Dog-Eared Delinquent

Chapter Ten

“How was Peter today?” Octo-Cat asked over lunch. Normally he slept straight through our afternoon meal, but today Nan had prepared a tiny saucer of clam chowder for him, too, so that he could join us at the table.

My day up until that point had been completely unremarkable, which made it all the more unnerving that my cat seemed to expect me to share some wild, juicy gossip. “Fine,” I answered slowly, still not knowing what else he expected me to say. “Why are you asking about Peter?”

Octo-Cat stopped lapping his soup and stared at me aghast. Droplets of cream clung to his fur, but he didn’t seem to notice—or at least not to mind. “What do you mean why? Remember his visit here? Our trip downtown to the lair? Any of that ringing a bell for you?”

“The lair…” That sounded familiar. Didn’t I…? “Oh, right!” I shouted as it all came rushing back.

“What’s the lair?” Nan asked from her spot at the head of the table.

“How could you forget?” Octo-Cat cried as he continued to study me with a worried expression. “It was seriously all you could talk about this weekend!”

I dipped my spoon into my soup and watched the steam rise before me. “Today was weird,” I said at last. Then to Nan, “The lair is what was at the address Peter gave me. Or, at least it was, until it disappeared.”

“And you were talking about it all weekend but didn’t once mention it to me?” She seemed hurt and intrigued in equal measures. It wasn’t easy to upset Nan, which meant I felt extra crummy whenever I managed to do so.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was safe, but I can’t exactly remember why,” I tried to explain, but kept coming up short.

“Wow, they really did a number on you,” Octo-Cat said with a low growl. “I didn’t think it was worth investigating, but if they’re working this hard to mess with your memory, maybe it is.”

My memory? Is that why my brain had been so fuzzy today? In a way it made sense, but people couldn’t really just make someone forget—at least not outside the movies. “You think they wiped my memory?” I mumbled as Octo-Cat’s eyes continued to bore into me.

“Uh, yeah!” he cried with an agitated swish of his tail.

“Who’s they?” Nan asked gently.

I looked to Octo-Cat for the answer.

“Magic folk,” he spat in disgust.

“Magic?” I asked with a start. Had we already discussed this? Was I again forgetting something important?

“Magic!” Nan shouted in delight. “Has magic finally come to Blueberry Bay?”

Now we both zeroed in on Nan. “You know about magic?” I squeaked. Had I been the only one in the dark here?

She laughed it off. “No, but I’d like to. It sounds fun.”

“No,” I snapped at her. “Please don’t get involved in this one, Nan. I’m begging you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared me down. “Fun or not, where you go, I go. This time, it just so happens to be fun. Now catch me up.”

Or really, really dangerous, I mentally added as my stomach did an impressive series of somersaults.

Octo-Cat guided me through the events of the past week, both to refresh my stolen memories and so that I could share with Nan. As he recounted each detail, I instantly remembered them in full. How strange that I hadn’t been able to recall anything without his guidance.

“So,” Nan said, rubbing her hands together as she prepared to sum things up. “Peter can talk to animals, too. There’s a magic club downtown that can disappear at will, and someone is using magic to rob the shops downtown blind. Is that everything?”

“What do you mean is that everything?” I asked. Where earlier my brain had felt light and fuzzy, now it felt heavy from the burden of all this information slamming into it at once. “It’s an awful lot all on its own.”

Nan stood abruptly and headed toward the foyer.

“Where are you going?” I sputtered. Dizzy. I needed to lie down, but I also couldn’t let Nan walk into a dangerous situation all on her own.

Luckily, the next thing she said was, “We need to go shopping.”

“What? Why?” I rubbed my temples to try to get the blood flowing to my brain again.

Nan appeared completely unbothered by this strange turn of events— rather, she appeared to be genuinely excited. “I don’t have any good outfits for a stakeout, and I doubt you do, either.”

“A stakeout?”

“Yes, that’s what I said. Now, are you coming or what?”

Nan and I went to Target and bought new outfits, complete with nondescript black skull caps for each of us. She even bought Octo-Cat a tiny black bandana, which I knew for a fact he would despise.

