fruit on the high-chair tray and reached for Lily. “Why don’t you sit in your high chair and eat your fruit?”

  The toddler protested. “No. Help Gammy!”

  “Okay,” Gladys said, “let’s mix the batter. Here’s a spoon. Can you stir it up real good?”

  Lily smiled and began moving the spoon around in the mixture. After a few minutes, Gladys took the bowl. “Good job.” She winked at Savannah before saying to the child, “Look at that, you splattered only a little on the counter and floor this time. Now Grammy needs to put the puppies…um…I mean kitties in the pan to cook.”

  “Yes,” Savannah said, “time for Lily to sit in her chair.” She reached for the toddler, who turned away from her.

  “No sit in chair!” Lily whined.

  “Come on. We don’t want you near the stove. Let’s put your chair over here where you can watch Grammy while you eat your fruit. Want to watch Grammy make the kitty-cakes?”

  Lily scrambled off the kitchen chair and began pushing her high chair toward where Gladys stood.

  “Uh-oh,” Savannah said. “A little too close, there. Grammy needs room to cook.” She moved the chair slightly to the right. “How’s this?”

  After thinking about it, Lily nodded, and Savannah lifted her into the chair.

  Gladys smiled at the child. “All ready?” she asked. “Here goes. Grammy’s making kitty-cakes.” She glanced at Savannah while dropping dollops of batter onto the griddle. “So, Vannie, you think you can learn something more by going to the LA office?”

  “Yes. Mom, it could be that Bri’s trip has ended. From what I could find out on the Internet, those adventures are generally a week to ten days. Brianna was supposed to leave on May twentieth, which means she would have returned by the twenty-eighth or at least the thirty-first. It’s been almost two weeks now.”

  Gladys slumped. “So she really is missing. Vannie, do you suppose someone actually has her? Otherwise, why wouldn’t she come home or call us?” She straightened. “Has anyone talked to Bud or someone from her medical practice? Perhaps she’s back and she hasn’t had time to let us know.”

  “Yes, I’ve stayed in touch with Bud and her office staff. No one has heard from her. We’re actually the only ones who’ve received anything from her since around May twenty-sixth, I think it was.”

  “She hasn’t written to Bud?”

  “No. I guess the travelers are limited as to how much they can communicate with the outside world. In that one letter I got, Brianna asked me to share it with Bud. I guess Auntie got a postcard and you got a letter.” She shook her head slowly and narrowed her eyes. “If I find out she’s…”

  “She’s what?” Gladys asked.

  “That she’s okay and just enjoying herself somewhere, I’ll be so…”

  “You’ll be angry? Well, not me. I hope she is safe on some exotic island sunning herself and eating pineapples and coconut.” She grinned. “She has probably just forgotten to call. Or her phone’s out of order. Or…”

  “She’d better have a good excuse for turning our lives upside down. Anyway, I want to make a quick trip to LA and talk to those people, if it’s okay with you.”

  Gladys glanced toward the crib. “What about Teddy?”

  “Of course, I’ve been thinking about him. Obviously, he takes a bottle well, since we had to supplement my breast milk there for a while. We have plenty of my milk in the freezer, but you shouldn’t need more than the three day’s supply stored in the fridge.” She took her mother’s hand. “What do you say, Mom? Can you take care of both children for a day or so?”

  “Sure, Vannie. Anything for my little girl. We’ve just got to find her.” She smiled. “Maggie can probably help if things get hectic.”

  Savannah winced. “Well, I was thinking about taking her with me.”

  Gladys’s smile faded. “Oh. Yeah, I think I’ll be okay, then. They’re both good children. Yes, go, Vannie, and see if you can find Brianna.”

  “Good. I’ll call Auntie.” Into the phone she said, “Hi! Want to go on an adventure?”

  “Huh? Vannie, is that you? What adventure? What are you talking about? Aren’t you tied down with your new baby boy?”

  “Auntie, I want to drive to LA and see if we can find any clues as to where Brianna is.”

  “Oh, well, why didn’t you say so? When are we leaving?”

  She glanced at Lily, then Teddy. “I’d like to leave within the hour. I need to eat something, then I’ll throw a few things in an overnight bag.”

  “Say what?” Margaret squawked. “Do you know what time it is?” When Savannah didn’t respond, she said, “Yeah, I guess I can be ready. I’ll let Max know. See you in a bit.”

  By the time Savannah ended the call, Gladys had served Lily her first kitty-cat pancake.

  “Look, Mommy,” the toddler chirped. “A cat. See the cat?”

  “Yes, that’s a cat, all right. Are you going to eat it? Here, let Mommy cut it up for you. Want syrup or jelly?”

  “No want to eat it!” Lily wailed.

  Savannah let out a sigh. “You aren’t going to eat it? Grammy made it for you to eat. Come on now, let’s take a bite.”

  Lily turned her head. “No!” she shouted.

  “What would you like to eat?” Savannah asked.

