Chapter 30

Round Table

Buster flew round and round the kitchen chandelier. Tramp and Calico sat on a wooden chair closest to the big window looking out at the tallest pine tree in the neighborhood. Colin and Bobby sat quietly at the kitchen table, next to Doc Oliver.

Mrs. Oliver was at the kitchen counter slicing a steaming apple pie. The room smelled of cinnamon and hot apples. Doc Oliver had a smile on his face as he wiped his glasses with a napkin. Buster finally landed on the top of the chandelier.

“Can’t do much with him, can you?” Tramp asked Calico.

“I try every day to be his friend, but his bird instincts are too strong. He’s okay when I leave the kitchen, but this is my favorite spot looking out at that beautiful tree. Sometimes I see Finn sitting on the branch closest to the ground and I imagine Pauly and me kicking up the pine needles,” Calico said.

“What’s the music?” Tramp asked.

“Whatever Mrs. Oliver is playing on the radio. Recently it’s country. Last week classical. She likes it all, and I’ve discovered it’s my best distraction,” Calico said.

Mrs. served the Doc and the boys pieces of apple pie. Tramp got a piece of the apple pie after pushing a piece of boiled ham onto the floor. Calico looked asleep.

“What brings this bunch over? Have you found Calico’s owners?” Mrs. Oliver asked, looking at Colin.

Colin looked at Doc. “I’ll start,” he said. “This is Bobby Sigley, a friend of ours. His dad is Big Bob of Big Bob’s Pet Store. The mystery starts inside the store. We’re all here because we have some connection to Calico, her kitten, Finn, and a dancing cockatoo, Pauly. Calico’s here, thanks to Tramp. Finn and Pauly are missing. Bobby’s the connection that ties them all together,” Colin said.

“Ahh,” Mrs. Oliver said.

“They were all in our pet store, together, for a short time,” Bobby said.

“Excuse me for a minute,” Tramp said to Calico and sat next to Bobby, leaning into his waist.

Bobby was rubbing his hands together, his eyes locked on the pine tree outside the window. He said, “Calico and Pauly were great together, at night. They danced to any music Dad played. He did that to calm all the animals down. I’d sneak over to watch them dance, sometimes at midnight. All the other animals rocked back and forth to the beat, but Pauly and Calico were the stars. Even the mice danced, and sometimes I thought they were actually laughing. They felt safe with the music playing. Or maybe it was the sight of a dancing cat.”

Mrs. Oliver and Doc listened carefully. Buster flew back to Mrs. Oliver’s bun. Calico lay stretched out on her chair, her eyes as round as saucers. Colin had his arms crossed on the table. They were in the hands of a good storyteller.

“They wouldn’t dance during the day. I figured they knew that’d make them saleable and their life together would end. Then Calico had kittens and all the dancing stopped. I heard Dad talking to Uncle Rodney on the phone, and he looked all worried.”

Doc Oliver’s face turned a funny shade of gray. “Rodney? Rodney Smithers?”

“Yeah. He’s my dad’s uncle. Do you know him?” Bobby asked.

“He’s never been at the clinic. I know his name because the police came by once and asked if a man named Rodney Smithers had ever brought any strange animals to the clinic. I told them no. That was about six months ago. Where did your dad get Pauly?” Doc Oliver asked.

“Uncle Rodney,” Bobby said with his eyes cast down. “First he brought Calico, then Pauly the next day. Dad was actually excited. Put them in the middle of the floor and turned on The Nutcracker Suite. We all thought there’d be a show. Dad said ‘Watch this.’ But nothing happened. That night was the first time I saw them dance. I told Dad, but he said it was none of my business and not to mention it to anyone,” Bobby’s eyes sparkled. He stood up and walked around the table to pet Calico.

“Calico had three kittens. Nobody saw that coming. Dad wasn’t happy. The kittens were another reason the dancing duo wouldn’t sell. Bridget and Meghan sold right away but Finn just sat there, and I mean just sat there. He wouldn’t move.”

Bobby’s voice was the only sound in the room.

Tramp looked from face to face, they all were listening, even Buster.

“Dad told me to take Finn to the island. At first I said no, that it was wrong. He said our lives depended on keeping Rodney happy. I’ve never talked about that part. I took Finn. Then the cop came, and I had to take Pauly. Calico stopped dancing, kinda went into hibernation in the middle of the summer. The cop came back. And I took Calico. The store was like a morgue. More dead than alive.”