The Case of the Clever Secret Code Read online

  Funny, but he hadn’t even asked where Gracie was. I thought that would’ve been the first thing he did when he walked in. Especially since this was supposed to be part of her prize for being the winner of the essay contest.

  Shortly after that, I saw people walking around with plates of food. It looked like they’d already been to the kitchen.

  Our Mom just closed her eyes and shook her head. “I can’t believe this,” she said to our Dad. “Not only was it rude that he invited himself to dinner. But to invite this many people, too . . .”

  Our Dad frowned. “Without even asking our permission. This is pretty obnoxious.”

  Our Mom looked up at our Dad. “But what can we do now? These are people we know from around town. I don’t feel like we can just kick them out.”

  Our Dad ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “I know what you mean. Just because this Bronson guy has been so rude, doesn’t mean we have to be, too.”

  Our Mom nodded. “I guess we’ll have to make the best of it. It looks like the caterers brought over plenty of food. Let’s let them eat and then we can kick everyone out early.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” our Dad told her. “Let’s call Phoebe and see if she can come over. We might need her help.”

  “Good idea,” our Mom agreed. “Would you mind making the call? I’ll head to the kitchen and try to do some kind of traffic control.”

  “Got it,” our Dad said before he headed for a phone.

  Then our Mom turned and tried to work her way through the crowd. In the direction of the kitchen.

  It was right about then that we saw Frank walk in. His gaze went straight up to the second floor. Luckily, I spotted Lil who was now sitting squarely at the top of the landing. Exactly where she was supposed to be.

  Nadia made her way over to Frank.

  “Are you ready to start searching?” she asked him.

  Frank sort of laughed. “No use wasting any time.”

  “I’ll take the downstairs,” she said. “Why don’t you take the upstairs?”

  Frank ran his fingers through his messy hair. “I’m on it. That key has got to be somewhere in this town. And if this lady is an expert on the history of this place, you can bet she has it already. It could be sitting right here in her house. And she probably doesn’t even know what she has.”

  Nadia glanced around. “Well, we only have a few hours. So let’s get cracking. Abigail and her husband are going to have their hands full for a few hours. So they won’t see us searching.”

  I turned to my brother. “What does all this mean?”

  Bogey raised his brows. “A twist in our new case for the BBCDA, kid.”

  I’m sure my eyes went wider than my food dish. “It is?”

  Bogey scanned the crowd. “Yup, kid. And we’ll need to make a slight change in our security plans.”

  I nodded. “Should we stick closer to Frank and Nadia?”

  “Like white on rice, kid,” Bogey meowed above the hubbub. “Looks like they plan to search our house for some kind of a key. Whatever you do, don’t let them walk out of here with anything. Don’t be afraid to use your claws if you need to.”

  “Aye, aye,” I said as I tried to salute Bogey. This time my paw only missed my forehead by about an inch.

  But Bogey didn’t see it. That’s because we were suddenly too busy watching Frank start to walk up the stairs. I could hardly believe it. None of the other people at the party went upstairs. I guess they already knew it would be rude and that they shouldn’t go upstairs in someone’s home without permission. But Frank didn’t seem to care one bit about that.

  Seconds later, we saw Nadia push open the French doors to our Mom’s office and slip inside.

  Bogey stood at attention. “We’d better get a move on, kid. I’ll tail Nadia down here. You go upstairs and keep a close tail on Frank!”

  “I’m on it,” I meowed back.

  Right away, the whole situation made me pretty nervous. Especially the idea that Frank and Nadia wanted a key that our Mom had. Because, if there was one thing I’d learned in my short time as a cat detective, it was that crooks often tried to steal keys. That way they could go back into a home or a building without having to break in. So if Frank was looking for a key, maybe he wanted to break into our house later. Or into our Mom’s store.

