A Case Full of Cats Page 5

  Courtney shook her head. “I checked in with Detective Fletcher, but I don’t think the police will be able to do much about it. They don’t have enough leads. They’re focusing more on that string of burglaries that was just on the news, although I personally think this could be part of the same thing.”

  Jessi sighed. “I guess I can’t blame them, there. Oh, by the way, let me know if you find an earring anywhere around here. I lost one the other day, and I haven’t seen it since.”

  “What did it look like?” Courtney was able to see the feed from the first camera, so they took the ladder to the other side of the building and started again.

  “It was a dangle earring with little wire twists. It’s not the kind of thing I’d normally wear to work, but I wanted to try them out. Of course, I had to end up losing one.” She rolled her eyes at herself.

  “We’ll keep an eye out for it,” Courtney promised.

  By the time they were done, they had one security camera pointing down the hall of the shelter side, one that overlooked the hotel side, and one that watched the lobby area. Courtney had them all linked in with the app, and it would record plenty of hours of footage for them to review if anything else strange happened.

  The day flew by as Courtney arranged for homes for the rest of the dogs who could no longer stay in the kennel. Lisa had taken Beau, and she’d contacted enough friends and coworkers that the other big dogs were all playing in someone’s back yard by the end of the day.

  This made her heart feel light as she turned onto her street. The dogs may not be in permanent homes, but those who’d come in to serve as foster parents had seemed genuinely interested in preparing these dogs for the time when they’d be permanently adopted. It would be so much better for them to live in a home instead of a shelter, and Courtney was once again reminded that a true foster program was a great idea.

  As with any other happy thoughts she’d had lately, it quickly ran away when she noticed a dirty black car sitting on the side of the street in front of her apartment, just past her driveway. As she crept closer, it fired up its engine and zoomed away. She could swear it was the same one that’d left the Curly Bay Pet Hotel and Rescue in such a hurry, a notion that didn’t sit well with her.

  Courtney parked inside the garage and locked the car even once she’d closed the garage door. She then locked the door that led into the house behind her and retrieved the package she’d set on the kitchen table the previous evening. It had an identical security system to the one they’d just installed at the shelter. Her savings account had been hit rather hard by the two purchases, but she felt much better by the end of the evening when she’d gone through an installation all over again.

  Chapter Eight

  There was something about sleeping with cameras pointing out each of her doors that was just so comforting, and Courtney was grateful for a good night’s sleep. News bits didn’t normally keep her up at night when they were national stories that didn’t directly affect her, but hearing the burglary reports creep closer and closer to home had been unnerving, to say the least.

  She called Lisa on her way in to work. “It’s been a couple days, so I just thought I’d see how Beau is doing.”

  “Oh, he’s great! Aren’t you, Beau? Aren’t you the handsomest man? You ready for your breakfast?” The dog’s gentle woof could be heard in the background.

  “I can tell the two of you are getting along swimmingly,” Courtney said with a smile.

  “We really are,” Lisa admitted. “I knew I wanted to do this because the shelter and Beau needed my help, but now that he’s here I realize I’m doing it just as much for myself. I haven’t gotten to know a whole lot of people since I moved to Curly Bay, and Beau is great company. Last night while I was sitting on the couch watching TV, he lay right down on top of my feet and went to sleep.”

  “That’s wonderful. We really did need your help, and in finding foster homes for the other dogs, you’ve been more help than you could possibly imagine. The code enforcement officer showed up promptly yesterday afternoon to make sure that end of the building was blocked off.” She still couldn’t believe what bad luck she was having.

  “I’m honestly surprised it worked out so well,” Lisa replied. “I just started asking everyone I could think of, figuring they’d mostly say no. Maybe there’s something appealing for some folks in knowing that they’re only keeping the dog temporarily. In my experience, though, temporary usually turns to permanent.”

  “You think so?” Courtney couldn’t wait to get the building fixed so they could start moving on with new programs for the shelter, and this foster thing was so exciting!

