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I knew my boyfriend made good money as the senior partner for the region’s busiest law firm, but it surprised me when he didn’t even hesitate to offer a giant wad of cash to our dear raccoon racketeer.

Pringle, however, refused to accept his generous payment.“Sorry, bro. Human money’s no good here.”

“But you can use it to buy things,” I pointed out.

He made a face.“That’s too hard. I’d rather not have to worry about the math. Besides, I’ve never once found a human shop owner willing to sell me what I needed. That’s speciesism, I tell you, and I’m not okay with it.”

“Okay, what do you want then?” And why had my entire day turned into agreeing to give everyone whatever they asked for? With the likes of Pringle and Octo-Cat around, this was a very dangerous proposition, indeed.

“Besides the steak you’ve already promised me and the new friend for Carla, I’ll need—”

“I’m getting nine steaks,” Octo-Cat stopped grooming his coat to brag.

“Cool, cool. Make it nine for me, too,” Pringle confirmed.

“And a lobster roll,” my cat betrayed me once more.

“Sure. I’ll also take that.” The raccoon rubbed his hands together in anticipation of all the tasty things coming his way.

“Stop helping!” I shouted at my cat.

Pringle chittered blissfully.“This is awesome. We should work together more often, my fine feline friend.” He stuck out his hand, and Octo-Cat gave him a high paw.

It was official. My life was over. Dealing with the two of them separately was already hard enough. Them joining forces fell into nightmare territory.

“I’ll also require a new plasma TV,” Pringle added as if it were one last small negotiation and not a gigantic expense.

“I’m out of here!” I stomped away, resigning myself to never finding Nan, Paisley, or the kittens again. There was negotiation and then there was extortion. I would have no part of that.

Pringle scurried in front of me and threw his hands up.“No, wait! It doesn’t have to be plasma, but I do need a television. I really do.”

“You already have one.” I crossed my arms and gave him the stink eye. I may have been a softie, but I was no fool. I’d already bought him his own TV not too long ago.

“What’s he asking for?” Charles wanted to know.

“A TV,” I spat, still reeling from the audacious request.

“Doesn’t he already have one?”

See, even Charles knew.

The raccoon put his hands together and begged.“Please. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t desperately need it.” He was an incredible actor, but he couldn’t summon tears on demand.

I wasn’t buying it. “Why the desperation?”

He hung his head and sniffed.“Because my TV-less treehouse is jealous of my TV-full treehouse.”

I rolled my eyes at that.“Sorry, no. Treehouses don’t have feelings.”

“Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine! I’d like to use my houses more equally but don’t want to spend time away from my show while I do it.”

“That means youdon’t need two treehouses, not that youdo need two TVs,” I explained just as a headache swarmed by brain.

Charles placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.“I know you’re worried about the kittens. Let’s just get to them, okay? I’ll pick up a TV for him later this week.”

Pringle raised his index finger in objection.“Actually, I need it—”

“Later this week,” I interrupted with the best scowl I could muster. “Take it or leave it.”

The raccoon’s whole demeanor softened. “You drive a tough bargain, Angie Russo, but sold! Now how can I help?”

“I need to know where Nan went with Paisley and the kittens.”

“I don’t know where they went, but I can find out.”

“How long will that take?”

“I’ll do it right now. Wait there.” He climbed back into his treehouse and returned with iPad in hand. That was another excessive luxury we’d given him. True, it was Octo-Cat’s old iPad, but why did either of them need their own personal tablet?

Sticking his tongue out while he worked, Pringle tapped the iPad several times, cycling through a number of apps until he found the one he wanted. He turned it toward me, revealing a flashing yellow dot moving along a map.“There. She’s on the highway. Good?”

It was good, but it was also suspicious.“How did you do that?”

“I’ve got high-tech trackers on all of you. If one of you goes somewhere, I can trace your phones to see where it is.” He puffed with obvious pride. “I actually have you to thank for giving me the idea and for letting me use your credit card to purchase the licensing I needed.”

Once again, my privacy had been unforgivably violated by this rascally raccoon. I didn’t know he’d used my credit card for this. Had he used it for other things, too? I clearly needed to keep a better eye on my expenses. I also needed to report my card stolen and to invest in a small safe. I could keep my wallet and electronics locked inside every night to curtail Pringle’s all too pervasive snooping.

Ugh. This was seriously getting out of hand.

Chapter Fifteen

We took a few minutes to set up a family plan on our devices. Once we had it in place, I was able to use Pringle’s sneaky app to track Nan’s location while Charles and I drove after her in pursuit.