Paws and Effect (Mystic Notch 4 4) (4 page)

P
epper’s words
echoed in Pandora's head. “… a powerful extract like that could cause a lot of trouble if it fell into the wrong hands.”

The last drop of cream soured in her mouth as she turned away from the saucer. She knew Willa was taking Pepper's story with a grain of salt, but combined with the cloaked ghost, who Pandora now realized was Hester Warren, and what Obsidian had told her, Pandora was taking it a lot more seriously.

But whose hands were 'the wrong hands'? And was the extract even in the box?

She glanced around the store for any sign of the ghost cat. Willa always said human ghosts never came around when you
wanted
them to, and apparently it was the same for ghost cats. Pandora would have to figure it out on her own. Which was really no problem. She was smart.

While Otis and the Mystic Notch cats were spending time trying to persuade their humans to take action, Pandora would prove to them that her more modern ways were far superior. She would figure out who the bad guys were on her own.

But where to start? Pandora glanced up at Willa's computer. According to Willa, there were three parties who wanted the box. Oscar Danforth, Elizabeth Post and Rebecca Devon-Smyth. All Pandora needed to do was figure out which one had a motive to want to use the powerful extract. The computer was a good place to start, plus she could use the energy boost that being near the electronic device usually gave her.

Pandora knew how to surf the Internet without raising Willa's suspicions. She waited until Willa was busy stocking the shelves with new books. She couldn't see the computer from most of the aisles, so Pandora had free rein when Willa was out of sight. When Willa came back to the front or was fiddling on shelves within sight of the computer on the front counter, Pandora had to stop and pretend she was just sitting on the keyboard.

It was not the most efficient way to do research but Pandora couldn't let on that her seemingly random paw taps on the keys actually had meaning behind them.

Her efforts were rewarded. She discovered that the cloaked ghost was indeed Hester Warren and she'd had a cat named Obsidian. Hester was burned as a witch. There was no mention of the cat after that and Pandora felt glad the cat was not burned with her.

It was no surprise that Elizabeth Post and Rebecca Devon-Smyth had Mystic Notch family ties dating back to the 1600s. Most Mystic Notch residents' lineage went back even before that to when the town was settled. Willa's family went back that far, too. Willa had never traced it herself, but Pandora knew.

Perhaps the most surprising thing was discovered when Pandora looked into Oscar Danforth's lineage. It appeared one of his ancestors, Miles Danforth, was a town official in 1656 and he was the one who had accused Hester Warren of witchcraft.

Was he after the silver box? It was too much of a coincidence. Pandora's whiskers twitched. She was on to something.

Hester had known the box was important. She'd probably buried it to keep it out of the hands of the wrong people. Clearly, Miles Danforth was one of those people. Obsidian had guarded the box for as long as he could, but a cat can only live for so long … even if they do have nine lives. Obsidian was gone, the box unearthed and now it was up to the cats of Mystic Notch to continue protecting what was inside it.

This new information was critical, but what should she do with it? Pandora considered going it alone. Could she do something to stop Danforth on her own? She wanted to show the other cats, especially Otis, that her new methods worked, but there was too much at stake for her to take action based on her own ego. She would need more help so it was best to talk to the other cats and then come up with a plan of action based on this new evidence.

Pandora hunkered down on the keyboard and stared at the screen while she considered her options. The keyboard was warm and the energy radiated into her body, making her stronger. She closed her eyes just for a second …

“What are you doing? I hope you didn't inadvertently hit some buttons and send the email to Striker like you did last time.” Willa was looming over her, a stern look on her face. Had she fallen asleep?

Pandora tried not to snicker. She'd sent that email on purpose when Willa and Striker were in one of their 'off-again' phases. It had been a bit awkward with Willa denying sending it and thinking Striker was making it up in order to see her, and Striker thinking it was weird Willa wouldn't admit to sending it, but the email had worked and the two of them had kissed and made up. Pandora puffed her fur up proudly. If only Willa knew the lengths Pandora went to for her human's happiness.