  “Oh, yeah. I remember finding a kitten on the side of the road when I was a kid. I brought it home and cleaned it up. It had a few little wounds from being out on its own. I knew my dad would never let me keep it, so I asked if I could keep her in a box in my room just until it was healthy enough to find a new home. Well, the kitten started curling up to sleep on my dad’s chest, and it never left our house again,” Lisa chuckled.

  “That’s a good one! Listen, we’re thinking about starting up a foster program at the shelter. Do you think you’d be interested? I’d love to have people who can help get these pets acclimated to life in a real home and increase their chances of being rescued. I’d do it myself if Mrs. Peabody wouldn’t get so up-in-arms about it.” Courtney had already tried once to bring home a shelter dog who was pitifully grieving the loss of his owner. Gunner had been a good boy, and Courtney had never intended to keep him, but she didn’t need to risk another run-in with her landlady.

  “Keep me on the list, for sure. I might not always be able to do it, especially if I’m planning a vacation or something, but I’d love to help again.”

  “Have I told you how awesome you are?” Courtney loved to know there were other people in the world who cared about the animals, and if they did do this foster thing, Jessi might come to see it as well.

  “Don’t give me a big head, now! I’ve got to get ready for work, but I’ll talk to you later.”

  Courtney smiled as she drove to work, but it was wiped off her face when she walked in. “What’s going on here?”

  Dora and Jessi were already there, as it was Courtney’s scheduled day to arrive late. Dora was chasing a Bichon Frisé with a pink bow in her hair through the lobby, while Jessi stood on the stepladder to lift a calico from the top shelf.

  “They got out again,” Dora explained. “This time, it was the whole building. Cats and dogs from all over. It’s been a fun morning already.”

  Courtney took a leash from the wall and clipped it onto a schnauzer who was snoozing in one of the lobby chairs. “Did anyone check the security cameras yet?”

  “Haven’t exactly had time,” Jessi said, straining to reach the cat. Every time she reached for the calico, it inched away down the shelf before sitting down to casually lick its paws.

  “Right.” Courtney escorted the schnauzer down the hall to the hotel. She couldn’t put it back in its cage because someone else happened to be sleeping in it. “Ritz, what do you think you’re doing here? You might be dressed fancy, but this isn’t where you belong.” She scooped out the cat, who purred happily against her shoulder.

  As she brought Ritz back to the cat room, she noticed a small ball of gray fluff sitting near the thoroughly locked door to the dog room. Sighing, she put Ritz away and went to retrieve the kitten. “I’m sorry, but Beau isn’t staying here right now. You’ll have to be content to cuddle with your siblings.” She returned the kitten to its cage, found that fat marmalade bathing himself on her desk again, and pulled a Brussels Griffon from the trash can it’d knocked over.

  When the three women reconvened in the office, Courtney pulled the security software up on her computer so they could all see more easily. “Okay. We’ll start here, which is right as we left the building. We know everything was fine at that point. I’ll just fast-forward while we’re here on this screen, where we can see all the c
ameras at once. Let me know if you see anything we need to slow down for.” She and the others practically held their breath as they reviewed the footage, waiting to see someone walk in the front doors or climb through a window.

  Instead, they saw Ritz waltz out of the cat room, several other cats behind him. They watched him roam to the other side of the building, where he nudged past the door to the hotel side. Courtney leaned forward, keeping her eyes on the black-and-white figure. Due to the angle of the camera here, she could see Ritz walk up to the cages of the guests. With a few flicks of his paw, he opened the latch and let out an Abyssinian!

  “I can’t believe this!” She rewound the video just to be sure. “It’s Ritz! I mean, I had my suspicions, but still.”

  “And look, you can see him let out several of the others,” Dora said, pointing out that Ritz had moved past the Abyssinian’s cage to free a Persian.

  Courtney sat back and rubbed her hand over her face, laughing. “What a little brat! I know we’re not supposed to have locks on the cages, but we’ll have to figure out something.”