  The child glanced around the kitchen. “Kitty-cat toast.”

  The two women looked at each other and Gladys said, “I’ll fix it. Eat your breakfast, Vannie.”

  Savannah let out a sigh. She kissed Lily’s chubby cheek. “Okay. Let’s hope you’ll eat kitty toast.” She stabbed a slice of strawberry with Lily’s fork and offered it to her. “Here, eat more of your fruit.” Once Lily had started to eat her breakfast, Savannah sat down at her place, just as Teddy began squirming in his bed and making little wake-up sounds. Savannah took a couple of bites
of her soft-boiled egg and toast, then approached the baby. She changed him and began nursing, holding him close and drinking in his intoxicating newborn-baby scent. “I will miss you so much,” she whispered into his ear several minutes later as she laid him in the crib. By then, Lily and Gladys had finished their breakfast and were playing a bowling game in the middle of the large country kitchen. Savannah smiled at them before rushing off to prepare for her trip.

  “Did you check out that company through the Better Business Bureau?” Gladys asked when she and the toddler joined Savannah in her bedroom minutes later.

  “Yes.” Savannah said while folding a couple of t-shirts into her overnight bag. Her eyes flashed as she reported, “There have been complaints.”

  “What type of complaints?” Gladys asked. “Do you know?”

  “Oh, basically what you’d expect—the trip was too demanding, not enough forewarning about the dangers, more adventure than they bargained for—things like that.” She gazed into the hallway. “Oh, Mom, I hear Teddy. Let me finish packing, okay? I’ll be there in a minute.” She turned to the toddler. “Lily, want to help Mommy? Can you get my brown shoes out of the closet?” Savannah stepped into the bathroom and dropped a few of her toiletries into a makeup bag. When she returned, she said, “Good girl. Yes, that’s Mommy’s brown shoe. Put it in the black bag and go get the other shoe. Can you do that?”

  Lily nodded, tossed the shoe into the bag, and ran back to the closet.

  Shortly, Savannah said, “Good girl. Now let’s zip the bag and you can help me roll it into the living room.”

  When they joined Gladys and Teddy, Savannah approached them, ran her hand over Teddy’s little head and kissed him.

  Gladys smiled down at the infant, then frowned and said, “What’s your daughter doing? Looks like she’s wrestling with your overnight bag.”

  “Mommy’s shoes,” Lily said, sounding frustrated. “Gammy, Mommy’s brown shoes.”

  Savannah chuckled. “I think she wants to show you that she packed my brown shoes all by herself.” She unzipped the bag and Lily reached in, grabbed a shoe, and held it up for Gladys to see.

  “Mommy’s brown shoe,” she said proudly.

  Gladys smiled. “What a big girl you are!” She turned to Savannah. “Why are you taking your hiking shoes? What do you expect to find? You won’t be going into the backwoods, will you?”

  “I don’t know, Mom. I figured I’d better prepare for anything.” She looked down at Teddy, then at Lily. “If you have any trouble, call Helena or Esperanza. I’m sure either of them would be happy to help. They haven’t even met Teddy yet.” She frowned. “Darn, that reminds me. I told Helena I’d call her this week and set up a time for us to get together.” She looked pleadingly at her mother. “Mom, would you feel comfortable inviting Helena over to see the baby? I know she’d really appreciate it. And, like I said, I’m sure she’ll help if you need it.”

  Gladys smiled. “Yes. Helena and I get along marvelously. I’d love to visit with her. Just leave her number near the phone for me, will you?”

  Savannah left the room. When she returned, she placed a slip of paper next to the landline phone in the dining room, then picked up Lily and hugged and kissed her. “You be a good girl for Grammy.”

  “Mommy’s shoes,” Lily said, pointing.

  “Yup. Mommy’s taking her shoes bye-bye. Love you, punkin.”

  “Love you,” Lily repeated, wriggling herself free from Savannah’s embrace. She ran to her toy box and pulled out one of her dolls, then scrambled onto the sofa next to Gladys. “I feed my baby,” she announced.

  Savannah smiled and approached Teddy again, leaning over and kissing him on the head. “I’ll miss you so much,” she said. She gazed at Lily. “Both of you.”

  Before Savannah could step away, Gladys took her hand. “Be careful, Vannie. Please be careful.”

  “I will. No worries now. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  “Yes, please do. I’ll be worried out of my mind.”

  Suddenly, Lexie rushed to the front door, barking. Once the door opened and the Afghan-mix dog saw Margaret walk in, she began wagging her tail and dancing around her.

  “Hi, Lexie,” Margaret said. She called out, “Ready?”

  “Yes,” Savannah said, grasping the handle on her small suitcase and wheeling it toward the door. She looked out into the circular driveway. “Are you leaving your car here?”

  Margaret nodded. She handed Gladys a key, saying, “In case you need to go somewhere. My car has more room for carting kids around.” She nodded toward Gladys’s small sedan. “You’d break your back trying to strap them into that toy car of yours.”