  I jumped down. Then I wove my way around and dodged all the feet on the floor. Just as I did, I noticed a red-haired, young man with a camera step through the front door. It was the same reporter with the St. Gertrude Times who had taken Gracie’s picture after the essay contest. Our Dad had already kicked out the other reporters who tried to film inside our house. I wondered if he knew this guy had just walked in.

  That’s when I suddenly realized who wasn’t here tonight. Tango and Bravo. And I really had to wonder why. Somehow I couldn’t imagine Steele Bronson going anywhere without his security team!

  I finally made it to the edge of the stairs when the red-haired reporter waved up to Frank.

  “Where are you going?” he hollered. “I understand you’re Steele Bronson’s writer. I want to get your picture. And I wanted to tell you about my screenplay.”

  Frank motioned for the reporter to join him. “Come take my picture up here.”

  The next thing I knew, the reporter was also going up the stairs. Our stairs. The stairs in our home.

  Right at that moment, my heart began to pound and I flexed my claws. Then I raced up those stairs at about a million miles an hour. I passed those two men climbing the stairs like they were standing still. When I got to the top, I sat just as tall as I could next to Lil. Side by side. Blocking their way. I glared at those men without blinking. Just like I’d seen Bogey do before.

  “Well, isn’t that cute,” the newspaper reporter laughed. “I’m working on a Cats of St. Gertrude calendar. Wouldn’t this make a great shot?”

  And before I knew it, a bright light flashed in front of my eyes. Apparently the reporter had taken our picture.

  The only problem was, I couldn’t see a thing now. Except for the image of that bright light that kept on flashing in my eyes.

  “It’s called an afterimage, Detective Buckley,” Lil murmured to me. “It’ll go away in a minute.”

  Well, I sure was looking forward to that.

  Only it didn’t go away. That’s because the reporter took another picture of us. And another.

  Pretty soon I couldn’t see a thing. Except for lots and lots of bright flashes of light.

  “Move away from the light,” Lil’s voice floated over to me. “Run!”

  And so I did. But there were so many bright images flashing in my eyes that I couldn’t see where I was going. And I ran straight into the banister at the top of the stairs.

  “Over here,” Lil meowed. “Run toward my voice.”

  So I did. All the while, I could heard Frank and the reporter still talking. From the sound of their voices, I could tell they’d now made it up to the second floor.

  “I’m a little busy right now,” Frank said. “But you can drop your screenplay off at the library tomorrow. We’re setting up to start filming on the new movie.”

  “That would be terrific,” the reporter said. “But I’d still like to get your picture.”

  “Fine,” Frank told him. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you get a picture of me with one of these cats? For your calendar?”

  By now, my eyesight was starting to come back a little. I could barely make out Lil and the hallway. We weren’t far from the sunroom.

  “The Princess,” Lil meowed. “She’s in the sunroom with Miss Mokie. We’ve got to warn her. So she can hide. We can’t have her picture taken by a newspaper reporter!”

  That’s when a chill ran up and down my spine. We were supposed to protect the Princess. We were supposed to keep her safe and hidden.

  But my eyes were still a little fuzzy and I could barely tell where I was going. So I did my best to head toward the sunroom. Then I started meowing her na
me just as loud as I could.

  Lil joined me. And together we staggered toward the sunroom door.

  “Hide, Princess! Hide!” I kept on meowing.

  A few seconds later, I could barely make out the edges of the wood around the sunroom door. Then I felt the warmth of the sun when I stumbled into the room.

  I could feel Lil next to me.

  “Princess!” I kept on yelling. “Princess, run and hide!”

  My eyesight finally came back to me, and right away I didn’t like what I saw. For there was the Wise One sitting on her purple velvet couch. And across from her was the Princess. She was sleeping on the same flowered chair where she always sat.

  Her head popped up and she blinked a few times as we came barreling in.

  “Hide!” Lil and I hollered again.

  She shook her head and tried to stand up. Then she jumped down just as Frank and the reporter came into the room. She blinked a few more times. And then she suddenly raced to hide behind Miss Mokie’s purple velvet couch.

