Spy Cat by Peg Kehret Read Free Book Online

Mary and Rocky followed. Besides shining their lights back and forth on the ground, they also aimed the lights up into the branches of each tree that they passed. They couldn’t see Pete yet, but they could certainly hear him.
    “
I smell her! I smell her! Come this way!
”
    “If he’s found Pearly, he’s probably scaring her half to death with all that screeching,” Mary said. “I don’t imagine Pearly has ever seen a cat—certainly not one as big as Pete.”
    Alex’s flashlight picked up two gleaming eyes. “There he is,” he said. He kept the light aimed at Pete. The cat stood beside the brush pile where Alex and his dad had heaped branches that had come down in a recent windstorm.
    “Birds and small animals need brush piles for cover,” Mr. Kendrill had told Alex. “Eventually the branches will rot and enrich the soil, so why cart them off to the dump?”
    Mary swept her light across the tangled tree limbs.
    “
I tracked her this far
,”
Pete said.
“
The smell goes into these branches
,
but it doesn’t come out the other side. She’s hiding in the branches.
”
    “Can you make him be quiet?” Mary asked. “Pearly’s scared of every little unexpected sound, and I imagine an animal noise is the most frightening of all. If she is hiding in there, she’ll never come out while Pete’s meowing.”
    “
I’m only trying to help
,”
Pete said.
    “Be quiet, Pete,” Alex said. He inched closer to the cat.
    Rocky walked to the far side of the brush pile and moved his flashlight across the branches. “I don’t see Pearly,” he whispered.
    “
She’s in there
,
all right
,”
Pete said.
    “Shh,” Alex said.
    Mary crouched on the ground, beside Pete. Both of them peered into the brush pile as Alex moved closer. Mary slid her hand over to Pete. “I have hold of his collar,” she said.
    “
Traitor!
”
Pete said.
“
I thought you wanted to pet me.
”
    Alex picked up Pete. “I’m going to put Pete in the house,” Alex said. “I’ll be right back.”
    “
Is this the thanks I get for helping?
”
Pete said.
“
Put me down!
”
    As Alex carried a struggling Pete out of the trees and across the grass, he heard voices. The police had arrived at Mary’s house. He hoped they would catch the burglars soon.
    Alex had planned to open the door, dump Pete inside, and return to Mary and Rocky, but when he opened thedoor, he saw Benjie sitting at the kitchen table, sobbing. The knot in Alex’s stomach tightened.
    “He woke up,” Mr. Kendrill said. “I told him what happened.”
    “If the bad guys stole Pearly, they might come and steal Lizzy, too,” Benjie said, “or Pete. Or one of us.”
    “Pete’s right here,” Alex said. “He’s fine. I brought him home.”
    “Nobody’s going to steal Lizzy or Pete,” Mr. Kendrill said. “Burglars steal things they can sell. There are ‘free kitten’ ads in the paper all the time.”
    “The police are at Mary’s house,” Alex said, hoping that would make Benjie feel safer.
    Benjie didn’t answer. He wiped his nose on his pajama sleeve and cried harder.
    “I need to go back and help Mary and Rocky,” Alex said. “We think Pearly is hiding in our brush pile.”
    “
She is
,”
Pete said.
“
I could smell her.
”
    “Be careful,” Mr. Kendrill said. “That possum is a wild animal, and it’s probably scared.”
    “Mary has a pet carrier like Pete’s to put Pearly in when we find her.”
    Pete ran to the door and got ready to bolt, but this time Mr. Kendrill held Pete while Alex went out.
    “
This is an outrage
,”
Pete said as he tried to wiggle out of Mr. Kendrill’s grasp.
“
I’m the one who found Pearly
;
I should get to see her.
”
    As Alex hurried back toward the trees, he felt angry and frustrated. Those burglars had no right to break into houses and steal things and let animals loose and frighten little kids.
    Until today, when there was news of any crime, Benjie had wanted to grab his spy kit and go hunt for the bad