Spy Cat (2 page)

“The sheriff went across the street to talk to the family who moved in last week,” Rocky said, “to see if anyone saw a car or people at our house while we were gone. I need to get back. I wanted to tell you what happened, but when I tried to call, your line was busy for a long time.”

“I was on the Internet, doing my homework.”

“Do you want to come over to my house?”

“I’m watching Benjie while Mom and Dad buy groceries; I can’t leave unless I take him along.” Alex didn’t
have to explain why that wouldn’t be a good idea. Rocky knew all about Benjie’s spy games. “Right now he’s busy spying on the new people who are moving in next door. You can stay here, if you want to.”

“Maybe I’ll come over later,” Rocky said. “I want to go home and find out if the sheriff got any leads. I’m kind of shook up over this.”

“I don’t blame you. Let me know what happens.”

Rocky started to leave, then turned to look back. “Keep your doors locked,” he said.

“I will.”

Pete jumped to the window ledge and watched Rocky ride his bike down the driveway. That burglar had better not try to break in here. If he does
,
he’ll get more than he bargained for
,
Pete thought.

I’ll bite him in the ankle. I’ll climb his leg and shred his pants. He’ll have more holes in his backside than a piece of Swiss cheese.

Alex stared at the door for a few seconds after Rocky left. Had someone been watching Rocky’s house, waiting for his family to leave? Would the burglars return to Valley View Estates?

He walked to the front door and checked to be sure it was locked. Then he paced around the house, angry at whoever had broken into Rocky’s home. It made him furious to see his friend so upset, and he felt helpless to do
anything about it. Why did there have to be such bad people in the world?

He was still fuming when Benjie came in the kitchen door, followed by a girl who appeared to be about the same age as Alex.

“This is Mary,” Benjie said. “She’s our new neighbor and she wants to use our telephone.”

Alex introduced himself, then showed Mary the phone.

“Do you have a directory that I could use?” she asked. “I need to call the electric company. Our power isn’t on yet; it was supposed to get turned on yesterday. The phone company is coming this afternoon, but Gramma’s afraid if we wait until then to call, it’ll be too late to get power today.”

Alex opened the cupboard where the phone book was kept and handed the directory to Mary. He wanted to tell Benjie about the burglary, but he didn’t trust his brother not to take his spy kit and head straight for Rocky’s house.

Pete jumped to the floor and walked toward the girl. Even though noisy Benjie was still in the room
,
Pete was curious about this visitor. She looked and smelled like someone who loved animals.

“
What a beautiful cat
,”
Mary said.

Pete went closer.

“
This is Pete
,”
Alex said.

Mary smiled at Pete.
“
He’s a big one
,”
she said.

While Mary looked up the number Pete sniffed at the hem of her jeans. He rubbed his face on one of her shoes.

When she finished her call
,
Mary let Pete sniff her hand.

Pete smelled soap and bread and some kind of animal—not a cat or a dog
,
something different. He inhaled deeply
,
trying to recognize the scent.

“He probably smells Pearly, the possum. I put fresh water in her cage before I came over.”

“I never heard of a possum for a pet,” Alex said. “The only possum I ever saw was dead on the side of the road.”

Pete growled. He wished humans wouldn’t talk about such horrible things.

“She isn’t a pet,” Mary said. “The car ahead of us hit her, and the driver didn’t bother to stop. Gramma and I could see she was still alive, so we took her to a wildlife rehabilitation center. Gramma’s a licensed foster parent for the center and for another animal rescue group. The center’s vets were able to save Pearly, but one front paw hasn’t healed yet. As soon as it does, she’ll be released back into the wild.”

Pete rubbed against Mary’s ankles
,
purring loudly. Anyone who would rescue an injured animal was Pete’s friend.

“I wanted to keep Pearly and call her Pearly the permanent possum,” Mary said, “but Gramma says it’s unkind to keep a wild animal in a cage. Pearly will be happier in her natural habitat.”

“I thought for sure you had pets,” Benjie said.

“There are usually two or three other critters living with us until they can be released in the wild or put up for adoption. Right now we have a cat named Howley Girl, who has a cold and has to be isolated, and a dog named Rufus, who had one leg amputated. He’ll be with us until his stump heals.”

