Black Cat and the Accidental Angel (Black Cat Mysteries Book 3) (4 page)

“It might be easier now to climb the bank and go along the road.” Angel picked her way through the dirt clods and stickers, headed toward the rock wall.

He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous on the road. We could be hit by a car or worse, picked up by the local animal shelter. For some reason, our
persons
left us behind and didn’t come back. If they’re dead…” He lowered his ears and pulled back his whiskers. Where did that come from? He hadn’t allowed himself to think about that possibility. The thought was mind-boggling.
Scratch that thought from your head.

How was it that he could know anything about animal shelters or dangerous cars when he couldn’t even remember his name? Memory loss must be selective. Well, best to work with what you had and hope the rest would come later. “Follow me.” He led the way through the orchard below the levee road, searching for something, anything to point the way home. He could do this. He had to do this
.
Cats have some kind of built-in homing device, right?

Chapter Four

Q
uick, Daddy Brett!” Amanda clutched her carton of Starbucks orange juice. Wrappings from her breakfast sandwich lay crumpled on the floor mat.

“Don’t worry, honey. We’ll find them.” Checking a local map, Brett determined the accident had occurred on the Johnson Levee Road. He drove toward the north side of Cloverdale where the levee road branched off the freeway toward Lake County. At the cut-off, he popped in his ear bud, and keeping an eye on the road, punched in his friend, Jack’s, number on his cell phone. It rang several times.
Pick up. Come on Jack, pick up.

“Herman’s Motor Lodge, Jack—”

“Hey, it’s me, Brett. I need your help.”

“Brett! Where are you? I expected you folks back yesterday. What’s happened?”

“What didn’t happen? We were rear-ended outside of Cloverdale yesterday afternoon. Dorian and Kimberlee are in the hospital and—”

“Are they alright? How’s Amanda?”

“She’s fine. Kimberlee has a bump on her head. Dorian dislocated her shoulder. They were both kept overnight for observation, but they should be discharged this morning. Listen, something else. Animal control came out and got Sam. I just picked him up at the SPCA. He’s here with me now, but—”

“What about Thumper? He’s not… He didn’t…”

“No. Here’s the thing. Look, I can’t explain right now. Thumper’s carrier was thrown from the car when the truck hit us and in the confusion, we didn’t even realize…” He put his hand to his forehead. He wasn’t explaining this very well.
Read between the lines, Jack!

“Good Lord. Where the heck is he?”

“He and Grandmother’s cat are still in the cage out at the—”

“What’s Grandmother’s cat got to do—?”

“I’ll tell you all about it when we get home.” Brett glanced into the rear view mirror. Amanda’s eyes stared back. “You know… They could be…
Umm
… Amanda’s here in the car… I can’t really go into details… You know…”
Fill in the blanks, Jack. I’m such a jackass. Our pets were left on the side of the road and I didn’t even miss them until this morning. Get it?

That wasn’t exactly true. He had assumed they were being cared for at the SPCA, but he felt guilty, knowing what had really happened. Now, pray God, they were alright.

“What do ya need me ta do?”

“Can you drive down and help me look for them? I’ll be on the Johnson Levee Road, about thirteen miles north of Cloverdale.”

“That’s all ya gotta say. I’ll gather a few things and I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“I’m beat up pretty bad from the airbag… My wrist… I don’t think I could crawl down the embankment and bring the carrier back by myself. I’ll need help.”

“Gotcha’. I’m on my way out the door. I’ll meet ya on the levee road in about an hour. Now, Brett, don’t ya worry. I’ll take care of everything. We’ll find em’. Ya need anything else?”

“We ate before I went to the SPCA. Jack. I feel awful. What am I going to do if…” He glanced back at Amanda.

“I know Thumper. He’s a trooper.” Jack chuckled. “I think he’s still got six or seven of his nine lives left.”

“We’re turning onto the levee road now. I’ll locate the crash site and we’ll wait for you there. Hurry, Jack, and thanks.”

“No need… See ya’ in a few.”

Good old Jack. He was the kind of friend you could always count on, no matter what you needed
.

Brett’s hand shook on the steering wheel as they neared the accident site. Where was that wide place in the road where he tried to turn around? His stomach churned when long streaks of dark skid marks and shards of broken glass appeared on the asphalt. No need to look further. This was the place.

Brett pulled his car off the road at the widest point and switched on the hazard lights. What if they found the cats seriously injured, or dead?
The carrier could have been crushed. At best, they’d been without food and water for almost twenty-four hours. What would he tell Amanda if…
Oh, Lord, please let me find them alive.

“Now, will you promise to stay here in the car, Amanda? I need you to take care of Sam. I’ll just be a couple of minutes. Promise?”

Amanda nodded.

Brett walked back several hundred feet to where the skid marks started. This must be where the truck hit the SUV and the rear door sprang open. “Thumper! Noe-Noe! Where are you?” He looked over the side of the embankment and then crossed the road to check the other side. Would he even be able to see the carrier through all the weeds down there? Probably not. He’d have to crawl down the embankment. “Thumper! Can you hear me? Here, kitty, kitty!”

No sign of the carrier.

Rocks covered the edge of the steep embankment and thick shrubs and weeds blocked his view of the area directly below the road. Getting down over the rocks would be a trick. Even if he could climb down and find the cats, he couldn’t hoist the carrier back up the embankment with his bandaged hand. He had to wait for Jack. He walked back to the rental van.

