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“It is a novel experience, and cats love novel experiences,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but this is not the kind of experience they usually favor.”

“He’ll be fine,” he repeated, and picked up a copy ofGuns& Ammo from the nightstand and started leafing through it. When that couldn’t satisfy his curiosity, he swapped it forField& Stream, which seemed to hold his attention more successfully.

“I’m not so sure Max is fine,” said Harriet, much to Odelia’s surprise. Usually she was the one least concerned when it came to the wellbeing of her housemates.

“What makes you say that?” asked Odelia.

“When we left him he seemed… not himself.”

“He was being carted off to be operated on,” said Brutus. “You wouldn’t look like yourself if you were about to be cut open with a scalpel to have three teeth extracted.”

Dooley gulped slightly.“I hope she manages to put Max back together again. He’s not going to like being cut open like a fish.”

Odelia smiled.“Max has been through this before, and besides, Vena is a professional. She would never do anything to hurt Max, or any of you, for that matter.”

“Yeah, but he’s all alone in there, with who knows what animals to keep him company,” said Harriet. “He’ll wake up in the middle of the night, locked in a cage in a place that is unfamiliar.” She gave Odelia a pleading look. “Can’t we go pick him up?”

“I’m afraid not,” said Odelia, who didn’t want to wake up Vena in the middle of the night just because she was having qualms about Max. “Look, I know this is hard,” she said as she sat cross-legged on the bed and addressed her cats, “but it’s all for the best. As soon as that operation is done, Max will feel a lot better. In fact he’ll be so grateful and happy that the pain is finally gone, that he’ll soon forget all about his ordeal.”

They didn’t seem entirely convinced, but still nodded their reluctant agreement.

Soon, she was under the covers herself, next to Chase, and was reading on her phone. She quickly found herself incapable of focusing on the article Dan had written about the upcoming Fall Ball, though, and as her thoughts kept drifting back to Max in his cage she finally came to a decision, and swung her feet from under the covers again.

“Where are you going, babe?” asked Chase, looking up from a no doubt fascinating expos? on tackle and bait.

“I’m going to get Max,” she said, a determined look on her face.

“But I thought you said…”

“I know what I said, and the longer I think about my sweet baby in his cage, the sadder I get. I’m going to call Vena, and ask her if there’s any chance we can take Max home right away.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Chase, and threw off the comforter, too.

She gave him a grateful look.“Thanks, Chase.”

“No sweat,” he said as he got dressed and picked up his phone from the nightstand. “I know how much those cats mean to you, babe.”

“You do realize that when you marry into this family you get four cats in the bargain, right?” said Harriet, who looked elated that her pleas had not fallen on deaf ears.

Odelia laughed, and when she translated Harriet’s words, Chase was smiling. “I knew what I was getting into when I asked you out on our first date, yes,” he said.

“No, you didn’t,” teased Odelia.

“Well, no, I didn’t,” he admitted. “But I do now.”

“And you don’t mind?” asked Brutus.

“What can I say?” said Chase. “I’m starting to appreciate why you like those funny little furballs so much. For one thing, what else has the power to drag you out of bed in the middle of the night to go and wake up a veterinarian on the other side of town?”

Soon they were dressed and on their way out the door. Odelia had managed to get Vena on the phone, and the vet had graciously agreed to release her patient earlier than anticipated. She knew how Odelia felt about her cats, and didn’t mind a break in her procedure. And then they were off. And as they drove in the direction of Vena’s, they just happened to pass the old Buschmann place. They didn’t pay any attention to the dilapidated building. Nor to the cat that was slinking along the road, looking for a bite to eat. IfOdelia had paid closer attention, she would have noticed that this cat looked very familiar indeed. For it was Clarice, Hampton Cove’s most famous feral cat.

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Clarice was looking for her next meal. Not that she was hungry, but cats like her were always looking for their next meal. She’d already cycled through her usual places: the dumpsters and back alleys of the town she called her own, and had eaten her fill at each turn. Now she’d decided that what she really needed was something fresh and raw. She liked cooked meat as much as the next vagabond, but she also liked a bit of fresh and succulent meat from time to time. The kind that’s still running around when you swallow it whole. In other words what Clarice wanted was a nice fresh rat, or, if rats were unavailable, a nice fat and juicy mouse.

And she knew just where to find them.