Secrets Trickery and Meows (Klepto Cat Mystery Book 27) Read online

  Holly smoothed her daughter’s hair. “For dessert, okay? It’s lunchtime now. Grammy and I made some egg salad and tuna salad for sandwiches.”

  Savannah asked, “So do we know who won the treasure hunt?”

  “No,” Cassie said. “Mom wouldn’t let us look at our things until you came back.”

  “Okay, then how about we do show-and-tell with our treasures after lunch. Sound good?”

  “Yes!” Cassie shouted. “Come on, Adam. Let’s eat fast.”

  “That won’t do you any good,” Holly scolded. “We’re not looking at our treasures until everyone has finished eating. Now let’s take our time and enjoy our delicious lunch, shall we?”

  “And pie,” Cassie added.

  “Yes,” Holly said, “and pie.”

  ****

  By the time everyone had finished eating and the kitchen was cleaned up, Cassie and Adam had lugged their bags of treasures into what the two families had dubbed the withdrawing room. They waited for the others to join them.

  “Come sit by me, Aunt Savannah,” Cassie invited. “Our team can sit on this sofa.” She called out to Lily, who was combing her doll’s hair, “Come sit with us, Lily. We’re going to look at our treasures.”

  “Pinecone?” Lily said. “I find a pinecone.”

  “Yes, you did, sweet pea,” Savannah said. “Want to come sit with Mommy and Cassie?”

  “Okay,” Adam said, “I’ll call out the treasures and we’ll take them out of our bags one at a time. Ready?”

  “Ready!” Savannah, Holly, and Cassie shouted.

  “Who found a pinecone?” Adam asked.

  “We did,” Cassie said, holding up a large pinecone.

  “I find a pinecone,” Lily chirped.

  “So did we,” Adam said, displaying the one he’d allowed Bethany to choose. “So that’s one point for each of us.”

  “One point?” Michael questioned. “Shouldn’t Cassie get more points since her pinecone’s bigger?”

  Adam stared down at his pinecone, then looked at Cassie’s. “Okay, Dad and Uncle Keith, you vote for which of our treasures is best and that person gets extra points.”

  “Yay,” Cassie said.

  “Wait,” Adam instructed. “They didn’t vote yet.”

  “Okay, I vote for Cassie’s pinecone,” Michael said. He corrected himself. “I mean Lily’s pinecone, because it’s definitely bigger.”

  “That’s another point for Team Cassie,” Adam grumbled

  Keith looked at Michael and Cassie and said, “Well, I vote for Adam’s pinecone—would that be Team Holly?”

  “Yes!” Adam shouted.

  “Why, Dad?” Cassie asked. “Our pinecone’s bigger.”

  “But look at your mommy’s team’s pinecone. It has personality. It looks like a porcupine. Yours just looks like a big pinecone.”

  “Okay, we each have two points,” Adam said, smiling. He pulled a small stone from his bag and held it up for the others to see. “Heart rock.”

  Cassie lifted a palm-size rock from her bag.

  “That’s not a heart,” Adam challenged.

  “Yes it is. Look at the design in the rock. It’s shaped like a heart,” she insisted.

  “Wow,” Keith said, “she’s right.” He gave her a high five. “Good job, Team Savannah. I vote for Cassie’s rock.”

  “Well, I have to say,” Michael said, “Team Holly’s rock is small, but it’s more heart-shaped than Team Savannah’s rock.”

  Adam looked at Keith, then Michael. “Okay, that’s two more points for each of us.” He dug into the bottom of his bag and came up with a wilted thistle flower. “Flower,” he announced. “Did you find a flower?”

  “Lots of them,” Cassie said. She flashed a look at Savannah. “Aunt Savannah wouldn’t let me pick them all.” She held up a flower from a fireweed plant. “So we chose just this one little pink flower.”

  “Us too,” Adam said,

  “That’s a tie,” Michael said.

  Keith agreed.

  “Did you find anything made of metal?” Adam asked.

  “You forgot the toad,” Cassie reminded. “We were supposed to find a toad. Did you find one, Adam?”

  “Naw. Didn’t even get a picture of one. Did you?”

