“She’s in there, Odelia,” I said.
“Oh, thank God.”
“And she looks fine,” Dooley added. Harriet, Brutus and Shanille had also returned from their expedition, and Harriet said, “There’s plenty of people in there.”
“Yeah, looks like they’re in a meeting,” Shanille added.
“How many?” asked Odelia, bringing her phone to her lips.
“Um…” I thought for a moment, counting in my head. “Well, I saw… eight.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Harriet confirmed.
Odelia softly spoke into her phone, apprising her uncle of the situation at the cabin.
Her mission was now to distract those people, and make sure that they didn’t harm Angel, or take her hostage when the operation was finally set in motion.
I could see police officers approaching from all sides now, weapons out, and it was obvious that the situation could turn extremely volatile very quickly.
“We have to prevent them from taking Angel hostage,” I said.
“But how?” asked Shanille. “She’s in there and we’re out here!”
I glanced up at the roof, and saw that there was a small chimney. I gestured to the chimney, but Brutus grunted, “That probably leads to a wood stove, Max. Do you really want to get stuck inside a wood stove?”
“It won’t be lit,” I pointed out. “And it’s our only way in.”
I relayed my makeshift plan to Odelia, and moments later she was helping five cats onto the roof, which wasn’t as arduous as it sounds, since the roof was pretty low.
“And now what?” asked Harriet annoyedly as we sat around that chimney. “I can tell you right now that I’m not going in there. Can you imagine what that soot would do to my nice white fur? No way!”
“But Angel’s life is at stake, Harriet,” said Shanille. “We have to protect her!”
“I’ll go,” I said, but immediately Brutus held out a paw.
“You’ll get stuck, Max. Have you seen how tight that chimney is? I’ll go.”
“Wuggle bear!” Harriet cried.
“It’s fine, sweet peach. A little bit of soot won’t hurt me. It might even complement my natural color.”
“Oh, twinkle toes, you’re so brave!”
“I know, tootsie roll,” said Brutus with distinct lack of modesty.
“I want to go, too,” said Dooley after careful consideration. “I’m small and I’ll fit.”
“Okay, so why don’t you go first, Brutus?” I suggested. “And when you land safely you give us a sign, and then Dooley can go next and you can catch him.”
And so it was decided. Harriet looked on anxiously as her mate crawled on top of that chimney, looking butch and brave, then gave his lady love a little wave.“Wish me luck, buttercup.”
“Good luck, hot stuff!” said Harriet. “And do be careful!”
Luck’s got nothing to do with it,” Brutus growled. “It’s skill, hotcakes—pure skill!”
And then he was zooming down that chimney. There was a soft poof as he hit the wood stove and then his voice sounded,“I’m all right, you guys!”
“Dooley, you’re up next,” I said.
Dooley gulped a little, but then crawled on top of that chimney, to follow in Brutus’s pawsteps. “Any last words, Max?” he asked.
“Yes, Dooley. Aim for the eyes,” I said, my voice hard. Those people in there might not all be hardened criminals, but frankly I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for them. They had abducted Angel, and I now surmised they had a very nasty ending in mind for her.
Dooley zoomed down, and landed with a soft thud, and finally Shanille said,“I’m going in, too. Angel is my human, and I owe it to her to do what I can to keep her safe from harm.”
And then it was just me and Harriet on that roof, and I have to confess that the tension was killing me. Harriet must have been affected, too, for moments later she was crawling onto the top of the chimney, and I blinked and said,“Harriet, what are you doing?”
“I can’t let my hubby wubby do all this by himself, Max. I’m going in!”
“But Harriet, your beautiful fur!”
“I’ll be fine, Max!”
And then she was sliding down that chimney, uttering a soft yelp!
I glanced down the tube, and knew that Brutus was right: I would never fit in there.
“Oh, curse those big bones of mine,” I muttered as I tried to hear what was going on.
But since there was nothing I could do up there, I decided to return to terra firma, and first scrabbled down that slate roof, then hopped down onto the stack of firewood, then finally to the ground below, hurrying around the small building back to the front.
I hopped up onto the windowsill that offered a view into the cabin’s main room, and what I saw there was a sight for sore eyes: Brutus, Dooley, Shanille and Harriet were engaged in some combative action with no less than eight nemeses! Now I don’t know if you’ve ever been attacked by a cat, but it’s not a fun experience, I can tell you! We like to use every weapon in our arsenal, including but not limited to: eighteen claws (five on each front foot and four on each rear foot) and no less than thirty teeth and of course our exceptionally limber limbs and bodies we can twist and contort with surprising agility!
In other words: you don’t want to pick a fight with an angry feline! We might be small and cuddly, but we can be pretty vicious when we want to be!
Odelia, who’d joined me at the window, now saw the epic battle unfold, and whispered into her phone, “Now, Uncle Alec. Go, go, go!”
And so from all sides cops came hurrying up, and moments later the inhabitants of that cabin, who were too busy fighting off four cats, were surprised when the cabin door burst open and a small contingent of Uncle Alec’s troops came storming in. And as they were all led out, I watched as Chase slapped the handcuffs on Carmel Kraft. The others were, I assumed, Amy Ollermann, Beatrice Felag, Jody Huix and Bridget Elfman. And if I wasn’t mistaken, one of the three men, who was sporting a nasty bump on his forehead, and plenty of scratches on his arms, was a kid I’d seen behind the counter at McDonald’s. Presumably the boyfriend of one of Angel’s besties.
Though with BFFs like that, who needs enemies?
33
The reunion between Marigold and her daughter was touching, and the fact that we were there to witness it warmed all of our hearts.
And then Marigold said,“I want to introduce you to someone, sweetie.”
“Who?” asked Angel, who was teary-eyed but otherwise looked fine, in spite of her ordeal.
“This is your dad,” said Marigold, and stepped aside to reveal Francis Reilly standing there.
Angel looked confused for a moment, as she looked from her mom to the priest, but then her jaw dropped, and she said,“No way!”
“I’m your dad, Angel,” said Father Reilly unnecessarily. He looked pretty nervous, but also determined to do the right thing. “And I’m really sorry for not telling you sooner.”
“Oh, my God!” said Angel, and then she was hugging her dad, and squeezing him so fiercely the older man actually groaned. “I knew it!” she said finally as she released him from her grip. “I mean, I always had my suspicions, and actually, if I’m totally honest…” She quickly wiped away a tear. “I always kinda hoped you were my dad… Dad.”
“You did?” asked Francis, looking relieved that she hadn’t slapped him across the face or given him a kick in the shin.
“When I was little I actually dreamed that you were my dad—and now my dream has finally come true! Oh, this is the happiest day of my life!” But then she sobered. “Except that I just discovered that my best friends all tried to kill me. Which is kind of a bummer.”
“So who were the guys?” asked Odelia.
“Wesley Trygar and his two brothers,” said Angel. “I thought I recognized Wesley—Carmel only started dating him last month so I’ve only met him once or twice. And I never met his brothers but I heard they both have criminal records. Car theft and burglary.”
“And now they can add abduction to their rap sheet,” Chase grunted.