But instead of praising her, Willa scooped her off the keyboard and dumped her on the floor.

“Stay away from the computer.” Willa frowned at the screen, which still displayed the article about Danforth's ancestor. “I didn't leave this up. It worries me sometimes what you do on here. I wouldn't put it past you to inadvertently order something expensive.” Willa glanced at Pandora out of the corner of her eye.

Pandora considered that. She hadn't thought about ordering something online. Maybe she could put in an order of some of her favorite catnip while Willa wasn't looking.

She wouldn't be ordering anything today, though. Disappointment washed over her as she watched Willa close down the computer. She'd had a slight hope that Willa might have caught on to what was going on with the box when she'd seen the article about Miles Danforth. It would be a lot easier if Willa figured out the real truth about Danforth, but, as Pandora already knew, humans didn't catch on that easily. She couldn't depend on Willa or any other human to protect what was in the box.

Pandora slunk over to her cat bed in the window. Now, more than ever, she needed to take action. It all made perfect sense. Danforth was trying to carry on the work of his ancestor. No wonder he was claiming the box was his. He wanted to get his hands on it for his own evil doing.

Even though the box was secure in Gus' office at the police station, Pandora felt that something needed to be done about him right away. She needed to talk to the other cats. But she didn't want to wait until Willa moseyed on home and went to sleep. She wanted to talk to them right away. Unfortunately, Willa had already taken the trash out, so Pandora wouldn't be able to sneak out the back door.

It was almost closing time and Pandora knew of one way that she could get to Elspeth's house and visit with the cats in the barn without having to wait until later that night.

She crouched down in her bed, narrowed her eyes and focused her entire being on telegraphing one thought to Willa.

Visit Elspeth.

“
Y
ou know
, I think I should visit Elspeth tonight,” Willa said one hour later as she and Pandora trotted out to the Jeep. “I like to check in on her every couple of days and I haven’t been in few. What do you say we go on over before supper?”

“Meow.” Pandora nodded her head vigorously. Her intense hour of thought-beaming had finally worked! Maybe there was hope for Willa after all.

Pandora curled in a ball and tucked her face under her tail for the short ride to the old, white Victorian home that Willa had inherited from her grandmother. Elspeth lived a couple of streets over, but there was a path through the woods—the same path Pandora had taken the night before—that Willa took when she went to visit. Willa always let Pandora come along with her and, while Willa and Elspeth sat in the kitchen chatting, Pandora usually took the opportunity to meet with the Mystic Notch cats in Elspeth’s barn.

This night was no different. She trotted alongside obediently as Willa navigated the short path that ended at Elspeth’s side yard. The old woman sat in a rocking chair on her porch as if she was expecting them. Pandora followed Willa up the steps of the mint green and pink gingerbread style house to the wide, wrap-around porch, deftly avoiding the thorny branches of the thick rose vines that grew all along the railing. The vines were lush with pink roses, releasing their perfumed scent into the air.

Tigger, the orange tomcat that guarded Elspeth religiously, was sitting beside her in the rocking chair. Pandora exchanged greetings with him while the two women exchanged their own greetings.

Elspeth bent down and scratched Pandora behind the ears, right where she liked it the most. “And how are you Pandora?”

Pandora rewarded her with a loud purr which made Elspeth laugh. “I guess she’s doing okay.”

“She’s her usual head-strong self,” Willa said and Pandora hoped she detected a note of fondness in the human’s voice. “Though I am a bit worried. She’s acting very anxious lately.”

“No doubt,” Elspeth gave Pandora a knowing glance. “There’s been a lot going on what with that box being found at the groundbreaking and all.”

The two women launched into a conversation about the mysterious box, giving Pandora the opportunity to trot off to the barn, followed by Tigger.

It was still daylight so Pandora could see everything inside the barn—the hay bales, wooden pallets and dust motes in the air. There were crude ladders up to the hayloft, and at the far end of the barn was a row of stainless steel cat dishes which Elspeth took pains to keep full and clean. The smell of sweet hay, warm wood and salmon dinner Fancy Feast spiced the air.