  Cassie shook her head. “Okay, metal.” She reached into her bag. “We found an old nail close to the porch.”

  Adam asked Holly. “Do you have the picture of what we found?”

  “Yes.” She turned on her phone, scrolled through her pictures, and showed one to Savannah and Cassie.

  “What is that?” Savannah asked.

  Adam giggled. “A fence. We took a picture of a metal fence post and wire.”

  “Oh, I think Team Savannah’s the clear winner this time,” Michael said.

  “What?” Keith objected. “…a wire fence with metal posts—are you kidding? That’s a sure winner.”

  Michael explained, “Yeah, but if Cassie hadn’t picked up that nail, we might have run over it and gotten ourselves a flat tire. Not only did they find something metal, they may have saved us a lot of damage and time and distress.”

  Keith grinned at his brother. “Okay then, another tie.”

  “Something valuable,” Adam read from his list. He jumped a little with excitement. “Wait ’til you see what valuable thing we found.”

  “What?” Cassie asked.

  “Show me yours first,” he challenged.

  Cassie shook her head. “No, you show yours.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. He reached into his bag. “We found a soda bottle.”

  Cassie wrinkled her nose. “A bottle? That looks like trash to me. What’s so valuable about an old bottle?”

  “It’s worth money!” he exclaimed. “Your mom said we can take it to a store and get a nickel for it. That’s valuable. So what did you find?”

  Cassie held up a small bottle and blurted, “Some pills.”

  “Pills? What kind of pills?” Adam asked.

  “I don’t know. But Aunt Savannah says they would be valuable to whoever lost them.”

  “Yeah, but would they give you money for them?” When Cassie didn’t respond, Adam tilted his head and added, “Hey, I know someone who lost some pills.”

  “Someone from your school in California?” Cassie asked.

  “No. I met him here. He told me that when I went out to get wood for the fireplace a couple of nights ago. And I saw him when I took Lexie for a walk yesterday too.”

  “I went with you and Lexie yesterday. I didn’t see him.” Cassie cocked her head. “Is he an imaginary friend?”

  “No,” Adam insisted. “He’s real. I don’t know why you didn’t see him. I said hi to him.”

  “Where does he live?” she asked.

  Adam shrugged. “Probably in one of the cabins up here someplace.”

  “So who gets the prize?” Michael asked.

  Adam thought for a moment and said, “Well, we all found trash and some clothes, so I guess it’s a tie. We need to break the tie.”

  Michael stared at his son for a moment, then asked, “How many prizes do you have? Are there enough for everyone?”

  “Yes,” Keith said, “it looks like everyone’s a winner.”

  Gladys smiled. “As it should be.” She nodded. “Sure. I made enough sugar cookies with sprinkles for everyone.”

  “Cookies on top of pumpkin pie?” Keith complained.

  Holly winked at him. “Hey, we’re on vacation.”

  “Cookie!” Lily squealed. “I want cookie.”

  “Of course you do,” Michael said, tickling his daughter. After a few minutes, Michael asked, “Is something wrong, Son?”

  “Well, yeah,” Adam admitted. “It just seems like when you have a contest with a prize someone should win and someone should lose.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because when someone works hard and does good, they should be rewarded,” Adam insisted. br />
  “Are you saying that you don’t think Team Savannah worked as hard as your team did?”

  “Well, no. I guess I’m not saying that.”

  Michael tilted his head. “You don’t think they deserve to win?”

  “I’m not saying that, either, Dad.”

  “Then what are you saying? I don’t quite get what you’re telling me.”

  Adam sat quietly for a moment, then said, “I don’t actually know. Your questions kind of messed up my thinking.”

  Michael smiled and hugged his son. “Or do you think that maybe my questions kind of cleared up your thinking?”

  Adam looked confused. “Huh?”

  “Come on Son, let’s go get a pitcher of milk to go with those cookies, shall we?”

  ****

  Later that evening after dinner dishes were done and Teddy had been fed, Michael held the baby while he watched Lily and Bethany play tea party.

  “Where’s my laptop?” Savannah asked, looking around the room. She saw it on the large coffee table and walked toward it. “Whoa!” she yelped. “Rags, you nearly tripped me. What’s he after?” When she saw him push through the split in the drapes, she followed him to the window. “What do you see, buddy?”

