Black Cat and the Accidental Angel (Black Cat Mysteries Book 3) (27 page)

“Good point. I should have thought of that. Sorry. No last name, no location and no Emus. Got it.” Chet nodded and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Make-up!”

The make-up girl rushed over and dabbed his sweaty face with a tissue and patted concealer under Chet’s eyes. She turned a sloe-eyed glance toward John. “Do you want any make-up, Mr. Goldstein?”

John shook his head. “Let’s just get on with it. Wait. Let me get rid of these britches.” He unsnapped the buckles and pulled the waders down over his hips and stepped out of the unwieldy garment. He tossed the rubber pants off to the side, tucked in his shirt and adjusted the top button on his collar. He stood barefooted on the grass “Okay. I guess I’m ready.”

The television crew set up the cameras aimed toward Chet and John.

The producer clicked his chalkboard in front of Chet. “Quiet! And…action!”

Chet held up his microphone and plastered a television grin toward the camera. “We’re broadcasting from a small ranch near Nevada City where an extraordinary event recently took place. We have John, here with us to give us the details.” He turned. The camera panned to John’s face. “So tell us, John, how did you happen to find gold in your creek?”

Yikes! Show time!
John gulped and took a quick breath. “Actually, our cats, Black Cat and Angel found the gold.” John blinked into the camera. “I found a fair-sized nugget lying on my couch and both cats were damp. I figured they took it from the river and brought the nugget home. It’s anybody’s guess what possessed them to do that. I’m just glad they did, because the sale of the gold will come in real handy.”

“So, tell us about your cats. How old are they? What are their names again?”

How much should he tell? He didn’t want a passel of gold hungry folks prowling the hillsides looking for his property. Viewers from all over the county might be watching. John’s chest itched. Perspiration trickled under his arms. It was all he could do to keep from scratching.

“Angel and Black Cat stowed away in my truck about three months ago. We’ve tried to find their homes, but so far, no luck.” John turned toward the house where Black Cat sat on the porch railing gazing at all the
goings-on
in the yard.

“Well, isn’t that interesting.” The camera panned back to Chet’s face. “So, here’s the story, folks. We’re withholding John’s full name and address to ensure his privacy. Apparently, John took in a couple of lost cats and they repaid his kindness by finding gold in his creek. Amazing! Maybe we can get John to introduce us to Black Cat and Angel. Can you bring the cats over here, John? Let’s show them to the audience. If their owner is watching tonight, he can contact the TV station and we’ll put you in touch with John. That would be alright, wouldn’t it, John? We might reunite these amazing cats with their real family.”

A cold hand seized John’s heart and rippled through his chest.
No. Wait.
What have I done?
Did he really want the cats’ owners to claim their pets? Of course, he did. Wasn’t that the plan all along? To be honest, he didn’t want to give them up, now, any more than Cindy.
His head shook. But, that’s not right. This is an opportunity for them to find their home. Like it or not, he had to do it.

“John?” Chet’s smarmy TV voice.

“
Uh
…I guess you’re right. Cindy, run and fetch Angel and Black Cat.” John jerked his head toward the porch
.

Cindy scuffed through the pine needles toward the house, her head down. Perhaps, after the close call with Mrs. Stubblefield, it was all too clear the risk of putting the cats on television.
It is the right thing to do.

Cindy returned with Angel cradled in her arms, and Black Cat trailing at her feet. She set Angel on the hood of the pick-up truck next to John, and then hurried back to the front porch where she flung herself into Millie’s arms.

Black Cat jumped onto the hood beside Angel. Angel hunkered down, her tail tucked under her body, her ears flat to her head. Her body trembled.

John stroked her head. “There, there, Angel. It’s alright. Don’t be afraid.”
Now I feel bad. She hates all this confusion.

The cameraman moved closer, the lighting man swooped in with lights and the newscaster continued his interview. “Here on this ranch somewhere near Nevada City, John and his daughter befriended two lost cats. Little did they dream that taking in these little lost souls would result in them finding gold in John’s creek. Now, we’re hoping to reunite the cats with their owners.

“This is Angel, a little gold striped female and her companion Black Cat, a large black and white tom.” The camera zoomed in on Angel’s wide-eyed, terrified face and then panned over to Black Cat. “If anyone has information about these cats, please contact station KTLZ at 305-555-0167 and we’ll put you in touch with John.”

Barney shuffled up to the truck, his rubber waders still spotted with water.

“Now, who is this joining us, John?”

“This is Barney. He’s been helping me at the creek.” John laid his hand on Barney’s arm.

“Let’s see how Barney feels about all this.” Chet aimed a toothy grin at the camera and turned to Barney. “Tell us, Barney, what’s it like down there at the stream? Have you found any nuggets?”

“Barney. Keep it simple, okay?” John squeezed Barney’s arm.

Barney nodded.

As soon as the cameraman turned toward Barney, John hurried over to the porch and sat on the top step.

Millie left Cindy in the porch swing and sat beside him. “So, now you’re a TV personality. Were you nervous?”

John reached inside his shirt and scratched his damp underarm. “If I had to stand there even one more minute, I’d have humiliated myself by scratching my armpit in front of God and everybody.”

The newscaster and the camera no sooner turned away, than Angel leaped off the truck and streaked around the end of the house. Fame and notoriety were apparently not on her personal bucket list either.

Black Cat hopped off the hood and ambled across the lawn, his tail straight up and his head held high. A yard full of people and a television crew apparently didn’t bother him in the least.
I wish I could be so calm in the face of chaos.

