Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
R ay led the way up the creaky wooden stairs, his flashlight beam cutting through the musty air as we ascended into the attic. The door groaned in protest as he pushed it open, and the stale smell of dust and time greeted us.
He swept his flashlight across the room, his brow furrowed in concentration. “This place is a mess,” he muttered. “How are we supposed to find anything in this?—”
His beam of light hit something atop an old, beaten-up bureau, and he froze. On it, laid out in the open, was a map. It looked familiar—too familiar.
Ray stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “Well, well,” he murmured, leaning over to get a better look. “Looks like someone left us a clue.”
I padded up beside him and glanced at the map. Finally , I thought, feeling a swell of pride. Ray was getting quicker these days. Under my tutelage, of course. Good eye, Ray. You’re almost acting like a real detective now.
As Ray examined it, I could see the gears turning in his head. He didn’t need me to spell it out for him this time—he was actually putting the pieces together.
“This looks like the layout of the rooms downstairs,” he muttered, crouching down to study it more closely. “And these rooms marked with an X are all the rooms that were hit by the thief.”
Ray snapped his notebook shut, determination flashing in his eyes. “We need to get back downstairs. I want to ask a few questions.”
I leapt onto the top of a nearby box, feeling particularly pleased with myself. He’s finally learning. Maybe I won’t have to babysit him forever.
Ray stood up, tucking the map into his notebook and giving the room one last glance before turning toward the stairs. “Come on, Earl. We’ve got some work to do.”
I followed him, my tail held high. At last, we were getting somewhere. With Ray’s newfound sense of direction—and my steady guidance—we were bound to catch the thief soon.
We hurried back downstairs, the map in Ray’s hand. I trotted ahead, making a beeline for Mrs. Hargrove’s office. Ray knocked once before pushing the door open.
Mrs. Hargrove looked up from her paperwork, surprised to see us both. “Mr. Leonard, Earl… what’s this about?”
Ray laid the map on her desk. “We found this in the attic. It’s a map of the first floor, and look—some of the rooms are marked with X s.”
Mrs. Hargrove blinked, leaning forward to examine the map. “I’ve never seen this before. Why would it be in the attic?”
With a frown, Ray glanced at me. I was sitting on the edge of the desk, my tail twitching. “I don’t know yet, but it’s strange, right? It looks like someone’s keeping track of certain rooms. The ones with X s... I think those are the rooms where something’s been stolen.”
Before any more could be said, a high-pitched screech echoed down the hallway. We all jumped to our feet.
“I think that’s Sally Greenwood,” Mrs. Hargrove whispered, her hand flying to her mouth.
We rushed out into the hall, following the sound of Sally’s panicked cries. The sight that greeted us was Sally, running down the corridor, arms flailing as if a ghost were chasing her.
“I’m not ready to go!” she screamed. “He’s in my room, and I’m not ready to die!”
Mrs. Hargrove hurried to calm her. “Sally, what’s going on? Who’s in your room?”
Sally pointed, eyes wide with terror. “Mortimer! He’s sitting right there by the bed! He’s waiting for me. I’m not ready to go!”
Mrs. Hargrove rushed over, but before she could step inside, Mortimer sauntered out of the room at his usual lazy pace, completely unconcerned by the chaos he left in his wake.
Sally refused to go back inside. “I’m not going in there! I’m not ready!” she insisted, clutching Mrs. Hargrove’s arm for dear life.
Mrs. Hargrove led Sally to a chair. Her face was as white as the lace doilies scattered around the room. Gina appeared beside her and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Sally’s arm with the calm patience of someone who’d seen this kind of panic before.
“Deep breaths, Sally. It’s all right,” Gina murmured, glancing at the monitor. “Your blood pressure’s going to spike if you keep getting worked up like this. Mortimer’s just a cat, nothing more.”
Wide-eyed, Sally shook her head frantically. “Not just a cat! He was in my room! That means my time’s almost up!” she wailed in a high-pitched rush.