“Gross,” said Benjie.

“Rufus isn’t gross,” Mary said, “but the boys who used him for target practice are.” She gave the telephone directory back to Alex. “Thanks for letting me use your phone.”

“Do you need help carrying stuff into the house?” Alex asked. “I’m not doing anything this morning except watching Benjie while my parents are at the grocery store.”

“I don’t need watching,” Benjie said. “I’ll help, too.”

“That would be great,” Mary said. “A moving company is bringing the furniture, but we packed everything else in boxes ourselves, and it all has to get unloaded. Gramma is too independent to admit it, but I can tell she’s getting tired.”

Alex wrote a quick note for his parents. “Mom and Dad: Benjie and I are next door helping the new neighbors move in.” He hesitated, tempted to add the news about the burglary, but he decided to wait and tell it in person.

Benjie set his binoculars and his spy backpack on the kitchen table then followed Alex and Mary out the door.
Alex reached back, caught the door before it slammed, and turned the lock button. If he needed to get into the house before Mom and Dad returned, he could use the spare key that was hidden in the garage.

Yesterday he would have left the door open and not thought anything about it, but not today. Not after what had happened only two streets away.

It’s Saturday, Alex thought, and my homework’s done, and the new neighbors are interesting people. I shouldn’t have a care in the world, but instead I’m tense and anxious.

Burglars take more than household goods. They also steal peace of mind.

A
s they walked
toward the rental truck, Mary said, “I’ll start school on Monday at Hilltop School.”

“That’s where we go,” Benjie said. “I’m in first grade.”

“What grade are you in?” Alex asked Mary.

“Sixth.”

“So am I.”

“Do you like it?” Mary asked.

Alex shrugged. “School is school. It’s okay, I guess, except for all the homework.”

“I love school,” Mary said. “Especially science.”

“I love school, too,” Benjie said. “Especially recess.”

As they approached Mary’s house, a handsome golden retriever hobbled toward them on three legs, wagging his tail.

“This is Rufus,” Mary said.

The dog licked Alex’s hand and submitted to a hug from Benjie.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Mary said. “He still trusts and loves people after all he’s been through.”

Mary introduced her grandmother, Mrs. Sunburg. Then they all set to work carrying cardboard boxes from the truck to the house.

The three kids chatted as they worked.

“Gramma tried to save money on our move,” Mary said, “so she hired two men who call themselves Muscle Men Movers. They weren’t too careful when they loaded our things. One of them dropped my desk, and we’re lucky it wasn’t ruined. I don’t think they have much experience.”

“How did she know about them?” Alex asked.

“From an ad stuck on the bulletin board outside the post office. I think we should have used an established moving company. They were supposed to follow us here, but we’ve been here over an hour, and they haven’t arrived yet.”

“Maybe they got lost.”

Mary sighed. “Gramma is too trusting,” she said. “She’s always trying to help out somebody in need. She hired those jokers because she thought they needed the money, not because they were qualified. I hope we see our furniture again.”

Mrs. Sunburg came out in time to hear that last comment. “You must have faith in your fellowman,” she said. “Think good of others, and they’ll live up to your opinion of them.”

“I hope you’re right,” Mary said, “but I don’t have too high an opinion of anyone who calls Pearly a stupid rat. That guy even said we had to drive Pearly over here ourselves because he ‘didn’t want a stupid rat’s cage’ in his truck. As if I would have entrusted Pearly to those two.”

“We had a rat in my classroom last year,” Benjie said. “His name was Randolph and we took turns cleaning his cage. He wasn’t stupid, though. He was smart. He learned his name and he learned to run back in his cage whenever the bell rang.”

“Pearly probably isn’t as smart as a rat,” Mary said. “Possums have small brains. But that’s no reason to dislike her. Did you know that possums are marsupials? They carry their young in pouches, the way kangaroos do.”

Every few minutes, a loud cat howl came from behind a closed door on the second floor and echoed through the house.

“I can hear Howley Girl,” Alex said. “You gave her the right name.”

“She’s shut in the upstairs bathroom until we finish moving in,” Mary said. “We were afraid she’d slip outside and get lost.”