Just short of an hour later, Jack’s green pick-up pulled behind Brett’s rental vehicle. Jack and his dog, Chance, hurried toward Brett’s car. “We got here as fast as we could. Any luck?” He waved to Amanda and tipped an open box filled with a bottle of water, a can of cat food and a plate toward Brett’s open window. A revolver peeked out from under a paper plate. Jack moved the paper plate, covering the revolver, an answer to Brett’s unspoken request on the phone, not wanting Amanda to hear.

Brett waved his bandaged hand. “I couldn’t go down the embankment. It’s too steep. Thanks for coming.” He stepped out of the SUV, and opened the door on Sam’s carrier. They walked to the edge of the road.

Jack set the box down a ways from the vehicle and tucked the gun into his waistband. He pulled his shirt over his jeans. “I’ll take care of things, if…” He climbed down the rocky embankment. Chance and Sam, hopping from rock to rock, followed him down.

“Be careful,” Brett called.
Hope he’s got that gun on safety. God forbid he has to use it.

Nimble Jack scrambled to the bottom of the embankment. He jumped the last several feet and walked through the orchard, swishing aside the long grass.

He hadn’t gotten far when he called. “I’ve got it. It’s here, in the weeds.”

“Are they alive?” Brett’s stomach knotted. He hurried back along the road until he was parallel with Jack.
Please, please, let them be alive.

Brett turned at the sound of the car door slamming.

Amanda rushed down the road toward him.

He put up his hand, wanting to keep her back, wanting to keep her from hearing Jack’s answer, if the worst of his fears were realized. “No. Amanda, go back!”

Amanda ran on, until she was beside him. “Did he find them, Daddy Brett? Are they okay?”

Brett put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, his heart pounding. “Jack! Are they alive?”

“They’re not here.” Jack turned and looked up, his face pale. “The carrier is here and the door’s open. It’s empty…”

Jack returned to the top of the bank. He shook his head, his heart wrenching. “There’s not a sign of them anywhere. They musta wandered off somewhere. I’ll take the two dogs back down. They can follow the trail. That’s what Search and Rescue dogs are trained to do.”

He stooped beside Amanda and stroked her hair. “Uncle Jack is going to find your kitties, honey. Now, don’t you worry.” He gave her a hug.

Amanda ducked her head. “Okay.”

Brett nodded. “Amanda and I will wait here in the car. Kimberlee called from the hospital. If you’re not back in an hour, I’ll need to go back to town and pick up the girls and take them home. Good luck.”

With Thumper’s blanket stuffed into his backpack, and the other supplies, Jack climbed back down the ridge with the two Golden Retrievers.

Chance darted ahead, her golden fur flying. Exuberant barks broke the morning stillness.

“Come on back, girl,” Jack called.
Can’t expect too much from her, yet. She’s still a puppy. She’s gotta learn the business. Lucky for her, she’s from champion stock and Sam’s a good teacher.

Chance scuttled back, hopping from side to side as Sam sniffed the cat’s blanket and the weeds surrounding the crumpled carrier.

Jack shoved the blanket into Chance’s face. He gave the hand signal, “Okay, kids. Search!”

Sam took off in a blur, heading north, with Chance three paces behind.

“Sam! Chance! Slow down. I can’t run as fast as you.”

Sam stopped and sat until Jack caught up to him. Chance danced, tongue lolling, and tail a-wag. “Okay, kids, I know you’re anxious. Let’s go.” He gave Chance’s head a pat. “Show me what you’ve learned, girl. This isn’t a game. It’s for real. Find the kitties and make Daddy proud.” Jack whistled to the dogs. “Search!”

The dogs took off through the orchard below the levee road.

For the next hour, Jack stumbled along behind, tripping over clumps of plowed dirt and weeds. If anyone could find those cats, Sam could. Sam kept up a steady pace, padding through the orchard. From time to time, two sets of paw prints were visible in the soft dirt. Jack grinned. He was on the right trail and from the paw prints, neither cat was limping. They were together and must be in relatively good condition.

Jack trudged through the orchard, keeping the dogs in sight. Wouldn’t Amanda’s face light up when he brought Thumper home? He imagined the scene. ‘Here ya go, honey,’ he’d say. ‘Uncle Jack brought your kitties home.’ Jack smiled. Yes, he’d be Amanda’s hero, alright.

He wiped his brow.
How far did those darn cats go, anyway?
He checked his watch.
Brett must have left for town by now. They’d walked several miles already and still the dogs surged ahead.

The sun grew warmer. He stopped and pulled a bottle of water from his backpack, drank and tramped on, following the wandering trail, now angling away from the levee road.

Their trek ended at a newly-paved country road. Sam and Chance stopped, searched back and forth, sniffing and rummaging around the weeds beside the road. They’d lost the scent.

“What’s the trouble, Sam?” Jack glanced up and down the narrow road. “They musta’ walked down the road, but which way?” Jack pulled Thumper’s blanket from his backpack and showed it to the dogs. “Here ya go. Get another good sniff. Find the kitties.”

Sam whined and paced both sides of the road for several hundred feet, then came back to Jack and lay at his feet. He put his head on his paws.

Chance stood nearby panting, her tail wagging. She lay down beside Sam.

Jack’s heart took a tumble.
Don’t neither one know which way they went
. “I know how ya feel, Sam. I’m disappointed, too.” Failure hurts, even when you’re a dog.

“Don’t worry, kids. It’s okay. I understand.” He stroked Sam’s head and then gave Chance a pat. “No one’s blaming ya. Let’s go back now. You’ve done enough.”

Guess he wouldn’t be Amanda’s hero tonight after all. His heart felt like a lead anchor as they retraced their steps through the orchard. Brett had always come to his rescue. Oh, how he’d hoped to return the favor this time—to be the one to give back.