Misty Hollow Cat Detective (Darcy Sweet Mystery) (A Smudge the Cat Mystery Book 1) by K.J. Emrick Page B
Authors: K.J. Emrick
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like a sparkly snake. One of those necklaces that are shaped like a letter S, or a flower or something. I can only translate Corvin-speak so far.
"Where is it? Where is it?" he asks me after I'm satisfied with the description. "Need it. Need it!"
I can't remember ever seeing Corvin this agitated. There's something more to this than just losing one of his many baubles. There was something special about this one. "Corvin, I'll help you find your necklace. Er, sparkly people feather, I mean. Why is this one so important?"
He looked away from me, his beak open just a little and his tongue flicking inside his mouth. His deep black eyes won't stop moving.
"You have to tell me," I insist. "If I'm going to help you then I need to know everything."
He puffs out his chest and then lets the breath go. "Need it."
"Sure. You told me that. But why?"
"Need it!" he repeats. "Need it for her! Want to give it to her."
Her? "Wait a minute. Corvin…do you have a girlfriend?"
If crows were capable of blushing like people do, that's what Corvin would be doing right now. "New crow. Just moved in to the park," he explains. "Pretty. Pretty crow. Want her to notice me. Want her to like me."
"Oh. I get it. You want to give her the sparkly as a gift."
He caws once, softly.
Maybe I'm a sucker for anyone in love, but that did it for me. Now I had to help him. I'd had my own adventures in love, after all. Me and Twistypaws had been seeing each other for a while, and things just kept getting better between us, but I remember when I had to chase her cute gray tail all over town just to get her to look at me. I know what that can be like.
"Tell you what," I say to the sulking black crow. "I'll race you to your tree. Let's find this girl her present."
***
I was a lot more careful about getting up Corvin's tree. If he got agitated or excited again, I wasn't going to risk falling to my death. I've heard a fall like that can wipe out all of the lives you have left, all at once. This cat isn't dying today.
Corvin's tree is at the edge of the park. It's tall, with lots of branches to climb in. Right above one branch is a knothole big enough that I could have crawled inside and curled up for a good nap, with no Jon Tinker bothering me. This was where Corvin lived, and where he hid all of the things he found. The hole was full of string and shiny bits of foil and other things I could see from the ground.
"Was here, was here," Corvin explained to me once we got up there. "Now it's gone. Need it back."
I listen to him with one ear as I peer over the edge of the branch to the ground below. Yup. If the necklace had fallen it would have landed in short grass, making it easy to spot. It wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Do you think maybe it fell down there and someone found it? A person, I mean. Someone might have picked it up from the ground."
Like you did in the first place, I almost added to Corvin.
The crow was already shaking his head emphatically. "No. No, no, no. I found my sparkly fair and square. Put it in my tree. Right there. Right there! Saw it last night. Still there. Sun went down, still there. Went for breakfast this morning. Sun still down. Down, down, down. I came back. Came back, it was gone. All dark still."
I understand what he's saying. People can't see in the dark. Not like cats can. Or crows, for that matter. So, if the necklace had dropped out of the tree after dark, and if it was gone before sunrise, the chances of a person picking it up off the ground were slim. There were lights in the park after dark but not in this area. This part was always in shadows.
So. It wasn't taken by a person. On to the next idea.
If you think it's weird for a cat to be solving problems in his neighborhood, well, you might be right. This is me, though. I'm a different sort of cat. The animals in
"Where is it? Where is it?" he asks me after I'm satisfied with the description. "Need it. Need it!"
I can't remember ever seeing Corvin this agitated. There's something more to this than just losing one of his many baubles. There was something special about this one. "Corvin, I'll help you find your necklace. Er, sparkly people feather, I mean. Why is this one so important?"
He looked away from me, his beak open just a little and his tongue flicking inside his mouth. His deep black eyes won't stop moving.
"You have to tell me," I insist. "If I'm going to help you then I need to know everything."
He puffs out his chest and then lets the breath go. "Need it."
"Sure. You told me that. But why?"
"Need it!" he repeats. "Need it for her! Want to give it to her."
Her? "Wait a minute. Corvin…do you have a girlfriend?"
If crows were capable of blushing like people do, that's what Corvin would be doing right now. "New crow. Just moved in to the park," he explains. "Pretty. Pretty crow. Want her to notice me. Want her to like me."
"Oh. I get it. You want to give her the sparkly as a gift."
He caws once, softly.
Maybe I'm a sucker for anyone in love, but that did it for me. Now I had to help him. I'd had my own adventures in love, after all. Me and Twistypaws had been seeing each other for a while, and things just kept getting better between us, but I remember when I had to chase her cute gray tail all over town just to get her to look at me. I know what that can be like.
"Tell you what," I say to the sulking black crow. "I'll race you to your tree. Let's find this girl her present."
***
I was a lot more careful about getting up Corvin's tree. If he got agitated or excited again, I wasn't going to risk falling to my death. I've heard a fall like that can wipe out all of the lives you have left, all at once. This cat isn't dying today.
Corvin's tree is at the edge of the park. It's tall, with lots of branches to climb in. Right above one branch is a knothole big enough that I could have crawled inside and curled up for a good nap, with no Jon Tinker bothering me. This was where Corvin lived, and where he hid all of the things he found. The hole was full of string and shiny bits of foil and other things I could see from the ground.
"Was here, was here," Corvin explained to me once we got up there. "Now it's gone. Need it back."
I listen to him with one ear as I peer over the edge of the branch to the ground below. Yup. If the necklace had fallen it would have landed in short grass, making it easy to spot. It wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Do you think maybe it fell down there and someone found it? A person, I mean. Someone might have picked it up from the ground."
Like you did in the first place, I almost added to Corvin.
The crow was already shaking his head emphatically. "No. No, no, no. I found my sparkly fair and square. Put it in my tree. Right there. Right there! Saw it last night. Still there. Sun went down, still there. Went for breakfast this morning. Sun still down. Down, down, down. I came back. Came back, it was gone. All dark still."
I understand what he's saying. People can't see in the dark. Not like cats can. Or crows, for that matter. So, if the necklace had dropped out of the tree after dark, and if it was gone before sunrise, the chances of a person picking it up off the ground were slim. There were lights in the park after dark but not in this area. This part was always in shadows.
So. It wasn't taken by a person. On to the next idea.
If you think it's weird for a cat to be solving problems in his neighborhood, well, you might be right. This is me, though. I'm a different sort of cat. The animals in
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