  Jessi nodded. “That’s true. We’ve been lucky enough that the animals who have gotten out haven’t gotten into any spats. The last thing we need is one of our patrons to get upset because her pooch got a scratch on the cheek from a feisty feline. The way things have been going for us, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  “You’re right. Hmm.” Courtney slowly stood up, thinking.

  “What is it?” Dora asked.

  “Well, if Ritz is the one who’s letting all the animals out, then we know we don’t have to worry about a person somehow getting in to do it, right?”

  “Right,” they both said with a nod.

  “And you saw on that video how easily the cat was able to manipulate the latches. It was no problem for him, and he clearly is a very curious cat who doesn’t just stop with letting out one animal.”

  “What’s your point?” Jessi asked.

  “I’m going to see if Ritz will make it for me.” Courtney led the way from the office and into the shelter with the other two women following close behind. She opened Ritz’s cage and took him out, handing him over to Jessi. The tuxedo cat didn’t mind any of the attention, settling easily into Jessi’s arms.

  Courtney’s hand was shaking as she pulled back the folded blanket that served as Ritz’s bed. Something glimmered at her from underneath the corner, and she pulled out an earring. It was a dangly one made of long, twisted wires of silver. “Jessi, I believe this is yours.”

  “My earring! Awesome!” She took it from Courtney. Ritz reached out and grabbed her hand with his paw, bringing the earring close to his mouth where he tried to bite it. “I don’t think so,” Jessi scolded him.

  “And here’s my missing pen.” Courtney held up the pen she’d been looking for the other day. She’d stopped thinking about it once she couldn’t find it, but there was only one way it could’ve ended up in Ritz’s cage. “Now cross your fingers,” she said as she lifted the bedding back the rest of the way.

  The diamond collar from Mrs. Throgmorton glimmered from the recesses of the cage. Courtney eagerly snatched it up and laughed out loud. “All this time, it’s been right here!”

  “Someone has an eye for shiny things,” Dora commented as she scratched Ritz beneath the chin. “What do we do with the little thief?”

  “What do you think, Ritz? Should we call Detective Fletcher and have him book you?” Courtney teased. “For now, we’ll have to find a different latch to put on his cage. We may have to risk some sort of lock, because we really can’t have him or anyone else wandering around. In fact, I think that’s more dangerous than a lock.”

  “Agreed. I’ll see if I can get a hold of Ms. O’Donnell and get her approval for something,” Dora offered as she headed back into the office.

  “Thanks.” Courtney and Jessi made sure Ritz wasn’t hiding any other contraband in his cage before putting him back in and using a twist tie to keep him—at least temporarily—confined.

  Courtney walked into the lobby just as Mrs. Throgmorton strolled in with Sir Glitter under one arm. She sported a deep tan, and the dog wore a tiny pair of designer sunglasses perched on top of his head. “Courtney, dear! I’m so sorry! I took some time off to go to the beach house, and I completely forgot that I get terrible reception there! As soon as I got back into town, I saw all the missed calls and voicemails. Please tell me you didn’t do anything to fix the issues with the fundraiser?”

  She hadn’t exactly had the time. “I haven’t, I’m afraid.”

  “Good, because I did. I wasn’t about to come over here and talk to you without doing something about it myself. I have a good connection with a plumber, and I sent him straight over to the Old Train Depot. He assures me he’ll have everything fixed in time for the event. Then I called my cousin, because I know her daughter sings with a band in the city. Long story short, she’s coming out to sub in for the fundraiser, and everything is back on track.” She waved her arms as though she’d pulled it all together with magic.

  Courtney pressed a hand to her chest. “That’s so wonderful to hear! The repairs only seem to be causing me more trouble at every turn, and I’m eager to get them done. I also need to be honest with you.”

  Mrs. Throgmorton tipped her head to the side. “What is it, dear?”

