“I’m never stealing again,” I muttered, my paw moving across my face absently. “I mean it. Not even a stick of gum.”
“Oh, you’re such a fibber,” Amy said again. It had become almost a mantra at this point.
I’d mention my regret, normally after a particularly boisterous dog got too close for comfort, and Amy would call me out on it.
“Give it a few months back in your own skin,” she said now. “The draw of the deception will hit again—and hit hard. A year max and then you’ll be right back to your thieving ways.”
I snorted but said nothing more as Amy began another loop of the park. It was divided into fenced areas for large and small dogs with paths going between and around, then continuing around a larger, wooded area. We were just approaching the large dog area again when I spotted him.
“Amy, stop,” I said as softly as I could, then growled under my breath, “Hide!”
Amy jumped off the path, doing her best to take cover behind a tree. “What? Where?” she whisper-yelled.
“Over at the far gate,” I said, keeping my eyes glued to the approaching figure. “Just coming in.”
She crouched down and feigned tying her shoes—an awkward position for me, to say the least.
“I see him,” she confirmed a moment later. “Red flannel?”
“Yeah,” I said, my tail flicking in excitement. “That’s him, right? So what do we do now that we’ve got him?”
“I’ll text Kaye,” Amy mumbled as she slowly rose back to standing. “Then we’ll go out there and try to follow him.” She unlatched the carrier to let me out. With my paws finally back on solid ground, I shook out my fur, letting it fall back into its natural arrangement.
“You wait on the other side of the fence near the trees, where the dogs can’t get to you,” Amy instructed, her fingers flying across her phone screen.
I eyed the fence, mentally planning out my next move. “And you? What will you do?”
She scoffed at this. “Well, it’s a dog park, I figure I’ll blend in. Maybe I can make like an overexcited dog and knock him over. Then you can get his wallet or something ridiculous like that.” She chuckled as if imagining the scene playing out before her eyes. “Anything to help Kaye crack this case. Am I right?”
Helping Kaye was just as much about helping ourselves, but it felt better to pretend our motives were purely altruistic. Quite the change for this former conman.
“Let’s go,” I said, crouching low in the grass and wiggling my butt. “Whoa, wait a second,” I hissed before taking off.
“What?” A large bulldog with Amy’s voice said, her head poking through a bush—seriously, the weirdest looking flower in existence. “What is it? What do you see?”
“It’s what I don’t see.” I darted out of the trees. “He’s gone!”
I scanned the various dogs and people, but there was no older man in red flannel, and no big black dog. Or at least not the one that had entered at his side.
I swore under my breath. “Well, now what?” My tail brushed the grass with annoyed flicks.
“We know he went into the large dog area. He might just be out of sight or heading toward the woods,” Amy huffed, licking her drooping jowls. It was hard to remember why I was attracted to her in that moment.
“Easy there, Spike, what about the leash law?” I asked.
“Can’t shift back now,” she added with a shake of her head. We turned back toward the spot where we’d emerged from the trees, but we no longer had our privacy. A young couple had just spread their blanket out on the soft grass between the trail and the trees and were preparing to picnic on a rather unappetizing-smelling spread.
“Seriously?” I balked. “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”
“Bongo!” a woman yelled in the distance. “No!”
I froze as a massive Dalmatian came sprinting toward me, hackles raised.
“Why is there a cat at the dog park?” the woman yelled. “He’s going to eat this poor creature alive!”
What? Me? I refused to become dog food—especially not today.
With a guttural yowl, I took off in the opposite direction, running for my life. The big spotted dog gave chase, heck-bent on ripping my head from my neck.
Amy tried to run beside me, but I split from the trail and raced for the nearest tree. I’d never climbed a tree as a cat, but normal cats did it all the time.
I could do this.
I had to do this. Thankfully, my adrenaline spurred me on. And with an elegant leap, I found myself on the wooden bench in front of the tree. As soon as my paws touched the bench, I jolted forward again. My claws sank into the bark of that tree, and I scrabbled up as fast as my little legs would carry me. Pieces of bark flew off as I struggled for purchase, but in mere seconds I found myself sitting atop a high branch, which was now swaying under my weight.
Everyone’s a critic, I swear.
The Dalmatian jumped after me, jaws snapping. The crazed thing would’ve followed me up the tree, but lucky for me, he didn’t have the same sharp claws I did.
With an exaggerated whimper, the bloodthirsty animal crashed to the ground, but almost immediately recovered and began jumping straight into the air. I was pretty sure I was out of his reach, but just to be safe, I climbed up one more branch as the owner caught up to the dog.
“Bongo, you horrible boy!” she scolded, snatching up the leash. “You’re in so much trouble.”
“Oh, good grief,” I muttered as I watched the woman drag the nearly rabid Dalmatian away. “Now what?”
A bright yellow bird landed on the branch a foot or so away from me. It looked more like a pet canary than a wild bird. “Fly on, birdy, before nature wins out and I eat you.” I didn’t want to hurt it, but in my agitated state, I was closer to cat than human, and I could feel those feline instincts clawing to get out.
“It’s me, you overgrown kitten,” the bird replied in Amy’s voice… and yet not Amy’s voice. She was restricted by the bird’s vocal cords. Her voice wasn’t magically emitted from her body like mine. When I spoke, meows left my throat while other people heard words.
Normally, when I could shift back and forth of my own free will, my voice sounded different, too constrained by whatever my cat vocal cords could manage.
“What are you doing as a Tweety bird?” I asked, cocking my head as I studied her. Huh, now I could remember why I found her so appealing. Delicious, even.
No, bad kitty! Don’t eat your would-be girlfriend. You’ll regret it!
“I wanted to check on you. And now that I know you’re okay, I’m going to fly around and see if I can spot this guy,” she said, tilting her tiny head at me. “Can you stay here? It’s probably safer for you.”
“Okay, sure thing.” I nodded. “But wow, it’s freaky to hear your voice come out of that bird. Don’t fly too low and get chomped. Also, stay vigilant for any birds of prey.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” She blinked several times at me, then clicked her beak. “It’s nice that you care.”
Amy flitted off in a flurry of yellow feathers. Highly noticeable to me, but it was very unlikely she’d be recognizable to our suspect.
As a bird, she’d find our guy in no time. I was sure of it.
Of course, in the meantime, I was stuck sitting here like a literal bump on a log…