The rest of that evening was spent baking and putting together a custom stakeout kit that included board games, blankets, audiobooks, and other random items meant to help pass the time. I mostly just tried to stay out of the way while Nan prepared for our upcoming adventure.

When night fell, she popped onto her feet, narrowed her gaze, and said, “It’s time.”

Honestly, between Nan’s spy movie obsession and Octo-Cat’s legal drama TV addiction, I was burnt out on this stakeout before it even began. Hopefully it would actually lead to some helpful new information—but I wasn’t holding my breath.

“We’ll take my car,” Nan declared. Her little red sports car was less than discreet, but arguing would get me nowhere, seeing as she’d already committed to whatever role she planned to play tonight. Maybe a silver-haired female James Bond? I guess that made me the bimbo sidekick.

We parked downtown and sipped on matching thermoses filled with hot chocolate. Octo-Cat complained heartily from his place in the tiny, cramped backseat.

“Watch for anything suspicious,” Nan instructed in a cautious whisper, even though no one was around to hear either of us. “Keep an eye out for anyone nosing around the lair or entering one of the shops after closing time,” she further clarified.

“How long are we going to stay out here?” I asked with a yawn.

“As long as it takes,” she answered, her jaw set with determination. “We can sleep in shifts if we have to.”

Well, that didn’t sound fun at all. Hopefully our magical crooks would reveal themselves quickly so we could go home and snag a proper night’s sleep.

Time passed slowly as Nan recounted the plots of all her favorite action flicks. Downtown Glendale slowly stilled as the businesses shut down for the night and people headed home. Other than the odd stray dog that galloped past, no one came or went. Nothing happened.

That is, until something did.

A clanging alarm sounded just down the street, and bright lights flooded the darkness. I recognized the jewelry store at once. Nan wasted no time reversing more than a half dozen parking spots bringing us to idle right in front the shop with the triggered security system. Despite the alarms and the lights, I couldn’t see anyone inside.

Officer Bouchard showed up a few minutes later, sirens blaring just as they had Friday night. “You again,” he said upon spotting me.

“It’s a coincidence,” I said, putting my hands up in mock surrender. “I promise.”

“We were on a stakeout,” Nan said, setting her mouth in a firm line.

“We just wanted to help,” I said quickly. “See if we could catch the robber in action.”

“And you brought your cat with you?” he asked, spying Octo-Cat through the open car window.

“I’m just really attached to him,” I said between clenched teeth as Octo-Cat preened in my peripheral vision. “But I didn’t see who broke in.”

“The owner’s on the way,” Officer Bouchard explained. “But I think it’s best that you clear out before he gets here.”

Nan tapped her temple and smiled up at the handsome policeman. “Smart,” she said. “We’re the only witnesses, so naturally he’ll suspect us.”

I glanced back toward the lair and thought I saw a dark figure disappear around the alley. I wanted to go investigate but couldn’t make Officer Bouchard any more suspicious of us than he already was.

As a compromise, I ducked my head back into the car and spoke in a low hush. “Octo-Cat, I saw someone or something by the lair,” I whispered. “Can you go check it out?”

“On it,” he said, sneaking out through the open window that faced the street.

“Thank you for your time, Officer,” Nan cooed, shameless flirt that she was. “I know you’re very busy and important, and it always feels nice when you take a little extra time out from your day for us.”

“No more stakeouts,” the cop called after her as he walked away. “You hear me?”

Nan gave a salute, then sank into the driver’s seat.

I pressed the button to roll up the front windows and then whispered, “Stall for a few minutes. Octo-Cat is checking something out for us real quick.”

Nan made a great show of fumbling her keys and taking inventory of the various supplies and activities she’d brought for our big stakeout. When at last Octo-Cat climbed back through the window, she gave a friendly wave and then peeled off into the night.

“What was it?” I asked my cat.

“Nothing,” he said as if he still had a hard time believing it. “Absolutely nothing at all.”

How could we have missed everything when it had happened right before our eyes?

It seemed the only thing our stakeout had accomplished is making me even more afraid of the magical forces that had taken hold of my hometown.