Meow for the Money (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 14) by Patricia Fry Read Free Book Online

coat. He stepped back a bit and sat down, watching Savannah with interest. “Carlo,” she said again, touching the boy. Suddenly, he opened his dark-blue eyes. Gads, if this is Carlo, he sure doesn’t look like his mother with that dark hair and olive skin—except for maybe his eyes.
    “Are you okay?” she asked the little boy. She gently checked him over for injuries, then held her hands out to him.
    He responded weakly by reaching for her and allowing her to pick him up. Resting his head on her shoulder, he pointed. “Cat! Cat!”
    “Yes, those are cats, all right,” Savannah said, struggling to climb out of the ravine with the boy in her arms and holding the end of Rags’s leash. Once she reached the rim, she dropped the leash, quickly stepping on it. She then pulled her phone out of her pocket and made a call. “June, I have the boy. He seems sleepy, but he’s okay.”
    “Oh my God, Savannah, where was he?”
    “With a colony of cats in a ravine.”
    “With the cats?” June asked, her voice an octave higher than usual. “How’d he end up there, I wonder?”
    “Hard to imagine, unless someone brought him here. I don’t think a little tyke like this could walk that far by himself. We’re heading back to the house now. Tell his mom, will you?”
    “Sure will.”
    “Cat,” the boy said as they headed away from the ravine. “Cat!” he said, pointing behind them and fussing a little.
    “Here’s a cat,” Savannah said. “See the cat?” She held him down near Rags so the boy could touch him and she smiled when he patted Rags’s coat.
    As they continued walking toward the main house, it wasn’t long before Savannah saw a group of people rushing in her direction. Jody was the first to approach, quickly taking the boy and hugging him to her. “Where did you find him?” she asked. She glanced rather anxiously beyond Savannah. “Was he with anyone?”
    “I’ll cancel the search crew, Ms. Jody,” Clarence said, walking away holding a cell phone to his ear.
    “So where was he?” Jody asked again.
    Savannah pointed. “He was with a colony of cats. He sure seems to like cats.”
    “He does?” she asked, frowning. She looked him all over, hugged him to her, then kissed him and hugged him again. Focusing on Savannah, she asked, “You say he was with those mangy cats in the ravine?”
    “Yes. They seemed to be comforting him. All he talked about on our way back here were the cats.”
    “Cat!” he said, pointing at Rags.
    “Oh, I thought he was saying hat ,” Jody said. “I didn’t know that meant cat . How did you find him?” Jody asked, staring out in the direction Savannah had come from.
    “Rags led me to him.”
    The woman scowled down at the cat on the end of the leash, then peered at Savannah suspiciously. “The cat did?”
    By then, Megan had caught up with the others, pushing June in a wheelchair. The elderly woman, having heard the last part of the conversation, said, “Cats can do a lot of things, Jody. They aren’t useless creatures, you know. In fact, Rags is pretty smart. He’s the one who found my Mazie Mae.” She shook her head. “You shouldn’t discount the value of cats. Carlo knows. Don’t you Carlo?” she purred. “Cats are smart and useful, aren’t they?”
    “Cat!” he said, resting his head on Jody’s shoulder.
    June looked concerned. “He seems tired,” she said, rubbing the boy’s bare foot.
    “Look how far he walked,” Jody said. “No wonder he’s tired.”
    Savannah gazed at Jody for a moment. She doesn’t really think the boy walked all that way, does she? But rather than say so, she let out a sigh. “Well, I’d better get this cat home. I think he’s had enough excitement for one day. Just let me know when you’ve filled out the paperwork June, and I’ll pick it up.”
    “Yes, and I want to get a check to the alliance for the reward. If you don’t mind coming back and meeting with my attorney on that matter, I’ll set something