Private Eye Cats Book Two

CHAPTER SEVEN The next day, Friday, August 6th, Scooter and I paced around the house as nervous as two cats could be. What if Tony didn’t like Mr. Williams? What if it turned out that boarding us at Dr. O’Dell’s would be cheaper than paying Mr. Williams? What if Mr. Williams didn’t show? These and a lot of other questions had us crazy all day. We could hardly eat and both of us missed our usual afternoon naps. At about 6:30 that night, the doorbell rang. It was Mr. Williams. “Hi, come in. Welcome to our house,” Misty said. “Pleased to see you again,” Mr. Williams said. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I met you when you visited the school. The Principal walked you into my class and announced you were going to be part of our school in September.” “I do remember you,” Misty answered. “Do you know that we will be neighbors at school? I’m going to be in 207 and you’re right next door.” “That will be great,” he said. “Looking forward to it.” Misty introduced Mr. Williams to Tony, and the three of them sat in the dining room talking about school, kids, and all kinds of stuff that humans discuss when they’re trying to get to know each other. Scooter and I hid in the kitchen, listening to every word. “When are they goin’ to get to the deal?” I asked Scooter. “All of this yappin’ wastes a lot of time.” “Be patient,” she told me. “That’s the way humans are. They talk a lot of small talk when they first meet before they get to the real heart of the matter. It’s kind of like when you meet a strange cat for the first time. You size each other up and walk in circles around each other for a while until you decide to trust them.” Finally, the discussion got on track. “Mr. Williams,” Tony said. “My wife and I are going on a cruise from August 10th until August 24th, about two weeks. We don’t really like boarding the two cats and we would prefer someone coming in to look after them.” “Yes,” Misty added. “They really are sweet cats and all you would have to do is feed them twice a day and clean out their litter boxes. That part isn’t so wonderful, but it has to be done.” “Sweet cats?” I said to Scooter. “Is she planning to have him take care of some other pets on this street that we don’t know about?” “Quiet,” she instructed me. Mr. Williams told them he lived close to our house and that visits twice a day would be no problem. He let them know that he and his wife had a cat when they first got married and that he loved how playful and fun cats could be. They discussed how much he would charge for cat-sitting, and Tony was more than pleased with the price. It seemed that Tony started to like Mr. Williams, and before too long, the deal was closed. For two weeks Mr. Williams would come in twice a day, feed us, check the litter boxes, and play with us for a while. Tony would pay him what he felt was a fair price, and everybody seemed happy with the arrangement. “I guess it’s time for you to meet Nugget and Scooter,” Misty said to Mr. Williams. “Let me get them from the other room.” For the tenth time that day Scooter gave me my instructions. “Remember, just walk around him, brush against his legs, meow a little, and then walk away back into this room. Don’t make it seem like we know him. And above all, do not slip and speak to him in English. Any questions?” “I didn’t know the dude was married,” I answered. Misty brought us into the dining room. Mr. Williams rubbed our heads, scratched us behind our ears, and we all played our parts perfectly. After a few minutes of this show, we went back into the kitchen. “Seems like you three just might get along,” Tony said. “Amazing how this all worked out. If Misty didn’t get the job at your school, and if you didn’t send out the e-mail, these two critters would be with Dr. O’Dell instead of in the comfort of their home. Just pure luck, all of it.” “Well,” I said to Scooter. “That’s that. Williams is in and that’s the end of the story.” “Not exactly,” she answered. “My friend, this is only the beginning of the story. With Mr. Williams here I can put a plan into action that has been on my mind since the night Tony told Misty about his conversation with Mrs. Hershey. We’re about to start a new adventure.” My fur, from the top of my head to the tip of my tail, stood straight up.