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“There must be a button we can push,” Tigger said as they studied the door. It was enormous, and reached all the way to the ceiling, high and wide enough to allow a trailer to back up to be unloaded. And then Dooley saw it: there was indeed a large red button, only it had been installed at a convenient height for humans, not pets.

“There,” he said. “I’ll bet that button opens this door.”

They all looked where he was pointing, and agreed that in all likelihood that button wasthe button.

“But how to reach there?” asked Harriet.

“Can any of you jump that high?” asked Misty.

Unfortunately the pets in their present company were the smallest of the bunch. Brutus was, in fact, the biggest, but even he couldn’t jump that high.

“Maybe we can form a pyramid,” Missy now suggested. “We all stand on top of one another and the one on top should be able to push that button.”

“So who’s going to be at the bottom?” asked Brutus. They all stared at him, so he grumbled. “All right. I guess I’ll be at the bottom of this pet pyramid.”

“I guess me, too,” said Buster, who was a wiry but powerfully built cat, like Brutus.

So while Brutus and Buster braced themselves, the others all jumped on top, and soon formed a feline pyramid. Dooley was the last one to climb the furry pile of cats, and when he reached the top, sitting squarely on top of Harriet’s shoulders, he managed to reach the button and tap it!

There was a whirring sound, and the bay door started to roll open.

“We did it!” said Dooley. “Max would be so proud!”

They all watched as the door inched open, then slid underneath it and found themselves outside. They’d made it: they’d escaped Peppard’s Pet Paradise unscathed!

Suddenly they were surrounded by a group of men dressed in blue coveralls, all armed with nets. And before they knew what was happening, they’d been caught in the nets. A man materialized before them. Dooley recognized him as Fred Peppard himself.

“Well done, you guys,” he said. “Initiative, cooperation, derring-do. You just qualified yourselves for the next round of my experiment. You are, without a doubt, the nimblest and smartest of the bunch, and as a reward you get to enjoy the latest addition to the Peppard Pet Food Company’s nutrition program: Miracle Cure II, new and improved!”

And with a nod of the head, he gestured for his men to take the escapees back inside.

Oh, no, Dooley thought. It looked they’d just landed themselves in a real pickle. And the worst part: he and his best friend were now separated. He so did not like this!

Chapter 27

As Odelia exited the hospital she took out her phone and rang her dad. Oddly enough she couldn’t reach him, as the call went straight to voicemail. She then tried to reach Chase, but the same thing happened: no response.

Odd, she thought, but figured they were both busy.

And she’d just gotten into her pickup when suddenly what looked like a military truck blocked her exit and two soldiers jumped out, approached her and yanked open the car door.

“Please come with us, Miss Poole,” said one of the military men.

“Why? What’s going on?” she asked, greatly surprised.

“I’m sorry,” said the soldier, “but those are my orders. Please come now.”

She glanced in the direction of the hospital, and saw the secretary watching on from behind her office window. All she could think was that she must have called in these soldiers.

“Am I under arrest or something?” she asked.

“Please, Miss Poole,” said the soldier. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” And he grabbed her by the arm to bodily remove her from the vehicle.

So she decided she better do as he said, and followed along. Taking her place inside the military jeep, she was quickly whisked away.

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Chase was in Chief Alec’s office, which apparently was now his office, discussing the recent events with Charlene, when suddenly two soldiers burst in. They were both armed and looked like they meant business.

“Chief Kingsley? Mayor Butterwick? Please come with us, madam, sir.”

“What’s going on?” asked Charlene. “Where are you taking us?”

“For your own safety, you have to come with us,” said the soldier.

His colleague was more forthcoming.“The whole town is being evacuated, Madam Mayor. The entire population will be in quarantine for the unforeseeable future, and our orders are to take you to a temporary camp that’s being set up on the town perimeter.”

“You’re evacuating the whole town?” asked Chase. “Isn’t that a little… extreme?”

“We have no idea what we’re dealing with as of yet, Chief,” said the soldier. “So just to be on the safe side we’re locking down Hampton Cove. Now please come with us.”

And as they followed the two soldiers, Chase saw that all of his colleagues were undergoing the same fate: all of them were being escorted out of the building, and into waiting military trucks, to be taken to a destination unknown.