  “The diamond collar you donated went missing for a few days. I was afraid of telling you, because I didn’t want you to be upset, but it turns out one of our cats swiped it.” She could feel heat blooming in her cheeks, embarrassed at not having taken better care of such an expensive item.

  But Mrs. Throgmorton let out a loud laugh. “A real cat burglar! How about that? You should put something about it on the bid sheet. A dog collar that even the cats can’t keep their paws off of!” She laughed again, obviously not bothered in the least by the fact that the collar had been missing in the first place.

  “I’ll do that! Is there anything you need me to do as far as the event goes? I’ve been posting about it like crazy online, and Jessi put some flyers up around town.” Courtney had been starting to wonder if they’d ever be able to hold the fundraiser with the bad luck they were having. Now, with everything straightened out, she realized it’d been just that, bad luck.

  “Oh! I have tons of silent auction items. We’ll get them brought in so you can do the bid sheets.”

  By the time they’d brought it all in, the front lobby held a signed guitar, a vintage lamp, a pair of tickets for a cruise, several gift cards, vintage wine, several pieces of jewelry, and even an antique chair. There were numerous experiences and opportunities that could be won as well, and Courtney paged through them with surprise. “Become a named character in Connie Gilbert’s next novel. Gourmet dinner for two made in your home. Backstage passes, autographed pictures, vacations, wow! You really went all out, Mrs. Throgmorton!”

  She waved off the praise. “You might as well get something out of schmoozing with the wealthy, right?” she said with a little laugh.

  Courtney grinned. With these items, they would make more than enough money to fix the roof.

  Chapter Nine

  “What do you think of this one, Mom?” Courtney stood back so that the camera on her phone could pick up a full-length image. She tipped her head from side to side to see how her faux diamond earrings looked with her ensemble. “I need something that’s formal enough to wear to this event, but still lets me work with the animals. I told Mrs. Throgmorton I’d be working with the animals most of the night, but she still insists I get up in front of everyone and say a few words.”

  “And so you should! You’ve worked very hard to make all this happen, dear. You deserve a little recognition. Personally, I wouldn’t go with the velvet. You’ll be covered in fur as soon as you walk in the door. Maybe a suit in a lighter color?”

  “Oh, I didn’t think about that! I’ve got that gray Calvin Klein sheath dress with the matching blazer. That should work.” She turned around to dig it out of th
e closet. “I put most of my business attire all the way at the back, since I don’t really need it here.”

  “You seem to be settling in nicely,” Mrs. Cain commented. “I’m glad to see you looking so happy.”

  Courtney laid the dress and blazer on the end of her bed and picked up her phone so she could see her mother more clearly. “Do I?”

  “Yes, you really do. I was worried about you after all the stuff with Sam. It’s not easy for any woman to get her heart broken, and in such a cruel way. I always did think you were too good for him, though, and I can see you’ve very much moved on.” She smiled at her daughter.

  “Thanks, Mom. I have. I mean, I’ve had times when I’ve still been really angry with him. The funny thing about Curly Bay, though, is that it just makes the rest of the world go away. I don’t worry about what I’m missing in the city or where I could’ve been with my career if I’d stayed in marketing. I really like it here.”

  “And I much prefer to hear stories about smart cats who know how to get out of their cages than corporate lackeys causing drama,” Mrs. Cain joked.

  Courtney laughed. “I know! The work doesn’t weigh me down the way marketing did. The shelter has had its challenges, for sure. This fundraiser has certainly been one of them. As of tomorrow night, though, it’ll be all over and I can get the roof repaired.”

  “Do you have any last-minute preparations?”

  “I need to check my notebook.” She’d wanted to keep all her ideas in one place, and the little binder she was using also had a pocket where she’d put all the printed bid sheets. Courtney walked into the living room and opened her purse, but the notebook wasn’t there. She checked the kitchen table, the counter, and her car, but still no luck. “I think I left it at work. I’ll have to go get it.”

  “You could just get it in the morning,” her mother suggested.