My cat said nothing as I marched away. His hot-and-cold attitude always kept me guessing, but I wasn’t in the mood for games this morning. I needed a sympathetic ear and something worthwhile to distract me. Besides, I’d promised myself I would save Paisley from Pringle’s pretend interrogation just as soon as I’d checked in next door.
Hmm. Now where could they be?
I stashed the muffin basket in the kitchen, keeping one in my hand to nourish me on my search, then headed back outside. Thankfully, the moving truck had now pulled away. Presumably they’d gone next door to finish their job of sticking me with the world’s worst neighbor.Bah.
I wasn’t often in a foul mood, partially because I hated who I became whenever rage flew through my veins. Maybe I could ask Nan to lead me on one of her guided meditations when she got back home. Or heck, maybe I’d hit the town and engage in a little retail therapy. True, considering my P.I. client load was light, my funds came directly from my cat’s trust fund—but if he’d simply been willing to extend a sympathetic ear, I wouldn’t need to find some other way to lift my spirits.
Yes, shopping. That would be a good way to keep myself busy today. Just as soon as I rescued that poor little dog of mine.
“Paisley!” I cried, trotting down the porch steps and sweeping my line of vision across the yard.
But she didn’t come running. Didn’t even bark in acknowledgment. Weird.
“Paisley!” I tried again, eyeing the forest for any sudden flash of movement.
When I still didn’t receive any response, fear began to claw at my quickly beating heart. The new neighbor hadn’t hurt her, had she? Honestly, after our rude encounter, I wouldn’t put it past her. Oh no.
I broke into a jog, rounding the house, calling out for Paisley at the top of my lungs.
“Yeesh. Will you quiet down already?” Pringle poked his head out of his tree house and stared down at me with shining black eyes. “Raccoons have hearing that’s at least a thousand times better than humans. True fact. I heard it on the Kardashians. Anyway… you’re giving me a headache, and you’re interrupting my interrogation. Not a winning combo, toots.”
“Mommy,” Paisley whimpered softly from somewhere above me. What?Noooo.
“Pringle, did you…?” But I didn’t even need to finish asking the question before I was tossing my muffin to the ground and launching myself up the ladder and into the trash panda’s tree fort. Sure enough, the little dog sat cowering in a live trap. And every time she shook, the entire cage rattled in response.
“Pringle,” I fumed, unable to tear my eyes away from the terrified pup. “How could you?”
He appeared unmoved by the whole thing as he settled himself comfortably in the window.“The dog wouldn’t submit to questioning, so I had to bring her in.”
“He said he would gag me if I answered you when you were calling, Mommy.” Paisley spoke fast and in a higher pitch than usual. “I don’t know what that means, but I was so afraid.”
“Open the cage,” I commanded between gritted teeth. “Open it right now.”
“All right, all right. So dramatic. She’s not hurt. See?” Pringle deftly unlatched the cage, allowing Paisley to bolt out straight into my arms.
“He dognapped me!” The little dog barked and whined, burrowing into me. “I’ve never been so afraid in my whole life, Mommy.”
I stroked Paisley and cuddled her to my chest while glaring daggers at the raccoon.“Pringle, you’re losing your TVs and your Nerf guns, and if I ever catch you inside my house again, I’ll turn you into Davey Crockett wearable memorabilia.”
Pringle brought a hand to his chest and gasped.“You wouldn’t.”
“Don’t try me.” Of course I would never hurt him or any animal, but he’d gone too far in kidnapping and trapping Paisley, all because of some imaginary role-playing game. I’d just about had it with this day already and was close to calling it off altogether. Would it really be that unforgivable if I went back to bed before even fully finishing my breakfast?
I tucked Paisley under my arm and then began to slowly descend the ladder. Halfway to the ground, a question popped into my mind and I retraced my steps.“Pringle? Where did you get that live trap?”
He shifted to his haunches and smiled at me with pointy teeth exposed.“Oh, I found it on the porch next door. It looked handy, so I swiped it.”
A wave of anxiety crashed over me.“You stole this from our new neighbor?” If she found this thing on my property, she was going to be livid.
Pringle shrugged.“Steal is a harsh word. More like I borrowed it.”
Now I was really torn. If that cruel woman actually managed to trap an animal, there’s no telling what she might do to torment it. Then again, the last thing I wanted was to encourage Pringle’s thieving ways.
“I’m coming back for it,” I told him with a stern look before making my way back down the ladder. I’d have to find someplace to hide it from the both of them. Yes, stealing was wrong, but animal cruelty was far, far worse.
Let’s just hope I had a bit of time before she realized it was missing.
4
I deposited Paisley in the second-floor bedroom she and Nan share, then closed the door so that Octo-Cat wouldn’t come in and bother her. “Try to get some rest. I’ll be back in a little while to check on you, and Nan will be home before you know it too.”
“Mommy, can you stay with me until I fall asleep?” the little dog begged, and I didn’t have the heart to say no.
I waited as she arranged herself on the pillow with the silk case that Nan kept on the bed especially for her doggie soulmate. Once she was cuddled into a tight little ball, I began to slowly stroke her fur, waiting for her breaths to come more slowly as sleep took her.
Soon I’d be getting married to Charles, and that simple act would change all our lives. Even though Paisley and I shared a close bond, she was actually Nan’s dog, and she would be leaving with her when she moved out. My heart clenched as I realized just how much I would miss the little thing. Sure, we’d visit each other all the time, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Even after Paisley dozed off, I could have sat there loving on her all day. But no, I had a live trap to hide. With a soft sigh, I let myself out of the room as quietly as I could so as not to disturb Paisley, then headed back outside.
Octo-Cat followed along without comment, which in itself was odd. He only spoke when I put my hand on the first rung of the ladder that led up to the treehouse.
“What are you doing?” he demanded with a cool, uninterested voice.
“Taking care of business,” I mumbled as I focused on raising one hand over the other. The ladder wasn’t built with humans in mind, and I worried that if I wasn’t cautious enough, the whole thing might collapse on me.
Thankfully, I made it up without incident, grabbed the live trap and almost threw the darned thing down to the ground. Then my rational brain woke back up just in time to warn me that the noise might further attract the new neighbor’s ire—and reveal the theft. I couldn’t exactly blame the situation on the raccoon without sounding like a crazy person, so I did my best to climb down one-handed while holding tight to the cage with the other.
“Why was that up there?” my cat wanted to know when I’d finally made it to the ground. Of course he didn’t offer to help, but at least he didn’t criticize.
“Pringle stole it from the neighbor and then used it as a makeshift prison for Paisley,” I explained, upset all over again as I recalled the horrific scene.
Octo-Cat shook his head.“Someone should really make Davey Crockett memorabilia out of him.”
“That’s what I said,” I exclaimed, then realized I was really having a bad day if I was starting to sound like my cranky cat.
Octo-Cat exposed his claws and stretched into a complicated yoga pose.“Just say the word. As you know, cats are the most elite hunters in any biosphere.”