Bran called me half an hour later to report that he and Bree had no better luck than we had been having. We agreed to meet at a new diner that had opened up — Elsie’s. It was near the north end of town, leading out toward the highway on the peninsula. As we parked, I glanced over the outside of the structure.
The diner seemed bright and sparkly, compared to a lot of the buildings around. As we entered the door, the light almost hurt my eyes. I blinked, my eyes trying to adapt.
Elsie met us herself, or so it seemed by her nametag. She seemed to be around 30, with tidy brunette hair tucked back in a braid. She was pretty, in a simple way, but her eyes were bright and she seemed pleased to see us.
“Would you folks like a booth or a table? We’re pretty open tonight.”
“A booth, please,” Bran said.
Elsie let us to a booth in the corner, where I scooted in to sit at the back, while Bran sat to my left, and Faron and Bree sat to my right. Elsie brought over four menus and poured our water as we open to them.
“Everything looks good,” I said, scanning over the menu. It was one of those menus with pictures of the food on it, but the pictures were well done and everything looked mouthwatering. It was standard diner fair, but Elsie had a sparkle about her, and I predicted she was going to do well with her restaurant.
“I’ll have the clam chowder, New England style, along with a dinner roll, and coffee — make it black and make it plentiful,” Faron said.
“A double cheeseburger and a cup of tea,” Bran said.
“Give me fish and chips, and hot cocoa,” Bree said.
I ordered the same thing that Bree was having, and Elsie moved off to get our drinks and silverware. We sat there silent until she returned, giving us placemats, silverware, napkins, and the hot cocoa, coffee, and tea. As soon as she left, we started to talk.
“So where have we checked?” Bran asked.
Listed off all the places we had checked, with Bree scribbling them down on a piece of paper.
“We haven’t checked any of the hotels,” I said.
“Yeah, but the question is: If they’re staying at a hotel, where are they keeping their victims? You don’t just hide a bunch of cats in a hotel room — even if they are familiars. And how are you going to get to the two women without being noticed?” Faron asked.
“Good point,” I said. “What if they’re not staying at a hotel? What if they’re staying at an air B&B? Or, with friends? They might have someone in the area who saw Fancypants with me, and told them. Dragonette’s are worth massive amounts of money on the black market. Even though it seldom works to re-bond one, the chance is worth a lot of money. And if you have enough money to pay for that, you won’t miss the cash if it the attempt doesn’t pan out.”
“True enough,” Bran said. “It makes a lot more sense than them trying to hole up at some hotel. Even an air B&B would be dangerous. Some of those owners hover like helicopter parents.”
“We can’t possibly just drive up and down the streets looking for a green van,” I said. “For one thing, people do have garages around here, and some of them even keep their cars inside. I’d put out a bounty, but that would defeat Daisy’s purpose in keeping the news about the van quiet.”
“I guess there’s not much more we can do tonight,” Bree stirred her hot chocolate, staring at it glumly. “I’m sorry this happened,” she said. “We all love Fancypants.”
I nodded. “It’s tearing me up, but knowing there are more victims, it’s even worse. We can’t let them get away with this. I can’t let them take him out of the town. We have to save the women and cats, as well. Not just Fancypants.”
“When we better figure out what to do,” Faron said. “If anybody’s got any good ideas, put them on the table now.”
At that moment, Elsie brought our dinner, and we waited until she left before we began discussing possible ways to find the poachers.
As I dug into the fish and chips, realizing that I was hungry, Faron cleared his throat and gave us a clouded look.
“There is one way we can go about this,” he said.
“How?” I asked.
“I have a couple friends who are not exactly in tune with the Pack. I knew them when I was younger, and kept touch even though I couldn’t openly be friends with them while I was on the throne. They understood, because they have to watch out who they’re seen with, as well.” By the tone of his voice, it was obvious that his friends were not exactly good with the law.
“Can we trust them?” I asked. “I don’t want to compromise Daisy’s investigation.”
“They don’t compromise anything, they’re very discreet. Their help doesn’t come cheap, but they’re worth every penny. If they can’t find these guys, nobody can. Not even Daisy and her crew.”
“I wish I could track Fancypants through his energy signature, but if May broke the spell, I’d be so engulfed in grief that I wouldn’t be able to focus. I hate that she had to do this, but I understand why.” I stared at the French fry in my hand, queasy. “I just can’t stand the idea that he might believe I abandoned him.”
“Fancypants will never believe that,” Bran said. “Faron might be onto something. While I trust Daisy, she has to work within legal limitations. We don’t.”