  But it was too late. She’d already been spotted.

  “There!” Frank said as he pointed to the couch. “I want my picture taken with that cat.”

  “What cat?” the reporter asked. “Not that old, weathered gray cat. She’s not what I would call ‘photo pretty.’”

  And that’s when Lil and I almost came unglued. Nobody talked about Miss Mokie like that.

  Frank laughed. “No, not that old cat. I want my picture taken with that cat wearing the diamond collar. The one who just ran back there.”

  Without another word, Frank reached behind the couch and grabbed that little Princess. He pulled her out and sat down on Miss Mokie’s couch. All ready for his picture. I could see the Princess was terrified and Miss Mokie was furious.

  “Okay,” the reporter said. “Say ‘cheese.’”

  Then everything happened almost at once. Frank held the Princess up and the reporter clicked his camera. The flash lit up the room just as one of Miss Mokie’s big paws landed on Frank’s hand. It was a direct hit. Her claws were fully extended, and let me tell you, they looked sharp!

  Frank screamed and tossed the Princess off to the side. She ran behind the couch again and Frank put his hand in his mouth. Probably to stop the bleeding.

  Then he turned and glared at Miss Mokie.

  And she glared right back at him.

  He started to lift his hand, like he was going to hit her. And she raised her paw again and extended her claws once more.

  Frank kept watching her as he stood up. “Did you get the shot?”

  The reporter’s eyes were wide before he looked down at the camera. “This one looks fine. The diamonds really sparkle. But I don’t think we’d better take another one.”

  “You and me both,” Frank mumbled. “Let’s get out of here.”

  The reporter walked out and Frank backed out of the room.

  Miss Mokie smiled a smug smile. “No one grabs Princess Alexandra on my watch.”

  Let met tell you, Miss Mokie may have been so old that she was practically ancient. But that didn’t seem to matter where she was concerned. Because, even at her age, that cat sure knew how to pack a wallop!

  Lil glanced at me. “We’d better get going. We’ve still got to keep on eye on these two. I’ll watch the reporter and see if I can get to his camera. You’re tailing Frank, right?”

  “I sure am,” I told her. “Now more than ever.”

  Lil and I bowed before Miss Mokie and then raced from the room.

  I paused for just a second to holler to the Princess. “Be sure to stay behind the couch, Princess! Until the party is over!”

  “I will, Buckley,” came her shaky voice.

  And I knew she would. The only problem was, it might be too late. That reporter had already taken her picture. A picture that could put the Princess in danger.

  Now the question was, what did he plan to do with that photo?

  Holy Catnip!

  CHAPTER 15

  Holy Mackerel!

  Lil raced after the reporter and I caught up to Frank. The two men had paused to talk for a couple of minutes on the second-story landing. Then the reporter headed straight for the staircase, with Lil right behind him.

  But Frank clearly had no intention of going downstairs. Instead he went from room to room, looking in drawers and closets. Bogey would have said that Frank acted like a man on a mission. He took paintings off the walls and looked on the backs. He also put his ear to several walls and knocked on them. Then he listened carefully, like he was trying to see if it was hollow or not. I tailed him the whole time and watched his every move.

  He seemed especially interested in any antique furniture he could find. He pulled out drawers from those pieces and glanced at the bottoms. Plus he checked out the backs and sides and underneath of any furniture that looked old, too.

  And he did it all really, really fast!

  I could hardly believe it! I guess he was looking for that “key” that he and Nadia had been talking about.

  Not that it made any difference what he was looking for. Because he had no business searching around our house like that! And if he found some key in our home, well, he sure had no business taking it, either!

  Finally, when he strolled right into our Mom and Dad’s bedroom, I’d had enough. I knew what Bogey would want me to do. He’d want me to put a stop to this Frank guy. Once and for all. So, I decided to do just that.

  But the funny thing was, I don’t think Frank had even noticed me. He must have been so busy trying to find whatever he was trying to find, the he didn’t see me tailing him.