  Savannah patted her aunt on the back. “Good thinking.” She turned to her mother “I’ll put the baby seats in Auntie’s car for you.”

  Gladys protested. “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be venturing out with two babies.”

  “Well, just in case,” Margaret said. “You never know when you’ll get cabin fever.”Once Savannah had transferred the children’s car seats, she headed back up the porch steps. “Forgot my phone charger!” she called out. “Be right back.” When she returned, she found Gladys and the children outside talking to Margaret. They were admiring the flowers blooming along the front of the house.

  “I love those hydrangeas,” Margaret said. “I always had a bouquet of them on the dining room table this time of year when I lived here.”

  “Yeah, we can’t do that much.” Savannah said. “Rags is murder on flowers.” She chuckled. “Literally.” She kissed the toddler again, embraced her mother and tiny son, and walked with Margaret toward her car.

  “Whose shoes?” Margaret asked.

  Savannah glanced down at the sneakers in her hand. “Adam’s. He left them after his last visit. We go right past their house and I thought I’d drop them off. I know he wears them a lot.”

  “So, where do they live?” Margaret asked. “I mean, how far is it?”

  “It’s a good hour drive from here.”

  “Do they know we’re coming?”

  “Yes. I texted Marci.”

  “Does she know why we’re heading in that direction?” Margaret asked.

  Savannah nodded. “I told her a little about our concerns for Brianna.”

  ****

  The women had traveled for about forty-five minutes when Margaret let out a shriek.

  “What?” Savannah asked, feeling as if her heart were in her throat.

  Margaret lifted her feet and shouted, “Vannie, there’s something in here!” She held her knees against her chest. “It’s alive. It touched my leg. Eeeewww! What was that? Vannie, pull over. I think a raccoon has found its way into your car…or a skunk, maybe.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Savannah screeched, trying to catch sight of the intruder as she drove. “A raccoon? A skunk?” When she saw an opportunity, she pulled the car over, leaped out, and ran to the shoulder. Margaret quickly joined her, leaving her door ajar. When nothing emerged from the floorboard, Savannah asked, “Are you sure you didn’t imagine it?”

  “No! No, I didn’t,” Margaret insisted. She shuddered. “Look under my seat.”

  “You look under there.”

  “Uh-uh.” Margaret glanced toward the car. “Do you have a stick or something we can use to scare it out?”

  “A stick?” Savannah questioned. “Why would I carry a stick in my car?”

  “There’s one,” Margaret said, picking it up off the ground. She handed it to Savannah. “Here, poke this under there.”

  Savannah recoiled. “You poke it. It’s on your side.”

  “No. It’s your car. Besides, I’m too scared.”

  “What if I’m scared?” Savannah protested. When it became obvious that Margaret wasn’t going to make a move toward the car, Savannah grabbed the stick from her. “Oh, all right.” She smirked playfully at her aunt. “You big sissy.” She stepped closer to the car, leaned over, and peered under the seat. She started
to poke the stick underneath, then suddenly retreated. “It’s alive!”

  “I know it’s alive,” Margaret said. “What is it?”

  Savannah’s voice sounded pinched. “I don’t know.” She swallowed hard and moved forward again. “Look out; I’m going to scare it out of there.” But before she could make her move, she jumped back, bumping into her aunt, and they both squealed with fright.

  Margaret was first to recover. She pointed. “Oh no, Vannie.”

  “What?” Savannah asked, turning back toward the car. That’s when she saw it—a furry face with white whiskers and green eyes peeking out from under the seat. “Oh my gosh!” she shouted. “How…? What…?” She shook her head in disbelief.

  Their stowaway simply stared back at the women and softly mewed.

  “Rags!” Savannah said under her breath. “How in the heck did you…?”

  Meanwhile, Margaret couldn’t contain herself. She burst out laughing. “You didn’t know he was in there?” she asked between fits of laughter. “You didn’t hide him away in the car on purpose?”

  “Absolutely not!” Savannah insisted. “Dang, he must have sneaked in there when Mom and Lily came out to see us off.”

  Margaret took a couple of shallow breaths and said more calmly, “Yeah, I noticed she’d left the door open, but I didn’t see him come outside.” She looked at her niece. “So what will you do with him?”

  “What can I do?” she whined. “It’s too late to turn back. I guess I’ll have to buy him a new harness and leash, for one thing. The rest, we’ll have to play by ear. Come on; let’s get back on the road.”

  After the women had traveled for another twenty minutes, Margaret asked, “Did your mom bring her cat when she moved in with you?”

  Savannah shook her head. “No. I thought she would. She seems attached to Darby, but she was afraid he wouldn’t do well with the children.” She chuckled. “Mom thought things might be even more chaotic around our place with an additional cat.” She glanced at her aunt. “I was okay with her bringing him, but I’m just as happy not to have another moocher.”

  Margaret frowned. “What did she do with Darby?”