“All those presents sitting there, going to filthy charity animals when Miss Purrfect was in need?” Morrie remarked. “He had the means and motive.”
I circled Roland’s name, then Bertie.Who did it? And how do we find out?Both of them had a way of getting into the shop, both had a motive, and neither of them seemed like the type to confess their crime just because I asked nicely—
“I’ve got it!” I cried. “You remember how crazy Grimalkin went over the smell of that catnip spray, even after we cleaned it up? Tabitha said she broke the bottle after she and Roland had finished their… you know. He was already outside the shop when that happened, so he wouldn’t have got any on himunless he came back for the presents. Whoever stole the presents would reek of the stuff, and I bet it hasn’t washed off completely yet. I’ll put Grimalkin in my purse and we’ll go visit both our suspects. Whichever one she reacts to—”
“—we know that’s our Christmas Grinch!” Morrie stood up. “Excellent plan. Now, where is our favorite little thief catcher?”
“Good question.” I glanced over at Quoth, who had managed to twist the tinsel string around his wing, and was frantically trying to flap it off. Grimalkin was nowhere in sight. “Where’s Grimalkin?”
“Croak.”
“Well, didn’t you see where she went?”
“Croak.”
“You’re no good.” I stood up and peered under the table. She wasn’t there, nor was she skulking along the top of the poetry bookshelf, nor had she busied herself in the boxes of secondhand stock at the back of Heathcliff’s office – her favorite spot to hide decapitated rodents. “Grimalkin, here kitty, kitty…”
“Meow.”
I spun around just as a flash of black darted through the hallway, trailing a tail of bright tinsel behind her.
“Meow!” Grimalkin called happily, her feet skidding on the wooden floor as she dragged Quoth’s tinsel behind her.
“No, Grimalkin, come back with that!” I scurried after her, Heathcliff hot on my heels. Grimalkin assumed it was a game and poured on speed, ducking and weaving between the shelves to confuse us before dragging her prize through a narrow gap behind the Natural History shelves. I bent down to peer inside, and a blast of cold air hit me square in the face.
“What’s this?” I asked Morrie.
He frowned into the gap. “Odd. The cellar door is behind that shelf. But it’s locked. There shouldn’t be a breeze. Congratulations, gorgeous. You’ve found the source of the shop’s mysterious draft.”
“But how is there a draft where there are no windows or entrances in the cellar?” I shoved the end of the bookcase. “Help me with this. If Grimalkin’s gone down there, we have to find her.”
Morrie dropped his shoulder against the wood and shoved. Luckily, this particular bookcase was on wheels, and it slid aside easily so we could access the cellar’s latch. I flitted it open to reveal rickety stone steps leading down into a black hole.
I slid my phone out of my pocket and flipped on the flashlight app. Frigid air screamed up the stairs and blasted my bare face. After a few steps, even the flashlight beam was useless. Down here it was so dark, I was completely blind.
“Grimalkin, where are you?”
I kept my hand pressed against the wall and used my feet to feel for the next step. Cold air rushed up. I could hear Grimalkin chattering away, but she sounded muffled, like she was trapped in a cupboard or something.
I yelled up the stairs. “Morrie, help!”
A few moments later, footsteps clattered on the stairs. “The Napoleon of Crime to the rescue,” Morrie purred in my ear, wrapping his arms around my body and kissing along my neck.
“As tempting as you are, it’s too cold for your shenanigans.” My teeth chattered. I pressed my phone into his hand. “Grimalkin’s down here somewhere, chewing up my tinsel. Can you find her? I can’t see.”
By Isis, Ihatedasking for help. I hated that I couldn’t do something. But my feelings weren’t important right now. We had to find Grimalkin. It might be dangerous down here, and I didn’t want her to crawl into some tight space and become stuck.
“Of course.” Morrie shone the phone around the gloomy space. “Here, kitty, kitty…”
Grimalkin responded with a defiant, “Meow!”
“Ah. I see tinsel.” Morrie lunged into the darkness.
BANG. CRASH.
“Meorrrrrrrrw!”
“What’s going on?” I squinted, but I couldn’t make out anything except the beam of light swinging wildly.