I watched the scene from a few feet away, trying not to roll my own eyes. Oh great, another Mortimer meltdown. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.
Gina patted Sally’s hand. “You’re fine, Sally,” Gina said, her tone still soothing. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ll get you some tea.”
From across the room, Daisy popped up like a jack-in-the-box. “I’ll fetch it! Chamomile, right? Just what the doctor ordered!” she declared in a voice a little too chipper for the moment. She bustled off toward the kitchen like a woman on a mission.
Ray stood nearby, his eyes scanning the room, but I knew his mind was still on the map we’d found in the attic. He had that “I’m-about-to-put-it-all-together” look in his eyes, but it didn’t seem like the pieces were clicking just yet.
Before anyone could settle back into the daily lull, Mr. Benedict took it upon himself to liven up the situation. “I think we need a distraction!” he called out, flashing his deck of cards with a theatrical flourish. “I need a volunteer for a trick.”
Martha didn’t hesitate to jump up from her chair. “I’ll do it!” she said, clearly thrilled to be the center of attention.
Benedict gave a dramatic nod and fanned out the cards in front of her, but his hands were shaking so much the cards swayed like they were about to tumble to the floor. I rolled my eyes as Martha gingerly picked a card, trying to avoid knocking the whole deck out of his hands.
Benedict smiled, a little too proudly for someone who could barely hold a deck of cards together. “Now, don’t tell me what it is. Just memorize it.”
Martha slid the card back into the deck, grinning, while Benedict fumbled through a series of awkward shuffles. “Shuffling” was a generous term—it looked more like he was trying not to drop everything.
He closed his eyes, waving a hand over the cards like he was channeling some great power. “Now, Martha, concentrate. Focus on your card. Send me your thoughts.”
His hand trembled as he held up a card with a flourish. “Is this your card?”
Martha gasped. “Yes! The queen of hearts!”
Ray blinked, clearly impressed. “How did you know that?”
Benedict winked. “Well, I am a magician.”
The distraction had worked. Sally had calmed down, and the common room felt lighter. Mortimer basked in a puddle of sunlight by the window, clearly pleased with the chaos he’d caused earlier.
Mrs. Hargrove clapped her hands together with a cheery smile. “Now that everything’s settled, dinner is ready. Everyone, please lock your rooms and head to the dining room.”
The residents stirred and got up slowly, and the soft clicks of locks filled the hallway as they proceeded to their rooms. Daisy was already at her door, locking it like she was ahead of the game.
Still in a peppy mood, Mrs. Hargrove bustled over to Ray. “Mr. Leonard, would you care to join us for supper? We’re having meat loaf tonight.”
Ray’s face lit up like a kid hearing he was at a restaurant serving ice cream for dessert. “Meat loaf? Oh, absolutely! I’d love to stay.”
“Earl,” Mrs. Hargrove added sweetly, “you can sit with Mortimer tonight. He’ll appreciate the company.”
My tail puffed up instantly. Mortimer? Oh, great. Just what I needed—quality time with the feline grim reaper.
Ray, of course, was too busy dreaming about meat loaf to notice my distress. He gave me a quick pat on the head. “Don’t worry, buddy. You two can bond.”
Bond? With Mortimer? Sure, why not? It wasn’t like I had anything important to do—like solve a mystery.
As everyone shuffled toward the dining room, the locks clicked behind them out of habit. Gina was still helping Sally to her feet, speaking softly to her. “Don’t worry, Sally. You go ahead to dinner. I’ll make sure your medicines are on the bedside table.”
Ray raced ahead, following the scent of meat loaf like a bloodhound on a trail.
I let out an exasperated meow, casting a sidelong glance at Mortimer, who was already strutting into the dining hall like he owned the place.
Fantastic. While Ray filled up on meat loaf, I got stuck with the cat of doom. How did my life come to this?