Purrfect Revenge

Chapter 16

Odelia woke up from a pronounced whispering nearby. She’d been dreaming of Chase, more particularly Chase’s remarkably soft lips, and she so didn’t want to wake up right now. The whispering persisted, and she dragged her mind back from her sweet dreams to the cold reality of her empty bed. Well, not completely empty. Two cats were seated next to her in the darkness.

She moved, and the whispering stopped. She closed her eyes, ready for more Chase. The whispering started again, Dooley and Harriet having some kind of argument.

“God. What’s with all the whispering?!”

“No, I’m not telling her,” Harriet was saying.

“We have to tell her,” Dooley said. “We can’t just leave them up there.”

“We can and we will,” Harriet insisted stubbornly.

Odelia smacked her lips. The pressure of Chase’s lips against hers lingered. If Real Chase was as good a kisser as Dream Chase she was hoping her dream might turn into a reality one day. Maybe the day hell froze over.

“Leave who where?” she finally asked, giving up on her dream.

“Max and Brutus are stuck in a tree,” said Dooley.

“Dooley!” hissed Harriet. “I told you not to tell her!”

“Look, I don’t care about Brutus, but this is Max we’re talking about. He could be stuck up there for days! Or even forever!”

“Serves him right. Serves them both right. They shouldn’t have made such a spectacle of themselves in the first place. And all over some dumb broad. She can’t even sing!”

Dooley giggled. “Yeah, she sounded pretty awful. No way she was John Paul George’s muse. She fooled us all.”

“Not me. She didn’t fool me. Not for one second.”

“What’s going on?” Odelia asked tiredly, propping herself up on her elbows. She stared into the darkness. All she could see were two pairs of cat’s eyes staring back at her.

“Max and Brutus decided to impress Princess,” Dooley said.

“The skankiest cat alive,” said Harriet.

“Princess isn’t skanky. She’s just… not a great singer.”

“She is skanky. A classy cat would never get two cats to fight over her.”

“Well, anyway,” said Dooley, “Max and Brutus decided to impress Princess so they climbed a tree.”

“Who gave them that idea?” asked Odelia, rubbing her eyes.

“Dooley did,” said Harriet. “This was all his idea. Yes, it was!”

“I just figured it would give Max an edge. It looked like Brutus was winning her over and Max was very upset so I told him to climb a tree.”

“So Brutus and Max were going after the same cat?” asked Odelia.

“Yes, they were.”

“But I thought you and Brutus were a thing, Harriet?”

“We were. And now we’re not. If he likes that stupid Princess he’s welcome to her.”

“So it’s official now?” asked Dooley. “You and Brutus are history?”

“Ancient history.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, though he didn’t sound sorry.

“I don’t care,” she said. “I don’t mind being single again. I’m too young to be tied down. In fact Brutus did me a favor. A big one.”

“So where are Max and Brutus now?” asked Odelia. She was starting to get the picture.

“Still in that tree,” said Dooley. “They can’t get down. It’s too high.”

She did a mental head slap. “I better call the fire department.”

“Or you could leave them up there,” said Harriet, returning to her favorite theme. “At least a couple of days. That should teach them a lesson.”

“I can’t, Harriet. Max is my cat. I can’t leave him up there.”

“Then just leave Brutus up there. I’m sure Chase won’t mind.”

Yep. Cats were more like humans than people thought. A woman scorned and all that. “I have to get a hold of Chase. Tell him his cat is stuck in a tree.”

She swung her feet from between the sheets and found her slippers. She shuffled over to the window and opened the curtains. It was still completely dark out, though on the horizon she thought she could detect first light trying to hoist itself over the skyline. It was doing a pretty half-ass job of it, too.

“What time is it?” she asked with a yawn.

Dooley had joined her at the window. “Um, like, seven?”

“So how long have they been up there?”

“Since after midnight.”

“Oh, those poor dears. They must be terrified.”

“Especially since Max and Brutus hate each other,” said Harriet.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve eaten each other by now,” said Dooley. “Like in that Tom Hanks movie? When he was stuck on that island?”

“Tom Hanks didn’t eat anybody in that movie,” said Harriet.

