“Funny,” Savannah said.

  “Hey, the reason I called, I wanted to know whatever happened with the flow of cats into the inn. Did you find out where they were coming from?”

  “Yes. Rochelle, you’re not going to believe this, but they were circus cats. They perform in circuses.”

  “Lions and tigers?” Rochelle yelped. “I thought that was outlawed.” She faltered. “Wait…these were regular house cats, right?”

  “Yes,” Savannah said.

  “Then what do you mean by circus?”

  “They belong to a troupe of cats that travel around and perform just like in an old-fashioned circus. We actually watched a performance, which gave us some clues as to where the cats at the inn were coming from. It took us a while longer to figure out how they were getting in.”

  “How?” Rochelle asked.

  “An underground passage from an old bomb shelter on Iris’s property.”

  “What? They lived in a bomb shelter?”

  “Yes, with their trainer, Sir Roscoe.”

  After hesitating for a moment, Rochelle said, “Savannah, are you making up stories? If so, that’s a good one. I’m sure you could sell it—maybe even make a movie out of it.”

  “Thank you,” Savannah said. She chuckled. “I actually will be writing about it. But no, this is all fact, not fiction. We recued the cats and Sir Roscoe has moved with them to a nice farmhouse where, hopefully, they’ll live out their life together.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “Rochelle, you were right on target with your comment about theater arts. Do you remember saying that?”

  “Yes, I remember it coming to me in a flash. Fascinating. Well, I’m glad that crazy mystery’s solved.”

  “Not as glad as Iris is. She’s been beside herself upset with all this going on.”

  Rochelle said, “Well, I’m sure she’s glad to be back to normal again. Hey, Savannah, Peter and I have been talking about getting away—you know, as a family. What are you and Michael and the kids doing the week of December seventeenth? Simon’s out of school that week and we thought maybe...”

  “You’re coming up here? Oh, Rochelle that would be great. Hey, I think Adam will be here that week. He’s coming next week and the week of the seventeenth.”

  “Great! We were hoping Adam and Simon could meet. So you don’t mind if we barge in so close to Christmas?”

  “Not at all,” Savannah said.

  “We can stay at the hotel in town and…”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Savannah insisted. “Listen, we just pulled into the driveway and I need to help get the kids into the house. Just plan to stay here, okay? We have plenty of room.”

  “You’re so generous. Thank you. We’d love it. Talk later. Love you.”

  “You too.”

  “They’re coming here?” Michael asked.

  Savannah nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Simon’s coming with them. I’m excited. This will be so much fun.”

  “Yes. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Peter. Maybe I’ll take some time off that week and we can go fishing and hiking with the kids.”

  “And see the holiday parade,” Savannah added enthusiastically.

  “The boys might enjoy the museum in Straley—you know, they have that airplane exhibit now.”

  “And they can help us pick out our Christmas tree and maybe go on a photo shoot,” Savannah suggested.

  Gladys began to laugh as she walked with Lily toward the house.

  “What?” Savannah asked.

  “You’re going to wear those little boys out!”

  Chapter Ten

  Two weeks later, over lunch with Colbi and Iris, Savannah looked around. “This is so nice. I haven’t been out to a classy restaurant in ages.”

  “Yeah, it’s not something you do very often with small kids,” Colbi said. “It is fun to do grown-up things once in a while, isn’t it?

  “What’s more grown up than raising kids?” Iris asked.

  Savannah chuckled, then asked, “Iris, how’s it going at the inn with your cuddle cats? You’re back living at home, aren’t you? And your staff is handling things at the inn?”

  Iris exaggerated a sigh. “Yes. I have my life back.” She leaned forward. “Although I do kind of miss the activity at the inn. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and go home, but now that I’m home, I find it kind of dull.”

  “Dull can be good,” Savannah said.

  “I guess so,” Iris agreed, “but I got kind of used to being in charge and having so much to do.”

  “If I left home for a week, I’d have plenty to do when I got back,” Savannah said.

  Colbi laughed. “Isn’t that the truth?” She addressed Iris. “So no more cats coming and going? Have you been in touch with Sir Roscoe?”

  “No more cats,” Iris said. She brightened. “I did hear from Sir Roscoe. He wanted to know if I had any more of his cats’ outfits; he was missing a few. I actually did. I’d forgotten that I’d stuck some of them in the buffet in the dining room. So he was happy to get them back.”

  “How’s he doing?” Savannah asked.

  “Fine, I guess. He said he signed a lease on the place where he’s living and he has it set up for training. I guess there’s a big enclosed area where he can work with the cats, and room inside for their equipment and props and all. He said he picked up a couple of new cats at the cat ranch. From what Nola told me, June was tickled to meet him. He gave her, Nola, and Luke free passes to an upcoming performance in Mason.” Iris chuckled. “Nola told me that June wouldn’t allow any cats to go off with Sir Roscoe until Luke did a thorough study of his facility. I guess he passed muster.”

  “Well that says a lot,” Savannah said. “If he got the June Balcomb seal of approval, he’s running a pretty clean operation.”

  “Right,” Iris said.