“Can I go in and see her?” Benjie asked.

“You’d better not, since you have a cat at home. Cat colds are contagious, and I wouldn’t want Pete to get sick.”

It was noon when they hauled the last box inside. Muscle Men Movers still hadn’t arrived with the furniture.

By then Alex knew that Mary’s parents both worked for a nonprofit organization that provided medical supplies to needy people in other countries.

“They get home twice a year to visit,” Mary said. “I live with Gramma and her critters.”

Alex didn’t think he’d like that arrangement. Even though Mom nagged him to clean his room and eat more vegetables, and Dad had strict rules about no TV until Alex’s homework was done, Alex knew he would miss his parents terribly if they were gone for months at a time.

“You must have lunch with us,” Mrs. Sunburg said as she took the top off a large cooler. “I brought more food than Mary and I can eat.” She made each of them a sandwich while Mary poured orange juice into glasses.

“Saturday is my main spy day,” Benjie said as they ate. “Today I’m going to look for flying green panthers. Their tails spin around like helicopter propellers, and the panthers rise up and hover over the treetops.”

Mrs. Sunburg looked startled.

Mary laughed.

“The panthers are hard to spot,” Benjie went on, “because they’re the same color as the leaves, and their tails don’t make any noise. I’ll need to use my binoculars.”

“Let me know if you see one,” Mary said. “I’d like to see it, too.”

“I will,” Benjie promised. “Maybe I’ll even show you my secret spy hideout.”

“That’s an honor,” Alex told Mary.

Mrs. Sunburg said, “I shouldn’t think there would be much work for a spy in Valley View Estates. We chose this house because it’s so peaceful here. What a relief to be out in the country, away from all the big-city crime.”

“We’ve had trouble here, too,” Alex said.

“I know about the arson fires,” Mrs. Sunburg said. “We got this house at a bargain price because it had to be rebuilt.”

“Is there any dessert?” Benjie asked.

“Benjie!” Alex said. “That isn’t polite.”

“I’m afraid not,” Mrs. Sunburg said. “I’m trying to lose weight, and Mary doesn’t have a sweet tooth.”

“We need to get home, anyway,” Alex said. “Thanks for lunch.”

Benjie ran on ahead. Alex knew he was heading for the cookie jar.

Alex lingered long enough to tell Mrs. Sunburg and Mary about the burglary at Rocky’s house. He didn’t like to worry them, but he wanted them to be cautious.

When Alex got home, his parents were watching a television news broadcast while they ate sandwiches. Benjie sat at the table with an open package of frosted animal cookies in front of him.

Ordinarily Alex would have ignored the news and gone for the cookies, but as he walked in he heard the announcer say, “Last night a burglary in Hilltop almost turned deadly.”

Alex looked at the TV screen. Valley View Estates was at the edge of Hilltop! Was the announcer going to tell about the burglary at Rocky’s house? But that had been this morning, not last night. There must have been another burglary in the area.

When the commercials finally ended, the announcer said, “A cat burglar struck the small rural community of Hilltop last night. Darren Ludwig, who lives alone in a rented house, awakened around two
A.M.
and heard someone in his kitchen. When he went to investigate, he was struck on the head and knocked unconscious. By the time Mr. Ludwig came to and called for help, the burglar had removed many valuables from the home. Mr. Ludwig has a concussion but is expected to make a full recovery.”

Alex felt a chill down the back of his neck. He wondered if the person who had hit the man on the head last night had also been in Rocky’s house this morning.

“There has been a rash of burglaries in rural areas in recent weeks,” the announcer said. “The cat burglar, who entered the Hilltop home by breaking a window, usually comes at night, although there have been some daytime burglaries, too. Police don’t know if the same person is responsible for all the thefts. Everyone is reminded to keep their doors and windows locked.”

“Why is there never any good news?” Mr. Kendrill said. “Every day we hear about murders and wars and now another burglary.”

“
Why do cats always get the blame?
”
Pete said.
“
Nobody ever talks about dog burglars.
”

“Burglars broke into Rocky’s house,” Alex said.

“They did?” Mr. Kendrill said. “When?”