Inkspot looked up from a bowl of cat food when Pandora entered. ”Greetings, Pandora. Do you bring us some news?”

Pandora had to force herself not to blurt out her discoveries too quickly. She didn’t want to seem over-eager. She slowly told them how she’d overheard the conversation between Pepper and Willa regarding the celestrium lily extract.

“What makes you think that this mythical extract is actually contained in the box?” Otis addressed her in his usual irritating manner.

“It makes perfect sense,” Pandora said. “The ghost cat, Obsidian, told me there was something very important in that box. Something that we didn’t want to fall into the wrong hands.”

“She has a point,” Snowball said. “But still, we do not know whose hands to keep it from.”

“I think I might have that figured out, too.” Pandora’s fur puffed out with pride. More cats came out from behind the bales of hay. They sat in a circle with their tails curled around them while Pandora told them about her research on the Internet.

“That’s preposterous!” Otis said. “You know you can’t trust everything you read on the Internet.”

Pandora bristled. “Well, of course not, but this was history. It has to be correct.”

“Otis has a point,” Inkspot said. “We can’t make a judgment based on one article. All the people interested in the box had ancestors that were around in 1656.”

“As does one of our most hated enemies, one who already claims to be a witch,” Kelley chimed in.

“Felicity Bates,” Snowball said as if they all didn’t know who she meant.

Felicity Bates had ties back to the beginnings of Mystic Notch and she’d also married into one of the oldest, and richest, families in town. Rumor had it that she fancied herself to be a witch, although Pandora didn’t think she was a very good one.

Willa had had run-ins with Felicity before and, based on the outcome, Pandora doubted Felicity’s magic was very strong. Then again, that might be a reason why she would be interested in the box. Maybe she hoped the lily extract would increase her powers.

“But she’s not one of the humans trying to get the box,” Pandora pointed out.

“Not overtly,” Inkspot said. “But maybe she has formed an alliance with one of the others, or maybe she’s trying to get it in a different way that has yet to be revealed.”

“Maybe …” Pandora considered it. They could be right, but she doubted this was the case. Pandora had a very strong feeling this had something to do with Danforth … or did she just
think
that because she was the one who had discovered the information about his ancestor?

“And let’s not forget about Fluff,” Snowball hissed.

Pandora had recently had a run-in with Fluff, one of Mystic Notch’s most evil felines. Pandora had barely escaped and managed, with the help of Hope, to outsmart the white Persian who looked like an angel but was really a devil in disguise. It was not lost on her that Fluff had taken up with Felicity Bates, which was a big surprise to everyone since she’d previously acted like she hated cats.

“Have you been able to influence Elspeth or any of the other humans in this matter?” Pandora decided to attack it from another angle. If the other cats’ ‘old ways’ weren’t working, maybe they would be more inclined to act on the information she found with her ‘new ways’.

“I heard Elspeth and Bing talking about the box, but they were using such vague terms I couldn’t tell if they had a plan,” Tigger said.

“That’s why
we
need to come up with one,” Pandora stated.

“A plan for what?” Inkspot was the voice of reason. “We don’t even know if this lily extract
is
what is contained in the box.”

“That’s true,” Otis agreed. “If it is not the extract the box contains but something less threatening, then, perhaps, we do not have to act so hastily.”

Pandora hissed out a sharp, exasperated breath. What was with the cats? They were so slow-moving. “But Obsidian said whatever was in the box could plunge Mystic Notch into the deep abyss of an evil greater than mankind has ever known, so even if it isn’t the extract, I think we still need to act quickly, before—”

“Obsidian said what
was
in there,” Inkspot interrupted her. “That was in his time over three hundred years ago. We don’t know what’s happened to the box over time. It’s best we find out what really does lie inside before we make any rash decision.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that. But we need to find out what’s in there pretty quick, in case it is something bad.” Pandora said.

Inkspot nodded. “I agree.”

“Okay. Good. So how do you propose we do that?” Pandora asked.

“I know of only one way.”