The Curious Cat Spy Club by Linda Joy Singleton

Author:Linda Joy Singleton
Language: eng, fra
Format: epub
Published: 2015-01-03T21:41:40+00:00

- Chapter 14 -

Lost and Found

There I said it—the ugly suspicion gnawing at me.

Digging my fingers into the comforter, I wait to hear what Leo and Becca think of my suspicion.

Leo taps his chin like he’s considering the idea but Becca is frowning.

“I don’t believe it.” Becca shakes her head. “Only a few were pedigreed and worth a lot. So why would anyone steal all those pets?”

“I didn’t say all of them were stolen,” I argue. “Just a lot.”

“No one needs to steal a pet—our kennel is full of animals no one wants. Most of the missing pets are mixed breeds, not purebreds worth lots of money.” Becca taps her finger on a flyer with a photo of a scruffy mixed-breed terrier. “Why would anyone steal a dog that is half-blind and sixteen years old.”

“That’s 112 years old in dog years,” Leo says.

“Not even the dumbest pet thief in the world would steal an old, blind dog,” Becca points out. “Besides, the flyer says that dog wandered off because a gate was left open. Kelsey, I know you like mysteries, but animals get lost all the time. This is not a mystery.”

I want to argue but she sounds so logical that I doubt myself.

It’s a surprise when Leo takes my side. “According to my calculations,” he says, “factoring in the estimated population of Sun Flower with the ratio of missing reports, the percentage of lost pets is high.”

I glance at Becca to see if this convinces her but she just looks confused.

“Let’s just focus on helping animals,” Becca says with a sigh. “Whether they’re lost or stolen, they need to be found.”

“By the CCSC,” Leo adds.

“Want to go out riding tomorrow?” I ask. But they both shake their heads. Leo has flute practice and Becca doesn’t say what she’s doing, just that she can’t make it. We agree to go pet-hunting the day after.

We aren’t in a hurry to leave, so we pass around the papers and talk about missing pets. Becca scans and prints each flyer so we all have our own copies.

Leo perches himself on a high step of the ladder, his loafers dangling in the air while he reads through the papers. I lean over Becca’s shoulder, reading along with her. The terriers are curled on the bed too and the smallest climbs into my lap. I scratch beneath his chin as I memorize each photo so the next time I spot a missing animal like the gray cat, I’ll be ready.

We’re all so quiet, the loudest noise coming from the snoring goat, when Leo suddenly shouts. “A map!” He jumps down from the ladder with a thump, scattering Becca’s flyers over the floor. “I need a map.”

“Why?” Becca asks as she picks up her papers.

“To map out the locations where pets have gone missing,” Leo explains. “May I use your computer?”

“Sure,” Becca says, gesturing toward her desk.

As he prints out a map of Sun Flower, he tells Becca, “I need pushpins, multicolored.”

Becca opens a desk drawer, fumbles around, and then drops pins into Leo’s waiting hand.

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