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They all got out of the car, and Odelia rang the bell, instructing Chouchou to hide behind her for a moment, to make the surprise even bigger, and therefore the subsequent relief.“I want you to pay attention to the look on her face,” said Odelia with a smile. She felt a little like Santa Claus bringing tidings of joy and good cheer, and a bag full of presents.

The door opened, and a man appeared. He blankly stared at Odelia.“Yes?” he said.

“Mr. Bunyon?”

“Uh-huh. That’s me.”

“My name is Odelia Poole and your wife dropped by my office this morning, to ask me to look for your missing cat Chouchou?”

“Oh,” said the man blinkingly. “She did?”

“Yes, sir. And I’m happy to announce that I was successful, and I’ve found your precious baby for you.” And with these words, she stepped aside, and revealed Chouchou’s presence to Mr. Bunyon, her proud and happy owner. She didn’t exactly say ‘Ta-daaah,’ but the meaning was clear inher gesture.

But if she’d expected the man to yip with joy, she was disappointed. Rather than yip, he merely goggled at Chouchou, an expression on his face that was hard to read. It could have been stunned surprise, or it could have been dismay. “You did what now?” he said.

“Well, I found her,” said Odelia, then glanced down at Chouchou, then up at Mr. Bunyon again. “This is your cat, isn’t it?”

“Um…” said the man, and for a moment he seemed on the verge of denying being even faintly acquainted with Chouchou.

But then Kathleen Bunyon suddenly appeared in the door.“Who is it, Karl? Oh, hi, Miss Poole—Chouchou!” she screamed, and contrary to her husband she did seem overjoyed by this sudden re-emergence into her life of her precious pet. “Oh, my sweet, sweet, sweet little…” She picked Chouchou up and hugged her with extreme fervor.

Odelia watched the scene with a sense of relief, and a big smile on her face.

“Oh, Miss Poole—you found her!”

“Actually,” she said, launching into her rehearsed spiel, “my cats found her. Max and Dooley? Come here a moment, will you?”

Max and Dooley stepped into the limelight, and basked in the gratitude of Mrs. Bunyon.“Oh, you found my sweet, precious baby!” she said. “This is a miracle! Isn’t this a miracle, Karl?”

“Yeah, a real miracle,” Karl muttered, though he continued to look not too well pleased by the return of the prodigal daughter to the bosom of his family.

“Where did you find her?” asked Kathleen.

“In the woods just outside of town,” said Odelia. “Deep in the woods, in fact.”

“In the woods! How did you end up in the woods?” asked Kathleen. “You were probably playing with your friends, weren’t you?” She squeezed her precious Maine Coon some more, even going so far as to press a loving kiss to Chouchou’s furry and puckered brow, causing her husband to visibly wince. “You probably lost track of time and before you knew what happened you had lost your way.”

“Well, you know what cats are like,” said Odelia, who didn’t want to trouble the woman with the whole disturbing story if it wasn’t necessary. “Though if I were you I’d keep her inside for the next couple of days. Make sure she doesn’t run off again.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that,” said Kathleen. “I won’t let her out of my sight for even one second! Now that I have her back, she isn’t going anywhere!”

“Thank you, Miss Poole,” intoned Karl Bunyon curtly, then carefully closed the door, ending this episode in Odelia’s life—at least for now.

Chapter 7

Chouchou having been delivered into the arms of her loving human—or at least one loving human, Odelia decided to take us back to where we’d found Chouchou and the others, and to look for that place where digging had been going on. Frankly, she was as intrigued by this digging thing as we were, and to show us she meant business, she brought her husband along.

Chase Kingsley, if you didn’t know, is a local cop, and looks like a prizefighter. So with him by our side I have to say I wasn’t the least bit worried about what might happen if we encountered the person who’d catnapped those cats, and had engaged in a little digging to while away the time. The man is built like a brick outhouse, if you’re familiar with the expression, and even though my sense of direction perhaps isn’t as keen as Clarice’s, and neither is Dooley’s, we managed to lead our two humans to the right spot.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” said Chase when we got there. They say the proof is in the pudding, and since Chase had been skeptical about the story, this time the proof was in the digging. Chase had brought a spade, and so had Odelia, and before long the two of them were digging to their heart’scontent, really putting their backs into it.

“I think I’ve got something,” said Odelia suddenly.

“Gold!” said Dooley excitedly. “I think it’s a treasure, Max.”

“Why would anyone kidnap five cats and then bury a treasure in the woods?” I asked.

That had him stumped, and so we simply waited with bated breath to see what exactly, if anything, was buried there.

“What is it?” I asked.