“That’s because he was all alone out there, with nobody to eat. But Max and Brutus have each other.” He paused. “I wonder who’ll eat who. My money’s on Brutus. He’s bigger and tougher.”

“Max is bigger,” said Harriet.

“Yeah, but that’s all flab. Brutus is all muscle.”

“Nobody is eating anybody,” Odelia said.

“She’s right,” said Harriet, sounding worried now. “They’ve got bark. Wouldn’t they eat bark before eating each other? They’ve got plenty of bark.”

“Would you eat bark when you could gobble up a perfectly succulent cat like Max? I don’t think so,” said Dooley. He sighed. “I’m afraid the only thing you’ll find up there are a skeleton and a cat that looks like Tom Hanks.”

“Oh, no,” Harriet cried, and streaked over to Odelia. “You have to save them! You have to go out there right now and save them!”

“Relax. A couple of hours stuck in a tree won’t hurt them.” She hoisted up her jeans and slipped a sweater over her head. “In fact it might do them some good. Those two have done nothing but fight.” Maybe being cooped up together in the same treetop might knock some sense into them. Or not.

“Men are so stupid,” said Harriet, now practically in tears.

“Not all men,” said Dooley. “I wouldn’t climb a tree to impress Princess.”

“Bet you’d climb a tree to impress Harriet, though,” Odelia said, dragging her fingers through her hair. She knew Dooley had always had a soft spot for Harriet. Maybe now was his chance to score.

Dooley scraped his paw across the floor. “Maybe.”

“Oh, Dooley,” said Harriet. “You would do that for me?”

He looked up, hope dawning. “Of course I would. In a heartbeat.”

She pressed a paw to her heart. “I take back what I said about you being responsible for Brutus and Max’s being stuck. You’re a true friend, Dooley.”

“Friend?” asked Dooley, sounding a little disappointed.

She nodded, a smile on her face. “One of my very best friends.”

Odelia grinned and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. As she left the room and headed down the stairs she was already dialing 911.

She arrived at the park the same time Chase did. Firemen were extending a ladder from the fire truck to the top of the tree. In spite of the early hour, Hampton Covians were flocking to, snapping pictures with their smartphones. Which reminded her… She took out her own phone and snapped a few shots. “For the Gazette,” she told Chase. And Facebook.

All around, cats were staring up at the tree, enjoying the show.

A fireman climbed the ladder and disappeared into the foliage. Max and Brutus had sure picked a great tree to climb. From where she stood she couldn’t see the top, even though firefighters had hit the floodlights and bathed the park in an eerie light.

Chase gave her a nudge. “So your cat and my cat, huh? Sitting in a tree.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think they’re kissing, Chase.”

“You might be surprised,” he said with a shrug.

“They’re both males, remember?”

He frowned. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yah. Pretty sure.”

“I’ll take your word for it. How did you find out about this anyway?”

“Um… One of the neighbors heard them screeching and called me.”

He shook his head. “You’d think they’d have more sense.”

You’d think anyone would have more sense than to climb a tree to impress a girl. She got a sudden flash of Chase climbing a tree to impress her. He’d probably look like Alexander Skarsgård in that Tarzan movie.

He gave her an odd look. “Why are you staring at my shirt, Poole?”

She quickly looked away. The man was ripped. Even through his shirt she could see his bulging chest muscles. He was dressed in a white T-shirt, a black leather bomber jacket, and a pair of skinny jeans hugging narrow hips. “So… how’s the investigation going? Any word from the coroner?”

“Nope. But we’re expecting his report today.”

“Can I come?”

He grinned. “Sure. You can come whenever you want, Poole.”

She felt a blush creep up her cheeks and directed her eyes firmly at the tree. The fireman was descending the ladder, clutching two cats in his arms. They both looked pretty sheepish. Especially since the gaggle of cats was happy to comment. And they weren't yelling their support. The consensus was that Brutus and Max were a couple of show-offs and got exactly what they deserved. Yep. Cats were pretty much like people.

“They look okay,” said Chase.

“Yeah, it could have been worse. They could have eaten each other.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Cannibalism? Really?”

She shrugged. “Max gets pretty peckish after midnight.”

“I’d like to see him try. Brutus would slay him.”

