She gave me a look that wasn’t all that pleasant to be on the receiving end of, and I shrugged. “I’m sorry. It was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing.”

“You did good,” said Brutus. “We can’t let them get away with this. I mean, Hampton Cove is a pleasant town, and we can’t have Johnny and Jerry shooting things up for no good reason.”

“I’ll bet they have a very good reason,” I said. “Money.”

“You think someone is paying them to shoot at the lawyer?” asked Brutus.

“Absolutely. Everything Johnny and Jerry do, they do for money, so this time won’t be any different.”

We tentatively approached the cabin of the vehicle and peered out through the windshield. We saw the two crooks heading towards what looked like an old farm, and the sight of it gave me some bad memories from the time they had abducted all the cats of Hampton Cove and locked us up in one of these places. I saw that the window on the passenger side was open, so I climbed up and then took the jump down to the ground below. My three friends all followed suit, and moments later, we were stalking in the direction of the farmhouse.

Light was on inside, and we jumped up onto a windowsill to look in. I saw it was the kitchen, with Johnny seated at the table and Jerry busy putting something into the microwave.

“Looks like they’re holed up here for now,” I said. And since we knew enough, I decided that it was time to head back into town, to alert the cavalry so they could raid the place and put these two under arrest.

And we would have made it out if not Dooley had accidentally hit an old tin pot located on the windowsill. It fell to the ground with a loud clanging sound. Immediately, an irate-looking Jerry appeared, and when he saw the four of us staring back at him, a wide but cruel smile spread across his face. “Well, if it ain’t the kitty cats! Fancy meeting you here!”

Before I could react, he had grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and had supplied the same service to Dooley. Behind him, Johnny was there to collar Brutus and Harriet, and as I released a sigh, I knew that this was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER 21

Odelia was beside herself when she heard what had happened. The police station shot to pieces? Her cats missing? How could this happen? And how had the culprits found out that Rogelio had been locked up at the station—the same mole again? It was imperative that Chase get to the bottom of this mess, and also her uncle.

All of the police officers had descended on the station, and when she arrived, she was met by Chase and her uncle, who had been inspecting the damage. The exterior wall of the cell block had been shot to pieces, but the structure was intact. Plenty of stucco was on the ground, and bullet holes attested to the carnage that had been brought to bear on the old station house.

“None of the prisoners have been hurt,” said Odelia’s uncle. “And that’s the main thing. The rest we’ll fix with some plaster and cement—no problem.”

“But how did they know that Rogelio was in there?” asked Odelia.

Her uncle shrugged. “Someone must have told them—there’s no other explanation possible. Someone on the inside.”

“Just like before,” said Chase. The detective was grim-faced. He didn’t like the prospect that one of their own was in league with the gangsters.

“Organized crime seems to have come to Hampton Cove,” said Uncle Alec sadly. “And I’ll be happy to see them leave again.”

“Have you discovered why they’re targeting Rogelio specifically?” asked Odelia.

Her uncle shook his head. “Nope. No idea. And he doesn’t seem to know himself.”

“The only thing I can see that is of some significance,” said Chase, “is that one of his clients was Prince Abdullah.”

“Do you think there’s a link between the two cases?”

“It’s possible,” said her uncle. “But if there is, we haven’t found it yet. Have we, Chase?”

“Nothing yet,” said Chase. “But it’s the only thing that makes sense. A murder and a shooting—two shootings… there simply has to be a connection that we’re not seeing yet.”

They glanced up at the prison block and saw that Rogelio stood looking down at them, following the conversation intently. “Maybe you should take me someplace a little safer?” he suggested. “I mean, I hate to be a nuisance, but I’m not liking this being-shot-at routine.”

“This is the safest place for you right now,” said the chief a little curtly. He seemed to personally blame the man for the state his police station was in, and maybe he was right.

Was Rogelio holding out on them? It didn’t seem to be the case, but then you never knew, of course. He was, after all, a lawyer, and as everyone knows, part of a lawyer’s job description is to lie convincingly and flawlessly. Or at least that was the impression she sometimes got.

“So what about my cats?” she asked.

Her grandmother and Scarlett had been talking amongst themselves and now joined the conversation. “I saw them run off after the van,” said Gran.

“And I saw them get into the van,” said Scarlett.

“And that’s the last we saw of them.”

“All of them? All of them got into that van?” asked Odelia, aghast.

Gran and Scarlett both nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

“They’re so brave,” said Scarlett. “So very brave.”

“Did you recognize the shooters?” asked Chase.

“No, I’m afraid we never got a good look at them,” said Gran. “But maybe the cats did. They were much closer. Scarlett and I spent most of the time hugging the dirt, didn’t we?”

“Let’s hope they’re fine,” said Odelia, though frankly she wasn’t very happy right now. Neither with her grandmother, who had brought the cats along on this crazy adventure, and had tried to gain access to the prisoners even though Uncle Alec had strictly forbidden her to. And also with Rogelio, for bringing this terrible violence into their lives.

She knew it was unreasonable of her to blame the man, but she couldn’t help it.

“We have to find them,” she told her husband. “If we find the cats, we find the shooters, and we can put this whole thing to bed. And hopefully discover the link between the shootings and the murder of Prince Abdullah.”

“On that note,” said Chase, “I’ve discovered something interesting. Remember Wilbur filed a report of someone stealing stuff from his store? I checked the CCTV footage today, and guess who the thief was?”

Since she had absolutely no idea, she shrugged.

“Prince Abdullah!”

“But… why would a prince steal things from a general store?” asked Uncle Alec. “That makes no sense whatsoever.”

“Maybe he didn’t know he had to pay for the items he took from the store?” Chase suggested. “If he’s a member of his country’s ruling class, maybe he’s not used to shopping for himself and so he simply takes things and expects someone else to foot the bill?”

“It’s possible,” said Odelia. She could imagine that being as rich as the prince was, he probably never did his own shopping or washing and cleaning or any of those daily chores. And so when he found himself in a strange town, he might have decided that Wilbur would simply send the bill to the palace, or wherever he was living in Abou-Yamen.

“Anyway, another problem solved,” said Uncle Alec as he dragged a weary hand through his meager mane. “So how are we going to find the cats? Any suggestions?” He gave Odelia a weak smile. “We’ve been here before, haven’t we?”

Her uncle was right. The cats had been kidnapped before, and they had found them that time, so there was no reason they wouldn’t find them now. Still, she wouldn’t feel easy in her mind until they had located them and they were home safe and sound.

“We could use the same method we used last time,” she suggested.

“Which is?”