d5e426eccb138e04dab909926b2752c6

The office of the town’s mayor is a very large and spacious one, located on the second floor of Town Hall. Its large windows offer a nice view of the town square, and even the police station, which made me wonder why the police officers had all thought it necessary to drive there, as they could just as well have walked.

Charlene Butterwick, our mayor, looked not only shaken but also stirred, like a freshly poured Martini, and was surrounded by the cream of Hampton Cove’s police crop: Uncle Alec was there, of course, but also Chase Kingsley, and several others.

Charlene’s secretary was also there, a heavyset woman with a kindly demeanor who now looked as shaken and stirred as the Mayor herself.

“If only I’d known!” she cried, throwing up her hands. “I would have stopped them!”

“Best you didn’t,” said Uncle Alec.

“Yeah, good thing you didn’t, Imelda,” said Charlene. “They were armed to the teeth, and they would have hurt you.”

“I could at least have called the police,” said Imelda, now applying a handkerchief to her teary cheeks. “They could have caught them before they got away.”

“What did they look like?” asked Odelia.

“One was big and one was short. The short one had a face like a weasel, and the big one had a round face and looked kinda goofy. They said they were businessmen. Though they didn’t look like no businessmen to me.”

Just then, more people arrived at the scene, in the form of Grandma Muffin and Scarlett. And they’d brought their own feline entourage: Harriet and Brutus.

“It was Johnny Carew and Jerry Vale,” said Gran, the moment she stepped into the room. “We just talked to Mort Hodge and his wife Megan and she overheard the thieves call each other Johnny and Jerry.”

Uncle Alec’s head snapped up so fast I could actually hear it crick. “Johnny Carew and Jerry Vale? Are you sure?”

Gran nodded furiously.“Absolutely.”

“Absolutely,” Scarlett echoed, and even Harriet and Brutus were nodding, though I’m not sure the humans in the room took any notice of us lowly pets.

Chase had taken out his phone and was now frantically scrolling through it, then offered it to Charlene’s secretary. “Are these the men you saw, Imelda?”

Imelda took one look at the picture Chase offered and nodded.“That’s them! I’ll never forget those terrible faces. Real hardened criminals, both of them.”

Chase held up his phone for the rest of the small gathering to see. I only caught a quick glimpse, but it was a picture of Johnny and Jerry, who’d recently worked for Marge, before absconding with the contents of the Capital First Bank’s vault to Mexico.

“It’s very nice to have two home-grown criminals you can always pin a crime on,” said Dooley. “Makes things a lot easier for the police.”

I almost had to smile, if the situation hadn’t been so serious. “That’s because they are responsible for a large part of local crime,” I replied.

“Listen up!” Uncle Alec said, raising his voice and also his head to address his troops. “We’re looking for Johnny Carew and Jerry Vale. Chase, send that picture to everyone present.”

“Will do, Chief,” said Chase.

“This is now priority number one.”

“I think I know where they are, Uncle Alec,” said Odelia, earning herself the attention of the entire police contingent and more necks making creaking noises as they all turned to her. “Mom sent me a message this morning telling me Johnny and Jerry had been at the door, spreading the word of Jesus. They’re doing community service for Jehovah’s Witnesses and going door to door. They were in Harrington Street two hours ago, so they’re probably still in the area.”

Uncle Alec clapped his hands twice, like a schoolteacher, or a football coach.“You heard my niece. Let’s roll out, people.”

And he didn’t have to tell his people twice, for already they were filing out the door, en route to their respective vehicles, to organize what is commonly termed a manhunt, or a dragnet.

We soon found ourselves alone in the room with only Charlene, Charlene’s secretary and Uncle Alec, and then the secretary made herself scarce, and when Uncle Alec wrapped Charlene into his arms and started whispering words of comfort into her ear, we figured we better skedaddle, too.

And we were walking down the stairs when Dooley said,“If Johnny and Jerry are spreading the word of Jesus in Harrington Street, how did they steal Charlene’s coins?”

“What a dumb question,” said Harriet. “The Jehovah’s Witnesses thing is just a cover. They use it to get into unsuspecting people’s homes and case the place, before returning under cover of darkness to steal whatever valuables they can lay their hands on.”

“But it’s not dark now,” said Dooley.

“Oh, Dooley. Please be quiet,” said Harriet.

“Pretending to be a religious person is a great cover,” Brutus said. “People tend to let their guard down and reveal things they shouldn’t.”

“Anyway, case closed,” said Harriet. “And of course we cracked it.” She shared a high five with her mate, and they both grinned. “We beat you fair and square, Max,” she added.