She was sure he would. Which was why she was so surprised to see the two cats clutching at each other for support. It seemed that those few hours spent up there had brought them both to their senses.

“Look at that,” Chase said. “Two little buddies.”

The fireman finally reached the ground, and handed both cats to Odelia. She took them eagerly and pressed them in her arms. They clung to her for dear life. All around her there were oohs and aahs, and a loud applause for the fireman who’d risked life and limb to pluck two dumb cats out of a tree.

“They were up in the highest branch,” he said, taking off his helmet and scratching his scalp. “Hugging each other. It was the damnedest thing.”

“I told you,” said Chase. “They’re buddies.”

She tried to hand Brutus over to Chase. He refused to let go.

“Look at that, Poole. He likes you.”

She gave Chase a frown. “You’re not secretly a cat hater, are you?”

“Me? I love cats. Well, maybe not love them, but I don’t hate them.”

“Brutus is not Chase’s cat,” Max explained. “He belonged to Chase’s mother, but she had to go live someplace where they don’t like cats so he ended up with Chase. He never even hugs him, Odelia. He doesn’t care.”

“I’m all right,” said Brutus. “Chase feeds me meat.”

“Yeah, but you can’t live on meat alone,” said Max.

Chase laughed. “For a minute there I thought they were talking to you.”

Her frown deepened. “How many times a day do you cuddle your cat?”

He looked at her as if she’d sprouted wings. “Cuddle my cat? Um…”

Her lips tightened. She hated cat haters. “Adopting a cat is accepting a sacred responsibility, Chase. Cats need to be loved and lavished with TLC.”

He stared at her. “TLC. Okay. And what’s that got to do with me?”

“Brutus spends more time at my place than yours. Which tells me you’re not taking particularly good care of him.”

“Me? Not taking care of him? I love the little bugger.” He gingerly patted Brutus. “Besides, cats are solitary creatures. They don’t need TLC.”

She raised an eyebrow. Both cats were still clinging to her like crazy and weren’t letting go. “Do they look like solitary creatures to you?”

“Yeah, but that’s because they just went through this ordeal. I’m sure they’ll be fine once you put them down. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if they went scooting up the nearest tree the moment you do.”

She shook her head. “You have to start taking better care of your cat.”

“Look, he’s not even my cat, all right? He belongs to my mom. In fact I’ve never had a cat in my life. I had a goldfish once, but that didn’t end well.”

“Well, now that you have a cat, you better learn how to take care of him.”

He gave her a goofy look. “Maybe you can teach me?”

She blinked. “Teach you?”

“Sure. You’re crazy cat lady, right? Teach me what you know.”

She handed Brutus to him and he held him up so he was dangling. Cat and human stared at each other, sizing each other up. Neither looked happy. “Oh, for Christ’s sakes,” she muttered, and showed him how to hold a cat, with his left arm providing support for Brutus’s backside and his right hand holding him steady. “Now just caress him. Cats love to be stroked.”

With his big hand he patted the cat’s head, practically squishing him.

“Not like that. Gently.”

He stroked along Brutus’s head. The cat had one eye closed and looked like he was ready to escape. “Like this?”

“Yeah, that’s better.”

Brutus seemed surprised. He turned to her. “Gee, thanks, Odelia.”

She gave him a wink. “We’ll make a crazy cat man out of you yet, Detective.”

He grimaced. “Anything to keep this little sucker from waking me up at five in the morning.”

Her eyes went wide. “Five? I thought it was after seven.”

He scooted up Brutus’s butt and checked his watch. “Nope. Five thirty.”

She gave Dooley a hard stare. He shrugged sheepishly. “I was worried about Max.”

“Thanks, buddy,” said Max.

“It’s so funny,” said Chase, still stroking Brutus’s head. “It’s as if they’re talking.”

“Of course they’re talking. Cats are intelligent creatures. They talk.”

“I’ll be damned.” Brutus had closed his eyes, and was softly purring. Chase gave her a look of surprise. “Do you hear that? I think he likes me.”

She grinned. “Congratulations. That’s the sound of a happy cat.”

Yep. She’d turn this tough NYPD detective into a cat lover yet.