  So I had no trouble getting into position. I moved about ten feet away from Frank and scrunched down. I wiggled my back end a couple of times and got ready to spring. I watched him pull out a couple of the top drawers of our Mom’s dresser and search around. But I waited until he pulled out the bottom drawer, and that’s when I made my move. I pushed off with my big, strong back legs. Full speed ahead! I shoved right into that drawer and pushed with all my strength.

  And all my weight.

  Sometimes it pays to be an extra big guy. Because that drawer closed with a really loud thunk! It smashed Frank’s hand right between the dresser and the drawer. Really hard.

  The same hand that Miss Mokie had dug her claws into.

  Frank let out a loud “Yeeeooow!” Then he yanked his hand out, and bent over and grabbed it.

  He was still bending over when I bounced onto our Mom and Dad’s bed and sprung into the air. I landed right smack dab in the middle of Frank’s back. Of course, I had each one of my claws out on each one of my paws. And let me tell you, I dug in deep! Plus, being such a big guy, I knocked him right down to the floor.

  Then I jumped off and bounced back onto our Mom and Dad’s bed. Ready for another attack.

  Frank screamed again and rolled around on the floor.

  He was still there when our Dad came rushing up and stood in the doorway. Our Dad took one look at Frank and the open drawers. Then he saw me on the bed, and I figured he must have put two and two together. At first our Dad’s eyes went wide. But then he clamped his jaw together and his eyebrows came down low on his forehead.

  Let me tell you, our Dad didn’t get mad very often. And it sure took a lot to make him mad. But I could tell he was mad right now. Really mad!

  “Excuse me, but what are you doing in our bedroom?” our Dad yelled.

  He grabbed Frank by the shirt collar and picked him up.

  “Take it easy,” Frank sputtered. “Your cats attacked me. I was only protecting myself.”

  “Yeah, right,” our Dad said. “Listen buddy, our bedroom is off limits. You’ll have to go downstairs with everyone else.”

  Frank held onto his injured hand. “Okay, okay. Just let me go.”

  Our Dad patted down Frank’s pockets. “Right after I make sure you didn’t steal anything.”

  Frank cringed. “Hey, you don’t have any right to do that.”

&
nbsp; Our Dad stared straight into Frank’s eyes. “Would you rather I let the police do it instead? By the way, who are you?”

  “I’m Frank,” he said. “I work for Steele. I’m his writer.”

  “Doesn’t that just figure,” our Dad murmured.

  Then without another word, our Dad pretty much escorted Frank from the room. He sort of walked him down the hall and to the staircase. I followed them both.

  “Don’t come back up here,” our Dad told him. “If I catch you going through our rooms again, I’ll have you arrested. Do you understand?”

  “Got it,” Frank snickered.

  He was still holding his hand as he staggered down the stairs. I could see little rips on the back of his shirt where I’d landed on him.

  Our Dad stood at the top of the stairs with his arms folded. I rubbed up against his legs and sat beside him.

  He reached down and petted me on the head. “Buckley, I don’t know what happened up here. But if you or the other cats did scratch him . . . well, he probably had it coming. I think you were probably just protecting your family.”

  Boy, he could say that again!

  I stood on my back legs and stretched up my Dad’s side. So he would pick me up.

  And he did just that. “You’re a good guy, Buckley.”

  Well, he would know. Because our Dad was a good guy, too.

  “I think we could use you downstairs,” he told me. “We’ve sure had our hands full down there, taking care of this pack of people.”

  Probably just like us cats had our paws full, watching Steele Bronson and his bunch. Our Dad leaned me over his shoulder and carried me down the stairs.

  And let me tell you, it was the perfect position for surveillance. Because I could see the whole downstairs as I rode along on my Dad’s shoulder. I noticed Lil had stuck to the reporter and was probably waiting for him to set his camera down. I figured she’d probably try to sneak the camera away so we could get rid of the picture of the Princess. But it didn’t look like she was having any luck.