  Savannah asked Colbi, “How’s it going with Rosemary at Barbara’s day care?”

  “Good,” Colbi said. “Rosemary seems to like Barbara and the twin sisters. She’s even able to tell them apart. She was referring to them as the sister. Each one was named sister. Now she actually calls them by name. She loves playing with the kids. Yes, it seems to be a good situation for her. I’m glad you suggested it.”

  “Good. And Damon is happy?”

  “Seems to be. He picks Rosemary up on Fridays, and his only complaint is that sometimes she doesn’t want to go home with him. She wants to stay with Ba-ba. That’s what she calls Barbara. I think it hurts his feelings.”

  “I imagine so,” Iris said. She turned to Savannah. “Any word from Arthur? I mean about that cousin of his and his money? I keep forgetting to ask Ruth.”

  “Haven’t you talked to your husband?” Savannah asked.

  Iris bristled, saying, “Savannah, you know…”

  “I know, Craig doesn’t talk business at home.”

  “Yeah, and Ruth and Rupert drove down the central coast for a little holiday, so I haven’t seen them in a few days.”

  “Who takes over their duties when they’re gone?” Colbi asked. “I mean, it seems that they do a lot around there. He’s the gardener and repairman. He’s been baking, and Ruth takes reservations and manages the staff, right?”

  “Yes, but Rupert has people working under him, and last month we hired someone to take some of the pressure off Ruth. The new gal, Ava, has been in training and Ruth thought she was ready to take over.”

  “You have quite an establishment going there, don’t you?” Savannah said.

  Iris nodded, then asked eagerly, “So what do you hear from Arthur and Suzette? Come on, don’t make me beg for it like Craig does.”

  Savannah and Colbi chuckled, and Savannah said, “Well, this hasn’t gone as smoothly as Arthur had hoped. He did learn that the money came from Arthur’s and Missie’s grandfather and that Missie’s father inherited quite a generous sum. Missie admitted that her father was a gambler, among other things, and he blew most of his share.”

  Iris smirked. “Then it seems that Miss Missie should be venting her anger toward him for losing his inheritance, not Arthur.”

  “Right!” Savannah agreed. “It’s true, however, that Arthur’s dad got a larger piece of the estate pie and he built on that, so he had investments of his own making when he died. Anyway, the attorneys agree that Missie’s not entitled to anything; however, you know Arthur’s heart.”

  “Yes. What is he going to do, reward bad behavior?” Iris asked. “The woman had him stalked and threatened, for heaven’s sake!”

  Savannah smiled. “He has offered her a deal. He’ll have his attorney send her a check every month that she is living in an apartment and working or training for a job. He’ll also pay for acting lessons as long as she proves she’s clean and reliable. She has to be drug-tested. He may even hire a service that works individually with people like Missie—people who have lost their way or maybe who never found their way. He wants to help her get back on some sort of reasonable track.”

  “There’s such a service?” Colbi asked. “Sounds like something I’d want to write about.”

  “I’m not sure if the service exists or if Arthur is creating it. Either way, what a great concept, right?” Savannah said. “It would be like a caregiver or a babysitter, but this person is trained and experienced in working with the homeless who need regular medication for an emotional or mental disorder, perhaps, and someone to help them to stay off drugs and to function successfully in society.”

  Colbi nodded. “And I’d imagine it would be helpful for someone like Missie to have guidance in scheduling her time, being reliable, decision-making—things like that.”

  “Did Missie agree?” Iris asked.

  “I guess she did.” Savannah chuckled. “Arthur said she’s a different person when she’s thinking straight. I guess she’s supposed to be on some sort of medication for depression or something. He made sure she saw a specialist. This gal said that Missie was only taking her meds occasionally and that she was being over-medicated. She was on a roller coaster. All in all, Arthur is happy to have met a relative, and he hopes they can develop a good connection.”

  “Well, good for Arthur and good for Missie,” Iris said. She leaned toward the others and asked, “What does everyone have planned for the holidays?”

  “We’re taking Rosemary to visit her great grandmother next week,” Colbi said.

  “But you’ll be here for Christmas, right?” Iris pleaded.

  Colbi nodded. “We’re looking forward to Christmas with Nana Ris-Ris and Grumpa Craig.”

  Iris let out a sigh. “Oh, good.”

  Savannah laughed. “How cute. Is that what she calls you, Iris—Nana Ris-Ris?”

  “I guess she does. I was hoping for something that didn’t sound—you know, grandmotherish. But a child’s going to call you what they can say.”

  “What are you doing for Christmas?” Colbi asked Savannah.

  “Not sure yet, but we’re entertaining guests the second week in December. Peter, Rochelle, and their new foster child, Simon, are coming for a visit. Adam will be here, so it should be a lot of fun entertaining the kids with fishing, hiking, the parade, museum, and all.”

  “That does sound fun!” Iris said.

  “Yes, I look forward to a wonderful week with family and good friends with no glitches or calamities along the way.” She looked to the heavens, her hands folded together. “Please! Please!”

  Stay in touch with Patricia Fry, author of the Klepto Cat Mysteries

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