Raccoon Racketeer

Chapter Fifteen

I headed outside to the front porch, both because I knew it would offer me better reception and so that I could keep an eye out for Nan just in case she finally decided to return home and face the situation head-on.

After settling myself on the steps, I took out my phone and studied the feed from our Pringle cam. I could see his focused expression reflected back in the glass as he fiddled with the window. His eyes lit up a few moments later as he raised the window high enough for Octo-Cat to squeeze through, then turned back the other way, providing me with an impressive aerial view of the forest that flanked our yard.

Fast as a shot, he appeared at my side and grabbed Octo-Cat’s iPad from the stoop. “I’ll be taking that now. Thank you very much.”

For all his issues, the raccoon really was a great accomplice with an impressive skill set. It was also far easier on my conscience to let him do the dirty work so that I wouldn’t have to.

Pringle, of course, had no trouble bending the rules of propriety or in scaling the house with the tablet tucked into his chest and held in place by one furry black hand. Hardly a minute later, he’d made it back to Nan’s window, raised it a bit higher, and entered the locked bedroom without even a second’s hesitation.

This was it. We were really doing it. I grabbed my iPad and placed a FaceTime call to Octo-Cat.

He answered after a few rings, his face leaning over the device and showing me the same view of kitty double chin I got any morning I dared try to sleep in past his breakfast time. “Badges. We don’t need no stinking badges,” he informed me needlessly.

And what was with all these movie quotes? Did he even sleep anymore or just fill his brain with anything that would fit inside?

“Good job,” I told him, finding his enthusiasm adorable despite everything. “Keep an eye on Pringle, and keep me informed as you two search the room.”

“Yes, Angela. I remember my role in all this,” he murmured, already moving out of view.

Pringle had already made his way to Nan’s dresser and was pulling open drawers willy-nilly. “Lacy underwear!” he cried with a giggle. “Oh, Nan, I had no idea!”

“Cut that out!” I shouted so loud they could probably hear me without the FaceTime connection. “You’re there to look for clues, and that’s it.”

“Open this for me,” I heard Octo-Cat say and then watched as Pringle approached the spot where my cat waited by the nightstand.

The raccoon pulled the drawer clear off the tracks and laughed as it clattered to the floor. “This is fun!” he squealed.

Well, there would be no hiding the fact we’d been in her room, even though I technically hadn’t.

“Hey, look! I found a piece of paper with writing on it!” my cat cried in excitement.

Pringle bounded over and grabbed the paper, but I couldn’t make out the words on the camera as the raccoon read. “It’s just an old shopping list,” he said, balling it up and tossing it back in the drawer. I sure hoped his assessment was right and he hadn’t just discarded an important piece of the puzzle.

Maybe I should just go up there and instruct the two of them on how they could unlock the door from inside. Still, I remained frozen in place, unable to cross that invisible boundary.

“Be respectful of my nan’s things!” I cried in a half-hearted attempt to exert some control over the situation.

“Why?” Pringle asked in a distracted voice as he continued to lope around the bedroom. “Think about it. Was she respectful of you when she hid such an important truth just out of reach?”

Darn him and his logical points.

“Still,” I muttered. “Just, please.”

“You heard the lady!” Octo-Cat growled. “Keep it professional here.”

Oh, how I loved my kitty. He was definitely the next best thing to being there myself, and I was proud of him for staying on task.

The fuzzy duo searched around the room a while longer, finding nothing of consequence.

“If she’s hiding anything, it wouldn’t be in an obvious place,” I said, trying to help from my station outside the action. “The attic hiding place was pretty cleverly tucked away. Maybe there’s a similar hiding place in her room, too.”

“Good thinking,” Pringle said and then lumbered over to the nearest baseboard. He kicked and punched to no avail; not a single board budged.

“Hey! I think I found something!” Octo-Cat shouted from across the room. Oh my gosh. Was this it? The moment of truth?

“Coming!” Pringle called. The camera bounced unevenly as he raced toward Octo-Cat, who sat on top of the dresser—the first place they’d searched.

At that very same moment, the hum of an engine alerted me to the little red sports car pulling up our driveway.

Nan had come home.

“Mommy, I’m back!” Paisley cried from the open window, and while I was happy to see her, this meant that I had zero time to send a warning message to the guys upstairs.

“Paisley! Nan! Welcome home!” I shouted while closing the video feed and ending the FaceTime call. I hoped the animals engaged in the spy operation upstairs had heard and understood that they needed to get the heck out of there. Subtlety wasn’t exactly a strong suit for either of them.

Nan pulled into the garage, and I raced after her before she could run away from me again. Maybe she was finally ready to give me some answers. At the very least, I might be able to distract her long enough to buy some time for Octo-Cat and Pringle to escape.

“I missed you!” Paisley bounded out of the car and ran over to me, begging to be picked up.

I was all too happy to oblige. “I missed you, too. Both of you.”

Nan looked as if she hadn’t slept the whole time she’d been gone. Perhaps she hadn’t. Still, she attempted a reserved smile. Of course, the Nan I knew had never been reserved a day in her life. What had happened to her, and why was it all coming to a head now?

“Are you okay?” I asked gently.

She shook her head. “Not really. No.”

“Can we talk about it?” I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but she shook me off.

Nan took a deep breath, then retreated into herself. I’d never seen her look so old or broken, and it worried me greatly. Tears rimmed her red eyes. “I never thought I’d have to speak of it again, especially not to you.”

“I’m here, and I love you, no matter what.”

She shook her head sadly. “It will change things, Angie.”

“It already has,” I whispered as I attempted to hold back fresh tears of my own.

Nan looked away and murmured, “I can’t.” Then brushed past me into the house.

Guilt surged inside my chest. Maybe this was one mystery that didn’t need to be solved. Maybe I just needed to leave it alone and move on with my life the way things had been before Pringle showed me that secret letter.

I wished I could turn away, but I was already in too deep. This wasn’t a simple curiosity; it was my life.

And I needed to know the truth.