Patricia Fry - Klepto Cat 05 - The Colony Cat Caper Read Online Free

like to address the situation with him or her,” Margaret said. “The cats cannot fe nd for themselves. They need human intervention and we aim to help them any way we can. Perhaps we should start by speaking directly to the property owner.”
    “Uh…well…” the officer stammered. He looked down at his shoes.
    Savannah, who sat a short distance away in the lawn chair, followed his eyes with hers. What’s the deal there? she wondered to herself. Looks like he’s wearing spats. Spats? Now that would be weird. Maybe he can’t afford the shoes that go with the uniform so he covers his street shoes to make them look more to code. She smiled. I wonder if his boss knows he’s out of uniform.
    “If you can’t tell me who owns the building, I’m sure I can get the information from the company you work for. By the way, what is your name?” Margaret asked.
    “Um…Brad…Brad Whitcomb.”
    “And the company name? Are you with Ace Security…or that other one…what is it?” Margaret asked, and then answered herself, “Oh yes, NoCal.”
    “Yeah,” the guard said, swatting a fly away from his face. He looked directly at Margaret. “It will do you no good to pursue this. I suggest that you just leave those cats alone. Mind your own business.” He started to leave and then added, “If I see you here again, I will report you.” With that, the guard said, “Good day, ladies,” spun on his heels, and walked out through the gate.
    “Hmph,” Margaret responded, turning to address Colbi and Savannah. “We need to find a way to get permission. I sure don’t want to be hassled every time we come out here.”
    “Yeah, and from the looks of the cats, we’d better do it soon,” Colbi said.
    Savannah stood and folded the lawn chair. “Let’s shove those bowls under the building there,” she said, “so the cats have better cover while they eat.”
    Margaret grinned up at her niece. “I’ll do it, preggo lady. If you get down there, you may never get back up.”
    “I can do it,” Colbi offered.
    “Yeah, you’re the smallest and the youngest. You do it.” She thought for a moment and then turned to Savannah and said, “I have Grandpa Jed’s cane at home. It would come in handy for pulling the cat dishes out from under the building and pushing them back in.”
    “Good idea,” Savannah said, making a note on her pad about the cane.
    “Are you going to set the trap?” Colbi asked.
    Margaret thought about it f or a moment and then said, “Naw, let’s wait until we get authorization. Don’t know how long it’ll take. We’ll start trapping maybe tomorrow.”
    A few seconds later as they walked to the car, Savannah looked around to see if they were being watched. She said , “Did you guys notice anything odd about that guy?”
    “Yeah, where did he disappear to?” Margaret said. “I didn’t hear a car drive up or leave, did you?”
    “Yeah, I thought he’d keep watching us to make sure we left,” Colbi reasoned.
    “Well that, too, I gue ss,” Savannah said. “But no, there was definitely something odd about him.”
    Margaret glanced up at her niece, who stood a good head taller than herself. “Oh Vannie, all those security guards are odd.”
    “No, but there was something not quite right about this one.”
    “What?” Colbi asked.
    “I’m not sure,” she said after thinking about it for a moment. “He just didn’t seem like security-guard material.”
    Margaret stared at her niece and shook her head. She then said, “Okay, I know what we need to do next. Ladie s, let’s go talk to Jim.”
    “So why are we going to talk to Deputy Jim?” Savannah asked.
    “Just want to have some sort of authority in case that guard shows up again. If Jim knows what we’re doing, maybe he’ll stick up for us.” Margaret opened the driver’s side door and continued, “That Benevitas woman should have covered the trespassing issue. I’ve encountered it before in cat-rescue operations.”
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