“Are you okay, my sweet? I hope all those men didn’t frighten you.” Black Cat slurped a kitty-kiss across Angel’s head. “They mean well, even if they are misguided attention-seeking fools.”

“Well. This is a fine how-do-you-do. You’d think we were heroes home from war. What’s next? Our pictures plastered across Time’s Square?” Angel flicked her fluffed out tail.

“You’ve always been my hero.” Black Cat moved his caresses to her shoulder. “Or should I say heroine?” His heart swelled with love for this feisty little minx. She liked to sound tough, but underneath, she was just a big softie.
His whiskers twitched.

“This heroine is not happy with all those smelly strangers in our yard. I’m taking the children under Cindy’s bed.” She snatched Muffins by the scruff of the neck and scampered for the bedroom. She stopped at the door and dropped Muffins in a heap.

“Are you going to help, or not? Do I have to do everything myself?” She huffed and grabbed Muffins again and waddled under the bed.

“Yes, my queen.” Black Cat grabbed Rambo. His pudgy rear end dragged across the floor. Black Cat dropped him at the bedroom door. “What are you eating these days? You’re big enough to walk by yourself. Come on! Your mother wants you.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

E
-mail emoticons danced across John’s computer screen, but his thoughts weren’t on his messages. Cindy had been asleep for hours.
What a day! I thought the news crew would never leave
. Now that everyone was gone and the house was finally quiet, he’d thought he could sleep for a week. Instead, he was so wired, he couldn’t close his eyes.
Maybe I’ll return Sal’s e-mail.

His college roommate, Sal, had been big on advice as to what John should do during his financial troubles, but he hadn’t offered a dime when disaster struck. Once Sal heard about the gold, he apparently spread the word, and old buddies were coming out of the woodwork like roaches when the light flicks on.
I guess if I didn’t have fair-weather friends like Sal, I wouldn’t have any friends at all—except Barney and Millie, of course.

“Do you expect to find more gold? You’re so clever. I knew you’d figure a way out of your troubles.” Sal’s latest e-mail erupted with smiley-face emoticons.

John’s finger hovered over the delete button. Sal had been so unsupportive. Why had he bothered to tell his fair-weather friend about the cats and the gold in the first place?
Admit it. It’s a pride thing. You wanted to crow about your good fortune.
“Don’t know how much gold remains in the creek,” he typed. “Maybe once the run-off from the rain calms down, there won’t be any more, but thanks to Barney’s help today, I have enough to get me through the winter. Next year, I’ll harvest the grapes and the papa Emus are already sitting on several more clutches of eggs. God bless papa Emus.”

John clicked off the computer and fell into bed around 2:00 A.M., his dreams dancing with gold nuggets and newscasters with toothy grins.

The aroma of coffee dragged him back to consciousness. He opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the bedroom window.
6:09 A.M.
Do I smell
c
offee? Carolyn wouldn’t dare come back again!
John leaped out of bed. Oh, he’d tell her a thing or two this time. If she thought she could just waltz in and out, disrupting their lives, causing Cindy anguish every time… He threw open the bedroom door and stopped dead in his tracks.

“Don’t come in, Daddy! I’m making a surprise.”

John smiled. “I won’t look!” He glanced into the kitchen, making sure Carolyn had not returned, then put his hands over his eyes and stumbled into the bathroom.

Cindy had a plate of scrambled eggs and toast growing cold on the table by the time he showered and dressed.

“What a nice surprise. You should have waited. I’d have fixed breakfast.”

“I wanted to surprise you, Daddy. We’re celebrating. I even made coffee.” She carried the coffee pot to the table and poured him a cup.

“Here! Let me take that. It’s heavy.” John took the coffee pot from her and replaced it on the coffeemaker. Wrinkles cut deeper into his forehead as he sipped from the cup, and grimaced. John put his hand to his mouth and coughed. “My! It’s a little…
um
… How much ground coffee did you put in the pot?” He set the cup back on the table.

“Just a cup full. And six cups of water. Isn’t that right?”

“It’s just a little too strong.” John took his cup to the sink, spilled out some and added hot water. “Next time I make coffee, I’ll show you just how much to put in. This is fine, now.” He took another sip. “Just right. And you made scrambled eggs? They look delicious.”

He sat at the table, sprinkled salt and pepper across his plate and took a bite. “Thank you, sweetheart. You were very thoughtful to cook breakfast. Now you eat, because we have to run back into town this morning. I want to take this gold dust to the County Assayer’s Office and see what grade we’ve got. They’ll give us money for it.” He laughed. “Won’t Mr. Adams be surprised when we show up at the bank and pay the loan payments?”

John carried his dishes to the sink and rinsed them under the faucet. “While we’re in town, I want to drop off Peter’s backpack at the General Store.”

“Now that we’re rich, can we afford a hummingbird feeder?”

“We aren’t rich, Cindy. With the sale of the chicks and the gold, I can pay a lot of overdue bills. But, we sure have enough to buy you something nice.” He reached across the table and squeezed her arm. “We’ll even buy Black Cat and Angel a great big catnip mouse.” He glanced at Black Cat, dozing on the warm windowsill.

Black Cat lifted his head.

“Why, look at him. He’s almost grinning. You don’t suppose he understood what I said about the mouse, do you?”

Cindy picked up her dish and took it to the sink. “I told you, Daddy. He understands everything you say. He’s a very smart cat.”