  Cassie joined her aunt and the cat. “What’s out there?”

  “You got me,” Savannah said. “Hey, turn on the porch light.”

  Cassie obeyed and returned to where Savannah and Rags continued to stare out the window. Soon Adam joined them and Bethany wandered over. “Do you see a bear?” the three-year-old asked, wide-eyed.

  Savannah picked up the child and snuggled with her. “Bear, huh? You think there’s a bear out there?”

  “It’s probably just my friend,” Adam said, matter-of-factly. “I see him around this time of night.”

  “Your friend?” Savannah asked.

  Just then, Cassie grabbed Adam’s arm. “Hey, let’s go look at our treasures.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. “I want to see your pills.”

  “I want to see your bottle.” But before Adam could run off, Cassie stopped him. More seriously, she said, “Aunt Savannah took the pills. She said we shouldn’t play with them.”

  Savannah grinned at the children, then sat down next to Lily on the sofa with her laptop. “Well, I want to see what’s up with the missing boy.”

  “What are you finding?” Holly asked a few minutes later, easing down on the other side of Lily.

  “Oh, here’s a story about a missing child in this area.” She frowned. “Gosh, he’s only twelve years old. It says the state placed him in a temporary halfway house and they hope he can eventually be placed with a relative.”

  “So he’s in limbo,” Holly said quietly. “What an awful way to spend your childhood. Poor kid.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?” Savannah said. “Let’s see, he’s been missing for almost a week.” She winced. “No wonder the authorities don’t hold out much hope for him.” After a few moments, she turned to Holly. “He has a medical problem. He’s on medication, so they’re concerned about that.”

  Holly cringed. “Darn it. I wish he’d go back to the home. It can’t be as bad as living out in the elements.”

  “Maybe…” Savannah started.

  “Maybe what?” Holly asked. “No don’t say it. Yeah, the wilderness is a dangerous place.” She spoke more softly. “I hope he’s okay—safe in a warm house being fed and sleeping in a cozy bed at night”

  “Let’s hope so,” Savannah agreed.

  “What’s his name?” Holly asked. “I’ll pray for him.”

  “Good idea.” Savannah studied the computer screen again. “Let’s see, his name’s Eli.”

  “What about Eli?” Adam asked as he walked into the room.

  “He’s missing,” Savannah told him. “No one knows where he is.”

  “Wait,” Adam said, “are you talking about a kid? A barefoot kid named Eli?”

  Savannah and Holly looked at him. “Have you seen him, Adam?” Savannah asked.

  “Yeah. I see him just about every day. I told you that.”

  “Where?”

  “Where what?” Michael asked, hearing the urgency in Savannah’s voice.

  “Adam says he knows a kid named Eli, and that happens to be the name of the boy who’s missing—the one whose shoe we found.”

  Adam looked confused. “Do you think that shoe belongs to my friend, Eli? He doesn’t wear shoes, but I don’t think he’s lost. He didn’t tell me he’s lost.”

  Savannah put her hands on Adam’s arms and looked into his face. “Hey, Buddy, what does your friend Eli look like?”

  “Oh, he’s…” Adam started.

  “Wait,” she said, tapping on the computer screen a few times. She pointed. “Is this him?”

  “Yeah!” Adam said, his eyes wide. “Yeah, that’s Eli. Only his hair’s longer in that picture and now he’s wearing a heavy coat that looks way big for him. But yeah, that’s Eli.” He looked at Savannah. “He’s lost?”

  “Yes.”

  “Adam, do you know where he is now?” Michael asked. “We need to call the authorities and get him some help. A young boy could die out there. The temperature really dips at night.” Making sure he had his son’s attention, he asked, “Did he tell you why he ran away?”

  Adam shook his head. “No. I didn’t know he ran away. I thought he was just a neighbor who came out to visit me sometimes.”

  “Where do you usually see him?” Keith asked.

  Adam pointed. “Right outside there.”

  Michael looked at his brother and they said in unison, “The hot water heater.”

  “Huh?” Adam said. “Where are you going, Dad?”

  “Be right back. You stay here.”

