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I lifted my phone from the table and unlocked it to show the new app I’d downloaded during setup. “Pringle’s going to wear the camera in a chest harness, and I’m going to stream the live feed to my iPhone so I can keep an eye on what’s happening.”

“Okay, but where do I fit into this plan?” my cat asked with an aggravated twitch.

“Two places.” I made a peace sign and wiggled those two fingers, unsure whether either animal could count, but whatever. “First, you’re going to go with Pringle to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t take anything that’s unrelated to our case.”

“Hey,” the raccoon whined. “I resemble that remark.”

I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath. Sometimes I really missed working at the law firm with other humans—sweet, rational humans. “Second, we’re going to use your iPad to FaceTime so you can give me a running commentary to go with the video feed. I’d give you my phone, but I think the buttons would be too tiny to answer with your paws, and I don’t want to take any chances, so—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Octo-Cat slurred, his eyes growing large and greedy. “Are you going to use your iPad or your iPhone to keep tabs on us?”

“Both,” I said with a smile.

“It’s like Christmas and my birthday and Halloween all rolled into one,” he gushed in that accented tone of his.

I nodded vigorously and reached out to pat him on the head.“Yup. Fun, right? We’re all having fun? Yes? Now, Pringle, if you’re ready, I can outfit you in the harness now.”

The raccoon grabbed the camera and turned it over several times in his hands, then gave me an exaggerated wink.“This is some next-level spy stuff. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just full of surprises. And as it turns out, so is Nan. Do you both understand the mission?” I asked as I held the harness up to Pringle’s upper body to get a read on how tight I’d need to make the straps.

The cat and raccoon nodded in unison.

“Octo-Cat, where’s your iPad?” I asked as I finished fastening the harness around Pringle’s chest, then mounted the camera on his back and tested the feed on my phone.

“Dining room table,” the tabby answered and then went with me to retrieve it. “Say, why aren’t you going in there with us?”

“It just feels like too big an invasion of privacy,” I admitted.

“But you’re still going to see everything through the feed, so how is that different?” Octo-Cat deadpanned.

I shrugged.“I don’t know. It just is.”

Thankfully, he dropped it without playing twenty questions as to my motive.“Fair enough.”

“Thanks for understanding.” I opened the door that led outside again.

“Okay, Pringle, do your thing. Get on the roof, unlock the window, and then come back down to grab the iPad. I’ll leave it right here for you,” I said, setting it on the edge of the porch.

“Octo-Cat, come with me.” He followed me upstairs to our library office, and I opened the large bay window so he could slink onto the roof.

“I’ll wait five minutes to give you two time to get into the room, then I’ll call you on FaceTime,” I called after him. “Make sure you answer.”

“Roger that,” my cat said, turning to glance at me over his shoulder and offering an agreeable smile before disappearing from sight.

This was it. Either we’d soon find some of the answers I’d been searching for… or we’d be nearly out of places we could look.

Unfortunately, if the animals didn’t turn up anything in their search, I had no idea what we’d do next. It was looking more and more like I’d need to choose to let it go or force a confrontation with Nan.

Yay, me.

Chapter Fifteen

I headed outside to the front porch, both because I knew it would offer me better reception and so that I could keep an eye out for Nan just in case she finally decided to return home and face the situation head-on.

After settling myself on the steps, I took out my phone and studied the feed from our Pringle cam. I could see his focused expression reflected back in the glass as he fiddled with the window. His eyes lit up a few moments later as he raised the window high enough for Octo-Cat to squeeze through, then turned back the other way, providing me with an impressive aerial view of the forest that flanked our yard.

Fast as a shot, he appeared at my side and grabbed Octo-Cat’s iPad from the stoop. “I’ll be taking that now. Thank you very much.”

For all his issues, the raccoon really was a great accomplice with an impressive skill set. It was also far easier on my conscience to let him do the dirty work so that I wouldn’t have to.

Pringle, of course, had no trouble bending the rules of propriety or in scaling the house with the tablet tucked into his chest and held in place by one furry black hand. Hardly a minute later, he’d made it back to Nan’s window, raised it a bit higher, and entered the locked bedroom without even a second’s hesitation.

This was it. We were really doing it. I grabbed my iPad and placed a FaceTime call to Octo-Cat.