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She lay in her warm bed, listening to the rain drumming on the roof outside her window, and hoping that Smudge was tucked away somewhere safe. But he could be anywhere, she thought worriedly, turning over, and huddling under her duvet. What if they never found him? What would they say to the people from the Rescue Centre? Debbie had said they would call in the next few days to see how they were getting on, and whether Smudge was settling in. They would have to tell her that they had lost him! Or actually, that a stupid, selfish, idiot boy had stolen him.

Olivia thumped her pillow. At least being angry with Rob had stopped her wanting to cry. She wondered if someone could be sent to prison for stealing a kitten. Rob certainly deserved it. Dreamily, she imagined Rob in handcuffs, and herself standing there, with Smudge purring in her arms, watching as the police led him away.

It seemed so real. For a moment, she could hear Smudge purring, she was sure. But it was only the rain, beating against her window.

Chapter Eight

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Smudge woke up, shivering. Although he had huddled himself into the pile of dustsheets, it was freezing inside the garage. He felt so cold he could hardly move. At last he stood up gingerly, stretching out his paws and fluffing up his fur to keep himself as warm as possible. He was sure that he was colder because he was so hungry. The last food he’d had was the sandwich in that boy’s bag yesterday afternoon, and now he felt horribly empty.

It was getting light. There were dirty, greyish windows at the top of the walls, just under the roof, and a little watery sunshine was fighting its way in. Somehow it made Smudge feel more cheerful, even if it wasn’t making him much warmer. In the light he could see that the garage was full of piles of old junk – bits of cars and bikes, piles of pots of paint, and lots of dust. Last night it had just been strange shapes that wobbled when he scurried past them. It was all a lot less scary in the daylight.

He jumped down from his pile of dust sheets, his legs still stiff and achy from the cold, and started to search for a way out. Last night, with the rain pouring down, the garage had at least been a shelter. Now it was stopping him going home to Olivia, and he was determined to escape. Surely now it was lighter he would be able to find another hole somewhere? Smudge made his way along the wall, sniffing and nudging at the concrete blocks.

Edging round the side of a large box, his whiskers twitched hopefully as he spotted a little light coming through a crack at the bottom of the wall. He nosed at it eagerly, and then his whiskers drooped again. It was such a very small gap. But he had to try. The rest of the walls were made from solid concrete blocks, but here one of the blocks seemed to have broken, and it had been patched up with a metal sheet on the outside. If he wriggled into the dark gap between the blocks, there was a tiny hole. Perhaps if he clawed at it for a while, it might give way?

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Smudge scrabbled hopefully, his tiny claws making an eerie screeching noise against the rough metal sheet. He scratched and scraped for what seemed like ages, till his claws ached, but when he stopped and pressed his nose against the hole, it didn’t seem to have got any bigger at all…

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“Olivia! What time is it?” Dad moaned.

“Um, half-past five. You said we’d get up early and go straight round to Rob’s!”

“I meant more like seven…” Dad murmured wearily.

“Go back to bed until half-past six,” Mum added. “We can’t go and wake up Rob’s family this early.”

Olivia sighed. She supposed Mum was right. But she had been lying awake since five, watching her bedroom get lighter and lighter. As soon as it seemed to be light enough to search for a kitten, she had got up.

She mooched back into her room, and lay down on her bed. She wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. Instead she grabbed a notebook from her bedside table, and started to make a list of things it would be useful to take with them on the search.

A torch, in case they had to look anywhere dark, Olivia thought. Under a shed or something like that. Smudge’s favourite snacks. He really liked the little heart-shaped chicken ones. Olivia had done a taste test on five different sorts, and he always went for the chicken ones first. If he was stuck up a tree or anything like that, he would definitely come down for them.

What else? Olivia chewed the end of her pencil. A ladder? She wasn’t sure Dad would want to carry one around.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Mum put her head round Olivia’s door. Olivia gazed up at her. Of course she was! How could she go back to sleep?

“Can I get up?” she asked eagerly.

Mum nodded.“Yes. But we’re not going anywhere until you’ve had some breakfast. Just a quick bowl of cereal, that’s all,” she added, seeing Olivia was about to moan. “If you eat, you’ll be able to hunt for him better.”