  When the brothers returned, they were not alone. The others watched as the men ushered a reluctant young boy into the room. “Adam,” Michael said calmly, “Eli came to visit.”

  “Hi, Eli,” Adam greeted.

  “Oh, Eli,” Savannah said, “come in and warm yourself here in front of the fire.”

  “Do you want something to eat?” Holly asked.

  The boy lowered his head and said quietly, “No, thank you.”

  “We have spaghetti and meatballs,” she said enticingly.

  “I…um…I already had my dinner.”

  Not believing him, Savannah stood and headed for the kitchen. “Well, I think you’re going to really like Grammy’s spaghetti and meatballs. I’ll get you a plate.”

  As Savannah disappeared into the kitchen, Holly said, “And a cup of warm cocoa.” She winked at the boy. “Want it with or without marshmallows?”

  “Um…yes…I am a little thirsty. That would be good.” He smiled weakly. “Marshmallows, please.”

  “Marshmallows, Daddy,” Lily chirped.

  “Me too,” Bethany said. “I want marshmallows and cocoa.”

  “Okay,” Holly said, “cocoa and marshmallows for everyone.”

  By the time the boy had eaten a plate of spaghetti and finished two cups of cocoa, the authorities had arrived along with Eli’s aunt and uncle. Upon seeing him, his aunt, Kristen, approached. “Eli, we’re so glad to find you. We were really worried.”

  “About me?” he asked. “Why? Everyone knows I can take care of myself.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” his uncle, Daniel, said, “but we can’t. We’ve been staying in a motel in the village just waiting for them to find you. Look, kid, you might be okay on your own, but we need you with us, right Kris?”

  She smiled and smoothed the boy’s hair. “Absolutely.”

  “You do?” he asked innocently. “Oh, I didn’t know that. No one told me. I thought…”

  “Well, you thought wrong,” Kristen said. “The courts have awarded us custody; that is if you’d like to live with us and your cousins on the farm. You’ve always been a natural on the farm.”

  His face lit up. “I love the farm and the animals.” E
li then said, “Hey, I have a new pet. Can I bring her with me to the farm? I think she’d like that.”

  Kristen shook her head. “You and your pets. What is it this time, Pied Piper?”

  Eli looked confused. “Huh?”

  “What kind of pet?” Daniel asked, smiling.

  “A horned toad. She’s so cool. Can she come with me, huh?”

  “Sure, son,” Daniel said. “But we’ll need to do some research and learn how to properly care for her.”

  Kristen added, “And we’ll have to find a way to keep her safe from the cats.”

  Eli scoured the room with his eyes. “Hey, where’s that cat that lives here?” He addressed Michael, then Keith, “That’s your cat, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, we have a cat with us,” Savannah said. She nodded toward Lexie. “And a dog.”

  Kristen studied Lexie for a moment. “What kind of dog is that?”

  “We think she’s part Afghan hound.”

  “I thought so,” Kristen said. “She’s cute.” When Lexie walked up to the woman for some petting, she said, “Maybe part cocker or even poodle, the way some of her fur sort of curls.”

  “Is your cat big and gray with some white?” Eli asked.

  Savannah nodded. “So you’ve met Rags, have you?”

  “Yes, he used to come out and sleep with me until a few nights ago. I see him through the window sometimes. Don’t you let him outside anymore?”

  Savannah smiled. “Actually, Eli, we weren’t letting him out.” More dramatically, she said, “He’s a notorious escape artist.” When she noticed that Eli was waiting for more, she said, “Yeah, we just found out recently that he’s been sneaking out.” She shook her head. “He was hanging out with you, huh?”

  Eli looked around. “Where is he?”

  “He was looking out the window a while ago. I guess at you,” Michael said. He glanced around the large room. “Where did he go, anyway?”

  Savannah felt a pang of fear in the pit of her stomach. She looked at their guests. “He didn’t go out when you came in did he?”

  “I’ll call him,” Eli said. He took a breath and called out, “Hey cat, kitty-kitty-kitty,” he trilled. “Mr. Cat, come on now.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Adam said. “There he is looking at us from outside the big window.” He ran toward the front door. “I’ll let him in. Come on, Rags,” he said, opening the door. “How did you get out there, anyway?”